San Diego Jewish World~August 7, 2007--issue 99

Letter from Jerusalem
By Ira Sharkansky

Israeli media frenzied over negotiations about
Palestinian state, Holocaust pensioners

JERUSALEM—This is one of those weeks when it is not easy living with the Israeli media.

However, the big stories may blow over with no impact. Currently there is a lot of August hot air and many excitable Jews, but we are likely to survive.

One wrenching set of headlines concerns meetings with the Palestinians. Reports are that the prime minister looks with favor on an idea being put forth by President Shimon Peres, to cede the equivalent of the whole West Bank to the Palestinians for their state. This may be Olmert's last chance to do something big enough that will save him from criminal investigations concerned with actions when in prior offices, and from the pressure to resign that might come from the commission investigating last year's war in Lebanon.

No surprise about Peres. The concern that he would do something like this with the presidency was the major reason for choosing a sex offender instead of him at the last presidential election, and for expressing concern about him this time. About the only manifestation of his New Middle East with economic cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians is a world class auto theft operation. They disappear into the West Bank, and used parts come back to Israeli repair shops.

There are several reasons to believe that the deal will not work out as some would like.

The Palestinians have not yet budged on the issue of refugees from 1948 and 1967, which is the reddest of red flags for just about all Israelis.
What to do with the 11,000 (more or less) Palestinian security prisoners, many with Israeli blood on their hands, and sentenced to long terms by Israeli courts? One of them, sentenced to four consecutive life sentences for involvement in murder, is the favorite candidate of many Palestinians to be their next prime minister. Letting him go will not be easy.
How many Jewish settlements would have to be withdrawn, to the dismay of how many settlers and their many more supporters in Israel?
How much weight will be put on the scale by the family members of the 1,100 Israelis killed by Palestinians since Yassir Arafat was offered a similar deal in 2000?
What part of Jerusalem will be given to the Palestinian state? Will the Palestinian residents of those neighborhoods want to become citizens of the new entity, perhaps at the cost of their health insurance and other benefits they currently receive from Israel?
Who will get control over what parts of what Jews call the Temple Mount and Muslims call Haram esh Sharif or Noble Sanctuary? Despite the fact that most Israelis are not religious and do not visit this place, the issue was one of the deal breakers in 2000.
And what about Hamas, defined as beyond the pale by Israel and numerous western governments, now even by the Norwegian foreign minister? Currently Hamas controls Gaza, and may get the West Bank if Fatah does not act with somewhat more effectiveness than it did in Gaza.
Olmert is pressing the Fatah government to abandon Hamas (and Gaza?). If Fatah seeks an accommodation with Hamas, there may be no discussions with Israel.
But religious Palestinians, including Muslim religious leaders in Israel and at least one member of the Knesset, are urging Fatah to seek an accommodation with Hamas. Egypt, other Arab governments, and the Russians are pushing for a Fatah-Hamas accommodation. If that happens, it would not be the first time that outsiders, seeking their own benefits in local politics or international relations, have scuttled a deal between Israel and one of its neighbors.

There is so much to worry about, and so much to do. Probably too much to do. Maybe we should relax and avoid the media for the next week or two.

There is another issue roiling the public: "Holocaust survivors" are claiming that Israel is denying them compensation in their last years. We have had demonstrations, marches, yellow stars, and assertions that Olmert is like Hitler.

Once the issue of the Holocaust appears, one has to be wary of criticism. Large majorities have answered polls saying that the survivors are completely in the right. Media personalities make it clear that the government is in the hands of cruel misers.

Friends and family members have shown a bit of temper when I have raised questions about details and justice. But I spent more than 40 years dealing with public administration. The devil is usually in the details. And sensitive issues draw demagogues.

In this case, the notion of "Holocaust survivor" is problematic. The aged and infirm leaders of these demonstrations speak decent Hebrew and display the tattoos put on their arms by the Nazis. But depending largely when they arrived in Israel, they may already be receiving special payments because of their status. Those who were Germans are likely to have received considerable sums, as well as life-long monthly pensions, from the German government.

As far as one can determine in this complicated matter with numerous categories of "survivors" and "entitlements" enacted over the years, the people who are really short of support are aged immigrants who came in the last 15 years from the former Soviet Union and elsewhere in eastern Europe. Their former governments refused to deal with the West Germans on issues of compensation. They asserted that the West Germans were the successors of the Nazis supported by the capitalist West. In Israel these immigrants receive modest payments given to aged immigrants who did not work in Israel long enough to build up credit in National Insurance. Now they are being swept into the group of "Holocaust survivors" on the basis of having lived in countries that were occupied in part by Nazi forces.

Some of them fled the Nazis. Some of them lived in areas not occupied. Including them in the category of Holocaust supporters increases the population of those claiming hardship, and has the support of a political party (Israel Our Home) heavily dependent on the leadership and votes of Russian immigrants. Benyamin Netanyahu, who usually prides himself on reducing welfare payments when he was Minister of Finance, and a leading possibility to succeed Olmert as prime minister, is giving his support to the campaign of the Holocaust survivors.

Commentators are beginning to see the complexities and the politics in this issue. It is hard to imagine that it will disappear before the government offers increased payments to the whole spectrum of "survivors." Unless of course, even more emotional headlines fall upon us before the politicians can decide on the details.

