Israel’s high-handed Interior Ministry costs the country many friends

By J. Zel Lurie

J. Zel Lurie

DELRAY BEACH, Florida — The Ministry of Interior of the State of Israel has struck again. It denied entry to Noam Chomsky, the world-famous 81-year-old Professor of Linguistics at MIT, who wanted to enter the West Bank, not Israel, from Jordan,
 
Prof. Chomsky is a Zionist iconoclast and  scholar of Hebrew and other languages, who has not said a good word about any Israel policy since his youth when he spent an enjoyable year at Kibbutz Hazorea, a Shomer Hatsair kibbutz in the Galilee.
 
The professor was on his way from Amman, the capital of Jordan to  Bir Zeit University which is near Ramallah, the capital of the West Bank. He was invited to give two lectures by Mustafa Barghouti a leader in the Palestinian movement for nonviolence and human rights.
 
He was stopped at the Allenby Bridge crossing point by a junior officer of the Ministry of Interior. The officer asked some questions like why wasn’t he lecturing in an Israeli university. He then conferred with his superiors in Jerusalem. He asked some more questions and called Jerusalem again. Then he stamped the professor’s American passport “ENTRY DENIED.”
 
His daughter Aviva (another Hebrew name) and two friends were admitted but all four decided to return to Amman. He gave his lectures by video.
 
I doubt that the Minister Eli Yishai knew or cared that the denial to Noam Chomsky would cause a stink smelled around the world. Chomsky’s fame in the academic world did not concern him. Yishai, and his Orthodox brethen, prefer yeshivas to universities.
 
Furthermore, the Ministry should have known that preventing Noam Chomsky from entering the West Bank from Jordan would cause serious problems for Israel in the proximity talks since Israel’s shin bet wants control of all border crossings. In the words of Uri Avnery, the iconoclast Israel journalist, “They spat in the face of the Palestine Authority.”
 
The Ministry  of Interior has been an Orthodox principality in both Labor and Likud governments for over 50 years with minor gaps. The Ministry does what it pleases.
 
I had a run-in with the Ministry 30 years ago. A young British girl had been living in Rosh Pina illegally for five yers with an Israeli boy. They broke up and she decided to convert to Judaism, the holidays of which she had been celebrating for five years,  and make her residence in Israel legal. The Orthodox rabbi of Rosh Pina agreed to sponsor her.
 
Strangely, the Ministry refused to accept the rabbi’s sponsorship. They were on one of their periodic campaigns to rid the country of illegal goyim. The Rosh Pina chief of police received an order to pick her up. He told her to go hide. All of the Rosh Pina officials were her friends. She moved in with a couple I knew in an adjoining moshav. I found her there and heard her incredible story. I figured that my press connections would help her. I was right.
 
 The head of the government press office told me that the Ministry would accept his recommendation.  That they would not accept the sponsorship of the Rosh Pina rabbi was unbelievable.
 
A member of the Knesset told me that there must be a security problem. The shin bet must have a file.
 
There was no file. I asked Yoram Kaniuk, the famous Israeli author who was writing a newspaper column at the time, to make inquiries at the Ministry. As soon as they heard that the press was interested, they changed their tune. She was admitted to an Orthodox kibbutz for a course for Orthodox conversion.
 
Thirty years later she  lives in a kibbutz near Rosh Pina. Last Pesah I invited her and her family to dinner at a local eatery. She is married to a British immigrant. She has a son in the Army and a teen-age daughter. She heads the volunteer border guards for the northern frontier. Altogether a model citizen whom I had rescued from the grasping claws of the Ministtry.
 
Had Noam Chomsky used his cell phone to call reporters in Jerusalem and had reporters asked the Ministry, “Why are you holding Noam Chomsky at Allenby Bridge?” the outcome might have been different.
 
