Friday, February 29, 2008
Thursday, February 28, 2008
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Forward this to a friend February 28, 2008
Local News
Robert M. Schrayer remembered
Community, school, family and friends mourn Cpl. Albert Bitton
Outlining a vision of Israel-Diaspora relations
Jewish-Catholic Relations
Anti-Zionism decried at Global Forum for Combating Anti-Semitism
Students return from Ta'am Yisrael 2008
Israel and World News
Student killed in Negev college as Qassam barrage intensifies
Rocket fired from Gaza scores direct hit on Ashkelon home
Arab leaders say the two-state proposal is in peril
Report: Abbas does not rule out resuming armed conflict with Israel
Hamas official: Abductions to continue
Slain Hezbollah militant was organizer in 2006 war
Abbas: Hamas allowed al-Qaeda operatives into Gaza
Hamas Gaza protest passes peacefully
Israel's economy grew 6.4% in fourth quarter
10,000 shoppers descend on Sderot
Sabbath conflict may end playoff run for Jewish boys' basketball teem
Iran Watch
Iran president says nuclear report a victory; U.S. calls for more sanctions
Iran confirms new nuclear centrifuges
U.S. weighs sanctions on Iran's central bank
Iran must pay for '92 bombing
Events and Programs
UIC Inaugural Israel Scholar Lecture to discuss international terrorism March 5 as part of JUF's new Visiting Israel Scholar program
Hillel Halkin to deliver Klutznick Lecture March 12
Discounts and limited-time offers to see Shalom Chanoch, "The Bruce Springstein of Israeli music," at House of Blues March 2
Lewis Summer Intern application deadline approaching: This Monday for applications, March 14 for interviews
Editorial, Opinion & Analysis
From the Israeli and American press and other sources
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Local News
ROBERT M. SCHRAYER REMEMBERED
Robert M. Schrayer, one of the Jewish community's most prominent and long-serving leaders, was eloquently eulogized by his rabbis and family Sunday.
Schrayer's life and work are recalled in obituaries published in numerous publications. See Distinguished businessman, Jewish community leader (Daily Herald), US Jewish leader Schrayer remembered for vision, service (Jerusalem Post) and Jewish leader strove to nurture community (Chicago Tribune).
Schrayer's ideas and actions were chronicled often in the pages of JUF News where, as 2005 JUF Campaign Chairman, he wrote a monthly column. He was quoted in relation to the significant events occurring during his watch as a community leader, and he reflected from time to time on the major currents of Jewish history that he had witnessed, and to which he helped shape the community's response. Read some of his elequent words printed in JUF News during the past decade.
The Jewish Federation has established a Robert M. Schrayer Memorial Fund. Checks should be made payable to JF-R. Schrayer Memorial Fund and sent to the Jewish Federation, 30 South Wells Street, Room 3138, Chicago, IL 60606.
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COMMUNITY, SCHOOL, FAMILY AND FRIENDS MOURN CPL. ALBERT BITTON
Hundreds of community members, family and friends packed Congregation Adas Yeshurun of West Rogers Park to honor the memory of Corporal Albert Bitton on Feb. 26. They gathered in the same synagogue where congregants had previously joined each week to recite Psalms in the merit of Albert's safety in Iraq.
Albert, a medic serving his seventh month in Iraq, was killed--along with two other soldiers--in Bagdad when his Humvee was struck by an improvised explosive device. He was part of the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), according to the Defense Department. He was buried with full military honors in a ceremony precided over by an honor guard under Major General Robert Radin, including: a 21-gun salute and a flag, Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart presentation to Bitton's wife and parents.
Albert joined the U.S. Army in 2005 after graduating from Ida Crown Jewish Academy with hopes of receiving the training and financial help to someday become a surgeon. He is survived by his wife, Melissa Handelman, his parents, Elie and Silvia, and his sisters, Jackie and Elizabeth.
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OUTLINING A VISION OF ISRAEL-DIASPORA RELATIONS
In an interview with the Jerusalem Post, Alan Solow, immediate past chairman of JUF's JCRC and current chairman of the Jewish Community Centers Association (JCCA) of North America, outlines the intricacies of being Jewish on both sides of the Atlantic and explains why he wants to encourage Jewish community centers across the US and Canada to become more "Israel-centric."
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JEWISH-CATHOLIC RELATIONS
Chicago Archbishop Francis Cardinal George and Catholic-Jewish studies expert Dr. Eugene Fischer on Tuesday night called on Jews and Catholics to continue their interfaith dialogues during the annual Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Jerusalem Lecture. The event was sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies, the Archdiocese of Chicago, the American-Jewish Committee, and the Chicago Board of Rabbis.
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ANTI-ZIONISM DECRIED AT GLOBAL FORUM FOR COMBATING ANTI-SEMITISM
Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Tzipi Livni and Minister for Diaspora Affairs and for Combating Anti-Semitism Isaac Herzog opened the Annual International Conference of Global Forum for Combating Anti-Semitism held February 24 and 25 in Jerusalem. The conference was attended by a record number of over 300 high-ranking delegates from over 45 countries, among them parliamentarians, judges and legal experts, ambassadors and diplomats, academics, heads of NGOs, and leaders of Jewish organizations and communities. Watch a recorded live broadcast of the conference.
JUF/JF Executive Vice President Michael Kotzin moderated a session on the new anti-Semitism. Read a paper he prepared for the conference.
Also see the Jerusalem Post's coverage of the conference from February 24 and February 25.
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STUDENTS RETURN FROM TA'AM YISRAEL 2008
Ta'am Yisrael: A Taste of Israel is a program designed by the Community Foundation for Jewish Education (CFJE) of Metropolitan Chicago to give a select number of 8th grade students a meaningful, intense, emotional and focused taste of their heritage through a seven-day trip to Israel. Read the web journal from participants of Ta'am Yisrael 2008, who returned from Israel earlier this month.
For more information on Ta'am Yisrael contact: Sid Singer, Director of Informal Education Services, at ssinger@cfje.org, or (847) 410-3900, x 29.
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Israel and World News
STUDENT KILLED IN NEGEV COLLEGE AS QASSAM BARRAGE INTENSIFIES
Around 50 Palestinian rockets hit the western Negev on Wednesday, with one of them slamming into Sapir College near Sderot and killing a 47-year-old student. Another exploded on the helipad of Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon, while the hospital was treating casualties from Sderot. The deceased, Roni Yechiah from the town of Btecha in the western Negev, was inside his car in Sapir's parking lot. He died of shrapnel wounds to the chest. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
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ROCKET FIRED FROM GAZA SCORES DIRECT HIT ON ASHKELON HOME
Gaza-based militants stepped up their campaign against southern Israel on Thursday, firing a barrage of Qassam rockets and longer-range Grad rockets. Ten Grads hit Ashkelon, some 10 km from the Gaza border, and one scored a direct hit on a home in the port town. Several people were wounded in the barrages, although the exact number was unclear.
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ARAB LEADERS SAY THE TWO-STATE PROPOSAL IS IN PERIL
Arab leaders will threaten to rescind their offer of full relations with Israel in exchange for a complete Israeli withdrawal from occupied lands unless Israel gives a positive response to their initiative, indicating growing disillusionment with the prospects of a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
At an Arab League meeting next month in Syria, the leaders are planning to reiterate support for their initiative, first issued in 2002. The initiative promised Israel normalization with the league's 22 members in return for the creation of a Palestinian state on the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as the capital, and a resolution of the issue of Palestinian refugees.
But this time, "there will be a message to Israel emphasizing the need to respond to the initiative; otherwise, Arab states will reassess the previous stage of peace," said Muhammad Sobeih, assistant secretary general of the Arab League in charge of the Palestinian issue.
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REPORT: ABBAS DOES NOT RULE OUT RESUMING ARMED CONFLICT WITH ISRAEL
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday that he does not completely rule out the possibility of resuming the armed conflict with Israel. In an interview with the Jordanian newspaper al-Dustur, Abbas said that he is against an armed conflict at this time, but things may differ in the future.
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HAMAS OFFICIAL: ABDUCTIONS TO CONTINUE
Hamas will abduct more IDF soldiers if Israel does not answer its demands for freeing Cpl. Gilad Shalit, a Hamas official said in an interview published Saturday, referencing a March 2007 proposal whereby Palestinian security prisoners would be released in return for Shalit. The swap has been upheld by disagreement between the two sides over the criteria regarding prisoners to be included in the exchange.
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SLAIN HEZBOLLAH MILITANT WAS ORGANIZER IN 2006 WAR
Hezbollah officials and associates are describing a previously unknown role for Imad Mughniyeh, the mastermind behind bomb attacks on U.S. and Israeli targets in the 1980s and 1990s. Far from being too busy fleeing enemies, he was a key commander for Hezbollah in its 2006 war with Israel.
He was among the leading military and security strategists--if not the very top himself--of the group and a member of its decision-making committee, according to those who had knowledge of Mughniyeh before he was killed Feb. 12 in Damascus.
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ABBAS: HAMAS ALLOWED AL-QAEDA OPERATIVES INTO GAZA
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas confirmed on Wednesday reports that al-Qaeda operatives have infiltrated the Gaza Strip.
In an interview to the al-Hayat daily, Abbas claimed that Hamas was responsible for allowing the operatives into the Strip, and said that a years-long alliance has existed between the two groups. "I believe that al-Qaeda members have reached Palestinian territories and Gaza in particular. I think that al-Qaeda's presence there was made possible with the help of Hamas, especially in Gaza," he told the newspaper.
On Tuesday, IDF Intelligence Chief Amos Yadlin told the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that the recent breaching of the Egypt-Gaza border has enabled members of Bin Laden's group, as well as Hamas terror experts, to enter the Strip.
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HAMAS GAZA PROTEST PASSES PEACEFULLY
Israel deployed thousands of troops and police along the volatile border with the Gaza Strip on Monday but a Hamas demonstration against Israel appeared to pass without incident. Organizers had hoped to form a human chain running the length of the 25-mile strip but turnout was well below expectations. About 5,000 people, many of them schoolchildren and university students, joined the chain outside the town of Beit Hanoun, about four miles from the border.
After the protest ended, some 2,000 Hamas loyalists marched to a checkpoint several kilometers away from Erez. However, Hamas police blocked the main road leading to the Erez checkpoint and called on loyalists to obey the law.
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ISRAEL'S ECONOMY GREW 6.4% IN FOURTH QUARTER
Israel's economic growth unexpectedly accelerated to an annualized 6.4 percent in the fourth quarter, the fastest pace in a year, led by exports. Growth picked up from a revised 5.9% in the previous three months with exports jumping 15.5%, the Central Bureau of Statistics said Monday.
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10,000 SHOPPERS DESCEND ON SDEROT
Some 10,000 people from all over Israel traveled to Sderot last Friday to do their Shabbat shopping and show their solidarity for the residents of the beleaguered town. Hundreds of cars headed to the city from meeting points in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa and Ra'anana. Numerous organizations participated in the solidarity mission, and several municipalities even provided buses for the journey.
Among the participants were activists from dozens of social movements, as well as members of student organizations, secular and religious communities and sports clubs.
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SABBATH CONFLICT MAY END PLAYOFF RUN FOR JEWISH BOYS' BASKETBALL TEEM
State senators have taken up the cause of a Jewish boys basketball team in Denver whose playoff run may be halted because its players can't play on the Jewish Sabbath. The Herzl/Rocky Mountain Hebrew Academy team could be headed for a regional championship on Saturday, March 8, if it wins one more game. But the Denver team won't play on Shabbat. If Herzl/RMHA makes it to the regional championship and will not play a Saturday game, another school would be chosen to take its place, CHSAA commissioner Bill Reader said. Earlier this month, the Colorado High School Activities Association, which governs sports and other high school activities, rejected the team's request for a schedule change.
At the end of morning debate in the state Senate on Wednesday, Majority Leader Ken Gordon, D-Denver, called on the CHSAA to be more flexible. Senate President Peter Groff, D-Denver, said the CHSAA's decision was ironic because it has a rule barring games from being played on Sunday for religious reasons. Sen. Tom Wiens, R-Sedalia, said there must be a way for the CHSAA to accommodate the team.
Another player from Boca Raton, Bassie Orzechowitz, 17, a senior at Weinbaum Yeshiva High School, won a regional three-point shooting competition this month, making her eligible for the Queen of the Hill championship in Lakeland but the final stage of that competition took place Saturday evening.
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Iran Watch
IRAN PRESIDENT SAYS NUCLEAR REPORT A VICTORY; U.S. CALLS FOR MORE SANCTIONS
World powers can pass U.N. sanctions resolutions for 100 years without deterring Iran from its nuclear ambitions, Iran's president said on Saturday. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's defiant comments came a day after a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency said Iran was being more transparent about its nuclear plans but was not doing enough to clear up concerns about whether Tehran had military aims.
Tehran insists its plans are peaceful. But the United States, which has accused Iran of seeking to build nuclear bombs, said Friday's report was a good reason to impose more U.N. sanctions.
Ahmadinejad declared the IAEA report a "victory" for the Iranian nation, pointing to areas of the document which showed Iranian cooperation had cleared up suspicions. Read the IAEA report
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IRAN CONFIRMS NEW NUCLEAR CENTRIFUGES
Iran said Sunday that it has started using new centrifuges that can churn out enriched uranium at more than double the rate of the machines that now form the backbone of the Islamic nation's nuclear program. The announcement was the first official confirmation by Tehran after diplomats with the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog reported earlier this month that Iran was using 10 of the new IR-2 centrifuges.
"We are (now) running a new generation of centrifuges," the official IRNA news agency quoted Javad Vaidi, deputy of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, as saying. No futher details were provided.
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U.S. WEIGHS SANCTIONS ON IRAN'S CENTRAL BANK
The Treasury Department is gathering evidence it says shows that the central bank of Iran is helping other Iranian institutions elude U.S. economic sanctions, in what could be a prelude to penalties against the central bank.
The investigation, described by financial-intelligence officials in three countries, signals a potential escalation in the financial battle Washington is waging against Tehran. Beginning in 2006, the U.S. imposed sanctions against several of Iran's major private-sector banks, blacklisting them for allegedly supporting terrorism and Iran's nuclear-weapons program.
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IRAN MUST PAY FOR '92 BOMBING
A U.S. judge ordered Iran to pay $33 million to the family of a U.S.-born Israeli diplomat killed in a 1992 bombing. In a ruling Monday, U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle held Iran liable for the attack on the Israeli Embassy in Argentina, which killed 29 people, including diplomat David Ben-Rafael.
Iran's Lebanese proxy militia, Hezbollah, took responsibility for the bombing.The ruling is one of a string in recent years holding Iran responsible for Hamas- or Hezbollah-orchestrated terrorist attacks against Americans.
Iran has refused to acknowledge or comply with the rulings, which have resulted from default judgments in the absence of an Iranian defense. Plaintiffs have sought to seize Iranian assets in the United States and Europe to collect on their judgments, albeit with limited success.
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Events and Programs
UIC INAUGURAL ISRAEL SCHOLAR LECTURE TO DISCUSS INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM MARCH 5 AS PART OF JUF'S NEW VISITING ISRAEL SCHOLAR PROGRAM
The University of Illinois at Chicago's Jewish studies program, in association with the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, welcomes distinguished scholar Shlomo Shoham, professor of law at Tel Aviv University and UIC visiting Israel scholar for a lecture titled, "International Terrorism: Dynamics and Prevention," at 7 p.m. March 5, at the UIC Student Services building, 1200 W. Harrison St.
Winner of the Israel Prize, Shoham is a world-renowned scholar and a widely published author on criminology, deviance, philosophy, religion, psychology, and the interdisciplinarity of the human personality. He lectures world-wide, and has recently been resident at the universities of Harvard, Oxford, and at The Sorbonne.
The lecture is the inaugural event of UIC's new Visiting Israel Scholar Program. Supported by the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, the program will bring an Israeli scholar to UIC to teach one semester per year for the next three years.
Admission is free. A reception will take place at 6 p.m. For more information, call (312) 996-2102.
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HILLEL HALKIN TO DELIVER KLUTZNICK LECTURE MARCH 12
The Crown Family Center for Jewish Studies, Northwestern University and the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago present The 2008 Philip M. & Ethel Klutznick Lecture in Jewish Civilization: After Post-Zionism: Building The Israel That Could Be, by Hillel Halkin, renowned Israeli journalist and author, Wednesday, March 12, 7:30 p.m. at Pick Staiger Concert Hall, Northwestern University Campus.
The appearance of noted experts like Halkin has been made possible through the vision and generosity of Philip M. and Ethel Klutnick. In 1986, when they established The Philip M. & Ethel Klutznick Chair in Jewish Civilization at the Judd A. and Marjorie Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern University, they also inaugurated the annual Klutznick Lecture, co-sponsored by the University and the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago.
Admission is free, and there will be no solicitation of funds. Reservations are required, with open seating, first come, first served. Call (312) 357-4675 or Register online
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DISCOUNTS AND LIMITED-TIME OFFERS TO SEE SHALOM CHANOCH, "THE BRUCE SPRINGSTEIN OF ISRAELI MUSIC," AT HOUSE OF BLUES MARCH 2
The Consulate General of Israel to the Midwest announces the kick-off event for the 60th anniversary celebrations of Israel: Shalom Chanoch, "The Bruce Springstein of Israeli music," will perform at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, March 2 at the House of Blues Chicago, 329 N. Dearborn. General tickets are $55 and box seats are $75. Purchase tickets. For group discounts and student prices, contact David Azulay at (301) 230-2232 or at david@teev.com
*The Consulate General of Israel to the Midwest has teamed up with Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem to showcase Israeli music by offering the first 100 individual tickets bought for the Shalom Chanoch concert a FREE ticket to the Israel Chamber Orchestra on Tuesday, February 26th at 7:30 p.m.! Please contact press@chicago.mfa.gov.il once your Shalom Chanoch tickets are purchased to reserve your free ticket for the Israel Chamber Orchestra!
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LEWIS SUMMER INTERN APPLICATION DEADLINE APPROACHING: THIS MONDAY FOR APPLICATIONS, MARCH 14 FOR INTERVIEWS
Applications are still being accepted for the 2008 Lewis Summer Intern Program. There is still time to submit an application and schedule an interview, but time is running out. The deadline to submit applications is March 3, 2008, and the deadline for interviews is March 14, 2008.
The Lewis Summer Intern Program offers a wide array of summer internship opportunities across the spectrum of Jewish communal services in the Chicagoland area. Any student who is from Illinois or currently enrolled at a college in the state is eligible to apply, and applications are available online. Learn more about the internship opportunities with the Lewis Summer Intern Program. To catch a glimpse of all the fun that was had last year, please watch this video made by a student from last years program.
