Volume 2, Nu

mber 30
 
Volume 2, Number 238

 
"There's a Jewish story everywhere"
     
 


SAN DIEGO
JEWISH WORLD
is a publication
of The Harrison
Enterprises of
San Diego, co-owned
by Donald and
Nancy Harrison

Editor: Donald H. Harrison
Ass't Editor: Gail Umeham

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Life and Term Insurance Services
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*Serialized Book: The Reluctant Martyr by
Sheila Orysiek


*Theatre Reviews with
Cynthia Citron in Los Angeles


*Theatre Reviews with
Carol Davis in San Diego


* Thursdays With the Songs of Hal Wingard

* Torah on One Foot by Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal

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Recent contributors:

Sara Appel-Lennon

Judy Lash Balint

David Benkof

Shoshana Bryen

Cynthia Citron

Carol Davis

Garry Fabian

Gail Feinstein Forman

Gerry Greber

Ulla Hadar

Donald H. Harrison

Natasha Josefowitz

Rabbi Baruch Lederman

Bruce Lowitt

J. Zel Lurie

Rabbi Dow Marmur

Cantor Sheldon Merel

Joel Moskowitz, M.D.

Sheila Orysiek

Fred Reiss

Rabbi Leonard
Rosenthal


Gary Rotto

Ira Sharkansky

Dorothea Shefer-
Vanson


David Strom

Lynne Thrope

Gail Umeham

Howard Wayne

Eileen Wingard

Hal Wingard

Complete list of writers

PLEASE HELP US POLICE THIS SITE: If you see anything on this site that obviously is not in keeping with our mission of providing Jewish news and commentary, please message us at editor@sandiegojewishworld.com , so that we can fix the probem. Unfortunately, large sites like ours can be subjected to tampering by outsiders. Thank you!




 

 



Today's Postings

Sunday, October 5, 2008

{Click an underlined headline in this area to jump to the corresponding story. Or, you may scroll leisurely through our report}

INTERNATIONAL


Arab, Jewish children join in peace performance in Jerusalem by Dorothea Shefer-Vanson in Jerusalem

NATIONAL/ CAMPAIGN 2008

RJC, NJDC unveil new ad campaigns (from news releases), with links to video clips

JUDAISM

What about the deeds we failed to do?
by Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal in San Diego

Yom Kippur thoughts on foregiveness
by Rabbi Baruch Lederman in San Diego

SAN DIEGO

Award-winning religion writer urges clergy to become more 'relevant' by Donald H. Harrison in San Diego

SPORTS

A bissel sports trivia with Bruce Lowitt in Oldsmar, Florida


ADVENTURES IN SAN DIEGO JEWISH HISTORY

—February 24, 1950: Who’s New
—February 24, 1950: Brotherhood In Action
—February 24, 1950: Toy Shower
—February 24, 1950: Jewish War Veterans Auxiliary by Binnie Brooks
—February 24, 1950: News of the Fox by John Kluchin
—February 24, 1950: Tifereth Israel Men’s Club

COMMUNITY WATCH

Jewish Community Foundation: Government and Philanthropy - Setting a Common Agenda

Jewish Family Service: Free Transportation To Yom Kippur Services for Older Adults

San Diego Rabbinical Association:
San Diego Rabbinical Association tells Kever Avot/ Imahot service schedule

Soille San Diego Hebrew Day School:
How Rosh Hashanah was celebrated in Soille’s Hebrew classes

Tifereth Israel Synagogue:
Israel Advocacy and Israeli Dance


THE WEEK IN REVIEW


This week's stories on San Diego Jewish World:Friday, Thursday,
Wednesday, Monday, Sunday, Friday, Thursday, Wednesday

UPCOMING EVENTS


Want to know about exciting upcoming events? As a service to readers, San Diego Jewish World flags most event advertisements by date.Oct 5, Oct. 5-Oct. 9

DEDICATIONS

Each day's issue may be dedicated by readers—or by the publisher—in other people's honor or memory. Past dedications may be found at the bottom of the index for the "Adventures in San Diego Jewish History" page.


EMAIL HEADLINE SERVICE~Daily or Weekly

Dear Readers: We have re-established our Email headline service with a new provider, Constant Contact. Whether you are a previous subscriber to the Email headline service or would like to start it for the first time, please click the blue button just below and follow the steps. We now offer you the choice of daily Email headlines or weekly Email headlines. The weekly Email headlines will be sent out every Friday morning (or in some time zones Thursday evening.), and will list all the headlines from the editions of the past week, with links to each edition. —Donald H. Harrison, Editor

For Email Marketing you can trust


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SUNDAY, OCT. 5 LYRIC OPERA'S CANDIDE

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FRI, Oct 3-THURS., OCT. 9 Congregation Beth Israel High Holiday Services

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Please click above to visit Congregation Beth Israel's website



JEWISH COMMUNITY FOUNDATION


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Government and Philanthropy - Setting a Common Agenda

SAN DIEGO (Press Release)—Jewish Community Foundation would like to call the community's attention to a worthwhile forum, "Government and Philanthropy, Setting a Common Agenda" to be conducted Thursday, October 16th, 2008 from 12 noon to 2 pm Location: Congregation Beth Israel, for directions or to RSVP for the event please contact Alexandra Davis at alexandra@jcfsandiego.org or (858) 279-2740.

