. .  

  Field trip right on target for cancer patient

PETACH TIKVAH, Israel (Press Release)—For many Israelis, service in the Israel Defense Forces is the ultimate test of manhood.  Like his peers, Yonatan, a teenager from Jerusalem, was eager to join the army.  But tragedy struck, and instead of defending his country, Yonatan is today battling cancer. 

At age 20, he is a severely ill young man waiting desperately for a bone marrow transplant.  The only time he leaves home is to go to the hospital.  The staff of Oranit, Ezer Mizion's Guest Home for Children with Cancer, has attempted to involve Yonatan in some of the activities it sponsors for sick youngsters, but he has refused to take part, As the cancer has taken over his physical life, depression has clouded his emotional being.

In keeping with its motto of Their Challenges…Our Mission, Ezer Mizion did not give up. The solution came when Yonaton’s mother called Yumi Dzialowsky, a senior member of the Oranit staff.  "The only thing that might possibly get Yonatan to leave his bed is to take him to a shooting range," she suggested.  "He was so much looking forward to joining the army.  This might simulate the army experience. But the suggestion has to come from you, not from me." 

Yumi initiated contact with Yonatan, who for the first time showed interest in what he had to say.  "I'm taking you to a shooting range tomorrow," Yumi stated.  "Be ready at 9 o clock."   Due to his weakened condition, Yonatan needed to be transported in an ambulance. Ezer Mizion was not daunted. Yumi simply contacted Ezer Mizion’s Ambulance Division and explained the situation. A professionally outfitted ambulance with a driver experienced in the needs of the ill was at Yonaton’s doorstep the next morning, destination: a shooting range in Netanya.  The young man spent close to two blissful hours shooting with live ammunition.  "He did better than I did," said Yumi.  "He hit all the targets and was ecstatic."  Afterwards the two enjoyed a delicious dinner in an elegant restaurant in the city. 

Yonatan's mom called Yumi the next day. "He was a different person when he returned," she exulted.  "You can not imagine what this did for him.  For the first time in a very long while, he showed some hope and interest in the future."

 The preceding story was provided by Ezer Mizion

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  U.S. Hispanic leaders on AIPAC tour of Israel

JERUSALEM (Press Release)—More than a dozen Hispanic American leaders are taking part in an Israel mission sponsored by AIPAC's educational foundation.

Trip participants include state and local officials and their staff, board members of national Hispanic organizations, Hispanic chamber board members and community activists. The trip was arranged to help these key leaders further understand Israel's importance to the United States.

During their time in Israel, participants will hear from Israeli security and political analysts, hold briefings at the Knesset, tour holy sites in Jerusalem and around the Sea of Galilee and speak with a number of Palestinians.

The travelers will also enjoy strategic tours of Jerusalem and Israel's northern border. The delegation will return to the United States with a broad understanding of Israel's challenges, including threats posed by Iran, Syria and Palestinian terrorism.

The preceding story was provided by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee

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Europe

Hitler privately listened to Jewish musicians

MOSCOW—Adolf Hitler’s private record collection reportedly included works by Jewish and Russian composers and artists who were branded by himself and his fellow Nazis as "subhuman."

A recently discovered record collection of the German dictator included a Tchaikovsky violin concerto featuring the Jewish violinist Bronislaw Huberman, who fled from Vienna in 1937 and was labeled as an enemy of the Third Reich.

Music by other Russian composers such as Borodin and Rachmaninoff was also found in Hitler's record collection, which was discovered by Lev Bezymensky, a Soviet intelligence officer who had been ordered to search Hitler’s Chancellery after Berlin fell to the allies in 1945.

Bezymensky, took the records back to Moscow where he kept them secret. His daughter decided to open them after her father’s death last month. Hitler despised Jewish music, writing in his book ‘Mein Kampf’ that Jewish art had "never existed." The Nazis banned most music by Jewish composers as “Entartete Musik” [degenerate music].

The preceding story was provided by the World Jewish Congress

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Kaliningrad new haven for old scourge of Nazism

PARIS (Press Release)— In a letter to Kaliningrad Governor, Mr Georgiy Boos, the Simon Wiesenthal Centre's Director for International Relations, Dr Shimon Samuels, explained how "long intrigued by the impact of the European Union's encirclement of the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad - the size of Belgium and the Netherlands," he spent last weekend in this city.

The letter continued, "Expecting enhanced development and an enlightened model for mainland Russia,  I was deeply shocked to discover only 100 meters from the city's largest hotel - the Kaliningrad - the bookshop 'Knizhni Mir' (though registered on its purchase receipt as 'Baltiskiy Variant') at Ul. Zhitomirskaya, corner Leninsky Prospekt."

Samuels described how "the saleslady, Galina, enthusiastically explained:
'We specialize in books on Nazism and the Jewish-Masonic conspiracy', adding that 'my Director, Alexander Viktorevich, distributes this literature widely in Kaliningrad, especially editions for children.'"

He added, "On my two visits that day to both purchase and photograph a selection of the offending texts, especially notable was the presence of large numbers of teenage Russian clients."

Samuels noted that "on the other hand, the nearby Hotel Kaliningrad was bustling with elderly German guests on weekend train excursions. My brief conversations with five of these tourists would best describe them as 'pilgrims' to the pre-Soviet annexed territory of the Reich then called Konigsberg - a city once renowned for its imperial grandeur. Hotel staff confirmed that groups included 1945 expellees, many of whom sought directions to their lost properties."

The letter stressed to the Governor the irony that "in land liberated by the Red Army from the scourge of Fascism, Nazi-period German visitors are met - in Russian - with the hate propaganda of the Fuhrer!"

