Other items in today’s column include:
*Consortium of groups calls for an end to Remain in Mexico policy for asylum applicants
*Temple Emanu-El reports illegal phishing attempt
*Political bytes
*Coming our way
*Recommended reading
SAN DIEGO – Dr. Sol Lizerbram, the Rancho Sante Fe resident who serves as the national president of Jewish National Fund-USA, says that many people are unaware that Keren Kayemet LeIsrael (KKL) and JNF-USA are totally separate organizations, even though in the past, they were one and the same.
“JNF-USA and KKL have no board members on each other’s boards,” Lizerbram said during a telephone interview. “We make no decisions together. We’re incorporated totally separately. The only financial relationship with them is that the only organization that can plant trees in Israel is the KKL, so we engage them and pay them as a vendor, to plant trees.”
In the past, he added, planting trees accounted to 100 percent of the Jewish National Fund’s fundraising in the United States, but now “it is about 20 percent of our revenue and we are raising $100 million a year,” Lizerbram said. Except for their planting trees, there is no other relationship, he said.
KKL is entrusted by Israel with the stewardship of forests and other public lands. “A lot of the stories, especially the ones in the Jerusalem Post and other publications, where it says ‘Jewish National Fund,’ it really means ‘KKL,’ because they interpreted it from Hebrew to English, and instead of saying Keren Kayemet LeIsrael, they say JNF. Our marketing department is constantly informing them that they are making mistakes, and some writers have been getting better.”
He added that “there are other countries where they are still linked—like JNF Australia and JNF UK. When they raise money, they just send it to KKL. And that’s what we used to do years ago, and then we decided that if we are going to raise money, we are going to build our own projects.”
For example, he said, “we are now building a huge complex in Beersheva. It’s a $300 million project of JNF-USA. KKL has nothing to do with it. The land was given to us by the municipality of Beersheva. It’s an educational complex and it’s all part of this big river park which we constructed. We built the largest man-made lake in Israel, filled with recycled water, and the entire project, including the lake and the park, is three times the size of Central Park in New York.”
Another program of JNF-USA is the Faculty Fellowship Program, Lizerbram said. “We take 50 professors from schools across the country, non-Jewish professors from Yale, Harvard, Duke, Berkeley, Irvine, and so on and we send them to Israel for 10 days on a trip that is 100 percent paid by JNF-USA. Even their taxis to the airport are 100 percent paid. The whole purpose is to let them experience Israel, so when their students are exposed to anti-Semitism on campus, they can better address the issues and the concerns of the students.”
He said the program “has been a huge success. These professors are very well-educated people, and we always have a debriefing afterwards. We say, ‘What did you think before you came?’ Eighty-four percent of them said, ‘Well, mainly I was afraid because it is such a dangerous place to go.’ When they come back, they say, ‘Danger? We ate more sushi and had such a great time in Israel. We had zero fear over there.’ We take them to meet Catholics, Muslims, Druze, and they really start to get a feel for Israel and then they come back on campus. It is a very subliminal way for us to address the anti-Semitism.”
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Consortium of groups calls for an end to Remain in Mexico policy for asylum applicants
A consortium of public interest groups, including Jewish Family Service of San Diego, called on President Trump to rescind his “remain in Mexico policy’ on Wednesday, which was the first anniversary of the policy being declared.
Kate Clark, JFS’ director of immigration services, said “the U.S. government continues to knowingly send vulnerable people – including numerous families with young children – back to extremely violent and precarious conditions within Mexico, with clear disregard for U.S. laws, international obligations and the moral imperative to protect human life.”
Human Rights First has documented 816 publicly recorded cases of kidnapping, rape, torture, and other violent attacks against asylum seekers who have been forced to return to Mexico, according the JFS.
Lindsay Toczylowski, executive director of Immigrant Defenders Law Center, said “each day the situation at the border further deteriorates.” As a result of the Remain in Mexico policy, Toczlowski said, thousands of people have been forced into the streets of “notoriously dangerous border towns and overcrowded shelters with unsanitary conditions.”
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Temple Emanu-El reports illegal phishing attempt
A scam that may affect other synagogues in addition to theirs has been reported by Eric Rosenzweig of Temple Emanu-El. A fake e-mail purporting to be from Rabbi Devorah Marcus asked for congregants to purchase an EBay gift card to support a sick congregant. “However,” said Rosenzweig, “if you look closely you will see that the email address they are coming from is not our Temple mail account. These are ‘phishing’ attempts and you should delete these emails.”
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Political bytes
*San Diego City Councilwoman Barbara Bry, a candidate for mayor, contends that Republican Scott Sherman can’t beat Democrat Todd Gloria for mayor in November. “It’s simple math. That’s why some special interests are happy Scott Sherman is in the race. They know a vote in the [March 3] primary for Sherman ensures Gloria’s victory in November.”
*By the narrowest of votes, Bry prevailed in the City Council’s 5-4 decision to ban motorized vehicles (except wheelchairs) along busy beach boardwalks. Councilwoman Jennifer Campbell, whose coastal district adjoins the La Jolla portion of Bry’s district, also voted in the majority. Opposed were three candidates for higher office: Georgette Gomez, who is running for Congress; Scott Sherman, who like Bry is running for mayor; and Chris Ward, who is campaigning for the state Assembly. Chris Cate also was among the dissenters. Bry said the measure will protect pedestrians and cyclists, while opponents argued it will force scooters and e-bikes onto busy streets, increasing the possibility of injury accidents with cars.