The Ministry is accustomed to refusing entry to friends of Palestinians without interference by reporters. Members of the Christian Peacemakers Team who reside among Palestinians  in Hebron and At-Twani arrive in Israel on tourist visas good for three months. They leave on time but many are turned away at Ben Gurion airport when they try to return the following year.
 
 Recently, the most popular clown in Spain, who had planned a show for Palestinians, was stopped at the airport and returned to Spain. The stink in Spain gave a big boost to the growing movement to boycott Israeli universities.
 
That hardly bothers Minister Eli Yishai of the Shas Orthodox Party. Shas voters are not university graduates.
 
The Chomsky affair came on the heels of Yishai’s cruel campaign against the children of illegal immigrants, those who overstayed their visas and are usually well entrenched in their illegal  jobs as caretakers and personal maids.
 
There are over a thousand such children in Israel and last October Minister Yishai announced that he would deport all of them.
 
The brutality of attacking children and separating families aroused the press and public.  Yishai  backtracked slightly. He agreed to wait until the end of the school year and an interministerial committee was appointed to make recommendations for the future.
 
The end of the school year is approaching and no recommendations have been forthcoming. The children are in limbo.
 
Etta Prince-Gibson, editor of the Jerusalem Report, tells the story of one of them whom she calls Kimberly. It moved me to tears.
 
Kimberly was born in Tel Aviv 15 years ago to a young black maid from Ghana who became pregnant. Kimberly has never left Israel. Her first language is Hebrew. On the basis of excellent grades she was admitted to a prestigious  Tel Aviv high school.
 
 She is very active in the scouts. She is part of a scout troupe of entertainers who are going abroad this summer to raise funds for the scouts. She won’t be able to go because she has no passport. This breaks her heart.
 
Asked what she would say to Minister Yishai she replied:
 
“A few weeks ago we learned about Passover in the school. We learned that it symbolizes freedom, liberty for everyone. Everyone is happy that we have a Jewish state, a homeland. But why, just because my mother was born in Ghana, can’t I be part of it?”
 
The Israeli voter must find the answer to this black native Israeli teen. End the race-pure Orthodox monopoly on the Ministry of Interior would be my answer.

*
Lurie is a freelance writer based in Delray Beach, Florida

What about all those wrong notes?

David Amos

By David Amos

SAN DIEGO-This is a somewhat negative article, not about the wrong notes we hear, but about the lack of them, and the notes and music we do not hear.

Nowadays, we hear virtual perfection from soloists and orchestras. This is what we expect. Sometimes it is as if we are hearing a computer, flawless, no spontaneity, no risks, and just safe notes. So many artists on the concert stage will not take any chances, but it is at the sacrifice of creativity. This is why I am reluctant to run to a local concert by a renowned artist; all the notes will be there, but I’ll be bored to death.

But it was different in the past. Here are a few salient examples:

Among the most exciting recordings of a live performance is the one of pianist Sviatoslav Richter, playing Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, in Sofia, Bulgaria, sometimes in the 1950’s. The dated Columbia long play record and the subsequent release on CD are full of flaws. The microphone placement is questionable, and the audience has a collective case of terminal coughing. Oh, yes, and Richter misses more notes than you could imagine. Someone could write a concerto just with the notes dropped under the piano.

Yet, this is an electrifying performance. The energy level coming out of the piano is indescribable, as is the virtuosity of the soloist. The communication is so strong, the message of the music so vivid, that after a while, you forget about the pianistic clams, and you feel transported into a different dimension.

If you want to hear sloppy ensemble playing, listen to the many recordings of Wilhelm Furtwangler and the Berlin Philharmonic in releases from the 1930’s and 40’s. But that becomes unimportant. What you keep and remember from these historical discs is music that sparkles, is alive, and energetic. They have the stamp of epic performances. Furtwangler’s interpretations were legendary, and once you get past the primitive recording sound and the less-than-perfect playing, the real quality becomes apparent.