Attached photos showed a selection by the sales assistant Galina of the books on sale (she added that the classic "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" and Henry Ford's "The International Jew" were "currently out of stock"):

- Yuri Kozenkov, Golgotha Rossi Zavoyevatila (Russian Golgotha Conquerors:
Zionism and Masonry, 1700-1924), 2006.
- Oleg Platonov, Voina protiv Antichrista (The War Against the Anti-Christ), 2006.
- Aleksei Menyaylov, Smotrite venimatelno, o Volki (Look Carefully, Wolves), 2005.
- Douglas Reed, Spor o Sione (Argument on Zion), 2005.
- Otto Neugard, Poldeni Magov (Noon of the Magi), 2004, a conspiracy theory regarding 9/11.
- Grigori Klimov, Imya Moye Legion (In the Name of My Legion), 2004.
- Viktor Ivanov, Bad People Out (Russian title unclear), 2001.
- A.Vesti, Buratino: Na Stupenyakh Masonskogo Khrama (Pinocchio: Steps to the Masonic Temple), 2004, a conspiracy theory regarding 9/11.

Samuels expressed amazement to learn that "a local Jewish complaint to the Kaliningrad Public Prosecutor, in regard to these sales, led to a demand for 65,000 Roubles to launch an investigation." He asked, "are we to therefore understand that the criminal justice system of the Kaliningrad region has been privatized?"

He continued, "In any case, an investigation is hardly necessary as Mr Viktorevich displays his hate materials on the shelves openly."

The Centre urged the Governor "to close Viktorevich's outlets forthwith and begin prosecution proceedings for his violation of the Constitution of the Russian Federation on grounds of incitement."

A copy of this request was sent to the Federal Public Prosecutor of the Russian Federation in Moscow to investigate Viktorevich's Federal and international links and outreach.

Samuels concluded, "Mr Governor, your silence on this matter would dishonour the memory of the millions of Soviet victims in the war against Nazism - an ideology that targeted both the Jewish and the Russian peoples."

The preceding story was provided by the Simon Wiesenthal Center

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Benedict XVI meets with Tadeusz Rydzyk

ROME (Press Release)—Pope Benedict XVI has received members of a Polish delegation that included Tadeusz Rydzyk, the owner of the controversial Polish radio station ‘Radio Maryja’. The Redemptionist priest has repeatedly come under fire for anti-Semitic broadcasts and a recent attack on Polish president Kacynski and his wife.

According to a report in a Polish newspaper that is part of Rydzyk’s media group, the group of Polish pilgrims was received by the Pope at his summer residence, Castel Gandolfo, near Rome. The paper ‘Nasz Dziennik’ reports that the Pope thanked the listeners of Radio Maryja for their prayers for him and gave his blessing to the radio station and its work. The Vatican confirmed the meeting, but refused to comment on its meaning. The Pope was free to receive whoever he wanted in private audience, a Vatican spokesman told journalists in Rome.

Last year, anti-Semitic broadcasts by Radio Maryja caused considerable concern in the Vatican, which demanded the intervention of Polish church officials. The church set up a supervisory committee but has since failed to significantly alter the programming of the ultra-conservative broadcaster. In his most recent outburst, Rydzyk attacked the Polish government led by the twin Kacynski brothers of “selling out to Jews” and called the Polish first lady a “witch."

The preceding story was provided by the World Jewish Congress

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ADL seeks papal denunciation of Father Rydzyk

NEW YORK (Press Release)—The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has called on Pope Benedict XVI to publicly denounce the continued anti-Semitic statements being espoused by a controversial priest and radio personality in Poland.

ADL, which has long protested about Radio Maryja, the Catholic radio station known for its anti-Semitic broadcasts, wrote to the Pope following the pontiff's private meeting with Father Tadeusz Rydzyk, founder and director of Radio Maryja.

In a letter to Benedict XVI, Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, expressed deep concerns that by meeting with Rydzyk and keeping silent about the issue of anti-Semitism "you have unfortunately lent him the priceless credibility of your office and integrity in the eyes of the world."

Foxman noted that, "As the founder and director of Radio Maryja, Father Rydzyk is responsible for the anti-Semitic comments and concepts the station regularly broadcasts to millions of Polish Catholic faithful," and "Father Rydzyk himself has on several occasions made anti-Semitic statements on the air. These are despicable anti-Semitic remarks that must be strongly and publicly condemned by all leaders and people of good will.

"We respectfully request that you publicly condemn the anti-Semitism that is being spouted by Father Rydzyk and other Catholic leaders in Poland."

In his most recent diatribe against Jews, Father Rydzyk reportedly accused Jews of greed in a potential government compensation deal on confiscated property, and denounced Poland's President, Lech Kaczynski as a "fraudster who is in the pockets of the Jewish lobby." 

In a macabre coincidence, the Pope's meeting with Rydzyk took place at the same time that hundreds of gravestones were being desecrated and defaced with anti-Semitic graffiti in one of the largest Jewish cemeteries in Poland, in Czestochowa.

The preceding story was provided by the Anti-Defamation League

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Wiesenthal Center hopes Pope will tell what
transpired at last Sunday's meeting with Rydzyk

LOS ANGELES (Press Release)—The Simon Wiesenthal Center today reiterated its call to the Vatican to discipline Polish Catholic leader Father Tadeusz Rydzyk for anti-Semitic remarks, following an AP report that the Pope briefly met with the controversial priest this past Sunday at the papal summer residence. Comments by Rydzyk denouncing the Polish government for being “in the pockets of the Jewish Lobby” by delivering a $65 million restitution package to Polish Holocaust survivors, were made public last month.

