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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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Candlelighting
Friday, February 22, 5:14 p.m., Ki Tisa




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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