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Editorial, Opinion & Analysis
FROM THE ISRAELI AND AMERICAN PRESS AND OTHER SOURCES
Pro-Israel vs. Pro-Palestine, by Rabbi Yehiel Poupko, JUF/JF's Judaic Scholar
The Sderot calculus, by Bret Stephens
Iran's Parliamentary elections: assured victory for the Supreme Leader, by Mehdi Khalaji
It's the Middle East, stupid, by Michael B. Oren
The goal: annihilating Israel, by Yoel Marcus
The growing al-Qaeda presence in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, by Lt. Col. (res.) Jonathan Dahoah-Halevi
Sderot's war children, by Anat Meidan
Iran's diplomatic elite believe that the time has come to lead the region, by Iason Athanasiadis
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Friday, February 29, 5:22 p.m., Vayakhel
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Forward this to a friend February 28, 2008
Local News
Robert M. Schrayer remembered
Community, school, family and friends mourn Cpl. Albert Bitton
Outlining a vision of Israel-Diaspora relations
Jewish-Catholic Relations
Anti-Zionism decried at Global Forum for Combating Anti-Semitism
Students return from Ta'am Yisrael 2008
Israel and World News
Student killed in Negev college as Qassam barrage intensifies
Rocket fired from Gaza scores direct hit on Ashkelon home
Arab leaders say the two-state proposal is in peril
Report: Abbas does not rule out resuming armed conflict with Israel
Hamas official: Abductions to continue
Slain Hezbollah militant was organizer in 2006 war
Abbas: Hamas allowed al-Qaeda operatives into Gaza
Hamas Gaza protest passes peacefully
Israel's economy grew 6.4% in fourth quarter
10,000 shoppers descend on Sderot
Sabbath conflict may end playoff run for Jewish boys' basketball teem
Iran Watch
Iran president says nuclear report a victory; U.S. calls for more sanctions
Iran confirms new nuclear centrifuges
U.S. weighs sanctions on Iran's central bank
Iran must pay for '92 bombing
Events and Programs
UIC Inaugural Israel Scholar Lecture to discuss international terrorism March 5 as part of JUF's new Visiting Israel Scholar program
Hillel Halkin to deliver Klutznick Lecture March 12
Discounts and limited-time offers to see Shalom Chanoch, "The Bruce Springstein of Israeli music," at House of Blues March 2
Lewis Summer Intern application deadline approaching: This Monday for applications, March 14 for interviews
Editorial, Opinion & Analysis
From the Israeli and American press and other sources
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Local News
ROBERT M. SCHRAYER REMEMBERED
Robert M. Schrayer, one of the Jewish community's most prominent and long-serving leaders, was eloquently eulogized by his rabbis and family Sunday.
Schrayer's life and work are recalled in obituaries published in numerous publications. See Distinguished businessman, Jewish community leader (Daily Herald), US Jewish leader Schrayer remembered for vision, service (Jerusalem Post) and Jewish leader strove to nurture community (Chicago Tribune).
Schrayer's ideas and actions were chronicled often in the pages of JUF News where, as 2005 JUF Campaign Chairman, he wrote a monthly column. He was quoted in relation to the significant events occurring during his watch as a community leader, and he reflected from time to time on the major currents of Jewish history that he had witnessed, and to which he helped shape the community's response. Read some of his elequent words printed in JUF News during the past decade.
The Jewish Federation has established a Robert M. Schrayer Memorial Fund. Checks should be made payable to JF-R. Schrayer Memorial Fund and sent to the Jewish Federation, 30 South Wells Street, Room 3138, Chicago, IL 60606.
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COMMUNITY, SCHOOL, FAMILY AND FRIENDS MOURN CPL. ALBERT BITTON
Hundreds of community members, family and friends packed Congregation Adas Yeshurun of West Rogers Park to honor the memory of Corporal Albert Bitton on Feb. 26. They gathered in the same synagogue where congregants had previously joined each week to recite Psalms in the merit of Albert's safety in Iraq.
Albert, a medic serving his seventh month in Iraq, was killed--along with two other soldiers--in Bagdad when his Humvee was struck by an improvised explosive device. He was part of the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), according to the Defense Department. He was buried with full military honors in a ceremony precided over by an honor guard under Major General Robert Radin, including: a 21-gun salute and a flag, Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart presentation to Bitton's wife and parents.
Albert joined the U.S. Army in 2005 after graduating from Ida Crown Jewish Academy with hopes of receiving the training and financial help to someday become a surgeon. He is survived by his wife, Melissa Handelman, his parents, Elie and Silvia, and his sisters, Jackie and Elizabeth.
Back to top
OUTLINING A VISION OF ISRAEL-DIASPORA RELATIONS
In an interview with the Jerusalem Post, Alan Solow, immediate past chairman of JUF's JCRC and current chairman of the Jewish Community Centers Association (JCCA) of North America, outlines the intricacies of being Jewish on both sides of the Atlantic and explains why he wants to encourage Jewish community centers across the US and Canada to become more "Israel-centric."
Back to top
JEWISH-CATHOLIC RELATIONS
Chicago Archbishop Francis Cardinal George and Catholic-Jewish studies expert Dr. Eugene Fischer on Tuesday night called on Jews and Catholics to continue their interfaith dialogues during the annual Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Jerusalem Lecture. The event was sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies, the Archdiocese of Chicago, the American-Jewish Committee, and the Chicago Board of Rabbis.
Back to top
ANTI-ZIONISM DECRIED AT GLOBAL FORUM FOR COMBATING ANTI-SEMITISM
Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Tzipi Livni and Minister for Diaspora Affairs and for Combating Anti-Semitism Isaac Herzog opened the Annual International Conference of Global Forum for Combating Anti-Semitism held February 24 and 25 in Jerusalem. The conference was attended by a record number of over 300 high-ranking delegates from over 45 countries, among them parliamentarians, judges and legal experts, ambassadors and diplomats, academics, heads of NGOs, and leaders of Jewish organizations and communities. Watch a recorded live broadcast of the conference.
JUF/JF Executive Vice President Michael Kotzin moderated a session on the new anti-Semitism. Read a paper he prepared for the conference.
Also see the Jerusalem Post's coverage of the conference from February 24 and February 25.
Back to top
STUDENTS RETURN FROM TA'AM YISRAEL 2008
Ta'am Yisrael: A Taste of Israel is a program designed by the Community Foundation for Jewish Education (CFJE) of Metropolitan Chicago to give a select number of 8th grade students a meaningful, intense, emotional and focused taste of their heritage through a seven-day trip to Israel. Read the web journal from participants of Ta'am Yisrael 2008, who returned from Israel earlier this month.
For more information on Ta'am Yisrael contact: Sid Singer, Director of Informal Education Services, at ssinger@cfje.org, or (847) 410-3900, x 29.
Back to top
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Israel and World News
STUDENT KILLED IN NEGEV COLLEGE AS QASSAM BARRAGE INTENSIFIES
Around 50 Palestinian rockets hit the western Negev on Wednesday, with one of them slamming into Sapir College near Sderot and killing a 47-year-old student. Another exploded on the helipad of Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon, while the hospital was treating casualties from Sderot. The deceased, Roni Yechiah from the town of Btecha in the western Negev, was inside his car in Sapir's parking lot. He died of shrapnel wounds to the chest. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
Back to top
ROCKET FIRED FROM GAZA SCORES DIRECT HIT ON ASHKELON HOME
Gaza-based militants stepped up their campaign against southern Israel on Thursday, firing a barrage of Qassam rockets and longer-range Grad rockets. Ten Grads hit Ashkelon, some 10 km from the Gaza border, and one scored a direct hit on a home in the port town. Several people were wounded in the barrages, although the exact number was unclear.
Back to top
ARAB LEADERS SAY THE TWO-STATE PROPOSAL IS IN PERIL
Arab leaders will threaten to rescind their offer of full relations with Israel in exchange for a complete Israeli withdrawal from occupied lands unless Israel gives a positive response to their initiative, indicating growing disillusionment with the prospects of a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
At an Arab League meeting next month in Syria, the leaders are planning to reiterate support for their initiative, first issued in 2002. The initiative promised Israel normalization with the league's 22 members in return for the creation of a Palestinian state on the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as the capital, and a resolution of the issue of Palestinian refugees.
But this time, "there will be a message to Israel emphasizing the need to respond to the initiative; otherwise, Arab states will reassess the previous stage of peace," said Muhammad Sobeih, assistant secretary general of the Arab League in charge of the Palestinian issue.
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REPORT: ABBAS DOES NOT RULE OUT RESUMING ARMED CONFLICT WITH ISRAEL
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday that he does not completely rule out the possibility of resuming the armed conflict with Israel. In an interview with the Jordanian newspaper al-Dustur, Abbas said that he is against an armed conflict at this time, but things may differ in the future.
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HAMAS OFFICIAL: ABDUCTIONS TO CONTINUE
Hamas will abduct more IDF soldiers if Israel does not answer its demands for freeing Cpl. Gilad Shalit, a Hamas official said in an interview published Saturday, referencing a March 2007 proposal whereby Palestinian security prisoners would be released in return for Shalit. The swap has been upheld by disagreement between the two sides over the criteria regarding prisoners to be included in the exchange.
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SLAIN HEZBOLLAH MILITANT WAS ORGANIZER IN 2006 WAR
Hezbollah officials and associates are describing a previously unknown role for Imad Mughniyeh, the mastermind behind bomb attacks on U.S. and Israeli targets in the 1980s and 1990s. Far from being too busy fleeing enemies, he was a key commander for Hezbollah in its 2006 war with Israel.
He was among the leading military and security strategists--if not the very top himself--of the group and a member of its decision-making committee, according to those who had knowledge of Mughniyeh before he was killed Feb. 12 in Damascus.
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ABBAS: HAMAS ALLOWED AL-QAEDA OPERATIVES INTO GAZA
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas confirmed on Wednesday reports that al-Qaeda operatives have infiltrated the Gaza Strip.
In an interview to the al-Hayat daily, Abbas claimed that Hamas was responsible for allowing the operatives into the Strip, and said that a years-long alliance has existed between the two groups. "I believe that al-Qaeda members have reached Palestinian territories and Gaza in particular. I think that al-Qaeda's presence there was made possible with the help of Hamas, especially in Gaza," he told the newspaper.
On Tuesday, IDF Intelligence Chief Amos Yadlin told the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that the recent breaching of the Egypt-Gaza border has enabled members of Bin Laden's group, as well as Hamas terror experts, to enter the Strip.
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HAMAS GAZA PROTEST PASSES PEACEFULLY
Israel deployed thousands of troops and police along the volatile border with the Gaza Strip on Monday but a Hamas demonstration against Israel appeared to pass without incident. Organizers had hoped to form a human chain running the length of the 25-mile strip but turnout was well below expectations. About 5,000 people, many of them schoolchildren and university students, joined the chain outside the town of Beit Hanoun, about four miles from the border.
After the protest ended, some 2,000 Hamas loyalists marched to a checkpoint several kilometers away from Erez. However, Hamas police blocked the main road leading to the Erez checkpoint and called on loyalists to obey the law.
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ISRAEL'S ECONOMY GREW 6.4% IN FOURTH QUARTER
Israel's economic growth unexpectedly accelerated to an annualized 6.4 percent in the fourth quarter, the fastest pace in a year, led by exports. Growth picked up from a revised 5.9% in the previous three months with exports jumping 15.5%, the Central Bureau of Statistics said Monday.
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10,000 SHOPPERS DESCEND ON SDEROT
Some 10,000 people from all over Israel traveled to Sderot last Friday to do their Shabbat shopping and show their solidarity for the residents of the beleaguered town. Hundreds of cars headed to the city from meeting points in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa and Ra'anana. Numerous organizations participated in the solidarity mission, and several municipalities even provided buses for the journey.
Among the participants were activists from dozens of social movements, as well as members of student organizations, secular and religious communities and sports clubs.
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SABBATH CONFLICT MAY END PLAYOFF RUN FOR JEWISH BOYS' BASKETBALL TEEM
State senators have taken up the cause of a Jewish boys basketball team in Denver whose playoff run may be halted because its players can't play on the Jewish Sabbath. The Herzl/Rocky Mountain Hebrew Academy team could be headed for a regional championship on Saturday, March 8, if it wins one more game. But the Denver team won't play on Shabbat. If Herzl/RMHA makes it to the regional championship and will not play a Saturday game, another school would be chosen to take its place, CHSAA commissioner Bill Reader said. Earlier this month, the Colorado High School Activities Association, which governs sports and other high school activities, rejected the team's request for a schedule change.
At the end of morning debate in the state Senate on Wednesday, Majority Leader Ken Gordon, D-Denver, called on the CHSAA to be more flexible. Senate President Peter Groff, D-Denver, said the CHSAA's decision was ironic because it has a rule barring games from being played on Sunday for religious reasons. Sen. Tom Wiens, R-Sedalia, said there must be a way for the CHSAA to accommodate the team.
Another player from Boca Raton, Bassie Orzechowitz, 17, a senior at Weinbaum Yeshiva High School, won a regional three-point shooting competition this month, making her eligible for the Queen of the Hill championship in Lakeland but the final stage of that competition took place Saturday evening.
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Iran Watch
IRAN PRESIDENT SAYS NUCLEAR REPORT A VICTORY; U.S. CALLS FOR MORE SANCTIONS
World powers can pass U.N. sanctions resolutions for 100 years without deterring Iran from its nuclear ambitions, Iran's president said on Saturday. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's defiant comments came a day after a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency said Iran was being more transparent about its nuclear plans but was not doing enough to clear up concerns about whether Tehran had military aims.
Tehran insists its plans are peaceful. But the United States, which has accused Iran of seeking to build nuclear bombs, said Friday's report was a good reason to impose more U.N. sanctions.
Ahmadinejad declared the IAEA report a "victory" for the Iranian nation, pointing to areas of the document which showed Iranian cooperation had cleared up suspicions. Read the IAEA report
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IRAN CONFIRMS NEW NUCLEAR CENTRIFUGES
Iran said Sunday that it has started using new centrifuges that can churn out enriched uranium at more than double the rate of the machines that now form the backbone of the Islamic nation's nuclear program. The announcement was the first official confirmation by Tehran after diplomats with the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog reported earlier this month that Iran was using 10 of the new IR-2 centrifuges.
"We are (now) running a new generation of centrifuges," the official IRNA news agency quoted Javad Vaidi, deputy of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, as saying. No futher details were provided.
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U.S. WEIGHS SANCTIONS ON IRAN'S CENTRAL BANK
The Treasury Department is gathering evidence it says shows that the central bank of Iran is helping other Iranian institutions elude U.S. economic sanctions, in what could be a prelude to penalties against the central bank.
The investigation, described by financial-intelligence officials in three countries, signals a potential escalation in the financial battle Washington is waging against Tehran. Beginning in 2006, the U.S. imposed sanctions against several of Iran's major private-sector banks, blacklisting them for allegedly supporting terrorism and Iran's nuclear-weapons program.
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IRAN MUST PAY FOR '92 BOMBING
A U.S. judge ordered Iran to pay $33 million to the family of a U.S.-born Israeli diplomat killed in a 1992 bombing. In a ruling Monday, U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle held Iran liable for the attack on the Israeli Embassy in Argentina, which killed 29 people, including diplomat David Ben-Rafael.
Iran's Lebanese proxy militia, Hezbollah, took responsibility for the bombing.The ruling is one of a string in recent years holding Iran responsible for Hamas- or Hezbollah-orchestrated terrorist attacks against Americans.
Iran has refused to acknowledge or comply with the rulings, which have resulted from default judgments in the absence of an Iranian defense. Plaintiffs have sought to seize Iranian assets in the United States and Europe to collect on their judgments, albeit with limited success.
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Events and Programs
UIC INAUGURAL ISRAEL SCHOLAR LECTURE TO DISCUSS INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM MARCH 5 AS PART OF JUF'S NEW VISITING ISRAEL SCHOLAR PROGRAM
The University of Illinois at Chicago's Jewish studies program, in association with the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, welcomes distinguished scholar Shlomo Shoham, professor of law at Tel Aviv University and UIC visiting Israel scholar for a lecture titled, "International Terrorism: Dynamics and Prevention," at 7 p.m. March 5, at the UIC Student Services building, 1200 W. Harrison St.
Winner of the Israel Prize, Shoham is a world-renowned scholar and a widely published author on criminology, deviance, philosophy, religion, psychology, and the interdisciplinarity of the human personality. He lectures world-wide, and has recently been resident at the universities of Harvard, Oxford, and at The Sorbonne.
The lecture is the inaugural event of UIC's new Visiting Israel Scholar Program. Supported by the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, the program will bring an Israeli scholar to UIC to teach one semester per year for the next three years.
Admission is free. A reception will take place at 6 p.m. For more information, call (312) 996-2102.
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HILLEL HALKIN TO DELIVER KLUTZNICK LECTURE MARCH 12
The Crown Family Center for Jewish Studies, Northwestern University and the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago present The 2008 Philip M. & Ethel Klutznick Lecture in Jewish Civilization: After Post-Zionism: Building The Israel That Could Be, by Hillel Halkin, renowned Israeli journalist and author, Wednesday, March 12, 7:30 p.m. at Pick Staiger Concert Hall, Northwestern University Campus.
The appearance of noted experts like Halkin has been made possible through the vision and generosity of Philip M. and Ethel Klutnick. In 1986, when they established The Philip M. & Ethel Klutznick Chair in Jewish Civilization at the Judd A. and Marjorie Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern University, they also inaugurated the annual Klutznick Lecture, co-sponsored by the University and the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago.
Admission is free, and there will be no solicitation of funds. Reservations are required, with open seating, first come, first served. Call (312) 357-4675 or Register online
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DISCOUNTS AND LIMITED-TIME OFFERS TO SEE SHALOM CHANOCH, "THE BRUCE SPRINGSTEIN OF ISRAELI MUSIC," AT HOUSE OF BLUES MARCH 2
The Consulate General of Israel to the Midwest announces the kick-off event for the 60th anniversary celebrations of Israel: Shalom Chanoch, "The Bruce Springstein of Israeli music," will perform at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, March 2 at the House of Blues Chicago, 329 N. Dearborn. General tickets are $55 and box seats are $75. Purchase tickets. For group discounts and student prices, contact David Azulay at (301) 230-2232 or at david@teev.com
*The Consulate General of Israel to the Midwest has teamed up with Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem to showcase Israeli music by offering the first 100 individual tickets bought for the Shalom Chanoch concert a FREE ticket to the Israel Chamber Orchestra on Tuesday, February 26th at 7:30 p.m.! Please contact press@chicago.mfa.gov.il once your Shalom Chanoch tickets are purchased to reserve your free ticket for the Israel Chamber Orchestra!