Here is another classic example. From the Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: “Arthur Schnabel (1882-1951) was a classical pianist who composed and taught. He was renowned for his seriousness as a musician, avoiding anything resembling pure technical bravura. He was said to have tended to disregard his own technical limitations in pursuit of his own musical ideals. However, Schnabel is widely considered one of the greatest pianists of the Twentieth Century, whose vitality, profundity, and spiritual penetration in his playing of works by Beethoven and Schubert in particular, have seldom, if ever been surpassed”. His recordings on the Angel label of the Beethoven Piano Sonatas are a standard and a model for others to emulate.

Today, we judge a performance and call it “faulty” if it has a few wrong notes. But quite the opposite, if we do that, we are listening to the wrong things and missing the whole point of what music is all about.

And, what’s even funnier, musicians can play an anthology of wrong notes, but if they are consonant and don’t clash harmonically, 99% of the listeners would not know the difference!

There are many wonderful and talented soloists in the world today. But in the past, you could recognize the style of an emerging soloist by the teacher with whom he or she studied. The individual personality was all there, but the stamp of the master teacher or the school was clearly discernible. It had pedigree. Today, no matter where of with whom a young artist studied, they all tend to sound alike, with non-geographical, predictable similarity to other musicians of their generation.

It is no secret that musical competitions of the last 30 years or so are usually won by the contestants who play the loudest and fastest. None of the subtleties and spontaneous imagination which makes great music is to be found. And judges, artists’ managers booking agents and audiences, on the whole, don’t get it.

Today, after finishing this article, I will be one of those judges at a music competition. I will do my best not to succumb to the temptations of flashiness vs. serious artistry.

The best music being made today on a worldwide, world-class level is by musicians who are willing to take chances. They play and create something vibrant and fresh during the performance, not just “pay it safe”.

No wonder that recitals and concerts, on the whole, are stale experiences which do not communicate and leave so many listeners dissatisfied, sometimes not even knowing why. And maybe this is a contributing factor to the ever-growing problem of creating and cultivating new, young audiences.

Many of us who are veteran concert-goers have become somewhat immune to the cookie-cutter interpretations on stage today. We hear not what is taking place, but what we want to hear. Younger, less seasoned listeners may actually be more perceptive than many of us, and are justifiably unexcited by the concert experience.

I have discussed this subject through the years with many people, in and out of music, and in recent times, with someone who has had a direct connection with some of the greatest names in music in the last 100 years, including legendary artists.

By learning from the past, music can strengthen our present and future.

*
Amos is condutor of the Tifereth Israel Community Orchestra and has been guest conductor of professional orchestras around the world.

Adventures in San Diego Jewish History, May 14, 1954, part 3

Compiled by the San Diego Jewish World  Staff

‘Music Hath Charms’ For Juveniles Too
Southwestern Jewish Press, May 14, 1954, page 2

As a balance for all the headlines on juvenile delinquents, it is re commended tht you attend some of the S.D. Youth Symphonies.  Conductor Walter Peterson has done a magnificent job in assembling and conducting young   people in symphony work. The long hours of practice were evident in the playing of these talented young boys and girls.

Mary Kay Emery, ten year old piano soloist, held herself like a veteran of many years and played the tricky Mozart Piano Concert in F. Major, displaying understanding and talent.  Standing on the sidelines and being justifiably proud was her teacher, Miss Vivian Brown.

*
Hadassah Will Hear Book  Review May 19
Southwestern Jewish Press, May 14, 1954, page 2

A book review by Mrs. A.P. Nasatir will highlight the luncheon meeting of Hadassah, on Wednesday, May 19, at Temple Center at 12 noon.  The book, “Foolish Immortals” by Paul Gallico, was a 1953 best seller.

