Special Collections & University Archives Finding Aid Database

Scope and Contents

The Donald H. Harrison Collection includes photos, correspondence, audio tapes, typed and handwritten notes and copies of various documents collected by San Diego journalist and historian Donald H. Harrison. Notably, this collection includes Harrison's research files and manuscripts for his biography of San Diego Jewish pioneer Louis Rose. Additional files and photographs document San Diego's Jewish community.

Scope and Contents The Deborah Horwitz and Paul Nierman Collection consists of materials regarding the San Diego Chapter of the American Jewish Committee from the 1980s to the 2000s and the first San Diego Jewish Community Mission to Israel in 1995 when Yitzchak Rabin was assassinated. It also includes personal notes, speeches and clippings from Deborah Horwitz who was president of the San Diego Chapter of the AJC. There is also material on the Nierman Foundation and its...

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The Jewish Historical Society of San Diego Small Personal Collection consists of the personal papers and other materials donated by individuals or their families at different times. They are filed in alphabetical order by last name and range in size from one to five folders per person or family.

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The Audrey Karsh Collection includes Audrey Karsh's research notes, newspaper clippings and copies of original source material on San Diego’s Jewish pioneers and some notables of the 19th & 20th century. There are also personal photos and copies of Karsh's short stories, articles and plays.

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The Edith Kotler B'nai B'rith Scrapbook contains photographs, newspaper clippings, newsletters, invitations and ephemera documenting the Bay City Chapter of B'nai B'rith Women.

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The Robert Levi Collection consists of Robert Norman Levi's research files about the Levi family of San Diego dating from 1850 to 2020. Materials include copies of primary and secondary source documents with indexed timelines created by Robert Levi, as well as some materials about later generations of the family. There are also digital and hardcopy family photos and a copy of Robert Levi's grandfather Edgar Levi’s 1908 travel diary.

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The Loraine and Jack Stern Collection contains correspondence, newspaper clippings, photos, speeches, newsletters and publicity materials regarding many JCC programs and the San Diego Section of the National Council of Jewish Women. It also contains lists of participants and a 1968 Directory of Jewish Institutions, Organizations and Houses of Worship - San Diego (and Area) California. Materials date from 1947 to 2019.

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The Cantor Sheldon Merel and Marcie Merel Collection contains memorabilia of Cantor Merel's career, including photographs, programs, correspondence, clippings, newsletters, CDs, and an autobiography. It also contains materials regarding the career of Marcie Merel. Digital photographs of the original binder contents and of awards and certificates are also in the collection.

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The Ed Naiman Collection consists of B'nai B'rith Weinberger Lodge newsletters from the late 1950s and early 1960s, membership directories from the 1960s through the 1980s and letters and photographs from the American Committee for Israel’s 10th Anniversary, an event celebrated in Balboa Park in 1958. Mr. Joseph I. Feldman was the chairman of this event and editor of the lodge newsletter. Ed Naiman is the son-in-law of Joseph Feldman.

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The Abraham Nasatir Papers consist of correspondence, articles by and about Abraham and Ida Nasatir, photographs, newspaper clippings, materials from various Jewish institutions in San Diego, items about Nasatir Hall at SDSU, and materials on the destruction of the Nasatirs' home the and rescue of their papers.