By Donald H. Harrison, San Diego Jewish World

June 15, 2017

 

Preparing for the San Diego History Center’s panel June 22 on discrimination against Jews and others in San Diego are, from left, Phil Shapiro, Tina Zarpour, Joellyn Wallen Zollman, Gagandeep Kaur, Adam Rosenthal, Mary Ellen Stratthaus, and Donald H. Harrison. (Photo: Sarah Matteson)

SAN DIEGO (SDJW)– A panel presentation at the San Diego History Center will probe the situation of Jews and other religious groups as both insiders and outsiders during the 167 years since San Diego was incorporated as a city in the new State of California.

 

To be moderated by Adam Rosenthal, an attorney who serves on the San Diego regional board of the Anti-Defamation League, the presentation will begin at 6 p.m. with a brief tour of the San Diego History Center’s exhibition on the history and heritage of the Jews of San Diego.

At 6:30 p.m., attendees will move into a small auditorium, where Tina Zarpour, PhD.,  the Center’s director of education and programs, will introduce Rosenthal and other panel members, who will include, in order of their presentations:

Joellyn Wallen Zollman, PhD, the curator of the exhibit on the Jews of San Diego.

Donald H. Harrison, editor of San Diego Jewish World and author of several books including the biography, Louis Rose: San Diego’s First Jewish Settler and Entrepreneur.

Zollman will present a general picture of Jews as “insiders” and “outsiders” throughout San Diego history, and Harrison will pinpoint the situation of the Jews during San Diego’s pioneer period between 1850 and 1870,

Next, Mary Ellen Stratthaus, who authored “Flaw in the Jewel: Housing Discrimination Against Jews in San Diego,” and Phil Shapiro, an attorney who was active in the successful effort to relocate Congregation Beth El from Clairemont to La Jolla, will discuss the efforts by Realtors and other La Jollans to keep Jews from buying property in that coastal neighborhood of San Diego.

The third and final part of the panel will feature Gagandeep Kaur, a representative of the Sikh community, who will discuss how discrimination still is encountered by minority groups today.

The 90-minute panel discussion will include time for questions and answers from the audience, according to Zarpour.

Tickets cost $10 for History Center members and $15 for visitors.

The San Diego History Center is located on the ground floor of the Casa de Balboa, along with the Prado.  It is within the same building where the Museum of Photographic Arts and the Model Railroad Museum are located.

For more information, visit Insiders/Outsiders: Religious Discrimination in San Diego.

Link to original articleHistory Center to probe bias against Jews, others

Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World.  He may be contacted via [email protected]