By Donald H. Harrison
SAN DIEGO – When Jose Galicot visited the Museum of the Jewish Diaspora (today called Anu-Museum of the Jewish People) in Tel Aviv, one exhibit, in particular, brought him to tears. On an animated map, it showed hundreds, if not thousands, of Jewish communities in Europe, represented by candles. As the Nazi scourge spread, almost all of those candles were snuffed out.
He recalled that exhibit during a dinner speech sponsored by the Tifereth Israel Synagogue Men’s Club on Sunday, July 21. A wealthy man, who is a leader of the Mexican Jewish communities on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, he made a pledge to “light new candles” by helping to establish or to maintain Jewish communities in a variety of venues.
Two of which I had been aware were in Cabo San Lucas and La Paz, Baja California, where full-fledged synagogues staffed by rabbis of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement now stand. In Cabo San Lucas, where Galicot often vacations, he brought together three diverse segments of the Jewish population: native Mexican Jews, Israeli businessmen, and Americans who winter in Cabo. With the help of Chabad Rabbi Mendel Polichenco, an Argentine who then was the rabbi in Tijuana, he formed representatives of these three groups into a board of directors.
Financed by Galicot, Polichenco made regular monthly visits to Cabo San Lucas. The congregation grew and in 2009 Polichenco recruited Rabbi Benny Hershcovich and his wife Sonia to settle in Cabo. Sonia is the sister of Polichenco’s wife Dini.
The congregation attracted the attention of Egyptian-born Raymond Shinazi, a chemist who developed drugs used in fighting Hepatitis C and HIV viruses. Shinazi spent $12 million dollars purchasing property and building a synagogue building for Cabo’s small Jewish community.
In a power point presentation, Galicot listed other places where he has helped to light other “candles”: Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico City, Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Tijuana and San Diego.
In Tijuana, the Galicots help maintain the Centro Social Israelita, where an Orthodox synagogue, under the auspices of Chabad, is housed side-by-side with tennis courts and a swimming pool of what is essentially a Jewish community center.
The businessman’s methods include bringing people together, encouraging them to work as a team and to elect leaders from within their membership, to develop their own programming and cadre of volunteers. While he contributes financially to these efforts, he is also a cheerleader and an advocate for education and youth programming, so the nascent Jewish communities can sustain themselves.
In San Diego, the Galicot family has helped to sustain Ohr Shalom Synagogue, a Conservative congregation that occupied the historic building at 3rd and Laurel Streets after its original owner, the Reform Congregation Beth Israel, moved to La Jolla. Ohr Shalom needed to be extensively renovated. In recognition of his contributions, Galicot was honored with a Light of Ohr Shalom Award.
Galicot along with his wife Hanche (Ana), “a legend in the Jewish community (who) created (the local) WIZO (Women’s International Zionist Organization)” also were instrumental in establishing the Ken Jewish Community, at which Spanish-speaking Jews (mostly Mexican) preserve their culture through classes, sports, and travel to Mexico for the children, and ongoing social and educational activities for the adults.
The Ken (“Nest” in Hebrew) successively occupied several locations in San Diego County before settling in at the San Diego Jewish Academy, where a significant percentage of the student-body are of Mexican Jewish heritage. He noted proudly that SDJA Lions have been considered a powerhouse in high school football
Galicot said San Diego is considered the second-most-active Mexican Jewish community surpassed only by Mexico City, which counts 50,000 Jews in its population. He said San Diego’s success is because of inclusion—rather than exclusion—of Ashenazim, Sephardim, and of mixed-religion families.
During his talk at Tifereth Israel Synagogue, Galicot said not all his efforts at encouraging Jewish life have been successful. In some places such as Guadalajara and Monterrey, suspicion and prejudice between Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews could not be overcome and rather than be successful together, the two communities preferred to struggle separately.
Asked about Mexico’s President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum – Mexico City’s former mayor and the first woman as well as the first person of Jewish heritage to be elected – Galicot noted that her father is Ashkenazi and her mother is Sephardic. Both were immigrants to Mexico, who came out of Eastern European Communist movements. He said that Sheinbaum does not identify as a member of the Jewish community.
Having made his fortune in development of shopping centers and industrial complexes, as well as in telephone service concessions, Galicot told of his tikkun olam efforts to uplift not just Jews but all the people of Tijuana as well through his creation of Tijuana Innovadora (Innovative Tijuana). Through financial investment and the work of volunteers, that organization stimulates arts and culture, environmental sustainability, entrepreneurship and innovation, and prevention of violence.
Galicot said initially he created for small businesses an organization that provided an attorney, an accountant, financing, advertising, and volunteers. With Tijuana Innovadora’s assistance, a local dressmaker helped to create a fashion industry in Tijuana. Now “we have a 120 designers who are selling in Europe.” In September, a major fashion show will be held in the Guadalupe Valley, southeast of Tijuana. “We will call it ‘Fashion Valley,'” he quipped.
In a dangerous neighborhood of Tijuana, Tijuana Innovadora created an architecturally beautiful building called Casa de Ideas (House of Ideas) which sponsors free classes and camps for children. It also has a youth theatre.
Other programs include training for future leaders, environmental efforts, a sculpture park, 30 art exhibitions throughout Tijuana, “wherever the people are;” and a youth symphony. “A boy with a violin won’t kill, he won’t be bad,” Galicot said.
Twenty years ago, he heard a child brag about his family’s affiliation with criminal gangs. Galicot responded by sponsoring full-page advertising that extols the “real cartel of Tijuana,” picturing people who are famous, accomplished singers, doctors, editors and inventors.
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Donald H. Harrison is publisher and editor of San Diego Jewish World.