Speakers include:

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A HERALD IN ZION


Arab, Jewish children join in peace performance in Jerusalem

By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson

JERUSALEMThe Jerusalem Theatre foyer was a-buzz with unfamiliar activity when we arrived for our subscription concert with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra a few weeks ago. Tables were being set up with food and soft drinks. Furthermore, unusually large number of young people were to be seen in that generally rather staid environment.

A word is in order at this point about the Jerusalem Theatre, one of the foci of the city’s cultural and artistic life. It has several auditoria where plays and concerts are performed and films are shown simultaneously. In addition, there is a bookshop which also sells CDs, a pleasant restaurant-cum-café and public areas where works of local artists are exhibited. Its streamlined architecture manages at the same time to be warm and friendly. One almost invariably bumps into someone one knows, as many of Jerusalem’s ‘culture vultures’ seem to move in the same circles. It must be said, however, that the audience generally tends towards the upper age range of the population.

On the evening in question, however, it was obvious that the audience was not the usual homogeneous mix. The event that we happened upon was a special reunion performance marking the twentieth anniversary of Peace Child Israel, a venture that brings Arab and Jewish youngsters together.

The aim of the organisation, as stated in its mission statement, is ‘to promote and contribute to a life of peace and equality between Arab and Jewish citizens in Israel.’ The enterprise, the brainchild of  the late Habima actress, Yael Drouyanoff, was set up in 1988 as a drama workshop for both Arab and Jewish teenagers. It began in Tel-Aviv/Jaffa but has gradually spread to the rest of Israel.

In the framework of the organisation’s activities youngsters from the Arab town of Tira have been paired with their counterparts from Kochav Yair, Ramle with Petah Tikva, Nazareth with Yagur, and Sheikh Dinun in Western Galilee with Ofek, to name but a few. The youngsters meet regularly, get to know one another, work together on writing a play about their lives, and finally put on bilingual Arabic-Hebrew performances for schools as well as for adult audiences. After each performance the young actors come out onto the stage and engage in a question and answer session with the audience, thus stimulating further discussion.

Since this has been going on for twenty years, by now there are many ‘graduates’ of the program, adults working in various spheres of life who are eager to share their experience with the younger generation. In addition, many prominent Jewish and Arab musicians and actors in Israel are involved in the programme, donating their time, energy and talents to fostering the youngsters’ abilities and aiding them in writing and putting on their own plays.

Of course, the most important facet of the program is the creation of a dialogue between the younger generations of the two nations, helping them to overcome prejudices and get to know the person behind the stereotype. There have even been attempts to extend the program to include Palestinian teenagers from East Jerusalem.

The anniversary event brought together current and former participants in the programme, including singer Shlomo Gronich, who composed the organisation’s anthem, and other well-known figures from Israel’s entertainment world such as Moni Moshonov and Dan Almagor.

The programme was featured on the BBC World News programme a few months ago, and is supported by the War Child organization in the Netherlands. Although some funds were provided initially by the Israeli government, these have now dried up, so that the organization is eager to raise funds from other sources. More information about the organization is available on its website.

Shefer-Vanson, a freelance writer and translator based in Mevasseret Zion, may be contacted at dorothea@shefer.com This article initially appeared in the October issue of the AJR Journal, published by the Association of Jewish Refugees in the United Kingdom.


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TEMPLE SOLEL High Holiday Greetings

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LIFE & TERM INSURANCE SERVICES


To learn more about Life & Term Insurance Services, please click the ad above to visit
its website




CAMPAIGN 2008

RJC, NJDC unveil new ad campaigns

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) and comedian Jackie Mason on Friday, October 3, released a video response to comedian Sarah Silverman's "The Great Schlep" video.

In this video, legendary comedian Jackie Mason responds to Silverman's outlandish chutzpah of telling Jews to vote for Barack Obama.  By contrast, Mason encourages people to look at the candidates' records and vote what their conscience tells them.

"Jackie Mason tells it like it is and there is no one else like him in the Jewish community.  A central theme of this video is Mason's outrage at the arrogance and self-importance of Sarah Silverman and her Hollywood friends for telling people whom they should vote for.  In addition, Mason points out that Silverman fails to make the case for why Obama should be president," said RJC Executive Director Matt Brooks.  "While it is our hope that people will be entertained by this video, the message is a serious one.  At the end of the day, no amount of Hollywood star power will erase the fact that Barack Obama continues to have a problem in the Jewish community."

Editor's Note Here are the links to Mason's video and to Silverman's video. The latter contains a warning about language that some may find offensive.

* * *

WASHINGTON, DC (Press Release)- The National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC) on Thursday, Oct. 2, launched a new ad highlighting the important difference between Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain on the issue of reproductive freedom. This is the latest ad in a national ad campaign that will continue to appear in local Jewish newspapers across the country until Election Day.

