San Diego Jewish World

 'There's a Jewish story everywhere'
                                               

 

 Vol. 1, No. 183

         Tuesday evening,  October 30, 2007
 
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                               Today's Postings

Garry Fabian
in Melbourne, Australia: "Communal lethargy dogs Jewish roof body" ... "Go-ahead for Jewish same-sex unions" ... "Jewish journalist nominated for Walkley Award" ... "Aussie educators link with Israel"

Donald H. Harrison
in San Diego: "Ad hoc task force lays traps for scammers in wake of fires"

Ira Sharkansky in Jerusalem: "Swift Swiftian response to Gaza rockets"

                                The week in Review
                            (
click on dates to see bac
k issues)


Monday, October 29

Donald H. Harrison in San Diego: "Rabbis prepare for theological questions about the fires."

Morton A. Klein
in New York: "
Palestinian agenda dooms Annapolis conference to failure"


Dorothea Shefer-Vanson
in Jerusalem: "Scandals, corruption weaken Israel"

David Strom in San Diego: "The danger of substituting political faith for logic"

Sunday, October 28

Donald H. Harrison in San Diego: "And after it all, still there is music"

Natasha Josefowitz in La Jolla, California: 'Old age: A privilege denied to lots of people"

Joe Naiman in Lakeside, California: "Jewish trainer wins Arab-sponsored Breeders' Cup race"
 
Sheila Orysiek
in San Diego: "
Waiting for FEMA, DEMA, SCHEMA and EMA"


Saturday, October 27

Donald H. Harrison in San Diego: "Prayers amid the rubble and the ash."

Sandy Levin, Ph.D
in La Jolla, California: "Women, listen to your hearts"

F. Jay Winheld
in San Diego: "
A century of Jewish cooking—an anthology of the good and the bad"

Larry Zeiger in San Diego: "Jersey Boys: Flashback to an era when anything seemed possible."








 

Friday, October 26

Shoshana Bryen in Washington D.C.: "After withdrawals from Lebanon and Gaza, should Israel risk West Bank departure?"

Donald H. Harrison
in San Diego: "As evacuation center, Qualcomm Stadium hosted all-around team."

Rabbi Baruch Lederman
and Ron Cruger in San Diego: "Slipping the key out of the lock—for what may be the final time"

Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal in San Diego: "
God was not in the fires, but in the 'still small voices' of responders"

Thursday, October 25

Donald H. Harrison in San Diego: "100+ Jewish homes lost in San Diego County fires; donations mounting"

Joe Naiman in Lakeside, California: "Youkilis, 2-5, three runs, two doubles in World Series debut"

 Ira Sharkansky in Jerusalem: "Myths and the making of policy."

Wednesday, October 24

Shoshana Bryen in Washington, D.C.: "Turks, Kurds, and the PKK"

Garry Fabian
in Melbourne, Australia: "Neo-Nazi concert too close for comfort... Jewish pilot off to Antarctica .... Bipartisan support for security funding... Carl Bernstein to tour Australia for JNF"

Donald H. Harrison in San Diego: "Seacrest Village seniors return after camping out at Beth Israel"

Lynne Thrope
in San Diego: "Restaurant community pitches in for victims of wildfires"






Archive of Previous Issues
 

 

 


____________________
The Jewish Citizen
             
by Donald H. Harrison
 


SCAM FIGHTERS—Deputy Attorney General Howard Wayne, left; District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis and California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner warn scam artists not to try to revictimize San Diegans who lost their homes in the fires.

Ad hoc task force lays traps for scammers in wake of fires

SAN DIEGO—In the old movie westerns, the sheriffs used to tell the bad guys, “Get out of Dodge.”  Law enforcement officials here had similar kinds of advice for anyone thinking of taking illegal advantage of fire victims. 

“Don’t even think of think of revictimizing people here in San Diego,” warned District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis.  “They have had enough.  They have lost everything.  You will be caught and you will be prosecuted.  We have no patience for individuals who are preying on families who have lost everything, who have been victimized already.”

California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner said, “It is really unfortunate in these natural disasters, it is like clockwork: these scam artists from all over the state come to these areas where there has been a natural disaster preying on victims, pretending to be a contractor, claims adjustors, and we are here today to tell you that we simply are not going to put up with it.”

Deputy Attorney General Howard Wayne, a former state assemblyman, said: “In these difficult times when our community has been victimized by fire, there are those who are attempting to victimize those who have been victims. They crawl out under a rock, and they are doing their dirty things…. We look forward to working with other organizations here to prevent the victimization of San Diegans.”

The three officials, all members of the Jewish community, spoke at a news conference at San Diego County’s Office of Emergency Services, where they were joined by representatives of the State Contractors Licensing Board, Department of Motor Vehicles and the County Sheriff’s office.