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Christian mosaic found in ancient Jewish town

TIBERIAS, Israel (Press Release)—In the Israel Antiquities Authority’s excavations in Tiberias a Byzantine church was exposed that is paved with polychrome mosaics decorated with geometric patterns and dedicatory inscriptions. Appearing in one of the inscriptions is the text: “Our Lord, protect the soul of your servant…” (Our Lord=Jesus). The discovery, which was uncovered in the heart of the ancient Jewish city, refutes the theory that the Jews of Tiberias prevented the Christians from establishing a church in the middle of their neighborhood.

Photo: Israel Antiquities Authority

In excavations that were carried out by the Antiquities Authority in Tiberias impressive and unique finds were uncovered that shed light on the history of the ancient city. The excavations were conducted over the course of the last three months at the request of Mekorot, as part of a project that involves the installation of a sewage pipeline and the transfer of the waste water treatment facility from Tiberias to the southern part of the Sea of Galilee.

The finds that were exposed date from the founding of Tiberias in the first century CE until the eleventh century, when the city was abandoned due to an earthquake, wars and dire economic and security conditions. In the lower part of the city, a Byzantine church (from the fourth-fifth centuries CE) was exposed that is paved with magnificent polychrome mosaics decorated with geometric patterns and crosses. Three dedicatory inscriptions written in ancient Greek are incorporated in the mosaics. In one of the inscriptions, which were deciphered by Dr. Leah Di Signi of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, is the line: “Our Lord, protect the soul of your servant…” (Our Lord=Jesus).

One of the mosaics is adorned with a medallion in which there is a large cross flanked by the letters alpha and omega, which are one of the monograms for Jesus (alpha to omega meaning from A to Z in Greek). The church’s remains were discovered adjacent to ancient public buildings among them a basilica, bathhouse, streets and shops that were exposed at the site in the past. Dr. Moshe Hartal and Edna Amos, the directors of the excavation on behalf of the Antiquities Authority, stated that this is the most ancient church to be uncovered in Tiberias and the only one that has been found in the center of the city. According to Dr. Hartal, from the year 427 CE the Church issued a decree prohibiting the placement of crosses in mosaic floors in order to prevent them from being stepped on. “The presence of so many crosses in the floors of the church that was exposed here thus confirms the church dates to the period prior to the ban” he said.

In addition, the remains of a Jewish neighborhood that dates to the tenth-eleventh centuries were discovered in the excavations. These remains extend up to the foot of the cliff in the high part of the city, in an area that was probably residential in nature. “The discovery of the remains of the church in the middle of the ancient city, like that of the Jewish neighborhood and the magnificent city that existed in Tiberias more than one thousand years ago, greatly contributes to our understanding of the town planning, its scope and it structures," archaeologists on behalf of the Antiquities Authority said. The discovery of the church in the heart of the Jewish quarter disproves the theory that the Jews prevented the Christians from establishing prayer halls in the middle of the city”, they added.

In the Holiday Inn hotel’s parking lot, in the southern part of the excavation, buildings were uncovered that were replete with a wealth of impressive ceramic vessels that date to the Early Islamic period (eighth-eleventh centuries CE) and installations for the manufacture of glass and pottery vessels. These finds show that in this period the settlement of Hammat was included within the domain of the city of Tiberias, which had grown and expanded beyond the Byzantine city walls that had previously separated it from Hammat. In addition a settlement was discovered that dates to the Early Bronze Age (from 5,000 years ago) thereby attesting to the fact that the region of Tiberias was inhabited in periods earlier than those mentioned in the historical sources.

The preceding story by the Israel Antiquities Authority was distributed by Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The Peres Diary

Peres praises joint water projects with India

JERUSALEM (Press Release)—“India is prepared to upscale its scientific and technological relations with Israel”

This is what the Minister of Industry of India, Dr.Ashwani Kumar, said to the President of Israel, Mr. Shimon Peres in a meeting, which they held Monday, August 6m in the Residence of the President in Jerusalem.

The Indian Minister thanked the President on behalf of his people for his contribution to the relations between India and Israel and said that the President is the father of the special relations between the two countries.

President Peres praised the joint activities taking place in the field of science and said that the most effective cooperation between the two countries is in the development of advanced water technology, in the research and development of alternative sources of energy, in the organization of public health and in the development of advanced medical equipment.

“Together we can attain outstanding achievements for the benefit of both peoples and the entire world,” said the President.

The Minister from India said that his country is in fact promoting these issues jointly with Israel.

The office of Israel's President Shimon from time to time releases accounts of his official activities. We have been publishing them as they are made available.

. .

Europe

Anti-Semites deface Jewish cemetery in Poland

CZESTECHOWA, Poland (Press Release)—Hundreds of gravestones in the Polish Jewish cemetery here have been desecrated and daubed with anti-Semitic graffiti.

The Polish Jewish community was told about the desecration on Sunday after local police in the southern Polish town discovered the vandalism. Town authorities have said that they would clean up the graves. Swastikas, skinhead symbols and a Star of David in a noose were among the graffiti found on the tombstones.

There are 4,500 graves in the cemetery, which dates back to the late 18th century and is one of the biggest Jewish cemeteries in Poland. Some 40,000 Jews, one-third of the city's population, lived in Czestochowa before the Holocaust. About 100 Jews now live there today.

The preceding story was provided by the World Jewish Congress

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Dear Readers,

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Adventures in Cruising—Royal Caribbean's Monarch of the Seas

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Thanks to the Ford family of Agoura, California, for sharing their photos of their family reunion weekend cruise

United States of America

Holocaust historian Hilberg dies at 81

WILLISTON, Vermont (Press Release)—The Jewish-American historian Raul Hilberg, one of the world's most renowned Holocaust scholars and author of The Destruction of the European Jews, died Augut 4 at the age of 81. The Destruction of the European Jews was first published In 1961 and is widely seen as the seminal study of the Nazis' extermination of Jews during World War II. Born in 1926 in Vienna, Hilberg fled his native Austria with his parents after Nazi Germany annexed the country in 1938, and the family settled in the United States in 1939. Conscripted into the US army at the age of 18, he returned to Europe to fight with US troops until 1945.

Back in the United States, after studies in political science and law, he joined the ‘War Documentation Project’, a body charged with analyzing wartime German documents seized by the US armed forces. It was while working on the project that he discovered Hitler's private library packed away in crates and stored in Munich. The experience inspired him to investigate any historical records that might shed light on the build up to the Holocaust. "Once the Nuremberg Trials were over and a few people judged guilty, no one wanted to talk about it. But I was driven by a desire to know what happened," Hilberg said.

Step by step, he pieced together the administrative, bureaucratic and industrial aspects of the genocide, presenting his findings as a doctoral thesis in 1955. The work initially met with suspicion in the Jewish community due to its heavy reliance on German sources and critical assessment of the Jewish population's reaction to Nazi persecution. A second, reworked edition was published in 1985 in the United States, and a third in 2003, with new material drawn from Soviet archives made available after the end of the Cold War. By the 1990s, Hilberg had achieved international acclaim as the author of more than a dozen works on the Holocaust.

The preceding obituary was provided by the World Jewish Congress

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State Department self-interviews on Middle East

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release)—State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack on Monday interviewed Under Secretary of State Nick Burns on his upcoming trip to the Middle East. Here is a transcript provided by the State Department:

QUESTION: Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nick Burns, welcome. Thank you for joining us.

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Thank you very much, Sean. Pleasure to be with you.

QUESTION: Good. I wanted to start off talking about an upcoming trip that you're going to make to the Middle East. You're going to be traveling to Israel, Egypt, as well as to the Gulf states to talk about our aid package that we recently announced. Talk a little bit about your mission and what you hope to accomplish.

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: We'll be going out to the Middle East at some point this month basically to strengthen our security relations with our friends in the Middle East. It's now, I think without any question, the most vital area for the United States, what happens in the Middle East, in Iraq certainly, where we have 160,000 troops in Iran and we're trying to prevent the Iranians from becoming a nuclear weapons power.

On the Israeli-Palestinian front, we want to make inroads towards peace. So this is the vital area for us and we've got friends in the region that need to bolster their defenses against -- well, against instability, against terrorism, and against a future possible threat from Iran. And so we have announced a long-term program of military aid to Israel which continues the aid that we've been giving to Israel for the better part of three decades.

QUESTION: Is that about 30 billion?

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: $30 billion over 10 years. We'll be giving Egypt about $13 billion over 10 years. We've been working with the Egyptians since the Camp David accords of 1979 to help bolster their defense. And we have had a military relationship with Saudi Arabia and with the other states in the Gulf, Kuwait and Oman and United Arab Emirates and Bahrain and Qatar to try to help bolster their coastal defenses and to give them the kind of defensive assistance they need. So it's a big move by the United States to say that we're still the strongest power in the region. We want to take care of our friends. We want that to be a force for stability and peace and we think the best way to do that is to keep our friends strong from any kind of possible future aggression. (Jump to continuation)

State Department agrees to revise its background
materials on Germany to better reflect Holocaust

LOS ANGELES (Press Release)—The Simon Wiesenthal Center welcomed the decision by the U.S. State Department to revise its website only hours after an official Wiesenthal Center protest. The offensive portion of the website minimizes Germany’s role in the murder of six million Jews during the Holocaust.

A letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice by Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder and dean of the Center, called attention to a section of the “Background Notes” for the Federal Republic of Germany which only contains a general reference to the crime of genocide and the establishment of concentration camps, but omits the mention of the principal victims of the Holocaust and that the real purpose of the camps was to eliminate Europe’s Jews.

Hier also pointed out that was most offensive was that for other countries such as the Sudan, Rwanda and Cambodia where genocides were committed, their “Background Notes” go into specific details regarding the number of victims.

"We intend to change the language in order to more accurately reflect historical facts," said J. Christian Kennedy, State Department special envoy for Holocaust issues.

The letter from Rabbi Hier stated, in part, “In our time when antisemitism and Holocaust revisionism are rampant throughout the world and haters like Ahmadinejad and Khaled Meshaal either deny the veracity of the Holocaust or claims its numbers are exaggerated, the official website of the United States State Department should emphasize and not minimized the centrality of the Holocaust.” Hier urged Secretary Rice to “correct this distortion and order a redraft of the section on Germany.”

The “Background Note” for Germany can be seen at:
www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3997.htm

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in the United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, and the Council of Europe.

The preceding story was provided by the Simon Wiesenthal Center

Weiner renews call for clemency for Pollard

NEW YORK, N.Y.– Rep. Anthony Weiner (Democrat, New York) once again renewed his call for clemency in the case of Jonathan Pollard, who is serving a life sentence for passing information to Israel. Pollard, who celebrates his 53^rd birthday this week, has been imprisoned for longer than any other person convicted of espionage on behalf of a U.S. ally.

In 1985, Pollard was charged with passing classified information to the Israeli government. He cooperated with investigators, admitted his wrong doing, and was sentenced to life in prison. He has served 22 years in federal prison.

On the occasion of Pollard’s birthday, and for the 10th consecutive year, Rep. Weiner called upon the President to grant clemency in the case.

"Mr. Pollard did commit a serious crime and he deserved to be punished for his action,” said Rep. Weiner “However, after reviewing the facts of the case and receiving multiple classified briefings on this matter, I believe that he has served a sentence that far exceeds the appropriate term for the crime he has committed.”

The full text of the letter from Rep. Weiner to President George W. Bush follows:

August 7, 2007

Honorable George W. Bush

President

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear President Bush:

I write to request that you grant clemency to Jonathan Pollard.

Friday is Mr. Pollard’s 53^rd birthday. This is the 22^nd year he has celebrated his birthday in prison. No other person convicted of espionage on behalf of a United States ally has ever been imprisoned for so long.

Mr. Pollard has admitted he broke U.S. laws. He has expressed sorrow for what he did. Mr. Pollard cooperated fully with the investigation into his activities and he waived his right to a jury trial. He has served more than enough time for the crime of passing information to an ally.

The life sentence which Jonathan Pollard is now serving is not a reflection of the severity of the crimes he committed, but rather the result of past ineffective counsel and a damage assessment report written by an intelligence community that was badly shaken by unrelated espionage cases earlier that year. In a review of Mr. Pollard’s case, Former federal Judge George Leighton wrote, “[t]he evidence shows that the government engaged in serious misconduct that went unchecked by an ineffective defense counsel, Richard Hibey, and... these constitutional violations severely prejudiced Mr. Pollard, and resulted in his sentence of life in prison.”

Mr. Pollard did commit a terrible crime and he deserved to be punished for his action. However, after reviewing the facts of the case and receiving multiple classified briefings on this matter, I believe that he has served a sentence that far exceeds the appropriate term for the crimes he has committed. Mr. President, the time has come to free Jonathan Pollard. As he celebrates his 53^rd birthday in jail, I respectfully urge you to grant him clemency and send him home to Israel.

Thank you for your consideration of this matter.

Congressman Anthony D. Weiner

The preceding story was provided by the office of Congressman Anthony Weiner

The Jewish Grapevine

AROUND THE TOWN—Will Carless of the Voice of San Diego has a fairly comprehensive story about Harry Rady's decision to stockpile weapons after his parents, philanthropists Ernest and Evelyn Rady, were victimized by a home invasion in February. Unfortunately for the younger Rady, he imported weapons from Arizona that were illegal in California, resulting in charges being brought against him and his guilty plea in federal court. Now the billionaire's son is facing a year in jail.

BUSINESS BRIEFS—Whatever local French import Mikael Besnainou does he likes to do with a flair, so attendees at an August 23 Jewish American Chamber of Commerce mixer are requested to come dressed in their summer whites to the 7-10p.m. affair at Witherby, 5th and Market. And why? The JACC President has decided that's what will look best for photos when guests arrive for the red carpet entrance. Pourquoi pas?

CONGREGATIONAL CURRENTS—Tifereth Israel Synagogue recently chopped down some trees on its grounds, stacking the firewood on its lower parking lot near the corner of Cowles Mountain Boulevard and Tommy Drive. Anyone who wants free firewood is welcome to help himself or herself.

ISRAEL COVERAGE—The San Diego Union-Tribune ran an Associated Press story today by Karen Laub in which the meeting in Jericho between Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was seen as important for its symbolism (Abbas hosting Olmert) as for the substance of the preliminary discussions. The European Jewish Congress, on its website, has a summary of how Israeli Hebrew-language newspapers covered the meeting.

LAW AND ORDER—District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis will be a guest speaker at 8 p.m, Tuesday evening, August 28 at a presentation sponsored by the Republican Jewish Coalition at Congregation Adat Yeshurun. Among her topics: ensuring communal and personal security during the upcoming High Holidays. She will be accompanied by Undersheriff Bill Gore, former special agent in charge for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

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             Greater San Diego Area

A RABBI AND A PRIEST—At left, Assistant Rabbi Jeff Brown reads a passage from Torah on the
bimah of Temple Solel in Cardiff by the Sea. At right, Father Dennis McManus lectures on the
Holocaust to his fellow Catholic educators.   Photos courtesy of the Anti-Defamation League

Intensive ADL program teaches Holocaust to Catholics

CARDIFF BY THE SEA, California (Press Release)—Forty-four Catholic educators from throughout San Diego County recently joined together for three days to participate in the Anti-Defamation League’s Bearing Witness™ Institute, a seminar about Holocaust education and anti-Semitism. The Bearing Witness™ Summer Institute was provided through a partnership between the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Catholic Diocese of San Diego and in coordination with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

The program began at Temple Solel in Cardiff-by-the-Sea where the participants learned about the history of anti-Semitism. One participant reflected, “Of course I knew about the Holocaust. I had no idea how this hatred started and how it spread throughout 2000 years. Thank you for opening my eyes.”

Led by Temple Solel’s Assistant Rabbi Jeff Brown, the participants toured the Reform congregation’s contemporary campus and sanctuary and experienced a model Shabbat dinner. Local Holocaust survivors were invited to the dinner, at which they engaged in conversations with the Catholic educators, who were touched and inspired by their stories.

Over the three day seminar, Rabbi Gary Bretton-Granatoor and Father Dennis McManus guided the participants through the historical relationship between the Catholic Church and Judaism, as well as various aspects of Jewish symbolism and theology. Rabbi Bretton-Granatoor is the ADL’s National Education Division Director, and Father Dennis McManus is an Associate Professor of Theology at Georgetown University.

Father McManus and Rabbi Bretton-Granatoor presented a joint reading of the New Testament at St. Mary Magdalene Church, which reviewed the various religious texts from both a Catholic and Jewish perspective, and exemplified the Jewish influence in the New Testament. Participants were encouraged to acknowledge and impart the Jewish overtones found in the New Testament to their students as an integral part of Jesus’ life. One educator stated, “It’s very enlightening to be able to read the scripture in a different context--Jewish/Judaic context. It’s very important that all Catholics are able to do this to make the scripture more meaningful and understandable.”

Steven Laaperi, diocese director of schools, commented: “The program fosters a partnership, a sense of understanding, and a connectedness between the Catholic-Jewish communities. My experiences in attending the Bearing Witness program far exceeded my expectations and the goals established by the Anti-Defamation League.”

On the final day of the seminar, at Congregation Beth Israel in San Diego, participants attended a detailed historical presentation by Paul Wieser, the Director of the ADL Braun Holocaust Institute on the History of the Holocaust. A participant reflected, “This altered my understanding by learning that the Holocaust started as a slow progression.”

Kim Klett, a Regional Fellow for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, presented guidelines for teaching the Holocaust, as well as methodologies and problem solving techniques. Another Catholic educator indicated, “I used to see anti-Semitism as part of history only. Judaism was seen as a root of my faith. But, now I see the importance of studying, reading and incorporating Judaism, anti-Semitism and the Holocaust in the classroom.”

Rick Barton, the ADL’s National Chairman for Leadership, lectured on Contemporary Anti-Semitism. Barton discussed the views that various Americans, Europeans, and Middle East society hold towards Jews, and shared many fascinating statistics about the different nationalities and educational backgrounds of anti-Semitic individuals. One participant reasoned, “Before the seminar, I had the question, ‘Why anti-Semitism and why such a big deal now?’ I never before thought that anti-Semitism still exists and now I understand why we are here.” Another educator echoed, “Mr. Barton’s presentation made me realize that the issues surrounding the Jewish community are not over.”

As the program came to an end, Reverend Monsignor Mikulanis, Vicar for Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Affairs of the Catholic Diocese of San Diego, led a powerful concluding prayer that left participants with hope and inspiration.

The dedication of the ADL Bearing Witness™ Committee Chair, Linda Goldstein, and Chair of the Education Committee, Elaine Feuer-Barton, combined with the efforts of the ADL staff and Marcie Denberg-Serra, Assistant Director of Education, produced a high quality seminar that demonstrated the ADL’s mission to “secure justice and fair treatment for all”.

The willingness of the participants to engage in personal introspection, as well as their reception of the speakers and materials caused an influx of learning and new perspectives throughout the seminar. An inspired participant weighed the personal significance of the program, “My knowledge will be passed on to all who I encounter. Not just in a professional setting. It has also encouraged me to speak out about the Holocaust and to prevent or stop something similar from happening in the future.”

Elaine Feuer-Barton, Chair of the ADL Education Committee stated "Each year that we have presented the Bearing Witness™ program in San Diego, I have the privilege of meeting wonderful Catholic educators and administrators. It is heartwarming to see the eagerness with which they embrace their new knowledge of Judaism and their resolve to share all that they have learned with their students."

Linda Goldstein, Chair of the Bearing Witness™ Committee recapitulates the significance of the program, “I am so passionate about the value and quality of the Bearing Witness™ Institute that I have dedicated four years of volunteer service to this amazing program. I have personally attended each of the three institutes that have been offered in San Diego. Every year I have been profoundly impacted by the depth of content and caliber of the theologians who are program presenters. It is a deep, life altering experience.” The essence of the program and its far reaching results elucidates the work of the Anti-Defamation League as it fosters collaboration and understanding between different religions in the modern world.

To learn more about the Bearing Witness™ Institute and Education Department of the San Diego Anti-Defamation League, contact Marcie Denberg Serra at (619) 293-3770 or e-mail mdenberg@adl.org. Visit www.adl.org/education for additional information.

The preceding story was provided by the Anti-Defamation League

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Ner Tamid Synagogue will salute JWV Aug. 11

POWAY, California (Press Release)—Ner Tamid Synagogue, Poway, will offer a special “Salute to Jewish War Veterans” at Sabbath morning services on Saturday, August 11, at 9:30 a.m.

Dr. Josef Seller, Commander of the Jewish War Veterans North County Post, will speak about the history and development of JWV. Dr. Lou Townes, a member of Post 385, will act as cantor for the service. The community, past and present service personnel and grateful citizens are invited to attend.

Jewish War Veterans of the United States was founded in 1896 by 63 Jewish Civil War veterans. Over the past 110 years, JWV service, patriotic and political programs have supported needs and causes related to troops and veterans in all branches of the armed forces.

Ner Tamid Synagogue, an affiliate of United Synagogue for Conservative Judaism, is located at 15318 Pomerado Road, Poway. For further information, call (858) 513-8330.

The preceding story was provided by Ner Tamid Synagogue

               Sports


        News from the
Israel Baseball League

Netanya's Kerfeld out-threw Thew of Ra'anana

By Nathaniel Edelstein

PETACH TIKVA (Press Release)—The Netanya Tigers overtook fourth place by a half-game over the Ra'anana Express with a 4-2 victory at Yarkon Field in the Baptist Village today

Netanya's Mike Kerfeld managed to out-pitch an impressive John Thew by throwing a complete game and allowing two runs on five hits with six strikeouts and two walks.

Two of the four runs scored on Thew were unearned, but the Tigers offense also did its part as designated hitter Justin Prinstein went 2-for-2 with two RBI. First baseman Ty Eriksen and centerfielder Bryan Pinchuk added a double apiece to give Netanya two wins in a row.

At Sportek in Tel Aviv, meanwhile, the third-place Modi'in Miracle defeated the second-place Tel Aviv Lightning in the first game of a doubleheader, winning 5-0.

Australian lefty Matt Bennett improved to 6-1 with a dominating complete-game shutout, giving up six hits while striking out five and walking none. The Tel Aviv defense committed four errors that lead to two Modi'in runs, but the Miracle offense provided Bennett with some support as well. Fellow Australian Moko Moanaroa went 2-for-4 with an RBI-double as all but two Modi'in players collected a hit.

Tel Aviv came back in the second game to beat the Miracle 5-1 behind the arm of San Francisco, California, native Aaron Pribble. The left-hander collected his seventh victory with a complete game, allowing one run on seven hits with seven strikeouts and a walk.

Seven Lightning starters had at least one hit as leftfielder Matt Brill led the way with two hits, two RBI, and a run scored.

At Kibbutz Gezer, the first-place Bet Shemesh Blue Sox handed the last-place Petach Tikva Pioneers their ninth straight loss, 7-4. The Sox went up 7-0 after three innings with the help of a three-run homer from catcher Scott Jarmakowicz, who also had a double and two runs scored on the day. Sean Slaughter, Gregg Raymundo, and Ben Pincus also contributed an RBI apiece.

The Pioneers threatened in the fifth inning when centerfielder Ben Dashefsky of New York launched a three-run homer and got one more run on a bases-loaded walk. But Petach Tikva couldn't catch Bet Shemesh and now drops 19 games out of first place.

Summaries:
                         1   2   3   4   5   6   7   R   H   E
Netanya             2   0   2   0   1   0   0    4   6    0
Ra'anana            0   1   0   0   0   1   0    2   5    1
W: Mike Kerfeld (2-3); L: John Thew (2-4); HR: None

Bet Shemesh's Eric Holtz pitching to Petach Tikva shortstop Adam Goldman today.
Photo by Nathaniel Edelstein

                        1   2   3   4   5   6   7   R   H   E
Modi'in            2   1   0   0   2   0   0    5   8   2
Tel Aviv          0   0   0   0   0   0   0    0    6   4
W: Matt Bennett (6-1); L: Daniel Kaufman (3-3); HR: None

                       1   2   3   4   5   6   7   R   H   E
Modi'in            0   0   1   0   0   0   0   1    7    2
Tel Aviv          0   0   0   2   1   2   x   5    7   0
W: Aaron Pribble (7-2); L: Craig Eagle (3-4); HR: None

                        1   2   3   4   5   6   7   R   H   E
Petach Tikva    0   0   0   0   4   0   0   4    3   1
Bet Shemesh    3   2   2   0   0   0   x   7    6   1
W: Scott Perlman (2-2); L: Alper Ulutas (2-3); HR: Scott Jarmakowicz
(5), Ben Dashefsky (2)

Standings:

Team                               W    L     %     GB
Bet Shemesh Blue Sox     25    9    .735     -
Tel Aviv Lightning           23   10   .697   1.5
Modi'in Miracle                20   14   .588   5.0
Netanya Tigers                 13   19   .406   11.0
Ra'anana Express            13   20   .394   11.5
Petach Tikva Pioneers       5    27   .156   19.0

Wednesday the Petach Tikva Pioneers and the Netanya Tigers play a doubleheader at Yarkon Field in Petach Tikva with the first game at 5 pm and the second at 8 pm. Also at 5 pm the Bet Shemesh Blue Sox take on the Modi'in Miracle at Kibbutz Gezer while the Tel Aviv Lightning host the Ra'anana Express at the Sportek in Tel Aviv.

The preceding story was provided by the Israel Baseball League

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Arts & Entertainment

El Viaje exhibit focuses on Latin Jewish artists

SAN DIEGO (Press Release) –An art exhibition, El Viaje, will celebrate Latin-born, Jewish artists who have made the journey from their native lands of Mexico, Panama, and Cuba to live and become part of the diverse San Diego arts community. This exceptional mixed media show, filled with color and context, will feature the art of Vivien Ressler, Becky Guttin, Claudie Oliver, Pepe Zyman, and Lizet Benrey.

It will be presented at the Gotthelf Art Gallery, part of the San Diego Center for Jewish Culture at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, Jacobs Family Campus, September 6 through October 26, 2007.

A free opening night reception for El Viaje will be held on September 6, at 8p.m. Artwork will be available for purchase, with proceeds benefiting the Gotthelf Art Gallery.

Vivien Ressler is a San Diego-based artist who works in mixed-media, watercolor, and acrylics. She was born in Havana, Cuba, and also lived in Caracas, Venezuela. She and her husband and son lived for eleven years in New York City, but moved to San Diego in 1989.   Ressler has a degree from Hunter College with a dual major in education and fine arts. In San Diego she established an independent studio and today her work can be found in many collections in the United States and abroad. Ressler first worked with watercolors and oil paints in the traditional way, but after a few years she tried acrylics and fell in love with the way she was able to apply colors directly to the canvas. This new sense of freedom has inspired her to experiment with ways to achieve different textures and transparencies.

Becky Guttin has participated in numerous exhibitions in a dozen countries and has been featured in twenty-four solo exhibitions in Mexico, the United States, and Israel. Her art is featured in thirty-six permanent collections, museums, public spaces, and private collections. Guttin has been a guest lecturer at biennales, conferences and universities; she has received art prizes and has participated in several residencies. She also volunteers at Scripps Hospital, Encinitas, where she leads art therapy workshops.

Claudie Oliver grew up in Panama, then moved with her family to Mexico City in 1959. Here she was exposed to a country with a very rich and diverse cultural and artistic environment. This led her to studies in biology, anthropology, archaeology, and art. In 1979 she immigrated to Los Angeles. The move was followed by extensive travels around the world and exposure to the history and art of Meso-American, African, Early European, and Asian cultures. Oliver’s artwork evolved and progressed into a Primitivist-Expressionist style where she strives to reveal, by excessive and exaggerated distortion of anatomy, the essence of human experience. In 2004 Oliver moved to San Diego with her husband. They live in Rancho Bernardo.

Photographer Pepe Zyman was born and raised in Mexico City, where he became an airline pilot for Mexicana Airlines. As an adolescent, the color, vibrancy, and diversity of his hometown caught his eye and provided a multitude of subjects. This is where he first developed his passion for photography. The move to San Diego with his family in 1982 provided an entirely different, yet equally stimulating environment of subjects, landscapes and experiences to capture on film. Zyman continues to develop his photographic skills, and finds inspiration and motivation every day in the world around him.

Born and raised in Mexico City, Lizet Benrey is the daughter of painter Shirley Chernitsky. Benrey developed her painting skills in childhood when she became acquainted with other family friends such as artists Jose Luis Cuevas, Carlos Nakatani, and Lucinda Urrusti, all of whom influenced her own creativity. She also credits print artists Bill Kelly-Brighton Press and Ron Pokrasso as important influences. Benrey’s work has been displayed in museums across the United States, Mexico, and Western and Eastern Europe. She has been the recipient of several art prizes and has successfully participated in various auctions. Currently she lives in San Diego. Her heritage has provided the roots of her North American experience, resulting in works that evoke a multi-cultural convergence through a rich exchange of shape, texture and color.

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             Story Continuations

State Department self-interview...
(Continued from above)

QUESTION: Let me go through each of the parts of this just briefly. With the Israeli aid package, this is, as I understand it, a slight increase over the individual --

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Yes.

QUESTION: -- annual aid levels that we have given the Israelis over the past decade.

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Yeah.

QUESTION: What are they going to be spending this money on? Is this for them to buy arms? Is this for them to spend it for budgetary -- or what are they going to use that money for?

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: The majority of it is going to be money that Israel uses to purchase military technology from the United States. And while they are the things that a modern state needs to provide for its defense, some of it will be money that will help subsidize efforts that the Israelis need to make to modernize their training and to keep their forces at an alert status, which is the kind of thing that all militaries have to deal with. So it's a bit of both. But the majority of it will be for purchases. And with the Gulf states and with Saudi Arabia as well, that is not money that we're giving them. This is money that they will use to purchase American military technology, so it's very much in our interest.

You know, we have been in the Gulf since Franklin Delano Roosevelt went there after the Yalta Conference in the spring of 1949 to start our initial relationship with King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia, the founder of modern Saudi Arabia. We have been working with these countries for decades. It's not as if we just decided --

QUESTION: Right.

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: -- we're going to put arms in the Middle East and into an already militarized area. We're trying to help our friends to maintain the peace and maintain stability and prevent any future aggression.

QUESTION: You know, with Egypt, there has been some criticism in the press that we are going to continue with the security assistance package while Egypt doesn't make as much progress as we have asked them to make on the democracy front. It's a criticism. How do we address that? What do you tell the Egyptians in terms of political reform and is there any linkage between this assistance and their democracies?

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Well, I think, Sean, you know, as in most relationships that we have around the world with countries, you know, you have a lot of important goals --

QUESTION: Right.

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: -- a lot of different initiatives in play. Some you can see the payoff in the short term and some in the long term. And in the case of Egypt, we have a profound stake in Egypt's stability. Egypt is a major Arab state and it's the largest and most powerful. In the case of Israel as is Jordan, we want to keep it that way. We also want Egypt to be able to deal with its own internal issues and want it to develop into a much more secure and vibrant democracy. And for that happen, of course, you know, we want to see them allow political freedom of expression. We want to see them develop into the kind of democracy that we see in other parts of the world. And that may take some time, but it's an important goal nonetheless.

And so it's not as if you just have one goal with the country --

QUESTION: Right.

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: -- or pursue one avenue with the country. We support Egypt militarily, but we also will challenge Egypt to become a better democracy, to become a country where people who stand up and call for political change aren't put in jail and that's very important that you have those -- you keep both in view and you balance the two. And I think we can -- I think we can manage to continue that effort with them and they know that we're doing this because we have a profound belief in the importance of their country.

QUESTION: One last one on this topic. We've seen the number $20 billion attached to the Gulf arms sales.