The evening group of Hadassah will be in complete charge of the meeting.  Cooking up a delightful menu will be chairman Mrs. Wallace Hirsch and her committee: Mesdames Frank Janowsky, David Askenaizer, Sidney Chemnick, and Leon Silvers.  Mrs. Frank Janowsky is program chairman.  In charge of decorations are Mrs. Earl Richmond and Mrs. Maynard Hurwitz.  To serve you will be Mesdames David Proctor, Chairman of Waitresses Committee, Steven Weisbrod, Herbert Bartel, Norwin Rosener and Jerome Greenstein.  Mrs. Norwin Rosner is in charge of luncheon hostesses.  Mrs. Al Rosen is publicity chairman.  Luncheon tickets may be purchased at the door. Reservations may  be made by calling Mrs. Walter Parker, JU-2-7941.

*
From Where I Sit
Southwestern Jewish Press, May 14, 1954, page 2

By Mel Goldberg

The San Diego Evening Tribune report of a Communist radio broadcaster stating last week that film star, Kirk Douglas, “lacked the literary knowledge of a fifth-grade Russian student…”  That’s really a good one!  Douglas then known as Isadore Demsky graduated from St. Lawrence University, Class of 1939.  Literary accomplishments: Phi Beta Kappa, Dean’s list of students maintaining above average grades, the Gaines Award for the outstanding literary student of his class, graduated cum laude with honors in English and history.

To further examine the record: he was president of the student body of almost 1500 students, a most remarkable feat for a non-fraternity, let along Jewish, student.  Douglas also demonstrated athletic prowess by never being pinned during his collegiate wrestling career.  All of the above mastered while he went through the strain of financial duress—his father had been a horse and wagon rag-peddler and the family were lucky if they had enough to eat on many a day.  Douglas sent himself through college by working as a waiter. Biographies now being accepted here for fifth-grade Russian students with the above qualifications of any part thereof.  One of Douglas’ five Jewish classmates was Marine hero Alfred Litchman, who at one time was stationed at Pendleton.  Major Litchman, much decorated during World War II, received a silver Star for his heroism at Guadalcanal, where for several nights in a row, he singlehandedly swam across a river under murderous Japanese fire, stole enemy food supplies, swam back, and kept his entire cut-off company alive until relief came….

Ever notice the building in Ensenada named “Casa Ginsberg?” ….

Mel Kendall, former Red Cross and “Frogman” instructor, is opening San Diego’s only commercial swimming school at a new pool, specifically designed for instruction.  One end is about as deep as a bowl of Lou Lipton’s clam chowder! …

The Turnabout Cooking School at the home Show is a new experiment adopted from L.A..’s successful Turnabout Theatre.  The audience watches ingredients being prepared at one end of the room, turn their chairs around, then see the cooking process on a simulated patio at the opposite end of the room. Recipes are all Cal-western and the whole deal is being supervised by Martha Logan, the human encyclopedia of home economics….

The only dog registered at the Coronado Hasassah Convention was a boxer belonging to the Saul Coopers of Beverly Hills.  Cooper, a relative of Mrs. David Block, recognized Mac Kaufman.  A bit unusual because the last time the two had seen each other Mac was playing handball in N.Y. City 92^nd St Y and that was 25 years ago…

Jack Benny will be in demand as one of the outstanding after-dinner speakers if he doesn’t watch out.  His modesty and relaxed good humor, won over the large group at the Hadassah Banquet, honoring his friend, Eddie Cantor.  In contradiction to a remark made by Cantor, Benny quipped, “Cantor is so religious that he has two Cadillacs—one for everyday and one for Pesach.”  About his famous Maxwell, he said, “I found out it was a convertible and sent it to Denmark. It is now a Chevrolet.”…

Plenty of “body” in the suits at Leo Becks store.  Salesman Eddie Reeves wrenched his back hanging one up on the rack….

Sam Solomon says that English is a funny language.  While buying coffee the other morning he overheard a man say of a political candidate: “If he only takes a firm stand when he runs, he’ll walk away with the election.” …

Maury Gross, local Maxie the taximan, picked up a fare on 5^th Ave.  His passenger inquired as to “How’s the taxi business?”   Maury informed him that “it stinks,” and then asked the rider how conditions were in his business.  “They stink in my business too,” the passenger answered.  “What line are you in?” Maury queried.  “Politics,” said the passenger, who then identified himself as Richard Graves, candidate for Governor ….

