Following updates and corrects previous version
By Donald H. Harrison
SAN DIEGO—It was no surprise that Sheriff Bill Gore endorsed his former boss, District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis. After
serving as the FBI special agent in charge in San Diego and before joining the sheriff’s department as Number 2 to Sheriff Bill Kolender, Gore served as chief of the D.A’s Bureau of Investigation. He was appointed Acting Sheriff after Kolender stepped down, and later was elected Sheriff his own right.
serving as the FBI special agent in charge in San Diego and before joining the sheriff’s department as Number 2 to Sheriff Bill Kolender, Gore served as chief of the D.A’s Bureau of Investigation. He was appointed Acting Sheriff after Kolender stepped down, and later was elected Sheriff his own right.
Kolender and Dumanis, fellow Jewish Republicans, were so closely allied that some folks referred to them collectively as “Dumander,” and Gore never would have been appointed to the second-spot sheriff’s position by Kolender if Dumanis hadn’t also been in favor of the idea. So in this case, what went around has now come back around.
Meanwhile, Marti Emerald, a Jewish Democrat, has filed for reelection in the 7thSan Diego City Council District. With
Congressman Bob Filner, a Jewish Democrat, having announced he’ll run for mayor (though he still could change his mind), State Senator Christine Kehoe appears to be dropping the idea of a mayoral bid in favor of seeking a third term in the state
Senate. Given that Kehoe will be termed out of office whether she decides to run for mayor or not, Assemblyman Marty Block, another Jewish Democrat, is expected to run for her State Senate seat. Ordinarily, one might assume that Emerald would seek to go from the City Council to the state Legislature. Thus her decision to take out papers for reelection–rather than for the Assembly–is a surprise.
Congressman Bob Filner, a Jewish Democrat, having announced he’ll run for mayor (though he still could change his mind), State Senator Christine Kehoe appears to be dropping the idea of a mayoral bid in favor of seeking a third term in the state
Senate. Given that Kehoe will be termed out of office whether she decides to run for mayor or not, Assemblyman Marty Block, another Jewish Democrat, is expected to run for her State Senate seat. Ordinarily, one might assume that Emerald would seek to go from the City Council to the state Legislature. Thus her decision to take out papers for reelection–rather than for the Assembly–is a surprise.
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I read an interesting set of articles in The Dramatist, a magazine that particularly appeals to playwrights. It was given to me by San Diegan Laura Simon, 105, whose son, Mayo Simon, is a former Hollywood television script writer who has transferred his talents to the New York City legitimate stage. Although the Sep/ Oct 2010 edition was an old one, the issue it took up was timeless “The ethics of ethnic,” or more specifically, can a playwright properly dramatize characters outside his or her own ethnicity?
The article by Kia Corthron began with the observation that Shakespeare probably never worried about political correctness when he created the Jewish character Shylock or the African character Othello. There followed short statements from playwrights of various ethnicities. Daniel Goldfarb suggested that if playwrights focus on their own ethnicities, they may bring to the stage texture and richness that others may miss. He suggested that when playwrights develop characters outside their ethnicities, they should take pains to assure that their work doesn’t “feel earnest, inauthentic, insensitive, oversensitive,
broad, false, wooden or ignorant.”
broad, false, wooden or ignorant.”
Karen Hartman said in creating the play Goliath, “I made the most fervently Zionist soldier an Ethiopian Jewish immigrant.” Noting that she is a “white Jewish writer,” she commented that she wanted “to avoid a cast dynamic where the one Palestinian character would also be the only actor of color.”
Sunil Kuruvilla, a Canadian, commented he felt he could write more deeply about places unfamiliar to him, like Wales, than about Canada, because “I was less in the way.” Najla Said, playwright daughter of the late professor Edward Said, told of times she has watched plays dealing with the Israel-Palestinian conflict and “grumbled about how the author has ‘no idea’ what he or she is talking about because of the subtle inconsistencies and implausibility f the plot. But I have also sat in the audiences of such plays and been amazed to discover they weren’t written by an Arab.”
And the playwright Stew says it makes no difference if playwrights occasionally get it wrong. “Because what is just as enlightening as how a group views itself is how said group is viewed by so-called ‘outsiders.’”
There many other playwrights quoted in this thought-provoking article. Here is a magazine worthy of your attention.
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The article from The Dramatist was in mind when I read a wonderful letter from Becky (Barth) Garfinkle, Maj., MC, US Army, in Tidings, the monthly newsletter of Congregation Beth Israel of San Diego. Now stationed in Baghdad, Iraq, where she
works as a primary care doctor and neurology consultant at a combat support hospital, she thanked the congregants
for “the wonderful package” she received there. Observing Passover alone, “I read through a Sidur, ate some canned Matzah Ball soup, had matzah and made myself Haroset,” she wrote.
works as a primary care doctor and neurology consultant at a combat support hospital, she thanked the congregants
for “the wonderful package” she received there. Observing Passover alone, “I read through a Sidur, ate some canned Matzah Ball soup, had matzah and made myself Haroset,” she wrote.
I couldn’t help but think what a wonderful play she could write or inspire about her experiences.
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Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted at donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com
Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted at donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com