In a letter to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder and dean of the Wiesenthal Center, wrote that he hoped had used the meeting as an opportunity to rebuke Rydzyk, because, “as a priest who reaches millions of people through radio and television, he speaks not only for himself, but for his Church as well.” Hier then wrote, “if that was the purpose of the meeting, then I believe the Holy See did the right thing and should make the rebuke public as an important example to anti-semites around the world that the Church will never tolerate hate speech, especially hate speech uttered by a man of G-d.”

Such a public rebuke would help the efforts of Pope Benedict XVI and his predecessor John Paul II to improve relations between Catholics and Jews. “Otherwise,” said Rabbi Hier, “ I'm afraid the Vatican would be sullying its reputation by granting legitimacy to an unrepentant bigot who will claim that rather than being admonished, he was honored to receive the Pope's blessing. When Rydzyk’s anti-Semitic remarks were made public last month, the Wiesenthal Center launched a petition campaign last month that generated over 25,000 signatures calling on Rydzyk’s superiors to discipline him.   

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 article was provided by the Simon Wiesenthal Center

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New West End Synagogue cited as historic building

LONDON (Press Release)—A synagogue in the UK has been recognized as one of the country’s most important buildings. The New West End Synagogue in Bayswater, London, has been given a ‘Grade I’ listing putting it in the top three per cent of the country’s historic buildings. “The New West End Synagogue is the architectural high-water mark of Anglo-Jewish architecture,” Simon Thurley, Chief Executive of English Heritage said.

When it opened, in 1879, the Synagogue was a major statement on behalf of London’s Jewish community. Older 19th-century synagogues had been built to look like Christian churches, or the buildings that surrounded them, as if their designers were reluctant to draw attention to them. But by the late 1870s, leaders of the Jewish community in London’s West End felt more secure. Most official forms of anti-Jewish discrimination had been lifted. It was 20 years since the law began allowing practicing Jews to become MPs, an anglicized Jew, Benjamin Disraeli, was Prime Minister, and most of London’s congregations were joined under the United Synagogue.

The New West End Synagogue is the second synagogue in the UK to receive a Grade 1 listing. The other is the UK’s oldest synagogue, the Bevis Marks, opened in 1701 in Bishops-gate, London.

  The preceding story was provided by the World Jewish Congress

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Dear Readers, Along with my husband Don, I co-publish San Diego Jewish World. As a couple we have gone to many places.  Cruising ranks at the top of our list of favorite ways to travel. Watch this ad for a different cruising photo each day. A similar adventure can be yours! America's Vacation Center, with which I'm affiliated, is a multi-branched travel agency that is able to provide you both good prices and good service.  Before you book anywhere else, please ask me for a price comparison. Please call me at (619) 265-0808 for information about booking a cruise from San Diego or anywhere. Or email me at sdheritage@cox.net Thank you!   Nancy Harrison

Adventures in Cruising—Royal Caribbean's Monarch of the Seas Shore Excursion: Kayakers gather at La Bufadora in Ensenada to watch the action at the natural blow hole. Thanks to the Ford family of Agoura, California, for sharing their photos of their family reunion weekend cruise

Australia

The Jews 'Down Under'                                        By Garry Fabian

●Anti-Semitic web posting roils cricket world

MELBOURNE, Australia— A recent web site posting allegedly originating from from a local cricket club, has raised concerns about rising incidence of  anti-Semitism in Australia.
   
A member of the suburban Beaumaris Cricket Club BBC) posted  highly anti-Semitic remarks directed at the Maccabi AJAX Cricket Club  on the social networking website, Facebook.
 
BBC President Tony Mellick has said no disciplinary action will be  taken against Alex Strauch, 23, instead favouring what he described  as an "educative" approach.

Strauch made his racist comments relating to the Holocaust on a  Facebook page called "FU AJAX Cricket Club.  "Being of German  heritage, I think I need to apologise for Ajax Cricket Club to still  be in existence, my grandparents tried to get them all.. but it's
easier said than done when they are walking around in sewers looking
for change," Strauch wrote.
The page also contained anti-Semitic  remarks posted by several players from another suburban cricket club. But while Strauch and other contributors to the web page may escape
club-imposed penalties, the comments have raised the ire of Cricket  Victoria - the state controlling body - CEO Tony Dodemaide, who  branded the contributors as "morons", who "tainted not only their  clubs, but cricket in general. We are totally shocked that this could
happen in the cricket community," Dodemaide said.

"Racial and religious vilification has nor place in cricket Victoria  or Australia and those who propagate materials such as this have no place in our competitions," he said.

●Extradition trial date moves closer for Zentai

PERTH, Australia— Charles Zentai will learn next month when he will face an extradition
hearing over his alleged involvement in war crimes in his native  Hungary during WWII.

The Perth Magistrate Court this week set a trial allocation date for  September 25, when the date for the extradition hearing will be  determined. Hungary is seeking extradition for the 85-year-old Perth resident over his role in the murder of 18-year-old Jewish youth
Peter Balazs in Budapest in 1944.

A spokesperson for the Perth Magistrates Court said that the trial is  likely to be heard sometime in 2008, depending on the magistrate's  estimate of the length of the trial, which could last several weeks.

Zentai, who denies the charges, has been fighting the extradition  request since 2005, largely citing poor health as the basis for his appeal. Australia has never successfully extradited an alleged war-criminal.

●U.S. Jewish teens camp and tour Australia

CANBERRA, Australia— A group of 60 American teenage summer campers from Camp Kanfel  Nesharim program "invaded" Canberra last weekend.

After visiting Melbourne the previous Shabbat, then embarking on a week's skiing and snow boarding at Threadbo in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, the group of 14-17 year-olds toured the nation's capital.

The campers have combined winter sports with Judaism throughout
their five week visit.

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Forum

#1 A protest and the letter; did NJDC help or harm? 

