Donald H. Harrison

Donald H. Harrison

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.

Emotional Times Take Toll; Rabbi Mathew Marko Resigns Tifereth Israel Synagogue Pulpit

This weekend Rabbi Mathew Marko will lead his last Shabbat services as the spiritual leader of Tifereth Israel Synagogue. He resigned at the two-year mark of a three-year contract. His explanation, in a letter to the Conservative synagogue’s congregants, should help us understand how sometimes life brings extraordinary pressures and stresses upon a congregational rabbi. [Donald H. Harrison]

Emotional Times Take Toll; Rabbi Mathew Marko Resigns Tifereth Israel Synagogue Pulpit Read More »

Donald H. Harrison, Israel, Jewish Religion, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Biden, Trump Clash in First Debate Over Israel, Charlottesville Neo-Nazis

President Biden accused former President Trump of being an admirer of Adolf Hitler, and Trump accused Biden of favoring Palestinians over Israelis in a wild, hard-swinging debate Thursday night moderated by CNN reporters/ anchors Dana Bash and Jake Tapper, who are both members of the Jewish community. [Donald H. Harrison]

Biden, Trump Clash in First Debate Over Israel, Charlottesville Neo-Nazis Read More »

Antisemitism, Donald H. Harrison, Holocaust, International, Israel, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Therapist who also Needed to be Healed Relates Her Experience with Mental Illness

Before she was prescribed lithium, author Marcia Naomi Berger experienced manic episodes in which her mind would race all night, preventing sleep, and continue racing the next day with her speech trying to keep up. [Donald H. Harrison]

Therapist who also Needed to be Healed Relates Her Experience with Mental Illness Read More »

Books, Poetry & Short Stories, California, Donald H. Harrison, Lifestyles, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Lesbian Breaks Free from Gur Hasidim

So, of course she tried to suppress the fact that she was physically stimulated by the touch of women and conversely deadened by the touch of men.  She took no joy in marital sex; it was a duty imposed upon her by the expectation of the Gur community.  The only benefit of having sex with her first husband was her two children, for whom her love knew no bounds. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Lifestyles, Staff and Bylined Contributors

A Jewish Immigrant Mother’s Tale

The trauma remained with her, influencing the rest of her life.  Working as a translator of Polish, Yiddish, and Russian at the Bund offices, she was exposed to frequent reports of antisemitic incidents in Poland, heightening her sense of danger.  She took comfort in the strength of her boss at the Bund, Leopold.  [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Combined American and Hebrew Calendar Book Makes Planning Easy

He has put together a joint Hebrew and Gregorian calendar and planner, in which Jewish and American holidays are listed on a day-by-day basis along with listings of candle lighting times for the start of Shabbats and Jewish holidays as well as what Torah portions will be read in synagogues around the world on each Saturday. [Donald H. Harrison]

Combined American and Hebrew Calendar Book Makes Planning Easy Read More »

Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Fred Reiss, EdD, Israel, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Highly Readable Holocaust Memoir Carefully Delineates Sources

In 1942, when Alfred was 8 and Herbert was 5, their parents arranged for the boys to be sent to a summer camp operated by a Jewish rescue organization.  Much to the boys’ distress, their safety-minded parents had them stay much longer than the summer.  While they were gone, their father, who had been helping the French Resistance, was arrested by the Vichy government. [Donald H. Harrison]

Highly Readable Holocaust Memoir Carefully Delineates Sources Read More »

Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Holocaust, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Romance Novel Addresses Corruption in the Organ Transplant Business

This novel is a story of love, loss, and redemption with authoritative descriptions of transplant surgeries. First-time novelist Weill formerly directed the heart-lung transplant program at Stanford University. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors

‘Kidnapped’ Resurrects 166-Year-Old Controversy Between Jews and the Catholic Church

The name of “Edgardo Mortara” once rocketed around the Jewish and Catholic worlds – the Jews protesting that he was kidnapped by the Catholics, and the Catholics saying that once the boy was secretly baptized by the Mortara family’s maid, it had no choice but to assume parental control. [Donald H. Harrison]

‘Kidnapped’ Resurrects 166-Year-Old Controversy Between Jews and the Catholic Church Read More »

Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

San Diego Hebrew Day School Gala Applauds Rabbi Weiser, Welcomes Rabbi Geiger

“Some are born great. Some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” Weiser then turned to the man who will succeed him: “Dear Rabbi Geiger: we are thrusting greatness upon you tonight!” [Donald H. Harrison]

San Diego Hebrew Day School Gala Applauds Rabbi Weiser, Welcomes Rabbi Geiger Read More »

Antisemitism, Donald H. Harrison, Israel, Jewish Religion, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Jewish Political Scene: Democratic Candidates Feast on Trump’s Criminal Conviction

So far, Biden’s reticence has contrasted with the rhetoric of at least two Jewish California Democrats, who believe they can turn Trump’s felony conviction to their advantage in the upcoming November 5 elections. [Donald H. Harrison]

Jewish Political Scene: Democratic Candidates Feast on Trump’s Criminal Conviction Read More »

California, Donald H. Harrison, Israel, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Treachery, Sex, Sportsmanship Dominate Novel about 1936 Olympic Games

Hitler sought a propaganda victory for his Nazified country with the Olympic Games supposed to be the setting for a demonstration of “Aryan” superiority. Brundage, blinded by his own lust for prominence, became Hitler’s stooge, so desperate was he to rise to the presidency of the International Olympic Committee.  [Donald H. Harrison]

Treachery, Sex, Sportsmanship Dominate Novel about 1936 Olympic Games Read More »

Antisemitism, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish Fiction, Staff and Bylined Contributors