Science, Medicine, & Education

The legacy of Dr. Jonas Salk

Had he lived, today, Monday October 28th, would have been Jonas Salk’s 105th birthday.  Last night, an audience of mostly senior citizens remembered and appreciated the enormity of the contribution that he made to world health by developing the polio vaccine.  And, indirectly, the man who was the speaker at Tifereth Israel Synagogue—Salk’s son, Dr. Peter Salk—played an important role in that drama while he was still a child.[Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, San Diego Calendar, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Animals receive a blessing at Tifereth Israel Synagogue

With Jews around the world scheduled to read the story of Noah’s Ark next Saturday, the Abraham Ratner Torah School at Tifereth Israel Synagogue held a blessing for the animals in a brief outdoor ceremony on Sunday. Rabbi Joshua Dorsch, with arms raised, blessed about a dozen dogs and one rabbit that were brought by congregants of the Conservative shul.  [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Middle East, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, The World We Share, Travel and Food, USA

Scripps oceanographer’s date with a prince

Professor Lisa Levin of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla will be awarded the Prince Albert I Grand Medal for science on Nov. 7 in Monaco by Prince Albert II, the principality’s reigning monarch, in a ceremony that also will honor former United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, The World We Share, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

‘Great Torah Roll’ fun at Seacrest Village

Rabbi Leah Herz created a fun-filled Simchat Torah learning session called “The Great Torah Roll”  for residents of the Seacrest Village Retirement Community in Encinitas when she had the entire Torah unrolled and held by staff, volunteers, and residents, some of whom were in wheelchairs. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, The World We Share, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

State’s Ethnic Studies Curriculum awaits resolution

The state’s proposed ethnic studies curriculum was temporarily shelved in part because of objections from the California Jewish Legislative Caucus, the Anti-Defamation League, and other Jewish groups that the panel that created the document all but ignored the Jewish experience in the United States, while utilizing the curriculum to spread a false Palestinian narrative about Israel that includes support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS). [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education

Son of Jonas Salk to tell of vaccination necessity

With a growing anti-vaccine movement as a backdrop, noted researcher and president of the Jonas Salk Legacy Foundation Dr. Peter Salk – whose father discovered the first polio vaccine – will address the fight to end polio and the current controversy surrounding vaccines during a public presentation at Tifereth Israel Synagogue on Sunday, October 27. [David Ogul]

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David Ogul, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education

15th Jew in space in first all-female space walk

Astronaut Jessica Meir, who earned her doctorate from the Scripps Institute of Oceanography here in San Diego, on Friday was part of the first all-female team to do a space walk from the international space station. She and fellow American  astronaut Christine Koch were tasked with repairing a power control unit – a job that in the slow motion of space took seven hours and 17 minutes, including interruptions to take congratulatory calls from President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, Presidential Advisor Invaka Trump, and NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Cantor Sheldon Foster Merel, z"l, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Two S.D. Jewish community builders lauded

I had the honor on Wednesday night to be the speaker at the Beth Israel Men’s Club. My topic was the historic contributions of two Jewish San Diegans who had been members of Congregation Beth Israel: Marcus Schiller and Jacob Weinberger.  Both men were immigrants to this country from Europe, both had been active in the political life of San Diego, and both helped to form institutions that are prominent in our local Jewish community.

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

JNF: Israel schooling leads to Jewish continuity

Dr. Sol Lizerbram, the Rancho Santa Fe resident who serves as national president of the Jewish National Fund, offers some statistics to back up the claim that sending a teenager to JNF’s Alexander Muss High School program in Israel can contribute in the long run to Jewish continuity.

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Judaism, Middle East, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Sports & Competitions, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Travel and Food, USA

Aquarium teaches how good ‘rulers’ treat their subjects

In Genesis: 1:28 we are taught that God blessed mankind instructing it to, “… rule over the fish of the sea, the bird of the sky, and every living thing that moves on the earth.”  At the Monterey Bay Aquarium, a visitor can conclude that the phrase “rule over” is interpreted to mean “do everything in your power to help all living creatures.” This becomes evident in light of the aquarium’s successful efforts to rescue otters, to teach about conservation, and to instruct children in the fascinating ways of marine life.

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Science, Medicine, & Education, The World We Share, Travel and Food

Our Shtetl San Diego County: October 12, 2019

Items in today’s column include:
*UC San Diego books former Israeli FM Tzipi Livni for Nov. 11 lecture
*Three Jewish philanthropists to receive UC San Diego Chancellor’s Medal
*San Diego Humane Society hosts training for animal law enforcement officers
*Political bytes
*Fundraising
*Coming our way
*Remembering Sy Brenner

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education

Cedars-Sinai hosts bat mitzvah for intensive care patient

Twelve year-old Numa Beron, a longtime Cedars-Sinai patient who has spent much of her life in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, recently celebrated her Bat Mitzvah, a coming of age party for Jewish girls, in the medical center chapel. Beron was born with lissencephaly, a degenerative brain malformation leaving her unable to stand or speak. (To read more, please click on the headline.)

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Jewish Religion, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Student complaint alleges anti-Semitism at UCLA

University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) student Shayna Lavi and the StandWithUs Saidoff Legal Department submitted a complaint against UCLA to the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) on October 7. The complaint alleges that the university is in violation of its obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, due to the administration’s inaction in response to antisemitism experienced by UCLA Jewish students. (To read more, please click on headline.)

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Science, Medicine, & Education, USA