(Editor's Note: In the press release below, the National Jewish Democratic Council criticizes a supporter of Congressman Mark Kirk for a letter he wrote suggesting the YearlyKos convention was a gathering place for anti-Semites.  In distributing the protest, the NJDC also distributed the supporter's letter which sets out Kirk's record on Israel and Middle Eastern matters. We recommend that you read the press release and the letter and then tell us whether if you were a voter in Kirk's district, you would be more or less likely to vote for Kirk as a result of what was presented in this material, and please explain.  If you care to comment, send us an email at sdheritage@cox.net)

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release)  – The National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC) called on Rep. Mark Kirk (Republican, Illinois) to repudiate a campaign-style email sent by supporter Andy Lappin which implies that Democratic candidates Jay Footlik and Dan Seals condoned anti-Semitic behavior by attending the YearlyKos convention earlier this month. 

Mr. Lappin’s email seeks to paint the 900 bloggers who attended the YearlyKos convention – and the hundreds of thousands of bloggers in the DailyKos online community – as anti-Semitic and anti-Israel because a handful of posters have written objectionable comments.  To defend his position, Lapin presents five comments he finds objectionable, none of which were written by Kos or his editors. 

To blame all attendees and participants in the YearlyKos convention – which was sponsored by JetBlue airlines, Warner Independent Pictures, the National Education Association, and other mainstream organizations – for objectionable comments posted by a small handful of people is the height of absurdity.  If  Lappin’s logic were applied to the Republican Party, all its presidential candidates would be deemed anti-Israel because they regularly participate in debates with anti-Israel firebrand Rep. Ron Paul  (Republican, Texas) 

“Rep. Kirk should condemn this over-the-top email sent on his behalf of his campaign by Andy Lappin,” said NJDC Executive Director Ira N. Forman. “Mr. Lappin’s email seeks to deceive voters about the strong, pro-Israel candidacies of Jay Footlik and Dan Seals and makes a ridiculous leap in logic that suggests a few inappropriate comments posted on a blog somehow represent the opinions held by hundreds of thousands of activists.  There are some on both the far right and the far left that hold anti-Israel views.   The bloggers cited by Lappin no more represent the views of most progressives than the views of Pat Buchanan or Ron Paul represent mainstream conservatives.”
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Click the ad above to go to the "I'm there for you baby" website
 

#2 Removal of Jewish residents from Hebron

(Editor's Note: Our second readers forum deals with the emotionally charged issue of Jewish residency in the ancient city of Hebron, traditional site of the Cave of the Patriarchs where Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are buried.  Hebron from the viewpoint of its Orthodox Jewish residents is part of Greater Israel, the very land promised to the Jewish people by God.  On the other hand, it is located on the West Bank, within what is now the Palestinian Authority under President Mahmoud Abbas.  To start the discussion off, we would like to know do you believe the Israel Defense Force was justified in removing the Jewish residents from their homes there? Here is a link to an Associated Press story about the incident that appeared in today's San Diego Union-Tribune. If you care to comment, send us an email at sdheritage@cox.net )
 

NEW YORK (Press Release) — The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), in a letter signed by ZOA National President Morton A. Klein, Chairman of the Board Dr. Michael Goldblatt, Chairman of Executive Committee Dr. Alan Mazurek, and Treasurer Henry Schwartz, has expressed its deep concern and opposition to the forcible expulsion of two Jewish families from their homes in Hebron's Shalhevet neighborhood on Tuesday, August 7.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) promised permits a year and half ago to the eleven families who lived in the neighborhood, saying they would be allowed to return with legal status on the condition they left the premises peacefully. Nine of the families cooperated with the government officials, believing they would make good on their end of the deal. Attorney General Menachem Mazuz quickly voided the promise after they moved out, saying the army officials had no authority to make the agreement.

On Tuesday, three thousand Border Guards and Israel Defense Forces (IDF) personnel were deployed to remove the resisting Jewish families from their homes built on the site of the former Hebron marketplace, along with hundreds of their supporters. The Israeli forces used sledge hammers, chain saws and power cutters to break through the improvised defenses set up by the residents in anticipation of the evictions (International Herald Tribune, August 7).

Female activists reported that the personnel deployed to evict the residents deliberately tore the clothing off several women who resisted the forcible eviction. Thirteen activists were arrested during the expulsion, accused of attacking police and throwing stones. In addition, 15 police officers and 25 activists were hurt in the melee, most with light wounds. Three police officers were taken to hospital for treatment. Three young protestors were the last holdouts in a cement bunker which was eventually breached by an IDF Search and Rescue unit. The former marketplace on which the houses were built was in turn constructed on the ruins of the city's old Jewish quarter, destroyed in the massacre of the Jewish community by Arabs in 1929.  (Jump to continuation)

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# 3  Holocaust history and the Bergson group

Editor, San Diego Jewish World

I am one of the 83 historians who joined the recent petition by the David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies urging the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum to add material to its exhibits about the 1940s Holocaust rescue advocates known as the Bergson Group.

I was surprised to read the statement made by my friend and colleague, Deborah Lipstadt, to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, in which she said of the Wyman Institute:   “They sort of straddle the area between scholarship and activism.”  She also told the JTA, “I don't believe that you change things by petition.”

What’s wrong with changing things by petition?  There's no rule that says historians have to stay in their ivory towers all the time.  Signing petitions doesn't diminish their scholarship--it just shows that they care about what happens in the real world.

Two years ago, the Wyman Institute mobilized more than six hundred scholars —including me— to sign a petition supporting Prof. Lipstadt when she clashed with C-Span.  The television network wanted to broadcast a speech by Holocaust-denier David Irving to 'balance' a speech by Lipstadt.  She protested, and the Wyman Institute came to her defense—leading to C-Span's decision to cancel the Irving speech.  When we organized the petition supporting Prof. Lipstadt against C-Span, I don't recall anyone complaining that we were “straddling the line between scholarship and activism.”   On the contrary, I remember everyone being grateful that the Wyman Institute cared enough to get involved, at a time when too many other institutions and organizations were reluctant to get involved.

