Adventures in San Diego Jewish History, April 16, 1954, Part II

Compiled by Gail Umeham

Personals
Southwestern Jewish Press April 16, 1954 Page 2

New Pi Lam
Bernie Asner, a student at the University of Oklahoma, was among the twelve young men who were recently initiated into Pi Lambda Phi fraternity on that campus.

Short Trip, Long Trip
Mrs. Leonard Linn spent a few days in Los Angeles last week visiting former San Diegans, Esther and Paul Sommers, prior to the Sommers  leaving for a four month European jaunt.

It will be a happy Passover for Mrs. Rosalie Sonnabaum who left Tuesday for Pensacola, Fla. to spend the holidays with her daughter, Muriel and her family.

House and Gardens
The new home being built for Mr. and Mrs. Max Rabinowitz in Mission Hills is creating a great deal of interest.  Designed by Lloyd Ruocco, the house has been described as a “garden residence.” Considering Max’s interest in and talent for horticulture the appellation is appropriate.

Contest Winners
Alice Aufricht and Connie Rosenberg, S.D. High School students, were top winners in the City Schools division of the annual high school essay contest on the United Nations sponsored by the AAUN. Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt presented the awards during the AAUN program April 3.

It was “bottoms-up and cheers”when Jean Bas, Esther Moorstreen, Estelle Rottman and Julie Kaufman discovered that they shared the sdame birthdays, while on Murietta’s sundeck.

Wedding Guests
Attending the wedding of Marilyn Weisser and Calvin Leidner, Sunday, March 28 in San Bernardino were Mr. and Mrs. Zel Camiel, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Prewss, Mr. and Mrs. Ben Press, Mrs. Paul Nestor, Mr. and Mrs. Sam Smith, Millie Berman, Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Kaye, Mr. and Mrs., Harry Weitzman and daughters, Sonya and Esther.  The ceremony was performed by Rabbi Norman Feldheym.

Brother’s Reunion
Zel Camiel has a whole month to talk over the last twenty years with his brother, Wolf whom he hasn’t seen in that length of time.  Wolf and his 11 year old daughter, Miriam arrived from La Ceiba, Honduras last weekend.
It’s also a reunion for Miriam and her brother, Jackie, who has been making his home with zel and Jeanne for the past ficve years.  Wolf returns to La Ceiba at the end of a month, but Miriam will live with her uncle Abe Camiel in Los Angeles.

Returns Home
Friends of Mrs. Alvin Garber will be glad to learn that she has returned with Mr. Garber from Rochester, Minn., and is recuperating at their new address 3280 Wightman.  En route home they visited with their daughter, Mrs. Jan Bocaner in Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. Mrs. Garber wishes to thank her friends for their kindnesses and asks them to call.

“Getting acquainted” with her relatives and making friends in San Diego is Bernice Gershon, of New York City.  Bernice and Phil Gershon are enjoying an extended honeymoon, six weeks of which will be spent in San Diego.  Phil is the brother of Mrs. Mary Kanto and Mrs. Harry Sugarman of San Diego.

A trip to the Grand Canyon is highly recommended by Dora Friedman, Mrs. Leonard Drogin and children Carol and Steve.  The have just returned from a week’s vacation.

Frequent visitors to Molly Simon are daughters Rose Cohen of L.A., Sylvia Greenberg of Detroit and sister, Fan Raphael of Chicago.  Friends are glad to see Molly up and around again after her long illness.

Relaxation was the order of the day at Borrego Palms Resort.  Among the San Diegans seen enjoying themselves were the Milton Effrons, Mr. and Mrs, Geo. Martin and family, Jennie Drogin, Mr. and Mrs. Mark Warner, and the Maxwell Kaufmans.

Estner Moorsteen, who was sure that everyone in San Diego had seen her films of Israel, recently received an invitation to show them for a very large group at the First Presbyterian Church.  Following the showing Esther was thrilled by the many comments indicating that her viewers now understood more clearly Israeli problems.

Fraternity Convention
The Zeta Beta Tau Regional Convention for Leadership School, held at the University of California at Berkeley, April 9, 10, 11 had groups attending from U.S.C., I.C.L.A, Arizona, University of Washington, and an Diego State College.
Delegates from the local Z.B.T. Chapter were Allan Mishne, president; Noel Fishman, secretary; Don Solomon, treasurer; Stan Friedman, Mike Freilander, Joel Barries, and Joel Goldfus.

