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Latest news briefs from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Wednesday, October 15, 2003
(JTA) - Gaza terrorists kill Americans
Three Americans were killed when their convoy was bombed in the Gaza Strip. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the roadside attack Wednesday morning on the three-car convoy carrying staff from the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv. The three killed were security guards escorting American personnel, some of whom were on their way to interview Palestinians applying to enter the United States as Fulbright scholars. After the attack, the United States called on Americans to leave the Gaza Strip. No one has claimed responsibility for the bombing, which was condemned by both Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ahmed Karia.
(JTA) - U.S. backs Israel at U.N.
The United States vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution that would have condemned Israel's West Bank security fence. The U.S. vetoed the resolution late Tuesday because it was unbalanced, said John Negroponte, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. An alternative resolution proposed by the United States, which would have called on all countries in the Middle East to work against terrorist groups, was not brought to a vote.
(JTA) - Maxim's death toll at 21
A Christian Arab died of wounds suffered in a recent suicide bombing in Haifa, bringing the attack's death toll to 21. George Matar, whose nephew is one of the owners of the Maxim restaurant that was bombed Oct. 4, was 59 and is survived by three sons and two daughters. Eight people remain hospitalized from the bombing.
(JTA) - New peace plan? No thanks
Most Israelis are opposed to an unofficial peace plan drafted by left-wing Israelis and Palestinian figures, a survey says. The poll of 500 Israelis, published Wednesday in the Israeli daily Yediot Achronot, found that 59 percent did not support the proposal, and 69 percent said such discussions should not be held without government approval. Thirty percent of Israelis backed the plan, which calls for the division of Jerusalem. Israeli government officials have slammed the "Swiss initiative," as the plan is being called, as misguided and undemocratic.
(JTA) - NRA targets Jews
Jewish groups are disproportionally listed as anti-gun on the National Rifle Association's Web site. More Jewish groups are considered anti-gun than any other type of nonprofit group, according to StoptheNRA.com, a new groups that seeks to counteract the influence of the gun lobby. Jewish groups listed on the NRA's site include the American Jewish Committee, American Jewish Congress, Anti-Defamation League, B'nai B'rith, Central Conference of American Rabbis, Hadassah, Jewish Labor Committee, National Council of Jewish Women, Ronald S. Lauder Foundation and the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. Singled out are Reform rabbis David Saperstein and Eric Yoffie and several Jewish celebrities, including Jerry Seinfeld, Lauren Bacall and Mel Brooks.
(JTA) - Brooklyn shuls vandalized
Two synagogues in Brooklyn were vandalized this week. A stained-glass window was broken and a sukkah vandalized at Congregation B'nai Jacob, and a rock was thrown through the front door of the Shore Park Jewish Center. Police are investigating both incidents.
(JTA) - New Jewish leader in Poland
Piotr Kadlcik was elected president of the Union of Jewish Religious Communities in Poland. Kadlcik, the president of Warsaw's Jewish community, replaces Jerzy Kichler, who served as president of the union's board for the past six years. Kichler had to resign last month after he failed to win re-election as president of the Jewish community in the southwestern city of Wroclaw.
(JTA) - God help the Cubs
A sukkah near Wrigley Field failed to combine holiday celebrations with a Chicago Cubs series victory. Chabad-Lubavitch of Illinois advertised its sukkah near the stadium with a sign reading, "Do a Mitzvah and Help The Cubs," hoping sukkah-goers could mark simultaneously the mitzvah of celebrating the holiday with the Cubs trip to their first World Series since 1945. But the Cubs' opponents, the Florida Marlins, foiled the plans, defeating the Cubs on the strength of an eighth-inning rally Tuesday night. Game 7 will be played in Chicago on Wednesday night.
