Other items in today’s column include:
*Jewish community coronavirus news
*Yom HaZikaron/ Yom Ha’Atzma’ut
*Political bytes
*Recommended reading
*In memoriam
SAN DIEGO — Jewish community members are celebrating the recovery from cancer of Michael Jeser, the executive director of the Jewish Federation of San Diego County.
On April 23, he posted on Facebook, that he and his wife, Laura “met with my surgeon yesterday morning and received the following results from my surgical pathology tests. I am 100 percent cancer free! The doctors were thrilled that the chemo and radiation did their job blasting the tumor away. Whatever the surgeons removed during surgery appeared to be dead scar tissue, meaning there was no living tumor in my body for them to remove. Everyone was concerned about the location of the tumor on the trachea and to have what is really the best case results feels amazing.”
Some residual effects, he said, will include not having his voice back at least until May. “There is no pain associated with this part of my recovery, but you can imagine not being able to speak is frustrating and delays my overall recovery.” He also can’t eat or drink, so he requires a feeding tube. He does have some pain in his collar bone, which resulted from the surgery.
Up to 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, Jeser had received 357 comments from well-wishers. I picked out 14 comments from people whose names you might know, to give you the flavor of the universal excitement and relief.
Diane Benaroya: Lchaim!
Marsha Friend Berkson: That’s the absolutely best news I’ve heard.
Heidi Gantwerk – Such wonerful news. (Heart symbols) to you all.
Rabbi Jeremy Gimbel: Wonderful.
Robin Israel — What excellent news!! So happy at this moment for all of you.
Emily Jennewein: Such great luck and excellent medicine. I’m so happy to hear.
Seth Krosner: What terrific news.
Craig Parks: Cancer Free! The two best words I’ve seen in a while. So overjoyed to see those words. Sending continued healing prayers your way as you recover.
Cheryl Rattner Price: The best news EVER! It’s clear you have to move forward slowly. I am visualizing steady and complete healing, calm and clear seas ahead.
Margalit Rosenthal. Tremendous news! Wishing you a continued recovery.
Glenda Sacks Jaffe: Fabulous that you are cancer free–sorry to hear about the other challenges but hopefully these will all be resolved soon. Stay healthy and rest up.
Michael Sonduck: B”H (Baruch Hashem)
Jennie Starr: Just incredible news. Rest up. Heal. Hoping it all means you get to move on and forward.
Craig Taubman: To perfect health and healing
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Jewish community coronavirus news
*Congresswoman Susan Davis (D-San Diego) said she voted on Thursday for the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act “because it provides critical resources for my constituents who are engaged in a sustained fight for their lives and livelihoods. It is a vast improvement over the inadequate plan proposed by the Senate majority two weeks ago. It now targets small businesses that don’t have the same banking relationships as big corporations. And it provides resources for hospitals and more testing that will be key to opening our economy.” She added “Although I am proud of this vote, I was disappointed that more funding for state and local governments on the front lines of this crisis was left out of the final bill. However, I am hopeful about statements from Republicans and the Administration on the need for this aid.” A press release accompanying her statement gave more details.
*Our correspondent at Seacrest Village Retirement Community, Jeanne Shenkman, says that residents at the Jewish community-run retirement home have their temperatures taken daily by staff members during the coronavirus pandemic. At left, Jerry Frankel has his temperature taken by Carmen, a member of the Seacrest Village staff.
*Camp Mountain Chai, which is sponsored by the San Diego County Jewish community, will hold a virtual camp reunion for its previous campers at 1 p.m. Sunday via the Internet. As there will be break-out sessions for different age groups, it is recommended that each former camper register using a separate computer device via this link. Registration must be completed prior to 11 a.m. Sunday.
*San Diego City Councilwoman Barbara Bry will host two Internet “house calls” to connect constituents with experts on coronavirus issues. On Monday, April 27, at 5 p.m., panelists will include three experts from UC San Diego on mental health: Professors Suzi Hong, David Janowsky, and Helane Fronek, along with marriage and family therapist Marc Rosenberg. To register click here. On Wednesday, panelists will discuss how small businesses can recover from the pandemic. Panelists include Tayde Aburto, president of the Hispanic Chamber of E-Commerce, and Donna DeBerry, president of San Diego Black Chamber of Commerce. Bry is a candidate for mayor in the Nov. 3 runoff election.
San Diego City Council President Georgette Gomez, a candidate for retiring Congresswoman Susan Davis‘ seat in the 53rd CD, messages: “Our opponent’s quarterly fundraising report just went public, which means we got a jarring look at what we’re up against. Sara Jacobs collected over $5 million for her campaign. $4.3 million of that total came from her own pocketbook. But there is some good news: Our campaign has more donors. A lot more. In fact, 11,120 people contributed to our campaign, and the vast majority of those donors chipped in small donations of $5, $35, and $100. That helped us report a very respectable $1.3 million.”
