By Donald H. Harrison
NATIONAL/ INTERNATIONAL – Ruth Bader Ginsburg has recently beaten back cancer, but at age 85, she’s the oldest Justice on the Supreme Court. Bloomberg columnist Ramesh Ponnuru reports that just in case she leaves the court, President Trump has a short list of seven candidates from which to pick her replacement. Among the contenders is Appeals Court Judge Amy Coney Barrett, who once had been questioned sharply by Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein of California whether her strong Catholic beliefs would predispose her to rule against abortion. Barrett replied it is never appropriate for a judge to impose his or her personal convictions on the law … The new chairman of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, U.S. Rep. Mark Takano or Riverside, California, has announced an investigation into the activities of Isaac Perlmutter of Marvel Comics fame, Dr. Bruce Moskowitz of Palm Beach, Florida, and Marc Sherman, a Washington D.C. lawyer over what Pro-Publica has asserted is improper influence over the Department of Veteran Affairs. Said to be personal friends of President Trump and members of the Mar-A-Lago Crowd, the three had recommended David Shulkin as Secretary of Veterans Affairs and later urged his dismissal. The three men said they were asked to volunteer advice to the VA and have derived no financial benefit from their input. … Linda Beigel Schulman’s son Scott Beigel was the hero teacher who let students at Parkland High School hide in his room but who, himself, was one of 17 persons killed in the mass shooting last year. In New York, she appeared with Governor Andrew Cuomo in urging stronger state laws to take guns from people deemed a danger to themselves or others. Th Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz was widely known to have mental troubles, according to an Associated Press story.
ISRAEL MATTERS – Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon brought 40 fellow U.N. Ambassadors on a trip to Israel, showing them the City of David, Hezbollah terror tunnels, a 2,000-year-old coin with Hebrew lettering, and just how small the nation of Israel actually is, according to Israel’s Good Newsletter, edited by Michael Ordman. … The Associated Press noted that ten years ago Tzipi Livni’s Kadima party outpolled Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud, but was unable to form a coalition government. Netanyahu, who had served some years previously as Prime Minister, was returned to that position.
SAN DIEGO — David Bramzon, chairman-elect of the Jewish Federation of San Diego County, recently attended a National Young Leadership Cabinet mission to Alabama along with Debbie & Jack Maizel, Simone Abelsohn, and Kira Finkenberg. In a Federation newsletter, Bramzon wrote that the late Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., during the Civil Rights struggle, eschewed violence and instead “invoked the themes of love and justice… He challenged America to live up to its lofty ideals… Today our political rhetoric is divisive… We should learn from King. We should not antagonize our neighbors. We should not vilify those with differing opinions. We all want the same things: a vibrant Jewish community, a prosperous America, and a safe Israel. We may disagree about how to get there. And that’s OK.”
CALIFORNIA – Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel of Encino and State Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson of Santa Barbara are among those legislators pushing for stronger gun laws in the state, emboldened by stronger Democratic majorities in the Legislature and the support of Gov. Gavin Newsom. Ben Christopher of Cal Matters, in an article published by Times of San Diego, says one bill (AB 165) will encourage police to confiscate guns from people decided by a court to be a threat to themselves or others.
ENTERTAINMENT NEWS –Henry Winkler is on the cover of this week’s Parade Magazine. Well remembered as “Fonzie” in the Happy Days television series, Winkler now writes children’s books dealing with overcoming disabilities (as he did with dyslexia) while continuing his acting career. Currently he stars in the HBO series Barry playing acting coach Gene Cousineau. …In a run-up to the Grammy Awards, the San Diego Union-Tribune looked back to some great moments in Grammy history. One was the gracious acceptance speech Paul Simon gave in 1976 when accepting the award for Album of the Year. “Most of all, I’d like to thank Stevie Wonder who didn’t make an album this year.” …Bertram Turetzky, former UC-San Diego music professor and ongoing contrabass player, will be joined by poet Jerome Rothenberg and others at Dizzy’s, 717 Morena Boulevard, at 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 15, for a performance and celebration of his 86th birthday.
SPORTS — Ian Kinsler, the Golden Glove infielder and All Star player acquired by the San Diego Padres last December, has played second base through much of his career, but Padres manager Andy Green has told the U-T’s Kevin Acee that he may also rotate Kinsler to third base from time to time.
SIMCHAS — Olympic swimmer Mark Spitz, who won seven gold medals in the 1972 Olympic games in Munich Germany, turned 69 today, according to the Associated Press.
OBITUARIES/ MEMORIALS — Playwright Arthur Miller died on this date in 2005. Among his accomplishments were the near immortal play Death of a Salesman and attracting his one-time wife, actress Marilyn Monroe, to convert to Judaism.
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Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com