Other items in this column include:
*Coronavirus confirmations, schedule changes
*Political bytes
*Scenes around San Diego County
*Recommended reading
SAN DIEGO –Three Israeli youth who have been serving in San Diego County as shlichim (emissaries) for the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) left for Israel on Sunday — their one-year tours in the United States interrupted by the shutdown of many area Jewish institutions in reaction to the spreading coronavirus. Opportunities to interact with Jews on an organized level having been greatly reduced in San Diego County, the three 18-year-olds will return to Israel where, after a mandatory 14-day quarantine for all returnees to Israel, they will be able to do volunteer work and have Pesach seders with their families.
Ilana Kwartin, JAFI’s western regional director in the United States, said the three teenagers are among a group of 34 who have fanned out across the western states to meet with peers and seniors to tell Israel’s story. With many institutions closing down, it seemed to be a more practical solution to return them home, where they could volunteer in Israel and have Pesach with their families, than to keep them in the United States, she said. The 18-year-olds have been overnighting at the homes of local residents. With more and more local families opting to self-quarantine, JAFI felt having students continue to stay with those families would be too great an imposition on the hosts, Kwartin said.
The shlichim and their respective postings are Michal Kalimi, Kavod School and Congregations Beth Am and Beth El; Erez Shlain, Congregations Beth Am and Beth Israel and Seacrest Village; and Idan Dor Shlesinger, Lawrence Family JCC
As the first night of Passover is not until April 8th, the teen shlichim will have sufficient time to go through Israel’s 14-day quarantine and still be able to prepare with their families for the Passover holiday, according to Kwartin. After the quarantine, they will do volunteer work with new immigrants as well as with needy Israeli residents. They also will prepare materials to bring back with them to their posts in the United States once their return is okayed.
As of now, the intention is to bring the teens back to the United States after Passover, but that may be delayed depending on how long the coronavirus pandemic lasts. Normally the 18-year-old shlichim, who are spending a gap year in service to Israel between their high school graduations and their enlistments in the IDF, stay in the U.S. for a full 18 months, focusing on interactions at schools and summer camps, Kwaftin said. The teen shlichim typically return to Israel in August.
Four adult shlichim will remain in San Diego, having apartments of their own. Two of the adults focus on local college campuses. Another is detailed to the August 2-7 JCC Maccabi Games, and the fourth works with the local branch of the Israel Scouts movement.
*
Coronavirus confirmations, schedule changes
*The Center for Disease Control has called for limiting crowds to 50 persons or less — one fifth of the 250-person standard that had been used up to Sunday.
*California Gov. has urged people over 65 to remain isolated at home during the coronavirus pandemic and also has suggested, but not ordered, the closing of bars and nightclubs.
*Chula Vista City Councilman Steve Padilla, who also is a member of the state coastal commission, has disclosed that he has tested positive for coronavirus and “I’m self-isolating and working remotely to serve Chula Vista.” He commented, “This is a scary time. My symptoms–fever, body aches, headaches, chills–came on very rapidly.”
*Adopt a Family Foundation, which links families that have been victimized by terror in Israel to San Diego County families, has postponed its March 29 annual gala to September 13.
*San Diego Outreach Synagogue plans to hold a musical Shabbat service via “Facebook Live” at 6:30 p.m., Friday, March 20. Additionally it plans to hold its “coffee” with Cantor Cheri Weiss outside the Starbucks at the Del Mar Highland, 3485 Del Mar Heights Road, on Sunday, March 29. However, those who want to participate remotely may do so via this Zoom link.
*The San Diego City Library is closing all 36 branches starting tomorrow through Monday, April 6, City Librarian Misty Jones has announced.
*Tifereth Israel Synagogue, which previously had decided to cancel social events but to continue religious services, has now decided to suspend Torah school as well as daily minyan and Shabbat services through the end of the month. On Sunday through Friday, the Conservative synagogue will hold a 9:30 a.m. communal prayer service via Zoom; at 6 p.m. Shabbat evenings, Rabbi Josh Dorsch along with his wife Stephanie and children Nadav and Ziva will live stream Kabbalat Shabbat services via Facebook. Rabbi Dorsch’s sermon will be uploaded to the synagogue’s YouTube website prior to Shabbat, and Cantor Hanan Leberman will lead havdalah services at 7:45 p.m. Saturday evenings.
*The San Diego Natural History Museum announced it will close today at least through March 28. “While we have not been mandated to close, we are doing so in an abundance of caution with the health and safety of our visitors, staff and volunteers as our top priority,” an announcement said. While the doors may be closed, other work goes on. “Our scientists are in the field working to protect and conserve wildlife. Our educators are working on online resources to keep learning going. Our teams are still planning exciting new projects for later in the year that will bring you an even closer understading of our natural world.”
*
Here is why I think former Vice President Joe Biden won the two-hour debate with U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont Sunday night on CNN.
First, Biden made the only real news of the discussion. He said he will choose a woman as his running mate. He also said he would choose a Black woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. When asked if he’d also pick a woman running mate, Sanders waffled. He said he was leaning in that direction, but didn’t commit himself. Which two women Biden will pick, I predict, will dominate news coverage for the next several days.
Second, whereas Sanders provided a litany of issues that he voted against, Biden told again and again what he has accomplished. In my view, Sanders came off as an ideologue, one whose philosophical rigidity precluded him from actually getting much done in the U.S. Senate. Biden showed himself to be more of a pragmatist. He is one who believes in the old adage that a half loaf is better than no loaf at all. He will vote for a bill that doesn’t do everything he wants, if it would improve the status quo. Sanders, it would seem, would vote against it if it didn’t meet his ideological bar.
*
Scenes around San Diego County
*Jeanne Shenkman patrols Seacrest Village Retirement Community, where she resides, looking for interesting photos. On Sunday she reported that the clivia, a plant native to South Africa, is now in bloom.
*
Recommended reading
Moshe Dann outlines in The Jerusalem Post the benefits that could come to Jordan if it would agree to be the Palestinian state.
Jerry Klinger provides a Boynton Beach, Florida, perspective on the coronavirus to The Times of Israel.