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WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Democrat, California) issued the following statement on the death today of former San Francisco 49er Coach Bill Walsh

"Today we lost a man who was the heart and soul of the great San Francisco 49ers teams of the 1980s.  Bill Walsh was a great coach and a fine friend.

He touched so many in the Bay Area.  He led the 49ers to three Super Bowls.  And he gave this City a shot in the arm in some of its darkest hours.

I became Mayor in 1978.  Bill Walsh became Head Coach in 1979, after honing his skills at Stanford.  Just two years later – in the 1981 season – Bill Walsh led the 49ers on an improbable run to Super Bowl victory.

I look back on that time with great fondness.  One of the photos that I treasure most is in my home in Washington.  It was the parade after the first Super Bowl victory.  Bill and Eddie DeBartolo and I were sitting on the rim of a car.  We were worried that no one would show up.  Some said that San Francisco doesn’t do parades.  And then we turned down Market Street.  And there were a million plus San Franciscans lining the streets.  I will never forget that moment.

But I think what we will miss most is not Bill Walsh the coach, but Bill Walsh the person.  He was decent, and good, and kind.  Sure he was tough.  In football, just as in public life, you have to be. 

But he was fair.  He expected his players and coaches to spend the time and effort it takes to be great.  But he did not expect anything from them that he was not prepared to give himself.  Bill once said, ‘Playing to one’s full potential is the only purpose of playing at all.’

Well the good news is that Bill fulfilled his purpose.  He played to his full potential.  I know I speak for all San Francisco when I say that this is a sad day.  Bill Walsh will truly be missed.

Bill Walsh may have been called a ‘Genius’ when it comes to football, but his legacy goes well beyond the Xs and Os.  He touched this City, and we owe him a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid.”

The preceding story was provided by the office of Senator Dianne Feinstein
                                            

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News from the       Israel Baseball League

Left: Netanya Tiger Manager Ami Baran walks down hallway of Schneider Hospital with a young girl wearing a Ra'anana Express hat. Top right: Tel Aviv Lightning Manager Steve Hertz talks baseball with a young patient.  Bottom right: Ryan Crotin of the Petach Tikvah Pioneers presents a hat to a patient.  The Israel Baseball League conducted the visits just prior to All-Star Baseball Game on Sunday  Nathaniel Edelstein photos

Israel Baseball All-Stars visit Schneider Hospital

By Nathaniel Edelstein

PETACH TIKVA— Nine of the Israel Baseball League's brightest stars kicked off the first-ever All-Star day with a visit to the Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel to visit children battling cancer.  Player representatives from all six of the IBL's
teams along with Israeli manager Ami Baran of the Netanya Tigers, American manager Steve Hertz of the Tel Aviv Lightning, and Australian skipper Shaun Smith of the Ra'anana Express handed out hats and signed autographs for their young fans.

The day was made possible with the help of benefactors Jacob and Drora Amit, who lost their grandson Ro'e to cancer at the age of five, and have since spent countless hours coordinating events for the children of Schneider Medical Center.

"They know baseball and they love the baseball hats," said Jacob. "It's terrific for them because they see the players and it really puts a smile on their faces."

While the day was certainly fun for the children, it might have been equally special for the players themselves.

"Being able to break up their day a little bit and even spend five minutes with them and interact was hopefully a thrill for them because it was definitely a total thrill for me to have them be a part of myday," said Modi'in Miracle second baseman Noah Walker.

"It's a totally moving experience," added Bet Shemesh Blue Sox pitcher Rafael Bergstrom.  I don't exactly know the situations of each kid, but just seeing them in bed…obviously a lot of them don't have hair, a lot of them can't move around well.  It's pretty powerful."

The day was so successful and meaningful for the both the players and children that another hospital visit is already being planned to Tel HaShomer Hospital.  Players will once again give out hats and sign autographs in hopes of bringing the same joy that the children of Schneider's felt to the children of Tel HaShomer.

 

  The preceding story was provided by the Lawrence Family JCC
 

Middle East trip briefing...
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OPERATOR: The next question is from Elise Labott, CNN.

QUESTION: Hi. Thank you. Can you hear me?

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Yes.