Cradle
Southwestern Jewish Press April 16, 1954 Page 2

The Leonard Slaters’(Betty Lou Moorsteen) first child, Amy, born March 19, was welcomed from coast to coast.  Father Leonard received a telegram from Ray Bolger in New York saying, “Well, where’s Charley?” followed by one to young 7½ lb. Amy with the message, “Once in love with Amy, always I love with Amy”—a quote from the song Ray has made famous.Those sentiments were surely repeated by grandparents Mr. and Mrs. Louis Moorsteen and Mr. and Mrs. Max Slater of New York City.

At the great age of one day, photographs were taken of Amy and her mother to appear in “Living” Magazine, of which Betty is West Coast Editor.  That’s the way to start on the road to being a cover girl. Esther and Lou will travel to Hollywood to spend Passover with their new granddaughter and the Max Slaters are expected out later in the Spring.

Grandson Mathew thoughtfully waited for Grandma Steinman to get to the Cedar Maternity Hoospital in Los Angeles before making his grand entrance into this world. Mathew, first child of Joan and Dr. Robert F. Kaplan was born on April 6th and weighed 7 lbs., 12½ ozs.

Maternal grandparents are Mr. and Mrs. Louis Steinman of San Diego; paternal grandparents are Mr. and Mrs. Harry Kaplan, of Norfolk, Va.  Great grandmother is Mrs. Bessie Silverman.  The Bris was held in Los Angeles on April 13th.

A baby siren, with long lashes, has arrived at the home of Roberta and Morrie Naiman.  Phyllis Anne—weighing 6 lbs., 10 oz.—was born on April 5th.  Brothers Randy and Michael like the idea of a sister around the house.  Maternal grandmother is Mary Kantor and Paternal grandmother is Edith Naiman.

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“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 regular feature until we run out of history.

Israel seeking to substitute personalities for foreign policy initiatives

By Rabbi Dow Marmur 

Rabbi Dow Marmur

JERUSALEM — Mimouna is a colorful tradition that North African Jews brought to Israel. It celebrates the end of the festival of Passover. Activities include much public jollification and eating of post-Pesach dishes made from recipes from the old country. It has also become an occasion for Israeli right-wing politicians (who traditionally have courted Oriental Jews in contrast to the Socialist founders of the state who tended to ignore them) to make speeches of the kind Mimouna audiences would want to hear.

Early media reports this year had much to say about the celebrations in the fast growing West Bank town of Ma’aleh Adumim, situated close to Jerusalem on the way to Jericho and the Dead Sea. The event was used by several government ministers to assure the local population that Ma’aleh Adumim was there to stay, irrespective of what the United States administration and the rest of the world may say about settlements.

One of the speakers this year was Israeli Ashkenazi chief rabbi Yona Metzger, presumably trying to make nice to the Orientals as a way of compensation for the ill treatment to which the Ashkenazi establishment, including the rabbinate, subjected the arrivals from North Africa in the earlier days of the state.

Metzger isn’t known for his talents for political analysis (or for many other talents for that matter). This time he couldn’t resist the temptation to support the government position by an original historic observation. He’s reported to have said that long before Columbus discovered America, King David discovered/founded Jerusalem. The inference is obvious: in the same way as the United States is to remain the one indivisible super-power in the world, so Jerusalem will remain the one and indivisible capital of Israel – with much greater seniority in making its case and challenging the US president.

All this would be quite irrelevant hadn’t these speeches appeared to seek to replace Israeli diplomacy. Instead of trying to find a way of coming to an understanding with President Obama and his administration, Israel’s government seems to believe that by rousing the crowds back home at jolly Mimouna celebrations it’s really responding to the diplomatic challenges that it’s currently facing.

The country’s most popular daily, Yediot Achronot, reported another diplomatic initiative of the same ilk. Prime Minister Netanyahu is said to have asked Elie Wiesel, the best known Jew of our time, to use his alleged friendship with President Obama to persuade the latter to be nice to Israel. For many centuries the ghetto used shtadlanim, go-betweens who were highly regarded by the Jews and useful to the local squire, to intervene on behalf of their coreligionists with the authorities.

If the newspaper report is correct, the prime minister of the sovereign Jewish state is resorting to a similar method instead of formulating a policy and showing diplomatic acumen to meet the new challenge. This is a far cry from the way Abba Eban made Israel’s case before the community of nations.

Trying to make sense of what seem to be reactions by the government to the demands of the United States to curb settlement expansion and building in Jerusalem, it’s difficult not to conclude that they reflect embarrassing ineptitude. Perhaps King Abdullah of Jordan wasn’t as wrong as we’d like him to be when he told the Wall Street Journal on the eve of his US visit that Israel is isolating itself in the way of North Korea.

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Rabbi Marmur is spiritual leader emeritus of Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto.  He now divides his time between Canada and Israel.