(JTA) - Study: Large cholesterol helps life
A study of Ashkenazi Jews suggests that large cholesterol particles in the blood contribute to longevity. Published this week in the journal of the American Medical Association, the study found that people who live into their 90s and beyond are more likely to have a genetic variation that makes the larger cholesterol particles. Other research has suggested that exercise can enlarge the particles. The study of 213 Ashkenazi Jews aged 95 to 107 and 216 of their children was conducted by Dr. Nir Barzilai, director of the Institute for Aging Research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
(JTA) - Jewish lawyers discuss terror
The International Association of Jewish Lawyers is holding a two-day conference in Paris on the legal aspects of international terrorism. "Terrorism, Racism and Anti-Semitism: A Challenge for the Law, Responses and Strategies," will begin Thursday and will include talks from the president of Israel's Supreme Court, Aharon Barak, and French Justice Minister Dominique Perben.
(JTA) - Israeli piano student gets visa
An Israeli piano student who fell victim to tightened U.S. visa rules will receive a visa to attend a New York music school. After a publicity blitz by supporters of the student and efforts by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv granted Victor Goldberg, 25, a student visa to attend the Manhattan School of Music. "It made absolutely no sense to deny a visa to a student who previously studied in the United States and has strong family ties in Israel," Nadler said. "The reversal of this decision is not only a victory for Victor Goldberg, but for U.S.-Israeli relations."
(JTA) - Senate approves genetics act
Jewish groups are applauding the Senate for approving a bill that would prevent discrimination based on genetic information. On Tuesday, the Senate unanimously passed the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act of 2003, which Hadassah called a great step forward for medical research. "Hadassah is pleased that the legislation would ban all health insurance companies in both the individual and group markets from raising premiums or restricting enrollment based on genetic information," said June Walker, the group's national president. The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism also hailed the bill's passage.
(JTA) - House to debate Syria bill
The U.S. House of Representatives is slated to vote Wednesday on sanctions against Syria. The Syria Accountability Act requires the president to impose sanctions on Syria for the country's support of terrorist organizations and its efforts to develop or acquire weapons of mass destruction. The bill is expected to pass Congress, and the White House is expected to sign it.
(JTA) - Fence vote on hold
A U.N. resolution demanding that Israel dismantle its West Bank security fence did not come to a vote Tuesday. Forty-three ambassadors spoke at the open Security Council meeting, called by Syria to debate the fence. The meeting was expected to conclude Tuesday afternoon without a vote, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. The Ha'aretz newspaper said "several speakers in the debate compared the fence to the Berlin Wall and the former Iron Curtain that divided Europe for half a century." Israel's U.N. ambassador, Dan Gillerman, said the fence was strictly a security measure with no political significance. "Many Palestinians who oppose the fence simply want to continue killing Israelis. The Israelis building the fence simply want to live," Gillerman said.
(JTA) - Turkish Jewish deaths probed
Turkish police are investigating the recent murders of two members of Istanbul's Jewish community. Both caterer Muiz Konor and dentist Yosef Yehiyeh were bound and shot at close range, according to media reports. Police have yet to establish a link between the two cases.
(JTA) - Parley focuses on anti-Semitism
European countries should devise a plan to fight anti-Semitism, U.S. lawmakers said. The comments came Tuesday at a meeting in Warsaw of lawmakers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Among the speakers at Tuesday's session was the Simon Wiesenthal Center's Shimon Samuels, who urged the OSCE to pressure Greece to condemn recent anti-Semitic incidents in the country. The OSCE is in the middle of a series of forums focusing on anti-Semitism.
Six-Day War book wins
A book about the 1967 Six-Day War was named the 2002-03 Jewish book of the year by the National Jewish Book Awards. "Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East," by Michael Oren, won the Everett Family Jewish Book of the Year Award in the 53rd annual competition. "The Russian Debutante's Handbook," by Gary Shteyngart, triumphed in the fiction category. Other winners were "Irving Howe: A Life of Passionate Dissent," by Gerald Sorin in the history category, and "Resilience and Courage: Women, Men, and the Holocaust," by Nehama Tec, which won for books about the Holocaust. A complete list of winners is available at www.jbooks.com.
(JTA) - Lawmaker apologizes for remarks
A U.S. lawmaker says he does not "support, condone or allow" anti-Semitic remarks made by a supporter at a fund-raiser. Rep. Max Burns (R-Ga.) told JTA that he was not on stage when a supporter called Tony Center, a possible opponent of Burns in 2004, as "that Jew boy down in Savannah." But Burns said he privately admonished the supporter, Jackie Sommers, after the event. Burns met Tuesday with Savannah Jewish leaders and spoke with Center. "We feel he's very sincere, and we are very satisfied," said Sharon Paz, executive director of the Savannah Jewish Federation.