Sincerely,

—Dr. Alex Grobman
Englewood, New Jersey
 

The Jewish Grapevine

CYBER-REFERRALS—Cantor Sheldon Merel forwarded to us a YouTube video featuring Rabbi Marvin Tokayer lecturing about the special relationship between Jews and Japanese prior to World War II—a relationship that was built upon financier Jacob Schiff's willingness to help finance Japan's war against pogromist Russia.  The video is below.  And so is another video showing a portion of a Japanese-language production of Fiddler on the Roof.... Israel's Consulate General in Los Angeles distributes a French-language, English-subtitled YouTube video on the Mini-Israel park in Latrun.  In 90-minutes you can see the sights of the country in miniaturized version. The video is in the second row below. And while we are on the subject of tourism, here is a video showing some of the religious sites of Jerusalem.

  



IN MEMORY—Hal Fishman, longtime Channel 5 anchorman in Los Angeles and a professor by background, has died of cancer.  His obituary ran in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

ISRAEL ACTIVISM—The activist group StandWithUs has announced it will grant 35 Emerson Fellowships to students across the country who can serve as pro-Israel spokespersons on their campuses.  Here is a link to the application.

JEWISH CELEBRITIES—New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg was called for jury duty, but lawyers decided one "your honor" per courtroom is enough.  They dismissed the mayor, and kept working in front of the judge.  The story was in the San Diego Union-Tribune's national briefs column...

                                                              

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Greater San Diego Area

 
Jewish Community Foundation names Hazan,
Ressler, Rowling, Schuster to Board of Directors

SAN DIEGO (Press Release)—The Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego recently announced the election of four San Diego community and business leaders to its Board of Directors. Marcia Hazan, Jeffrey Ressler, Sheryl Rowling and Sherron Schuster are widely respected for their proven leadership skills and achievements.

"Our four new Board members will be great assets to the Foundation,” noted Sheila Potiker, chair of the Foundation. “Each brings strong leadership experience and commitment to our community.”

The Foundation’s four new Board members are distinguished by their records of service to the community and acumen in their fields of expertise. They began three-year terms on July 1, 2007.

Marcia Hazan is an active community volunteer. She is chair of the Jewish Women’s Foundation and is a Board member of the Foster Family Foundation and the Galinson Family Foundation, all of which are entities of the Jewish Community Foundation. In addition, Marcia serves on the Board of Jewish Family Service, where she sits on the Mental Health Committee and chairs the Nominating Committee. Marcia is also a Board member of the Stanley E. Foster Construction Tech Academy, part of the Kearny High Educational Complex.  She has been a leader in the Women’s Division Board of the United Jewish Federation. Professionally, Marcia worked in fashion merchandising at Hang Ten International.

Jeffrey Ressler serves on the Foundation’s Grants Committee and has actively promoted the Foundation as a philanthropic resource. An attorney by profession, Jeffrey serves on the Boards of La Jolla Playhouse and the Agency for Jewish Education where he is the Co-Chair of Limmud Day of Learning. He is also a former Board member of the Lawrence Family JCC and the former President of the San Diego Center for Jewish Culture.

Sheryl Rowling, CPA/PFS, serves on the Foundation’s Endowment Leadership Institute (ELI) Committee and its Estate and Tax Planning Council. She has referred many individuals and families to the Foundation.  Sheryl is the Managing Partner of Rowling, Dold & Associates LLP, where she works closely with individual and business clients, assisting them in determining whether and how their goals may be achieved through the proper management of financial resources.

Sherron Schuster is a highly regarded community volunteer who has served many organizations in the Jewish community including the boards of Jewish Family Service, Hillel of San Diego, Congregation Beth Israel, and United Jewish Federation.  At Jewish Family Service, Sherron is a hands-on volunteer for the Bikkur Holim program and is a mentor in the teen mothers program. Sherron is a member of the Jewish Community Foundation’s Jewish Women’s Foundation.

“The Jewish Community Foundation’s Board is one of the top Boards in the community because of the caliber of its members and the strong partnership between Board and staff in carrying out our mission,” said Marjory Kaplan, CEO

  The preceding story was provided by the Jewish Community Foundation

 

 
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Sports

News from the       Israel Baseball League

IBL sets August 19 for open tryout date

HINSDALE, Massachusetts (Press Release)—Sufficiently encouraged by its first season,  now in progress, the Israel Baseball League has announced it will conduct open tryouts for Season Two at the Duquette Sports Academy here on Sunday,  August 19, at 9 a.m.

Here is a video shot in August 2006 during the first-season tryouts at the same venue:

   

For information, go to http://www.danduquettesports.com/index.shtml.  
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The preceding story was provided by the Israel Baseball League



{Marc Kligman, who combines being a sports agent with his life as an observant Jew, invites you to listen. Click on the ad above for more information}

 
Esequier Pie hurls his second IBL no-hitter

By Nathaniel Edelstein

TEL AVIV (Press Release)— After becoming the first pitcher in IBL history to throw a no-hitter earlier this season, Esequier Pie became the first pitcher to throw two no-hitters on Wednesday night with Ra'anana Express' 2-0 victory over the Tel Aviv Lightning. 

The Dominican righty also struck out 12 batters and walked five at the Sportek.  Ra'anana scored their first run in the first inning off a solo homerun from leftfielder Ben Field, his fourth of the season.  First baseman Matt Castillo of Phoenix, Arizona added two hits to raise his average to .326.