*The Save San Diego Neighborhoods campaign has endorsed Barbara Bry for mayor, Cory Briggs for City Attorney, and Joe LaCava in the 1st City Council District. The organization is particularly critical of Assemblyman Todd Gloria, a mayoral candidate, whom it says “has solicited and accepted tens of thousands of dollars from Short Term Vacation Rental owners, operators, lobbyists and investors—many of whom aren’t San Diego residents. The City Auditor estimated that over 16,000 San Diego homes have been converted to short term vacation rentals – removed from San Diego’s available housing stock. This is over 25 percent of the U.S. Census Bureau estimate of San Diego’s housing shortfall.”
*Assemblyman Todd Gloria’s mayoral campaign, pointing to a San Diego Union-Tribune/ News 10 poll showing him to be the “clear frontrunner,” said it also looks like he will “be in for a tough race with a conservative, Republican city councilmember [Scott Sherman]” so therefore, “it is time for Democrats to rally behind Todd, who is the only Democratic Party-endorsed candidate, to ensure that we flip the Mayor’s office blue in November.”
*Former San Diego City Councilman Carl DeMaio, running in the 50th Congressional District, blames a “culture of coddling” homeless people for the homeless crisis and says law enforcement must be given back powers to force homeless into mental health and substance abuse programs.
*San Diego City Council President Georgette Gomez, running in the 53rd Congressional District, says “One of our opponents [Sara Jacobs]—a wealthy self-funder with a track record of spending enormous sums to win seats like mine—has already spent $1.2 million on TV ads in this race. That’s a ton, and it could be a determining factor in our race. We’ll never have enough to outspend our opponent, but we do need to spend enough so voters at least hear our message and can decide accordingly.”
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, D,I-Vermont, has announced his endorsement of Georgette Gomez n California’s 53rd Congressional District. Gomez was among nine of Sanders’ endorsees, including four Congresswomen known as “The Squad” – Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, and Rashida Tlaib of Minnesota.
*San Diego City Attorney Mara Elliott held a news conference Tuesday to tout the city’s” smart streetlight” program. She said video cameras attached to the street lights have helped to solve nearly 250 crimes, including “murders, sexual assaults, kidnappings, carjackings, arsons, and hate crimes,” according to Times of San Diego. Her opponent in the March 3 election, Cory Briggs, has charged that the data collected by the cameras is owned by General Electric and can be sold, in what he described as a “mass surveillance and data collection program.”
*County Supervisor Kristin Gaspar, who is running for reelection, voiced disappointment that by a 3-2 vote her colleagues on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors declined to fund an 8-week paid leave policy for new parents to enable them to bond with their newborn infants. “No parent should have to choose between spending time with their newborn infant and going back to work to support their family,” said Gaspar. She added that “my heart aches for the hundreds of employees who will go without this important benefit while this bureaucratic process plays out.”
*It will be a double celebration Saturday, Feb. 1, for 76th District Assemblywoman Tasha Boerner Horvath, who at 9 a.m. will open her new reelection campaign headquarters at 1305 Union Plaza Court in Oceanside and also celebrate her 47th birthday.
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Coming our way
*A special, free, one-day exhibition on Anne Frank will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 6, at the Timken Museum of Art in Balboa Park. The exhibit is jointly presented by the Anne Frank House of Amsterdam and the Consulate General of the Netherlands. Commented Megan Pogue, the museum’s executive director: “We encourage the public to come and see this compelling exhibition. It serves as an important reminder for those already familiar with the story of Anne Frank, and it also educates and enlightens young people who are just learning about this inspirational young woman whose extraordinary but short life endures to this day.”
*The Hive at Leichtag Commons is hosting a Purim celebration Thursday, March 5, at 7 p.m., at which in honor of Queen Esther, “all who are women-identifying” are invited to apply to tell their “personal stories of being hidden, revelation, and bravery.” Applications are due January 31 via this website.
*Rabbi Rafi Andusier of Chabad of East County is promoting a trip to the Chabad headquarters in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, for what he says will be “an unforgettable weekend experience” May 15-17. “Shabbat in the Heights features amazing speakers, insightful learning, a chance to meet Crown Heights personalities, tours, and a visit to the Rebbe’s [Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson’s] resting place.” More information may be obtained via this website.
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Recommended reading
*In a busy day for international news, the San Diego Union-Tribune had a Washington Post story on Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s formal indictment on charges of corruption; a New York Times story on President Trump’s plan for Middle East peace; and a Washington Post article on the discovery of photographs from the Nazi concentration camp at Sobibor, Poland.
*The Anti-Defamation League reports that a majority of Americans believe at least one of six anti-Semitic stereotypes.
*The Australia/Israel & Jewish Public Affairs Council assesses the threat to Western interests Iran and its Hezbollah ally may pose in South America.
*Emboldened by President Trump’s Mideast peace plan, Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu will move to immediately annex the Jordan Valley, reports The Times of Israel.
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Donald H. Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com