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LEWIS SUMMER INTERN APPLICATION DEADLINE APPROACHING: THIS MONDAY FOR APPLICATIONS, MARCH 14 FOR INTERVIEWS
Applications are still being accepted for the 2008 Lewis Summer Intern Program. There is still time to submit an application and schedule an interview, but time is running out. The deadline to submit applications is March 3, 2008, and the deadline for interviews is March 14, 2008.
The Lewis Summer Intern Program offers a wide array of summer internship opportunities across the spectrum of Jewish communal services in the Chicagoland area. Any student who is from Illinois or currently enrolled at a college in the state is eligible to apply, and applications are available online. Learn more about the internship opportunities with the Lewis Summer Intern Program. To catch a glimpse of all the fun that was had last year, please watch this video made by a student from last years program.
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Editorial, Opinion & Analysis
FROM THE ISRAELI AND AMERICAN PRESS AND OTHER SOURCES
Pro-Israel vs. Pro-Palestine, by Rabbi Yehiel Poupko, JUF/JF's Judaic Scholar
The Sderot calculus, by Bret Stephens
Iran's Parliamentary elections: assured victory for the Supreme Leader, by Mehdi Khalaji
It's the Middle East, stupid, by Michael B. Oren
The goal: annihilating Israel, by Yoel Marcus
The growing al-Qaeda presence in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, by Lt. Col. (res.) Jonathan Dahoah-Halevi
Sderot's war children, by Anat Meidan
Iran's diplomatic elite believe that the time has come to lead the region, by Iason Athanasiadis
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Wednesday, February 27, 2008
News from AIPAC
www.aipac.org February 26, 2008
Iran Accelerates Its Nuclear Program
Ten-Year-Old Boy Seriously Injured in Rocket Attack
Ahmadinejad: Israel a "Savage Animal"
Treasury Freezes Assets of Syrian President's Cousin
Federal Judge: Iran Must Pay Terror Victim's Family
Israeli Team Enters U.S. Basketball Hall of Fame
Save the date
AIPAC Policy
Conference 2008
June 2-4, 2008
Washington, DC
For more information: www.aipac.org/pc2008
(202) 639-5363
Take action
To take action on pending legislation and to receive more information and analysis, visit our Web site at www.aipac.org
Iran Accelerates Its Nuclear Program
A top Iranian official on Sunday said the Islamic Republic has started using new centrifuges that speed up its ability to enrich uranium, a key step toward developing nuclear weapons, the Associated Press reported. "We are running a new generation of centrifuges," said Javad Vaidi, deputy secretary of the Supreme National Security Council. Vaidi's announcement confirmed reports earlier this month that Iran is using centrifuges that can enrich uranium at more than twice the speed of the machines that now form the backbone of its illicit nuclear program. Iran has rebuffed multiple binding U.N. Security Council resolutions demanding it suspend its atomic work and faces more stringent sanctions as a result of its non-compliance. Click here to learn more about efforts to sanction Iran.
Ten-Year-Old Boy Seriously Injured in Rocket Attack
A 10-year-old Sderot boy was seriously wounded on Monday when a barrage of Qassam rockets struck the courtyard where he and his eight-year-old sister were playing, The Jerusalem Post reported. The attack marks the second time in as many weeks that Israeli children have suffered serious injuries as a result of Hamas rocket attacks. An eight-year-old boy's legs were partially severed after a Qassam rocket exploded in Sderot, severely wounding him and his older brother earlier this month. "Those striking at Israeli children will find themselves dealing with an Israel compelled to defend itself," the Israeli prime minister's office said in a statement. "We will not tolerate these attacks and will take the necessary steps to prevent them." Click here to learn more about how Hamas is intensifying its attacks against the Jewish state.
Ahmadinejad: Israel a "Savage Animal"
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last week lashed out at Israel in a strongly worded attack, describing the Jewish state as a "dirty microbe" and a "savage animal," Agence France Presse reported. "World powers have created a black and dirty microbe named the 'Zionist regime' and have unleashed it like a savage animal on the nations of the region," he told a rally in the southern city of Bandar Abbas. Ahmadinejad's charges come days after Mohammad Ali Jafari, commander of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, predicted that the terrorist army Hizballah would destroy Israel in the near future. The European Union issued a statement saying that the comments by Iranian leaders directed at Israel were "unacceptable, damaging and uncivilised." Iran has consistently refused to recognize the legitimacy of a Jewish state in the Middle East.
Treasury Freezes Assets of Syrian President's Cousin
The Treasury Department recently announced that it has frozen the assets of Syrian President Bashar Assad's cousin, Rami Makhluf. "Rami Makhluf has used intimidation and his close ties to the Assad regime to obtain improper business advantages at the expense of ordinary Syrians," said Stuart Levey, undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. "The Assad regime's cronyism and corruption has a corrosive effect, disadvantaging innocent Syrian businessmen and entrenching a regime that pursues oppressive and destabilizing policies, including beyond Syria's borders, in Iraq, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories." The Syrian regime has long interfered in Lebanon's political system and sponsored terrorism throughout the Middle East.
Federal Judge: Iran Must Pay Terror Victim's Family
A federal judge on Monday said that Iran must pay more than $33 million to the family of a U.S.-born Israeli diplomat killed in a 1992 terror attack, the Associated Press reported. U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle said Iran was responsible for the truck bombing at the Israeli Embassy in Argentina that killed 29 people, including David Ben-Rafael, who was born in the United States before he emigrated to Israel. While Hizballah claimed responsibility for the attack, Iran helped the terrorist group by financing and organizing its activities. The State Department has repeatedly labeled Iran as the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism. Click here to learn more about the terrorist army Hizballah.
Israeli Team Enters U.S. Basketball Hall of Fame
Israel's championship-winning basketball team Maccabi Tel Aviv is to be honored for its accomplishments at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in the United States, the Web site Israel21c.org reported. The exhibition opens in May and will coincide with Israel's 60th birthday. Maccabi Tel Aviv, which won multiple championships in Israel and Europe, will be the first Israeli team to be presented in an exhibition at the Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. The Hall of Fame sees millions of visitors every year who come to honor the greats of the basketball world. Part of the Maccabi Tel Aviv display will remain as a permanent exhibition in the Hall of Fame, a testament to the strength and competitiveness of Israeli sports worldwide.
Iran Accelerates Its Nuclear Program
Ten-Year-Old Boy Seriously Injured in Rocket Attack
Ahmadinejad: Israel a "Savage Animal"
Treasury Freezes Assets of Syrian President's Cousin
Federal Judge: Iran Must Pay Terror Victim's Family
Israeli Team Enters U.S. Basketball Hall of Fame
Save the date
AIPAC Policy
Conference 2008
June 2-4, 2008
Washington, DC
For more information: www.aipac.org/pc2008
(202) 639-5363
Take action
To take action on pending legislation and to receive more information and analysis, visit our Web site at www.aipac.org
Iran Accelerates Its Nuclear Program
A top Iranian official on Sunday said the Islamic Republic has started using new centrifuges that speed up its ability to enrich uranium, a key step toward developing nuclear weapons, the Associated Press reported. "We are running a new generation of centrifuges," said Javad Vaidi, deputy secretary of the Supreme National Security Council. Vaidi's announcement confirmed reports earlier this month that Iran is using centrifuges that can enrich uranium at more than twice the speed of the machines that now form the backbone of its illicit nuclear program. Iran has rebuffed multiple binding U.N. Security Council resolutions demanding it suspend its atomic work and faces more stringent sanctions as a result of its non-compliance. Click here to learn more about efforts to sanction Iran.
Ten-Year-Old Boy Seriously Injured in Rocket Attack
A 10-year-old Sderot boy was seriously wounded on Monday when a barrage of Qassam rockets struck the courtyard where he and his eight-year-old sister were playing, The Jerusalem Post reported. The attack marks the second time in as many weeks that Israeli children have suffered serious injuries as a result of Hamas rocket attacks. An eight-year-old boy's legs were partially severed after a Qassam rocket exploded in Sderot, severely wounding him and his older brother earlier this month. "Those striking at Israeli children will find themselves dealing with an Israel compelled to defend itself," the Israeli prime minister's office said in a statement. "We will not tolerate these attacks and will take the necessary steps to prevent them." Click here to learn more about how Hamas is intensifying its attacks against the Jewish state.
Ahmadinejad: Israel a "Savage Animal"
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last week lashed out at Israel in a strongly worded attack, describing the Jewish state as a "dirty microbe" and a "savage animal," Agence France Presse reported. "World powers have created a black and dirty microbe named the 'Zionist regime' and have unleashed it like a savage animal on the nations of the region," he told a rally in the southern city of Bandar Abbas. Ahmadinejad's charges come days after Mohammad Ali Jafari, commander of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, predicted that the terrorist army Hizballah would destroy Israel in the near future. The European Union issued a statement saying that the comments by Iranian leaders directed at Israel were "unacceptable, damaging and uncivilised." Iran has consistently refused to recognize the legitimacy of a Jewish state in the Middle East.
Treasury Freezes Assets of Syrian President's Cousin
The Treasury Department recently announced that it has frozen the assets of Syrian President Bashar Assad's cousin, Rami Makhluf. "Rami Makhluf has used intimidation and his close ties to the Assad regime to obtain improper business advantages at the expense of ordinary Syrians," said Stuart Levey, undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. "The Assad regime's cronyism and corruption has a corrosive effect, disadvantaging innocent Syrian businessmen and entrenching a regime that pursues oppressive and destabilizing policies, including beyond Syria's borders, in Iraq, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories." The Syrian regime has long interfered in Lebanon's political system and sponsored terrorism throughout the Middle East.
Federal Judge: Iran Must Pay Terror Victim's Family
A federal judge on Monday said that Iran must pay more than $33 million to the family of a U.S.-born Israeli diplomat killed in a 1992 terror attack, the Associated Press reported. U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle said Iran was responsible for the truck bombing at the Israeli Embassy in Argentina that killed 29 people, including David Ben-Rafael, who was born in the United States before he emigrated to Israel. While Hizballah claimed responsibility for the attack, Iran helped the terrorist group by financing and organizing its activities. The State Department has repeatedly labeled Iran as the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism. Click here to learn more about the terrorist army Hizballah.
Israeli Team Enters U.S. Basketball Hall of Fame
Israel's championship-winning basketball team Maccabi Tel Aviv is to be honored for its accomplishments at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in the United States, the Web site Israel21c.org reported. The exhibition opens in May and will coincide with Israel's 60th birthday. Maccabi Tel Aviv, which won multiple championships in Israel and Europe, will be the first Israeli team to be presented in an exhibition at the Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. The Hall of Fame sees millions of visitors every year who come to honor the greats of the basketball world. Part of the Maccabi Tel Aviv display will remain as a permanent exhibition in the Hall of Fame, a testament to the strength and competitiveness of Israeli sports worldwide.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Jews must be "Huckabeean"
Eric Zorn Tribune column today
Huckabeean' odds may lead to 'Tafty' pull
Columnist George Will, chattering on TV Sunday morning, concluded his brief analysis of Hillary Clinton's chances to win the Democratic presidential nomination with this:
"The arithmetic is almost Huckabeean at this point."
Ouch.
It was a crisp and devastating coinage. "Huckabeean" -- understood by anyone who's been following presidential politics this year as a synonym for delusional optimism, a refusal to surrender that's gone from tenacious to foolish."
I don't know-I guess jews are Huckabeean then-"if you will it it is no dream" Herzl and the words to hatikva which itself means hope.
No one gave Israel a chance in 1948.
Jews should not be here after all the efforts to wipe us out.
We never give up, despite long odds
Huckabeean' odds may lead to 'Tafty' pull
Columnist George Will, chattering on TV Sunday morning, concluded his brief analysis of Hillary Clinton's chances to win the Democratic presidential nomination with this:
"The arithmetic is almost Huckabeean at this point."
Ouch.
It was a crisp and devastating coinage. "Huckabeean" -- understood by anyone who's been following presidential politics this year as a synonym for delusional optimism, a refusal to surrender that's gone from tenacious to foolish."
I don't know-I guess jews are Huckabeean then-"if you will it it is no dream" Herzl and the words to hatikva which itself means hope.
No one gave Israel a chance in 1948.
Jews should not be here after all the efforts to wipe us out.
We never give up, despite long odds
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Friday, February 22, 2008
Thursday, February 21, 2008
JUF Alert
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Forward this to a friend February 21, 2008
Local News
Jewish leader Robert M. Schrayer dies at 75
Argentina's dynamic, but shrinking, Jewish community
Israel and World News
Abbas and Olmert struggle to move talks forward
US Ambassador to Israel describes strong US Israel ties
Israel holds talks with Egypt over Rafah crossing
Officials: Gaza operation will bring international troops
Death of Hezbollah leader could mean threat to Jewish targets
1,000 Africans estimated to have infiltrated Israel in 2 weeks
NY: Israeli consulate pushes for Jerusalem to be part of Global Monopoly
Israeli singer cracks Billboard Top 10
Iran Watch
US meets Iranian official to discuss "terror" funds
Iran affirms its defiance on nuclear program
Exile group claims Iran is developing nuclear warheads
Iran: 'Cancerous' Israel to soon disappear
Iranian president to make first Iraq visit
Events and Programs
This Sunday's "Sanctuary" looks at the voice of women in the Jewish community
13th Annual Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Jerusalem Lecture this Tuesday
"International Terrorism: Dynamics and Prevention" at UIC March 5
Lewis Summer Intern application deadline approaching: March 3 for applications, March 14 for interviews
JCC Chicago Maccabi final information night this Wednesday
Shalom Chanoch, "The Bruce Springstein of Israeli music," at House of Blues March 2
Save the Date for this important March event
Editorial, Opinion & Analysis
From the Israeli and American press and other sources
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Local News
JEWISH LEADER ROBERT M. SCHRAYER DIES AT 75
Robert M. Schrayer, one of the Jewish community's most prominent and long-serving leaders locally, nationally and internationally, died Thursday, Feb. 21. He was 75.
"Bob Schrayer was a visionary and extraordinarily committed to all that was good in America and Israel," said Steven B. Nasatir, president of the JUF and Jewish Federation and a dear friend and colleague of Schrayer's for more than 37 years.
"Bob was a gentle, kind and soft-spoken man with a gigantic Jewish heart," said Harvey Barnett, Chairman of the JUF/Federation Board. "He led by his actions and inspired all of us to greater heights. As Kipling wrote, 'he could walk with kings and keep the common touch' - a true mensch whose loss will be felt throughout the Jewish world. May his memory be for a blessing."
The Jewish Federation has established a Robert M. Schrayer Memorial Fund. Checks should be made payable to JF-R. Schrayer Memorial Fund and sent to the Jewish Federation, 30 South Wells Street, Room 3138, Chicago, IL 60606.
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ARGENTINA'S DYNAMIC, BUT SHRINKING, JEWISH COMMUNITY
Rabbi Ruben Saferstein, spiritual leader of Congregacion Dor Jadash in Buenos Aires, spoke about Argentina's Jewish community�the seventh largest Jewish community in the world� at the February 18 meeting of JUF's Jewish Community Relations Council's Israel and International Affairs Commission.
During his talk, Rabbi Saferstein touched on four aspects of Jewish life in Argentina: education, the annual Yom Ha'atzmaot celebration, the commemoration of the July 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires, and the observation of the High Holidays.
"Although Argentina is not always on the front page of the newspapers, Saferstein said, "many things have changed."
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Israel and World News
ABBAS AND OLMERT STRUGGLE TO MOVE TALKS FORWARD
The Israeli and Palestinian leaders met in Jerusalem on Tuesday amid growing dissonance over the content of their talks and the kind of agreement they are trying to achieve.
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US AMBASSADOR TO ISRAEL DESCRIBES STRONG US ISRAEL TIES
United States Ambassador to Israel, Richard H. Jones addressed the 34th annual Leadership Mission of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in Israel, emphasizing that the relations between the United States and Israel are excellent, and that the diplomatic and military cooperation has never been better.
The Ambassador stated that the United States is committed to helping make the two-state solution with the Palestinians a reality "in a manner that ensures Israel's long-term survival as a democratic, Jewish state."
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ISRAEL HOLDS TALKS WITH EGYPT OVER RAFAH CROSSING
Israel and Egypt have been conducting EU-backed negotiations in an effort to reopen the Rafah crossing on the Egypt-Gaza border. The main bone of contention is Egypt's insistence that Hamas supervise the crossing on the Palestinian side, a demand Israel vehemently opposes.
In the meantime, Egypt and Hamas are also engaged in dialogue over the border arrangements.
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OFFICIALS: GAZA OPERATION WILL BRING INTERNATIONAL TROOPS
Israel is considering a large-scale incursion into the Gaza Strip during which it would present an ultimatum to the international community for the deployment of a multinational force as the only condition under which it would withdraw, defense officials have told The Jerusalem Post.
Meanwhile Sunday, a soldier from the IDF's elite General Staff Reconnaissance Unit (Sayeret Matkal) was seriously wounded by a gunshot wound to the shoulder during an operation in the southern Gaza Strip. At least three Palestinian gunmen, including the shooter, were killed. The soldier was listed in serious but stable condition.
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DEATH OF HEZBOLLAH LEADER COULD MEAN THREAT TO JEWISH TARGETS
The FBI is warning of possible threats to Jewish targets in the United States, following the car bombing death of a Hezbollah leader in Syria, a law enforcement official said last week.
The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Forces nationwide have been instructed to work with community officials to detect increased Hezbollah activity in the U.S., said the official, who requested anonymity because he isn't authorized to speak in detail about the matter. The official said that as of last Thursday night, nothing of concern had been found.
Accusing Israel of killing one of his top commanders, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, threatened to intensify his group's conflict with Israel and to retaliate against Israeli targets anywhere in the world. More than 50 Hezbollah terror cells believed to be spread across the globe could be activated and used to strike at Israeli or Jewish targets in retaliation for Tuesday's assassination of Hezbollah arch-terrorist and operations officer Imad Mughniyeh in Syria, a senior defense official said. The Israeli Counterterrorism Bureau issued a travel advisory last Thursday that made plain the seriousness with which it is taking the threats. But Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said "Israel is a strong country" and that there was no need to panic.
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1,000 AFRICANS ESTIMATED TO HAVE INFILTRATED ISRAEL IN 2 WEEKS
As many as 1,000 African refugees have infiltrated Israel over the past two weeks, official sources told Ynet on Monday.
