Travel and Food

The Case of the Seasick Coast Guardsman

…The agony lasted for eight hours, until the day I thought would never end finally did. I had not baited a hook nor cast a line. I just endured the worst day in my life. I was so traumatized by the experience that six years later the Commanding Officer of the Coast Guard Officer Candidate School I attended wrote in my service jacket that I was not to go to sea. Seasickness was one of the motivating factors that propelled me toward flight school. [Ira Spector]

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Lifestyles, Travel and Food, USA

Kindness to a boy saying Kaddish for his father

Wolpe, in one of his stories, tells of a bereft eleven-year-old boy, living in Boston and walking to shul every day to say Kaddish for his recently deceased father. A few weeks passed when the synagogue’s sexton showed up at his door saying that he lived nearby and they should walk to shul together. Only years later, as a man with a child of his own, did he discover that the sexton lived far away, walking many miles to the boy’s home just to support him, calling this true chesed, an act of kindness without the expectation of anything in return—this is the Federation. [Fred Reiss, Ed.D]

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Travel and Food

Can Pompeo replace annexation with a glass of Psagot wine?

Could US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo already be stumping for votes for his own presidential run in 2024 by weighing a visit to the West Bank Psagot Winery?PLO Executive Committee member Hanan Ashrawi certainly seemed to make that assumption, when she attacked him for contemplating such a trip during his visit here later this

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Middle East, Travel and Food, USA

Jason Greenblatt, Trump’s ex-envoy who helped broker UAE-Israel deal, celebrates daughter’s engagement in Dubai

The former White House Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt celebrated his daughter’s engagement in Dubai just weeks after the normalisation of relations between Israel and the UAE.Greenblatt’s daughter, Anna Greenblatt, said yes to a surprise proposal from her boyfriend in Dubai where she was travelling with her father.Greenblatt, who played a key role in drafting

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Middle East, Travel and Food, USA

Memoir: A Social Worker’s Life in Switzerland

There are two possible ways of behaving when coming into a new environment if one stands out for some reason—like being the only woman, the only foreigner, or someone with different skills. One can try to blend in and fit oneself into the prevailing culture, which may be difficult or not even possible. The other way is to accept the differences instead of hiding them, flaunt them by being even more of an outlier. [Natasha Josefowitz, ACSW, Ph.D]

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International, Lifestyles, Natasha Josefowitz, Travel and Food

A Visit to the Hula Lake Area

The second Coronavirus lockdown has just ended, and the third one can already be seen in the offing. So anyone with a yen for a change of atmosphere and landscape had better utilize the opportunity to take to the open road, and get out of the house. So hubby and I decided to make for the north of Israel, to the Hula wetlands or lake area, since at this time of the year it serves as a stop-over and resting place for many migratory birds making their way from Europe to Africa for the winter. Israel’s location, between the Mediterranean Sea to the west and the arid Arabian desert to the east, has made it the preferred flight path for millions of birds migrating from their summer sojourn in Europe to Africa’s warm winter. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle East, The World We Share, Travel and Food

First direct tourist flight from Israel to UAE touches down in Dubai

The first flight carrying Israeli tourists to the United Arab Emirates landed on Sunday in the city-state of Dubai, the latest sign of the normalisation deal reached between the two nations.FlyDubai flight No. FZ8194 landed at Dubai International Airport just after 5:40pm, bringing the tourists to the skyscraper-studded city after a nearly three-hour trip.The low-cost

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Middle East, Travel and Food

Adventures in Papua New Guinea

Goroka is in the Highlands. I spent a whole day attending the annual Sing-Sing. It’s a competition where tribes from all over the hills parade, sing, and dance on a vast grass field. In the past, the prizes were pigs, the most valued commodity on the island. In recent years, money was the reward. There was a viewing grand stand, but the tourists were let out onto the field right from the beginning to photograph, pose and dance with the tribal people. There were at least 15 different groups, all dressed in elaborate, and sometimes strange, regalia. They were festooned with bird feathers, native shell jewelry, and necklaces made from animal jaws and beetles. The revelers faces were painted with brilliant primary colors, white mud, or black paint. [Ira Spector]

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International, Lifestyles, Travel and Food

The morning after the election

Although members of the local San Diego County Jewish community lost more races than they won, the San Diego Jewish  community can take pride in Jews serving at nearly every level of government. Sara Jacobs, for example, will replace the retiring Susan Davis, a fellow Democrat, on San Diego County’s congressional delegation. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, International, San Diego County, Travel and Food, USA

Rummage sale builds senior center’s kitty

In this city that boasts three synagogues (Adat Shalom, Ner Tamid and Chabad of Poway),  the senior center serves a diverse clientele representing many religions.  Currently prevented by the coronavirus from offering such usual activities as art classes, yoga, nutrition classes, lunches, tax preparation, and billiards, the Poway Senior Center has embarked on a new project. Through a continuing rummage sale, staffed by seven women who will pick up useable items from people’s homes, the Center is “building up a kitty,” for when it resumes operations, according to Abby Boretto, a board member. [Sandi Masori]

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Travel and Food

Diverse lectures on tap at Tapestry

This year’s Tapestry, sponsored by the San Diego Center for Jewish Culture’s  JLearn, promises to be more diverse, exciting and interesting than ever before. Experts have been tapped from all over the world to contribute to this extraordinary Jewish Learning event.

The first session, the keynote address on Saturday evening, November 7,  at 7:30 p.m.,  will feature David Meltzer, named one of Forbes’ 10 best Motivational Speakers. Meltzer will discuss how to “Stabilize Your Mindset and Stay Grounded. Focus on Your Core Values Through a Jewish Lens. “ [Eileen Wingard]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Eileen Wingard, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Travel and Food, USA

Minyan of Jewish candidates on S.D. County ballots

We do not know the names of every member of our Jewish community who is running for a public office in San Diego County. While we are aware of those running for major offices at the federal, state, county, and San Diego city, community college and school board levels, we are unfamiliar with those who might be running in outlying cities or for the other school boards and special districts throughout our region.
So, what follows is not a comprehensive list, nor is it an indication of San Diego Jewish World’s endorsements. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Middle East, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Travel and Food, USA