Donald H. Harrison

[caption id="attachment_119310" align="alignright" width="100"] Donald H. Harrison[/caption]

Donald H. Harrison is the publisher and editor of San Diego Jewish World. 

Harrison began his journalism career in 1962 on the UCLA Daily Bruin.  Following graduation he joined the staff of the Associated Press, and later became politics writer for The San Diego Union.  Afterwards he pursued a career in tourism, helping to establish San Diego’s Cruise Ship Program as well as Old Town Trolley Tours of San Diego.  He also wrote for such Jewish publications as the San Diego Jewish Press Heritage and San Diego Jewish Times before starting San Diego Jewish World in 2007.

Don’s  latest work is the three-volume Schlepping and Schmoozing Along the Interstate 5.  

He is the author of six previous books.  Those with links may be obtained on Amazon.

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Jewish community urges combat against racism, bigotry

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]

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Donald H. Harrison, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, USA

A tale of adventure, romance, and Russian anti-Semitism

Now in paperback, A Bend in the Stars takes its name from the idea posited by Albert Einstein that light during a solar eclipse will bend around the darkened celestial object.  One of the main characters in this novel is Vanya Abramov, a mathematician who believes his calculations together with photographs not only could prove Einstein’s theory but improve upon it. However, more than a few obstacles face Vanya’s potential bid for international recognition and perhaps even a Nobel Prize. [Book review by Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison

George Floyd honored, dishonored by protests, riots

Here in San Diego County, peaceful demonstrators honored the memory of George Floyd, the African-American victim of a white Minneapolis policeman who continuously and fatally pushed his knee into Floyd’s neck, hampering the prone man’s ability to breathe. The demonstrators’ cries for racial justice were heart-felt, appropriate, and in need of urgent redress. Also, here in San Diego County, particularly in La Mesa, rioters of diverse racial backgrounds dishonored George Floyd, using his unwarranted death as an excuse for arson and looting. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, USA

California battle resumes over ethnic studies

StandWithUs, the international organization that battles anti-Semitism on college, high school, and middle school campuses, is engaged in a drive to prevent wording of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) anti-Israel movement from being restored to a proposed,  ethnic studies model curriculum (ESMC)  for schools throughout California. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Sam Litvin, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Susan Davis urges steps to curb sexual assaults in military

Reps. Susan Davis (D-San Diego) and Mike Turner (R-Ohio) are co-sponsoring legislation to shine more light on the extent of sexual assault in the military.  Among other provisions, the proposed legislation would require Judge Advocates General of each Armed Service to assess how well current laws and regulations dealing with the subject are working and make recommendations for further improvement. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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

Beth Jacob to begin highly regulated prayer sessions

Beth Jacob Congregation will hold outdoor weekday prayer services by reservation only beginning on Sunday morning, its rabbis and lay leaders announced.  No decision has yet been reached on resuming Shabbat services, which normally attract far larger crowds than weekday services. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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

Webcasts reinforce tikkun olam

I zoomed in on two local webcasts today and although they dealt with different topics, they both made me feel good about belonging to a strong, caring Jewish community.  I was particularly impressed that the presenters had compassion not only for their own immediate circles of family and friends, but also for society at large, and particularly for people who struggle to make ends meet.  {Our Shtetl San Diego County by Donald H. Harrison]

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

Book review: Life of a Sar-El volunteer

Mark Werner is a retired corporate attorney from North Carolina, who at least once a year for the past 18 years has traveled to Israel at his own expense to sweat and grunt for three weeks as a manual laborer at various installations maintained by the Israel Defense Force.  The jobs varied from assignment to assignment, but they all involved hard work, typically in the hot sun of Israel and inside even hotter warehouses. [Book review by Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Middle East, USA

Zooming through Jerusalem’s religious sites

Traditionally, the Memorial Day weekend is one of the busiest of the year for travelers, but not so in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic.  However, technology, in the form of a Zoom meeting, whisked me on Sunday, May 24, from my home in San Diego and on to a tri-religious journey to Jerusalem, under the auspices of the America Israel Friendship League (AIFL). [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Sports & Competitions, Travel and Food, USA

San Diegan Carla Berg performs in concert Sunday

In 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]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

StandWithUs celebrates 19th anniversary of its founding

StandWithUs celebrated the 19th anniversary of its founding on Thursday with an international webcast that showcased its growth and successes helping students on college campuses, high schools and middle schools learn about Israel and defend against anti-Semitic attacks. The program was emceed by comedian Elon Gold and also featured the singing of “Hatikvah,” Israel’s National Anthem, by Rabbi/ Cantor Alison Wissot of Temple Judea of Tarzana, California, and a popular, optimistic Hebrew song by Israeli singer David Broza on the theme of “things will get better.” [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

30 leaders gather for an interfaith Iftar

“Iftar” is the break-the-fast meal at sunset each night during the Muslim month of Ramadan.  Ordinarily, participants–often including welcomed non-Muslims–will eat a prodigious meal together and share family stories and high points.  On Thursday, two organizations teamed up to host a different kind of Iftar that brought together celebrants from around the world and from several different religions. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, The World We Share, USA

Novel tells of a woman surviving as a man in POW camp

The young wife dressed in men’s clothing, with her breasts tightly corseted. She shaved her head and pretended that shell shock had rendered her incapable of speech. Izabella and Bill, a British prisoner-of-war who had escaped from a lightly guarded Nazi-run work camp in Czechoslovakia, figured it was likely he would be recaptured, but if so, she was determined to be captured with him. And so they were, and so began the more intriguing part of the story. [Book review by Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison