Sabbath Bill Makes Waves
Israeli legislators are sparring over a bill that would change which establishments are allowed to open on the Sabbath. The bill would allow places of entertainment, such as theaters and cafes, to open on the Sabbath, while stores would shut down.
Lawmakers from Likud, Labor and religious parties back the bill. Meretz Party leader Yossi Sarid said he could not support a bill that would infringe on the standard of living of the secular public by shutting down large shopping centers that currently open on the Sabbath. But Israel’s chief Ashkenazi rabbi, Yisrael Meir Lau, said that both religious and state laws currently are being flouted.
Paris Jewish School Attacked
Sunday’s attack at the Ozar Hatorah school in Paris set one classroom on fire. In a separate incident, three people were arrested for allegedly throwing rocks at a nearby synagogue. No one was injured in either incident. The European Jewish Congress condemned both attacks.
Howard Squadron, 75, Dies
Howard Squadron, an influential lawyer, Jewish leader and civic giant, has died at age 75. A former president of the American Jewish Congress and chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Squadron died of melanoma Dec. 26 at his home in New York. Squadron rose to influence in New York public affairs, representing such heavyweights as media mogul Rupert Murdoch, chairing and resurrecting Manhattan arts institutions and blazing trails in the Jewish organizational world.
The senior partner at the New York law firm Squadron, Ellenoff, Plesen & Sheinfeld, he had the ear of presidents and opinion-makers.
Squadron is survived by his wife, Anne; his brother, Arthur; sons Bill, Richard, Seth and Daniel; daughter Diane; and eight grandchildren.
Contributions in Squadron’s memory may be made to the American Jewish Congress, City Center 55th Street Theater Foundation, International Center of Photography or the Squadron Program in Law, Media & Society at Yeshiva University’s Cardozo Law School.
Briefs courtesy of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