Prior to Pie's gem, the two teams played the homerun derby of their July 31st game, which was suspended with a 5-5 score.  Ra'anana won the tiebreaking derby 5-2 to win the game 6-5

Meanwhile at Kibbutz Gezer, the Bet Shemesh Blue Sox and the Modi'in Miracle played in one of the season's wildest games, which was suspended after 6.5 innings due to darkness with the Sox leading 14-13.

It was a back and forth game with slugging from both teams.  For Bet Shemesh, Californian shortstop Gregg Raymundo went 3-for-4 with two homeruns, three RBI, and two runs scored.  Dominican Eladio Rodriguez came back from injury for the Miracle to go 3-for-5 with a homerun and three RBI.  The last half-inning will be played prior to the game between Bet Shemesh and Modi'in at Kibbutz Gezer on Wednesday, August 15.

The Petach Tikva Pioneers came back in the seventh inning to beat the Netanya Tigers 5-4 in the first of a doubleheader at Yarkon Field in Baptist Village of Petach Tikva.  51 year-old Scott Cantor earned his first win with a complete game, allowing three earned runs on 12 hits with two strikeouts and two walks.

With Petach Tikva down 4-3 in the seventh, third baseman Andrew Morales laced an RBI-single to left to tie it up.  Two batters later leftfielder Ryan Crotin hit a single of his own to put the Pioneers up for good en route to their sixth victory of the season.

Netanya came back in the second game to beat Petach Tikva 14-9. Catcher Michael Ibbitson led the way by going 3-for-4 with three RBI while centerfielder Bryan Pinchuk also went 3-for-4 with two RBI and three runs scored.  Ryan Forsythe and Dan Rootenberg combined for three hits and a homer apiece as Ami Baran's club wins its 14th game of the season.






KIBBUTZ FAVORITE—Top photo, Modi'in pitcher Nate Rosenberg is a resident of Kibbutz Gezer,
so naturally the crowd was pulling for him in today's game against Bet Shemesh.  Middle: Bet Shemesh
pitcher Ben Pincus is on the mound.  Groves of the kibbutz can be seen in the background.  Bottom: Fans,
with help from catcher, learn to sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during 5th inning stretch.
Photos by Yechiel Jonathan Stein


Summaries:
                          1   2   3   4   5   6   7   R   H   E
Ra'anana            1   0   0   0   1   0   0    2    8   0
Tel Aviv               0   0   0   0   0   0   0    0    0   2
W: Esequier Pie (3-3); L: Dan Rothem (3-2); HR: Ben Field (4)

                        1   2   3   4   5   6   7   HR   R   H   E
Ra'anana          1   0   0   0   2   1   1     5     5    9    0
Tel Aviv             2   3   0   0   0   0   0     2     5   11   0
HR: Scott Feller (1)

                          1   2   3   4   5   6   7   R   H   E
Bet Shemesh      5   0   1   3   0   1   4   14  17  1
Modi'in                3   3   0   0   6   1        13  13  4
HR: Eladio Rodriguez (14), Jim Pierce (3), Gregg Raymundo (12)

                        1   2   3   4   5   6   7   R   H   E
Petach Tikva     0   0   3   0   0   0   2   5    5    3
Netanya            0   1   1   0   2   0   0   4   12   4
W: Scott Cantor (1-4); L: Matt Comiter (1-4); HR: None

                        1   2   3   4   5   6   7   R   H   E
Netanya            0   0   1   2   5   6   0   14  16   2
Petach Tikva      0   2   1   5   0   1   0    9  11   4
W: Rafael Rojano (3-3); L: Adam Goldman (0-1); HR: Ryan Forsythe (2),
Ryan Crotin (5), Dan Rootenberg (2)

Standings:

Team                               W    L     %     GB
Bet Shemesh Blue Sox    25    9    .735     -
Tel Aviv Lightning             23   12   .657   2.5
Modi'in Miracle                20   14   .588   5.0
Ra'anana Express           15   20   .429   10.5
Netanya Tigers                14   20   .412   11.0
Petach Tikva Pioneers      6    28   .176   19.0

Thursday at 5 pm the Tel Aviv Lightning play the Bet Shemesh Blue Sox at Kibbutz Gezer while the Ra'anana Express take on the Petach Tikva Pioneers at Sportek in Tel Aviv.  At 7 pm the Modi'in Miracle and the Netanya Tigers play at Yarkon Field at the Baptist Village in Petach Tikva.

The preceding story and charts were provided by the Israel Baseball League

 

Story Continuations

NJDC vs. Kirk....
(Continued from above)

“This is not the first time we’ve seen individuals tied to the Kirk campaign using sleazy tactics,” continued Forman.  “This is reminiscent of 2006 when a Kirk staffer issued a veiled threat to cut off aid to Tel Aviv University because one of the school’s backers supported Kirk’s Democratic opponent.  If Kirk and his political cronies want to do something truly productive for Israel they should quit trying to use Israel as a partisan wedge issue and work on encouraging the House Republican leadership to change their behavior and begin supporting full funding for the foreign aid bill.”
 

THE ANDY LAPPIN EMAIL (Distributed by NJDC; links removed by San Diego Jewish World) Dear Friends, While we may disagree on politics and policy sometimes, we all can agree to strongly condemn anti-Semitism, anti-Zionism and the institutions that foment them. I remain a staunch supporter of Congressman Mark Kirk who has co-chaired the Congressional Task Force on Anti-Semitism, led the way on hate crimes legislation, continues to lead on opening the Holocaust archives in Bad Arolsen and remains the strongest voice in Congress for the U.S.-Israel strategic relationship. I write to you today to make sure you know about an issue I find to be pivotal in the upcoming race for Congress in the 10th District.  While the two Democrats vying to take on our friend Congressman Kirk next year claim to support our values, their actions to gain political support suggest they do not. In an effort to appeal to their party's far-left, both candidates participated in this week's Kos Convention in Chicago—with Jay Footlik working the crowd and Dan Seals addressing the conference.  Both expressed great pride and satisfaction in attending. What's troubling is that Seals and Footlik speak to our community with one mouth and then run to a convention filled with anti-Semitic bloggers. DailyKos is a community of bloggers—thousands of people who write their own opinions online.  The site's real attraction comes from the discussion that ensues. Let's see a few examples of what the Kos Convention attendees are blogging—the very same people Seals and Footlik come running to for support.  Many times posts are left up for weeks or months until watchdog groups raise concerns over anti-Semitism—at that point, Kos removes the blog pages.  Fortunately, there are other savvy bloggers out there who keep archived copies. 1) "Once we lock up a Majority, where we don't need Lieberman, I hope they will kick him to the curb like the dog he is."  This post received 24 positive ratings and zero negative.     "He's [Lieberman] a much lower form of life than a dog"  8 plus/zero minus     "He's a snake in the grass." 4 plus/zero minus     "Don't insult dogs like that, Given a choice between my dog and Lieberman, I'd gas him without thinking twice." 4 plus/3 minus   2)  "because as everybody knows, jews ONLY care about the welfare of other jews" 3) "Israel is showing the entire world why the Iranian President was absolutely right to suggest that Israel cease being a sovereign state as is." 4) "Zionism was and remains a racist ideology."  A picture was included in that post showing an Israeli cabinet minister merging faces with Adolf Hitler, with a Star of David inside a skull. 5) Another blog expressed sympathy and support for the Hamas takeover of Gaza. Of course, I'm not surprised that Dan Seals attended.  In his unsuccessful 2006 race, he made two comments caught on film that caused eruptions in the Jewish community. The first, during an interview with 2004 candidate Lee Goodman, Seals said that if war ever broke out between Israel and Iran, he would come down on the side of peace. The second, during the height of the August 2006 war in Lebanon, Seals called on Israel to cease fire immediately and begin addressing the root causes of terrorism. But why did Jay Footlik attend?  Is he that desperate that he runs to a community that slurs Jews and supports the Iranian President's dream of wiping Israel off the map? And while you think about this, I urge you to contrast the action of both men to the continued leadership of our dear friend, Congressman Mark Kirk. While his opponents run to anti-Semitic and anti-Israel bloggers, here's a sampling of Congressman Kirk's leadership on our core issues since the beginning of 2007 alone: * Established the 10th District Israel High School Forum for students in our community to learn more about the U.S.-Israel relationship—the first of its kind in the nation. * Authored an amendment which passed the House ( H.R. 1585) directing the Secretary of Defense to report to Congress with a plan to fully integrate the U.S. National Ballistic Missile Defense with the State of Israel. * Authored appropriations language now in law ( H.R. 2206) requiring the Secretary of State to report to Congress on the Lebanese Government's progress in fulfilling its mandate under Section 14 of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701. * Authored appropriations language mandating a comprehensive review by the Government Accountability Office of Cash Assistance and Emergency Cash Assistance programs run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.   The language was prompted by UNRWA reports that terrorist and families of suicide bombers may received emergency assistance. * Authored appropriations language mandating a report by the Secretary of State on the feasibility of executing an international restriction on gasoline to Iran.   Iran imports more than 40% of its refined petroleum unique economic weakness. *   Authored appropriations language earmarking $5 million for women's support programs in minority communities in Iran and $2 million for democracy programs in Syria. * Introduced H.R . 2880, the bipartisan Iran Sanctions Enhancement Act of 2007, to extend current sanctions to companies that provide gasoline to Iran. *   Sponsored a bipartisan resolution ( H.Res.64) which passed the House calling on Bangladesh to drop all charges against journalist Shoaib Choudhury.  Congressman Kirk previously negotiated Choudhury's release from prison following his arrest for attempting to visit Israel . *  Authored a bipartisan letter with 104 co-signers to Secretary Rice urging her to work within the Security Council to give UN Forces in Lebanon a new mandate to intercept arms coming across the Syrian border. * Authored a bipartisan letter with 12 key foreign assistance leaders in the House calling on World Bank President Robert Zoellick to end disbursements to Iran immediately. *Led a successful international effort to pressure European nations to open Holocaust archives in Germany.   Co-authored a series of bipartisan letters to European Ambassadors and was the lead co-sponsor of the Hastings-Kirk resolution which passed the House (H.Res.240). * Lead co-sponsor of the Conyers-Kirk Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act ( H.R. 1592), which provides federal resources to investigate and prosecute hate crimes. * Ordered an Inspector General investigation into reports that more than $140,000 was provided by the U.S. Agency for International Development to the Hamas-controlled Islamic University in Gaza.  In June, Congressman Kirk authored appropriations language tightening anti-terror vetting language to include institutions that have terrorist trustees—thereby closing the funding loophole to Islamic University which boasts Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh. *Authored a bipartisan letter to the Japanese government urging it not to open direct assistance to the Hamas-dominated Palestinian Authority. After receiving the letter, the Japanese government reversed its decision and upheld the Quartet conditions on assistance. *Co-authored a letter to Secretary Rice urging her to fire the news director of Al-Hurra TV after airing an interview with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and sending reporters to cover the Iranian Holocaust Denial Conference.   Congressman Kirk then co-authored appropriations languagecutting Al-Hurra's funding and mandating 24/7 online video feeds of all broadcasts.  Al-Hurra's news director resigned the following day. * Co-authored a letter to the National Institutes of Health demanding a full investigation of reports of anti-Semitic conduct by it chief clergy. * Delivered a special order address before the House detailing all the factual inaccuracies in President Carter's recent book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. The time to show your support to this great leader is now.  If you are as disgusted as I am by the actions of  Dan Seals and Jay Footlik, I would urge you to call their campaigns and let them know you're making a contribution to Kirk for Congress because unlike them, he's fighting in Congress to combat global anti-Semitism, fight Holocaust denial, protect Israel and stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Sincerely, Andy Lappin