According to police and IDF estimates, some 10,000 people have entered Israel from Africa over the past five years through the Egyptian border. The breached border has made the infiltration very simple. African civilians suffering from hunger, plagues and wars or those who seek to improve their living conditions choose to attempt to live in Israel.
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NY: ISRAELI CONSULATE PUSHES FOR JERUSALEM TO BE PART OF GLOBAL MONOPOLY
The Israeli consulate in New York has launched a campaign for Jerusalem to be included in the new global version of the Monopoly board game currently being planned.
The Hasbro Company has organized an Internet vote and the top 10 cities out of a list of 68 will feature in the new global Monopoly. Jerusalem is currently in 7th position and voting closes at the end of the month.
The consulate is urging Israel supporters worldwide to log on at http://lists.juf.org/t/174369/471156/5601/0/ and vote for Jerusalem
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ISRAELI SINGER CRACKS BILLBOARD TOP 10
An indie artist from Ramat Hasharon has become the first Israeli to crack the Billboard Top 10. Yael Naim, a 29-year-old IDF veteran, earned Billboard's coveted "Hot Shot" designation last week with "New Soul," an English-language single that scored the highest debut of any song on the music magazine's singles chart.
Unknown in the US a month ago, Naim has become the breakout performer of early 2008 with "New Soul," which earned massive exposure last month after being selected for an aggressive marketing campaign for the MacBook Air laptop.
Born in Paris to immigrants from Tunisia, Naim moved to Israel as a four-year-old, later serving in the IDF and recording songs in French, English and Hebrew.
Watch a YouTube video of the song or listen to Hebrew music on the her website,
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Iran Watch
US MEETS IRANIAN OFFICIAL TO DISCUSS "TERROR" FUNDS
In a departure from usual policy, a senior U.S. Treasury official met Iranian representatives in Paris last month as part of a multinational gathering to discuss "terror financing," said U.S. officials on Friday.
Senior Treasury Department official Daniel Glaser was given permission by the Bush administration to attend the Jan. 24 meeting, as required by U.S. policy because contacts with Iran are usually forbidden, said a senior official.
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IRAN AFFIRMS ITS DEFIANCE ON NUCLEAR PROGRAM
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday that Iran's determination to continue its nuclear program had brought major powers "to their knees."
"The Iranian nation will not allow any power to trample even on its smallest right," Ahmadinejad said at a rally during a visit to the southern port city of Bandar Abbas. "They expected the Iranian nation to surrender after a resolution is issued or sanctions are imposed, but today it has brought all big powers to their knees." The speech drew chants of "Nuclear energy is our undisputed right!" from the crowd.
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EXILE GROUP CLAIMS IRAN IS DEVELOPING NUCLEAR WARHEADS
The Iranian opposition group that first exposed Iran's controversial nuclear-fuel program has given the United Nations' nuclear watchdog details of what the group says is a working nuclear-warhead-development facility.
The facility at Khojir, a defense-ministry missile-research site on the southeast edge of Tehran, is developing a nuclear warhead for use on Iranian medium-range missiles, according to Mohammad Mohaddessin, foreign-affairs chief for the exiled National Council of Resistance of Iran.
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IRAN: 'CANCEROUS' ISRAEL TO SOON DISAPPEAR
"The cancerous growth Israel will soon disappear," Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps commander Muhammad Ali Jafari wrote to Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, the FARS news agency reported Monday. In a letter of condolence following last week's assassination of Hizbullah terror chief Imad Mughniyeh, Jafari said: "I am convinced that with every passing day Hezbollah's might is increasing and in the near future, we will witness the disappearance of this cancerous growth Israel by means of the Hezbollah fighters' radiation [therapy]."
In the letter, in which Jafari consoled Nasrallah over the death of the "martyr," he continued: "There's no doubt that the death of this loyal fighter will strengthen the resolve of all revolutionary Muslims and fighters in the struggle against the Zionist regime, particularly the resolve of those who fought by this martyr's side."
Mughniyeh was considered to be closely affiliated to the Revolutionary Guards and the al-Quds Brigades. Together, the two organizations trained Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon and Iran and planned terror attacks the world over.
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IRANIAN PRESIDENT TO MAKE FIRST IRAQ VISIT
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will make his first visit to Baghdad next month for talks with the Iraqi prime minister.The landmark visit comes as the United States is trying to isolate Teheran for pushing ahead with its nuclear program and arming Shia militias behind sectarian violence in Iraq.
While Iran and Iraq fought an eight-year war in the 1980s in which up to a million people died, Teheran's Shia government has forged strong ties to the Shia-led administration of Nouri al-Maliki in Baghdad.
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Events and Programs
THIS SUNDAY'S "SANCTUARY" LOOKS AT THE VOICE OF WOMEN IN THE JEWISH COMMUNITY
This week, "Sanctuary" looks at two of the many ways the ever-evolving, ever-growing voice of women is shaping the Jewish community. The program features Chicago's Jewish Women's Foundation, now celebrating its 10th anniversary, and "The Torah: A Women's Commentary," a milestone publication just released by the Reform Movement. "Sanctuary" airs at 11:30 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 24, on ABC-Channel 7 in Chicago, and later will be available for viewing on www.juf.org.
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13TH ANNUAL JOSEPH CARDINAL BERNARDIN JERUSALEM LECTURE THIS TUESDAY
The 13th Annual Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Jerusalem Lecture, "Reflections on Jewish-Catholic Relations: Past, Present and Future" featuring Dr. Eugene Fisher with remarks by Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I. will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, February 26 at the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies, 610 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago
A reception will follow the lecture. Admission is free, but reservations are requested. For information call 312-751-5325 or e-mail eia@archchicago.org
The lecture is sponsored by The Archdiocese of Chicago, The American Jewish Committee, The Chicago Board of Rabbis, The Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago and the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies.
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"INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM: DYNAMICS AND PREVENTION" AT UIC MARCH 5
The Jewish Studies Program of the University of Illinois at Chicago, together with the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, presents:International Terrorism: Dynamics and Prevention by Professor Shlomo Shoham, Israel Studies visiting scholar, UIC, Professor Emeritus, Tel Aviv University Wednesday, March 5, 7:00 p.m. UIC Campus, Student Services Building.
Winner of the Israel Prize, Shoham is a world-renowned scholar and a widely published author on criminology, deviance, philosophy, religion, psychology, and the interdisciplinarity of the human personality. He lectures world-wide, and has recently been resident at the universities of Harvard, Oxford, and at The Sorbonne.
For more information, call (312)413-2102.
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LEWIS SUMMER INTERN APPLICATION DEADLINE APPROACHING: MARCH 3 FOR APPLICATIONS, MARCH 14 FOR INTERVIEWS
Applications are still being accepted for the 2008 Lewis Summer Intern Program. There is still time to submit an application and schedule an interview, but time is running out. The deadline to submit applications is March 3, 2008, and the deadline for interviews is March 14, 2008.
The Lewis Summer Intern Program offers a wide array of summer internship opportunities across the spectrum of Jewish communal services in the Chicagoland area. Any student who is from Illinois or currently enrolled at a college in the state is eligible to apply, and applications are available online. Learn more about the internship opportunities with the Lewis Summer Intern Program. To catch a glimpse of all the fun that was had last year, please watch this video made by a student from last years program.
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JCC CHICAGO MACCABI FINAL INFORMATION NIGHT THIS WEDNESDAY
Building on the success of the past 25 years, JCC Maccabi Chicago, a JCC of Chicago program that provides athletic, social and cultural experiences to Jewish teens ages 13-16 years, announces plans for the 2008 JCC Maccabi Games.
All interested athletes and families are invited to attend any of the information nights to learn more about this summer's Games in Akron, Ohio, Aug 10-15, and Detroit, Mich., Aug. 17-22. The final information night has been rescheduled for Wednesday Feb. 27, 7:00pm at the Bernard Weinger JCC, Northbrook.
JCC Maccabi Chicago plans to send a delegation of 25 athletes and five coaches to Akron, Ohio, to compete in boys and girls soccer and bowling. Representing JCC Maccabi Chicago in Detroit, Mich., will be 115 athletes and 25 coaches competing in boys baseball, girls softball, boys and girls basketball, in-line hockey, swimming, tennis, track & field, dance, table tennis, bowling and golf. Tryouts for the 2008 JCC Maccabi Chicago teams will take place in February and March. For more information night and tryout information, call Allan Bogan at 847.412.4253 or visit the website at www.gomaccabi.org. View the tryout schedule
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SHALOM CHANOCH, "THE BRUCE SPRINGSTEIN OF ISRAELI MUSIC," AT HOUSE OF BLUES MARCH 2
The Consulate General of Israel to the Midwest announces the kick-off event for the 60th anniversary celebrations of Israel: Shalom Chanoch, "The Bruce Springstein of Israeli music," will perform at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, March 2 at the House of Blues Chicago, 329 N. Dearborn. General tickets are $55 and box seats are $75. Purchase tickets.
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SAVE THE DATE FOR THIS IMPORTANT MARCH EVENT
The Crown Family Center for Jewish Studies, Northwestern University and the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago present The 2008 Philip M. & Ethel Klutznick Lecture in Jewish Civilization: After Post-Zionism: Building The Israel That Could Be, by Hillel Halkin, renowned Israeli journalist and author, Wednesday, March 12, 7:30 p.m. at Pick Staiger Concert Hall, Northwestern University Campus. Register online
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Editorial, Opinion & Analysis
FROM THE ISRAELI AND AMERICAN PRESS AND OTHER SOURCES
Code Red in Sderot: Living in the most heavily bombed place in the world, by Philip Jacobson
Iran's parliamentary elections: Assured victory for the Supreme Leader, by Mehdi Khalaji
Who was Imad Mughniyeh? by Matthew Levitt and David Schenker
Israel's quandary in Gaza, by Steven Erlanger
The fraudulent scholarship of professors Walt and Mearsheimer, by Alex Safian
Mr. President, don't forget Iran, by Christopher Hitchens
Rocketing toward war, by Richard Cohen
A Death in Damascus, by Michael Young
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact Us!
E-mail: e-alert@juf.org
JUF Web page:
www.juf.org
Free the Soldiers
Join JUF's "Free the Kidnapped Israelis" campaign by finding out about news, video and advocacy opportunities.
Help the people of Sderot
Donate now to JUF's Israel Emergency Campaign. For more information, email pledge@juf.org or call (312) 357-4805.
Events Calendars
JUF's upcoming events and cultural events sponsored by the Consulate General of Israel to the Midwest.
Buy Israel Goods
See a directory of Israeli products.
Links
WWW.JUF.ORG
CONSULATE GENERAL OF ISRAEL TO THE MIDWEST
ISRAEL MINISTRY OF TOURISM
JEWISH TELEGRAPHIC AGENCY
YEDIOT ACHRONOT
HA'ARETZ
THE JERUSALEM POST
MEMRI.ORG
ISRAEL 21C
THE MEDIA LINE
GLOBES
EUROPEAN JEWISH PRESS
MENSCH'S GUIDE TO CAMPUS ACTIVISM
ISRAEL INDEPENDENT TV
ADVOCATE ON BEHALF OF JEWS IN THE FSU
NCSJ : MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD
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The mission of E-Alert is to provide timely information about issues and events in Israel and the wider Jewish world. E-Alert connects members of the Chicago Jewish community to these issues and mobilizes them to take action. E-Alert is a product of JUF's Jewish Community Relations Council and JUF News, and is published as a service to the community by the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago.
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Forward this to a friend February 21, 2008
Local News
Jewish leader Robert M. Schrayer dies at 75
Argentina's dynamic, but shrinking, Jewish community
Israel and World News
Abbas and Olmert struggle to move talks forward
US Ambassador to Israel describes strong US Israel ties
Israel holds talks with Egypt over Rafah crossing
Officials: Gaza operation will bring international troops
Death of Hezbollah leader could mean threat to Jewish targets
1,000 Africans estimated to have infiltrated Israel in 2 weeks
NY: Israeli consulate pushes for Jerusalem to be part of Global Monopoly
Israeli singer cracks Billboard Top 10
Iran Watch
US meets Iranian official to discuss "terror" funds
Iran affirms its defiance on nuclear program
Exile group claims Iran is developing nuclear warheads
Iran: 'Cancerous' Israel to soon disappear
Iranian president to make first Iraq visit
Events and Programs
This Sunday's "Sanctuary" looks at the voice of women in the Jewish community
13th Annual Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Jerusalem Lecture this Tuesday
"International Terrorism: Dynamics and Prevention" at UIC March 5
Lewis Summer Intern application deadline approaching: March 3 for applications, March 14 for interviews
JCC Chicago Maccabi final information night this Wednesday
Shalom Chanoch, "The Bruce Springstein of Israeli music," at House of Blues March 2
Save the Date for this important March event
Editorial, Opinion & Analysis
From the Israeli and American press and other sources
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Local News
JEWISH LEADER ROBERT M. SCHRAYER DIES AT 75
Robert M. Schrayer, one of the Jewish community's most prominent and long-serving leaders locally, nationally and internationally, died Thursday, Feb. 21. He was 75.
"Bob Schrayer was a visionary and extraordinarily committed to all that was good in America and Israel," said Steven B. Nasatir, president of the JUF and Jewish Federation and a dear friend and colleague of Schrayer's for more than 37 years.
"Bob was a gentle, kind and soft-spoken man with a gigantic Jewish heart," said Harvey Barnett, Chairman of the JUF/Federation Board. "He led by his actions and inspired all of us to greater heights. As Kipling wrote, 'he could walk with kings and keep the common touch' - a true mensch whose loss will be felt throughout the Jewish world. May his memory be for a blessing."
The Jewish Federation has established a Robert M. Schrayer Memorial Fund. Checks should be made payable to JF-R. Schrayer Memorial Fund and sent to the Jewish Federation, 30 South Wells Street, Room 3138, Chicago, IL 60606.
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ARGENTINA'S DYNAMIC, BUT SHRINKING, JEWISH COMMUNITY
Rabbi Ruben Saferstein, spiritual leader of Congregacion Dor Jadash in Buenos Aires, spoke about Argentina's Jewish community�the seventh largest Jewish community in the world� at the February 18 meeting of JUF's Jewish Community Relations Council's Israel and International Affairs Commission.
During his talk, Rabbi Saferstein touched on four aspects of Jewish life in Argentina: education, the annual Yom Ha'atzmaot celebration, the commemoration of the July 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires, and the observation of the High Holidays.
"Although Argentina is not always on the front page of the newspapers, Saferstein said, "many things have changed."
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Israel and World News
ABBAS AND OLMERT STRUGGLE TO MOVE TALKS FORWARD
The Israeli and Palestinian leaders met in Jerusalem on Tuesday amid growing dissonance over the content of their talks and the kind of agreement they are trying to achieve.
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US AMBASSADOR TO ISRAEL DESCRIBES STRONG US ISRAEL TIES
United States Ambassador to Israel, Richard H. Jones addressed the 34th annual Leadership Mission of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in Israel, emphasizing that the relations between the United States and Israel are excellent, and that the diplomatic and military cooperation has never been better.
The Ambassador stated that the United States is committed to helping make the two-state solution with the Palestinians a reality "in a manner that ensures Israel's long-term survival as a democratic, Jewish state."
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ISRAEL HOLDS TALKS WITH EGYPT OVER RAFAH CROSSING
Israel and Egypt have been conducting EU-backed negotiations in an effort to reopen the Rafah crossing on the Egypt-Gaza border. The main bone of contention is Egypt's insistence that Hamas supervise the crossing on the Palestinian side, a demand Israel vehemently opposes.
In the meantime, Egypt and Hamas are also engaged in dialogue over the border arrangements.
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OFFICIALS: GAZA OPERATION WILL BRING INTERNATIONAL TROOPS
Israel is considering a large-scale incursion into the Gaza Strip during which it would present an ultimatum to the international community for the deployment of a multinational force as the only condition under which it would withdraw, defense officials have told The Jerusalem Post.
Meanwhile Sunday, a soldier from the IDF's elite General Staff Reconnaissance Unit (Sayeret Matkal) was seriously wounded by a gunshot wound to the shoulder during an operation in the southern Gaza Strip. At least three Palestinian gunmen, including the shooter, were killed. The soldier was listed in serious but stable condition.
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DEATH OF HEZBOLLAH LEADER COULD MEAN THREAT TO JEWISH TARGETS
The FBI is warning of possible threats to Jewish targets in the United States, following the car bombing death of a Hezbollah leader in Syria, a law enforcement official said last week.
The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Forces nationwide have been instructed to work with community officials to detect increased Hezbollah activity in the U.S., said the official, who requested anonymity because he isn't authorized to speak in detail about the matter. The official said that as of last Thursday night, nothing of concern had been found.
Accusing Israel of killing one of his top commanders, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, threatened to intensify his group's conflict with Israel and to retaliate against Israeli targets anywhere in the world. More than 50 Hezbollah terror cells believed to be spread across the globe could be activated and used to strike at Israeli or Jewish targets in retaliation for Tuesday's assassination of Hezbollah arch-terrorist and operations officer Imad Mughniyeh in Syria, a senior defense official said. The Israeli Counterterrorism Bureau issued a travel advisory last Thursday that made plain the seriousness with which it is taking the threats. But Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said "Israel is a strong country" and that there was no need to panic.
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1,000 AFRICANS ESTIMATED TO HAVE INFILTRATED ISRAEL IN 2 WEEKS
As many as 1,000 African refugees have infiltrated Israel over the past two weeks, official sources told Ynet on Monday.
According to police and IDF estimates, some 10,000 people have entered Israel from Africa over the past five years through the Egyptian border. The breached border has made the infiltration very simple. African civilians suffering from hunger, plagues and wars or those who seek to improve their living conditions choose to attempt to live in Israel.
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NY: ISRAELI CONSULATE PUSHES FOR JERUSALEM TO BE PART OF GLOBAL MONOPOLY
The Israeli consulate in New York has launched a campaign for Jerusalem to be included in the new global version of the Monopoly board game currently being planned.
The Hasbro Company has organized an Internet vote and the top 10 cities out of a list of 68 will feature in the new global Monopoly. Jerusalem is currently in 7th position and voting closes at the end of the month.
The consulate is urging Israel supporters worldwide to log on at http://lists.juf.org/t/174369/471156/5601/0/ and vote for Jerusalem
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ISRAELI SINGER CRACKS BILLBOARD TOP 10
An indie artist from Ramat Hasharon has become the first Israeli to crack the Billboard Top 10. Yael Naim, a 29-year-old IDF veteran, earned Billboard's coveted "Hot Shot" designation last week with "New Soul," an English-language single that scored the highest debut of any song on the music magazine's singles chart.
