Jewish news is Jewish community

By Jacob Kamaras

SAN DIEGO — How do you connect with Judaism?

According to a comprehensive survey of Jewish Americans that the Pew Research Center released earlier in May, “Majorities of U.S. Jews engage in cultural activities like cooking Jewish food (72%), sharing holidays with non-Jewish friends (62%) and visiting historical Jewish sites (57%). Many also say they engage with Judaism through Jewish media by ‘often’ or ‘sometimes’ reading Jewish literature, history or biographies (44%), watching television with Jewish or Israeli themes (43%), or reading Jewish news in print or online (42%).”

As someone whose career has centered around local and national Jewish media for more than a decade — both as a journalist and a public relations professional — I find the latter statistic particularly encouraging. San Diegans don’t currently have a certified kosher restaurant, but we do have Jewish publications, which are all too often overlooked as crucial communal institutions.

Take the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. As in-person synagogue services were put on hold and social gatherings were relegated to Zoom, Jewish news continued unabated. In fact, staying informed through robust news reporting and staying connected through first-person accounts from columnists in our community became arguably more important than ever.

Today, we again see the centrality of Jewish news in the aftermath of the latest war between Israel and Hamas. Whether it be through social media or traditional media channels, an undying thirst for information, analysis, and online interaction influentially shapes how we interface with the Jewish community and with Israel. (According to my iPhone, my daily “screen time” average is nearly six hours, which makes me cringe but also reveals how much I prioritize consuming news and information.)

But Jewish news isn’t just about news. It’s about storytelling, as is illustrated in the tagline of the San Diego Jewish World, “There is a Jewish story everywhere.” That’s the sentiment that kept running through my mind when I reviewed “Schlepping and Schmoozing Through San Diego County,” a book authored by this publication’s founder and editor, Donald Harrison.

“Even most Jewish residents of the San Diego area are unaware of the region’s rich Jewish history, reflects Harrison, whose determination to find a Jewish story everywhere shines through on every page,” I wrote for the Times of Israel in 2019. “For a relatively new San Diegan like myself, it’s an important affirmation that yes, there are Jewish stories to be found outside of the well-known Jewish population centers where I formerly lived, such as New York and Los Angeles. Who knew that San Diego had a ‘Zion Avenue’ and a ‘Mount Rebbe?’ At least I didn’t, before reading this book.”

I’m proud to say that San Diego no longer feels “relatively new.” For seven years, I knew this city as the place where my wife Megan grew up, and where we had our wedding overlooking Mission Bay before living in Los Angeles and Houston. Now, San Diego is also the birthplace of my children, 3-year-old Elliott and 8-month-old Aurora. It’s where I walk my dog every morning, never failing to soak in the tree-lined serenity of La Jolla Scenic Drive. It’s where I spend Shabbat, at Congregation Adat Yeshurun. It’s where I met a vibrant, grassroots community of friends who grow together by connecting with Jewish content and spirituality. It’s where I take sips at my favorite coffee shops and gulps at my favorite breweries. It’s where I’ve contributed articles to the San Diego Jewish World. Although I’ve lived in San Diego for only three years, it feels like my forever home, and that sentiment is driven in no small part by Jewish community.

Today, I’m elated and humbled to begin a journey of doing my part to build the San Diego Jewish community through this website, as its new managing editor. Indeed, “community” is the key word. The San Diego Jewish World is a hub for the voices of so many writers living both inside and outside San Diego who build community by sharing their talent, creativity, expert knowledge, passion, and ultimately, themselves. By sharing themselves and their Jewish stories, our writers prove on a daily basis that Jewish news and Jewish community are one and the same. And we want to hear more from you! If you’re an existing San Diego Jewish World contributor, want to start a new column, have any feedback or ideas for the website, or simply wish to introduce yourself, please don’t hesitate to email me at jakamaras@gmail.com.

Together, we’ll continue to tell Jewish stories and find them everywhere.

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Jacob Kamaras is Managing Editor of the San Diego Jewish World.