By Donald H. Harrison OCEANSIDE, California – Surf historian Jane Schmauss vividly recalls the day she waited expectantly as the telephone rang at the home of Kathy Kohner Zuckerman, a legendary figure in the development of surfing as a popular sport. “Hello?” responded the voice on the other end. “Hello,” said Schmauss. “Is this
San Diego County’s Historic Places: California Surf Museum Read More »
Donald H. Harrison
By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO—There are many automotive museums around the world, interpreting their missions in a variety of fashions. Some collect, wanting to obtain representative automobiles of every make, nationality, or year. Others love to show the marriages of art and technology, form and function, and marketing and self-perceptions all shaping people’s
San Diego’s Historic Places: San Diego Automotive Museum Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, USABy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–Here we go again. Maybe. The stage is set for the beginning of indirect talks between Israel and the abbreviated Palestine National Authority (West Bank without Gaza). The Arab League has provided its endorsement. Palestinian leaders carried that decision on the basis of “assurances” received from the Americans. They are warning
Mideast proximity peace talks to start up again Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East, USA
By Bruce S. Ticker PHILADELPHIA–New York City lost a talented, generous citizen when Ronan Tynan moved to Boston where he can patronize their businesses and pay their taxes instead. Adding the ultimate insult to injury, the Irish tenor donned a Red Sox jersey when he sang at a St. Patrick’s Day breakfast in his new
Jewish overreactions to accidental or intended slurs detract from more important issues Read More »
Middle EastBy Joellyn Zollman Jews of the Pacific Coast: Reinventing Community on America’s Edge. Ellen Eisenberg, Ava F. Kahn, and William Toll. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2009, 309pp. SAN DIEGO–The New York Jewish experience has long served as the template for understanding American Jewish history. In Jews of the Pacific Coast, historians Ellen Eisenberg, Ava
Another paradigm for historians: Jewish life on the West Coast Read More »
Jewish HistoryBy Carol Davis SAN DIEGO–I don’t know when the words ” Oy Vey” made it into mainstream vernacular. It really doesn’t matter. It is often said in so many matter of fact situations that unless you just landed from another planet you would know in essence, if not in fact what it means. I was weaned
Another ‘oy vey’ situation Read More »
Carol Davis, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
By Cynthia Citron HOLLYWOOD, California — If comedy consists of hilarious dialogue delivered with earnest sincerity and exquisite timing, then Scott Caan’s new play Two Wrongs is the pluperfect example of the genre. A beautiful blonde nut job and a darkly handsome neurotic “meet cute” in the waiting room of their psychotherapist’s office. With their therapist’s “inappropriate and unethical” complicity, they get together, explore their
Two Wrongs make a right smart play Read More »
Travel and Food
By Ulla Hadar TIMRAT, Israel–Several weeks ago I attended a lecture performed by a man that had gone through several difficulties in his life but nevertheless had decided to participate in an Ironman competition, which involves a 180 kilometer bike ride, 42 kilometer run and 3.8 kilometer swim. He was sharing his experiences with
From the mountain to the valley: 200 km of heart-pumping effort Read More »
Middle East
By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO—Probably no event has seared into the consciousness of the Japanese-American community more painfully than their forced relocation from their homes on the West Coast of the United States to internment camps in the interior of the country during World War II. This is the central portion of
By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–You want to look at a conundrum? (a problem without a solution) Immigration reform is a good example. A NYT article describes efforts at producing some kind of amnesty along with “tougher enforcement.” http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/01/us/politics/01immig.html?hp Can any country control its borders, and also preserve its morality? Tougher enforcement will mean random deportations while
Illegal immigration is a global problem Read More »
Middle East, USAWASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release)– President Barack Obama on Friday declared May 2010 as Jewish American History Month. His proclamation read: “In 1883, the Jewish American poet Emma Lazarus composed a sonnet, entitled ‘The New Colossus,’ to help raise funds for erecting the Statue of Liberty. Twenty years later, a plaque was affixed to the completed
Obama proclaims May 2010 as Jewish-American Heritage Month Read More »
USABy Rabbi Ben Kamin SAN DIEGO — Regardless of the eventual political outcome, and assuming that an Iranian nuclear missile doesn’t vaporize the Holy City and the millions of Jews, Muslims, and Christians who inhabit it and the greater biblical land—we Jews will mention the city several times in our weekly Sabbath prayers that begin
Jerusalem clearly belongs to the Jewish people Read More »
Middle EastNEW YORK (Press Release) — World Jewish Congress on Friday called for the United Nations delegates to demonstrate their outrage against the presence of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at next week’s UN Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference, and urged its member communities to communicate this to their governments. More than ironic, the participation of the Iranian dictator who
Jewish organizations call for walkout on Ahmadinejad's U.N. nuclear speech Read More »
Middle East, USA
By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO–The Casa de Estudillo in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park is a re-creation of a hacienda owned by Jose Antonio Estudillo, one of the most influential men to live in San Diego under Spanish, Mexican and American rule. Jose Antonio was the son of Captain Jose Maria Estudillo,
San Diego’s Historic Places: Casa de Estudillo Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, USA