With the approach of Memorial Day, I’d like to salute the memory of Private Herman Addleson, whose story I first wrote in Waxie: An American Family Business Success Story, a book that was published in 2016. [Donald H. Harrison]
Remembering Pvt. Herman Addleson, WWII paratrooper Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA
Editor’s Note: Maile Faust, a junior at Francis Parker School, wrote this poem inspired by Elie Wiesel’s “Night,’ during her freshman year. Her family is of mixed Jewish-Christian ancestry. Maile has seven years of ballet and 8 years of Free Style Martial Arts, in which she has earned a black belt. An honors and advanced placement student at Francis Parker, she intends to pursue a college degree in mechanical engineering.
Poetry: Endless Night Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education
During the challenges of the on-going health crisis throughout the world, I want to share with you, my readers, an encounter which brightened my day. [Natasha Josefowitz, ACSW, Ph.D]
The Rewards of Reaching Out Read More »
Lifestyles, Natasha Josefowitz, San Diego County
It was as Lawrence Baron, the distinguished history professor, rather than as Laurie Baron, the brilliant satirist, for whom women and some men gathered for a Zoom presentation on Tuesday sponsored by Tifereth Israel Synagogue’s Sisterhood. They asked him to evaluate the factors that led some non-Jews during the time of Hitler to risk their lives and those of their families to protect Jews from the genocide. Who, indeed, were the people who have become known in history as “The Righteous Gentiles”? [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]
Who were the Righteous Gentiles? Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Lawrence Baron, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA
Jewish Family Services (JFS) is one of twelve immigrant-serving nonprofit organizations selected to help individuals apply for and receive disaster relief assistance in their region. Each organization was chosen based on their experience in serving immigrants, and to act as a distributor of assistance funds. JFS has hotlines assisting immigrants in San Diego County and Imperial County. [Omer Zalmanowitz]
JFS distributes COVID19 relief funds for immigrants Read More »
San Diego County, USA
Two grocery store incidents in Santee earlier this month in which a man wearing the hood of the Ku Klux Klan, and a man and woman wearing masks featuring swastikas, continue to reverberate. San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher proposed that a countywide Human Relations Commission be re-established and empowered to look into such incidents, and the San Diego Union-Tribune ran three opinion pieces Monday on the incidents and their impact on the City of Santee. In another response to hate, the Combat Anti-Semitism Movement (CAM) arranged for 25 olive trees to be planted at Kfar Silver Youth Village in southern Israel in memory of Lori Gilbert Kaye, who was murdered when a gunman attacked Chabad of Poway on the last day of Passover in 2019. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]
San Diego County, nation, respond to hate incidents Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Eva Trieger, Jewish History, Middle East, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA
Shavua tov! Shavua Tov! A good week! A good week! In Voorhees, New Jersey, Cantor Alisa Pomerantz-Boro and her daughter Rebecca have often led Havdalah services by Zoom from their porch since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic This last Saturday night, May 16, was no different. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]
Havdalah from the porch of a celebrated cantor Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, USAIn the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, local Jewish individuals and Jewish Family Service are playing prominent roles. [Our Shtetl San Diego County by Donald H. Harrison}
JFS, Davis, Bry prominent in coronavirus fight Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, International, Joe Gandelman, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USASix doctors and two nurses participated in a coronavirus Zoom forum moderated on Wednesday night for Tifereth Israel Synagogue members by the Conservative congregation’s program director Beth Klareich. Speaking from the perspective of being both a recovered coronavirus patient and a physician was Dr. Seth Krosner, an emergency and trauma surgeon at Scripps Mercy Hospital. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]
Coronavirus from the medical profession’s viewpoints Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & EducationIn a Zoom meeting on Wednesday, Charlene Seidle, executive vice president of the Leichtag Foundation, interviewed three panelists who help to make certain that the health and rights of workers in the food industry are recognized as an important priority for our society. [Our shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]
Protecting workers in San Diego County’s food chain Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Travel and Food, USA
But how do you celebrate such a festive occasion when the plague of our own era demands that we distance ourselves from one another and avoid gatherings? Make it a drive-through. Welcome to the Lag Ba’Omer Drive Thru Circus Experience. Chabad Hebrew Academy located along Pomerado Road in Scripps Ranch set up multiple stages in their parking lot. Festival patrons slowly drove through in their cars. They were greeted by arches of red and yellow balloons (representing flames) Chasidic music, stilt-walkers, unicyclists, acrobats, jugglers, hula hoops, puppets and clowns. [Eric George Tauber]
Celebrating safely at a drive-thru circus Read More »
Eric George Tauber, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
What is the small movement? It is an informal group of people brought together by yours truly to find ways to help others, especially during this pandemic. This includes giving business to small mom and pop restaurants that may be struggling, buying pizzas for Grossmont Hospital staff, making masks for Rady’s Children’s Hospital, making masks for shelters in Tijuana, gathering and donating food and fresh fruit to a food pantry, and making headbands for hospital staff to alleviate the discomfort of face masks and ears. [Mimi Pollack]
The Small Movement and Tikkun Olam Read More »
International, Lifestyles, Mimi Pollack, San Diego County, USA
The American Jewish community experienced the highest level of antisemitic incidents last year since tracking began in 1979, with more than 2,100 acts of assault, vandalism and harassment reported across the United States, according to new data from ADL (the Anti-Defamation League). The record number of incidents came as the San Diego Jewish community grappled with a violent, antisemitic shooting in Poway, along with horrific antisemitic attacks in Jersey City, Monsey, and a spree of vicious assaults in Brooklyn. [Anti-Defamation League press release]
Antisemitic acts at highest recorded level in U.S. Read More »
Jewish History, San Diego County, USA
Practically every day that it rains, sewage from Tijuana overflows into the United States and out to the Pacific Ocean in the vicinity of Imperial Beach. This dangerous situation now will be addressed by a $300 million appropriation to the Environmental Protection Agency, it was announced Tuesday by California’s two U.S. Senators, Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris, as well as by San Diego County’s four-member congressional delegation of Susan Davis, Mike Levin, Scott Peters and Juan Vargas. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]
Fixing the border sewage problem Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, International, San Diego County, The World We Share, USA