Jewish Americans continue to enrich every part of American life as educators and entrepreneurs, athletes and artists, scientists and entertainers, public officials and activists, labor and community leaders, diplomats and military service members, public health heroes and more – U.S. President Joe Biden declaring May 2023 to be Jewish American Heritage Month.
By Donald H. Harrison
SAN DIEGO COUNTY (Friday, April 28, 2023)
Rabbi Mendy Begun of Chabad of Chula Vista plans to lead congregants on a May 5-7 trip to Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, where Chabad’s Headquarters are located at 770 Eastern Parkway. The group will also visit the Ohel, the grave site in Queens, New York.
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Roy Eliaz, a retired lieutenant colonel in the Israel Defense Force, spoke at a Yom HaZikaron commemoration at San Diego Hebrew Day School. He gave “thanks to the San Diego community for providing meaningful Jewish education for his daughters, and honoring all who have served our Homeland,” according to the school’s newsletter.
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Rabbi Eric Ertel of the San Diego Jewish Experience (SAJE) has announced that the organization’s fundraising campaign has surpassed its goal of $200,000. He said 391 individuals donated a total of $200,532.29.
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Matt Goldberg, director of caring and community relations for the Jewish Federation of San Diego, has announced that the Holocaust exhibit curated by Sandra Scheller will begin its one-year run on May 21 at the Rancho San Diego Library, 11555 Via Rancho San Diego.
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County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer, publicizing a May 13 campaign event in Encinitas, writes: “As a mother I understand the deep responsibility we have to protect our environment and ensure a sustainable future for our children … Over the past few years, I’ve championed a landmark decarbonization framework, investments in renewable energy, and fought to protect our coastlines and natural resources.”
CALIFORNIA
Hershey Felder, a musician who regularly portrays on stage the lives of famous composers, has had The Assembly, a film on the Holocaust, accepted for screening at the Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival on May 24. Of San Diego interest, the film tracing the life of the late Holocaust survivor Eva Libitzky, includes segments of Jewish and non-Jewish San Diego students touring Auschwitz.
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A resolution celebrating the relationship between Israel and the City of Los Angeles was read aloud at City Hall by Israel’s Consul General in Los Angeles, Hillel Newman, in a celebration of Yom Ha’atzma’ut, Israel’s Independence Day. It was cosponsored by Council members Bob Blumenfeld and Katy Yaroslavsky.
NATIONAL
U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Oregon) recently told the Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA), “Being a proud Jewish Democrat means always keeping in mind the concept of Tikkun Olam –our obligation to repair the world. This value that has guided my time in public service is central in my decision-making processes as an elected official and an engaged citizen. When I approach important challenges like addressing the climate crisis, ending hunger, or strengthening public education, the policy outcome should make the world a better place for the people we represent, the country, and the world.”
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U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California) has been urged to resign by U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan). Tlaib joins Reps. Ro Khanna (D-California) and Dean Phillips (D-Minnesota) in saying the ailing 89-year-old senator’s absence from Washington has prevented Democrats in the Senate from winning confirmation of judicial nominees and enabled Republicans to overturn EPA regulations on heavy truck emissions.
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U.S. Reps. Sara Jacobs (D-San Diego) and Republican Cory Mills of Florida have introduced bipartisan legislation to minimize future drug shortages. The measure requires pharmaceutical manufacturers to tell the FDA if they experience six consecutive weeks of an increase in product demand. Said Jacobs: “When you have a sick child, all parents want to do is help their child feel better. But for months, drug shortages of children’s Tylenol and Motrin have prevented millions of parents from getting the medication they need to relieve children’s flu, RSV, and COVID symptoms.”
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Former Democratic vice presidential candidate Joseph Lieberman, who now chairs a bipartisan group called “No Labels,” has promoted on Fox News the idea of a centrist Democrat and a centrist Republican running together on a third-party ticket for President and Vice President. He said most people don’t want a presidential election rematch between Joe Biden and Donald Trump.
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Ronald S. Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, thanked New York City Mayor Eric Adams for lighting up City Hall and other city buildings with blue and white colors to celebrate Israel Independence Day. “Over the last 75 years, we have witnessed the miracle of the rebirth of the homeland of the Jewish people, and I cannot wait to see what the next 75 years bring. Am Yisrael Chai”
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Steven Levitan of TV’s Modern Family fame will serve as executive producer of an upcoming Netflix production, as yet untitled, that will star Adam Brody as a charming rabbi, with whom Kristen Bell’s agnostic character falls in love.
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Disgraced movie executive Harvey Weinstein, whose sexual assaults motivated the #MeToo Movement, was mentioned by former Elle magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll in describing what prompted her some 30 years after the alleged attack to bring rape and defamation charges against former U.S. President Donald Trump in the civil trial now unfolding in New York City.
INTERNATIONAL
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas have announced that processing centers will be established in Guatemala and Colombia for migrants seeking refugee status in the United States. The two officials envision the establishment of other regional centers to take pressure off the U.S. southern border.
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The famed Michelangelo sculpture of the biblical David, portrayed as a naked young man with a sling over his shoulder and a rock in his hand, was viewed in Florence, Italy, on Friday by Hope Carrasquilla, the former principal of Tallahassee (Florida) Classical school who was ousted from her position after parents complained she permitted students to see a picture of the statue without their permission. The museum’s director, Cecilie Hollberg, commented that David “has nothing to do with pornography” but rather is a “religious symbol of purity and innocence, the victory of good over evil.”
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Anne Frank, the childhood face of the Holocaust for generations of her diary readers, was defamed by someone who laser projected onto her house in Amsterdam, Netherlands, a message that her diary was a hoax. A former San Diego County resident, Robert Wilson, was arrested on Tuesday in Poland as a suspect in that incident.
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U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz is a principal cosponsor of a bill (HR 987) to have the United States strike a gold coin honoring the legacy of Golda Meir, who was Israel’s 6th prime minister and a childhood resident of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In the Senate, a similar bill is principally cosponsored by Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Maryland). Other cosponsors are Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-New York), and Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) and Steve Daines (R-Montana).
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Donald H. Harrison is editor emeritus of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com