Just as a sobering thought:  has the time come when American Jewry—and all Americans—must be considered outcasts because they choose to be plain thinking loyal Americans. Does it have to follow that those of us, who recognize the horrible threat of Communism, past and present—must necessarily be called supporters of McCarthy.  We know of a local woman who has reached the hysterical state of believing that anyone who disagrees with what is printed in The Readers Digest, is automatically and unequivocably, a Communist.  In the same light—if we think—and we do—that McCarthy is a fraudulent outrage perpetrated on the American people and is, quite frankly, a calculating ballyhoo pitchman of half truths and innuendoes—does it have to follow that we must be classified as a communist?  We hold no quarter for Communists, Fifth-Amendment Communists and/or McCarthyites. Somehow we feel that as Americans, we can still retain a sober middle-of-the-road viewpoint and not become a victim of the pseudo mass hysteria which is rapidly overcoming America and which delights both the cunning Reds and the coat-tail grabbers of Sen. McCarthy.

*
Marriage Told
Southwestern Jewish Press, May 14, 1954, page 3

Mr. and Mrs. Moe Pearl have made known the marriage of their son, Nisson, to Delores Katz of Brooklyn, N.Y.  The wedding took place on May 4 in Miami, Fla., where Nisson is associated with the Miami Beach Jewish Community Center.

Nisson studied at San deigo State College, received his B.A. degree from the University of California at Berkeley and his M.A. degree from the University of Chicago.  Delores is a graduate of Brooklyn College. 

The newlyweds  are making their home in Miami.

*
Betrothed
Southwestern Jewish Press, May 14, 1954, page 3

 Mr. and Mrs. Albert Schecter announce the betrothal of their daughter, Violet, to Alfred L. Perper, of this city, son of Mr. and Mrs. Morris Perper of Chicago.  The young couple have set July 11 as the date of their wedding.

Miss Schechter attended San Diego State College. Mr. Perper attended Chicago schools and is in business here.

*
Personals
Southwestern Jewish Press, May 14, 1954, page 3

Joe and Jean Spatz had a twofold celebration of their 25^th anniversary last week. A family dinner was given in their honor followed by a weekend in Los Angeles and a dinner party given by friends there. 

Joe and Jean were so overwhelmed by messages of congratulations, they take this opportunity to thank their friends for their good wishes.

*
Sidney Posin left yesterday by plane to attend the Conference of Jewish Social Work in Philadelphia.  Sid expects to visit New York to see his favorite ball club in action – the Giants, natch.

*
Elsie and Edmund Herman, taking a respite from mundane affairs, spent a gala weekend in Las Vegas.

*
Leanore and Al Hutler celebrated their 20^th wedding anniversary last week by a trip to Los Agneles and returned home to find their friends had arranged another celebration for them at home.

*
Mrs. Lou Moorstein will be hostess to her Minyon, the Leah Weinberger Memorial Minyon, on Tuesday, May 18.  Luncheon will be served in the garden, now at its height of full bloom, and movies shown later in the new recreation room.

*
Marvin and Deborah Grey have opened a real estate brokerage business at 2182 Sunset Cliffs Blvd., Ocean Beach area.  They have announced that they weill handle all phases of real estate in Pt. Loma, Loma Portal and Ocean Beach.

*
Our own columnist, Irving Stone, psychology instructor, and psychological consultant, will deliver a paper on “Smoking Habits in Psychiatric Disorders” at the Western Psychological Association’s meeting in Long Beach, May 20-22.