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Yeah.

QUESTION: Where do you think this is going to go? What's the order of magnitude we're talking about?

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: I don't know, because I kept telling the press when they called me about this $20 billion arms package, I don't know where you get the figure 20 billion, because we actually now have to go out and negotiate with the six Arab states with specific military technology that we choose to give to them and -- sell to them, I should say.

And we don't have a complete list of that yet. Things may drop off the list and things may be added. So I think it's important that the press understand we just don't know what the final number is going to be and we won't probably for a good five or six weeks. But when it -- when we put it together and once we notify Congress, then we'll make a public announcement and defend it as in the best interests of the United States.

QUESTION: I promised it was -- that was the last question, but I have one more on that topic. What sort of reaction have you got from the Congress?

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Well, I think Congress is doing what Congress should. Congress is asking lots of questions. And we told -- we've had informal briefings with Congress, but we haven't had a formal --

QUESTION: Right.

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: -- notification. And so I'd prefer to withhold comment. I think most members of Congress would too until they see the details. And then in our constitutional process, the Administration will go up to Congress and say, "Look, here is what we want to do, here is how we want to manage these long-term military assistance relationships, do you agree?"

And then we'll have a discussion with the Congress and we'll see where it goes. It's my hope that the Congress will decide what past congresses have decided and that is that in addition to our relationship with Israel, we have very important relations with the moderate Arab countries; the countries that are going to be critical to building a long-term peace with Israel, the countries that will be critical to sustaining a democratic Lebanon and to trying to help the Iraqi Government get on its feet and try to push back against Iranian attempts to destabilize their region. These are our friends.

QUESTION: Right.

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: They don't always look like us in terms of our democracy.

QUESTION: Right.

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: They don't always act like us. Sometimes we even disagree with them. But for the most part, they're countries that have the same interests that we do and you can't get along in the world without friends. These are our friends in the Arab world and so we need to be supportive of them. And I think that argument, Sean, is going to be, I hope, a convincing argument for the members of Congress.

QUESTION: Let me shift a little bit further east to a country that we don't consider a friend, Iran. President Ahmadi-Nejad recently said that they are going to continue with their nuclear programs, there's nothing we can do about it, that we might as well accept it as a fait accompli. Where do we stand now in the Security Council in terms of the next resolution?

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Well, you know, I think Iran's rather isolated. We've gone through a process where we offered to negotiate with the Iranians. We made a big offer. Secretary of State Rice said she'd be there. No American Secretary of State has had negotiations since the 1970s with Iran. It was a big offer; they turned us down. We said, okay, if you can't negotiate, we're going to have to raise the cost to you of your illegal, very unwise behavior of trying to develop a nuclear weapons capability; we're going to sanction you in the Security Council.

So we got together and by unanimous vote in the Council, that includes Russia and China -- in December, sanctions, in March of '07, this year, sanctions. And right now, we're working with the Russians and Chinese and others to develop a third Security Council resolution.

QUESTION: How do you -- there have been a number of news stories about Chinese -- new Chinese opposition to a Security Council resolution. How do you think that's going to go with the Chinese?

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Well, I think, you know, we don't have an identical policy that China -- the point of view with the Chinese. The Chinese have been less enthusiastic to push forward the sanctions in general than we and the Europeans and even the Russians have. What we have said to the Chinese is this: We need to speak with one voice. And if a country is out there, a big country, a powerful country like Iran seeking a nuclear weapons capability against the will of everybody else in the international system, it's your job, China, to help us push back against the Iranians.

And so I assume that the Chinese will come around and I assume that China will support this, and then after a lot of discussion, sometimes disagreement. And it's important because if you look around the world, Iran has very few friends. Who is sticking up for Iran these days? Cuba, Venezuela, Belarus, Syria. That's just a gang of four; that's quite a motley crew.

Who is opposing Iran? All of the leaders of the Third World who were part of the nonaligned movement, you know, for decades with Iran: India and Egypt and Indonesia, South Africa, Nigeria and Brazil. They're all voting against Iran and implementing sanctions against Iran. That tells you something. This is not a disagreement between the United States and Iran; it's really the world and Iran. And so we want to keep that international unity on this issue and it's very important to us.

QUESTION: There's been a lot of talk recently over the past couple of weeks about this engagement between the IAEA and Iran. Put us inside the room there. How can you describe the --

Well --

QUESTION: -- I know you're not in the room.

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: I'm not in the room in the meeting.

QUESTION: Right.

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Let's make that clear.

QUESTION: Right.

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: But --

QUESTION: Didn't want to imply that.

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: This extraordinary situation where, for the last couple of years, the International Atomic Energy Agency, which is a watchdog group of the United Nations which tries to keep countries from becoming a nuclear weapons power, they've been asking Iran formally a serious question and the Iranians have been stiffing the IAEA. They've been refusing to answer.

So now the IAEA has sent a delegation to Iran to say, "Can you please answer these questions?" And so I feel this is the least the Iranians can do. It's a minimum of what they should have done two or three years ago. And the fact that they're not doing it now is quite objectionable. So I don't think we should give Iran a lot of points for having answered questions that they should have answered several years ago.

QUESTION: Right. The timing is rather curious --

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Yeah.

QUESTION: -- just before a UN Security Council resolution.

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: They're trying to deflect attention from the Security Council resolution to throw us off the scent and deny us the ability to move forward in the Council -- in the Security Council and that's not going to work.