Travel and Food

Pizza and appreciation delivered to health workers

I called Dr. Kalmar, and he liked my idea.  He spoke to the head nurse and Peggy Woods, the medical staff coordinator. It took a few days, but we were able to work everything out, following certain guidelines. With some of my savings and the help of generous friends, including Janna Leoff and Edda Temoche, I raised $240 for 20 individual pizzas. Nurse Karen told me they could not share pizza from the same box, so they had to be individual. [Mimi Pollack]

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Donald H. Harrison, Mimi Pollack, San Diego County, Travel and Food

Major Jewish groups to meet CV19 challenge together

Gary E. Jacobs, the San Diegan who serves as the national chairman of the JCC Association Board of Directors, declared Wednesday that “the Jewish community has historically overcome the greatest challenges only when we united and work together.  This is one of those moments when we in the JCC Community, along with the Federations, summer camps and so many others will collaborate to address this unprecedented crisis.” [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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Business & Finance, Donald H. Harrison, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, The World We Share, Travel and Food, USA

Universities urge Pass/No Pass grades this semester

With in-person classes transferred to Internet learning at UC Berkeley, my grandson, Shor Masori, is back home in San Diego, monitoring his classes via computer.  Recently, he and his fellow undergraduates received a notice from Bob Jacobsen, Letters & Science Dean of Undergraduate Studies.  It began, “The chair of the Academic Senate has written to explain that for this semester only, the default grades that instructors will give are Pass and No Pass.” [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Shor M. Masori, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Travel and Food

Kibbutz with San Diego connections subject of new memoir

Located south of the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) and about a kilometer west of Israel’s border with Jordan, Kfar Ruppin, a kibbutz with San Diego connections, is the subject of an enchanting memoir by Rachel Biale, a Berkeley, California, resident who grew up there. [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Middle East, San Diego County, Travel and Food

JAFI brings teen emissaries in SD County home

Three Israeli youth who have been serving in San Diego County as shlichim (emissaries) for the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) left for Israel on Sunday — their one-year tours in the United States interrupted by the shutdown of many area Jewish institutions in reaction to the spreading coronavirus.  Opportunities to interact with Jews on an organized level having been greatly reduced in San Diego County, the three 18-year-olds will return to Israel where, after a mandatory 14-day quarantine for all returnees to Israel, they will be able to do volunteer work and have Pesach seders with their families. [Our shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Jerry Klinger, Middle East, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, The World We Share, Travel and Food, USA

Jewish Federation monitoring CDC’s meetings advice

The Jewish Federation of San Diego County “at this time” does not plan to cancel any of its meetings or events in response to the coronavirus pandemic. “However,” assured Michael Jeser, its CEO and president, “should the situation warrant, we will inform participants immediately if another decision is made.” [Our Shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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Cantor Sheldon Foster Merel, z"l, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Middle East, San Diego County, Shor M. Masori, Travel and Food, USA

March of Living postponed; 12 local residents affected

Eight students and four adult leaders from San Diego County who had expected to participate during April in the annual “March of the Living” – a two-week trip including the concentration camps in Poland and a visit to the nation of Israel – have received news that the journey has been cancelled because of the coronavirus. [Our shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish Religion, Marcia Tatz Wollner, Middle East, San Diego County, Travel and Food, USA

Local law enforcement and Israel

Israel boycott advocates in San Diego County have been attempting, so far without success, to persuade local law enforcement executives to refuse to travel with the Anti-Defamation League for familiarization with Israeli police techniques. Tammy Gillies, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, said such a push was successful a few years ago in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, “where the City Council was asked to stop organized trips to Israel by law enforcement.  They passed that and it was a shock to us. … There are organizations in San Diego working very hard and lobbying our law enforcement agencies not to send people to Israel.” [Sour shtetl San Diego County column by Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, Eva Trieger, International, Middle East, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Travel and Food, USA

San Diegans’ dream trip leads to new website

In 2017, newlyweds Jonathan Moed and Zoe (Jurkowski) Moed went on a year-long dream trip around the world, and now Jonathan is pursuing a “passion project” to help high-tech start up entrepreneurs in developing nations realize dreams of their own. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Business & Finance, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, San Diego County, Travel and Food, USA

U-T endorsements elude most Jewish candidates

Jewish candidates haven’t done very well so far in their bids for The San Diego Union-Tribune’s political endorsements.  In most cases, on San Diego County ballots, the daily newspaper has selected non-Jewish candidates over Jewish ones.   There is one exception.   Here is a review by level of government: [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, International, San Diego County, Travel and Food, USA

Tired brains make default decisions

We are bombarded with constant decision-making, and our brains get tired. This explains why ordinarily sensible people buy junk food, splurge on unnecessary items, or procrastinate. Our brains begin to look for short cuts either by acting impulsively, not thinking through consequences, or by saving energy by doing nothing—avoiding making any decision—which could also lead to unintended consequences. Becoming aware that our brains are beginning to function by default, we can postpone whatever decision we were about to make. If your need is to decide now, give your brain some glucose and you’re good for another hour or so. [Natasha Josefowitz, Ph.D]

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Lifestyles, Natasha Josefowitz, Travel and Food

Hadassah Magazine article prompted OH! San Diego

The March 6-8 Open House San Diego in which 93 venues will open their doors to visitors can trace its origin to an article in the Winter 2012 edition of Hadassah Magazine, which featured an article about the Open House programs in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Susanne Friestedt said the article so resonated with her that she traveled to London, headquarters for the Open House architectural movement, to learn what she would need to do to add San Diego (and environs) to the list of cities in the Open House program. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, San Diego County, Travel and Food, USA