“While Obama has consistently supported reproductive choice, McCain has long record of being against reproductive choice and has stated that he wants Roe v. Wade to be overturned,” said Ira N. Forman, Executive Director of NJDC. The ad states:

Choice. Protecting the right to choose starts with your choice this November.

Barack Obama supports a woman’s right to choose: “I have consistently advocated for reproductive choice and will make preserving women’s rights under Roe v. Wade a priority as President. I oppose any constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court’s ruling in this case.”
(Statement submitted to NARAL Pro-Choice America, 5/14/07)

John McCain opposes a woman’s right to choose: “I do not support Roe v. Wade. It should be overturned.” MSNBC, 2/18/07

Protect the right to choose while we still have a choice.

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SEACREST VILLAGEHigh Holiday Greetings


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Please click on the ad above to visit the website of Seacrest Village Retirement Communities



SOILLE SAN DIEGO HEBREW DAY SCHOOL



Please click on the New Year's greeting above to visit the website of Soille San Diego
Hebrew Day School



How Rosh Hashanah was celebrated in Soille’s Hebrew classes

12:30 PM El Camino – led by Rabbi Martin Lawson





TIFERETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE




Please click on this ad to visit the website of Tifereth Israel Synagogue



As we consider our shortcomings during these Aseret Yemei Teshuva, let us pledge not only not to repeat our failings but also to make every effort to perform every mitzvah that comes our way in the year to come.

The students, faculty and staff of San Diego Jewish Academy join in wishing you L'shana tova! {To visit the school's website, please click on the advertisement above}





UNITED JEWISH FEDERATION OF SAN DIEGO


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Please click on the ad above to visit the United Jewish Federation website and learn how UJF helps Jews at home, in Israel and all over the world.




AMAZING STORIES OF JUDAISM   DVAR TORAH: Yom Kippur     -     


Yom Kippur thoughts on foregiveness

By Rabbi Baruch Lederman

SAN DIEGO—Mah hu rachum, af ata rachum... Just as He merciful, so shall you be merciful... - Talmud expounding on the Yom Kippur liturgy

The Yom Kippur liturgy teaches us that we were created in the image of Hashem (G-d) and are bidden to emulate His ways. Just as Hashem is merciful, gracious, generous and forgiving, so should we be.

•Rabbi Shmuel Salant, Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, was constantly besieged by people for rulings or personal advice. His family suggested that he set hours to receive the public so that he could get some rest. Rabbi Salant refused, "I can't agree to that in view of the fact that we are obligated to emulate the attributes of God. God does not limit Himself to having special hours when He can be reached, as we attest to in the Grace after meals, 'You constantly sustain us, every day, at all times, and at all hours.' "

•There is a tale of two friends walking through the desert. During some point of the journey they had an argument, and one friend slapped the other one in the face. The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, wrote in the sand: Today my best friend slapped me in the face.

They kept on walking until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but the friend saved him.  After he recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone: Today my best friend saved my life.
 
The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him, "Earlier, you wrote in the sand and now, you write on a stone, why?" The other friend replied "When someone hurts us we should write it down in sand where winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it."

•Bud Marshall kept a small box in his bedroom where he kept several important & sentimental mementos including the medals he had earned for his service in WWII. These medals were very precious to him, particularly the Purple Heart and the Medal for Bravery at Okinawa. He had been exposed to grave danger there and he valiantly persevered and prevailed.
 
The medals conferred on him by his country, meant a great deal to him. His eight year old son Mark, used to sneak into his father's room, pry open the box, and play with the medals, even though he wasn't supposed to. After all, Mark was proud of the medals and proud of his father for courageously earning them.
 
One day Mark showed them to his friend Brian and they played together with the medals. A few days later Mark snuck into the room, opened the box and was horrified to discover that the medals were gone. He was baffled and afraid to tell his father.
 
The next day in school, he saw Brian was going around to all the kids, showing them the medals and telling them that his own father had earned those medals. Mark was furious and confounded. He went right to his father, told him the whole story, and asked him what to do, "I'm bigger than Brian, I can go beat him up and get back your medals. Should I do that?"
 
Mr. Marshall put his arm around Mark and said, "Brian lost his father when he was two years old. The reason he's doing this is because he wishes he had a father. You're lucky, you have a father. Let him keep the medals."

Dedicated by Dr. Al Salganick in memory of his mother Frumet Yetta bat Yosef.

Rabbi Lederman is spiritual leader of Congregation Kehillas Torah in San Diego. He may be contacted at rbl613@nethere.com


LAWRENCE FAMILY JCC, JACOBS FAMILY CAMPUS

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To visit the Lawrence Family JCC website, please click on the advertisement above



JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE

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Pease click the ad above to learn more about JFS "On the Go" program for seniors. To read a San Diego Jewish World story on the program, please click here.



Free Transportation To Yom Kippur Services for Older Adults!

