On-line memorials Sunday for Chabad of Poway victim

 

Other items in today’s column include:
*Political bytes
*San Diego Israel salute
*Recommended reading

By Donald H. Harrison

SAN DIEGO — Chabad of Poway will hold an Internet memorial service for the victim of last year’s shooting, Lori Gilbert Kaye, at 10 a.m., Sunday, April 26.  At noon, a separate online ceremony sponsored by the Combat Anti-Semitism movement will be conducted via Zoom and Facebook.

The 10 a.m.  Chabad service marking Kaye’s first yahrzeit will include comments by Dr. Howard Kaye, her widower; Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, former chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom, and Rabbi Yosef Y. Jacobson, along with prayer and songs in tribute by Avraham Fried, Shlomo Simcha, and Shlomo and Fitz Rabin.

The Combat Anti-Semitism Movement said the separately organized  hour-long ceremony at noon will include such participants as Elan Carr, the U.S. Special Envoy for Combating Anti-Semitism; Ahmed Shaheed, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief; and Chabad of Poway congregants Aubrey Meyerowitz and Jonathan Morales, “who will recall their experiences, plus other members of the Poway Jewish community.”

Meanwhile, David Bramzon, chair of the Jewish Federation of San Diego County, urged  “everyone to light an extra candle this Shabbat in Lori’s honor.”

Sacha Roytman Dratwa, director of the Combat Anti-Semitism Movement, said, “The appalling attack one year ago at the Chabad of Poway Synagogue was one of the most shocking instances of anti-Semitism ever witnessed in the United States . We owe it to the victim and those who were injured to remember what happened, despite the current restrictions on everyday life.  We must not let this anniversary pass quietly.  Only by speaking up against anti-Semitism in a loud and clear voice and by discussing how we can eradicate such hatred from society, can we begin to ensure that such a tragedy never occurs again.”

“The event will include several speakers, poetry and music,” according to a news release from Dan Kosky that was sent out in behalf of the Combat Anti-Semitism Movement.  “It will also be a chance to discuss how to combat the increasingly violent acts targeting Jewish communities around the world.”

The Combat Anti-Semitism Movement (CAM) describes itself as a “global grassroots movement of individuals and organizations, across all religious faiths, united around the goal of ending anti-Semitism in all its forms.  Since its launching in February 2019, 220 organizations and 200,000 individuals have joined the movement by signing the campaign’s pledge” which “draws upon the IHRA international definition of anti-Semitism and its list of specific behaviors used to discriminate against the Jewish people and the Jewish State of Israel.”

The attack by a single gunman on the last day of Passover in 2019 not only killed Lori Kaye Gilbert but also wounded three other persons, including Chabad Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, who has since retired, turning over the spiritual leadership of the congregation to his son, Rabbi Mendy Goldstein.  The others wounded were visiting Israeli Almog Peretz and his niece Noya Dahan, an elementary school student.

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San Diego Israel salute

 

With Yom Ha’atzma’ut (Israeli Independence Day) scheduled to begin at sundown Tuesday, April 28, we are continuing our San Diego salute to Israel with photos contributed by members of our San Diego Jewish community from their visits to various parts of the Jewish State.  We ran five photos yesterday and today we are privileged to share with you photos (6) Rand Levin, executive director of Beth Jacob Congregation at the Men’s Section of the Kotel in Jerusalem; (7) Barry Nussbaum, a former member of the Del Mar Fair Board at the boundary marker of the Golan Heights; (8) Members of the Starr family visiting Jerusalem at night; and (9) David Ogul, president of Tifereth Israel Synagogue, posing with two members of the Israel Defense Forces. We’ll continue to post photos of San Diegans’ tribute to Israel over the next few days.  Please send yours, with caption information, to me via editor@sdjewishworld.com

 

Political bytes
*Jewish Insider reports that the political action committee of the Democratic Majority for Israel has endorsed San Diego City Council President Georgette Gomez in the race for the 53rd CD seat from which Susan Davis is retiring.  The article points out that Gomez has attracted support from such Israel critics as U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vermont) and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York)  “as well as pro-Israel donors including Stacy Schusterman and two former AIPAC presidents.”  Gomez is opposed by Sara Jacobs, a scholar in residence at the University of San Diego, who is the daughter of Jerri-Ann and Gary Jacobs, chair of the Jewish Community Centers Association of North America.  Her grandparents are Joan and Irwin Jacobs, co-founder of Qualcomm.

*Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization, has announced that 72 U.S. senators have now cosponsored “The Never Again Education Act,” which would provide grants to schools for Holocaust studies.  “This is our best chance to make a significant and lasting impact against the rising tide of hatred in our country, Rhoda Smolow and Janice Weinman, respectively Hadassah’s National President and CEO, commented in a joint statement.  “Educators need our support, and it is imperative that the Senate pass the Never Again Education Act. It’s time for a vote.  Hadassah members are eagerly anticipating a bill being sent to the president’s desk for his signature.”  The legislation was adopted by the House of Representatives on a vote of 393-5 on January 27.  Among the senators co-sponsoring it are both California’s Democrats, Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris.  One name that does not appear  on the list of cosponsors is that of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who controls the Senate’s agenda.

*Ammar Campa-Najjar, the Democratic candidate in the 50th Congressional District, has disassociated himself with the memory of his late grandfather, Mahmoud Yusuf Al-Najjar, but not so the Fatah Movement that controls the Palestinian Authority. Earlier this month, Fatah marked the 47th anniversary of the grandfather’s “martyrdom” at the hands of the Israeli Mossad, which assassinated him in Beirut along with two other Fatah members, Kamal Nasser and Kamal Adwan. Palestine Media Watch, an Israel-based group that monitors what Palestinians have to say in their newspapers, broadcasts, and social media, describe Abu Yusuf Al-Najjar as a deputy to Yasser Arafat and one of the founders of Fatah. “He was the Commander of Al-Asifa, Fatah’s military unit, and member of Fatah’s Central Committee and PLO’s Executive Committee. He also was the Commander of Operations of the terror organization Black September, a secret branch of Fatah, and involved in the murder of 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics (Sept. 5, 1972). He was killed by Israel in 1973.”  Campa-Najjar had no immediate response to our request for a comment on this report, or one earlier this month in Jewish Insider that he and 53rd Congressional District candidate Sara Jacobs have been dating.

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Recommended reading
*Author Nathan Greenfield in Times of San Diego suggests that many of those protesting coronavirus restrictions see them as de-masculizing.

*Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, writes in The Jerusalem Post how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting Jewish communities around the world.  Not only are Jews victims of the virus; they also are victims of anti-Semites who blame them for it.

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Donald H. Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World.  He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com