Wallenberg founder to be honored
Congress is honoring the founder of the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation. On Thursday, Baruch Tenembaum, an Argentine Jew who started the foundation named for the Swedish diplomat who saved thousands of Hungarian Jews during World War II, will be honored at the initiative of Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.), who survived the Holocaust in Hungary.
Egyptian filmmaker under fire
Egyptian filmmakers blasted a colleague who wants to normalize ties with Israel. The filmmakers urged the Cairo International Film Festival to drop a new work by director Khaled Al-Hagar because of "A Barrier That Divides Us," a love story between an Egyptian and an Israeli, that Al-Hagar made in 1993, Agence France-Presse reported.
(JTA) - Memorial in Belarus defaced
Vandals attacked a Holocaust memorial in Belarus. The memorial that was attacked Monday in Lida, 100 miles west of Minsk, was built earlier this year. Belarus has seen a rise in anti-Semitic incidents in recent months. Police are investigating the incident.
(JTA) - The dogs go to the Nazis
A German man was arrested for teaching his dog the Hitler salute. The British news service Ananova reported that a Berlin man was charged with teaching his black sheepdog, named Adolf, to lift his front paw straight up in the infamous "Sieg Heil" gesture. The man was charged with using symbols belonging to banned groups and faces three years in jail if convicted.
(JTA) - Survivor, euthanasia proponent dies
Dr. Leon Schwartzenberg, a Holocaust survivor who became an early proponent of euthanasia, has died in France. "Euthanasia is ugly," he once wrote. "Maintaining the life of a dying person who is suffering without hope is vile." Schwartzenberg, who headed a cancer division at a hospital in a Paris suburb and served in the European Parliament from 1989 to 1994, died Tuesday at age 79. He advocated providing syringes to drug addicts who have AIDS and was a member of the French Resistance during World War II. JTA END
(JTA) - Gaza terrorists kill Americans
Three Americans were killed when their convoy was bombed in the Gaza Strip. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the roadside attack Wednesday morning on the three-car convoy carrying staff from the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv. The three killed were security guards escorting American personnel, some of whom were on their way to interview Palestinians applying to enter the United States as Fulbright scholars. After the attack, the United States called on Americans to leave the Gaza Strip. No one has claimed responsibility for the bombing, which was condemned by both Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ahmed Karia.
(JTA) - U.S. backs Israel at U.N.
The United States vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution that would have condemned Israel's West Bank security fence. The U.S. vetoed the resolution late Tuesday because it was unbalanced, said John Negroponte, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. An alternative resolution proposed by the United States, which would have called on all countries in the Middle East to work against terrorist groups, was not brought to a vote.
(JTA) - Maxim's death toll at 21
A Christian Arab died of wounds suffered in a recent suicide bombing in Haifa, bringing the attack's death toll to 21. George Matar, whose nephew is one of the owners of the Maxim restaurant that was bombed Oct. 4, was 59 and is survived by three sons and two daughters. Eight people remain hospitalized from the bombing.
(JTA) - New peace plan? No thanks
Most Israelis are opposed to an unofficial peace plan drafted by left-wing Israelis and Palestinian figures, a survey says. The poll of 500 Israelis, published Wednesday in the Israeli daily Yediot Achronot, found that 59 percent did not support the proposal, and 69 percent said such discussions should not be held without government approval. Thirty percent of Israelis backed the plan, which calls for the division of Jerusalem. Israeli government officials have slammed the "Swiss initiative," as the plan is being called, as misguided and undemocratic.
