By Howard Wayne SAN DIEGO — My maternal grandmother immigrated to the United States from the Kingdom of Hungary in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, in around 1910. She visited her family twice between the world wars, and afterwards sent some money to her father, Joseph Weinstein (or Weinstein Jozcef in Hungarian). As far as we
Persistence, patience triumph in search for ancestors Read More »
International, Jewish HistoryBy Sheila Orysiek SAN DIEGO — Those of us familiar with the word “shtetl” often conjure up mental images of a small town in Eastern Europe; the world of Tevye fiddling on the edge of his roof. These memories were handed down by our forebears along with faded pictures of grimy houses and dusty
From the Jewish library: ‘Shtetl’ Read More »
Jewish History
SAN DIEGO (SDONA)–After decades of delays, Jonas Salk Elementary School in Mira Mesa will open its doors to students for the first time Tuesday as the San Diego Unified School District begins its new academic year. The $24 million school is named after Dr. Jonas Salk, who invented the first successful polio vaccine and later
School named for Jonas Salk to open Read More »
Jewish History, San Diego County, USA
Uncovered by Leah Lax; She Writes Press; © 2015; ISBN 978-1631529955; $16.95 By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – This touchingly written, respectful yet controversial, woman’s odyssey from unhappy, repressed childhood to Hasidism and thence, in middle age, to freedom and the personal security found in lesbianism, is bound to be earnestly debated by readers.
Memoir relates journey from Hasidism to lesbianism Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish HistoryBy Natasha Josefowitz, Ph.D. LA JOLLA, California — It is interesting that while living in Paris, my parents resisted any French influence and continued their Russian way of life: eating Russian food, reading Russian newspapers and books, having Russian friends, and speaking Russian at home. My first tongue was Russian. In the U.S., they did the same
A musical Russian enclave in Beverly Hills Read More »
Jewish History, Natasha Josefowitz
By Eileen Wingard SHANGHAI, China — In the Ohel Moshe Synagogue, now a museum, the maroon velvet curtain of the Torah Ark bears a gold embroidered inscription: “Tribute to Hongkew People Who Provided Refuge to Jews In Time of Need.” This house of worship was part of the hub of Jewish life in the ghetto
3 waves of Jews came to Shanghai Read More »
Eileen Wingard, International, Jewish HistoryBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson DOMEYROT, France — I know I’ve written about this subject before, but it’s one that simply isn’t going to go away, and in fact is getting worse every day, every hour, every minute. Many of these unfortunates come from Africa, from countries where conflicts, poverty, corruption and hopelessness are endemic. Others come from
Jews can empathize with refugees Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Jewish History, Middle East, The World We Share
Somewhere There Is Still A Sun by Michael Gruenbaum with Todd Hasak-Lowy; Aladdin Books © 2015; ISBN 978-1-4424-8486-3; 378 pages including after words; $17.99 By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – This book is what you might call a combination of a memoir and historical fiction—the two genres mixing in a tale intended for middle
A Holocaust tale for middle schoolers Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History
-18th in a series– Exit 6, Texas Street, San Diego — Old Tifereth Israel, Beth Jacob By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO –Although San Diego’s Jewish community started in Old Town San Diego in the 1850s, moving to downtown and environs in the late 1800s and early 1900s, it was on the move again
I-8 Jewish Travel: Shuls on the move Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, San Diego County, Travel and Food
Oskar and the Eight Blessings by Richard Simon and Tanya Simon, illustrated by Marc Siegel, Roaring Brook Press of MacMillan Children’s Publishing Group; ISBN 978-1-59643-949-8; 40 pages; $17.99. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — Back in the early 1970.s, when I worked for the Associated Press in New York City, I was always
A refugee and the great American hope Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, USABy Natasha Josefowitz, Ph.D. LA JOLLA, California — When France fell, we knew we could not go home again. We lost everything and eventually, almost everyone I had ever known. When the Germans crossed into Lithuania, they took my grandparents out of their home, marched them to a nearby school, and shot them point blank. A
Our WWII refugee family found its way to California Read More »
Jewish History, Natasha Josefowitz, USALike Dreamers, The True Story of the Israeli Paratroopers Who Reunited Jerusalem and Divided a Nation, by Yossi Klein Halevi (HarperCollins Publishers, 2013) By Sheila Orysiek SAN DIEGO — In June 1967, the Israeli Defense Forces miraculously overcame the combined attack launched by three of its neighbors: Egypt, Jordan and Syria. But as miraculous as
From the Jewish library: ‘Like Dreamers’ Read More »
Jewish History, Middle EastBy Joe Spier CALGARY, Alberta, Canada — Tibor (Ted) Rubin enters the room. The President of the United States, bound by tradition, rises and salutes him. Rubin, born a Hungarian Jew, is one of 79 persons who command the salute of the President. They are the living recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest
The story of Tibor Rubin’s heroism in the Korean War Read More »
International, Jewish History, USA
–17th in a series– Exit 6, Texas Street, San Diego ~ District Office of U.S. Rep. Susan Davis By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO –The distance between this city and Washington D.C. is approximately 2,690 miles, or a five-hour jet plane ride. Impractical to go back and forth every day between work in Washington and constituents
I-8 Jewish Travel: ‘Team Davis’ Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, San Diego County, Travel and Food, USA