August 25, 2005

Coffee Co-op Brews Mugs of Peace

Sue Fishkoff August 25, 2005

In his three decades at the helm of the Thanksgiving Coffee Co. in Fort Bragg, California, Paul Katzeff has pioneered the process of buying coffee beans directly from Third World growers and funneling money back to them after sales to promote economic self-sufficiency and social justice.

But Katzeff had never helped Jewish coffee farmers, who don\’t usually figure in the ranks of those growers.

That changed with the recent release of Mirembe Kawomera, or \”Delicious Peace,\” a Fair Trade — and kosher — coffee produced by a new cooperative of Jewish, Muslim and Christian coffee farmers from the Mbale region of Uganda.

\”We think this coalition is unique in all of Africa,\” said coffee farmer J. J. Keki, leader of the 700-member Abayudaya Ugandan Jewish community that is at the core of the project.

Israel’s Grand Duo

Bucky Fox August 25, 2005

Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram think they can win the upcoming U.S. Open. Come again? The Grand Slam tennis tournament that no Israeli has come close to winning?

\”Every tournament we enter we think we can win,\” Ram said.

Erlich and Ram nearly backed that up two years ago at Wimbledon. They reached the doubles semifinals, and Ram butted into the mixed doubles final. That makes them the top Israeli Grand Slam duo in history.

Torah by Numbers

David Finnigan August 25, 2005

Long before \”The Da Vinci Code\” dominated bestseller lists, a cluster of Jewish mathematicians were promoting \”The Bible Codes,\” the deeply mathematical interpretations of the five books of Moses which may, vaguely, predict some future events.

And yes conspiracy theorists, the government is involved — insofar as one of the code\’s four main proponents worked at the National Security Agency (NSA).

\”The evidence is all showing that these codes are real,\” said Harold Gans, who spent 28 years at the NSA as a senior cryptologic mathematician before retiring in 1996. \”The Torah could not be written by any being bound by the laws of nature.\”