They announced creation of a task force to catch the scam artists in the act, and arrest and prosecute them.

Poizner and his deputy, John Standish, said 100 of the state Insurance Department’s insurance fraud detectives already have taken up their places in San Diego County waiting for the scam artists to try to con victims out of their money.

Their presence in San Diego County, according to Poizner, is part of a three-phase operation.  The first phase is outreach to victims, “where we will notify all the victims of this fire to be on the lookout for these scam artists,” he said.  The second phase “is to launch a series of sting operations, undercover operations, to catch these criminals in the act.”  The third phase will be “to publicize these arrests and we are going to nip this type of criminal behavior in the bud.”

Dumanis said that the district attorney’s office “will  proactively investigate and aggressively prosecute looters, scam artists and unlicensed contractors and unlicensed insurance adjustors who are operating here in San Diego….

“Unlicensed contractors who offer their services during this declared state of emergency face up to three years in state prison, and we will show no mercy,” said the district attorney. “This is a felony crime, not a misdemeanor, and they will be prosecuted by the district attorney’s office.

“Scam artists who set up fake charities appealing to the generosity of San Diegans will be deal with harshly…” she said.  “Working alongside state officials we’ll be rooting out and prosecuting insurance fraud. ..Our investigators will be working undercover with these agencies in each and every area—not just Rancho Bernardo, not just Ramona (two of the hardest hit areas); it is every area that has been traumatized in San Diego County…. We will be on the lookout for criminals to act….”

Wayne had three suggestions for fire victims and people who want to help them.  “Be sure when you make a contribution that the charity you contribute to is a real charity,” he said.  Beware of price gouging, he said.  “There has been a declaration of emergency issued here: prices cannot be raised more than 10 percent during that 30-day period.”  And, in the area of contractor fraud, he said, the attorney general has a toll free number (800-952-5225) to which people can report a suspected problem. 

Other helpful phone numbers and websites recommended by the news conference participants included (800) 321-CSLB to check upon a contractor; (800)-927-HELP for the “hotline” of the Department of Insurance and
www.ag.ca.gov/charities to check out whether a charity is registered with the state.

 




Letter from Jerusalem
                                By Ira Sharkansky

Swift Swiftian response to Gaza rockets

JERUSALEM—The Attorney General has ordered the IDF not to cut electricity to Gaza, even for short periods, without showing concern for protecting humanitarian interests, like hospitals.

Where is the Palestinian attorney general who should be ordering the fighters there to desist from aiming their missiles at Israeli civilians?

Once again, Israel is tying its own hands. This latest decision may get us a favorable clucking of the tongues from European and North American policymakers. It may not delay by a great deal the effort to pressure Gaza. Perhaps the IDF will only have to give enough warning of a pending electricity cut so that hospitals can turn on their generators. Israeli bureaucrats are still fighting this among themselves. Meanwhile, electricity is not our only weapon. Fuel supplies are being cut, and the ground troops plus the air force are doing their bit on a daily basis. In a situation where there are not likely to be final solutions, every little bit may help.

I have my own Modest Proposal for how to deal with the missiles still being fired toward Sderot and other Israeli settlements. For those about to read on, you should view it in the spirit of Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal for  Preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland from Being a Burden to Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Public (1729). The man whose greater fame as a writer of parody came from Gulliver's Travels suggested in his modest proposal that the Irish eat their children.

My own modest proposal is for Israelis to fire one artillery shell at a settlement in Gaza for every missile fired toward an Israeli settlement.

Outrageous? Inhuman? Or an appropriate tit for tat?

It would cause mass movement toward the Egyptian border. and upset the Egyptians, who never liked the idea of Palestinians in their country.

It will produce angry words and threats from Egyptians, and many others. But it may also prompt the Egyptians to tighten their controls over the movement via their border with Gaza of weapons, ammunition, explosives, and fighters from elsewhere who wish to aid their Palestinian brethren.

It will violate international law against collective punishment and civilian damage. It will cause foreign activists and their governments to issue arrest warrants against Israelis who are involved.

Probably. But international law highly touted by Israeli as well as by others does not seem to be balanced in protecting Israeli civilians from Palestinian violence.

As for Israelis being punished, I have another modest proposal.

There are enough former members of the IDF capable of doing the work, who are likely to volunteer if given the chance. Young soldiers and officers will not have to expose themselves to the dirty business of shelling civilians, and thus make themselves liable to arrest if they travel overseas. The men and women who aim the guns, load the shells, and send them on their way might be old enough to have done enough

 
 

traveling, and/or sufficiently annoyed at the problems of modern travel to swear off doing any more of it.

The aged fighters might not have to sully the IDF's name by using its weapons or ammunition. There is enough stuff available in the international market, plus enough Israelis capable of buying it and moving it to the outskirts of Gaza. Some of those who supply Palestinians are probably willing to supply Israelis.

