Jewish History

Cantor’s Archive Led to Book on Philippine Rescue of European Jews

Enthralled by the stories Cysner told, Harris immediately asked the UC Santa Barbara History Department if she could change her dissertation subject so that it could be based upon Cysner’s experiences, both in Poland, where he was a prisoner of the Nazis, and in the Philippines, where he later became a prisoner of the Japanese. The department agreed, even though this meant changing Harris’ academic advisor and the schedule of courses to which she would commute from her home in San Diego. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, California, Donald H. Harrison, Holocaust, International, Jewish History, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Travel and Food

Schlepping and Schmoozing Along the Interstate 5: Chapter 9

Even with the major portion of the old saltworks being repurposed, one still can see how salt is processed from sea water. A three-step process occurs within shallow ponds with levees around them. In the first pond, seawater evaporates to the point that it becomes brine. That is moved to a second shallow pond for further evaporation, and finally into a third pond where the salt crystallizes. From here the salt is dredged out of the pond and made into salt mounds, which quickly crust over, protecting the salt inside the mounds. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, San Diego County, Travel and Food

Children’s Literature: ‘Matzah Means So Many Things’

The book starts with how our senses perceive matzah. What are its ingredients?  What does it look like?  What color is it?  What is its texture? How does it sound when it is being boiled in matzoh ball soup?  How does it smell when its being baked into an apple matzah kugel?  What kind of yummy foods can you spread on it? [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History

OpEd: Whoopi Goldberg’s Mistake Wasn’t So Terrible

By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – Whoopi Goldberg was wrong but as far as I’m concerned, the folks at ABC and The View were too harsh when they suspended her for two weeks. Let me explain. In a discussion of the Holocaust on The View television show, Goldberg commented that the Holocaust wasn’t racist

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Donald H. Harrison, Holocaust, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Opinion, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Book Provides More Complete Picture of Concentration Camp Life

“Never Forget Your Name: The Children of Auschwitz,” by Alwin Meyer; English version Polity Press (c) 2022; ISBN 13:978-1-5095-4550-6; 496 pages. By Sandra Scheller CHULA VISTA, California — In 1971, 21-year-old Alwin Meyer made his first trip to the Auschwitz concentration camp, not as a relative of a survivor but as a German observer. He

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Holocaust, International, Jewish History, Sandra Scheller

Murder and Approaching Death Fill a Tale of Hoffman

Author Wayne Hoffman regales us with two concurrent non-fiction stories. His search to learn the identity of the person who murdered his great-grandmother as she lay sleeping in her bed, with an infant child at her side, occurred at the same time that his mother, Susan, was having increasing problems with her memory as Alzheimer’s progressively took a worsening toll. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History

Soviet Jewry Book ‘Hidden Heroes’ Will Both Haunt and Inspire You

Hidden Heroes: One Woman’s Story of Resistance and Rescue in the Soviet Union by Pamela Braun Cohen; Gefen Publishing House © 2021; ISBN 9789657-023365; 393 pages including appendices and an extensive index. By Toby Klein Greenwald EFRAT, Israel — How did the prisoners of Zion and refuseniks have the courage, strength and dedication to apply

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, Toby Klein Greenwald, USA

Carl Lutz: The Mystery Savior

By Gedaliah Borvick JERUSALEM — In honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which falls out on January 27, permit me to share with you the remarkable story of Charles Lutz. A friend visiting Jerusalem’s Neve Yaakov community was walking on Charles Lutz Street. The street sign mentioned that Lutz was among the Chasidei Umot Ha’olam

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Gedaliah Borvick, Jewish History, Middle East, Travel and Food

Entrepreneur Tells of Taking 2 Companies Public and the Deal He Made for the San Diego Jewish Academy

This memoir tells of a man bouncing on the exceedingly rough seas of entrepreneurship and finding emotional safe harbor again and again in the warmth of his family.  It is not your standard how-I-made-a-bundle-and-you-can-too motivational book; it is a very intimate autobiographical portrait of Del Mar resident Richard Jaffe, which he wrote with the assistance of his daughter Charly.  [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Business & Finance, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Lifestyles, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Travel and Food, USA

Bible Inspired Name of Cemetery in Nestor Neighborhood

In Nestor, a neighborhood of San Diego northwest of San Ysidro, a small, two-acre, formerly abandoned burial grounds, recently undergoing restoration, is named the Mt. Olivet Cemetery. Located at 2127 Iris Street, it is so small, it sometimes is called Mount Oliveito Cemetery. It is surrounded by single-family residences. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Middle East, San Diego County, Travel and Food, USA