QUESTION: Okay. Nick, there's been a lot of talk in recent days about the fact that Saudi Arabia and a number of other Arab countries are not doing all they can in Iraq. And in fact, yesterday, Ambassador Khalilzad did some interviews on TV and said not only are Saudi Arabia and some other Arab countries like the UAE not doing all they can to help in Iraq, but that some of them are actually doing things to undermine the process. And I'm wondering if this is really the time when Iraq obviously is a huge priority for you, if you should be rewarding these countries that, at the same time, you are criticizing and voicing your concerns to them about their activities in Iraq, specifically in helping the insurgency and the fact that U.S. weapons, you know, indirectly could go to them.

QUESTION: Well, Elise, I would answer your question by saying that Saudi Arabia specifically has been a friend of the United States since the Second World War and one of our most important regional partners. And the security assistance to Saudi Arabia, to Kuwait, to the United Arab Emirates, to Oman, to Bahrain and the other GCC countries is very much in our national interest because these countries are countries that serve our interest of stability and of long-term -- creating the basis for long-term peace in the Middle East. Without them, that would be a very difficult proposition. And so we justify the arms sales based on the importance of these countries to our vital security interests in the Gulf and in the Middle East in general; first point.

Second point; all of these countries have security needs that need to be met because of the increased threat of terrorism, because of the problem of proliferation of WMD in the region and because of the specter of a large -- of a strengthening, more aggressive Iran in the region itself, quite apart from the issue of nuclear weapons in the way that Iran is trying to expand its regional, political, military and economic influence.

Third, we certainly want these countries to be supportive of the Iraqi Government. And when we have disagreements with these countries about that, we are very quick to say so and we will hope very much that all of these Arab countries will be supportive of the Iraqi Government's attempts to strengthen itself and to resolve many of the internal problems of Iraq. So the issue is not un-related. I wouldn't say that, Elise -- you've asked a direct and related question -- but I think you do have to see it in that larger perspective, where we're going forward with assistance for a variety of reasons that speak to our national interest.

OPERATOR: (Inaudible)…, your line is open.

QUESTION: Thank you, good morning. Good morning, actually, most of my questions have been asked. I'll just be a little more specific on the Iraq question. In connection to these arms sales, have any particular assurances been received, or will they be sought during the current trips with regard to support for Iraq? And just a procedural question on your e-mail, I noticed that it said this was on the record, but the audio was not for broadcast. And I wondered if you would just mind clearing the audio for broadcast for those of us for whom the quotes are the sound bytes.

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Okay. Well, on that last question, it sounds like a very reasonable request, but I'll defer to my friend, Tom Casey.

MR. CASEY: It's fine with me.

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Yeah.

QUESTION: Great, thank you.

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Let me just say, in terms of -- I wanted to draw your attention to a statement that Prime Minister Olmert made yesterday, Sunday, in Jerusalem, where he said that we understand the need of the United States to support the Arab moderate states and there is a need for a united front between the U.S. and us regarding Iran.

Significant, that the Israeli Prime Minister would, in essence, go throw his support to this regional -- comprehensive regional approach by us to address the security needs of Israel, but also the Arab states. Certainly, during the trip this week when Secretary Rice and Secretary Gates talked to their -- our partners in the Middle East, Iraq will be issue number one. We want and we expect that there will be political support from the Arab countries to help stabilize Iraq. We hope that there will be economic support to that. And there is obviously a need of greater regional support for the Iraqi Government. So that's very much on our agenda.

But these -- this assistance package: The assistance package is part of our broader strategy, which is in the American national interest to strengthen our partners in the region. So we're going to go forward with it and we will justify it to the Congress on that basis on what's good for the United States. But, of course, we want these countries to be supportive of Iraq as well.

QUESTION: So there's no, sort of, quid pro quo regarding Iraq support. These countries could get tremendous amount of U.S. military equipment but still not be supportive or even be the opposite with regard to Iraq?

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: There are no formal quid pro quos at all behind this, but it stands to reason that given the fact that Iraq is the number-one American foreign policy interest globally, we would want our friends in the region to be supportive, not only of what the United States is doing in Iraq, but what the -- but of the Iraqi Government itself. And we've made that point, obviously, repeatedly to these countries and we'll -- that will continue to be a major emphasis on our part.

QUESTION: Thank you.

OPERATOR: Pain Verjee, CNN, you may ask your question.

QUESTION: Hi, Nick. It's Zain. I'm also a Pain. (Laughter.) Just one thing; there's a feeling that your strategy could backfire and what it will do, on the one hand, is allow Ahmadi-Nejad to get a lot more support for his own hardline faction in Iran, as well as generate instability in the region and not the security that you want. What are your thoughts on both?