***
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.

San Diego County historic places: La Mesa’s Walkway of the Stars

Entrance to La Mesa's Walkway of the STars

By Donald H. Harrison

Donald H. Harrison

LA MESA, California—Between La Mesa Boulevard in the heart of this city’s business district and the Allison Avenue Municipal Parking Lot which serves as a venue for Farmers Markets held on Friday afternoons is an innovative walkway in which murals celebrate volunteerism and stars on the sidewalk honor local volunteers. This small urban mini-park is called The Walkway of the Stars.

To make the large parking lot more accessible to the front of the stores on La Mesa Boulevard, the City of La Mesa decided to purchase an old dry cleaning establishment, demolish everything in it except its steel roof beams, and turn it into a walkway. Murals were painted on the sides of the buildings adjoining the walkway, creating a bright, festive portal to the municipal spirit La Mesa’s leadership would like to inspire.

A wall with the calligraphy of V. Bendik explains: “This pedestrian walkway has been transformed into a landmark initiative known as the Walkway of the Stars. The vibrant urban park was conceived and promoted by Councilwoman Ruth Sterling and approved by the City Council in 2002.

“The concept of the part is to honor La Mesa volunteers who accumulated 10,000 hours or more of volunteer service. These unique people are recognized for their extraordinary achievement by having their names engraved on an individual decorative stone star and placed in the walkway. A corresponding plaque of achievement is permanently displayed at City Hall in appreciation of the accumulated hours of community service amassed by these dedicated volunteers who make La Mesa a better place to live.

“The walls of the park feature murals depicting people in action as community volunteers. The people helping people theme is carried out by the portrayal of some of La Mesa’s greatest volunteer efforts. Keeping with the theme of volunteerism, the artists have pictorially honored La Mesa’s tradition by generously contributing their time and talent to illustrate this spirit of community service. We hope you will enjoy La Mesa’s walkway of the stars.”

One of the murals shows teenage volunteers painting over graffiti – an activity that normally occurs in other parts of the city. But every so often, said Don Feist , a retiree who likes to sit on a bench and watch his neighbors go by, the murals themselves are subjected to graffiti and have to be painted over.

He said such activity seems to occur more often in the summer months.

Another mural shows “Canine Corners,” an area where owners may unleash their dogs within the 53-acre Harry Griffen Park at 9550 Milden Street. The models for the mural were actual La Mesans and their family dogs. Artists Katy Strzelecki and Jane LaValle had a little fun with this mural: There’s a cat stretched out languorously above a community bulletin board—obviously not intimidated in the least by all those dogs. Additionally within the mural there is a bit of trompe l’oeil {fool-the-eye}: a utility box with a dog painted on it is distinguishable from the “real dogs” in the mural, only by close examination.

LaValle and Strzelecki also painted a scene of La Mesa’s annual Flag Day Parade, with horses, clowns and a Scottish-style young-women’s honor guard juxtaposed against a large American flag. Look under the bench in the foreground; the painting was done in such a manner that it appears a youngster is crannying there.

Other murals depict municipal buildings, Little League coaching, volunteer swim teachers at La Mesa Municipal Pool, and the retired senior volunteer patrol in which senior citizens do some patrolling and non-confrontational police work in the city.

Alice Larson was the first volunteer to be acknowledged with a star. According to the 2010 City of La Mesa’s website, she had “contributed over 13,000 hours of volunteer service to the City. Her spirit of ‘giving back’ to her community signifies what this walkway is about. In fact, Alice is still giving to the City by working at City Council meetings.”

The second ceremony honored two volunteers who worked with the police, Anthony Guggenheimer, who logged over 10,000 hours in the RSVP program, and Timothy S. Tarbuk, with over 12,500 hours in the Police Reserves.