SAN DIEGO (Press Release)—On the Go is providing free transportation to Yom Kippur Services for older adults age 60 and over who don’t drive. This service is a door-to-door shuttle—from the rider’s home to a synagogue in the rider’s neighborhood (see schedules below).

How Can You Help? We need your help in ensuring that our community’s older adults are able to observe the Holidays this year. Please help us spread the word by telling your friends, neighbors, relatives, and fellow synagogue members. 

On the Go offers individual rides, group transportation, and organized trips all year long. To learn more about On the Go, click here

Please Reserve Your Ride by Tuesday, October 7: (877) 63-GO-JFS •  (877) 634-6537

Holiday Schedules & Locations
College Area/Del Cerro/San Carlos/La Mesa (Riders must live in the following zip codes: 92115, 92119, 92120, 91941, 91942): Temple Emanu-El— Wednesday, October 8 • 6:00 – 7:30pm; Thursday, October 9 • 4:30 – 6:30pm.  Tifereth Israel Synagogue: Wednesday, October 8 • 6:00 – 8:00pm; Thursday, October 9 • 10:00am – 2:00pm 

University City/La Jolla/Clairemont (Riders must live in the following zip codes: 92037, 92111, 92117, 92121, 92122): Congregation Beth El: Wednesday, October 8 • 6:30 – 9:00pm; Thursday, October 9 • 9:00am – 1:00pm.  Chabad of University City: Wednesday, October 8 • 6:00 – 8:00pm; Thursday, October 9 • 10:30am – 1:30pm.  Congregation Beth Israel: Wednesday, October 8 • 6:00 – 8:30pm; Thursday, October 9 • 4:30 – 6:30pm.  Dor Hadash:
Wednesday, October 8 • 7:00 – 9:00pm; Thursday, October 9 • 5:00 – 8:00pm.
 
North County Inland (Riders must live in the following zip codes: 92064, 92127, 92128, 92129, 92131): Ner Tamid: Wednesday, October 8 • 6:00 – 8:30pm; Thursday, October 9 • 4:00 – 6:45pm.  Chabad of Poway: Wednesday, October 8 • 6:30 – 9:00pm. Thursday, October 9 • 11:00am – 1:00pm.  Temple Adat Shalom: Wednesday, October 8 • 7:30 – 9:30pm; Thursday, October 9 • 3:30 – 6:00pm.  Chabad of Scripps Ranch: Wednesday, October 8 • 6:00 – 8:00pm
Thursday, October 9 • 11:30am – 1:30pm.
   
Please Reserve Your Ride by Tuesday, October 7; (877) 63-GO-JFS •  (877) 634-6537




THE JEWISH CITIZEN


Award-winning religion writer urges clergy to become more 'relevant'

By Donald H. Harrison
 
SAN DIEGO—Sandi Dolbee (right), the religion and ethics editor who recently accepted a “buy out” ending her 23-year tenure with the financially troubled San Diego Union-Tribune, suggests that clergy members need to more actively present their personal views about pressing social issues while journalists should keep many of their opinions to themselves.

Interviewed on Thursday, October 2, two days after her association with the Copley newspaper came to an end, Dolbee expressed the hope that the Union-Tribune will continue devoting resources to covering religion and ethics, a beat which won honors for Dolbee from the National Conference of Christians and Jews and the Religion Newswriters Association as well as two “MVP” awards from her own newspaper.  “If they don’t cover religion, I will be very disappointed,” she said.

Over coffee and muffins at Mimi’s Restaurant in Mission Valley, Dolbee referred to surveys that indicate that between 80 and 90 percent of Americans believe in God but only between 30 and 40 percent attend religious services regularly.   What keeps people away from houses of worship?

“My sense of it is that the pendulum has swung so that organized religion has been painted with the same brush as the ‘establishment’ and for some reason the ‘establishment’ is no longer cool,” Dolbee said.   “Maybe that will change.”

“The other thing: I don’t, frankly, see many rabbis or many ministers or priests being moral leaders here, and by moral leaders I mean speaking up, stepping up, being in front of the public.  If you go to the Museum of Tolerance (in Los Angeles), one of the wonderful giant pictures there is Martin Luther King coming across the bridge with….”

“Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel,” I interrupted, the Civil Rights era-image image forming before my eyes.

“You got it,” she said.  “Not only that: look at the whole picture and the lineup of religious leaders.  This is what needs to happen again; they need to become—for lack of a better word—‘relevant’”

Dolbee, who spent 16 years on the religion and ethics beat after serving as an editor on the metropolitan desk, said that some clergy members perhaps “have become comfortable inside their offices.”

Many times, she said, lay people have told her that they are “spiritual” but “not religious.” 

“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that phrase,” Dolbee said.  “What does it mean?”

She said that when she probes, people tell her that they don’t like organized religion, or that they find services boring.  But some of the people who say this have never gone to services, she reported.

