By Donald H. Harrison
(Photo: Wikipedia)
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL– President Donald Trump, echoing comments by Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsay Graham of South Carolina, said that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein engaged in “illegal and treasonous activity” when, according to former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, he questioned whether there would be enough Cabinet officers willing to remove President Trump from office by the procedures laid out in the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and also, according to McCabe, when he volunteered to wear a wire into a meeting at the White House with Trump, a suggestion which he did not actuate. McCabe told Scott Pelley of CBS’ 60 Minutes that both discussions occurred in the immediate aftermath of Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey … The face of U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson and “what appeared to be the crosshairs of a gun sight near her head” was posted on the website of former Trump advisor Roger Stone and then removed, according to The Washington Post. Stone later said the posting was done by a volunteer. “The photo has been misinterpreted and in no way did I mean to threaten the judge or disrespect the court. (It) is a random photo selected from the internet and was posted at my direction. Because it was open to misinterpretation, I have ordered it taken down… What some say are crosshairs are in fact the logo of the organization that originally posted it – something called Corruption Central.” … British MP Luciana Berger resigned from Britain’s Labour Party, complaining about anti-Semitism in the party under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn. “I am leaving behind a culture of bullying, bigotry and intimidation,” The Associated Press reported her as telling a conference in which six other MPs also resigned.
U.S. PRESIDENTIAL POLITICS – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont made it official on Tuesday. He formally announced his candidacy to run again for President of the United States. Sanders began a lengthy statement that was mass e-mailed as follows, “Our campaign is not only about defeating Donald Trump, the most dangerous president in modern American history. It is not only about winning the Democratic nomination and the general election. Our campaign is about transforming our country and creating a government based on the principles of economic, social, racial and environmental justice.” .. a New York Times story reports that former President Barack Obama has made himself available to a variety of Democratic candidates seeking his advice on how to defeat President Donald Trump, as well as some who are undecided about making the race such as former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Obama’s former chief strategist David Axelrod said he doubted that the former President would make any endorsements in the Democratic primary. … In a New Hampshire forum, U.S. Senator Kamala Harris of California differentiated her bid from that of Bernie Sanders. She said she was “not a Democratic socialist,” according to a story compiled from news wires by The San Diego Union-Tribune.
ISRAEL MATTERS – The Washington Post reported the collapse of the planned meeting in Jerusalem of the prime ministers of Israel, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary came about after Israel’s interim Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz, on his first day in office, quoted former Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir as saying that Poles “suckle anti-Semitism from their mother’s breast.” Earlier Poland had downgraded its participation after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Jews were murdered during the Holocaust both by Nazis and Poles. … Mayor Moshe Lion of Jerusalem told delegates from the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations that while 1.5 million square meters of business space is currently under construction, the Israeli capital city looks forward to more construction in the form of embassies from foreign countries that will recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, “never, ever (to) be divided again.” … The U.S. State Department announced that Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Elan Carr will travel to Jerusalem February 20-21. Carr will meet with Israeli government officials and members of civil society. He will also deliver remarks to the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in Jerusalem.
SAN DIEGO COUNTY – Bob & Denne Beck are the subjects of a feature by Karla Peterson in the San Diego Union-Tribune dealing with how he copes with her Alzheimer’s, which has resulted in her living in the dementia and Alzheimer’s care section of Seacrest Village Retirement Community in Encinitas, while he lives nearby in the independent living area. “I have been in one support group for a couple of years, and I have met the most incredible, selfless people; they’re amazing” Bob told the U-T. “There’s an old Jewish proverb that says, ‘A sorrow shared is a sorrow divided. A joy shared is a joy multiplied.’ You gather strength from other people. You share the things that work and the things that didn’t work. And you think, ‘If they can do it, I can do it.’” The Becks have been married for over 60 years.
SPORTS – Infielder Ian Kinsler of the San Diego Padres is high on the possibility that either outfielder Bryce Harper or infielder Manny Machado may become his teammate. He told Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune, “I mean it’s exciting … Hopefully that happens,. If it doesn’t, I don’t think anybody is going to blink an eye. We’ll all continue to work hard and prepare for the season. There’s a lot of excitement here. … You can feel it in this camp, and obviously that will add to the excitement.”
SIMCHAS — Israeli classical violinist Gil Shaham is 48 today.
OBITUARIES/ MEMORIALS – The American Jewish Historical Society will celebrate American Jewish women when it hosts March 5 a New York City book launch for Pamela Nadell’s America’s Jewish Women: A History From Colonial Times to Today. Among those mentioned in the book are the colonial era’s Grace Nathan, her great-granddaughter Emma Lazarus, labor activist Bessie Hillman, and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. … Composer Saul Chaplin who won Oscars for the orchestration of An American in Paris, Seven Bries for Seven Brothers, and West Side Story, was born 107 years ago today. Soviet chess grandmaster David Ionovich Bronstein, who fought World Chess Champion Mikhail Botvinnick to a draw in the 1951 championship match, and thus was unable to capture the title, was born 95 years ago today.
*
Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com