There have been surprises along the Walkway of the Stars, Feist said. He was sitting on one on the benches on January 23, 2004 when a man ran past him, followed somewhat later by two law enforcement officers. They turned the corner into the parking lot and then there were the sounds of shots. Later identified as Jesus Melendrez, 22, the man had been chased to La Mesa in a car from Spring Valley, then abandoned the car, and ran through the passageway to the parking lot where he tried to hijack another car from a woman with a baby. The rightful owner and child got out and when the law enforcement officials surrounded the car, Melendrez refused to get out, instead pointing a gun at them. Officers fired, killing the man, in what District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis later ruled was a justifiable homicide.

Feist said he hasn’t seen such excitement since.

The pensioner sadly pointed to a sign on the wall forbidding the feeding of pigeons that occasionally come to visit, saying “They put that up there because of me.” Feist said he likes to carry birdseed in his pocket, and noted that back in the years when it was still easy for him to get to downtown San Diego, he used to be something of a sightseeing attraction himself with all the birds he cared for near Seaport Village.

 O’Dunn Fine Art Gallery previously was next door to the walkway, but recently moved to larger quarters across the street. meaning that there is art on both sides of the wall that divides them – temporarily at least. Shannon O’Dunn, formerly dean of communications and fine arts at Grossmont Community College, says she plans to move the gallery across La Mesa Boulevard to a larger space.

The gallery specializes in the works of early California artists, among them Langdon Smith (1870-1959); Frederick Lester Sexton (1888-1975); Joseph Meniscucci (1862-1926); Joane Cromwell (1895-1969) and Charles Ward (1850-1937). There also are such contemporary artists as Calvin Liang. Subjects of these artists have included scenes of Cathedral City, near Palm Springs, when it was just a Joshua tree and sand; Mount San Jacinto, an unnamed San Diego County river, a desert view and the La Jolla Cove.

O’Dunn, who ran unsuccessfully for the City Council in 2008, said the walkway has its advantages and drawbacks. “It’s a nice idea, and I think it is a very needed pedestrian access that they keep up pretty well,” she said.

The “downside of it, as in any public gathering place, you get all kinds of gatherings,” O’Dunn added. Once she saw police pulling cash and prescription drugs out of the bushes, where apparently some illegal pill pusher had stashed them. Additionally, “I have seen marijuana busts out there – have seen people having a little smoke.”

If one turns west from the walkway onto La Mesa Boulevard and walks toward the San Diego Trolley line on Spring Street, one will pass a star in the sidewalk near the corner of Palm. As part of another city program, “The Walk of Fame,” this star honors professional basketball star Bill Walton, who went to school in La Mesa.

Across the street at 8285 La Mesa Boulevard, one encounters the Maxwell House of Books, owned by Craig Maxwell, an unsucessful candidate for mayor in 2006.  Maxwell  suggests he must have inherited the bibliophile gene from his grandfather who founded Wahrenbrock’s in downtown San Diego, which Maxwell said was San Diego’s “biggest, oldest and best bookstore.” The grandfather sold the store in the 1960s to Chuck Valverde, but had other bookstores up and down the state.

As a result, said Maxell, “books were always my great passion and as a kid I loved going to his stores around the state, although I never worked in any of them. I worked on Adams Avenue,” where there are numerous used book stores, before starting his own company.

What so appealed to him about bookstores was “they were places where imagination could just go loose, go crazy,” Maxwell said. He relished being able to “go into a book store and see these titles up on the shelves that addressed so many topics and so many historic figures. You can open up any of them and enter a totally different world. You can lose yourself in that world.”

There’s always something for him to do if business gets slow, in other words.

He and his wife Lynn chose to locate on La Mesa Boulevard because they live in La Mesa and also because “it seemed to need a good book store.”

“What is Southern California known for?” he asked rhetorically. “Sprawl, tract home developments and very little downtown communities in Southern California. We have a uniquely traditional old town district here (that) fosters a sense of community.” Used book stores thrive best, he said, “in places that are magnets for cultural activities. I thought this was ideal; our book store completed this place.”

