Candidate Joe Leventhal: A Jew with a Catholic family

Other items in today’s column include:
*Jewish community coronavirus developments
*Political bytes
*In memoriam

By Donald H. Harrison

SAN DIEGO — San Diego City Council candidate Joe Leventhal, 42, says, “I’m Jewish and my family is Catholic.”

He explained in an interview that although he had two Jewish parents, when they divorced, they both married non-Jews; his mother Deena Leventhal to a Catholic; his father Larry Leventhal to a non-practicing Christian.  Even when his parents were together, they were so secular that they gave him as a boy the choice of whether he wanted to attend Hebrew school to study for a bar mitzvah.  “I ended up saying no, and I regret it, and that is part of why I wanted my kids to be raised with religion because I felt I missed something being raised without it,” he said.

“My wife [the former Erin Patrick] is Catholic, and we talked a lot about it when we were dating and engaged, and I felt like it would be unfair for me to insist on the Jewish religion that I, quite frankly, didn’t know enough about.  And we thought religion is important.” Their children, Grace, Laurel, and Jacob were born in 2007, 2009 and 2011 respectively.

Though he is surrounded by a Catholic family, Leventhal–like his mother before him–keeps feeling the pull of Judaism.  “My mom re-found Judaism about six months before she got diagnosed with breast cancer in January 2009, and she died January 2010–a year within the time of her diagnosis.  It was such a wonderful timing for her to rediscover Judaism.  It wasn’t because she was going through something.  She found it before she got diagnosed.  She was active up in the Los Angeles area in the last year of her life with the Chabad of Agoura Hills.”

Back when Leventhal was a student at UC San Diego in the 1990s, he met Rabbi Lisa Goldstein, who then was the director of Hillel.  “I shared with her my own personal history and how I wasn’t raised with the religion, and how I wanted to understand it more, that sort of thing.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t something I put a whole lot of time into.

“I’ll share this too: I have sometimes felt there is so much I don’t know about Jews, I sometimes felt uncomfortable in a religious setting with Jews, because I felt I didn’t know what was going on.  So, Rabbi Lisa was such a welcoming individual, I felt comfortable sharing my background and my lack of knowledge.”

At UC San Diego where he majored in political science, Leventhal was involved with a number of organizations.  He was in charge of the student-run enterprise that sold lecture notes to other students.  And although he hadn’t run for student office prior to that time, he was elected in 1998 as student body president.  That led him to advocating in Sacramento for increasing the University of California’s budget.  On campus, he became an advocate for establishing an LGBT center and increasing expenditures and access for students with disabilities.

He recalled, “There were a group of students who really wanted to see an LGBT Resource Center there and, to be frank, there wasn’t a ton of support at the administrative level.  So that was something I advocated for.  I had a good relationship with Chancellor Bob Dynes, who later became the UC systemwide president.  I sponsored the resolution in the Student Council to support the establishment of the LGBT Resource Center, and they have a copy of that resolution at the center today in their historic files.  I am proud of that because I think that there are a lot of students who leave home for the first time to college and are trying to deal with their sexuality, and it is important for them to have a safe place to go.  I think we may have saved some lives as a result.”

Leventhal said that he empathizes with “groups that I feel are not well represented, who don’t have a voice.  That is why I took on the disability issue in college:  I didn’t have any personal connections; I realized that there were funding issues there as well and I tried to think about what it would be like if I had a physical disability, in particular, and was trying to navigate the campus.”

Tikkun olam (mending the world) may be in his genes.  “I think that is something that I got from my mom.  She got a degree in criminal justice and ended up not working when my sister and I were born.  She was interested in justice reform.  When she died, she was a conservative Republican, but she started as a pretty liberal Democrat and she always had that bleeding heart.  I got my bleeding heart from her.

“There also were people on campus who approached me and said, ‘You are in student leadership, and this is important to us, and here is why.”

Asked if he considered these formative experiences in his life, he responded, “Yes, absolutely.  They were formative in the sense that I realized the value of groups having allies among straight white men, and there are lots of us out there, and even if you are not part of that community, being an advocate for that community.”

During his year as student president, Leventhal pledged Phi Kappa Alpha fraternity, because “I realized that I needed more balance, something that wasn’t a responsibility.”  The summer following graduation, he became an intern in Washington D.C., assigned to the The President’s Council on Year 2000 Conversion (Y2K) under the chairmanship of John Koskinen, who years later would become the nation’s 48th commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service.  “It was an exciting summer (1999) ; it was the summer of Monica Lewinsky,” whose affair three years earlier as a White House intern with President Bill Clinton was the basis of impeachment proceedings against the President. “It was also the summer that two Capitol police officers were shot and killed.  That was my first time in D.C.”

In the fall semester, he was enrolled as a law student at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana.  Obviously enjoying political life, he decided to volunteer in thel congressional campaign of  Illinois State Rep. Timothy Johnson, a Republican.  However, he didn’t stay in Illinois long; he learned on a trip back to California that West Coast law firms were not well aware of that law school’s reputation as being among the top 25 in the country. So he transferred to the law school at Georgetown University, which brought him back to Washington D.C.