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Zain, pleasure to talk to you. I'm sorry if we got your name -- if someone got your name wrong. Well, I guess the way I’d answer that question would be to say that Iran has worried everybody in the region. If you travel around the Middle East, whether it's to Israel or the Palestinian territories or to the Gulf countries, as well as the other countries of Levant, everyone's concerned by the fact that Iran is arming and funding Hezbollah and Hamas, Palestinian-Islamic Jihad, PFLP General Command.

It was striking when Secretary Rice had her last Quartet meeting in Lisbon. I think it was the same day Ahmadi-Nejad was in Damascus meeting with the frontive country that supports terrorism in the Middle East. It supports everything that the rest of the world is trying to defend against. And so the Iranians are the ones who have caused this concern. Now we would call upon the Iranians to stop their military assistance to terrorist groups and we call upon them to stop their financial assistance.

We've tried to open the door to them. We have this channel in Iraq where Ambassador -- where Ryan Crocker, our Ambassador, has been meeting with the Iranian Ambassador to Iraq. We've certainly offered through Solana, representing the interests of the P-5, our renewed interest in having negotiations on the nuclear issue, but we've been rebuffed by Iran. So it's the Iranians that have started -- that have caused the concern in the first place.

I think in the region, it's going to be understood that one of the reasons for these sales -- one of them, but not all -- not the totality, is to enable these countries to strengthen their defenses and therefore, to provide a deterrence against Iranian expansionism and Iranian aggression in the future. Now that's not the only reason we're doing this, but it is a leading factor and I think it's the Iranians who have to answer questions about their regional policy. The countries of the region want the U.S. to be present, they want the U.S. to have a security assistance relationship with them, and they want the United States to remain a strong influence in the region. And this statement today buttresses that ambition. The countries of the region do not want to see Iran strengthen its own position and continue to fuel and fund these radical groups. That's how I'd answer your question.

QUESTION: But isn't that what part of the concern is that exactly what you're doing is going to allow Ahmadi-Nejad to capitalize on it and boost his own standing?

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: I see the question, Zain, in the reverse. I -- today's announcement will be seen, I would predict, by the governments in the Gulf, as well as in Egypt and in Israel, as a reaffirmation of the American commitment to their security. They have told us that this type of step by us, a comprehensive way to address security concerns of the region, is absolutely necessary. So on the contrary; I don't think it's going to embolden the Iranians or give them an excuse to continue doing what they're doing. It is the region's wish that we engage in these -- in this military assistance, because the Iranians have caused the concern in the first place.

QUESTION: Thank you.

OPERATOR: David Wood, you may ask a question. I believe your line may be muted.

QUESTION: Good morning, Mr. Burns. It's Dave Wood at The Baltimore Sun. Can you hear me?

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Yes, I hear you fine, David.

QUESTION: Oh, good. I wonder if you could talk a bit about the relationship of this proposed arms sale to U.S. basing and access agreements and I wonder if, parallel to your technical negotiations with the Gulf states, whether you're going to be renegotiating any status of forces agreements or expanding American lily pad or CLS access agreements?

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: The -- what we're announcing today is essentially our -- the levels of our assistance to Israel and Egypt and the intention to continue with our decades-long military assistance policies towards the Gulf states. And, of course, we also have basing agreements and status of forces agreements with all of these countries. They're not directly tied to these levels of assistance, but they're part of our overall military cooperation. So I'm not in a position today to say that we're ready to announce any new developments; that's the job of DOD. And I don't want to let you think, from what I've just said, that somehow there is an announcement imminent. I think we'll continue; we want to continue with the type of military cooperation we've had regarding basing, but that's a DOD issue for the future.

OPERATOR: The next question is from Andrea Mitchell, NBC News.

QUESTION: Thanks, Nick. Following up on the Iran question, you've made considerable efforts to try to reach out domestically to so-called, the formers, or moderates, or democracy groups inside Iran. Won't this help Ahmadi-Nejad internally -- not only externally but internally -- to follow up on Zain's question, in getting a counter-reaction in solidifying his domestic support?

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: I don't think so at all, I mean -- Andrea, I actually think it works the other way. If you look at most of the recent public opinion polls about Iranian attitudes that have been published, the Iranians, obviously, are proud of their country, they're nationalistic, they want their country to succeed, but they are open to a relationship with the United States, most Iranians. They don't want to see their country in conflict with other countries. And I think what this will serve to do is to remind most Iranians that we are seeking a peaceful relationship with Iran. And I know that's true of the Arab states; no one wants to have a conflict-ridden relationship.

