Donald H Harrison
Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com
Fourth Yahrzeit for Shimon Peres Observed
The Peres Center for Peace & Innovation on Tuesday hosted the first virtual ceremony of its kind, to commemorate the fourth anniversary since the passing of the Ninth President of the State of Israel,...
Tale of a Jewish girl hidden during the Shoah
Author Bart Van Es knew about Lien de Jong, the Jewish girl who was provided a home and a new identity with his grandparents during the time the Nazis occupied Holland. However, after such...
Jewish Legislative Caucus amends Ethnic Studies bill
The State Legislature on Monday gave final approval to a bill requiring that ethnic studies be made a requirement for graduation from California high school. Members of the Legislative Jewish Caucus sent out a...
Arson, vandalism, RJC video ramp up tensions in Jewish community
Jewish community tensions are being ramped up with news of an arson fire at the Chabad House at the University of Delaware, vandalism at a Reform synagogue in Kenosha, and a video from the...
When hippies invented their own Judaism
Take yourself back to the 1960s and 1970s when Jewish hippies envisioned creating their own brand of Judaism. Kosher food mixed with marijuana. Come as you are davening with cushions in a circle, instead...
Ellis Island and the name ‘Kaputnik’
Visiting my family in this Contra County town, I happened across a book from the PJ Library titled Mrs. Kaputnik’s Pool Hall and Matzo Ball Emporium by Rona Arato. Now, I’m one of those fellows who...
Half-Jewish boy survives Nazi school
The Boy Who Saw in Colours by Lauren Robinson; (c) 2020; ISBN 97818380-533540; 361 pages.
This novel arrived unbidden to my reading pile; its author evidently British given that the letter “u” that found its way...
‘Intentional Jewish communities’ incubator wins award
“Intentional Jewish communities” are groups of Jews who not only want to worship and learn together, but who also want to live in close proximity to each other, fostering a sense of shared destiny...
A tale of adventure, romance, and Russian anti-Semitism
A Bend in the Stars by Rachel Barenbaum, Grand Central Publishing, © 2019; ISBN 9781537-46288; 451 pages plus acknowledgments; reading group guide; author Q&A; $16.99.
Now in paperback, A Bend in the Stars takes its name from the...
George Floyd honored, dishonored by protests, riots
Here in San Diego County, peaceful demonstrators honored the memory of George Floyd, the African-American victim of a white Minneapolis policeman who continuously and fatally pushed his knee into Floyd’s neck, hampering the prone...