ZOA-Hebron...
(Continued from above)

During its post-eviction operations, the IDF demolished a synagogue built in memory of Shalhevet Pass, the ten-month-old girl who was shot and murdered by a Palestinian Authority (PA) sniper several years ago. The synagogue has been a focal point of daily prayer, as well as home to a yeshiva whose students serve as a counter-terror first-response team in Hebron. In a statement to the press, Hebron Jewish community representatives said, "3,000 soldiers and policemen attempted to remove two families and dozens of youths from Jewish property, which they are now demolishing. This struggle will continue, and we will yet return. We displayed great responsibility - more than that displayed by the Defense Minister – and we demand the fulfillment of the agreement [allowing residents to stay in the Shalhevet neighborhood] and the return of Jews to the Jewish community of Hebron."

Activists at the scene charged that the destruction of the homes was an act of vengeance in retaliation against the determined struggle they waged against the expulsion of the two families who lived in the neighborhood. They also expressed bitterness that the army had secured a permit to destroy the buildings prior to the expulsion (Israel National News, August 7).

Referring to the old marketplace adjacent to Hebron's Avraham Avinu neighborhood, where nine families and a yeshiva were located prior to an agreement reached with the IDF in 2005, Hebron spokesman David Wilder said, "We agreed to a negotiated deal a year and a half ago. We kept our side, they reneged – this will not happen again. The community was given a firm promise, in the form of an agreement with the commander of forces in Judea and Samaria, General Yair Golan, that following our voluntary exit from the homes, families would soon be allowed to 'legally' return. That was a year and a half ago. The agreement was voided by Attorney General Menachem Mazuz, using the excuse that Golan was not authorized to make the agreement. This, despite the fact that the General was on and off the phone with his bosses in the Defense Ministry during the meeting with Hebron representatives in order to receive their OK to the compromise."
 
Hebron officials said they were once again being promised that if they leave willingly a quiet return to the marketplace will be arranged in the future. A similar episode took place with the Beit Shapira house – which remains sealed and empty to this day. "We've been through that one too many times," Wilder said. "The property is Jewish property. A military appeals court recommended that the buildings be leased to the Hebron Jewish community. This too was rejected. What more do they want?"
 
A letter to Defense Minister Ehud Barak, signed by seven Knesset faction heads, Yoel Hasson (Kadima), Meir Porush (United Torah Judaism), Uri Ariel (National Union-NRP), Gideon Saar (Likud), Robert Ilatov (Yisrael Beitanu), Ya'akov Margi (Shas) and Moshe Sharoni (Pensioners), said, "We are marking 78 years since the 1929 riots, you are faced with a fateful decision concerning one of the sites which represents, more than anything else, the murder and the thievery of the Hebron Jewish community of those days: the site of the 'shuk' in Hebron, where presently several families are living …We are dealing with Jewish-owned land, which was stolen as a result of the terrible slaughter. It is incumbent on the government to act to return the stolen property as would be expected in relationship to stolen Jewish property anywhere in the world. We the undersigned, chairmen of various parties in the Knesset, turn to you with this request to refrain from expelling these Jewish families living in the 'shuk' and to study alternative ways to resolve Jewish quarters at this site, legally… The residents of Hebron prevented violence and conflict similar to the occurrences in 'Amona' when they voluntarily moved out of these homes, based upon promises that they would be allowed to return, honoring and respecting promises of representatives of the state, IDF officers. This type of approach is to be encouraged and rewarded, not discouraged… For all the above reasons, we request that you order that the issue of Jewish residency in the shuk be studied seriously, and that in any case, you prevent, for the time being, any eviction of Jewish residents from the site" (Israel National News, August 7).

ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said, "The ZOA is appalled at this heavy-handed forcible eviction from their homes of Hebron residents who had been promised permits for them – a promise which was subsequently broken. This violence against Jewish civilians is shameful. At a time when Israel is facing so many external threats to its citizenry from hostile states and terrorist groups they support, what sense of priorities is the Olmert government showing by removing Jews from their homes?

"While all this has been happening, there has been a wave of illegal Arab housing construction in Jerusalem, the Galilee and elsewhere in Israel. Why then is the government making a point of evicting Jews from their homes and rescinding permits that have been promised to them? What sort of priorities does the government have? These Jewish residents are patriotic Israelis and pioneers, not enemies of Israel or murderers of Israeli civilians. Yet the Olmert government is taking little or no action against real, deadly terrorists firing rockets incessantly into Israel from Gaza and smuggling offensive weaponry into Gaza. The IDF and Israeli intelligence services are dealing literally daily with dozens of terrorist threats and warnings of impending attack. In 2006 alone, the IDF and Israeli intelligence services prevented 260 terror attacks. Yet the Olmert government instead decides to turn Israeli military might against a few Jewish families in Hebron.

"Not only is this action wrong in itself, but evicting Jews from their homes in Judea and Samaria sends a terrible message to the Palestinian terrorists – namely, that their continuing hostility, terrorism and aggressive designs are working. No-one believes that Israel would be finding ways to appease the PA like throwing out Jews from their homes if terrorism and violence were not continuing. Like the unilateral retreat from Gaza and northern Samaria in 2005, the Palestinian terror groups will surmise that their murderous strategy is working. The ZOA completely rejects this strategy and urges the Olmert government to cease this divisive, misconceived and unjustifiable policy that only encourages more terrorism and also sends the message that King David's first capital and one of four holiest cities in Judaism is not really ours."

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