Below are the names of writers who are currently active. For others, living and deceased, please type their name into the search box above the masthead on our home page, www.sdjewishworld.com
By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO–Recently I received an interesting email from two sisters in Ontario, Canada, who wanted to know if there was a Jewish museum in San Diego or anything else Jewish that they could see on a planned 2 1/2 day visit to our city. What I told them in the body […]
Some Jewish touring ideas for San Diego visitors Read More »
Donald H. HarrisonBy Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — The pressure on politicians to rush to judgments about their fellow politicians must be overwhelming. On Monday, Democratic Congressman Scott Peters, who has been constantly badgered by the Republican National Committee to join in the howls for Mayor Bob Filner’s resignation, succumbed. So too did Democratic Congresswoman Susan
Lurid descriptions prompt more politicians to rush to judgment Read More »
Donald H. Harrison
By Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO –Fifty years after its publication, Hannah Arendt’s Eichmann in Jerusalem continues to polarize public discourse. Margarethe von Trotta’s thought provoking but flawed film rekindles the fiery debates over Arendt’s characterization of Eichmann as a dutiful bureaucrat and her charge that the Jewish Councils abetted the Holocaust by complying with German
The Wandering Review: ‘Hannah Arendt’ Read More »
Lawrence BaronBy Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO– The Union-Tribune reported on Saturday morning that according to its poll 59 percent of the people of San Diego want Mayor Bob Filner to resign. And, if he doesn’t resign, according to the same poll, nearly two-thirds of those who want him to resign–74 percent–want him to be recalled.
Courts, not politicians, should decide if Filner did wrong Read More »
Donald H. Harrison
By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — Philosopher George Santayana is perhaps best known for saying, “He who forgets the past, is condemned to repeat it.” This attitude finds profound expression in much of the rabbinic literature regarding the period of time that is better known as, “The Three Weeks,” which culminates
Akiba stayed optimistic even after Temple destroyed Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-RabbiBy Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — Evidently Assembly Majority Leader Toni Atkins, Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, San Diego City Council President Todd Gloria and Vince Hall, who resigned Friday as Mayor Bob Filner’s chief of staff, are privy to information they don’t feel the public is entitled to know. All four of these powerful Democrats
Political lynch mob circles Mayor Filner Read More »
Donald H. HarrisonBy Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO–If it were likened to a tennis match, Donna Frye and her two lawyer friends came up with a very weak serve in their effort to force Bob Filner to resign as mayor. Filner decisively volleyed the political ball right back to them, leaving them to scramble for a way
Arrogance of Filner’s accusers enables mayor to bounce back Read More »
Donald H. HarrisonBy Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — The accusations against Mayor Bob Filner are coming fast and furious, and I feel heartsick that the Jewish mayor’s administration seems to be imploding. He’s been accused of improperly soliciting payment from land developers to the city treasury for his favorite projects, an accusation that has evidently aroused
Say it isn’t so, Mayor Bob Read More »
Donald H. Harrison
By Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — Egyptian Army Commander and Defense Minister Abdul Fattah al-Sisi was faced in Cairo with what experts say was the largest human gathering in history — somewhere between 17 and 30 million people — demanding a chance to redo the 2011 revolution. A “mulligan,” so to speak. The military responded
Getting a ‘do-over’ in Egypt Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana BryenBy Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — When the nine days of the Jewish month of Ab arrives, our joy diminishes accordingly.[1] Unlike other times of the year, this period in particular beckons us to give thought to the reasons why the Second Jewish Commonwealth of the 1st century ended in disaster for the
Tisha B’Av and the attack on a Haredi soldier Read More »
Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Middle East
By Eileen Wingard LONG BEACH, California — The Long Beach Opera Company’s staging of Ernest Bloch’s Macbeth was an unusual production, taking place in San Pedro’s World Cruise Center. With bleacher seating on two sides of a center aisle, there were no set changes, costumes were minimal, and the three acts were telescoped into 105
Opera company cruises through Bloch’s ‘MacBeth’ Read More »
Eileen WingardBy Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — The list of famous people President Obama has invited to the White House is something most of us would find surprising, amusing, and even outrageous. He has on occasions invited Gangsta Rappers like the rap artist named Common, whose poetical lyrics extols the virtues of cannibalism,
Obama’s Middle Eastern guest list raises questions Read More »
Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, USA
By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO– From my vantage point on the other side of the United States, the fact that two Jewish politicians who resigned their offices in separate sex scandals are now seeking to return to elective offices in New York indicates that America continues to change its sexual attitudes. Someday, we may
Weiner and Spitzer: Beneficiaries of changing sexual mores? Read More »
Donald H. HarrisonJuly 7, 2013 Mayor Bob Filner San Diego City Hall 202 C Street San Diego, CA 92101 Dear Mayor Filner, As you know, over the years the publications with which I have been associated (San Diego Jewish Press-Heritage, San Diego Jewish World) have endorsed you every time you’ve run, impressed by your commitment since your
An open letter to Mayor Bob Filner Read More »
Donald H. Harrison