Michael Hopkins, the chief executive officer of Jewish Family Service of San Diego, has issued a call for volunteers who can deliver meals to seniors who are required to shelter-in-place because of the Coronavirus pandemic. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]
JFS issues call for food delivery drivers Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA, Videos
Here is a 2018 story that appeared in The Times of Israel speculating that Christopher Columbus might have been a hidden Jew, forced to conceal his true identity because the year that he set sail on the voyage in which he would discover America–1492–was the same year that Jews were given a brutal choice by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain: Either convert to Christianity or be expelled from the country. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]
CitiBank, which has branches throughout San Diego County, has been threatened with a law suit by Shurat HaDin, a Jewish lawfare organization, over ties with “the Bank of Palestine and affiliated institutions involved in “pay for slay’ payments. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison}
CitiBank accused of supporting Palestinian terror Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Middle East, San Diego County, USA, VideosDuring Passover, 2018, The San Diego REP premiered Beachtown, a fun, interactive town hall-style theatrical experience. Inspired by Pittsburgh’s Beertown, Playwright-in-Residence Herb Siguenza filled Beachtown with a cast of funny, relatable characters like the hip, surfing mayor, Steve Novak (Jason Heil) and an outspoken right-wing “journalist” Damon Haynes (TJ Johnson). Interactive by nature, I can’t think of a better show to transition to today’s Zoom format. Hungry for some live theatre, over 130 “Beachtonians” zoomed in to participate. [Eric George Tauber]
Zoom in to Beachtown Read More »
Eric George Tauber, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Videos
In the wake of the police killing of George Floyd and protest demonstrations across the country, rabbis and Jewish organizations are grappling with the issue of what Jews can do to combat racism and bigotry in the United States. While there is general consensus that there is a need for action, it remains an open question just what kind of action would be appropriate. Messages and news releases crossing my desk illustrate the contours of the debate so far. [Donald H. Harrison]
Jewish community urges combat against racism, bigotry Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, USA, Videos
With the latest predictions suggesting Israel’s tourism industry could lose up to $1.16 billion due to the COVID-19 crisis, Jewish National Fund-USA (JNF-USA) is helping Israeli tour guides through an innovative new “virtual travel” initiative. A group of San Diegans embarked on this novel experience and returned with wide eyes and open hearts. Led by JNF-USA First Lady and San Diego Board Member Lauren Lizerbram, the group “traveled” from north to south and saw unique and captivating Israeli sites. [Press Release from Jewish National Fund]
Now boarding: JNF’s virtual tours of Israel Read More »
Middle East, San Diego County, VideosIn the video above, Carla Sitton Berg and her daughter Liora Sitton Berg of San Diego perform a mother-daughter duet urging us “Don’t Dream It’s Over.” Carla, wife of Geoffrey Berg, a board officer of Soille San Diego Hebrew Day School, will be among artists presenting a free online concert Sunday at 3 p.m for which you can register via this website. The concert is co-sponsored by Music on the Inside (MOTI) and Balanced Guitar (BG) “through their shared belief in community and the powerful role of music, especially now.” [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]
San Diegan Carla Berg performs in concert Sunday Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA, VideosShavua 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, USA, Videos
So, imagine you are shopping, and into the store comes someone who is wearing a Ku Klux Klan hood, or a face mask with a swastika on it, as happened respectively at a Vons and a Food4Less outlet in Santee recently. What should you do? [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]
Some advice if you see a Nazi or a Klansman Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Travel and Food, Videos
In a webcast sponsored by the Anti-Defamation League on Thursday, panelists Deborah Lipstadt of Emory University and Jonathan Sarna of Brandeis University were asked if a cure for coronavirus were to be discovered by a Jew, would that reduce anti-Semitism? The two academicians, appearing alongside ADL’s president and CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, responded in the negative. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]
ADL panel weighs coronavirus and anti-Semitism Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA, VideosFormer Vice President Joe Biden, referencing the one-year anniversary of the murder of Lori Gilbert Kaye in a shooting attack on Chabad of Poway, on Tuesday announced a three-point program to protect religious communities. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]
Biden’s 3-point program to protect religious institutions Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, USA, Videos
With social distancing policies in effect during the coronavirus pandemic, Rabbi Scott Meltzer of Ohr Shalom Synagogue and Rabbi Ralph Dalin, the community chaplain who works under auspices of the Jewish Federation of San Diego County, jointly conducted an Internet observance of Yom HaShoah on Monday evening. The ceremony included such traditional prayers as the 23rd Psalm, and El Moleh Rachamim as well as a special Holocaust Kaddish during which the names of the Nazi death camps are interjected into the traditional Kaddish text. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]
San Diego’s Internet Yom HaShoah commemoration Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, USA, VideosBack to the Fatherland is a documentary that raises more questions than it provides answers, but in so doing it portrays the anguish that Israeli Jews and Gentiles from Germany and Austria still feel about the Holocaust. With occasional passages involving filmmakers Kat Rohrer and Gil Levanon themselves — one being Austrian, the other Israeli — the film for the most part focuses on ttwo young Israeli men who decided to make their homes in Austria and Germany, and the reaction and memories their decisions stir up within their grandparents, who were Holocaust survivors. [Movie review by Donald H. Harrison]
Movie probes Israelis who move to Germany, Austria Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Videos
Suzanne Choney posted a photo on Facebook today of her parents, Rosa Rubel and Icek Choinowski, who 75 years ago today were “among 60,000 human beings being liberated from the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany.” Choney added, “I know we all have so much to worry about now. But I think of my parents, known in America as Rose and Irving Choney, the bravery of the Allies and the good people everywhere, and the evil faced by millions. And I remember. Just as all of us will remember this time.” The photo, at left, of her parents was taken in London in 1947, two years after their liberation. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]
Remembering dear ones of now and then Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, USA, Videos