“I’m thinking that for too many generations there was the slogan, ‘if you build it they will come.’ It’s not happening anymore, so I would dearly love to see the priests and the rabbis and the ministers get out of the churches and synagogues and get out into the open areas—forums, be part of real life, meet people on the streets, start holding chats in Starbucks and places like that.  There is something called ‘Spirituality on Tap’ which some of the Catholic Churches have started for young people. Come to a bar Thursday nights or whatever, and let’s talk, let’s talk informally about what questions you have.  I see that as a hopeful thing.”

She also mentioned Temple Solel’s “Synaplex” in which “you have all these choices and that may be something that will bring people in.  You can go some place where you can go and talk, or you can go and have a family event, or watch a movie.  That is another thing: as much as you might want to resist it, television and movies have come into our conversation, come into our worlds, as if they are real people and real events, so I think you can use that—show a movie and talk about it.”

In contrast to her vision of outspoken clergy, Dolbee says that believes that as a reporter she should try to keep her personal faith private—to leave her personal beliefs behind at the door of the home or office of the interviewee, and to make herself a blank canvas upon which her interview subjects can paint new information.  She said many journalists flatter themselves that they have become experts in their fields, people whose opinions people value.  In fact, she said, their only expertise may be as conveyors of stories, and readers are not much interested in their opinions.

In the past when I’ve asked Dolbee what her own religious background was, she declined to answer.  Now that she is no longer “on the beat,” would she be willing to discuss her beliefs now?  “Not for a while anyway,” she responded.  Is this because she expects to remain in the field of covering religion and ethics?  “No,” she responded. Perhaps she’ll write a book, or perhaps she’ll  work at a think tank on
“a research project or something like that,” she said. “I love journalism, I think journalism is very important, but right now we are not in a place (San Diego) where it is valued.”

She said her decision to accept the buy-out was based on realistic calculations.  Assuming the San Diego Union is purchased, the new owner may want to further reduce expenses.  As Dolbee now is paid top scale, she said the new owner may reckon that for the same amount of money, two junior reporters could be hired.  Or, Dolbee said, the new owner may ask her to accept a reduction in salary or benefits.  After working so many years, she added, she does not want to feel less valued.

Dolbee and I had a friendly debate over the issue of masking one’s beliefs.  I believe that I can tell interview subjects where I am coming from (the name of our publication, San Diego Jewish World, tends to give it away anyway), and whatever differences I may have with news subjects, I still can report their opinions fairly.

Dolbee responded that whether a reporter should disclose his or her faith comes up in discussions at every annual convention of the Religion News Writers Association, which she served as president in 2006.  Members are divided on the issue.

“There has been only one time when somebody wouldn’t talk to me,” she recalled.  “It was an evangelical women—I was trying to interview her for a breaking story, and she asked ‘do you believe in Jesus Christ as your savior?’ and I said, ‘I never talk about my faith.’ ‘Well obviously, you are ashamed of your faith and I’m not talking to you’ and she hung up.  That was the only time it has been a barrier.”

One reason she keeps mum, she explained to me, is that “if I start out by telling somebody, oh gee, I am here to interview you about your Orthodox Judaism and by the way I’m this—this is what I believe—my fear is that their doors are going to start to close. “  She said the subject might think, “Oh, I better not mention that, I better not mention this, and I’ll pander to that.”    Dolbee declared: “I don’t want that; I want to be a blank canvas setting so that they can fill the canvas and not worry about me coloring it.”

Objectivity is a journalistic value to be treasured, Dolbee said, so much so that she asked the people who edited her stories to be extra vigilant in watching for any bias that might creep into stories in which she dealt with the Holocaust.  “My stepfather is a Holocaust survivor,” she said, but did not furnish further details.

 Dolbee has covered her share of controversial stories, even receiving a death threat.

The story that set off the angriest reaction was one that juxtaposed the lives of Marla Bennett, a San Diego student who was murdered by a bomb in the cafeteria of Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and Rachel Corrie, a pro-Palestinian American demonstrator in Gaza who was crushed by an Israeli bulldozer in what Israeli authorities say was an accident—a conclusion disputed by Palestinians.

“Marla was a totally innocent victim, studying I think when the bomb went off, a horrible tragedy, terrible thing, and Rachel, she was absolutely committed to peace and justice, and some would also see her as a victim,” said Dolbee.  “It was a terrible accident, the Israeli bulldozer driver said he did not see her; it was a mounded situation, so visibility was not great.  But the fact is they died trying to do something they believed in.  Marla was a witness for Judaism, who went to Israel, to study there; Rachel saw herself as a witness for social justice issues.  There were some parallels. They were both political science majors, both were about the same age; both sets of parents were middle class people trying to be outstanding citizens.  It was a tough story to write—a story of them being worlds apart—but also a story of death and destruction in the Middle East.”

Her story prompted a torrent of letters, about 500 of them, mostly in Email form “because it got posted on some sites that labeled me as anti-Jewish, so I got a lot of mail.  One of them was from a rabbi who said he was praying that me and my family would be blown to bits…. I emailed him back and said, ‘Rabbi, I am really, really sorry that you feel like this.  I tried very hard to tell the story of two women who were worlds apart in their ideals but still died because of the violence in the Middle East and the problems in the Middle East, and I am trying to raise the question of when all the violence and the tragedies will stop.  When will deaths stop?  I am not on a campaign or a crusade, and I am real sorry that you feel this way.’  I said the other thing too is—half jokingly—‘if you are going to end a death threat, you probably shouldn’t do I with an Email on your address.’”