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Israel observances
*The Jewish Virtual Library will webcast Reuven Solomon, an Israeli tour guide, leading a virtual tour of Caesarea, including the man-made harbor of Sebastos, Herod’s Bathhouse by the Sea, and discussions of the Talmud and Chrisian connections to the former Roman stronghold in Israel, at 9 a.m., Sunday, April 26, for those who register here.
*Masa Israel Journey will webcast on its Facebook page from Latrun, Israel, memorial services for Israel’s fallen soldiers at 10 a.m. Monday, April 27. The worldwide celebration will include presentations by Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin; Isaac Herog, chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel; David Koschitzky, chairman of Keren Hayesod-UIA board of trustees; Tzipi Hotovely, Israel’s minister of diaspora affairs, and Mark Wilf, chair of the Jewish Federations of North America. In addition to paying tribute to Israel’s fallen soldiers, the ceremony will honor the memory of Lori Gilbert Kaye, who was gunned down a year ago during the attack on Chabad of Poway here in San Diego County.
*In our continuing presentation of photos from members of San Diego County’s Jewish community on their trips/stays in Israel, we show Jack and Judy Morgenstern at the Dead Sea, where the mud is collected and sold around the world. While we can’t vouch for it, the mud is believed to be good for such various ailments as psoriasis, acne, arthritis, and chronic back pain. At right is a picture of Marcus Loebenstein, a graduate of Soille San Diego Hebrew Day School and the Southern California Yeshiva (SCY) High School, receiving a surprise hug from his mother Iris Loebenstein of La Jolla during a training exercise for medics in the Israel Defense Forces.
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Political bytes
*Assemblyman Todd Gloria, a candidate for mayor of San Diego, said his office “partnered” with the San Diego Unified School District, Feeding San Diego, the Ocean Beach Town Council, and the San Diego Food Bank to open a new meal pickup at Dewey Elementary School for children who normally would be provided lunches at schools in the Ocean Beach, Midway and Point Loma areas. “These drive-thru/ walk-up pickup locations in our city are just one of the ways we are lucky to live in a community that is coming together to put ALL children first, especially during this COVID10 public health crisis,” Gloria said.
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Recommended reading
*This weekend marks the 100th anniversary of the San Remo Conference at which leaders of the Allied nations that defeated Germany and the Ottoman Empire during World War I met in Italy to determine the boundaries of the Middle East. This conference adopted the Balfour Declaration which looked with favor on the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. More about the centennial may be learned by clicking here.
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In memoriam
Eleanor Lieb, 99, died Wednesday, April 22, in her sleep, reported her son-in-law I Gerry Burstain, a former president of Ner Tamid Synagogue in Poway. She was born in 1921 in Springfield, Massachusetts, to Eastern European immigrant parents. About this time women got the right to vote and the world was just getting over the Spanish flu. She vehemently hated the cold. Her parents Aaron and Sarah Libitz, moved the family to a small city called Los Angeles. There she thrived speaking English for the first time and going on to graduate from Los Angeles High School. She enrolled at a small university called UCLA and majored in math. Marriage and World War II interrupted her studies and when her husband Al Lieb went into the Navy, she volunteered to chauffeur visiting dignitaries. After the war she and Al started manufacturing TV antennas. She raised two children Judy (Lieb) Burstain and Greg Lieb and ran the business office. When a call for help went out she adopted two teenagers Barbara Lieb and Alan Lieb after both their parents died from cancer. The business was sold in the 60’s and before boredom set in she became a top-selling realtor in the San Fernando Valley. Upon retiring she moved to San Diego and began volunteering in a public grammar school which she did for 20 years until they gave her a retirement party at age 90. Her husband Al died in 1997 and she became the leader of the Lieb clan. In her last years, she moved north to the Sacramento suburb of Lincoln, California, where she was active in her synagogue and social groups. She continued to travel, knit blankets for her great grandchildren, read several books a week and solve all the newspaper puzzles daily. In addition to her four children she is survived by 9 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren. “We know your hearing had been a challenge for many years, but we hope you can hear everyone clearly now say how much you meant to our lives and how much you will be missed,” commented grandson, Dr. Todd Burstain of New Orleans. Elealnor Lieb was buried at Hillside Cemetery, next to her husband, in Los Angeles.
*Private services were held in San Diego for Sara (Miller) Zucker, 95, who died April 24, Am Israel Mortuary reported. She will be buried in Shalom Memorial Park in Arlington Heights, Illinois.
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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.