Other items in today’s column include:
*Political bytes
*Scenes around San Diego County
*Coming our way
*Mazal tov! Mazal tov!
*In memoriam
SAN DIEGO – The Jewish Federation of San Diego County “at this time” does not plan to cancel any of its meetings or events in response to the coronavirus pandemic. “However,” assured Michael Jeser, its CEO and president, “should the situation warrant, we will inform participants immediately if another decision is made.”
The Federation executive added that his organization will be “closely monitoring” and implementing “any mandates from the CDC (Center for Disease Control) and will update the community as appropriate.”
In an email-blast, Jeser wrote, “Because this is a dynamic situation, and we do not know how long the emergency will last, it is impossible to provide a simple ‘yes or no’ answer to the question of whether an organization or individual should cancel their planned trip to Israel. However, as of today, Israel will require all arrivals to enter a minimum 14-day quarantine in its effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
As reported in a separate SDJW article by Cantor Sheldon Foster Merel, Seacrest Village Retirement Community’s CEO Pam Ferris has announced that as a precaution for the Jewish seniors who are residents there, visitors and meetings of outside groups are being discouraged, and that residents are being asked not to go for visits from one kind of care unit to another.
At Temple Beth Shalom in Chula Vista, congregants have been advised not to touch the mezuzahs on the front door, nor kiss Torahs as they are paraded through the congregation, nor their prayer books. Instead, suggested the congregation’s president, Arlene LaGary, as the Torahs are brought by in procession, congregants should simply bow their heads.
StandWithUs announced on Tuesday that it is postponing to an unspecified date its “community crash course” that had been scheduled for Sunday, March 15, at the Lawrence Family JCC “to counter anti-Israel misinformation and anti-Semitic activity on college campuses in the community.” A spokesperson said this was done as a precaution against the possible spread of the coronavirus.
On a personal note, coronavirus can have many impacts on families, even if no one has fallen ill. Not even discussing emptying shelves and the disappearance of free food samples at Costco, nor the reluctance of many people to attend big-audience events, here are some of the ways that my own family and circle of friends have been impacted.
My grandson, Shor Masori, 18, is a student at UC Berkeley. The school this week announced that it is cancelling in-person classes. All meetings, tests, and the like shall be done via the Internet. Now Shor is trying to decide whether he should remain in his dormitory at Berkeley or come home to San Diego.
It’s unlikely that Yoni Peres, an Israeli who is the godfather of both Shor and his brother Sky Masori will be able to attend Sky’s upcoming March 21 bar mitzvah. He had planned to come but now the Israeli government says anyone who travels to Israel from another country will have to be put in 14-day quarantine. We know how much Yoni wants to come, but let’s face it, 14 days of quarantine after he returns to Israel is a very, very high price to pay.
My wife Nancy Harrison‘s best girlhood friend, Wendy Breskin, reports that her 92-year-old mother, Janice Anchell of Mission Viejo, California, was among those passengers stuck on the Grand Princess which had been temporarily forbidden to dock in San Francisco. Wendy tells us that her mom is in good spirits and very impressed with the staff of Princess Cruises whom she said treated passengers very well and with utmost consideration during the coronavirus crisis at sea. She told Wendy that her heart goes out to the staff of the cruise ship, who are equally threatened by the virus yet are putting the passengers’ needs first. At 11 p.m. Pacific Time, Anchell’s cabin number still hadn’t been called for removal from the ship. According to her daughter, Anchell will be transferred on Wednesday to the Miramar Marine Corps Air Station here in San Diego County. Meanwhile, my wife, who is a travel agent specializing in cruises, is busy helping her clients to cancel or reschedule cruises to later dates.
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Political bytes
*Primary elections today in six states today pitted former Vice President Joe Biden against U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Based on exit polls and early counting, Cable News Network (CNN) projected that Biden would win in Michigan, Mississippi and Missouri. Results from Western races in Idaho, North Dakota and Washington came in later with Biden winning Idaho, trailing Sanders in North Dakota, and the two opponents running neck-to-neck in Washington. After results of the 3-M races came in, former presidential candidate Andrew Yang, serving as a CNN commentator, made an on-camera endorsement of Joe Biden for the presidency.