The rabbi did not respond, but “I also got a lot of Emails from Jewish people who said ‘thank you for raising this issue; my heart hurt when I read this story but I thank you for raising it.’”

Wasn’t part of the objection to the story the concept that it seemed to pose a moral equivalency between a person who was deliberately murdered by a bomb, and another person who died in an accident  while protesting against Israel?

“That was precisely the point that was made by Marla’s rabbi, Marty Lawson (of Temple Emanu-El),” Dolbee said.  Lawson was quoted in her story on that issue.  “I am not going to make that call; that is not for me to make,” she said.

Another controversial story for which Dolbee was honored was one that she called “the faces of hate,” in which she interviewed people who had been labeled “hate mongers” to see if she could provide insight to her readers into what made them tick.  Among those she interviewed was former Ku Klux Klan Grand Dragon Tom Metzger, who now is a leader of the White Aryan Resistance.

“I spent a good deal of time with him; he was extremely articulate. …  I asked tough questions, pushed him and pushed him, but my moral fiber was outside the door.  It was a tough story to write, because what he believes about race and about anti-Semitism goes against all my personal beliefs, but I left it at the door.”

The National Conference of Christians and Jews thought the story worthy of its top award. “I thought it equipped people with the knowledge to know what is going on,” Dolbee said. “We do not understand people whom we disagree with.  If we don’t understand our ‘enemy,’ then how can you deal with them?  You can’t deal with people out of ignorance.  If you don’t understand how your car works, you can’t fix it. “

Dolbee’s remarkable journalistic career began at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, where she earned a BA in a brand new journalistic program.  Having grown up in San Jose, she figured the San Jose Mercury News would be a natural place to work, but management there at the time didn’t see it that way. So she returned to Washington, and went to work in Auburn for a three-newspaper chain.  She encountered a rule that “women don’t cover news” and was consigned to writing obituaries, features and stories that could be assembled in the office.  One day, she recalled, the police scanner crackled with information about a shooting fatality at a home.  The reporter who otherwise would have covered the story was in the middle of his lunch—“a tuna sandwich,” Dolbee can still recall—so she rushed out of the newsroom saying she would get it, without waiting for anyone to object.

Not used to seeing a woman covering a story, police let her into the house, where she sat down on the couch and got the story from an in-law about the victim having killed himself.  Later, when the police found out that Dolbee was a reporter, and not a relative of the victim, they were furious, but the precedent had been set, and Dolbee got to cover police stories.  She became so fascinated by the beat, she even kept a police scanner in the bedroom, often answering its call in the dead of night. 

She stayed at that newspaper for six years, moving up to the position of assistant managing editor.  She relocted to the San Francisco Bay area, and went to work for the Haywood Review, and later for a newspaper in Fremont, rising to managing editor.  At meetings for editors of various newspapers in the region, she met the editor of the San Jose newspaper, who inquired why she hadn’t come to work for his newspaper.  She told him of her unsuccessful post-college quest, and within three months he offered her a job.  In six years there, she was an assistant city editor and a managing editor, and then a friend who had gone to work in San Diego, columnist Peter Rowe, told her that the San Diego Union was seeking to expand its coverage. 

Dolbee came to San Diego in 1985, where she worked on the city desk, and at one point wrote a memo suggesting that instead of having simply a page about church and synagogue doings, the San Diego Union should treat religion and ethics news as an opportunity for enterprising stories.  She said she thought the memo had disappeared into a black hole, but then one day, she was summoned to meet with Karin Winner, editor of the San Diego Union

The Union and the Evening Tribune were merging into a single paper, and under the circumstances, a meeting with Winner was high drama.  Some reporters were laid off; others learned they had a job “in the brave new world of the merger,” Dolbee said.  Winner told Dolbee she wanted her to pioneer a religion and ethics page, promising “full support, free rein” and urging her to develop the beat.  The year was 1992.  For sixteen years, Dolbee was in the vanguard of coverage of major issues facing religious communities.  Along the way she developed a number of sources among the rabbinate, listing in particular Rabbi Lawson, Rabbi Wayne Dosick of the Elijah Minyan, Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal of Tifereth Israel Synagogue, and, in Massachusetts, Rabbi Harold Kushner, author of the 1981 book When Bad Things Happen To Good People.

All these rabbis, she said, were supportive of the concept of covering both religion and ethics.  “Some people didn’t get the concept of ‘ethics’ but the people in Judaism, they got it, because the Jewish religion is built on ethics: the Book of Micah, the Sayings of the Prophets are ethics, so they got it.  They helped me, told me who else I could talk to.”

Harrison may be contacted at editor@sandiegojewishworld.com



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FOOTBALL

A bissel sports trivia with Bruce Lowitt

OLDSMAR, Florida--
Q: Which lineman helped make the San Diego Chargers one of the NFL’s best run defenses in his 2004 rookie season?

