Obituaries & memorials

A Memorial Day Weekend Tale of Two Jewish American Military Heroes

As part of our JWB Jewish Chaplains Council® National Jewish Community Observance of Memorial Day, on Thursday, we were honored to visit the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Nathan Bruckenthal, while the ship was in port in New York City. The USCGC Nathan Bruckenthal is named for the first Jewish Coast Guardsman killed in combat since the Vietnam War. Petty Officer Bruckenthal, described to us by the ship’s captain as “a nice Jewish kid from Long Island,” served his country as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was killed during a successful attempt to thwart a seaborne IED (improvised explosive device) attack on a major installation in the Arabian Gulf.  He sacrificed himself to protect others [Rabbi Irving A. Elson and Doron Krakow]

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Jewish History, Middle East, Obituaries & memorials, USA

Obituaries provide much to learn and ponder

I often read the obituaries of people I have never met, and often find myself regretting that life hadn’t afforded me the opportunity to sit down with them and benefit from hearing their stories and life experiences.  In today’s San Diego Union-Tribune there were 4 ½ pages of paid obituaries, and many of them had an endearing fact or two about the deceased family member.  Below I pull brief quotes from 22 of them so you can see what I mean. If you’re like me, I bet you also would have enjoyed meeting each one of these remarkable people. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Lifestyles, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, Travel and Food

Billionaire Republican donor Sheldon Adelson dies at 87

Washington (AFP) – Billionaire casino magnate and donor to Republican causes Sheldon Adelson has died of cancer, his company said on Tuesday, days before Donald Trump, the US president he supported, hands power to Democratic successor Joe Biden. A supporter of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Jewish causes worldwide, Adelson’s death was confirmed on

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International, Middle East, Obituaries & memorials, USA

Rep. Raskin’s moving tribute to son who took his life

Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland) and his wife Sarah Bloom, disclosed in a moving essay that their son Tommy, who was eulogized during the opening day of Congress by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi,  had committed suicide while in the throes of severe depression. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, USA

Echoes of Bitter Georgia Senate Races Reach California

Mirroring the negative advertising campaigns  in Georgia criticizing the opponents of the candidates they favor, Christians United for Israel issued a press release rebuking Rev. Raphael Warnock, a Democrat, for anti-Israel statements he made in the past (but which he has since recanted), while Rep. Adam Schiff (D-California) blasted Warnock’s opponent,  U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, for selling millions of dollars in personal stocks before news of the impacts of the COVID pandemic were generally known by the public. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Middle East, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, USA

Florida Celebrates Israel on a License Plate

Only yesterday I published a column about the joy of collecting photos of automobile license plates.  Today, to my pleasant surprise, I received a notice that the State of Florida has issued a specialty plate with the legend “Florida Stands With Israel.”   A sample of the plate may be seen above. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Middle East, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, USA

Victory for the Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant

With sewage increasingly able to be recycled into potable water that can be integrated with the city’s water supply, less treated water will need to undergo secondary treatment before it is returned via the Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant (PLWTP) to the Pacific Ocean, according to U.S. Reps. Scott Peters and Susan Davis, both San Diego Democrats. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, The World We Share, USA

Jewish ideas and belief in Western modernity set Rabbi Sacks apart

The untimely death of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks on Saturday generated a wave of sorrow throughout large sectors of the Jewish world and beyond, with an outpouring of tributes from across the Jewish religious spectrum as well as from the highest pinnacles of the British establishment, including the prime minister, Charles Prince of Wales, and

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International, Jewish Religion, Obituaries & memorials

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, former chief rabbi of Great Britain has died

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, the much respected former chief rabbi of the UK, has died aged 72.Sacks was highly esteemed around the Jewish world for his erudition, his wisdom, and his prolific authorship of works on Jewish thought.Sacks announced in the middle of October that he had been diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing treatment, but

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International, Jewish Religion, Obituaries & memorials

U.S. Passports Can List ‘Jerusalem, Israel’ as Birthplace

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Thursday that henceforth U.S. passports issued to American citizens born in Jerusalem will say  at their choice “Jerusalem, Israel,” rather than simply “Jerusalem,” as has been the case up to now. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Middle East, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Feds evaluate death penalty for Poway Chabad shooter

Federal prosecutors still haven’t decided whether to seek the death penalty for the assailant who killed Lori Gilbert Kaye and wounded three other people at Chabad of Poway during a Passover 2019 observance, Kristina Davis of  The  San Diego Union-Tribune reported on Saturday.  The newspaper said that the defense team for defendant John T. Earnest, 21, has reported that the coronavirus pandemic has hampered “mitigation investigation critical to a meaningful penalty phase in a capital prosecution.” [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County

Juvenile arrested for attack on rabbi

Police reported on Friday that they had arrested a 14-year-old boy in connection with an attack on Saturday, Oct. 10. in which Rabbi Yonatan Halevy of Kehillat Shaar Hashamayim was clobbered on top of his head by an assailant who then rode off on his bicycle.  The 31-year-old rabbi, whose Sephardic congregation is engaged in outreach as part of a Shiviti movement, was knocked down but not seriously hurt.  At the time, Halevy was walking on Governor Drive in University City with his father, a stroke victim in his late 60s.  The father was not assaulted. [Donald H. Harrison, Our Shtetl San Diego County]

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Donald H. Harrison, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, USA