San Diego County

Jews cheer, jeer Kamala Harris as Biden’s VP nominee

Back in June 2016, when California’s then Attorney General Kamala Harris was successfully campaigning for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate to succeed the retiring Barbara Boxer, I asked her at the United Domestic Workers Union Hall in San Diego about the ongoing Israel-Palestinian dispute. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Middle East, San Diego County, USA

Hillel announces initiative to combat antisemitism

Last week, we carried the news that Rose Ritch stepped down from her position as student body vice president at the University of Southern California because of the harassment she had to endure for being a supporter of Israel.  On Monday, Hillel International announced a new initiative to train campus administrators on how to recognize and deal with antisemitism. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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

Yes, indeed, we get and want letters

Authors want to be read. We write because we are compelled and think we have something to say. Authors need readers, publishers need purchasers and subscribers. The SDJW editor invites readers to “Leave a Comment” and post it. Comments are usually favorable. Readers can also correspond directly by email. [Oliver B. Pollak]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Business & Finance, Oliver Pollak, San Diego County

JFS food delivery service needs extra help during pandemic

After weeks of mostly staying home since the COVID 19 pandemic started, I was looking for some volunteer work where I could do something useful for others, but still stay safe. Then, I read in this and several other publications that Jewish Family Service urgently needed volunteer drivers for their Project 19 Food Program, so I applied and after passing a background check and obtaining my Food Handler’s Card, was accepted. [Mimi Pollack]

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Lifestyles, Mimi Pollack, San Diego County

Wi-Charge may make charging truly wireless

Numerous attempts have been made to make wireless electricity a reality. Finally, I think the technology is not only becoming a reality but will be available to most consumers. Via Zoom, I chatted with Ori Mor, CEO of Wi-Charge, to discuss his company and the new technology that it has created. In essence, Wi-Charge has developed a wireless power source that can be put anywhere in a room and, via an infrared frequency, recharge any electric device that has been fitted with a tiny receiver that is within a direct line of sight. [Shor M. Masori]

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Business & Finance, International, Middle East, San Diego County, Shor M. Masori, USA

‘Museum of Man’ now “Museum of Us’

Micah Parzen, Ph.D., the chief executive officer of the Museum of Man announced that henceforth the museum’s name will be the “Museum of Us.”  He was joined in that announcement by Ellen Waddell, the current board chair and two past board chairs, Mark Dillon and George Ramirez. Parzen said museum personnel and supporters had been debating since 1991 the possibility of choosing “a more inclusive name” and 29 years later, the name Museum of Us “reflects who we aspire to be.” [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, San Diego County, USA

Comics as an agent of social change

The San Diego Convention Center would normally be bustling this weekend with devoted fans of science fiction, fantasy and horror dressing up and geeking out. This year, the center lays as quiet as a tomb. Yet, leave it to clever and resourceful nerds to find a way. Comic-Con International has moved online with presentations and forums via Zoom. While there is a variety of panel discussions and workshops to choose from, I decided to focus on a handful that feature comics as agents of social change. (Eric George Tauber)

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Eric George Tauber, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Online Comic-Con lacks spontaneity, nerdiness

As my friend Nick and I walked around downtown on Friday, there was a sense of stillness in the air. Restaurants had mostly converted to serving only outside and while nearby beaches were packed there was still a sense of disconnection among individual families camped out on their blankets. Perhaps the strangest part was the San Diego Convention Center. If this were normal times, downtown would be Comic-Con central right now. People would queue in mile-long lines to see their favorite piece of media or stories come to life. The restaurants in the Gaslamp Quarter would be buzzing with hungry nerds. Hotels would be filled with tourists. Today I saw a lone man, dressed as Shazam, making chalk art outside the center. [Shor M. Masori]

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Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Shor M. Masori, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Comic-Con Online: Art & the Holocaust

When Art Spiegelman first proposed Maus, his two-volume graphic novel about the Holocaust, people asked how he could tackle a subject so dark, weighty and personal with comics. I think a more important question is: What happens if we don’t? How many stories will be lost? How many young people will lose the opportunity to comprehend this period of history without an accessible visual medium? [Eric George Tauber]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Eric George Tauber, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County

Rabbi Goldstein deserves prison, not probation

The late Rabbi Aaron Gold, of blessed memory, used the expression, “Big Beard, Small Jew” to characterize those people in our religion who make a big outward show of their piety, while having inside hearts so corrupted that they are willing to violate the very Torah lessons that they preach, including the eighth commandment, “Thou Shalt Not Steal.” (Exodus 20:15). It is bad enough when any Jew commits a crime, but it is even worse when someone does so who is a Rabbi. By accepting that title, the person bearing it becomes a representative of the Jewish people, a spokesperson and exemplar for our moral beliefs. In breaking the law, Goldstein not only brought shame on himself, he brought shame on the Jewish people. He deserves to be punished. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, San Diego County, USA

Daughter conducts violinist mom with Hungarian orchestra

This MSR recording is the first time in the annals of classical music that a violin soloist has been accompanied by her own conductor daughter!

My sister, violinist Zina Schiff, my niece, conductor Avlana Eisenberg, and Hungary’s MAV Symphony Orchestra are featured in this mother-daughter collaboration: Sibelius Violin Concerto, Barber Violin Concerto, Ben-Haim Three Songs Without Words.. Gramophone Magazine described how the “mother and daughter partnership shows evident unity of purpose….intense passionate feeling.” [Eileen Wingard]

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

Seacrest innovates a fundraiser during Covid-19

Unlike many organizations that settle for “gala” banquet dinners with speakers, Seacrest Village Retirement Communities in Encinitas  has tended to favor outdoor fundraising activities such as golf, tennis, and pickleball along with a spa day for donors.  This year, however, Covid-19 was too great a handicap for golf, and it aced out the tennis tournament.  However, planners for Seacrest Village, which is the upscale successor of the San Diego Hebrew Home for the Aged, were not deterred.  They came up with five methods by which donors could nevertheless help the home raise money to defray the costs for seniors who are financially at risk. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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Business & Finance, Donald H. Harrison, Lifestyles, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA