{Click on a link to jump to the corresponding story. Or, you may scroll leisurely through our report}
INTERNATIONAL As Arabs begin to unify, Israelis are fragmenting ... by Rabbi Dow Marmur in Jerusalem The time has come to acknowledge an ominous reversal of roles.READ MORE
Some good news in the Mediterranean to start the week ... by Shoshana Bryen in Washington, D.C. We were not surprised when Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini announced at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers that Italy would not participate in Durban II. READ MORE
When the flowers come back to Kibbutz Ruhama ... by Ulla Hadar in Kibbutz Ruhama It is no secret that this winter started out very gloomy, with no rainfall at all. As a result not only the crops in the fields were affected but also all the wild flora around us. READ MORE
SAN DIEGO Yi Li Gao's friends join march for lung cancer cure ... by Donald H. Harrison in San Diego As her friends marched against lung cancer in San Diego on Sunday, March 8, Yi Li Gao lay somewhere between life and death in a hospice in Taipei, Taiwan, a half world away. READ MORE
A Jewish connection to a root canal? But of course! ... by Sheila Orysiek in San Diego Editor Don Harrison’s mantra that there is a Jewish story everywhere at first glance seems - well - plausible, but maybe not 100%. READ MORE
ARTS Schiff concert to focus on Jewish Folk Music Society greats ...by Eileen Wingard in San Diego Four Jewish Folk Music Society composers represented at Violinist Zina Schiff‘’s March 23 concert are Yoel Engel, Lazare Saminsky, Joseph Achron and Arkady Kougell. READ MORE ADVENTURES IN SAN DIEGO JEWISH HISTORY October 17, 1952; Southwestern Jewish Press:
Communities Plead for Liberal Immigration Act READ MORE
Jewish Community Center READ MORE
Adult Institute Opens for 4th Year READ MORE
Jolly 16 Dance Set For November 9 READ MORE
United Nations Week Oct. 19-26 READ MORE
USO-JWB Day November 5 READ MORE
Federation Okays Study To Be Made READ MORE JEWISH INTERNET FAVORITES We continue our examination of Jewish entertainers Ed Wynn does a skit with Carmen Miranda on his television show VIEW VIDEO
STAFF BOX Hillel Mazansky, a frequent contributor of Internet and Power Point gems has found this PowerPoint presentation on the decades-long work by farmer Alec Garrard to create a model of the Second Temple. To navigate through the images, use the clicker on your mouse.
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.
NOTE 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!
JERUSALEM—The time has come to acknowledge an ominous reversal of roles. Whereas we were used to say that it was impossible to talk to the Palestinians, now it’s the Israelis who can be charged with inarticulate and incoherent politics. Here are a few indicators.
• Despite the deep divisions between Hamas and Fatah, the two seem to be coming together enough to form a joint government. Even if Hamas still refuses to recognize Israel, it’ll be part of a government that’ll continue to speak to Israel. At the same time Israel is forming a narrow rightwing government that’ll be too extreme to work with the Knesset opposition and incapable of appealing to a national consensus.
___________________________________________ Click above to visit San Diego Jewish Academy's website
BOOK READING CHART (Press Release)—
San Diego Jewish Academy’s Fifth Grade leadership group monitored the school’s progress in reading 1700 books during the month of February. Showing their graphs are: Back row (l-r): Teacher Sheryl Rabinowitz, Shane Katz, Reut Baltinester, Agostina Waisfeld, Belanie Nagiel, Rami Lieberman. Front row (l-r): Maia Zelkind , Jeanette Gaistman, Sigal Kahn, Anika Prednis.
• Despite deep divisions within each of the Palestinian camps (Hamas Gaza v. Hamas Damascus; Fatah v. its many splinter groups), they show enough coherence to be able to negotiate with adversaries. But the formation of the new government of Israel has created new divisions within each party that’ll make Israel difficult to govern.
•Despite the standard formula that Palestinians and Israelis need strong leaders, which prompted Likud to style Netanyahu as sucha man, we now see that it’s wisdom, not strength that makes for true leadership: Abu Mazen, not the Hamas mob; Obama, not the neocons; but who and not Netanyahu?
•Despite the old image of rough Palestinians not knowing how to talk to foreigners in contrast to sophisticated Israeli diplomats, we now have very suave Palestinians talking to leaders of many countries while Israel is about to appoint a Foreign Minister (Lieberman) who’s neither sophisticated nor suave.
• Despite the fact that even dogmatic Palestinians are adjusting to new realities created by the Obama administration, Israeli politicians are still caught up in the old ways. Thus whereas, instead of taking a leaf out of the Americans’ determination to talk to potential enemies (Russia, Syria, Iran, the Taliban) Israeli politicians about to assume power aren’t even prepared to say “two states for two peoples” but tell us, with no regard for reality, that the Palestinians already have a state: the kingdom of Jordan.
• Despite the fact that even belligerent Palestinians know that war doesn’t solve anything, irrespective of who’s the winner, Israeli generals still believe that they can defeat their enemies in battle. We don’t seem to have accepted that the last two wars, though nominally showing Israeli military prowess, did Israel more harm than good.
• Despite the fact that even Palestinian ideologues have realized that it’s not possible to act against the United States, once its leader has firmly decided on a cause of action, Netanyahu and his crew still believe that they can charm their way past the White House by appealing direct to Congress and to American Jewry.
The late Thomas Kuhn alerted us to the reality of paradigm shifts when he showed how progress is made when old formulas are discarded because circumstances have changed. Winners are those who embrace the new whereas losers are left behind trying to defend and protect the old with ever more wild theories. It’s like that in religion and it’s like that in politics. The rhetoric of Israeli politicians points only to variations on the old paradigm. They don’t seem to have noticed that it’s obsolete, not least because Barack Obama now dominates the world. Does Israel only have a Barak, not an Obama?
Marmur is rabbi emeritus at Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto. He divides his time between that city and Jerusalem, and may be reached in either place via marmurd@sandiegojewishworld.com
Italy Quits Durban II—We were not surprised when Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini announced at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers that Italy would not participate in Durban II, saying "aggressive phrases of an anti-Semitic nature" in the draft documents were "totally unacceptable." He said the statements "must be eliminated," and that Italy would not participate unless the draft document was changed.
Viva Italia.
The U.S. Navy Returns to Haifa—In the heyday of the mid-1980s, 40 to 50 ships of the U.S. Sixth Fleet annually visited Israel. Thousands of sailors and Marines shopped, ate and toured in Haifa and beyond. They made themselves useful and loved, adopting schools and community centers. The USO - an early project of JINSA and partly the result of a very early JINSA Flag & General Officers Trip to Israel - was overseen by the "Mother of the Sixth Fleet," Gilla Gerzon, who made it one of the best-loved facilities in the USO system.
The American military and the Israeli public have always been close. We remember the American general who took a Patriot missile battery to Israel from Germany during the first Gulf War talking about the welcome his troops received in Israel - and how they responded. "The Israelis set up phone banks to enable the soldiers to make free calls to their families in the U.S. They cooked for us; they took us home for dinner. And we didn't have one single serious incident of military discipline while we were in Israel - hundreds of young soldiers and not a single incident. Because they felt they were with family."
The frequency of visits declined in the 1990s, in part because of the wars in Yugoslavia and deployments related to the Gulf War. But it was the so-called "second intifada" and the bombing of the USS Cole off the coast of Yemen that caused the U.S. Navy to halt port visits to countries across the region, including Israel - although the American consul in Haifa was quoted in The Jerusalem Post as saying "the safety of Haifa's port was still deemed adequate by the U.S."
Now, they're back! The combined efforts of the city government and the U.S. Embassy convinced the Navy to make Haifa a port of call for the Sixth Fleet once again. Last week, the USS Vella Gulf (CG-72), an Aegis guided missile cruiser, docked in Haifa to begin five days of R&R.
Haifa Municipality spokesman Roni Grossman said, "It's significant that there is a renewed connection between Israel and the American Navy. Now we're doing everything we can to show the sailors a good time."
We have no doubt the U.S. Sixth Fleet will once again find the people of Haifa - and all of Israel - welcoming them back as friends, allies and partners in the region. And that our service personnel will serve, as they always do, as a terrific example of the American people. Bryen is special projects director for the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs. (JINSA). Her column is sponsored byWaxie Sanitary Supply in memory of Morris Wax, longtime JINSAsupporter and national board member _____________________________________________________
To visit Congregation Beth Israel's website, please click the ad
MEMORIES—Noga Oz, whose late aunt Shoshana Damari recorded what many consider the theme song of Southern Israel's red flower festivals — Kalaniyot—addresses a festival gathering in Kibbutz Ruhama of the Sha'ar Hanegev municipality.
KIBBUTZ RUHAMA, Israel—It is no secret that this winter started out very gloomy, with no rainfall at all. As a result not only the crops in the fields were affected but also all the wild flora around us.
Usually at the end of January and throughout February, the vast areas around Kibbutz Ruhama are covered in carpets of wild red anemones (kalaniyot). This year it has been quite difficult to find even a couple of red anemones blossoming in Ruhama.
The accompanying photo from last weekend was the closest I have been able to come to show any red carpets this year. The shot is from the main road near the kibbutz. These are not wild anemones flowering but poppies and wild yellow chrysanthemums.
For some years now as a part of the "Red South" festival, celebrating the blooming of red flowers, marches have been staged in the open areas around Kibbutz Ruhama. The "Red South" festival begins on different dates in southern Israel depending on when the wild red flowers bloom. The festivals typically include activities like bike rides, a farmers market, marches, food, field trips and more.
Over the last two weekends of February heavy rainfalls occurred, and a march was conducted March 7.
Red poppies near Kibbutz Ruhama
The organizers arranged an easy, two-kilometer walk for families and a six-kilometers trail hike for the more sturdy walkers.
Along the route, several stations were situated offering activities and excitement for the walkers. One station was a Bedouin tent with camels. Inside Kibbutz Ruhama a playground had been set up for the children, and there were also stands selling food and beverages.
Two years ago, the march of the red anemones was dedicated to the memory of the popular Israeli singer Shoshana Damari. One of her very well known songs was "Kalaniyot" (anemones), which she sings in the YouTube video clip below:
At the end of this year’s march, a small ceremony outside the "Orchan" guesthouse situated in Kibbutz Ruhama. Several members of Shoshanna Damaris family participated in the march and the ceremony.
Her niece Noga Oz, director of the North American education desk at the Jewish Agency (JAFI) said "I am proud to represent the family of Shoshana Damari here at the March of the red anemones dedicated to her memory. There can be no way more beautiful to remember my aunt than to walk through the magnificent landscapes of Eretz Israel. We, the family are proud to be in Sha'ar Hanegev, especially after this last year, which has not been easy for the people living here.
Marching proudly in the open air, we’re enjoying how the sun beams gently caress the body and feeling emotionally touched by the blooming of the wild flowers, although this year not many anemones
where to be found."
"It seems to me that Spring is just around the corner and this Saturday has been the start of the beginning and of renewal.
Amazing how the words of the song "Kalaniyot" (anemones) are still as relevant as ever at this place and at this moment".
THE JEWISH CITIZEN FEET IN SAN DIEGO, THOUGHTS ON TAIWAN—Participants in the Lungevity Foundation march against lung cancer included at
left Eric Sands and David Harrison, and at right Peggy Han and Cathy Sun. Most of the march was alongside San Diego Bay.
Yi Li Gao's friends join march for lung cancer cure
By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO—As her friends marched against lung cancer in San Diego on Sunday, March 8, Yi Li Gao lay somewhere between life and death in a hospice in Taipei, Taiwan, a half world away. A San Diego resident, Gao had felt strong enough several months ago to visit family members on her native island. But the disease progressed more rapidly than expected, leaving her unable to return to San Diego.
The contingent of Gao’s friends were among thousands of marchers who had contributed a minimum of $25 to help the Lungevity Foundation in its campaign to cure, or at least to retard, the effects of lung cancer. Approximately $125,000 was raised.
An event preceding the 5-kilometer walk was emceed by San Diego City Councilwoman Marti Emerald and included an appeal for support from Assemblyman Tom Torlakson for legislation to increase taxes on cigarettes to pay for lung cancer research and treatment in California.
The seriousness of the occasion was juxtaposed with the bright balmy day along San Diego’s waterfront affording marchers some beautiful views of San Diego’s downtown skyline, the graceful bridge spanning the bay between San Diego and Coronado, the North Island Naval Air Station and the Point Loma Peninsula which points south to Mexico’s Pacific coast.
The walk began shortly after 9 a.m. on the first day of Daylight Savings Time under an archway of balloons at Cancer Survivors Park, located across the street from Lindbergh Field—the airport to which Gao and one of the marchers, Peggy Han, had flown together after being introduced by their parents in Taiwan. During the 14 hour flight, they talked and talked, becoming friends before the plane landed. As Han already was a resident of San Diego, she took Gao under her wing.
Cancer Survivors Park features sculptures of people with cancer entering a maze representing treatment and a cure, and other sculptures of people emerging from the maze as survivors. The park and sculptures were a gift of the R.A. Bloch Cancer Foundation whose benefactor, Richard Bloch, was a founder of the famed H& R Block tax preparation service. The Foundation has donated similar parks to other cities around the nation.
_________________________________________ Harrison's e-address is editor@sandiegojewishworld.com More information about Lungevity Foundation may be obtained at www.lungevity.org
Many teams in San Diego wore shirts they had imprinted specially for the occasion while other teams offered their prayers and best wishes on hand-lettered placards for lung cancer victims. On the back of their shirts most marchers also wore a purple card which stated, “I’m curing lung cancer in honor/ memory of _______.” Gao’s friends—a mixed group whose members came from at least three religious traditions, Buddhism, Christianity and Judaism—filled her name in the blank, using both the Western alphabet and Chinese characters.
Along the walk, the marchers spoke of their friend Yi Li Gao, who had worked as an assistant curator of the Asian Art collection at the San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park. That museum’s registrar, Dana Bottomley, was among the marchers. She said that when Gao made a study of the museum’s Asian holdings, she was able to bring to light through her scholarship previously unknown details of the art pieces’ history and details.
Bottomley said that Gao made numerous friends among the museum staff because she liked to listen to people and also to help foster feelings of friendship and teamwork among the staff. Gao used to wear her identification badge on a braid in a way that other staff members emulated, Bottomley said.
Peggy Han and her husband, Eric Sands—known to many in the San Diego Jewish community as the ‘bar mitzvah king’ because of his work as a disk jockey at receptions and parties—introduced Gao to their social circle, which includes my son David and his wife, Hui-Wen, a native of Taiwan. While Hui-Wen took care of their infant son, Brian, David joined the marchers in tribute to a good friend.
Before her immigration to the United States, Gao had helped pay for her studies in Taiwan by teaching English to other Mandarin-speakers. She reversed that process at UCSD, teaching the Chinese dialect to Americans.
Among the Americans who benefitted from her teaching was a PhD student in physics, Mark Wang, who grew up in a family of mixed Anglo and Asian ancestry. According to Han, Mark wanted to recover the language spoken by his paternal grandparents, but not spoken by his father. However, the benefit of language training was far greater because eventually his teacher became his wife.
Wang was with Gao at the hospice in Taiwan on Sunday, telling his friends in San Diego by text message that the day they were marching coincidentally was the third anniversary of the day they had learned of the lung cancer. Doctors initially thought that Gao’s cancer had been confined to a brain tumor, which they had successfully removed. However, it also was in Gao’s lungs, and may have originated there.
SAN DIEGO--Editor Don Harrison’s mantra that there is a Jewish story everywhere at first glance seems - well - plausible, but maybe not 100%. However, having had to write under this proscription it has indeed opened my eyes, ears, and heart to the possibilities as I travel through my day, day to day. But in the dentist’s office? That would indeed seem to test the boundaries of the theory.
Yes, indeed there is a Jewish story in the dentist’s office, in “the chair” and right under the drill. All my life I’ve taken very good care of my teeth and for the most part they’ve taken good care of me. I still have three of my wisdom teeth (and I intend to keep them since it might help my writing) and one very large sweet tooth. My two front bottom teeth are my third pair. I was born with two little transparent front teeth, to which my mother would attest - hence I was fed by bottle. Those two teeth fell out within a week and were never found. Perhaps I swallowed them. I don’t remember.
My own little grandson at eleven months old decided to try out his brand new pair of teeth on his grandmother. As I was holding him and cooing in his ear (trying to decide which Nobel Prize he would win first) he casually leaned forward and nipped my wrist. Hey, kid, don’t bite the hand that buys you all those toys! Whoever heard of biting Grandma? This new generation just isn’t like it used to be back in my time. I never bit either of my bubbas.
Modern American dentistry is a wonder. It is virtually painless. Remember the description by Mark Twain in “Tom Sawyer” of how a tooth was extracted - by tying a string around it and the other end to a door knob and then slamming the door shut? My dentist tells me that even in modern Europe dentistry is not quite on the same level as here. I don’t know that for a fact - but would my dentist lie? And would I question his veracity while he wields that drill? Some time ago I read a story of an American living in Asia who upon suffering from a toothache traveled hundreds of miles to find an American dentist.
