San Diego County

SDCCD Responds to Anti-Israel Teachers Union as Local Sets Hate-Crime Training

By Chris Jennewein SAN DIEGO — The Chancellor of the San Diego Community College District has expressed “sincere thoughts” to Jewish students and teachers offended by a local union’s condemnation of Israel and said the district will “foster an inclusive atmosphere.” “We recognize that the opinions expressed by some groups, including the American Federation of […]

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San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education

Francois Chouchan brings Le Salon de Musiques to La Jolla

There is a new chamber music series in town, taking place at the La Jolla Women’s Club. The inaugural opening concert, scheduled for this Sunday at 4:00 p.m., is sold out. The founder and director of the series is the French-Jewish pianist, Francois Chouchan. He is moving his nine concert series, Le Salon de Musiques, to La Jolla after an eleven year run in Los Angeles. [Eileen Wingard]

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Eileen Wingard, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County

S.D. International Film Festival Features Flics For Every Palate

If you’re a fan of the silver screen, you are in for a treat! Block off your calendars for October 14th through the 24th for the 20th anniversary of the San Diego International Film Festival. This extravaganza of films contains a vast array of genres including narrative films, documentary films and short films. With great sensitivity to the pandemic and public safety the SDIFF is offering many of the films virtually, while other films will be presented all around San Diego’s beautiful and iconic backdrops including Balboa Park, the USS Midway and the Catamaran Resort Hotel and Spa, paying homage to America’s Finest City. [Eva Trieger]

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Eva Trieger, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

San Diego Jewish Community Condemns AFT 1931 Resolution on Israel and Palestine

Jewish Federation of San Diego County strongly condemns the San Diego Community College American Federation of Teachers Guild Local 1931’s “Statement Regarding the Occupied Palestinian Territories,” and we do so with the full support of our valued community partners listed below. We are dismayed to find that the union representing community college and continuing education faculty and other employees in the San Diego Community College District and the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District voted in support of this misguided and simplistic statement that has caused sadness, fear, and anger as a result of its false claims and incendiary language. This statement creates an unsafe atmosphere for Jewish and Israeli students, faculty and staff, and other members of the San Diego and Grossmont Community College Communities. Consider how an anxious Jewish student might feel walking into the classroom of a professor who supported this statement. Consider the situation a Jewish junior member of faculty now finds themselves in with a department chair who supported the statement.  [Jewish Federation of San Diego County]

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Middle East, San Diego County, USA

Shooter at Chabad of Poway Pleads Guilty in Federal Court

John T. Earnest of San Diego pleaded guilty in federal court Friday to a 113-count hate crimes indictment, admitting that he set fire to an Escondido mosque and opened fire in a Poway synagogue because he wanted to kill Muslims and Jews. The religiously- and racially-motivated attacks resulted in the murder of one person and the attempted murders of 53 others. [U.S. Attorney’s Office, San Diego]

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International, Jewish History, San Diego County, USA

Teacher Union’s Israel Condemnation Said to Encourage Antisemitic Violence in San Diego

By Chris Jennewein SAN DIEGO — A national Jewish organization said condemnation of Israel by the American Federation of Teachers local at San Diego community colleges could cause Jewish students to feel isolated and lead to antisemitic violence. Tammy Gillies, regional director for the Anti-Defamation League in San Diego, said the resolution will isolate students

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San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education

‘Dancing Lessons:’ Finding Common Ground and Honoring Each Other

By Eva Trieger SOLANA BEACH, California — They’re back! They’re back! I’ve just come from North Coast Rep’s production of Mark St. Germain’s “Dancing Lessons.” This piece was superbly directed by Richard Baird, and enacted by Christopher Williams and Leilani Smith. Baird has appeared on stage in many excellent North Coast plays, but he is

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Eva Trieger, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

UC San Diego Announces 2021-2022 Holocaust Living History Workshop Series

LA JOLLA, California (Press Release) — The University of California San Diego’s Holocaust Living History Workshop (HLHW) is returning this fall with a yearlong series of seven lectures that underscore the theme “Beyond the Great Silence: The Holocaust in Art, Memory, and Life.” Now in its 13th year as a collaborative project between the UC San Diego

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Jewish History, San Diego County

Capitol Police Arrest Oceanside Man ‘On Patrol’ in Truck Decorated with Swastikas

By Chris Jennewein SAN DIEGO — U.S. Capitol Police arrested an Oceanside man early Monday who allegedly was carrying a bayonet and machete in his truck near the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington. “This is good police work plain and simple,” said Chief Tom Manger. “We applaud the officers’ keen observation and the teamwork

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San Diego County

StandWithUs Says AFT Guild 1931 Fuels Antisemitism

StandWithUs is deeply disturbed by the bias and misrepresentations in the AFT Guild Local 1931 statement. Simply writing “we’re not antisemites” does not eliminate the antisemitic nature and impact of this statement, which at its core denies Israel’s right to self-defense, and the Jewish peoples’ right to decide what constitutes antisemitism. [StandWithUs)

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Middle East, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

4,000 American Teens, Including 21 San Diego County Residents, Experienced Israel This Summer

Heroic efforts navigating the global pandemic made it possible for nearly 4,000 American teens to travel this summer to Israel on multi-week trips designed and heavily subsidized by the new RootOne, run by The Jewish Education Project. The Jewish Agency for Israel, along with youth serving organizations (YSOs) and Jewish residential camps, made the trips possible under unprecedented circumstances. As teens return home, they are brought into a pipeline of Jewish community opportunities that will continue to tap into their interests, strengthen relationships, and add meaning to their lives. [Root One Press Release]

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Middle East, San Diego County, USA

Kitchens for Good Gains New Quarters, $100,000 Matching Fund Offer

You know when you learn about something and it’s just too good to keep it to yourself?  That feeling of wanting to shout it from the rooftops or paste a banner advertising it on the side of a city bus? Yeah, that level of excitement. I first experienced the miracle that is Kitchens for Good in 2019, when the San Diego Jewish Community Foundation invited its donors to tour the beautiful and supremely functional facility. Founders Aviva Paley and Chuck Samuelson have gone on to new adventures, and have taken a more advisory role, as Lindsey Seeger steps into the role of Director of External Affairs.  [Eva Trieger]

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Eva Trieger, San Diego County, Travel and Food