To be sure, there are likely to be details having to be worked out. I aspire to being in Swift's league, but am probably not ready for it. Suggestions welcome.

Sharkansky is a professor emeritus of political science at Hebrew University 

 w

 


The Jews 'Down Under'
                  
By Garry Fabian
 


Communal lethargy dogs Jewish roof body

SYDNEY—Despite a four-week campaign only 54 people were nominated for the 75 positions on the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies (NSWJBD) general franchise this week.

NSWJBD president David Knoll expressed his dismay at the lack of nominations, but said that it was not irregular to have such a small number of nominees.

"It is disappointing, particularly when we ran a campaign to find new deputies, but I am happy to announce there is some younger blood," Knoll said at the board's plenum on Tuesday night.

Meanwhile, objections were raised when Knoll announced that the board was helping organise "specifically Jewish" events for World Youth Day next year.

Knoll said that 250,000 Catholics will be in Sydney for the event and Sydney's various communities have been invited to become involved.

"The church has welcomed the offer to have some of its members visiting a shul and a program at the Sydney Jewish Museum," Knoll said.

"I believe the general consensus at the meeting was that we wanted to continue working closely with the Catholic Church
Otto Waldman said he did not believe it was his place to promote another faith."

After some discussion, members voted overwhelmingly in support of the executive's decision to offer a Friday night Shabbat service for attendees.


● Go-ahead for Jewish same-sex unions

SYDNEY—Australia's first Jewish same-sex commitment ceremony is likely to be held in Sydney over the summer months, after Progressive rabbis this week agreed on a format for such unions.

Approaches to same sex commitment, the role of the non-Jewish partners and the ethics surrounding the climate-change debate were some of the topics discussed at the Union for Progressive Judaism's (UPJ) biennial conference in Hobart last week. At the meeting of the Council of Progressive Rabbis of Australia, New Zealand  and Asia (Moetzah), held after the four-day conference, UPJ's rabbis adopted a British model for conducting same-gender commitment ceremonies.
 

Moetzah chair Rabbi Jefferey Kamins said that a set of guidelines from Rabbi Mark Solomon, a former Australian now with the British Liberal Judaism movement, have been adopted.The English model was adopted because it makes a clear distinction between a commitment ceremony and a marriage ceremony" he said. "The distinction is also necessary for legal reasons, as it conforms with Australian law. Rabbis can come up with their own ceremonies, but these will be the guidelines," Kamins said.

A landmark Moetzah meeting held earlier this year decided that member rabbis would be permitted, but not required to conduct gay union ceremonies.Rabbi Kamins said that Australia''s same-sex commitment ceremony is likely to be conducted at Sydney's Emanuel Synagogue sometime this summer.

Jewish journalist nominated for Walkley Award

MELBOURNE—Jewish radio journalist Rafael Epstein has been nominated twice in the 2007 Walkley Awards for excellence in journalism.

The Walkleys are Australian journalism's most prestigious honour, with Epstein nominated in categories of Radio News Reporting, for his coverage of the Mohammad Hanef case.
His coverage of intelligence issues and police corruption in
Victoria won him a Walkley Award in 2004. Epstein was reluctant to discuss his nomination, noting that he was only a finalist at this stage and the awards had not been announced yet. However he did say that it was an honour to be nominated.
 

More than 1000 journalists and news organisations submitted entries for the Walkley Award this year. The winners will be announced at the 52nd Walkley Award ceremony on November 29.


Aussie educators link with Israel

MELBOURNE--A delegation of 12 Australian senior educators and public figures has completed a 13-day instructional trip to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The group traveled to Israel to learn more about its pioneering work with immigrant students and accelerated learning practices.

It was the second high-level visit to Israel this year by an
Australian educational delegation.

The visit was organised in conjunction with the Hebrew University's National Council of Jewish Women  Research Institute for Innovation in Education, to learn from Israeli experiences in developing the numeracy and literacy skills of students who are socially at-risk.

The Australian delegation, led by Professor Sue Willis, the dean of education at Monash University, observed various programs designed by Israeli educational experts.

Helene Teichmann, convener of the Yachad Accelerated Learning Project (YALP) in Australia, was also part of the delegation.

YALP is an Australian program based on Israeli experiences. The original concept was pioneered in Israel by educationalists who applied accelerated learning techniques to the education of immigrant students.

These included one-on-one mentoring, whole community story-telling and professional leadership.

YALP was implemented in Australia in 2004, for the benefit of
Aboriginal children and their communities. It operates across five states with support from public and private funds.

The Australian delegation also met with Israeli Minister for
Education Professor Yuli Tamir.

The trip was funded by the Victor Smorgon Charitable Fund on behalf of the late Ron Castan, a former governor of the Hebrew University and president of its Australian Friends' organisation.