So, there I am in “the chair” right in the middle of waiting for the local anesthetic to fully take effect - “freeze ‘er up like a rock,” I had told the dentist - when to take my mind off my woes he began reminiscing with me. This dentist and I have grown old together; I began coming to him in 1967 and there’s a lot of toothsome memories between us. (Well, what word would you use?)
After talking about a bi-religious family we both know (holding in abeyance the Biblical proscription against gossip), we discussed some of the moral values that both Judaism and Christianity share. We came to the conclusion that many of those values are the same. Then he said, “The bottom line is the “carpenter” was a Jew.”
“Yep,” I answered, “and please bear in mind you are about to start working on the tooth of one of his relatives.”
“I’m well aware of that,” he said.
The dentist did an excellent job, as usual.
__________________________________________
Columnist Orysiek may be contacted at orysieks@sandiegojewishworld.com
Please click the ad above
Please click the ad above
Please click the ad above Please click the ad above Please click the ad above
LA JOLLA, California—Four Jewish Folk Music Society composers represented at Violinist Zina Schiff‘’s March 23 concert are Yoel Engel, Lazare Saminsky, Joseph Achron and Arkady Kougell. Her program celebrates the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the society.
Yoel Engel (1868-1927) was the founder and leading light of the organization. After earning a law degree at Kharkov University, he graduated from the Kharkov Music Academy and at the recommendation of Tchaikowsky, entered the
Moscow Conservatory.
Engel was deeply committed to his Jewish heritage. With nationalism becoming an important concept for Russian composers, Engel, along with his fellow Jewish composition students, was encouraged to look to Jewish musical roots for inspiration. Enlightened teachers such as Nicholas Rimsky-Korsakov at the St. Petersburg Conservatory and Tanayev and Ippoletov-Ivanovitch at the Moscow Conservatory were at the forefront, modeling pieces based on Jewish themes for their students to emulate.
Soon many Jewish composition students began using Jewish sources as thematic material for their compositions.
Following his composition studies at the Moscow Conservatory, Yoel Engel became the senior music critic of Russia’s leading newspaper, Moscow Russkiya Vedomosti, an influential post which he held for twenty-two years.
In 1900, he presented a lecture on Jewish Folk Music for the Imperial Russian Society for Science, Anthropology & Ethnography, performing his settings of Yiddish folk songs. This presentation laid the groundwork for the notion that there was a distinct Jewish musical idiom.
Under Engel’s persuasive leadership, the Russian Government granted permission for the establishment of the Jewish Folk Music Society. It began in 1908 and at its height, numbered 900 members, published hundreds of works and organized concerts and lectures on Jewish music throughout Russia. The JFMS existed until 1917 when the Russian Revolution brought about its demise.
In 1924, Engel made aliyah to Palestine. There, in the struggling Yishuv, he taught composition and piano at the Shulamith Conservatory in Tel Aviv and wrote songs about the life of the emerging nation, many of which are still
sung today. He died in Tel Aviv in 1927.
Israel’s national award for serious composers, the Engel Prize, honors his name. Yoel Engel was called the "Father of
Jewish Music." My sister, Zina, will perform "The Beggars Dance" from his incidental music to The Dybbuk.
Lazare Saminsky (1882-1959) gratuated from the University of St. Petersburg as a mathematician before becoming a student of Rimsky-Korsakov at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. He collected religious and folk music from the Jews of Turkey and Yemen and used
_______________________________________
Wingard is a former San Diego Symphony violinist. She may be contacted at haleenwin@aol.com
synagogue motifs for his compositions.
The talented composer and organizer served as secretary for the society and lectured on Jewish Music in Palestine and England. He wrote symphonies and operas which were performed in Russia and the US.
After Saminsky arrived in New York in 1920, he become Director of Music for Temple Emanu-El in NYC. From this important position, he organized festivals of Jewish Music, promoting performances of works by his colleagues of the JFMS. Zina will perform his Chassidic Suite.
Joseph Achron (1886-1943) was a violin student in Leopold Auer’ s Master Class at the St.Petersburg Conservatory, Achron had a career as a concert violinist and became the most acclaimed composer of the JFMS. He, like Engel,
was drawn to Palestine, but his artistic nature found it impossible to adapt to the harsh conditions of the fledgling Yishuv. He soon joined his brother Isadore in the United States.