(a) Scott Mruczskowski
(b) Mike Zandofsky
(c) Pete Mikolajewski
(d) Igor Olshansky

He was ejected from a 2006 game against Denver for punching Tom Nalen after the Broncos’ center tried to cut-block his surgically repaired knees. The NFL fined him $10,000 for the punch Nalen $25,000 for the illegal play. He has many tattoos, including two of the Star of David.

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An announcement was made for all to attend the A.Z.A. First Annual Caaard Parttty   on SSSunnndaaay, February   19th, at the Temple Center.

Past president Irving Cohen, Secretary Dave Schloss and Guardian Harold Garvin with their wives attended the Installation of Officers of the Southern California Council of Bnai Brith which was held at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles. Grand Lodge President Goldman honored our own Eddy Breitbard who was elected First Vice President of the Council and appointed him as General Chairman of the 1950 Bnai Brith Convention to be held in San Diego, August 5th to 9th inclusive.

Last year’s convention was held at Las Vegas with all of San Diego’s Bnai Brith delegates admitting that it was one grand convention.  With the 1950 Convention to be held in San Diego due to the efforts of the Bnai Brith Lodges here, every Jewish person whether a Bnai Brith (member) or not should endeavor to do what he can to assist in making this convention the best one in Bnai Brith history.  Help is needed to fill the many jobs necessary to make this a successful convention in the fields of entertainment, equipment, supplies, finances, etc.   Contact Eddy Breitbard or any of the Bnai Brith Lodges and offer our services. 

Our next meeting will be a social, so bring the wife or girl friend, Tuesday, February 28th to Tifereth Israel Synagogue.  Please try to come and meet the Samuel I. Fox members, partake of the refreshments and enjoy the entertainment.


Tifereth Israel Men’s Club
Southwestern Jewish Press, February 24, 1950, page 5

On Tuesday, February 7,  the Tifereth Israel Men’s Club elected the following officers and board members:

President Zel Greenberg; 1st Vice President, Sid Smith; 2nd Vice President Joe Spatz; Treasurer, Sam Druskin; Financial Secretary, Ben Levenson and Recording Secretary Moe Hershey.

Members elected to the board for a two-year term are Bob Cheron and Al Young.  Those elected to serve for one year are Sam Brenes, Harry Brussels, Frank Sugarman and Moss Addleson.

An installation of officers will be held on Tuesday, March 7th at 8:00 p.m. at Tifereth Israel Synagogue.  This gala affair will feature entertainment, a show and music. All members and their wives are cordially invited.c

“Adventures in Jewish History” is sponsored by Inland Industries Group LP in memory of long-time San Diego Jewish community leader Marie (Mrs. Gabriel) Berg. Our indexed "Adventures in San Diego Jewish History" series will be a daily feature until we run out of history.
  

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SAN DIEGO JEWISH WORLD
: THE WEEK IN REVIEW


Friday, October 3, 2008 (Vol. 2, No. 237)

INTERNATIONAL/ CAMPAIGN 2008

Biden, Palin clash over whether Bush policies successful in Israel, Middle East; by Donald H. Harrison in San Diego

The shamelessness of the RJC; by Ira Forman in Washington D.C.

JUDAISM
Weighing ourselves on the moral scale; by Sheila Orysiek in San Diego

LIFESTYLES
How to embrace life in the midst of loss; by Sara Appel-Lennon in San Diego

DINING OUT
Chefs join a pair of fun fundraisers; by Lynne Thrope in San Diego

ADVENTURES IN SAN DIEGO JEWISH HISTORY

—February 24, 1950: Congregation Beth Jacob
—February 24, 1950: San Diego Bay City Bnai Brith Women
—February 24, 1950: Temple Beth Israel
—February 24, 1950: Daughters of Israel

COMMUNITY WATCH

Soille San Diego Hebrew Day School: Beautiful Rosh Hashanah creations made in Soille Hebrew Day’s art classes


Thursday, October 2, 2008 (Vol. 2, No. 236)

INTERNATIONAL
Suing the terrorists for their assets; by Larry Stirling in San Diego
Moviemaker tells impressions of Jews in Andhra Pradesh; by Jonas Pariente in Chebrole, India
A Bene Israel educator in Andhra Pradesh; by Sharon Galsulkar in Chebrole, India

CAMPAIGN 2008
Coping with a Conservative Supreme Court; by David Benkof in New York

ARTS
Thursdays With the Songs of Hal Wingard

#182, I'll Stay As I Am
#44, The Prince and the Rose
#265, Change

Christian production, This Beautiful City, presented at the Kirk Douglas Theatreby Cynthia Citron in Culver City, California

COMMUNITY WATCH

Lawrence Family JCC: Special event October 12: Israel Philharmonic Orchestra program, a prelude at the Lawrence Family JCC to the November 2 performance at the Civic Center

Soille San Diego Hebrew Day School: What’s happening in Soille Hebrew Day’s Middle School science classes?