Unknown in the US a month ago, Naim has become the breakout performer of early 2008 with "New Soul," which earned massive exposure last month after being selected for an aggressive marketing campaign for the MacBook Air laptop.
Born in Paris to immigrants from Tunisia, Naim moved to Israel as a four-year-old, later serving in the IDF and recording songs in French, English and Hebrew.
Watch a YouTube video of the song or listen to Hebrew music on the her website,
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Iran Watch
US MEETS IRANIAN OFFICIAL TO DISCUSS "TERROR" FUNDS
In a departure from usual policy, a senior U.S. Treasury official met Iranian representatives in Paris last month as part of a multinational gathering to discuss "terror financing," said U.S. officials on Friday.
Senior Treasury Department official Daniel Glaser was given permission by the Bush administration to attend the Jan. 24 meeting, as required by U.S. policy because contacts with Iran are usually forbidden, said a senior official.
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IRAN AFFIRMS ITS DEFIANCE ON NUCLEAR PROGRAM
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday that Iran's determination to continue its nuclear program had brought major powers "to their knees."
"The Iranian nation will not allow any power to trample even on its smallest right," Ahmadinejad said at a rally during a visit to the southern port city of Bandar Abbas. "They expected the Iranian nation to surrender after a resolution is issued or sanctions are imposed, but today it has brought all big powers to their knees." The speech drew chants of "Nuclear energy is our undisputed right!" from the crowd.
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EXILE GROUP CLAIMS IRAN IS DEVELOPING NUCLEAR WARHEADS
The Iranian opposition group that first exposed Iran's controversial nuclear-fuel program has given the United Nations' nuclear watchdog details of what the group says is a working nuclear-warhead-development facility.
The facility at Khojir, a defense-ministry missile-research site on the southeast edge of Tehran, is developing a nuclear warhead for use on Iranian medium-range missiles, according to Mohammad Mohaddessin, foreign-affairs chief for the exiled National Council of Resistance of Iran.
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IRAN: 'CANCEROUS' ISRAEL TO SOON DISAPPEAR
"The cancerous growth Israel will soon disappear," Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps commander Muhammad Ali Jafari wrote to Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, the FARS news agency reported Monday. In a letter of condolence following last week's assassination of Hizbullah terror chief Imad Mughniyeh, Jafari said: "I am convinced that with every passing day Hezbollah's might is increasing and in the near future, we will witness the disappearance of this cancerous growth Israel by means of the Hezbollah fighters' radiation [therapy]."
In the letter, in which Jafari consoled Nasrallah over the death of the "martyr," he continued: "There's no doubt that the death of this loyal fighter will strengthen the resolve of all revolutionary Muslims and fighters in the struggle against the Zionist regime, particularly the resolve of those who fought by this martyr's side."
Mughniyeh was considered to be closely affiliated to the Revolutionary Guards and the al-Quds Brigades. Together, the two organizations trained Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon and Iran and planned terror attacks the world over.
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IRANIAN PRESIDENT TO MAKE FIRST IRAQ VISIT
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will make his first visit to Baghdad next month for talks with the Iraqi prime minister.The landmark visit comes as the United States is trying to isolate Teheran for pushing ahead with its nuclear program and arming Shia militias behind sectarian violence in Iraq.
While Iran and Iraq fought an eight-year war in the 1980s in which up to a million people died, Teheran's Shia government has forged strong ties to the Shia-led administration of Nouri al-Maliki in Baghdad.
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Events and Programs
THIS SUNDAY'S "SANCTUARY" LOOKS AT THE VOICE OF WOMEN IN THE JEWISH COMMUNITY
This week, "Sanctuary" looks at two of the many ways the ever-evolving, ever-growing voice of women is shaping the Jewish community. The program features Chicago's Jewish Women's Foundation, now celebrating its 10th anniversary, and "The Torah: A Women's Commentary," a milestone publication just released by the Reform Movement. "Sanctuary" airs at 11:30 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 24, on ABC-Channel 7 in Chicago, and later will be available for viewing on www.juf.org.
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13TH ANNUAL JOSEPH CARDINAL BERNARDIN JERUSALEM LECTURE THIS TUESDAY
The 13th Annual Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Jerusalem Lecture, "Reflections on Jewish-Catholic Relations: Past, Present and Future" featuring Dr. Eugene Fisher with remarks by Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I. will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, February 26 at the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies, 610 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago
A reception will follow the lecture. Admission is free, but reservations are requested. For information call 312-751-5325 or e-mail eia@archchicago.org
The lecture is sponsored by The Archdiocese of Chicago, The American Jewish Committee, The Chicago Board of Rabbis, The Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago and the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies.
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"INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM: DYNAMICS AND PREVENTION" AT UIC MARCH 5
The Jewish Studies Program of the University of Illinois at Chicago, together with the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, presents:International Terrorism: Dynamics and Prevention by Professor Shlomo Shoham, Israel Studies visiting scholar, UIC, Professor Emeritus, Tel Aviv University Wednesday, March 5, 7:00 p.m. UIC Campus, Student Services Building.
Winner of the Israel Prize, Shoham is a world-renowned scholar and a widely published author on criminology, deviance, philosophy, religion, psychology, and the interdisciplinarity of the human personality. He lectures world-wide, and has recently been resident at the universities of Harvard, Oxford, and at The Sorbonne.
For more information, call (312)413-2102.
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LEWIS SUMMER INTERN APPLICATION DEADLINE APPROACHING: MARCH 3 FOR APPLICATIONS, MARCH 14 FOR INTERVIEWS
Applications are still being accepted for the 2008 Lewis Summer Intern Program. There is still time to submit an application and schedule an interview, but time is running out. The deadline to submit applications is March 3, 2008, and the deadline for interviews is March 14, 2008.
The Lewis Summer Intern Program offers a wide array of summer internship opportunities across the spectrum of Jewish communal services in the Chicagoland area. Any student who is from Illinois or currently enrolled at a college in the state is eligible to apply, and applications are available online. Learn more about the internship opportunities with the Lewis Summer Intern Program. To catch a glimpse of all the fun that was had last year, please watch this video made by a student from last years program.
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JCC CHICAGO MACCABI FINAL INFORMATION NIGHT THIS WEDNESDAY
Building on the success of the past 25 years, JCC Maccabi Chicago, a JCC of Chicago program that provides athletic, social and cultural experiences to Jewish teens ages 13-16 years, announces plans for the 2008 JCC Maccabi Games.
All interested athletes and families are invited to attend any of the information nights to learn more about this summer's Games in Akron, Ohio, Aug 10-15, and Detroit, Mich., Aug. 17-22. The final information night has been rescheduled for Wednesday Feb. 27, 7:00pm at the Bernard Weinger JCC, Northbrook.
JCC Maccabi Chicago plans to send a delegation of 25 athletes and five coaches to Akron, Ohio, to compete in boys and girls soccer and bowling. Representing JCC Maccabi Chicago in Detroit, Mich., will be 115 athletes and 25 coaches competing in boys baseball, girls softball, boys and girls basketball, in-line hockey, swimming, tennis, track & field, dance, table tennis, bowling and golf. Tryouts for the 2008 JCC Maccabi Chicago teams will take place in February and March. For more information night and tryout information, call Allan Bogan at 847.412.4253 or visit the website at www.gomaccabi.org. View the tryout schedule
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SHALOM CHANOCH, "THE BRUCE SPRINGSTEIN OF ISRAELI MUSIC," AT HOUSE OF BLUES MARCH 2
The Consulate General of Israel to the Midwest announces the kick-off event for the 60th anniversary celebrations of Israel: Shalom Chanoch, "The Bruce Springstein of Israeli music," will perform at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, March 2 at the House of Blues Chicago, 329 N. Dearborn. General tickets are $55 and box seats are $75. Purchase tickets.
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SAVE THE DATE FOR THIS IMPORTANT MARCH EVENT
The Crown Family Center for Jewish Studies, Northwestern University and the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago present The 2008 Philip M. & Ethel Klutznick Lecture in Jewish Civilization: After Post-Zionism: Building The Israel That Could Be, by Hillel Halkin, renowned Israeli journalist and author, Wednesday, March 12, 7:30 p.m. at Pick Staiger Concert Hall, Northwestern University Campus. Register online
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Editorial, Opinion & Analysis
FROM THE ISRAELI AND AMERICAN PRESS AND OTHER SOURCES
Code Red in Sderot: Living in the most heavily bombed place in the world, by Philip Jacobson
Iran's parliamentary elections: Assured victory for the Supreme Leader, by Mehdi Khalaji
Who was Imad Mughniyeh? by Matthew Levitt and David Schenker
Israel's quandary in Gaza, by Steven Erlanger
The fraudulent scholarship of professors Walt and Mearsheimer, by Alex Safian
Mr. President, don't forget Iran, by Christopher Hitchens
Rocketing toward war, by Richard Cohen
A Death in Damascus, by Michael Young
Back to top
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact Us!
E-mail: e-alert@juf.org
JUF Web page:
www.juf.org
Free the Soldiers
Join JUF's "Free the Kidnapped Israelis" campaign by finding out about news, video and advocacy opportunities.
Help the people of Sderot
Donate now to JUF's Israel Emergency Campaign. For more information, email pledge@juf.org or call (312) 357-4805.
Events Calendars
JUF's upcoming events and cultural events sponsored by the Consulate General of Israel to the Midwest.
Buy Israel Goods
See a directory of Israeli products.
Links
WWW.JUF.ORG
CONSULATE GENERAL OF ISRAEL TO THE MIDWEST
ISRAEL MINISTRY OF TOURISM
JEWISH TELEGRAPHIC AGENCY
YEDIOT ACHRONOT
HA'ARETZ
THE JERUSALEM POST
MEMRI.ORG
ISRAEL 21C
THE MEDIA LINE
GLOBES
EUROPEAN JEWISH PRESS
MENSCH'S GUIDE TO CAMPUS ACTIVISM
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Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Keeping Kosher for Passover Pesah
PASSOVER PREPARATION 2008…
Passover is celebrated from Friday Morning, April 18, through Sunday night, April 27. The Sederim are held on Saturday and Sunday night, April 19 & 20. All cleaning and preparations to make the house Pesadik (Kosher for Passover) must be completed by 11 am, Friday, April 18. If you have any questions, please consult with the Rabbi.
1. What is Hametz? If one of the five grains-wheat, oats, rye, barley or spelt-comes in contact with water after being cut off from the ground, it becomes fermented or Hametz.
2. Why do Ashkenazim not eat “Kitniyot”- beans, rice, corn, or peas on Pesach? Although these are not among the five species of grain that can become Hametz, the Rabbis forbade their use because flour was made from them. Ashkenazic Rabbis ordained that “Kitniyot” (legumes listed above) not be used at all. Sephardic Jews do not observe these restrictions. Non-flour products, such as peanut oil, may be used if they are prepared under Rabbinic supervision and properly certified.
3. Why must we clean our house so thoroughly before Pesah?
The rule against Hametz applies not only to eating, but to enjoyment (hana’ah) and also involves removing all the Hametz from one’s home. No Hametz is even allowed to be in our possession during Passover. To facilitate this cleaning, the following rituals are part of the Passover preparation. The text for this ceremony can be found in the Haggadah:
a) Bedikat Hametz – After the house has been cleaned on Thursday night, April 17, we search once again for any crumbs of Hametz we may have missed. “Searching for Hametz” is a great family activity. We use a candle, a feather, and a wooden spoon. This symbolizes that all the Hametz which we could see was removed.
b) Bittul Hametz – We recite a formula renouncing any Hametz left that we may have inadvertently missed, canceling our responsibility for it, and thus symbolically removing it from our homes. The formula for Bittul Hametz is recited whenever you stop eating Hametz, either before Shabbat or after Shabbat.
c) Be’ur Hametz – On the morning before Passover, we burn or throw out the Hametz that has been found during the search the night before. This ceremony should take place by 11am on Friday, April 18.
d) Michirat Hametz – We do not destroy or get rid of all the Hametz as
that would be wasteful. The Rabbis ordained that a symbolic sale is made of all Hametz to a non-Jew in the community, who then sells it back to us after Pesach. The Hametz is then no longer “in our posses-sion.” This is done by filling out the form at the end of this article or at the Temple office. Incidentally, it is only necessary to sell foodstuffs; dishes and utensils are simply locked away in storage for the duration
of Passover.
4. What foods may not be used during Passover? All these foods are considered Hametz and may not be used: leavened bread, cake, biscuits, crackers, cereals, wheat, barley, oats, rice, peas, dry beans, and liquids which contain ingredients made from grain alcohol.
5. What foods require Rabbinic supervision for Passover? Matzah, noodles, candies, cakes, beverages, canned and processed foods, jam, hard cheese, jelly, relish, wines, liquors, salad oils, vegetable gelatin, shortening, and vinegar. A “Kosher L’Pesach” label or tag without product name and Rabbinic signature is of no value. This applies to products made in America, Europe or Israel.
6. What goods require no certification? Pure natural coffee (instant or ground), sugar (not confectioners or powdered), brown sugar, sac- charin, tea, salt, pepper, vegetables (dry beans and peas are forbidden; string beans permitted), pure garlic and onion powder, dried fruit, honey, Hershey’s cocoa, pure unadulterated safflower or soybean oil, natural peanut butter, dish detergent, and scouring powder. All these items should be bought before Passover and left unopened until Passover begins.
glassware is permitted after thoroughly scouring. There is also a practice of soaking glassware for 72 hours before Passover. Follow the custom used in your family.
C. Fine translucent chinaware, if not used during the previous year, is permitted. D. Metal pots and pans used for cooking purposes only (but not for baking) if made wholly of metal may be used during Passover if thoroughly scoured and immersed in boiling water. Kashering is done in the following way: fill a large pot with water and heat to boiling; take the utensils, tie a string to it and immerse it completely in boiling water. For small items, a cord netting can be used to dip several at once. This process renders utensils pesadik and parve.
12. How may the stove be kashered? The stove is prepared by thoroughly scrubbing and cleaning all parts and turning on full flame or use the clean cycle in the oven and all the grates.
13. How may a microwave be kashered? Microwave ovens present a special case since the inside surfaces do not become hot. There is a difference of opinion as to whether or how one can be kashered. We recommend a thorough cleaning, then placing a dish of water into the oven and allowing it to boil as a symbol of kashering.
14. How may a dishwasher be kashered? A dishwasher may be used for Passover after running it empty for two cycles, one with soap and one without.
15. How may a refrigerator be kashered? Remove all Hametz food. Clean thoroughly with boiling water and scour the racks. In a freezer, frozen Hametz foods should be put in a special closed-off section.
Passover is celebrated from Friday Morning, April 18, through Sunday night, April 27. The Sederim are held on Saturday and Sunday night, April 19 & 20. All cleaning and preparations to make the house Pesadik (Kosher for Passover) must be completed by 11 am, Friday, April 18. If you have any questions, please consult with the Rabbi.
1. What is Hametz? If one of the five grains-wheat, oats, rye, barley or spelt-comes in contact with water after being cut off from the ground, it becomes fermented or Hametz.
2. Why do Ashkenazim not eat “Kitniyot”- beans, rice, corn, or peas on Pesach? Although these are not among the five species of grain that can become Hametz, the Rabbis forbade their use because flour was made from them. Ashkenazic Rabbis ordained that “Kitniyot” (legumes listed above) not be used at all. Sephardic Jews do not observe these restrictions. Non-flour products, such as peanut oil, may be used if they are prepared under Rabbinic supervision and properly certified.
3. Why must we clean our house so thoroughly before Pesah?
The rule against Hametz applies not only to eating, but to enjoyment (hana’ah) and also involves removing all the Hametz from one’s home. No Hametz is even allowed to be in our possession during Passover. To facilitate this cleaning, the following rituals are part of the Passover preparation. The text for this ceremony can be found in the Haggadah:
a) Bedikat Hametz – After the house has been cleaned on Thursday night, April 17, we search once again for any crumbs of Hametz we may have missed. “Searching for Hametz” is a great family activity. We use a candle, a feather, and a wooden spoon. This symbolizes that all the Hametz which we could see was removed.
b) Bittul Hametz – We recite a formula renouncing any Hametz left that we may have inadvertently missed, canceling our responsibility for it, and thus symbolically removing it from our homes. The formula for Bittul Hametz is recited whenever you stop eating Hametz, either before Shabbat or after Shabbat.
c) Be’ur Hametz – On the morning before Passover, we burn or throw out the Hametz that has been found during the search the night before. This ceremony should take place by 11am on Friday, April 18.
d) Michirat Hametz – We do not destroy or get rid of all the Hametz as
that would be wasteful. The Rabbis ordained that a symbolic sale is made of all Hametz to a non-Jew in the community, who then sells it back to us after Pesach. The Hametz is then no longer “in our posses-sion.” This is done by filling out the form at the end of this article or at the Temple office. Incidentally, it is only necessary to sell foodstuffs; dishes and utensils are simply locked away in storage for the duration
of Passover.
4. What foods may not be used during Passover? All these foods are considered Hametz and may not be used: leavened bread, cake, biscuits, crackers, cereals, wheat, barley, oats, rice, peas, dry beans, and liquids which contain ingredients made from grain alcohol.
5. What foods require Rabbinic supervision for Passover? Matzah, noodles, candies, cakes, beverages, canned and processed foods, jam, hard cheese, jelly, relish, wines, liquors, salad oils, vegetable gelatin, shortening, and vinegar. A “Kosher L’Pesach” label or tag without product name and Rabbinic signature is of no value. This applies to products made in America, Europe or Israel.
6. What goods require no certification? Pure natural coffee (instant or ground), sugar (not confectioners or powdered), brown sugar, sac- charin, tea, salt, pepper, vegetables (dry beans and peas are forbidden; string beans permitted), pure garlic and onion powder, dried fruit, honey, Hershey’s cocoa, pure unadulterated safflower or soybean oil, natural peanut butter, dish detergent, and scouring powder. All these items should be bought before Passover and left unopened until Passover begins.
glassware is permitted after thoroughly scouring. There is also a practice of soaking glassware for 72 hours before Passover. Follow the custom used in your family.
C. Fine translucent chinaware, if not used during the previous year, is permitted. D. Metal pots and pans used for cooking purposes only (but not for baking) if made wholly of metal may be used during Passover if thoroughly scoured and immersed in boiling water. Kashering is done in the following way: fill a large pot with water and heat to boiling; take the utensils, tie a string to it and immerse it completely in boiling water. For small items, a cord netting can be used to dip several at once. This process renders utensils pesadik and parve.
12. How may the stove be kashered? The stove is prepared by thoroughly scrubbing and cleaning all parts and turning on full flame or use the clean cycle in the oven and all the grates.
13. How may a microwave be kashered? Microwave ovens present a special case since the inside surfaces do not become hot. There is a difference of opinion as to whether or how one can be kashered. We recommend a thorough cleaning, then placing a dish of water into the oven and allowing it to boil as a symbol of kashering.
14. How may a dishwasher be kashered? A dishwasher may be used for Passover after running it empty for two cycles, one with soap and one without.
15. How may a refrigerator be kashered? Remove all Hametz food. Clean thoroughly with boiling water and scour the racks. In a freezer, frozen Hametz foods should be put in a special closed-off section.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Friday, February 15, 2008
E Elert from the JUF
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Forward this to a friend February 14, 2008
Local News
Experts speak about Iran at major forums this week
Israel and World News
Bomb kills top Hezbollah leader
Livni: 'We'll act against Gaza terror'
Hamas leaders hiding from Israeli hits
Video describes daily horrors faced by the children of Sderot
U.S. pushes Israel to accept proposed Egypt border deal
Remembering Tom Lantos
Two boys, two sides, two beds in an Israeli hospital ward
JCPA applauds Congress for taking a stand against torture
Jewish Coalition mobilizes for restoration of rights for Americans with disabilities
Iran Watch
Experts: Iran develops fast centrifuges
Iran celebrates revolution, and muzzles reformers
Iran reinstates Khomeini's grandson for election: report
Olmert: Iran's nuclear program still a threat
World Bank guarantees for Iran exposed
Events and Programs
See Hadag Nachash at the House of Blues this Monday
13th Annual Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Jerusalem Lecture, Feb. 26
Lewis Summer Intern application deadline approaching: March 3 for applications, March 14 for interviews
JCC Chicago Maccabi reschedules final information night
Father Patrick Desbois speaking Monday and Tuesday
Save the Date for these important March events
Editorial, Opinion & Analysis
From the Israeli and American press and other sources
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Local News
EXPERTS SPEAK ABOUT IRAN AT MAJOR FORUMS THIS WEEK
On Feb. 11, the 29th anniversary of the Islamic revolution, nearly 200 people, mostly non-Jews, gathered in downtown Chicago for a lecture titled "Iran: Insights into its Religion, Politics and Power," featuring Prof. David Menashri,director of the Center for Iranian Studies at Tel Aviv University and Mehdi Khalaji, a visiting fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy and a trained Shiite cleric.
The program, sponsored by JUF's Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC), was moderated by Ambassador J.D. Bindenagel, vice president for Community, Government and International Affairs at DePaul University.
In a breakfast meeting the next day with members of the international diplomatic corps stationed in Chicago and senior law federal, state and local enforcement officials, Menashri called on the European Union to urge their governments to intensify action aimed at thwarting Iran's nuclear ambitions, while working to champion the cause of human rights in Iran.
JUF's JCRC is an spearheading a broad effort to combat a nuclear Iran through the Comprehensive Action Plan for Iran Advocacy approved in April of 2007. Get more information
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Israel and World News
BOMB KILLS TOP HEZBOLLAH LEADER
A top Hezbollah leader, Imad Mughniyeh, has died in a bombing in Damascus, and the group has blamed Israel for assassinating him. Mughniyeh is widely believed to be behind a wave of Western hostage-taking in Lebanon during the 1980s. He had been in hiding for years and was high on US and Israeli wanted lists.
The Israeli prime minister's office issued a statement rejecting "the attempt by terror groups to attribute to it any involvement" in the killing.
Mughniyeh, in his late 40s, is variously described as special operations or intelligence chief of Hezbollah's military wing, the Islamic Resistance. Correspondents say his death is a significant blow to Hezbollah, which battled Israel in the 2006 Lebanon war, and its Iranian and Syrian backers.
The United States on Wednesday applauded the killing of Moughniyah, and called him a cold-blooded murderer responsible for many deaths.
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LIVNI: 'WE'LL ACT AGAINST GAZA TERROR'
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni made it clear on Wednesday that Israel would act to end the terrorist threat from Gaza. During a tour of the border area with Gaza, Livni told some 60 foreign ambassadors and diplomats serving in Israel: "The situation in the region is unbearable, and the threat of terror from Gaza is growing larger from year to year. The problem is not only the Kassam rockets, but also the strengthening of the terror organizations. Israel must act to reduce these threats."
The initiative was part of Israel's diplomatic efforts to explain to the world that civilians are living under daily attack. At the end of the tour, Livni told the diplomats, "Even if there is a lull in the shooting - don't let this quiet deceive you. The terror organizations are growing in strength, and planning for the future must be based on an understanding of this threat in the present."
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HAMAS LEADERS HIDING FROM ISRAELI HITS
Hamas leaders in Gaza turned off their cell phones, avoided public appearances and were sleeping in safe houses after Israel threatened Monday to assassinate those responsible for Palestinian rocket attacks on border towns.
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VIDEO DESCRIBES DAILY HORRORS FACED BY THE CHILDREN OF SDEROT
Watch a compelling video, "Red Color," directed by Yoav Shoam, describing the daily horrors children in Sderot face, as well as their resilency and the extraordinary work of teachers and social workers - funded by JUF - to help them and their families deal with it all.
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U.S. PUSHES ISRAEL TO ACCEPT PROPOSED EGYPT BORDER DEAL
The U.S. administration is urging Israel to engage Egypt in immediate dialogue in order to find a joint solution to the problem of the breached Gaza-Egypt border. The U.S. wants Israel to show some flexibility on Egypt's demand to add 750 soldiers to its border force, as well as to agree to Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad's proposal to take over responsibility for the Israel-Gaza Strip border.
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REMEMBERING TOM LANTOS
U.S. Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.), the only Holocaust survivor ever elected to Congress, died Monday of esophageal cancer at the age of 80.
"We lose a voice for human rights, which was in his case unique," Elie Wiesel, the novelist whose own writings have become icons of Holocaust remembrance, told JTA. "He spoke always against oppression, against persecution, against racism."
Lantos died at the Naval Medical Center in suburban Bethesda, Md., surrounded by his wife, Annette, two daughters and many of his 18 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
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TWO BOYS, TWO SIDES, TWO BEDS IN AN ISRAELI HOSPITAL WARD
Two small boys lay sedated in a hospital ward in a Tel Aviv suburb on Tuesday, unaware of each other or of the growing commotion around them. One was Osher Twito, 8, an Israeli boy from the town of Sderot, who was seriously wounded Saturday by shrapnel from a rocket fired by Palestinian militants from Gaza. The other was Yakoub Natil, almost 7, a Palestinian who was brought here three weeks ago from Gaza City after he was badly hurt by shrapnel from an Israeli Air Force strike on Jan. 18.
Also see, 'I screamed as loud as I could so they'd hear me'
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JCPA APPLAUDS CONGRESS FOR TAKING A STAND AGAINST TORTURE
The Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) applauds Congress for voting to extend the U.S. military's ban on torture to all U.S. agencies, including the CIA.
JCPA Chair Lois Frank issued the following statement: "We applaud Congress for its action to end United States' sponsored torture and cruelty and to uphold our moral values, international treaty obligations, and human rights. Legislation passed this week in the Senate, extends the Army Field Manual's ban on torture to all U.S. agencies including the CIA. As Jews and as Americans, we have been deeply troubled by the United States' use of torture and cruel interrogations techniques. The adoption of the Army Field Manual Provision creates a single humane standard for the treatment of all detainees in U.S. custody. It clearly delineates which acts are permissible from those which constitute torture.
We urge the President to sign this bill into law and to send a clear message to the people of the United States and of the world that we are serious about upholding a ban on torture."
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JEWISH COALITION MOBILIZES FOR RESTORATION OF RIGHTS FOR AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES
Representatives of Jewish organizations met last week with key House members to advocate for the passage of the Americans with Disabilities (ADA) Restoration Act of 2007. Members of the Jewish Disability Network, a coalition of more than 20 organizations established in 2007 by the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism and United Jewish Communities, will specifically target members of the four committees with jurisdiction over the bill. A letter signed by 60 national, state and local Jewish organizations, including the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, urging the bill's enactment was sent on Wednesday to all members of Congress.
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Iran Watch
EXPERTS: IRAN DEVELOPS FAST CENTRIFUGES
Iran has developed its own version of an advanced centrifuge that churns out fissile material much faster than other machines and has started testing them, diplomats and experts said Thursday. Few of the IR-2 centrifuges were operating and testing appeared to be in an early phase.
More significant, said those with knowledge of the issue, was the fact that Tehran has appeared to combine know-how and equipment bought on the nuclear black market with domestic ingenuity to overcome daunting technical difficulties and create advanced machines that reflect a high level of nuclear development.
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IRAN CELEBRATES REVOLUTION, AND MUZZLES REFORMERS
Iran celebrated the 29th anniversary of the victory of its Islamic revolution on Monday as the government appeared to be taking steps to bury the chances of reformers in parliamentary elections next month, putting on sharp display a split between veterans of the revolution's early days and the nation's current leaders.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad continued to defy the West, and in an address to tens of thousands of marchers vowed that Iran would continue its nuclear program despite international pressure. He announced that Iran would send two more research rockets into space before launching a satellite this summer.
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IRAN REINSTATES KHOMEINI'S GRANDSON FOR ELECTION: REPORT
Iran has allowed the grandson of the late leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's and some other reformists to stand in parliamentary elections after initially disqualifying them, reports said on Wednesday. Ali Eshraghi was one of more than 2,200 mainly reformist candidates disqualified in the initial phase of vetting, to the dismay of moderates, but has now been reinstated by the hardline Guardians Council.
The Guardians Council, Iran's main vetting body, announced on Tuesday that 280 of the candidates disqualified in the original vetting were being reinstated to stand in the March 14 elections.
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OLMERT: IRAN'S NUCLEAR PROGRAM STILL A THREAT
Israel's prime minister on Tuesday brushed aside suggestions that the threat from Iran's nuclear program has receded, saying he remains convinced that Tehran is "moving forward" with plans for an atomic weapon. Israel has continued to warn that Iran seeks to acquire nuclear weapons since a December report by U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that Iran suspended its nuclear weapons program in 2003.
Israel still "is of the opinion that the Iranians are moving forward with their plans to create a capacity for non-conventional weapons," Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said after meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country has been among those leading efforts to persuade Iran to give up uranium enrichment.
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WORLD BANK GUARANTEES FOR IRAN EXPOSED
According to U.S. Reps. Steve Rothman, D-N.J., and Mark Kirk, R-Ill.--a former Bank staffer, World Bank has "transferred at least $50 million in U.S. and allied taxpayer funding to Iran" over the last six months.
In a letter, Rothman and Kirk argued the World Bank is "undermining the Iran policies of the U.N. Security Council, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and the United States by giving technical assistance, loans and investment guarantees directly to the government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad." The letter urges the Bush administration to "align the World Bank board to the policy" of the U.N. Security Council, by suspending all World Bank loans to Iran and all guarantees on foreign investment in the country.
The World Bank's Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) provides financial guarantees to secure foreign investments in developing countries, and the U.S. government is one of the agency's largest contributors. U.S. contributions since 2000 have totaled nearly $24 million. Documents and public filings show the MIGA has issued $122.2 million in guarantee coverage for three companies from Thailand and Japan, that have in turn invested a total of $42.8 million in a state-owned Iranian petrochemical company.
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Events and Programs
SEE HADAG NACHASH AT THE HOUSE OF BLUES THIS MONDAY
Israeli hip hop group Hadag Nachash will perform in Chicago at 8 p.. February 18 at the House of Blues, 329 N. Dearborn. General admission tickets are $30. Tickets for Birthright Alum are $20 and student tickets are $10. Special rates for "Birthright Alum (non-students)" and "Students" are thanks to the Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago and Birthright Israel NEXT. Tickets at these rates can only be bought until February 17th. Discounted tickets purchased online will be available for pick-up at the door prior to the concert. After the 17th, students can purchase tickets at the House of Blues box office for the reduced rate $20. The event is sponsored by Teev Events, the Consulate General of Israel to the Midwest, JUF and Birthright Israel NEXT.
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13TH ANNUAL JOSEPH CARDINAL BERNARDIN JERUSALEM LECTURE, FEB. 26
The 13th Annual Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Jerusalem Lecture, "Reflections on Jewish-Catholic Relations: Past, Present and Future" featuring Dr. Eugene Fisher with remarks by Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I. will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, February 26 at the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies, 610 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago
A reception will follow the lecture. Admission is free, but reservations are requested. For information call 312-751-5325 or e-mail eia@archchicago.org
The lecture is sponsored by The Archdiocese of Chicago, The American Jewish Committee, The Chicago Board of Rabbis, The Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago and the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies.
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LEWIS SUMMER INTERN APPLICATION DEADLINE APPROACHING: MARCH 3 FOR APPLICATIONS, MARCH 14 FOR INTERVIEWS
Applications are still being accepted for the 2008 Lewis Summer Intern Program. There is still time to submit an application and schedule an interview, but time is running out. The deadline to submit applications is March 3, 2008, and the deadline for interviews is March 14, 2008.
The Lewis Summer Intern Program offers a wide array of summer internship opportunities across the spectrum of Jewish communal services in the Chicagoland area. Any student who is from Illinois or currently enrolled at a college in the state is eligible to apply, and applications are available online. Learn more about the internship opportunities with the Lewis Summer Intern Program. To catch a glimpse of all the fun that was had last year, please watch this video made by a student from last years program.
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JCC CHICAGO MACCABI RESCHEDULES FINAL INFORMATION NIGHT
Building on the success of the past 25 years, JCC Maccabi Chicago, a JCC of Chicago program that provides athletic, social and cultural experiences to Jewish teens ages 13-16 years, announces plans for the 2008 JCC Maccabi Games.
All interested athletes and families are invited to attend any of the information nights to learn more about this summer's Games in Akron, Ohio, Aug 10-15, and Detroit, Mich., Aug. 17-22. The final information night has been rescheduled for Wednesday Feb. 27, 7:00pm at the Bernard Weinger JCC, Northbrook.
JCC Maccabi Chicago plans to send a delegation of 25 athletes and five coaches to Akron, Ohio, to compete in boys and girls soccer and bowling. Representing JCC Maccabi Chicago in Detroit, Mich., will be 115 athletes and 25 coaches competing in boys baseball, girls softball, boys and girls basketball, in-line hockey, swimming, tennis, track & field, dance, table tennis, bowling and golf. Tryouts for the 2008 JCC Maccabi Chicago teams will take place in February and March. For more information night and tryout information, call Allan Bogan at 847.412.4253 or visit the website at www.gomaccabi.org. View the tryout schedule
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FATHER PATRICK DESBOIS SPEAKING MONDAY AND TUESDAY
Father Patrick Desbois, interviewer of surviving eyewitnesses and participants in mass shootings during the Holocaust, will speak at two Chicago programs next month.
His team from Yahad-In Unum has investigated 700 of an estimated 2,000 mass graves
The first program, Ukraine: The Holocaust by Bullets--An Interview with Father Patrick Desbois, will be held at 7 p.m. Monday, February 18 at North Shore Congregation Israel, 1185 Sheridan Road in Glencoe. For reservations call (847) 835-0724.
The Catholic-Jewish Studies program in association with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum will present a public lecture, "Remembering for Reconciliation: Healing memories in the Christian-Jewish dialogue" featuring Father Patrick Desbois, 4 p.m. February 19 at The Catholic Theological Union Second Floor 5416 S. Cornell Ave. Chicago. For information contact The Bernardin Center at (773)371-5432 or bernardincenter@ctu.edu
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SAVE THE DATE FOR THESE IMPORTANT MARCH EVENTS
The Jewish Studies Program of the University of Illinois at Chicago, together with the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, presents:International Terrorism: Dynamics and Prevention by Professor Shlomo Shoham, Israel Studies visiting scholar, UIC, Professor Emeritus, Tel Aviv University Wednesday, March 5, 7:00 p.m. UIC Campus, Student Services Building.
The Crown Family Center for Jewish Studies, Northwestern University and the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago present The 2008 Philip M. & Ethel Klutznick Lecture in Jewish Civilization: After Post-Zionism: Building The Israel That Could Be, by Hillel Halkin, renowned Israeli journalist and author, Wednesday, March 12, 7:30 p.m. at Pick Staiger Concert Hall, Northwestern University Campus. Register online
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Editorial, Opinion & Analysis
FROM THE ISRAELI AND AMERICAN PRESS AND OTHER SOURCES
Shutting down Zanan, New York Times editorial
Analysis: In order to go in, we need a way out, by Yaakov Katz
Restraint is not possible, Haaretz editorial
The Lantos legacy, San Francisco Chronicle editorial
Gaza, stripped, by Dennis Ross
Hamas must stand down, by Osama Al Sharif
Dead in Damascus, Wall Street Journal editorial
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Candlelighting
Friday, February 15, 5:05 p.m., Tetzaveh
The mission of E-Al
To receive E-Alert in your inbox (not bulk or junk folder), add e-alert@juf.org to your address book.
Forward this to a friend February 14, 2008
Local News
Experts speak about Iran at major forums this week
Israel and World News
Bomb kills top Hezbollah leader
Livni: 'We'll act against Gaza terror'
Hamas leaders hiding from Israeli hits
Video describes daily horrors faced by the children of Sderot
U.S. pushes Israel to accept proposed Egypt border deal
Remembering Tom Lantos
Two boys, two sides, two beds in an Israeli hospital ward
JCPA applauds Congress for taking a stand against torture
Jewish Coalition mobilizes for restoration of rights for Americans with disabilities
Iran Watch
Experts: Iran develops fast centrifuges
Iran celebrates revolution, and muzzles reformers
Iran reinstates Khomeini's grandson for election: report
Olmert: Iran's nuclear program still a threat
World Bank guarantees for Iran exposed
Events and Programs
See Hadag Nachash at the House of Blues this Monday
13th Annual Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Jerusalem Lecture, Feb. 26
Lewis Summer Intern application deadline approaching: March 3 for applications, March 14 for interviews
JCC Chicago Maccabi reschedules final information night
Father Patrick Desbois speaking Monday and Tuesday
Save the Date for these important March events
Editorial, Opinion & Analysis
From the Israeli and American press and other sources
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Local News
EXPERTS SPEAK ABOUT IRAN AT MAJOR FORUMS THIS WEEK
On Feb. 11, the 29th anniversary of the Islamic revolution, nearly 200 people, mostly non-Jews, gathered in downtown Chicago for a lecture titled "Iran: Insights into its Religion, Politics and Power," featuring Prof. David Menashri,director of the Center for Iranian Studies at Tel Aviv University and Mehdi Khalaji, a visiting fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy and a trained Shiite cleric.