By then, Isadore was serving as accompanist to
violinist Jascha Heifetz, Zina Schiff’s teacher. Joseph Achron ignited Heifetz’s interest in the Jewish Homeland. Subsequently, Heifetz, accompanied by Isadore Achron, toured Palestine, leaving his earnings for the construction of a
concert hall which bore his name. Zina will play Achron’s Hebrew Melody and Sher.
Arkady Kougell was a concert pianist and composer who left Russia to become the head of music at the university in Beirut, Lebanon. Zina will perform his Kaddish.
Zina will be accompanied at the piano by Mary Barranger, staff pianist for the San Diego Symphony and the San Diego Chamber Orchestras.
Communities Plead for Liberal Immigration Act Southwestern Jewish Press, October 17, 1952, page 7
On invitation of the President’s Immigration Commission, which held hearings in Los Angeles last Wednesday, Albert A. Hutler, Executive Director of the San Diego Federation of Jewish Agencies, and the United Jewish Fund, testified before the Commission in favor of a broader and more liberal immigration policy.
Asked to appear before the Commission by the United Service for New Americans in New York and the Community Relations Committee of Los Angeles because of his background in work with refugees and DP’s since 1938, both in the United States and Europe, Mr. Hutler testified that those who had come to the United States in the 30’s had proved to be good citizens. He stated that on the basis of the over 80 families that had come to San Diego in the past 5 years, there was no question but that America was benefiting from these potential citizens. Several cases of speedy adjustment; enlistments in the Armed Services; and ability to take care of themselves financially were used as illustration of new Americans’ contributions to their community.
San Diego’s representative joined with speakers from other Southern California Communities in appealing to the Commission for a more liberal and broadened immigration law.
Jewish Community Center Southwestern Jewish Press, October 17, 1952, page 7
Mrs. Sam Bennett, chairman of the Jewish Center Camp Jaycee committee, announces that the first day camp reunion will be held Sunday afternoon 12:30 p.m. at Pepper Grove, Balboa Park. The highlights of the past summer activities will be featured and as an added attraction, the Padre Puppeteers, under the direction of Mrs. Bruce Engman will present a variety show. The September and October Birthday celebrants will be honored with a huge birthday cake.
Assisting Mrs. Bennett on the committee are Mmes. Harold Stolarsky and Richard Levi.
This is the first of a series of monthly junior activities planned by the San Diego Jewish Center, a member agency of the Federation of Jewish Agencies.
Adult Institute Opens for 4th Year Southwestern Jewish Press, October 17, 1952, page 7
The Adult Institute of Jewish Education entered its 4th year of activity last Wednesday at Beth Jacob Center.
In its 4th year the Institute, under the direction of Dr. A.P. Nasatir, is again offering Jewish subjects of wide spread and broad interest. Classes being offered in the Institute consist of Beginners, Intermediate and Advanced Hebrew, being taught by Mr. and Mrs. Leon Elkind and Yehuda Chmiel; Literature of the Talmud with Dr. A. P. Nasatir as the instructor; Wisdom of the Sages led by Rabbi Monroe Levens. Other courses being offered are Modern Jewish History with Prof. Harry Ruja of State College; Jewish Music by Cantor Joseph Cysner. Rabbi Morton J. Cohn will again teach a Biblical Literature Course and will cover Psalms of the Bible; while Rabbi Baruch Stern will act as the professor for Customs and Traditions. A Leadership Training Course, entitled the “American Jewish Scene” will be given by Albert A. Hutler.
Keynoter for the opening of the Institute was Samuel Kaminer, Supervisor of Jewish Education for the Jewish Community Council of Los Angeles. Formerly the Director of the B’nai B’rith Youth Organization for Southern California, Mr. Kaminer showed a widespread knowledge of Jewish education both for adults and children. He spoke of the values of Jewish Education and its need in a community such as San Diego.
Registration will continue and remain open for those who wish to participate in this activity. Fee for all for all of the courses is $2.00 per semester. The Institute is held every Wednesday evening from 7:45 to 9:45 p.m.
__________________________________________
Jolly 16 Dance Set For November 9 Southwestern Jewish Press, October 17, 1952, page 7
The November 9th Jolly 16 Annual Autumn Ball and Dinner-Dance at the El Cortez Hotel will be the beginning of the 39th year of activity for this energetic group, who have served the community untiringly and happily these many years.Our annual party, always given at the start of the Fall season, is a gay affair. An excellent dinner plus the best dance orchestra available practically assures a perfect party.