It was a fateful decision both personally and for his political career.  He had known Erin Patrick while they were both at UC San Diego, but as she had a boyfriend at the time, they were simply acquaintances.  After that relationship ended, Patrick had to travel to a conference in Maryland and so she consulted a UC San Diego alumni directory and found that her old acquaintance Joe Leventhal was studying in nearby Georgetown.  She decided to look him up, but the timing could not have been worse.  Her trip coincided with the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the Pentagon, and so their planned meeting was scrapped.  “She evacuated , and she rode with her boss to somewhere in Arizona until the airlines opened up again.  We didn’t actually meet up again until March 2002, when she was in DC for another conference.”

Law school was not all that kept Leventhal busy. Having previously volunteered for Congressman Johnson, and having been hired as his campaign director of policy back in Illinois, Leventhal accepted a part time job with the newly-elected congressman  as a legislative assistant with policy recommendation responsibilities in the fields of education and health care.  “What I learned very quickly is that a freshman member of Congress gets almost nothing done,” Leventhal reflected.  “You have to be there a few terms before you get anything done.”

In his last year of law school in 2002, Leventhal interned in the office of Vice President Dick Cheney.  Following his graduation from law school, Leventhal returned to San Diego to begin a career here as an attorney and to get married.   Soon, however, Cheney’s office called him back to take a full-time position as deputy staff secretary —  an experience that I’ll write about in tomorrow’s column about the career of the 5th District San Diego City Council candidate.

*

Jewish community coronavirus developments

*San Diego County on Monday banned gatherings of more than 50 people and forbade sit-down restaurant service, while continuing to permit restaurants to handle take-out orders.  Similar measures were announced by the City of San Diego, where bars and nightclubs were ordered shut down and all city buildings were closed to the public.  Mayor Kevin Faulconer said all emergency services including police, fire, water, and sewer operations would continue.

*Rabbi Moishe Leider of Chabad of University City, whose video may be seen above, has announced that services will continue to be offered at his synagogue, although senior citizens and people with underlying medical conditions — including himself — are urged to stay away.  He recommended that during times of self-quarantine, Jews develop a routine that includes home observances.

*Rabbi Chaim Hollander of Young Israel of San Diego has announced that the Orthodox congregation has been closed except on Shabbat until further notice.

*Jim Farley and Charlene Seidle, respectively the president and executive vice president of the Leichtag Foundation,  have scheduled a pilot “virtual gathering” featuring Chaya Gilboa, director of Jewish engagement, at 11 a.m. March 20, to discuss ways of “navigating uncertainty while maintaining community.”  They urged that Jews reach out to a “local isolated senior or Holocaust survivor,” or possibly volunteer with the City of Encinitas’ program to deliver hot meals to seniors, or to select food for seniors from the Community Resource Center’s Food and Nutrition Center.

*The National Council of Jewish Women and Mazon: A Jewish Response to Hunger are “calling on the US government to increase and expand access to federal nutrition assistance for low-income families in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.”  The two groups note that “the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends that all households stockpile two weeks of food, but families living in poverty, as well as those hardworking families living paycheck-to-paycheck, are unlikely to be able to afford to buy that much food. The federal government must take the initiative to adopt measures that prioritize the needs of low-income Americans to prevent further hunger and hardship. Additionally, older adults who are at an elevated risk of contracting the disease will no longer be able to participate in congregate meal programs, and must instead have access to home-delivered meals and other sources of nutrition.”

*Rabbi Mendy Begun of Chabad of Chula Vista says “If you know someone who is unable to leave their home and is in need of house supplies or food, please let us know by replying to this email or calling me at 619-836-0770. We have volunteers who are ready to drop off packages. If you would like to volunteer, please respond to this email.”

*Yosef Condiotti, San Diego regional director of SandWithUs, has announced the pro-Israel educational group is taking to the web to spread its message. “StandWithUsConnect – a new digital platform launching this week – will feature high quality, interactive educational content for people of all ages,” he messaged. “Live webinars will include everything from antisemitism and Israeli archeology to virtual yoga classes with an Israeli touch. The first webinar will be held Wednesday, March 18.  Charlotte Korchak, StandWithUs director of international student programs will review,  ‘Misconceptions about Israel, Zionism, and Jews.'”

*Temple Emanu-El announced on Monday: “We have made the decision to suspend all in-person gatherings through April 6th in accordance with city recommendations, best social-distancing practices, and to do our best to be responsible participants in helping slow the spread of the virus. Services will be webcast as usual.”

*Arlene LaGary, president of Temple Beth Shalom in Chula Vista, messaged: “It is with great sadness that our Passover seder will be canceled due to concerns for our members, friends, and family.”