(JTA) - NRA targets Jews
Jewish groups are disproportionally listed as anti-gun on the National Rifle Association's Web site. More Jewish groups are considered anti-gun than any other type of nonprofit group, according to StoptheNRA.com, a new groups that seeks to counteract the influence of the gun lobby. Jewish groups listed on the NRA's site include the American Jewish Committee, American Jewish Congress, Anti-Defamation League, B'nai B'rith, Central Conference of American Rabbis, Hadassah, Jewish Labor Committee, National Council of Jewish Women, Ronald S. Lauder Foundation and the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. Singled out are Reform rabbis David Saperstein and Eric Yoffie and several Jewish celebrities, including Jerry Seinfeld, Lauren Bacall and Mel Brooks.
(JTA) - Brooklyn shuls vandalized
Two synagogues in Brooklyn were vandalized this week. A stained-glass window was broken and a sukkah vandalized at Congregation B'nai Jacob, and a rock was thrown through the front door of the Shore Park Jewish Center. Police are investigating both incidents.
(JTA) - New Jewish leader in Poland
Piotr Kadlcik was elected president of the Union of Jewish Religious Communities in Poland. Kadlcik, the president of Warsaw's Jewish community, replaces Jerzy Kichler, who served as president of the union's board for the past six years. Kichler had to resign last month after he failed to win re-election as president of the Jewish community in the southwestern city of Wroclaw.
(JTA) - God help the Cubs
A sukkah near Wrigley Field failed to combine holiday celebrations with a Chicago Cubs series victory. Chabad-Lubavitch of Illinois advertised its sukkah near the stadium with a sign reading, "Do a Mitzvah and Help The Cubs," hoping sukkah-goers could mark simultaneously the mitzvah of celebrating the holiday with the Cubs trip to their first World Series since 1945. But the Cubs' opponents, the Florida Marlins, foiled the plans, defeating the Cubs on the strength of an eighth-inning rally Tuesday night. Game 7 will be played in Chicago on Wednesday night.
(JTA) - Study: Large cholesterol helps life
A study of Ashkenazi Jews suggests that large cholesterol particles in the blood contribute to longevity. Published this week in the journal of the American Medical Association, the study found that people who live into their 90s and beyond are more likely to have a genetic variation that makes the larger cholesterol particles. Other research has suggested that exercise can enlarge the particles. The study of 213 Ashkenazi Jews aged 95 to 107 and 216 of their children was conducted by Dr. Nir Barzilai, director of the Institute for Aging Research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
(JTA) - Jewish lawyers discuss terror
The International Association of Jewish Lawyers is holding a two-day conference in Paris on the legal aspects of international terrorism. "Terrorism, Racism and Anti-Semitism: A Challenge for the Law, Responses and Strategies," will begin Thursday and will include talks from the president of Israel's Supreme Court, Aharon Barak, and French Justice Minister Dominique Perben.
(JTA) - Israeli piano student gets visa
An Israeli piano student who fell victim to tightened U.S. visa rules will receive a visa to attend a New York music school. After a publicity blitz by supporters of the student and efforts by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv granted Victor Goldberg, 25, a student visa to attend the Manhattan School of Music. "It made absolutely no sense to deny a visa to a student who previously studied in the United States and has strong family ties in Israel," Nadler said. "The reversal of this decision is not only a victory for Victor Goldberg, but for U.S.-Israeli relations."
(JTA) - Senate approves genetics act
Jewish groups are applauding the Senate for approving a bill that would prevent discrimination based on genetic information. On Tuesday, the Senate unanimously passed the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act of 2003, which Hadassah called a great step forward for medical research. "Hadassah is pleased that the legislation would ban all health insurance companies in both the individual and group markets from raising premiums or restricting enrollment based on genetic information," said June Walker, the group's national president. The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism also hailed the bill's passage.
(JTA) - House to debate Syria bill
The U.S. House of Representatives is slated to vote Wednesday on sanctions against Syria. The Syria Accountability Act requires the president to impose sanctions on Syria for the country's support of terrorist organizations and its efforts to develop or acquire weapons of mass destruction. The bill is expected to pass Congress, and the White House is expected to sign it.
