Judaism

La Jolla’s Adat Yeshurun Keen on Communal Growth Ahead of ‘Breath of Fresh Aire’ Gala

By Jacob Kamaras L’Chaim Magazine LA JOLLA, California — Emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic with renewed energy, Congregation Adat Yeshurun of La Jolla this month will host “Breath of Fresh Aire,” the synagogue’s first in-person gala event since 2019. Long known for its welcoming atmosphere of caring and spiritual growth, one of San Diego’s premier

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Jacob Kamaras, Jewish Religion, San Diego County

Frida Kahlo Loved Jews So Much She Invented Jewish Ancestry

The Mexican artist Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) is the subject of several murals at Chicano Park. Modern genealogists say that she was the daughter of a mother of mixed indigenous and Spanish descent, Mathilde Calderon y Gonzalez, and a German Lutheran father, Guillermo Kahlo. However, Frida herself always insisted that her father, who was an important influence on both her life and her art, was actually Jewish. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, California, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Lifestyles, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Travel and Food, USA

New Book Stops ‘Exit by Exit’ Along I-5 to Recount Jewish Experience in San Diego

By Jacob Kamaras Times of San Diego LA JOLLA, California — By finding at least one Jewish story at every exit from the Mexican border to Old Town San Diego, veteran journalist Donald H. Harrison’s book Schlepping and Schmoozing Along the Interstate 5 transforms the West Coast’s main north-south highway into a treasure trove of

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jacob Kamaras, Jewish History, San Diego County

Assassinated Gay Jewish Political Leader Harvey Milk Is Honored by the U.S. Navy

The “christening” ceremony featured a principal ceremonial address by Milk’s nephew, Stuart Milk, as well as remarks by Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro; Vice Admiral Jeffrey Hughes, deputy chief of naval operations for warfighting development; and Rear Adm. Michael Wettlaufer, commander of the Military Sealift Command. Sponsors of the ship were U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who had served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors with Milk, and Paula Neira, clinical program director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Transgender Health. Neira shattered a bottle of sparkling wine across the ship’s bow in a time-honored Navy tradition. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, California, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Celebrities, Jewish History, San Diego County, Travel and Food, USA

Jewish World War II Heroes Finally Rest Under the Star of David

By Dorian de Wind The Moderate Voice AUSTIN, Texas — Reminiscing about a 2015 visit to the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial, in Margraten, I wrote, “Walking among the more than 8,000 white marble crosses and Star of David headstones laid out in long, silent curves across the pristine verdant lawn, we could not be

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Dorian de Wind, International, Jewish History, USA

Centuries of Despicable Behavior Against Jews

By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — Dr. Emily Michelson, senior lecturer in history at the University of St. Andrews, describes the over two and a half centuries when the Roman Catholic Church in Rome, Italy, forced Rome’s Jews to attend weekly hostile sermons. The Church’s aim was to convert the Jews to

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish History

Operation Mincemeat and the Holocaust

By Jerry Klinger The words together will offend someone, perhaps more than just one someone. The Holocaust was a horror that converted millions of Jews into mincemeat. Operation Mincemeat was an impossibly successful British military operation that saved at least a million Jews from being exterminated. April 24, in Hackney, London, a black polished historical

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Holocaust, International, Jerry Klinger, Jewish History

Social Worker Serves as a Lay Rabbi for Elderly Residents of Paradise Village

Lazard, a social worker employed by the County of San Diego to determine financial and residential eligibility for cradle-to-21-year-old residents with major disabilities, says he is happiest when he gets to sing, particularly Jewish prayer songs. Through his tutoring of Ruth Sax, he got to know other Jewish residents of Paradise Village, and before long he was asked to officiate at the monthly Shabbat service. He met with Paradise Village’s Chaplain, Harry Bennett, before accepting the volunteer gig. Services are held in the non-denominational chapel, which has a stained-glass window bearing a picture of a dove. [Donald H. Harrison]

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California, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, San Diego County, Travel and Food, USA