Donald H. Harrison is the publisher and editor of San Diego Jewish World.
Harrison began his journalism career in 1962 on the UCLA Daily Bruin. Following graduation he joined the staff of the Associated Press, and later became politics writer for The San Diego Union. Afterwards he pursued a career in tourism, helping to establish San Diego’s Cruise Ship Program as well as Old Town Trolley Tours of San Diego. He also wrote for such Jewish publications as the San Diego Jewish Press Heritage and San Diego Jewish Times before starting San Diego Jewish World in 2007.
Don’s latest work is the three-volume Schlepping and Schmoozing Along the Interstate 5.
He is the author of six previous books. Those with links may be obtained on Amazon.
The plant that will produce approximately 6.8 acre feet (8,400 cubic meters) of recycled water a day from Tijuana sewage is about 35 percent constructed, and the 70-mile (113-kilometer) pipeline that will carry the water to the wine-growing region of Valle de Guadalupe in Baja California is scheduled to begin construction this coming January. [Donald H. Harrison]
This is a novel about identities: those that are real and those that can be created. You need only think of yourself or your children to know about real identities. But what about created ones? There are those you might take on yourself — such as an actor does in assuming a new role — and there also are those that are imposed upon you. [Donald H. Harrison]
Novel Deals in Identities — Real, Imagined, and Imposed Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison
This is a collection of 20 short stories about the upcoming December holidays. Three of the stories have distinctly Jewish angles, whereas others either are Christmas oriented or so general they might be told at any time of the year. Some may well be stories left over from Bernstein’s last book, Miserable Love Stories. [Donald H. Harrison]
Humorous Stories for the December Holidays Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Trivia, Humor & Satire
Before the expected sentence was handed down, family members of the murdered victim looked directly at the confessed shooter on Thursday, Sept. 30, and poured out their hearts. “What has your racist, entitled rage offered you in the end?” demanded Hannah Kaye of the defendant who had acknowledged murdering her mother, Lori Gilbert Kaye, 60, in the lobby of Chabad of Poway on April 27, 2019, the last day of Passover. [Donald H. Harrison]
Family of Slain Lori Gilbert Kaye Speaks Out As Chabad of Poway Shooter is Sentenced Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, San Diego County
This memoir combines journal entries of Zionist fundraiser Irma Ehrlich with the research and narrative of her granddaughter, Catherine Ehrlich, to tell the story of a strong-willed woman who migrated to England, and later the United States, with her son, Paul, from Vienna, following the Anschluss that merged Nazi Germany and Austria. [Donald H. Harrison]
Refugee from Hitler Promoted Zionism in Britain and U.S. Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Middle East, USA
A Jewish detective imprisoned in Auschwitz is drafted by the camp commandant to determine who has stolen the ledger in which there is an accounting of the gold extracted from the bodies of murdered prisoners. Shimon Divko knows that he will be sent to the gas chamber whether he solves the mystery or doesn’t — the first alternative because he would then know too much; the second as punishment for failure. [Donald H. Harrison]
Auschwitz Prisoners Drafted as Detectives in Mystery Novel Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison
Following a chance meeting aboard an airplane, a doctor simply identified as “J.” is invited to give a lecture at Nevergreen College, which was built on an island that formerly housed an insane asylum. When the time for the lecture arrives, no one is there to attend it, not even the woman who invited him. He delivers it nevertheless. The following morning, he tours the campus, noticing at a student club expo that there are tables for almost every kind of belief, however ridiculous or contradictory. [Donald H. Harrison]
‘Nevergreen’: A Satiric Commentary on Contemporary College ‘Values’ Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison
This journalistic tour-de-force tells the story of October 27, 2018, the day an antisemitic gunman snuffed the lives of 11 congregants at the three small congregations that occupied the Tree of Life Synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is not simply a depiction of the carnage, but also a portrait of the community in which it happened. Author Oppenheimer, a former religion columnist for The New York Times, methodically tells us the stories of the victims, including those who barely escaped with their lives, and of the diverse reactions in the community to the shooting. There were those who organized vigils; those who protested a photo-op visit to the synagogue by then President Donald Trump with his wife, Melania, daughter, Ivanka, and son-in-law Jared Kushner. Additionally, there were trauma tourists, compelled perhaps like moths to a flame, who wanted to see the site. There were also presumptuous would-be helpers, who felt they knew better than Squirrel Hill’s residents how the victims should be mourned. And there were fundraisers, who through various appeals including a Go-Fund-Me effort, raised millions of dollars for the families of the victims and for the congregations themselves. [Donald H. Harrison]
‘Squirrel Hill’ Portrays Pittsburgh Community Where Tree of Life Massacre Occurred Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Travel and Food, USA
The Jewish Federation of San Diego County has updated its list of Jewish organizations and their leaders who have signed its statement condemning the anti-Israel resolution adopted by Local 1931 of the American Federation of Teachers, which represents faculty at the San Diego Community College District and the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District. The statement issued Sept. 17 by the Jewish Federation and other elements of the organized Jewish community may be read here. The AFT resolution that triggered the controversy may be read here. [Donald H. Harrison]
Jewish Federation Updates List of Organizations Condemning AFT 1931 Resolution on Israel Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Middle East, San Diego County, USA
Irène Némirovsky, who wrote this novella, was murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust. Although she grew up in Kiev, in what today is part of Ukraine, she wrote in French. Translator Sandra Smith has brought her stories to light under the aegis of the Kale Press. [Donald H. Harrison]
Novella Relates the Odyssey of a Child Genius Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison
Chaim Klein, an archaeologist and former commander of an IDF anti-terrorist unit, has a knack for picking up religious souvenirs. In Jerusalem, for example, he finds the Ark of the Covenant; in Ethiopia, the chalice from which Jesus drank at the Last Supper; and in England, the miraculous sword with which David slew Goliath. But he’s on the hunt for an even bigger prize: the Tablets of the Law on which God, Himself, inscribed the Ten Commandments. [Donald H. Harrison]
‘The Sword of David’ Cuts Through Familiar Themes Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison
This novel concerns a Mexican-American family of mixed Catholic and Jewish religious backgrounds, one which celebrates Easter and Passover, Chanukah and Christmas as cultural holidays rather than religious ones. There is plenty of drama in the Alvarado family, but not because of any noticeable differences in religious outlook. [Donald H. Harrison]
‘L.A. Weather’ Stormy for Four Marriages Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison
A new year, a new start, a new beginning as we celebrate Rosh Hashanah 5782. [Donald and Nancy Harrison]
Rosh Hashanah Wishes from the Co-Publishers Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion
Meticulous research documents the lives of the Rabinowitz family in small town Poland; their suffering after the Nazis invaded; their miraculous escape to the forest, where they survived in hiding for several years; their post-war relocation to Italy, while awaiting permission to immigrate to Palestine; their decision to move instead to the United States; their lives in Connecticut; and the marriage of daughter Ruth to a future rabbi, from whom author Rebecca Frankel received her Jewish education. [Donald H. Harrison]
Biography Tells of Jewish Family’s Holocaust Survival in the Forest Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, USA