Other items in today’s column include:
* Eruv possible in Cowles Mountain area
* Tifereth Israel teams with AIPAC for an Israel Advocacy Leadership Fellowship
* Political bytes
* Coming our way
* In Memoriam
LA JOLLA, California – Sephardic Jews who were expelled in the late 15th century from Portugal and Spain learned about cocoa and the production of chocolate from the indigenous peoples of Central and South America and the Caribbean. Keeping up contacts with non-Jewish acquaintances who had remained on Europe’s Iberian Peninsula, they helped to popularize chocolate and develop it as a product in international trade.
Centuries later when European immigrants fleeing the Nazis came to the United States, the family that started Barton’s Chocolate began their business in the kitchen of their tenement apartment, with relatives and friends selling the candies on pushcarts. Israelis, according to the exhibit, are “meshuga” over chocolate.
Stories and a variety of photos showing the production of chocolate from cocoa bean to gift box delicacy are part of the “Semi[te] Sweet: On Jews and Chocolate” exhibit running through Jan. 31 at the Gotthelf Gallery at the Lawrence Family JCC. On Jan. 14, Rabbi Deborah Prinz, who has written a book on the Jewish connection to the chocolate trade, will be a guest lecturer at 7 p.m. in the JCC’s Rehearsal Room. Reservations may be made via this website.
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Eruv possible in Cowles Mountain area
The northeast corner of Navajo Road and Jackson Drive is the main entrance to the very popular Cowles Mountain hiking trail. At the northwest corner is a building which includes the offices and synagogue of Chabad of East County. At the southwest corner is a small shopping center that includes the offices and synagogue of Young Israel of San Diego. Now a member of Young Israel, Howie Shapiro, is preparing a report for where an eruv could be located to accommodate Orthodox families on Shabbat.
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Tifereth Israel teams with AIPAC for an Israel Advocacy Leadership Fellowship
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and Tifereth Israel Synagogue are offering an Israel Advocacy Leadership Fellowship to a high school student in the 10th through 12th grade who is a member of the Conservative congregation. The student who is chosen will receive an all-expense paid trip to the Feb. 29-March 3, 2020 AIPAC Conference in Washington, D.C., if he or she is a first-time participant, or a subsidized trip to the conference if it’s not the first time. According to Michelle Barbour, the synagogue’s Director of Jewish Education and Youth Engagement, “We will provide participants with a foundation in Israeli history, politics, and identify some of the challenges facing the country moving forward. We will explore our relationship as American Jews with Israel. We will identify some strategies and tools enabling us to support and advocate for Israel in meaningful and concrete ways.”
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Political bytes
*Miriam Raftery, editor of East County Magazine, reports that just one day after former Congressman Darrell Issa called publicly for U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-San Diego, to be pardoned by President Trump for his conviction in federal court for misappropriating campaign funds, the disgraced congressman’s father, a former congressman also named Duncan Hunter, endorsed Issa in the race to succeed his son in the 50th CD. This raised “questions over whether Issa agreed to a quid pro quo – announcing support for a pardon … in order to receive the endorsement,” Raftery wrote.
*Attorney Joe Leventhal has been endorsed in the 5th District San Diego City Council race by Councilman Chris Cate, a fellow Republican.
*Olga Diaz, a candidate in the 3rd District County Supervisorial race has been endorsed by the San Diego Deputy Attorney’s Association.
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Coming our way
*Restaurant critic and food writer Ruth Reichl discuses her latest book, Save Me the Plums, at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 10. At the Lawrence Family JCC. Ticket $38, JCC Member $33 via this website.
*Chabad of Chula Vista is going all out for Chanukah, according to Rabbi Mendy Begun. On Thursday, Dec. 12, in a reference to the “Miracle of the Oil,” it hosts a workshop for women on essential oils, at a private residence. Location and reservations for this and subsequent events may be made via this website. On Sunday, Dec. 15, it sponsors a menorah workshop for children at the Home Depot, 355 Marketplace Avenue, San Diego. On Tuesday, Dec. 17, it will staff a “pre-Chanukah” booth at Otay Ranch Town Center, 2015 Birch Road, Chula Vista. On Sunday, Dec. 22, it will participate in a Chanukah celebration at the Town Center. On Monday, Dec. 23, it will engage in a grand menorah lighting at the Outlets at the Border, 4463 Camino de la Plaza, San Ysidro. On Tuesday, Dec. 24, it sponsors for adults a movie night and Chinese dinner at a private location. On Thursday, Dec. 26, it will participate in Chanukah story time at Barnes and Noble, at the Otay Ranch Town Center. On Friday, Dec. 27, it sponsors a Chanukah Community Shabbat dinner at a private location.
*The Jewish Federation, Garden Communities, and Jewish Real Estate Professionals (JREP) sponsor a panel discussion at 7:30 a.m., Wednesday, Dec. 18, at Lux UTC, 4200 Brook Court, on housing and urban density. Panelists include Ari Astalos, vice president of Garden Home Communities, Michael Hopkins, president and CEO of Jewish Family Service; William Anderson, a principal of City Economics & Planning, ARUP, and moderator Sara Isgur, senior real property agent for the County of San Diego. RSVP via this website.
*Student performers of the J*Company put on Mamma Mia, a romantic comedy, on Saturdays and Sundays between Jan. 11 and Jan. 26. Tickets via this website
* Adam Davidson, author of The Passion Economy: The New Rules for Thriving in the Twenty-First Century, speaks at the Lawrence Family JCC at 7 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 23. Tickets and reservations via this website.
* The Lerner-Moguilevsky Duo, klezmer musicians from Buenos Aires, performs at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 29, at the Lawrence Family JCC. Tickets and reservations via this website.
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In Memoriam
Barbara Ann (Varley) Zimbler, 80, died Dec. 5 and will be buried at 10 a.m., Tuesday, Dec. 10, at El Camino Memorial Park, 5600 Carroll Canyon Road, San Diego, it was reported by Am Israel Mortuary.
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Tifereth Israel Synagogue reported that Ralph Barnes, a former president of that Conservative congregation, has died. Funeral service will be at noon Thursday, Dec. 12, at Greenwood Memorial Park, 4300 Imperial Avenue, 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. Obituaries in San Diego Jewish World are sponsored by Inland Industries Group LP in memory of long-time San Diego Jewish community leader Marie (Mrs. Gabriel) Berg.