*In ballot counting in local San Diego County races of particular Jewish interest, San Diego City Councilwoman Barbara Bry continued to make gains on her City Council colleague Scott Sherman for second-place in the race for mayor, in which Assemblyman Todd Gloria is the clear leader. At the end of counting on Tuesday , Bry was 836 votes behind Sherman, a gain of 67 votes since Monday’s totals.
Otherwise, first and second finishers in the following races, were the same: 50th CD: Ammar Campa-Najjar and Darrell Issa; 53rd CD Sara Jacobs and Georgette Gomez; 78th Assembly District: Chris Ward and Sarah Davis; 3rd Supervisorial District: Kristin Gaspar and Terra Lawson-Remer; and the 5th San Diego City Council District: Marni von Wilpert and Joe Leventhal.
The San Diego County Registrar of Voters Michael Vu has announced that counting will be slower than before because most of the 90,000 ballots that were remaining after Monday’s counting are provisional ballots.
“For each provisional ballot, election workers must make sure the voter was eligible to vote — and eligible to vote for the races they marked on the ballot — and did not cast the ballot elsewhere,” according to the Registrar. “Election workers must process, review and inspect every provisional ballot. It’s a labor-intensive, time-consuming process.”
Vu commented, “We must do our due diligence to make sure our election results are accurate; we can’t rush this process. That means voting results will slow down appreciably from here on out until the election results are certified on April 2.”
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Scenes around San Diego County
Sandra Scheller photographed two very different moods of Rabbi Mendy Begun of Chabad of Chula Vista. He was very serious as he read the Megillah, which tells the story of Queen Esther’s and Mordecai’s triumph over the evil Haman, and quite joyful later as he demonstrated his dancing prowess at a Purim celebration.
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At Tifereth Israel Synagogue on Monday night, Bram Rubinstein caught this shot of Rabbi Joshua Dorsch (below the stage) congratulating the cast of the congregation’s annual Purimshpiel following an imaginative retelling of the Purim story using Disney characters and songs.
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Coming our way
*Patrice Gold and Kimberly Raoufpur co-chair “The Voice of a Mother” Gala of the Adopt a Family Foundation, which pairs San Diego County families with Israeli families that have been victimized by terrorism, at 6 p.m., Sunday, March 29, in Building 177 at Liberty Station. The kosher dinner will be highlighted by a musical performance by Shanee and a live auction. Ticket information and registration via this website.
*The Tifereth Israel Community Orchestra (TICO) will be joined by the Jenny Oaks Baker Family Trio and members of the Patrick Henry High School Orchestra, at 3 p.m., Sunday, March 29, in a program of Beethoven, Herold, and Reed, at Patrick Henry High School, 6702 Wandermere Drive, San Diego. The performance will be repeated at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 31, at Tifereth Israel Synagogue, 6660 Cowles Mountain Blvd., San Diego. Tickets and more information available via this website.
*Presidential Medal of Freedom and Pulitzer Prize winner Bob Dylan is 78 but he’s not slowing down. The folk song writer and performer will concertize June 17 at the Pechanga Arena in San Diego.
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Mazal tov! Mazal tov!
*Beth Jacob Congregation has announced that a son has been born to Alison & Matt Ferry. Siblings are Ari and Kayla Ferry and grandparents are Stephen & Manijeh Breskin.
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In Memoriam
Eleanor (Rechnitz) Shuster, 69, died Tuesday, March 10, Am Israel Mortuary reported. Funeral services will be officiated by Rabbi Sammy Seid of Ner Tamid Synagogue at 11 a.m., Thursday, March 12, at El Camino Memorial Park, 5600 Carroll Canyon Road, San Diego.
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Donald H. Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com