The program, sponsored by JUF's Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC), was moderated by Ambassador J.D. Bindenagel, vice president for Community, Government and International Affairs at DePaul University.
In a breakfast meeting the next day with members of the international diplomatic corps stationed in Chicago and senior law federal, state and local enforcement officials, Menashri called on the European Union to urge their governments to intensify action aimed at thwarting Iran's nuclear ambitions, while working to champion the cause of human rights in Iran.
JUF's JCRC is an spearheading a broad effort to combat a nuclear Iran through the Comprehensive Action Plan for Iran Advocacy approved in April of 2007. Get more information
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Israel and World News
BOMB KILLS TOP HEZBOLLAH LEADER
A top Hezbollah leader, Imad Mughniyeh, has died in a bombing in Damascus, and the group has blamed Israel for assassinating him. Mughniyeh is widely believed to be behind a wave of Western hostage-taking in Lebanon during the 1980s. He had been in hiding for years and was high on US and Israeli wanted lists.
The Israeli prime minister's office issued a statement rejecting "the attempt by terror groups to attribute to it any involvement" in the killing.
Mughniyeh, in his late 40s, is variously described as special operations or intelligence chief of Hezbollah's military wing, the Islamic Resistance. Correspondents say his death is a significant blow to Hezbollah, which battled Israel in the 2006 Lebanon war, and its Iranian and Syrian backers.
The United States on Wednesday applauded the killing of Moughniyah, and called him a cold-blooded murderer responsible for many deaths.
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LIVNI: 'WE'LL ACT AGAINST GAZA TERROR'
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni made it clear on Wednesday that Israel would act to end the terrorist threat from Gaza. During a tour of the border area with Gaza, Livni told some 60 foreign ambassadors and diplomats serving in Israel: "The situation in the region is unbearable, and the threat of terror from Gaza is growing larger from year to year. The problem is not only the Kassam rockets, but also the strengthening of the terror organizations. Israel must act to reduce these threats."
The initiative was part of Israel's diplomatic efforts to explain to the world that civilians are living under daily attack. At the end of the tour, Livni told the diplomats, "Even if there is a lull in the shooting - don't let this quiet deceive you. The terror organizations are growing in strength, and planning for the future must be based on an understanding of this threat in the present."
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HAMAS LEADERS HIDING FROM ISRAELI HITS
Hamas leaders in Gaza turned off their cell phones, avoided public appearances and were sleeping in safe houses after Israel threatened Monday to assassinate those responsible for Palestinian rocket attacks on border towns.
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VIDEO DESCRIBES DAILY HORRORS FACED BY THE CHILDREN OF SDEROT
Watch a compelling video, "Red Color," directed by Yoav Shoam, describing the daily horrors children in Sderot face, as well as their resilency and the extraordinary work of teachers and social workers - funded by JUF - to help them and their families deal with it all.
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U.S. PUSHES ISRAEL TO ACCEPT PROPOSED EGYPT BORDER DEAL
The U.S. administration is urging Israel to engage Egypt in immediate dialogue in order to find a joint solution to the problem of the breached Gaza-Egypt border. The U.S. wants Israel to show some flexibility on Egypt's demand to add 750 soldiers to its border force, as well as to agree to Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad's proposal to take over responsibility for the Israel-Gaza Strip border.
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REMEMBERING TOM LANTOS
U.S. Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.), the only Holocaust survivor ever elected to Congress, died Monday of esophageal cancer at the age of 80.
"We lose a voice for human rights, which was in his case unique," Elie Wiesel, the novelist whose own writings have become icons of Holocaust remembrance, told JTA. "He spoke always against oppression, against persecution, against racism."
Lantos died at the Naval Medical Center in suburban Bethesda, Md., surrounded by his wife, Annette, two daughters and many of his 18 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
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TWO BOYS, TWO SIDES, TWO BEDS IN AN ISRAELI HOSPITAL WARD
Two small boys lay sedated in a hospital ward in a Tel Aviv suburb on Tuesday, unaware of each other or of the growing commotion around them. One was Osher Twito, 8, an Israeli boy from the town of Sderot, who was seriously wounded Saturday by shrapnel from a rocket fired by Palestinian militants from Gaza. The other was Yakoub Natil, almost 7, a Palestinian who was brought here three weeks ago from Gaza City after he was badly hurt by shrapnel from an Israeli Air Force strike on Jan. 18.
Also see, 'I screamed as loud as I could so they'd hear me'
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JCPA APPLAUDS CONGRESS FOR TAKING A STAND AGAINST TORTURE
The Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) applauds Congress for voting to extend the U.S. military's ban on torture to all U.S. agencies, including the CIA.
JCPA Chair Lois Frank issued the following statement: "We applaud Congress for its action to end United States' sponsored torture and cruelty and to uphold our moral values, international treaty obligations, and human rights. Legislation passed this week in the Senate, extends the Army Field Manual's ban on torture to all U.S. agencies including the CIA. As Jews and as Americans, we have been deeply troubled by the United States' use of torture and cruel interrogations techniques. The adoption of the Army Field Manual Provision creates a single humane standard for the treatment of all detainees in U.S. custody. It clearly delineates which acts are permissible from those which constitute torture.
We urge the President to sign this bill into law and to send a clear message to the people of the United States and of the world that we are serious about upholding a ban on torture."
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JEWISH COALITION MOBILIZES FOR RESTORATION OF RIGHTS FOR AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES
Representatives of Jewish organizations met last week with key House members to advocate for the passage of the Americans with Disabilities (ADA) Restoration Act of 2007. Members of the Jewish Disability Network, a coalition of more than 20 organizations established in 2007 by the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism and United Jewish Communities, will specifically target members of the four committees with jurisdiction over the bill. A letter signed by 60 national, state and local Jewish organizations, including the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, urging the bill's enactment was sent on Wednesday to all members of Congress.
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Iran Watch
EXPERTS: IRAN DEVELOPS FAST CENTRIFUGES
Iran has developed its own version of an advanced centrifuge that churns out fissile material much faster than other machines and has started testing them, diplomats and experts said Thursday. Few of the IR-2 centrifuges were operating and testing appeared to be in an early phase.
More significant, said those with knowledge of the issue, was the fact that Tehran has appeared to combine know-how and equipment bought on the nuclear black market with domestic ingenuity to overcome daunting technical difficulties and create advanced machines that reflect a high level of nuclear development.
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IRAN CELEBRATES REVOLUTION, AND MUZZLES REFORMERS
Iran celebrated the 29th anniversary of the victory of its Islamic revolution on Monday as the government appeared to be taking steps to bury the chances of reformers in parliamentary elections next month, putting on sharp display a split between veterans of the revolution's early days and the nation's current leaders.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad continued to defy the West, and in an address to tens of thousands of marchers vowed that Iran would continue its nuclear program despite international pressure. He announced that Iran would send two more research rockets into space before launching a satellite this summer.
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IRAN REINSTATES KHOMEINI'S GRANDSON FOR ELECTION: REPORT
Iran has allowed the grandson of the late leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's and some other reformists to stand in parliamentary elections after initially disqualifying them, reports said on Wednesday. Ali Eshraghi was one of more than 2,200 mainly reformist candidates disqualified in the initial phase of vetting, to the dismay of moderates, but has now been reinstated by the hardline Guardians Council.
The Guardians Council, Iran's main vetting body, announced on Tuesday that 280 of the candidates disqualified in the original vetting were being reinstated to stand in the March 14 elections.
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OLMERT: IRAN'S NUCLEAR PROGRAM STILL A THREAT
Israel's prime minister on Tuesday brushed aside suggestions that the threat from Iran's nuclear program has receded, saying he remains convinced that Tehran is "moving forward" with plans for an atomic weapon. Israel has continued to warn that Iran seeks to acquire nuclear weapons since a December report by U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that Iran suspended its nuclear weapons program in 2003.
Israel still "is of the opinion that the Iranians are moving forward with their plans to create a capacity for non-conventional weapons," Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said after meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country has been among those leading efforts to persuade Iran to give up uranium enrichment.
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WORLD BANK GUARANTEES FOR IRAN EXPOSED
According to U.S. Reps. Steve Rothman, D-N.J., and Mark Kirk, R-Ill.--a former Bank staffer, World Bank has "transferred at least $50 million in U.S. and allied taxpayer funding to Iran" over the last six months.
In a letter, Rothman and Kirk argued the World Bank is "undermining the Iran policies of the U.N. Security Council, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and the United States by giving technical assistance, loans and investment guarantees directly to the government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad." The letter urges the Bush administration to "align the World Bank board to the policy" of the U.N. Security Council, by suspending all World Bank loans to Iran and all guarantees on foreign investment in the country.
The World Bank's Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) provides financial guarantees to secure foreign investments in developing countries, and the U.S. government is one of the agency's largest contributors. U.S. contributions since 2000 have totaled nearly $24 million. Documents and public filings show the MIGA has issued $122.2 million in guarantee coverage for three companies from Thailand and Japan, that have in turn invested a total of $42.8 million in a state-owned Iranian petrochemical company.
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Events and Programs
SEE HADAG NACHASH AT THE HOUSE OF BLUES THIS MONDAY
Israeli hip hop group Hadag Nachash will perform in Chicago at 8 p.. February 18 at the House of Blues, 329 N. Dearborn. General admission tickets are $30. Tickets for Birthright Alum are $20 and student tickets are $10. Special rates for "Birthright Alum (non-students)" and "Students" are thanks to the Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago and Birthright Israel NEXT. Tickets at these rates can only be bought until February 17th. Discounted tickets purchased online will be available for pick-up at the door prior to the concert. After the 17th, students can purchase tickets at the House of Blues box office for the reduced rate $20. The event is sponsored by Teev Events, the Consulate General of Israel to the Midwest, JUF and Birthright Israel NEXT.
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13TH ANNUAL JOSEPH CARDINAL BERNARDIN JERUSALEM LECTURE, FEB. 26
The 13th Annual Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Jerusalem Lecture, "Reflections on Jewish-Catholic Relations: Past, Present and Future" featuring Dr. Eugene Fisher with remarks by Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I. will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, February 26 at the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies, 610 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago
A reception will follow the lecture. Admission is free, but reservations are requested. For information call 312-751-5325 or e-mail eia@archchicago.org
The lecture is sponsored by The Archdiocese of Chicago, The American Jewish Committee, The Chicago Board of Rabbis, The Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago and the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies.
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LEWIS SUMMER INTERN APPLICATION DEADLINE APPROACHING: MARCH 3 FOR APPLICATIONS, MARCH 14 FOR INTERVIEWS
Applications are still being accepted for the 2008 Lewis Summer Intern Program. There is still time to submit an application and schedule an interview, but time is running out. The deadline to submit applications is March 3, 2008, and the deadline for interviews is March 14, 2008.
The Lewis Summer Intern Program offers a wide array of summer internship opportunities across the spectrum of Jewish communal services in the Chicagoland area. Any student who is from Illinois or currently enrolled at a college in the state is eligible to apply, and applications are available online. Learn more about the internship opportunities with the Lewis Summer Intern Program. To catch a glimpse of all the fun that was had last year, please watch this video made by a student from last years program.
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JCC CHICAGO MACCABI RESCHEDULES FINAL INFORMATION NIGHT
Building on the success of the past 25 years, JCC Maccabi Chicago, a JCC of Chicago program that provides athletic, social and cultural experiences to Jewish teens ages 13-16 years, announces plans for the 2008 JCC Maccabi Games.
All interested athletes and families are invited to attend any of the information nights to learn more about this summer's Games in Akron, Ohio, Aug 10-15, and Detroit, Mich., Aug. 17-22. The final information night has been rescheduled for Wednesday Feb. 27, 7:00pm at the Bernard Weinger JCC, Northbrook.
JCC Maccabi Chicago plans to send a delegation of 25 athletes and five coaches to Akron, Ohio, to compete in boys and girls soccer and bowling. Representing JCC Maccabi Chicago in Detroit, Mich., will be 115 athletes and 25 coaches competing in boys baseball, girls softball, boys and girls basketball, in-line hockey, swimming, tennis, track & field, dance, table tennis, bowling and golf. Tryouts for the 2008 JCC Maccabi Chicago teams will take place in February and March. For more information night and tryout information, call Allan Bogan at 847.412.4253 or visit the website at www.gomaccabi.org. View the tryout schedule
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FATHER PATRICK DESBOIS SPEAKING MONDAY AND TUESDAY
Father Patrick Desbois, interviewer of surviving eyewitnesses and participants in mass shootings during the Holocaust, will speak at two Chicago programs next month.
His team from Yahad-In Unum has investigated 700 of an estimated 2,000 mass graves
The first program, Ukraine: The Holocaust by Bullets--An Interview with Father Patrick Desbois, will be held at 7 p.m. Monday, February 18 at North Shore Congregation Israel, 1185 Sheridan Road in Glencoe. For reservations call (847) 835-0724.
The Catholic-Jewish Studies program in association with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum will present a public lecture, "Remembering for Reconciliation: Healing memories in the Christian-Jewish dialogue" featuring Father Patrick Desbois, 4 p.m. February 19 at The Catholic Theological Union Second Floor 5416 S. Cornell Ave. Chicago. For information contact The Bernardin Center at (773)371-5432 or bernardincenter@ctu.edu
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SAVE THE DATE FOR THESE IMPORTANT MARCH EVENTS
The Jewish Studies Program of the University of Illinois at Chicago, together with the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, presents:International Terrorism: Dynamics and Prevention by Professor Shlomo Shoham, Israel Studies visiting scholar, UIC, Professor Emeritus, Tel Aviv University Wednesday, March 5, 7:00 p.m. UIC Campus, Student Services Building.
The Crown Family Center for Jewish Studies, Northwestern University and the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago present The 2008 Philip M. & Ethel Klutznick Lecture in Jewish Civilization: After Post-Zionism: Building The Israel That Could Be, by Hillel Halkin, renowned Israeli journalist and author, Wednesday, March 12, 7:30 p.m. at Pick Staiger Concert Hall, Northwestern University Campus. Register online
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Editorial, Opinion & Analysis
FROM THE ISRAELI AND AMERICAN PRESS AND OTHER SOURCES
Shutting down Zanan, New York Times editorial
Analysis: In order to go in, we need a way out, by Yaakov Katz
Restraint is not possible, Haaretz editorial
The Lantos legacy, San Francisco Chronicle editorial
Gaza, stripped, by Dennis Ross
Hamas must stand down, by Osama Al Sharif
Dead in Damascus, Wall Street Journal editorial
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Candlelighting
Friday, February 15, 5:05 p.m., Tetzaveh
The mission of E-Al
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Iran building a bomb after all
US intel links Iran with nuke bomb bid By GEORGE JAHN, Associated Press Writer
Thu Feb 14, 2:50 PM ET
VIENNA, Austria - The U.S. has shared new intelligence with the International Atomic Energy Agency that it claims is evidence Iran was trying to make a nuclear weapon, diplomats said Thursday.
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One of the diplomats said Washington also gave the IAEA permission to confront Iran with at least some of the information in an attempt to pry details out of the Islamic republic as part of the U.N. nuclear watchdog's attempts to investigate Iran's suspicious nuclear past.
The diplomats suggested that such moves by the U.S. administration would be a reflection of Washington's' drive to pressure Iran into acknowledging that it had focused part of its nuclear efforts toward developing a weapons program.
The U.S. is leading the push for a third set of U.N. sanctions against Iran. Tehran insists its program is intended only to produce energy and has refused U.N. demands that it suspend its uranium enrichment program — technology that can produce both fuel for nuclear reactors and the fissile material for a bomb.
A recent U.S. intelligence assessment that Iran had a clandestine weapons program but stopped working on it four years ago has hurt Washington's attempts to have the U.N. Security Council impose a third set of sanctions.
While the Americans have previously declassified and then forwarded intelligence to the IAEA to help its investigations, they do so on a selective basis.
Following Israel's bombing of a Syrian site late last year, and media reports citing unidentified U.S. officials as saying the target was a nuclear installation, IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei turned in vain to the U.S. in asking for details on what was struck, said a diplomat who — like others — spoke on condition of anonymity in exchange for divulging confidential information.
Over the past two years, the U.S. already has shared material on a laptop computer reportedly smuggled out of Iran. In 2005, U.S. intelligence assessed that information as indicating that Tehran had been working on details of nuclear weapons, including missile trajectories and ideal altitudes for exploding warheads.
Thu Feb 14, 2:50 PM ET
VIENNA, Austria - The U.S. has shared new intelligence with the International Atomic Energy Agency that it claims is evidence Iran was trying to make a nuclear weapon, diplomats said Thursday.
ADVERTISEMENT
One of the diplomats said Washington also gave the IAEA permission to confront Iran with at least some of the information in an attempt to pry details out of the Islamic republic as part of the U.N. nuclear watchdog's attempts to investigate Iran's suspicious nuclear past.
The diplomats suggested that such moves by the U.S. administration would be a reflection of Washington's' drive to pressure Iran into acknowledging that it had focused part of its nuclear efforts toward developing a weapons program.
The U.S. is leading the push for a third set of U.N. sanctions against Iran. Tehran insists its program is intended only to produce energy and has refused U.N. demands that it suspend its uranium enrichment program — technology that can produce both fuel for nuclear reactors and the fissile material for a bomb.
A recent U.S. intelligence assessment that Iran had a clandestine weapons program but stopped working on it four years ago has hurt Washington's attempts to have the U.N. Security Council impose a third set of sanctions.
While the Americans have previously declassified and then forwarded intelligence to the IAEA to help its investigations, they do so on a selective basis.
Following Israel's bombing of a Syrian site late last year, and media reports citing unidentified U.S. officials as saying the target was a nuclear installation, IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei turned in vain to the U.S. in asking for details on what was struck, said a diplomat who — like others — spoke on condition of anonymity in exchange for divulging confidential information.
Over the past two years, the U.S. already has shared material on a laptop computer reportedly smuggled out of Iran. In 2005, U.S. intelligence assessed that information as indicating that Tehran had been working on details of nuclear weapons, including missile trajectories and ideal altitudes for exploding warheads.
From President's Council of Major Jewish Organizations
Prepared for the
Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations
by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
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February 14, 2008
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In-Depth Issues:
Iran Tests Advanced Centrifuges with Uranium Gas - Mark Heinrich (Reuters/ Washington Post)
Iran has introduced small amounts of uranium gas into advanced centrifuges in a further step towards gaining the means to develop atom bombs if it chooses.
An EU diplomat said the move was a "stunning rejection" of repeated UN Security Council demands that Iran suspend sensitive nuclear activity.