ADVENTURES IN SAN DIEGO JEWISH HISTORY

—February 24, 1950: Hadassah Presents Fourth Annual Premiere March 26
—February 24, 1950: Letter to the Editor from Victor Schulman
—February 24, 1950: Jolly Sixteen

Wednesday, October 1, 2008 (Vol. 2, No. 235)

INTERNATIONAL
•Analyzing Olmert's stunning turnaround by Ira Sharkansky in Jerusalem
•Israel's flag waves over Wilshire Blvd by Cynthia Citron in Los Angeles
•U.S. staffs missile alert system in Israel by Shoshana Bryen in Washington, D.C.
•The Jews Down Under by Garry Fabian in Melbourne, Australia:
—New York boy's Melbourne bar mitzvah
—Novelist praised, slammed after sex-abuse allegations
—Australian students flock to Israel
—Melbourne Culinary Institution relocates
—Retail hub planned for Jewish adults with disabilities
—Turnbull pledges to stay true to Jewish community
—Three Perth women honoured
—ECAJ participates in national dialogue
—Community mourns education warrior

CAMPAIGN 2008
•NJDC's Forman protests RJC tactics; RJC releases new anti-Obama advertisement letter from Ira Forman and article by Suzanne Kurtz, both in Washington D.C.
•San Diego Council candidate Emerald found the way to her mother's Judaism by Donald H. Harrison in San Diego

JUDAISM
•But how do the fish like Tashlich? by Donald H. Harrison in San Diego

LIFESTYLES
•60th college reunion reignites memories of dating, USO dances, career expectations by Natasha Josefowitz, Ph.D.

ARTS
•Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, due in SD in November, provided Holocaust refuge by Eileen Wingard
• Holocaust testimonies surpressed by Soviets now in The Unknown Black Book by David Strom in San Diego

ADVENTURES IN SAN DIEGO JEWISH HISTORY
—February 24, 1950: Reform Congregations in Bid for United Religious Front
—February 24, 1950: Notice {Newspaper Merger}
—February 24, 1950: Mrs. Selma Getz Heads Women’s Division of UJF
—February 24, 1950: Allocations Committee Sets New Pattern

COMMUNITY WATCH
•Soille San Diego Hebrew Day School: Math Marathon at Soille Hebrew Day

Monday, September 29, 2008 (Vol. 2, No. 234)

INTERNATIONAL
U.S election more a spectacle for voters than an opportunity to deliberate
by Ira Sharkansky in Jerusalem
Tracking one's family through the Shoah by Peter Garas in Canberra, Australia

JUDAISM
Une-Taneh-Tokef: Chant of awesome import during High Holy Day services by Cantor Sheldon Merel, with an audio clip of him chanting this prayer

LIFESTYLES
The Magic Circle—A glimpse of Eden by Sheila Orysiek in San Diego
Your baby is off to college, but you can't stop wishing that s/he was still at home by Marsha Sutton in San Diego

ARTS
Back, Back, Back is not where reviewer plans to go, at least not anytime soon by Carol Davis in San Diego
All that Chazz dazzles at the Ruskin by Cynthia Citron in Santa Monica, California
ADVENTURES IN SAN DIEGO JEWISH HISTORY
--February 24, 1950: Fund Workers Get Set For Annual Drive
--February 24, 1950: Christian Committee Presents Program
--February 24, 1950: Famous Singing Teacher in San Diego
--February 24, 1950: Baranov Elected Chairman of Del Mar Charities

COMMUNITY WATCH
Soille San Diego Hebrew Day School: Students use all of their senses to experience the traditions of Rosh Hashanah

Sunday, September 28, 2008 (Vol. 2, No. 233)

INTERNATIONAL
Obama, McCain debate Mid-East tactics by Donald H. Harrison in San Diego

JUDAISM
Rosh Hashanah Fair at Soille Hebrew Day orients pupils to tastes of High Holidays by Donald H. Harrison in San Diego
Torah reading may be learned bit by bit by Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal in San Diego
A burial illustrating the power of prayer by Rabbi Baruch Lederman in San Diego

SPORTS
A bissel sports trivia with Bruce Lowitt in Oldsmar, Florida

ARTS
Hard to admire these catty, self-indulgent women, but Old Globe play is worthwhile by Carol Davis in San Diego

ADVENTURES IN SAN DIEGO JEWISH HISTORY
—February 10, 1950: Inside A.Z.A; by Leonard Naiman
—February 10, 1950: To San Diego Youth by Norman Holtzman
—February 10, 1950: Temple Beth Israel

—February 10, 1950: Congregation Beth Jacob
—February 10, 1950: Tifereth Israel Synaggogue
—February 10, 1950: Beth Jacob Ladies to Hold Purim Dinner


COMMUNITY WATCH
Jewish Family Service: Mental disorders are common in the Jewish community
Lawrence Family JCC: San Diego Jewish Music Festival Previews Israel Philharmonic Visit
Soille San Diego Hebrew Day School:
Yehoshua: Soille Hebrew Day Fourth Graders’ Superhero

Link to previous editions

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