Other items in today’s column include:
*JNF-USA is underwriting projects in the north and south of Israel
*Kashrut news
*Local/national news
*Political bytes
*Coming our way
By Donald H. Harrison
The Bern Schwartz Family Foundation. ©National Portrait Gallery, London.
SAN DIEGO – The works of past and present Jewish photographers are on display at the Museum of Photographic Arts in Balboa Park.
There are seven works by Bern Schwartz in Talking With a Friend: Portraits by Bern Schwartz and a single work by Jacob Manowitz, a student at Meadowbrook Middle School.
In the last years of his life (1914-1978), Bern Schwartz excelled as a portrait photographer – his technique normally being to engage his subjects in informal conversation and to use a hidden shutter release when their expressions reflected the conversation – or lack of it.
His subjects in the MOPA exhibit are Lord Louis Mountbatten and Prince Charles, both of Britain; novelist Ralph Ellison, painter-photographer David Hockney and supermodel Twiggy Larson, sculptor Henry Moore; fashion designer Zandra Rhodes.
Manowitz’s single subject is titled “Polaris,” which was submitted to be part of MOPA’s juried “Dreamscapes Exhibit.” This exhibit was described on MOPA’s website as “an exploration of the subconscious and the ways in which we perceive dreams. The featured photographs highlight individual and collective hopes, fears, and future inspirations.”
Commenting on both exhibits, Joaquin Ortiz, MOPA’s director of innovation, said “Our mission at MOPA is reaching the broadest audience, so we’re thrilled when a person comes in and feels that a part of them is represented in the photograph’s subject or by the artist who made it. We want people to be introduced to new ideas through the photographs on display, and hope the images expand their understanding of our world and their identity.”
The portraits by Bern Schwartz will remain on display through Jan. 12. Dreamscapes will continue through March 1. The Museum of Photographic Arts asks for donations, but does not charge admission.
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JNF-USA is underwriting projects in the north and south of Israel
Most of the citizens of Israel live in its central core – essentially the triangle formed by Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Haifa. But there is a desire to populate the peripheral areas of the country in Israel’s far north and far south.
In a guest column for The Jerusalem Post, Rancho Santa Fe resident Sol Lizerbram, who is the national president of the Jewish National Fund, outlined some of the important projects JNF has undertaken to help fulfill that goal.
“We built, and are building, trauma resilience centers in the Gaza Envelope along with the world-famous Sderot Indoor Recreation Center — a fortified playground for young children to play in,” he wrote.
That, incidentally, is a project of special importance to San Diegans because the recreation center at Sderot is used by the children of Sha’ar Hanegev, the partnership region in Israel of the Jewish Federation of San Diego County.
Other projects in the south of Israel are in Be’er Sheva, Halutza, and the Eshkol Region. In the north, near the Lebanese border, Lizerbram said, “we are building medical facilities, housing sites and parks so that people will move to Israel’s north because of the high standard of living and access to world-class amenities.”
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Kashrut news
*Menchie’s frozen yogurt outlet in La Mesa is now under the kosher supervision of Rabbi Avram Bogopulsky of Beth Jacob Congregation.
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Local/ National News
*Rabbi Rafi Andrusier of Chabad of East County notes, “We head into Shabbat still mourning the loss of the beautiful souls that were gunned down in a kosher supermarket in Jersey City. Innocent people targeted simply for being Jewish.”
*Back from attending a Chanukah party at the White House, at which President Trump extended Title VI Civil Rights Act protection to Jewish students at federally funded schools and universities, Rabbi Yeruchem Eilfort will tell of his experiences at the kiddush following morning Shabbat services, Dec. 14, at Chabad of La Costa, 1980 La Costa Avenue, Carlsbad.
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Political bytes
*Congresswoman Susan Davis, a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, says the National Defense Authorization Act removes a prohibition against military parents taking consecutive maternity and paternity leaves. The bill also authorizes financial assistance to civilian child care providers whose clients are the children of personnel who die in the line of duty. Another provision “increases resources available to sexual assault survivors, including an increase in the number of investigative personnel and Victim Witness Assistance Program liaisons with the goal of ensuring that investigations of sex-related offenses are completed not later than six months after the date of initiation.”
* Georgette Gomez, responding to her unanimous reelection as President of the San Diego City Council, says she is grateful that two Republican members joined six of her fellow Democrats in voting for her. “It’s been my mission to create a more equitable, transparent, and productive City Council than ever before,” said Gomez, now running in the 53rd Congressional District. “And it’s a point of pride that we’ve been able to accomplish so much in a bipartisan fashion. That’s how we made progress to increase affordable housing and reduce homelessness, improve public transportation, and protect San Diego’s environment with green initiatives.”
*Chula Vista City Councilman Steve Padilla has been elected as chairman of the California Coastal Commission, which he says makes him the “first openly LGBT chair, and the first chair from San Diego County in decades.” Padilla previously had served as mayor of Chula Vista, and as a member of the San Diego Unified Port Commission.
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Coming our way
*Soille San Diego Hebrew Day School hosts a Chanukah Fair for students in kindergarten through 5th grade, who will visit stations created by 6th graders examining various aspects of the holiday, from 8:45 a.m. to 11 a.m., Friday, Dec. 20th. Meanwhile, 7th and 8th graders will bring their parents to Chanukah-themed lessons. Musical performances by children in Pre-K through 3rd grade are scheduled between 12:45 and 1:45 p.m.
*Beth Jacob Congregation holds a Chanukah dinner from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., Sunday, Dec 22, with salad, soup, roasted chicken, pasta, garlic bread, potato latkes with apple sauce, and sufganiyot on the menu. Adult member: $16, Child 4-11: $11; Non-member Adult $18; Non-member child $13. Reservations via this website.
*Rabbi Yehoshua Bloom will speak on “The Light of Chanukah,” at 7:45 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 25, at Young Israel of San Diego, 7291 Navajo Road, San Diego.
*The International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies will hold its 6-day conference August 9-14, 2020 at the San Diego Sheraton Hotel & Marina. Robinn Magid of Berkeley, California, is chairing the conference that will include over 300 events and is expected to draw more than 1,000 attendees. An exhibitor hall to be called “The Resource Village” is planned.
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Donald H. Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com