Lebanese memories prompted by Beirut explosion

 

Other items in today’s column include:
*More websites worth consulting
*Political bytes
*In memoriam

By Donald H. Harrison

SAN DIEGO —

George Salameh, owner of the Alforon Restaurant on El Cajon Boulevard near 59th Street, remembers living within the area near the port of  Beirut that was leveled by the terrible blast on August 4  that killed at least 177 people and wounded or injured 6,000 more, leaving as many as 150,000 people homeless, and causing property damage estimated between $10 billion and $15 billion.

George and his wife, Sami, serve traditional Lebanese cuisine mixed with warm hospitality to all who enter their establishment.  Augmented by a stained glass mural on one side of the restaurant, the atmosphere that the Salameh family has created is both cosmopolitan and haimische (homey).  People of all religions feel welcome there.  Before the COVID-19 epidemic, it was not unusual to see non-Orthodox Jews mingling happily there with Christians and Muslims, all relishing the flat breads, kibbeh, and other Lebanese specialties typically prepared by George and served with joyful conversation by Sami.  Since the pandemic, the restaurant has had to rely on take-out orders, one of which recently was from my family in celebration of my birthday.

I asked George if any members of his family had been affected directly by the explosion, and he answered, to my relief, that his relatives had been spared.  Then he reminisced, “I was born 500 or so meters from the port. My Dad had his restaurant across the street from the Electricity Building of Lebanon, which overlooked the port at a couple of hundred meters from it. We used to walk down and watch the big ships and count the trucks leaving every time as kids.”

Salameh expressed appreciation to the Leichtag Foundation, which recently publicized ways that concerned Americans could donate through trusted channels for the benefit of the victims of the horrible explosion.  You can access the details, mentioned in a previous column, by clicking here.

 

*
More websites worth consulting

In yesterday’s column, I mentioned some websites that I typically consult while bringing myself up to speed on Jewish and international news.   There are some others I’m happy to recommend for your perusal.

Lisa Daftari publishes The Foreign Desk, which compiles stories from other publications around the world.  Typically, she publishes links to  12-15 issues per issue.

Jewish Insider is a treasury of stories about the candidates in current political races, with details of their attitudes toward the Jewish community and Israel.  They also delve into the worlds of business and entertainment.  It is written in a snappy style, which you are likely to enjoy.

The Jewish Democratic Council of America provides weekly updates from a Democratic party perspective, while the Republican Jewish Coalition offers views from the GOP perspective.

*

Political bytes

53rd CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT — For the seat from which Congresswoman Susan Davis (D-San Diego) is retiring, two Democrats advanced from the primaries to the Nov. 3 general election.  Sara Jacobs, who finished first in the primary, on Monday announced her endorsement by the California State Association of Letter Carriers.   Meanwhile, her opponent, San Diego City Council President Georgette Gomez,  was featured over the weekend on an MSNBC cable broadcast about three Latinas running for office.  If elected, Gomez would become “the first LGBTQ Latina elected to Congress in the entire nation,” the candidate said.

*
In memoriam

Livia Krancberg, 100, died Friday, Aug. 14, Am Israel Mortuary announced. Graveside services officiated by Rabbi Scott Meltzer of Ohr Shalom Synagogue are scheduled at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 18, at the Home of Peace Cemetery, 3688 Imperial Avenue, San Diego. Her niece, Marti Kranzberg, placed the following notice on her Facebook page: “My Aunt Livi passed last night.Josef Mengele was known as the Angel of Death. Livia Szabo Krancberg is an Angel of Life. L’Chaim! To Life! She was an Auschwitz Survivor. My Aunt Livi bravely shared her story as a survivor of the horrors of living through Mengele’s frequent nude examinations of women and girls, at gunpoint, deciding who shall live and who shall go to die in the gas chambers. Filled with unyielding hope for the classrooms filled with young people, she believed:  ‘They hold the key to a better world – a world in which we’ll all be different but in which we’ll all be equal. None of us will be considered a lesser person in this brave new world.'”

 *

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