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.

Iran Fires Missiles at Israel; Vance and Walz Debate Which U.S. Presidential Candidates Better Suited to Handle Global Emergencies

Vice presidential candidates J.D. Vance, left, and Tim Walz faced off Tuesday evening in a debate moderated by CBS reporters Margaret Brennan and Norah O'Donnell. (Screen grab from CBS broadcast)

The two major party candidates for the vice presidency of the United States — Democrat Tim Walz and Republican J.D. Vance — met each other on a CBS stage for their first and thus far only scheduled debate.  The first question from reporters Margaret Brennan and Norah O’Donnell demanded to know if they would support Israel launching a preemptive strike on Iran. [Donald H. Harrison]

Iran Fires Missiles at Israel; Vance and Walz Debate Which U.S. Presidential Candidates Better Suited to Handle Global Emergencies Read More »

Donald H. Harrison, Israel, News Media, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Squirrel and Chipmunk Decide to Celebrate Hanukkah

Seymour remembers the menorah but doesn’t remember the candles.  He only knows that what he was supposed to bring started with the letter “C.”  So, he stuffs his backpack with a cantaloupe. … carrots … cookies … cashews…  cauliflower… and candy in the form of Hanukkah gelt. [Donald H. Harrison]

Squirrel and Chipmunk Decide to Celebrate Hanukkah Read More »

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

Journalist on the Anti-Israel Campus Beat Says Court Suits Most Effective Way to Stop Encampments

While other tactics such as legislative hearings, donors withdrawing their donations to universities, and discrimination complaints to the U.S. Department of Education all have drawn needed attention to the problem, Kessel said litigating the matter on First Amendment grounds has proven more successful. [Donald H. Harrison]

Journalist on the Anti-Israel Campus Beat Says Court Suits Most Effective Way to Stop Encampments Read More »

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

Israeli Journalist Who Lived Through It Tells What Happened Oct. 7 in a San Diego Sister City

When Hamas terrorists attacked Nahal Oz at 6:30 a.m. that fateful Shabbat morning, Tibon’s two little girls were asleep in their home’s concrete lined “safe room.” Tibon and his wife Miri joined the girls there for what would be nearly ten hours of terror. They didn’t emerge until 4 p.m., when Amir’s father, Noam Tibon, a retired general with the IDF, after having fought his way from Tel Aviv to the kibbutz, knocked on the metal plate that shielded the safe room’s window and urged them to come out. [Donald H. Harrison]

Israeli Journalist Who Lived Through It Tells What Happened Oct. 7 in a San Diego Sister City Read More »

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

Hillel Plans Oct. 7 Observances on Area College Campuses; Braces for Anti-Israel ‘Week of Rage’

Karen Parry, executive director of Hillel of San Diego, said pro-Israel vigils and demonstrations would occur on these campuses notwithstanding a “Week of Rage” announced by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and other anti-Israel groups that will commence Monday, Oct. 7, and continue through Yom Kippur on Saturday, Oct. 12. [Donald H. Harrison]

Hillel Plans Oct. 7 Observances on Area College Campuses; Braces for Anti-Israel ‘Week of Rage’ Read More »

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

Academic Journal Takes Note of San Diego’s Comic-Con

Klickstein’s book tells of Comic-Con’s growth “from an informal gathering of ‘geeks’ into a centerpiece of San Diego’s bustling, gentrified, tourist-trapping downtown area,” Friedmann writes. He goes on to quote one of 50 interviewees quoted in Klickstein’s book, the late Trina Robbins, as explaining why San Diego is the Comic-Con venue. “San Diego’s a great city for a vacation. Much better for a vacation in mid-summer than New York.” [Donald H. Harrison]

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

SF Bay Area Flash Dancers Put on Pro-Israel Performance in San Diego

“One Tribe/ One Star” cofounders Isa Marcus and Laurence Mechali said they formed their dance group in April to show support for Israel which had been suffering the traumatizing after-effects of the Oct. 7 massacre for a half year. [Donald H. Harrison and Nevó Bowne Mathis-Masury]

SF Bay Area Flash Dancers Put on Pro-Israel Performance in San Diego Read More »

California, Donald H. Harrison, International, Israel, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Nevó Bowne Mathis-Masury, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

JFS to Shut Down College Avenue Senior Center Sept. 27

Whereas in its heyday, the College Avenue Senior Center drew between 80 and 120 people for a full day of programming, including lectures, exercise, movies, and an inexpensive kosher lunch, since its resumption after the COVID pandemic, the center’s attendance has averaged only 15 people, and even fewer for the lunch program, according to JFS Chief Operating Officer Dana Toppel. [Donald H. Harrison]

JFS to Shut Down College Avenue Senior Center Sept. 27 Read More »

Donald H. Harrison, Lifestyles, Philanthropy & Volunteerism, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Reserve IDF Officers, Speaking for Themselves, Describe Israel’s Situation

Two reserve Israel Defense Force officers, speaking for themselves only, are touring the United States discussing the statuses of the military war and the propaganda war against Israel.  Maj. Ilan Shulman discussed Israel’s precarious military and strategic situation, and Lt. Col. Amit Grinfeld described Palestinian techniques in creating blatantly false propaganda against Israel. [Donald H. Harrison]

Reserve IDF Officers, Speaking for Themselves, Describe Israel’s Situation Read More »

Donald H. Harrison, Fred Kropveld, Israel, Jewish History, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

A Profound Choice Faces Israel, Visiting Israeli Professor Declares

One choice, he told an audience at Tifereth Israel Synagogue on Wednesday evening, Sept. 12, is to continue its war with the Palestinians. “It means that it (Israel) will become a pariah state and in the long term, perhaps also an apartheid state,” he said.  “It will lose what is left of its authority in the Jewish world. What’s more, it means giving up on the original Zionist dream of creating a safe haven for Jews.” [Donald H. Harrison]

A Profound Choice Faces Israel, Visiting Israeli Professor Declares Read More »

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

Sept. 11 Memorial in Jerusalem Conflated with Oct. 7th Remembrance

The ceremony was held at the 9-11 Living Memorial where the names of all 2,977 of those victims are permanently engraved in an amphitheater dominated by a large empty tomb topped by a sculpted American flag with a representation of a flame at its tip. [Donald H. Harrison]

Sept. 11 Memorial in Jerusalem Conflated with Oct. 7th Remembrance Read More »

Donald H. Harrison, Israel, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Israel, Gaza, Russia, Ukraine Prompt Vociferous Trump-Harris Exchange

Presidential opponents Donald Trump and Kamala Harris clashed on numerous topics during their 90-minute televised debate in Philadelphia, but perhaps most vociferously about the Israel-Hamas War and the Russia-Ukraine War. It started when ABC reporter Linsey Davis posed a question to Vice President Harris about how she would go about breaking the “stalemate” in Gaza. [Donald H. Harrison]

Israel, Gaza, Russia, Ukraine Prompt Vociferous Trump-Harris Exchange Read More »

Donald H. Harrison, International, Israel, Sports & Competitions, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA