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January 6, 2011

Netanyahu to Mubarak: Press Palestinians on direct talks

Jewish Journal January 6, 2011

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he urged Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to press the Palestinians to return to direct talks. Netanyahu, in his statement after meeting Thursday with Mubarak in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheik, said he asked Mubarak \”to act to persuade the Palestinians to move to direct, intensive and serious negotiations — in which all core issues will be raised — forthwith.\” Palestinian Authority officials have said their own proposals for comprehensive direct talks have been rebuffed by Netanyahu, who they claim wants first to deal with security arrangements.

Appeals court orders review of war memorial cross

Jewish Journal January 6, 2011

An appeals court ordered further proceedings on a Jewish veterans group\’s challenge to the display of a cross at a San Diego veterans\’ memorial, saying it was unconstitutional. The 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled Tuesday that the cross on Mount Soledad was a \”government endorsement of religion.\” The Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America, backed by a number of Jewish and civil liberties groups, filed the appeal a year ago after a U.S. district court ruled that the cross was not unconstitutional because it \”communicates the primarily non-religious messages of military service, death and sacrifice.\”

When Africa Comes to Israel

Jewish Journal January 6, 2011

There is a new threat to Israel, although the people raising it are entirely innocent. The threat is represented by a growing population of African refugees, mainly escapees from the hellish dictatorships of Eritrea and Sudan, who are pouring over the Egyptian border into Israel and settling in some of the country’s poorer neighborhoods, especially in Tel Aviv. They’re now coming at the rate of more than 1,000 each month, according to recent government statements. In summer 2006, when the presence of these new immigrants first gained public notice, the State Attorney’s office numbered them at fewer than 200. Then, they were strictly a humanitarian concern. And this continues to be so: The people from Darfur and Southern Sudan have fled annihilation; those from Eritrea fled war, lifetime military conscription and persecution. A substantial proportion of refugees from both places were tortured along the way, many of the women have been gang raped by their Sinai Bedouin guides, and all the refugees dodged brutal imprisonment or death at the hands of Egyptian border guards.

Keep away from Beck, Jewish group urges N.Y. stations

Jewish Journal January 6, 2011

Jewish Funds for Justice urged New York City-area radio stations not to pick up Glenn Beck\’s show after it was dropped by one station for low ratings. \”WOR’s decision to remove Glenn Beck tells me that even conservative listeners are rejecting Mr. Beck’s fear speech, anti-Semitism and Holocaust revisionism,” Simon Greer, the president of the group, which has led protests against the radio and TV host, said in a statement Wednesday. \”We believe that New York City, with its incredible diversity and large Jewish community, is rejecting Beck, and we will encourage other radio stations to learn from WOR\’s experience and not pick up his syndicated show.”

WikiLeaks: Israeli Gaza border officials took bribes

Jewish Journal January 6, 2011

Israeli officials at a crossing into Gaza took bribes in order to let goods into the coastal strip, a cable made public by WikiLeaks said. The diplomatic cable from June 2006 said that \”US businesses allege that corruption by Israeli officials at Karni crossing is impeding their access to the Gaza market.\” It was published Thursday in the Norwegian daily newspaper Aftenposten, which says it has all 250,000 U.S. cables leaked to WikiLeaks.

First black female rabbi to leave congregation

Jewish Journal January 6, 2011

The first African-American female rabbi will leave her congregation this summer. Rabbi Alysa Stanton\’s contract with Congregation Bayt Shalom in Greenville, S.C., was not renewed, the Forward reported Thursday. \”We felt Rabbi Stanton has brought a lot of gifts to the congregation, but we felt she wasn’t a good fit for the direction we’re going,” board president Samantha Pilot told the Forward. “I can tell you with certainty that race — I never heard that come up once during her tenure or now. It’s a non-issue.\”\n

N.Y. safety inspectors taking over kosher duties

Jewish Journal January 6, 2011

New York safety inspectors will be trained to do the work of kosher inspectors, after budget cuts depleted the state\’s kosher division. Rabbi Luzer Weiss, the director of the now defunct Kosher Division of the New York Department of Agriculture and Markets, will train the 85 inspectors to ensure that the proper disclosures are posted in kosher retail establishments, The New York Jewish Week reported. A 2004 change in the state’s kosher law prevents state inspectors from enforcing Orthodox standards of kashrut. According to the new law, kosher establishments must disclose the standards they use and under whose authority they operate, but are not required to adhere to Orthodox regulations.

White House confirms receipt of Pollard clemency letter

Jewish Journal January 6, 2011

President Obama has received a letter from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, requesting clemency for convicted spy-for-Israel Jonathan Pollard. \”I think it is important to underscore that Mr. Pollard was convicted of some of the most serious crimes that anybody can be charged (with),\” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters Wednesday “We have received the letter and will review it,” White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said. Neither spokesman said how long the review process would take and what steps were involved.

Rethink probe of groups, AJC urges Knesset

Jewish Journal January 6, 2011

The American Jewish Committee called on Israel\’s Knesset to reconsider its decision to form a parliamentary committee to investigate Israeli groups critical of the country\’s military. “The Knesset’s action today contravenes the democratic principles that are Israel’s greatest strength,” AJC Executive Director David Harris said in a statement released Wednesday. “Israel’s vibrant democracy not only can survive criticism, but it also thrives and is improved by it.” The initiative, proposed by the Yisrael Beiteinu Party, passed Wednesday by a vote of 47 to 1

Gender segregation still OK on Israeli buses, with caveats

Jewish Journal January 6, 2011

Gender segregation on Israeli public buses may continue as long as passengers agree, the country\’s Supreme Court ruled. The practice will still be allowed on dozens of bus lines serving the haredi Orthodox community, known as Mehadrin lines, as long as passengers are not coerced and no violence erupts, according to the ruling issued Thursday. The finding adopted recommendations made last year by a Transportation Ministry committee which found that the Mehadrin lines should be allowed as long as the segregation was voluntary and women were not forced to sit in the back of the bus, Haaretz reported. The state had accepted the finding. The legal opinion was in response to a lawsuit filed in 2007 by a group of women and the Israel Religious Action Center, an organization of Israel\’s Reform, or Progressive, movement.

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