Everyone is invited. Make your reservations now. Plan your party, we know you’ll have fun. If you haven’t attended a Jolly 16 party before, attend this year and give yourself a wonderful evening out.
Tickets are available from any Jolly 16 member.
United Nations Week Oct. 19-26 Southwestern Jewish Press, October 17, 1952, page 7
The opening observance of United Nations week will be held Sunday, Oct 19. The Bonham Boys Band will give a concert at 1:30 p.m. after which the Cottages of the House of Pacific Relations will serve birthday cake. Any donations given at this time will go toward CARE packages for needy children. The entire week will be devoted to programs of enlightenment on the aims and purposes of the United Nations.
A dinner party will be held at the House of Hospitality on Friday, Oct. 24, with Dr. Covey Oliver speaking on the subject, “The United Nations and America’s Future.”
Have you or your organization planned a United Nations birthday party? For full information contact Mrs. Mary Fay, J-2462.
USO-JWB Day November 5 Southwestern Jewish Press, October 17, 1952, page 7
Community interest will soon be centered on USO Week to be celebrated in San Diego November 3 through November 8. Each day during that week will be designated as a special USO agency day. The public will be invited to visit all USO Clubs and operations during this week. All radio and television stations will feature local USO publicity covering the various programs.
Wednesday, November 5 will be observed as USO-JWB Day. Plans include an orchestra dance to be given at Temple Center. Featured also will be a special Open House program to which the general community will be invited. Members of the JWB Armed Services Committee will serve as hosts for the evening.
Another outstanding event will be a big Hallowe’en party to be give on October 29 at Temple Center with the Bay City Chapter B’nai B’rith women as sponsors.
For further information contact USO-JWB office, 215 Spreckels Building, F. 9-3712.
Federation Okays Study To Be Made Southwestern Jewish Press, October 17, 1952, page 8
Planning for the Community’s future will be undertaken by a Social Planning Committee of the Federation, recently appointed by Carl Esenoff, President.
With the appointment of Victor Schulman to head the Committee, Mr. Esenoff said that plans were completed to begin a careful study of the needs of the Jewish Community, how these needs are being met, and the best way of meeting unmet needs.
Aiding the chairman as members of the committee are some of San Diego’s leading social planners. Members are: Mrs. Saul Chenkin, Mrs. Gabriel Berg, Eli H. Levenson, Dr. Abe Nasatir, Dr. Oscar Kaplan, Mack Esterson, Morris Douglas and Arthur Gardner. Staff members are: Albert A. Hutler, Executive Director of the Federation; Mrs. David Rubenstein, Executive Secretary of the Jewish Social Service Agency; and Sidney Posin, Executive Director of the Jewish Community Center.
The committee at its first meeting agreed that it was necessary to make a survey of all of the organizations in the community with emphasis on the work that is being done in the field of Social Work locally by each of the organizations. Mr. Hutler was directed to begin such a survey with all members of the committee to assist him. Consideration is being given to a survey of Jewish Education in San Diego and a population study according to Schulman.
“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.
Friends: The slogan of San Diego Jewish World is "there's a Jewish story everywhere." I can help you travel to the locales of such stories. I'll work hard to find you the very best prices!
Back to top Copyright 2007-2009 - San Diego Jewish World, San Diego, California. All rights reserved.
Italy Quits Durban II—We were not surprised when Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini announced at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers that Italy would not participate in Durban II, saying "aggressive phrases of an anti-Semitic nature" in the draft documents were "totally unacceptable." He said the statements "must be eliminated," and that Italy would not participate unless the draft document was changed. 
SAN DIEGO—As her friends marched against lung cancer in San Diego on Sunday, March 8, Yi Li Gao lay somewhere between life and death in a hospice in Taipei, Taiwan, a half world away. A San Diego resident, Gao had felt strong enough several months ago to visit family members on her native island. But the disease progressed more rapidly than expected, leaving her unable to return to San Diego. 
SAN DIEGO--Editor Don Harrison’s mantra that there is a Jewish story everywhere at first glance seems - well - plausible, but maybe not 100%. However, having had to write under this proscription it has indeed opened my eyes, ears, and heart to the possibilities as I travel through my day, day to day. But in the dentist’s office? That would indeed seem to test the boundaries of the theory.
Nancy Harrison