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March 8, 2011

U.N. human rights chief Pillay must be held accountable

The favorite word of Navi Pillay, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, appears to be “accountability.” Yet with her own agency tainted by its longtime disregard of Libyan human rights violations — and by apologists for Libyan strongman Muammar Gadhafi occupying key U.N. positions — it’s high time for the high commissioner to prove that accountability begins at home.

Israel’s bad boy of cinema gets L.A. fest

“My country, Israel, is full of contradictions and volcanic eruptions. We fluctuate between extremes. One morning you say peace is at hand and all problems will be resolved. The next day, it’s the apocalypse.” The thumbnail description comes from Amos Gitai, who, more than any other Israeli filmmaker, has explored the emotional peaks and valleys of his people in more than 40 feature films and documentaries.

Valley Torah basketball wins 6AA title [UPDATE, video]

First-quarter scores of 17-5 are usually in Valley Torah’s favor. Not so against Bishop Diego of Santa Barbara, which seemed poised to end the No. 1-seeded Wolfpack’s winning season. But, as the adage goes, “It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.” The Wolfpack finished strong, becoming the first Orthodox Jewish school to win a California Interscholastic Federation championship after coming back from a 44-35 fourth-quarter deficit to take the Southern Section Division 6AA championship title, 58-51.

When good deals go bad

So your good deal has gone bad. Perhaps your house is underwater. Maybe that great job, with the promise of valuable stock options, not only has not produced options “in the money,” but has itself disappeared. It could be that your business, once lucrative and full of promise, has gone south, and now you are not sure how to extricate yourself from it, particularly since your partners are your parents. It’s possible you are regretting withdrawing retirement savings to invest in the next sure bet, as “guaranteed” by your (perhaps now former) best friend. What do you do now?

Jewish student suing UC Berkeley for civil rights infringement

A student has brought a federal civil rights lawsuit against the University of California, Berkeley, saying the university did not protect her from being attacked because she is Jewish. Lawyers for Jessica Felber, 20, say the case, filed in U.S. District Court in Oakland, Calif., on March 4 against the university, the regents of the University of California and their ranking officials, is the first of its kind.

The Maccabeats – Purim Song [VIDEO]

Buy this song on iTunes http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-purim-song-single/id423668845 Based on \”Raise Your Glass\” by P!nk Filmed, Directed and Edited by Uri Westrich. Production assistant – Rivie Shalev. The music in this and all Maccabeats songs are made entirely from their voices and mouths.

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More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.