*The Orthodox Union has made these recommendations during the course of the coronavirus pandemic.
1)      Our shuls and schools will remain closed until further notice, when we are informed by the health officials that it is no longer a danger and we may resume our regular schedules. Until that time, every person should daven at home.  There should be no house or backyard Minyanim since they undermine efforts to minimize the spread of the virus.
2)      We should all add Avinu Malkeinu at both Shachrit and Mincha until further notice. It should not be added on Friday afternoons or on a day when Tachanun is not said.
3)      All members of our community should minimize in-person contact with anyone outside of their immediate families.  If you can work from home, please do so. Visits even among families should also be limited. Communication with parents and grandparents who are not living in your home should be virtual whenever possible.
4)      Although it is challenging in the absence of school, there should be no playdates or friend get togethers. One may play in the yard and go for a run, but it should not be with friends or with children of friends. We encourage people to go outside, but to stay distanced from other people even when outdoors.
5)      As social distancing continues, we should plan to have our Shabbat, Yom Tov and Sedarim without guests.
6)      “Shiva visits” should be made by phone or face time.
7)      Support our Kosher restaurants by ordering out from the restaurants.  Avoid eating in the confined spaces of restaurants which can lead to greater transmission.
8)      Only one person per household should go to the Supermarket. Children should not go to the store and people should not be socializing while in the store.

*In response to Chula Vista City Councilman Steve Padilla announcing that he had tested positive for the coronavirus, the Chula Vista City Hall will be closed today and Tuesday.  The City Council meeting will be shown over Cox Cable Channel 24 with viewers able to email their comments or testimony via email.

*Jerry Hermes, interim executive director of Tifereth Israel Synagogue, on Monday notified congregants: “You’ve previously been informed that we’ve suspended everything, including schools and all religious services. Now, we are announcing the closing of our office and our building altogether, until further notice but, you should know, at least through March 31. Please don’t come to the synagogue. …  Also, do not expect to get a live person to answer your phone calls. Our voice mailboxes will be monitored constantly and messages will be returned, remotely, as soon as is practical.”

*The Women’s Museum of California has postponed its annual Women’s Hall of Fame ceremony until June.  One of this year’s honorees is retiring Congresswoman Susan Davis (D-San Diego.)

*The San Diego Opera, which has cancelled all performances in March, is planning, subject to review, to go forward with the production of The Barber of Seville, which would open at the Civic Theatre on April 25.

*
Political bytes
*San Diego City Councilwoman Barbara Bry passed her colleague Scott Sherman by a slim 9 votes in the counting Monday for a runoff position in the race for Mayor of San Diego against the frontrunner, Assemblyman Todd Gloria.  With an estimated 37,000 ballots still to be counted — not all of them in the City of San Diego — Gloria had 141,798 votes; Bry 77,766, and Sherman 77,757, according to the San Diego County Registrar of Voters.

*The World Jewish Congress is circulating a petition calling on the U.S. Senate to pass the “Never Again Education Act” [H.R. 943] to facilitate the teaching of students”about the horrors of the Holocaust so that they understand the great harms imposed by hatred and bigotry.”  A WJC press release adds: “It is painfully clear that we are confronting a crisis in antisemitic hate both at home and abroad. Jews have been murdered on the streets of Paris, Brussels and Copenhagen … because they were Jews.  And here in America, antisemites have gunned down Jewish worshipers in synagogues from Pittsburgh, PA to San Diego, CA.  they were murdered in their sanctuary, a word that literally means “a place of refuge or safety” … because they were Jews.”

*Defeated congressional candidate Carl DeMaio, who failed in his bid to win a runoff spot for the seat from that Duncan Hunter was forced to resign, has returned to his job as a host at iHeart Media’s KOGO News Radio 600-AM.  Rick Griffin reports on Times of San Diego that DeMaio’s explanation for placing behind Ammar Campa-Najjar and former Congressman Darrell Issa in the 50th CD contest was that it was “God’s plan for Carl was to stay on the radio so that people can understand the story behind the story.”

*Republican Congressional candidate Bryan Maryott, the San Juan Capistrano mayor who is challenging U.S. Rep. Mike Levin (D-San Diego and Orange County), has scheduled a virtual town hall series at 6:30 p.m., March 18, via this Facebook site.

*Incumbent Congressman Mike Levin will hold his monthly Town Hall virtually this Saturday, March 21st, at 3:30 p.m. It can be viewed on his Campaign Facebook Page.
*

In memoriam

Jay Stephen Mehlman, 81, died Friday, March 13 in Poway, where he was a past president of the board of Temple Adat Shalom and and a current member its Men’s Club, Am Israel Mortuary reported. A University of Pennsylvania Wharton School graduate, his career included service as a controller and tax director and also as chairman of the Aberdeen, New Jersey, Township Environmental & Shade Tree Commission. He is survived by his wife of 53 years Phyllis; and children Sharon and Marc Mehlman of Encinitas; Iris Ornberg of Westerly, Rhode Island, grandchildren Jullie, Allison and Emily Ornberg of Westerly, Rhode Island, and a sister, Carole Mehlman of Brooklyn, New York.

Donations may be made to the Braille Institute (where he was a student and substitute teacher), Friends of the Poway Library, and the American Heart Association. A Memorial Serice will be held at a later date.

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.