San Diego, CA
San Diego Teen Returns From Chetz v'Keshet Trip to Israel – San Diego Jewish World
By Barrett Holman Leak
SAN DIEGO — There is much turmoil in the world, especially in the Middle East, but youth from San Diego and around North America are not letting it stop them from seeing and experiencing the land of Israel for themselves.
Chetz v’Keshet (Arrow and Bow), by HaTzofim (Scouts) North America is a renowned program for Jewish teens aged 14-18 from the USA and the UK, offering participants a transformative experience filled with exploration, learning, and cultural immersion.
I spoke with Hila Baruch, 15, who relocated to San Diego with her family from Israel when she was six. The Carmel Valley teen recently returned from her Chetz v’Keshet (CVK) experience this summer and shared that it was a life-changing, transformative experience.
Hani Reuveni, HaTzofim CVK National Director, stresses the importance of Jewish teens having this experience: “Now more than ever, it’s crucial to demonstrate our support for Israel. The participants of CVK 2024 are not only having the time of their lives but also learning, exploring, and forging new friendships”
The success of CVK 2024 sets the stage for registration opening for the 2025 program, For more information and to register for the 2025 program, click here.
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Barrett Holman Leak is an author, educator, and community organizer.
San Diego, CA
SDPD investigating suspicious death
UNIVERSITY CITY (KGTV) — San Diego police are investigating the death of an 81-year-old woman who was found unresponsive in her apartment in the 6300 block of Genesee Avenue.
Officers and San Diego Fire-Rescue personnel responded to a 9-1-1 call at about 11:56 p.m. on March 6.
First responders found the woman in her bedroom, unresponsive and “positioned awkwardly on a bed.” Despite immediate life-saving efforts, she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Detectives from the San Diego Police Department’s Homicide Unit were called to the scene due to “unusual circumstances,” police said. The cause and manner of death remain undetermined.
Investigators are working with the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office to determine what happened.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Homicide Unit at (619) 531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
This story has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
San Diego, CA
One killed in fiery three-vehicle crash on 805 freeway in San Diego
A person was killed Sunday in a fiery three-vehicle crash on the Jacob Dekema (805) Freeway in San Diego, authorities said.
The crash occurred at 4:22 a.m. Sunday on the northbound freeway south of Miramar Road, the California Highway Patrol reported.
At least one vehicle struck the center divider and caught fire, the CHP said.
The numbers one through five lanes of the northbound freeway were closed at 6:01 a.m. for an unknown duration.
No further information was immediately available.
San Diego, CA
Veterans weigh in on U.S. involvement in Iran
“It seems pointless. They change the reason for aggression against Iran daily,” Army Veteran, Forest Gray said.
Gray was among dozens of protestors who gathered at Memorial Community Park in Logan Heights Saturday calling for an end to the war in Iran.
Seeing the conflict play out is personal for him. Gray served eight years in the front lines in the Middle East.
“I fought in Iraq and you know, everyone wears the uniform, and gets deployed, we kind of expect and accept that we have to put our lives on the line, but ideally it should be a sense for a greater good. I don’t see what greater good there is here,” Gray said.
Gray is not alone.
Jonathan Chavez who served in the U.S. Marine Corps at Miramar Base in San Diego also disagrees with the U.S. involvement in Iran.
“No one wants these wars, no one has asked for these wars. Public opinion in this country is also very clear, the vast majority of Americans do not support these conflicts,” Chavez said.
Some Iranian Americans took a different stance last week, as hundreds took the streets of Clairemont.
“It was a feeling of euphoria knowing that my people are free, knowing that a dictator that has ruled Iran with iron fists for well over 37 years, has been killed, has been pushed out of the power and we can have a democratic Iran,” Bobby Shah told NBC 7.
Despite the sentiment, Saturday’s protest was hosted by an organization opposed to war in the Middle East.
They used signs and chants to make their stance clear: Stop the War in Iran.
Watching from a distance we found Marine Corps Veteran Chris Mondestin.
Even though he was not part of the protest, he also opposes the war saying the conflict should stay between Iran and Israel and the U.S. should stay out of it.
“It’s real scary. It’s real scary because I know there’s a lot of people that are truly against this war, but they don’t have much of a voice. That’s why I was kind of happy to see this, because we do have a voice. We just got to speak loud,” Mondestin said.
He also worries about the effects the war could have on the country’s safety, economy, and relationship with countries in the Middle East.
According to Iranian Diaspora Dashboard from UCLA’s Center of Near Eastern Studies, about 600,000 Iranians live in the U.S. and about half of them are in California.
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