Diplomats familiar with UN nuclear inspections disclosed last week that Iran had begun test-feeding token quantities of uranium "UF6" gas into "new generation" centrifuges at the Natanz enrichment complex.
Report: Nasrallah's Political Deputy Also Killed in Damascus Blast (Jerusalem Post)
Haj Hussein Khalil, Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah's political deputy, also died in the Damascus blast that killed Imad Mughniyeh, the Iranian FARS agency reported Wednesday.
U.S. Learns from Israel-Hizbullah War - Tom Vanden Brook (USA Today)
Senior Pentagon officials are using a classified Army study by the Center for Army Analysis on the 2006 war between Israel and Hizbullah to retool the U.S. military's combat strategy for future wars.
That means focusing on heavy armor, such as Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles; more body armor; and unmanned aircraft that can monitor enemy activity and fire missiles at enemy fighters.
17 Danish Newspapers Print Mohammed Cartoon (AFP)
At least 17 Danish newspapers printed a controversial cartoon of Prophet Mohammed Wednesday, vowing to defend freedom of expression a day after police foiled a murder plot against cartoonist Kurt Westergaard.
Gaza Smugglers Ready to Resume Work - Diaa Hadid (AP/Washington Post)
Gaza's tunnel smugglers are getting back to business after a forced break during the Gaza-Egypt border breach.
Smuggler Abu Diya and his cohorts in Rafah said they'll resume operations once it makes economic sense, probably in about three weeks.
Abu Diya said Hamas hauled in tons of new weapons and explosives during the breach.
Gaza smugglers said Egyptian guards can be bribed, and many were before the break.
"There's too many people interested in keeping the tunnels open. There's too much money to be made," one tunnel owner said.
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Key Links
Media Contacts
Back Issues
Fair Use News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
* U.S. Welcomes Death of Hizbullah Commander
The U.S. on Wednesday applauded the killing of Hizbullah leader Imad Mughniyeh in Damascus. "The world is a better place without this man in it. He was a cold-blooded killer, a mass murderer and a terrorist responsible for countless innocent lives lost," said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack. "One way or another he was brought to justice." White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said: "This was an individual indicted in U.S. courts. He was clearly a bad actor." (Reuters)
See also below Observations: Dead in Damascus - Editorial (Wall Street Journal)
* Russia Warns Iran on Missiles, Uranium Enrichment
Russia warned Iran on Wednesday that its development of rockets and continued uranium enrichment was creating the impression Tehran was intentionally ignoring the concerns of the international community. "We do not approve of Iran's actions in constantly demonstrating its intentions to develop its rocket sector and continue enriching uranium," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said. "From the point of view of international law these actions are not forbidden, but you can also not ignore that in previous years a whole host of problems were uncovered in Iran's nuclear program." (Reuters)
* Rice: U.S. "Not Satisfied" with Egyptian Efforts to Stop Smuggling Tunnels
Egypt is falling short in its efforts to stop Palestinians from trafficking weapons to Gaza through tunnels from Egypt, Secretary of State Rice told the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on Wednesday. "I think it is fair to say that we have not been satisfied with Egypt's efforts on the tunnels, but that in fact those tunnels have been there for a long time and it has been hard to stop smuggling," Rice said. "We are in conversations with the Egyptians and the Israelis about how that might be done better." (AFP)
* U.S. Expands Sanctions on Syria
The White House on Wednesday issued an order expanding sanctions against Syria imposed in 2004, saying the nation's leaders have engaged in a pattern of violating human rights in their own country and harmed the peace and stability of other nations in the region, including Iraq. The 2004 sanctions banned U.S. exports to Syria, except for food and medicine, allowed the U.S. Treasury Department to seize the property of Syrians involved in terrorism, and banned flights between the U.S. and Syria. (CNN)
News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
* Livni: Israel Will Act Against Gaza Terror - Mark Weiss
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni made it clear on Wednesday that Israel would act to end the terrorist threat from Gaza. During a tour of the border area with Gaza, Livni told sixty foreign ambassadors and diplomats: "The situation in the region is unbearable, and the threat of terror from Gaza is growing larger from year to year. The problem is not only the Kassam rockets, but also the strengthening of the terror organizations. Israel must act to reduce these threats." (Jerusalem Post)
"The world must understand the true nature of Hamas. Its actions are not related to occupation, and the fact is that it persists in pursuing terrorism after Israel left Gaza. Hamas is affiliated with extreme Islamic organizations in the region and threatens not only Israel but also the moderates in the Palestinian Authority. We are not naive, and do not believe that political dialogue can provide an answer to this ideology," Livni said. (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
* Palestinian Rocket Hits Sderot Dwelling - Shmulik Hadad
Palestinians in Gaza fired a Kassam rocket Wednesday that scored a direct hit on a three-story building in Sderot, causing damage. Several people suffered from shock. A resident of the building said the rocket caused damage inside the apartment where a newlywed couple lives. "By chance they arrived at their apartment a few minutes after the rocket fell and were amazed to see what happened inside. It's a miracle that nothing happened to them." (Ynet News)
Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of U.S., UK, and Israel):
* Hizbullah's Mughniyeh: Not Everyone Is Replaceable - Amir Oren
Mughniyeh's assassination will challenge the myth that "everyone can be replaced." This myth aims to keep Israel and other countries from targeting senior figures in terrorist organizations, under the theory that there is no point in taking such action if it further enrages the masses and stokes their determination to rally to the cause. Moreover, sometimes the successor is more effective and worse for Israel than his predecessor. The standard example is the killing of Hizbullah leader Abbas Musawi 16 years ago. If Musawi was trouble, his successor, Hassan Nasrallah, is worse trouble.
Judging from the behavior of Nasrallah and Mughniyeh, we can conclude that they doubted the assumption that they are replaceable. Whoever decided to murder Lebanese leaders Bashir Gemeyal and Rafik Hariri did not avoid such attacks because other leaders would have filled their spot. The murderers assumed, justifiably, that the quality of the original cannot be imitated. Mughniyeh belonged to the blacklist of arch-terrorists whose organizations will find it very difficult to replace them. (Ha'aretz)
* Hamas Must End Attacks on Israel - Editorial
If the terrorists of Hamas were firing lethal rockets into any country besides Israel, howls of outrage would rise from every corner of the world. The double standard is immoral and unacceptable, just as Hamas' rocket attacks on Israel's civilian communities like Sderot are increasingly intolerable. Since Israeli forces withdrew from Gaza in 2005, more than 4,000 rocket and mortar shells have been fired at Israel, 420 this year alone. Homes, buildings, roads and power lines have been destroyed. The number of wounded Israelis, terrorized civilians and traumatized children rises by the day. Backed by Syria and Iran, Hamas is determined to prevent Israel from reaching a peace deal with Palestinians on the West Bank.
Meanwhile, the world looks the other way, but Israelis can't afford to. An Israeli ground invasion of Gaza would clearly be a last resort, but what are the choices? All nations have a right to self-defense. When Israel exercises this right, as it eventually must, barring an end to attacks from Gaza, no one should be surprised. (Miami Herald)
* Hamas Must Stand Down - Osama Al-Sharif
Hamas is looking increasingly like a spent force. Hamas is slowly turning into a liability for all Palestinians, putting its own political interests above those of its besieged people. One could sympathize with claims that the coup that Hamas carried out in the summer of last year came to pre-empt a certain conspiracy by a Fatah leader, Mohammad Dahlan, and the CIA to topple the movement and create a new power system in Gaza. But today Hamas has lost the moral high ground, and its intransigence to keep control of Gaza at any cost is dangerous, if not suicidal.
Few could find excuses for the movement's decision to raise the ante with Israel and provoke a series of reactions that could include a complete invasion and reoccupation of Gaza. Hamas has rejected offers to reopen the international crossing points in accordance with signed agreements and treaties. (Arab News-Saudi Arabia)
Observations:
Dead in Damascus - Editorial (Wall Street Journal)
* Before Osama bin Laden took the spotlight, Mughniyeh was probably the world's most wanted and elusive terrorist, a man with an FBI price tag of $5 million on his head. He masterminded some of Hizbullah's deadliest attacks in the 1980s and 1990s, including:
o The 241 U.S. Marines and 58 French soldiers who died in the 1983 truck bombings in Beirut along with 63 civilians, including 17 Americans, who died in the simultaneous bombing of the U.S. embassy there.
o Robert Stethem, the Navy diver whose beaten body was left on the tarmac during the 1985 hijacking of TWA Flight 847.
o William Buckley, the CIA station chief in Beirut who was kidnapped, tortured and killed in the mid-1980s.
o Twenty-nine people who died in the 1992 bombing of Israel's embassy in Buenos Aires and 85 more killed in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish Center in Buenos Aires.
* Mughniyeh died in a car bombing, probably orchestrated by the Mossad, though Israel denies it. It'd be nice to think the CIA was up to this, but we have our doubts.
See also Mughniyeh Directed Execution of U.S. Peace Envoy in Beirut - Sara A. Carter and Bill Gertz
A classified Defense Intelligence Agency report stated that Mughniyeh "was in charge of the execution" of Marine Corps Col. William Higgins, who was captured by Hizbullah terrorists while serving the UN on a peacekeeping mission in Lebanon in 1988. (Washington Times)
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Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations
by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
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Thursday,
February 14, 2008
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In-Depth Issues:
Iran Tests Advanced Centrifuges with Uranium Gas - Mark Heinrich (Reuters/ Washington Post)
Iran has introduced small amounts of uranium gas into advanced centrifuges in a further step towards gaining the means to develop atom bombs if it chooses.
An EU diplomat said the move was a "stunning rejection" of repeated UN Security Council demands that Iran suspend sensitive nuclear activity.
Diplomats familiar with UN nuclear inspections disclosed last week that Iran had begun test-feeding token quantities of uranium "UF6" gas into "new generation" centrifuges at the Natanz enrichment complex.
Report: Nasrallah's Political Deputy Also Killed in Damascus Blast (Jerusalem Post)
Haj Hussein Khalil, Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah's political deputy, also died in the Damascus blast that killed Imad Mughniyeh, the Iranian FARS agency reported Wednesday.
U.S. Learns from Israel-Hizbullah War - Tom Vanden Brook (USA Today)
Senior Pentagon officials are using a classified Army study by the Center for Army Analysis on the 2006 war between Israel and Hizbullah to retool the U.S. military's combat strategy for future wars.
That means focusing on heavy armor, such as Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles; more body armor; and unmanned aircraft that can monitor enemy activity and fire missiles at enemy fighters.
17 Danish Newspapers Print Mohammed Cartoon (AFP)
At least 17 Danish newspapers printed a controversial cartoon of Prophet Mohammed Wednesday, vowing to defend freedom of expression a day after police foiled a murder plot against cartoonist Kurt Westergaard.
Gaza Smugglers Ready to Resume Work - Diaa Hadid (AP/Washington Post)
Gaza's tunnel smugglers are getting back to business after a forced break during the Gaza-Egypt border breach.
Smuggler Abu Diya and his cohorts in Rafah said they'll resume operations once it makes economic sense, probably in about three weeks.
Abu Diya said Hamas hauled in tons of new weapons and explosives during the breach.
Gaza smugglers said Egyptian guards can be bribed, and many were before the break.
"There's too many people interested in keeping the tunnels open. There's too much money to be made," one tunnel owner said.
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Fair Use News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
* U.S. Welcomes Death of Hizbullah Commander
The U.S. on Wednesday applauded the killing of Hizbullah leader Imad Mughniyeh in Damascus. "The world is a better place without this man in it. He was a cold-blooded killer, a mass murderer and a terrorist responsible for countless innocent lives lost," said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack. "One way or another he was brought to justice." White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said: "This was an individual indicted in U.S. courts. He was clearly a bad actor." (Reuters)
See also below Observations: Dead in Damascus - Editorial (Wall Street Journal)
* Russia Warns Iran on Missiles, Uranium Enrichment
Russia warned Iran on Wednesday that its development of rockets and continued uranium enrichment was creating the impression Tehran was intentionally ignoring the concerns of the international community. "We do not approve of Iran's actions in constantly demonstrating its intentions to develop its rocket sector and continue enriching uranium," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said. "From the point of view of international law these actions are not forbidden, but you can also not ignore that in previous years a whole host of problems were uncovered in Iran's nuclear program." (Reuters)
* Rice: U.S. "Not Satisfied" with Egyptian Efforts to Stop Smuggling Tunnels
Egypt is falling short in its efforts to stop Palestinians from trafficking weapons to Gaza through tunnels from Egypt, Secretary of State Rice told the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on Wednesday. "I think it is fair to say that we have not been satisfied with Egypt's efforts on the tunnels, but that in fact those tunnels have been there for a long time and it has been hard to stop smuggling," Rice said. "We are in conversations with the Egyptians and the Israelis about how that might be done better." (AFP)
* U.S. Expands Sanctions on Syria
The White House on Wednesday issued an order expanding sanctions against Syria imposed in 2004, saying the nation's leaders have engaged in a pattern of violating human rights in their own country and harmed the peace and stability of other nations in the region, including Iraq. The 2004 sanctions banned U.S. exports to Syria, except for food and medicine, allowed the U.S. Treasury Department to seize the property of Syrians involved in terrorism, and banned flights between the U.S. and Syria. (CNN)
News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
* Livni: Israel Will Act Against Gaza Terror - Mark Weiss
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni made it clear on Wednesday that Israel would act to end the terrorist threat from Gaza. During a tour of the border area with Gaza, Livni told sixty foreign ambassadors and diplomats: "The situation in the region is unbearable, and the threat of terror from Gaza is growing larger from year to year. The problem is not only the Kassam rockets, but also the strengthening of the terror organizations. Israel must act to reduce these threats." (Jerusalem Post)
"The world must understand the true nature of Hamas. Its actions are not related to occupation, and the fact is that it persists in pursuing terrorism after Israel left Gaza. Hamas is affiliated with extreme Islamic organizations in the region and threatens not only Israel but also the moderates in the Palestinian Authority. We are not naive, and do not believe that political dialogue can provide an answer to this ideology," Livni said. (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
* Palestinian Rocket Hits Sderot Dwelling - Shmulik Hadad
Palestinians in Gaza fired a Kassam rocket Wednesday that scored a direct hit on a three-story building in Sderot, causing damage. Several people suffered from shock. A resident of the building said the rocket caused damage inside the apartment where a newlywed couple lives. "By chance they arrived at their apartment a few minutes after the rocket fell and were amazed to see what happened inside. It's a miracle that nothing happened to them." (Ynet News)
Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of U.S., UK, and Israel):
* Hizbullah's Mughniyeh: Not Everyone Is Replaceable - Amir Oren
Mughniyeh's assassination will challenge the myth that "everyone can be replaced." This myth aims to keep Israel and other countries from targeting senior figures in terrorist organizations, under the theory that there is no point in taking such action if it further enrages the masses and stokes their determination to rally to the cause. Moreover, sometimes the successor is more effective and worse for Israel than his predecessor. The standard example is the killing of Hizbullah leader Abbas Musawi 16 years ago. If Musawi was trouble, his successor, Hassan Nasrallah, is worse trouble.
Judging from the behavior of Nasrallah and Mughniyeh, we can conclude that they doubted the assumption that they are replaceable. Whoever decided to murder Lebanese leaders Bashir Gemeyal and Rafik Hariri did not avoid such attacks because other leaders would have filled their spot. The murderers assumed, justifiably, that the quality of the original cannot be imitated. Mughniyeh belonged to the blacklist of arch-terrorists whose organizations will find it very difficult to replace them. (Ha'aretz)
* Hamas Must End Attacks on Israel - Editorial
If the terrorists of Hamas were firing lethal rockets into any country besides Israel, howls of outrage would rise from every corner of the world. The double standard is immoral and unacceptable, just as Hamas' rocket attacks on Israel's civilian communities like Sderot are increasingly intolerable. Since Israeli forces withdrew from Gaza in 2005, more than 4,000 rocket and mortar shells have been fired at Israel, 420 this year alone. Homes, buildings, roads and power lines have been destroyed. The number of wounded Israelis, terrorized civilians and traumatized children rises by the day. Backed by Syria and Iran, Hamas is determined to prevent Israel from reaching a peace deal with Palestinians on the West Bank.
Meanwhile, the world looks the other way, but Israelis can't afford to. An Israeli ground invasion of Gaza would clearly be a last resort, but what are the choices? All nations have a right to self-defense. When Israel exercises this right, as it eventually must, barring an end to attacks from Gaza, no one should be surprised. (Miami Herald)
* Hamas Must Stand Down - Osama Al-Sharif
Hamas is looking increasingly like a spent force. Hamas is slowly turning into a liability for all Palestinians, putting its own political interests above those of its besieged people. One could sympathize with claims that the coup that Hamas carried out in the summer of last year came to pre-empt a certain conspiracy by a Fatah leader, Mohammad Dahlan, and the CIA to topple the movement and create a new power system in Gaza. But today Hamas has lost the moral high ground, and its intransigence to keep control of Gaza at any cost is dangerous, if not suicidal.
Few could find excuses for the movement's decision to raise the ante with Israel and provoke a series of reactions that could include a complete invasion and reoccupation of Gaza. Hamas has rejected offers to reopen the international crossing points in accordance with signed agreements and treaties. (Arab News-Saudi Arabia)
Observations:
Dead in Damascus - Editorial (Wall Street Journal)
* Before Osama bin Laden took the spotlight, Mughniyeh was probably the world's most wanted and elusive terrorist, a man with an FBI price tag of $5 million on his head. He masterminded some of Hizbullah's deadliest attacks in the 1980s and 1990s, including:
o The 241 U.S. Marines and 58 French soldiers who died in the 1983 truck bombings in Beirut along with 63 civilians, including 17 Americans, who died in the simultaneous bombing of the U.S. embassy there.
o Robert Stethem, the Navy diver whose beaten body was left on the tarmac during the 1985 hijacking of TWA Flight 847.
o William Buckley, the CIA station chief in Beirut who was kidnapped, tortured and killed in the mid-1980s.
o Twenty-nine people who died in the 1992 bombing of Israel's embassy in Buenos Aires and 85 more killed in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish Center in Buenos Aires.
* Mughniyeh died in a car bombing, probably orchestrated by the Mossad, though Israel denies it. It'd be nice to think the CIA was up to this, but we have our doubts.
See also Mughniyeh Directed Execution of U.S. Peace Envoy in Beirut - Sara A. Carter and Bill Gertz
A classified Defense Intelligence Agency report stated that Mughniyeh "was in charge of the execution" of Marine Corps Col. William Higgins, who was captured by Hizbullah terrorists while serving the UN on a peacekeeping mission in Lebanon in 1988. (Washington Times)
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