Maxwell House of Books has a specialization in “academic and scholarly topics,” though it has branched out from there. Having taken a degree in philosophy at the University of San Diego, Maxwell leans toward books in that field as well as in theology, biology, physics, astronomy, mathematics, general science, anthropology, archaeology, sociology, political science and literary criticism.

Although Internet booksellers offer his bookstore considerable competition, in the long run there’s something even more worrying facing him and fellow booksellers.

“Young people don’t read,” he said. “The Greatest Generation (that which fought in World War II) was the last generation of real readers. The Baby Boomers still read—they have a toehold in reading—but among their kids and kids of their kids it fell off awfully fast. They don’t read unless it is assigned — it is not a pasttime.”

Continue west along La Mesa Boulevard, and there still are two more eye-catching exhibits before one reaches Spring Street. At the AT&T building there are mural-sized photographs of early telephone workers. And at the opposite corner, there is a fine clock donated to the city by the Rotary Club.

One can’t help but wonder if it tells the hour of the day, or the historic era visitors have just stepped into?

*
Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World.  An earlier version of this story appeared on examiner.com

StandWithUS creates 24-hour online Flotilla Facts website

 LOS ANGLEES (Press Release) – StandWithUs, the international, Israel education organization has mobilized a team of multi-lingual, web-savvy student volunteers around the globe to take Israel’s case to the world, just as they organized a successful Internet response during Israel’s Operation Cast Lead in December 2008.  

The portal for this social media battle is http://www.flotillafacts.com/. On the first day of its operation, over 2,000 activists had enlisted to participate. The site is filled with flotilla facts, tweets that can be copied and pasted into twitter accounts, videos, StandWithUs Facebook, images, articles and signs.

 The goal is to fight the web war against Israel by blogging and using social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, and posting talkbacks on a range of media sites. The volunteer teams are identifying and sharing videos, images, and relevant messages with their social networks. The video of a British officer describing the attempted lynching of Israeli personnel had 6,000 viewers within hours of its posting. 

The Social Media Task Force is centralized in a special “Web Situation Room” located at the StandWithUs Jerusalem office.  Its efforts are coordinated with StandWithUs offices in Los Angeles, New York, and other chapters around the world.  Information has been uploaded in ten languages, including Arabic, to reach a global audience. Leading figures in the art of social media are advising the effort.

The Task Force is working around the clock to respond in real time to online criticism of Israel, and to get the facts about the Flotilla’s hostile purpose, the peace activists’ violence, Gaza, and Hamas’ genocidal goals against Jews.

Concurrently, StandWithUs launched a new website, http://www.shameonturkey.com/, to direct world attention to the real guilty party in the Flotilla incident: Turkey. Turkey approved the Flotilla which rejected Israel’s offer to deliver the humanitarian goods through official Israeli channels so they could be checked for weapons and dual use materials that add to Hamas’ infrastructure. Three ships sailed under the Turkish flag. Turkey knew that some of the “peace activists” were members of IHH, a jihadist-affiliated group that supports Hamas and has worked with jihadists across the globe. Turkey also led the assault against Israel at the UN.

“Turkey has blood on its hands.  It could have cooperated with Israel and made the ships under its flag follow international law.  It chose not to. Turkey is betraying its own secular, democratic values. Turkey should be held accountable, and tried in the court of world opinion,” stated Roz Rothstein, co-founder and CEO.

StandWithUs helped organize rallies in support of Israel in front of the Turkish and Israeli Consulates in Los Angeles, New York (Times Square) and San Francisco.  A Demonstration will take place in Chicago on Thursday.   There will be other rallies across the country, using SWU signs available on its website .

“StandWithUs will continue to be on the front line fighting against this propaganda war against Israel. Too many people simply don’t have the facts, and are misled by the misinformation.  We want people to have easy access to the facts. The facts speak for themselves. The world should be thanking Israel for courageously standing alone in a heroic defense against the terrorism and extremist ideology that threaten liberal democracies everywhere, “emphasized Rothstein.

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Preceding provided by StandWithUs