(JTA) - Fence vote on hold
A U.N. resolution demanding that Israel dismantle its West Bank security fence did not come to a vote Tuesday. Forty-three ambassadors spoke at the open Security Council meeting, called by Syria to debate the fence. The meeting was expected to conclude Tuesday afternoon without a vote, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. The Ha'aretz newspaper said "several speakers in the debate compared the fence to the Berlin Wall and the former Iron Curtain that divided Europe for half a century." Israel's U.N. ambassador, Dan Gillerman, said the fence was strictly a security measure with no political significance. "Many Palestinians who oppose the fence simply want to continue killing Israelis. The Israelis building the fence simply want to live," Gillerman said.
(JTA) - Turkish Jewish deaths probed
Turkish police are investigating the recent murders of two members of Istanbul's Jewish community. Both caterer Muiz Konor and dentist Yosef Yehiyeh were bound and shot at close range, according to media reports. Police have yet to establish a link between the two cases.
(JTA) - Parley focuses on anti-Semitism
European countries should devise a plan to fight anti-Semitism, U.S. lawmakers said. The comments came Tuesday at a meeting in Warsaw of lawmakers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Among the speakers at Tuesday's session was the Simon Wiesenthal Center's Shimon Samuels, who urged the OSCE to pressure Greece to condemn recent anti-Semitic incidents in the country. The OSCE is in the middle of a series of forums focusing on anti-Semitism.
Six-Day War book wins
A book about the 1967 Six-Day War was named the 2002-03 Jewish book of the year by the National Jewish Book Awards. "Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East," by Michael Oren, won the Everett Family Jewish Book of the Year Award in the 53rd annual competition. "The Russian Debutante's Handbook," by Gary Shteyngart, triumphed in the fiction category. Other winners were "Irving Howe: A Life of Passionate Dissent," by Gerald Sorin in the history category, and "Resilience and Courage: Women, Men, and the Holocaust," by Nehama Tec, which won for books about the Holocaust. A complete list of winners is available at www.jbooks.com.
(JTA) - Lawmaker apologizes for remarks
A U.S. lawmaker says he does not "support, condone or allow" anti-Semitic remarks made by a supporter at a fund-raiser. Rep. Max Burns (R-Ga.) told JTA that he was not on stage when a supporter called Tony Center, a possible opponent of Burns in 2004, as "that Jew boy down in Savannah." But Burns said he privately admonished the supporter, Jackie Sommers, after the event. Burns met Tuesday with Savannah Jewish leaders and spoke with Center. "We feel he's very sincere, and we are very satisfied," said Sharon Paz, executive director of the Savannah Jewish Federation.
Wallenberg founder to be honored
Congress is honoring the founder of the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation. On Thursday, Baruch Tenembaum, an Argentine Jew who started the foundation named for the Swedish diplomat who saved thousands of Hungarian Jews during World War II, will be honored at the initiative of Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.), who survived the Holocaust in Hungary.
Egyptian filmmaker under fire
Egyptian filmmakers blasted a colleague who wants to normalize ties with Israel. The filmmakers urged the Cairo International Film Festival to drop a new work by director Khaled Al-Hagar because of "A Barrier That Divides Us," a love story between an Egyptian and an Israeli, that Al-Hagar made in 1993, Agence France-Presse reported.
(JTA) - Memorial in Belarus defaced
Vandals attacked a Holocaust memorial in Belarus. The memorial that was attacked Monday in Lida, 100 miles west of Minsk, was built earlier this year. Belarus has seen a rise in anti-Semitic incidents in recent months. Police are investigating the incident.
(JTA) - The dogs go to the Nazis
A German man was arrested for teaching his dog the Hitler salute. The British news service Ananova reported that a Berlin man was charged with teaching his black sheepdog, named Adolf, to lift his front paw straight up in the infamous "Sieg Heil" gesture. The man was charged with using symbols belonging to banned groups and faces three years in jail if convicted.
(JTA) - Survivor, euthanasia proponent dies
Dr. Leon Schwartzenberg, a Holocaust survivor who became an early proponent of euthanasia, has died in France. "Euthanasia is ugly," he once wrote. "Maintaining the life of a dying person who is suffering without hope is vile." Schwartzenberg, who headed a cancer division at a hospital in a Paris suburb and served in the European Parliament from 1989 to 1994, died Tuesday at age 79. He advocated providing syringes to drug addicts who have AIDS and was a member of the French Resistance during World War II. JTA END
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