Judaism

The Jewish Eye: Holocaust Presentations; Ethics and Animals, Artificial Intelligence; Israel’s 75th Anniversary

Holocaust Survivor Joseph Alexander, 100, will tell of his experiences at Chabad of Poway at 7 p.m., Thursday, April 27, exactly four years after a gunman murdered Lori Gilbert Kaye and wounded four other people. Reservations are required via chabadpoway.com.   On May 4, Cheryl Rattner Price, executive director of The Butterfly Project, and Sandra Scheller, curator of the RUTH: Remember Us the Holocaust, will be among speakers at a 1:30 p.m. presentation on the Holocaust at Southwestern College in Chula Vista.  Lee Ann Kim, former KGTV-10 reporter and founder of the Pacific Arts Movement, will emcee the event, which also will include a performance by singer Elizabeth Schwartz. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Business & Finance, California, Donald H. Harrison, Holocaust, International, Israel, Jewish Celebrities, Jewish Religion, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, The World We Share, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

The Jewish Eye: Renters Relief, Legislative Caucus, Antisemitism, Yom HaZikaron

San Diego City Council President Sean Elo-Rivera, in a newsletter to constituents, provided this background for introducing a proposed ordinance to protect renters that will be heard next week: “Imagine being at home with your family and opening the mail to find that you’ll need to move. You’ve always paid your rent on time and there are no accusations that you’ve broken a term of your lease. Nonetheless, you are being evicted and need to find a new place to live. Imagine the stress of breaking the news to your family coupled with the stress of trying to find a home you can afford when rental prices have skyrocketed to an average of over $3,000 per month for a modest two-bedroom apartment. Would you be able to afford to continue to live in San Diego?”   [Donald H. Harrison]

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California, Donald H. Harrison, Holocaust, Israel, Jewish History, San Diego County

Waxing and Waning Relations Between the Jewish and Mexican-American Communities in Los Angeles

The construction of Dodger Stadium at Chavez Ravine was controversial – so much so that it tore at a traditional alliance between the Mexican-American community and the Jewish community who, between the two World Wars, lived side by side the Los Angeles neighborhood of Boyle Heights.. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, California, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Sports & Competitions, USA

Yom HaShoah Observances Held Throughout San Diego County

I toured Holocaust observances at various venues in San Diego County, starting on Tuesday with a visit to Seacrest Village Retirement Community in Encinitas.  Among the residents are Charlotte Marx, who is the oldest at 104; Debby Stauber, Marguerite Morris, and Lee Drasnin.  They watched a video that was presented at Sunday’s Yom HaShoah observance at the Lawrence Family JCC, and shared with me their ideas for Holocaust education, awareness, and a permanent Holocaust museum. [Sandra Scheller]

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California, Holocaust, International, Jewish History, San Diego County, Sandra Scheller, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

A Backyard of Blessings: The Impact of the San Diego Jewish Experience

Editor’s note: Rabbi Eric Ertel has shared the following message regarding the San Diego Jewish Experience’s 2023 Campaign: The San Diego Jewish Experience is having its most impactful year to date. Now that student life is back to normal, SAJE has been able to meet and form strong bonds with record breaking numbers of students

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Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, San Diego County

A Short History of Holocaust Survivors in San Diego

The Holocaust did not simply end the day Nazi Germany surrendered to the Allies.  Survivors torn from their homes, their families, and their health, needed to be nursed back into physical and mental health and resettled in countries where they would be accepted and given a chance to reconstruct their lives. One San Diegan who was intimately involved in this process was Army Lt. Al Hutler, a Jew whose compassionate administration of a Displaced Persons camp helped thousands of people make those adjustments. After leaving the Army, Hutler moved to San Diego where he served as the executive director of the Jewish Federation from 1946 to 1958. He was among those San Diegans who put out the welcoming mat for the survivors of the Nazi scourge. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Holocaust, International, Jewish History, San Diego County

Overcoming Two Decades of Opposition, UCSD’s Jewish Students Finally Have Their Hillel Center

Parry oversees Hillel operations at UC San Diego, San Digo State University, Cal State San Marcos, and the University of San Diego.  She recalled that while she was a Class of 2008 political science student at UC San Diego that the proposed center had been opposed for a long time by neighbors in La Jolla.  At least some of them were motivated by the same kind of antisemitism that delayed construction of an eruv by Congregation Adat Yeshurun.  With City Hall appeals, environmental reviews, and court battles, the opponents were successful delaying construction for 20 years, but eventually the courts gave Hillel the go-ahead to build on the land it had purchased. [Donald H. Harrison]

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California, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education