But if the Iranians that have caused a major, major turbulence in the region by going forward with this Damascus -- these summits in Damascus with Syria, with Hamas and Hezbollah all represented by the strengthening of their military and political assistance to most of the Middle East terrorist groups, this package answers the concern that the Arabs have. I think within Iran itself, it will have the effect among the reformers in Iran of indicating again how isolated the Iranians are and how few friends they have in the region.

And it will reinforce a concern that is present among the reformers in Iran that their country is upsetting the status quo in the Middle East. So I actually don't think that Ahmadi-Nejad will be able to capitalize very much on it. I'm sure he will try. I'm sure there will be speeches by Ahmadi-Nejad and his colleagues over the next couple of days that will try to take advantage of this. I don't think it's going to succeed inside Iran. It certainly isn't -- is not going to succeed in the Middle East in general, because that concern about Iran's behavior already exists.

QUESTION: And aside from hopes or expectations or wishful thinking, what evidence do you all have that the Saudis and others will respond to an implicit, at least, quid pro quo and be more helpful regarding Iraq?

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Well, first of all, on the question of security assistance with the Saudis and others, we've been talking to them for the last year. So they understand that we're not starting the latent -- the last stage of this, which is the formal process of identifying the specific systems and equipment that's going to be sold to them.

Secondly, we obvious -- since Iraq is issue number-one for us and since we have to succeed there, the Saudis and the others are not under any other impression but that. We hope they will be and we expect that they will be supportive of the Iraqi Government. I don't -- there's no contradiction there and I think they're very well aware of our views because we talk to them constantly about the situation in Iraq.

QUESTION: It just seems that the situation has been getting worse with more Saudi support for Sunni insurgents and you've been talking to them during this period where the situation has deteriorated.

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Yeah. I mean, you saw the Washington Post op-ed by Ken Pollack and Michael O'Hanlon. We think that there have been -- you know, there are some reasons to believe that we are finding some success on the ground. And we obviously will want to talk to -- continue to talk to the Saudis and others, the other Arab states about the need to be openly and politically supportive of the Iraqi Government.

QUESTION: Thank you Nick.

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Thanks Andrea.

OPERATOR: Michael Hirsch, you may ask your question.

QUESTION: Hey Nick, Mike Hirsch with Newsweek. I just was wondering -- I mean, do you expect us to forget about or to put aside what has been -- you know, the predominant foreign policy agenda, particularly in the Middle East, of this Administration? And Secretary Rice has spoken time and again about -- you know, the false stability created by U.S. policy in the past and you had -- you know, yet you have talked just now, you know, without any apparent sense of irony about the decades-long relationship we've had with these regimes, Saudi Arabia and Egypt and so on. I heard nothing about any conditions placed on this aid.

In fact, you seem to emphatically deny that there was any quid pro quo of any kind, particularly, you know, conditions in sort of the democratization, which, again, was the agenda that we heard so much about early in the second term. Can you address this apparent contradiction?

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Well, Mike, thank you for your question. We don’t normally deal in irony presenting our views. We try to present them, in effect, in a forward way. The fact is that given -- the Middle East is the most turbulent part of the world and the one most directly tied to vital American interests. And we never suspended our military assistance to Saudi Arabia or the other states at any time during this period. We have been constant supporters of their national security and we never suggested and Secretary Rice never suggested that we should somehow end the relationship with them that we had enjoyed with them for decades long.

But we are interested in the long-term political evolution of these countries towards greater freedom and greater democracy. And the fact is, I think Secretary Rice -- I remember even in her Cairo speech saying this, is that we couldn't expect to see results overnight. And so we continue with our security assistance relationship as we had always planned and we had never indicated anything otherwise back in 2005 and 2006. And yet at the same time, have a longer-term agenda trying to promote the kind of political and societal change that will lead to greater freedom --

QUESTION: This is a dramatic -- I mean, if I just might interrupt, this is a dramatic uptick in support for regimes without any apparent conditions for a change in those regimes.

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: I don't -- there is no -- I don't see a contradiction. We were clear two years ago that we were going to continue our security relations with these countries. This is a continuation of military assistance that has been present over decades, but it is warranted by the increased threat to these countries by terrorist groups and by Iran in the region, so we certainly stand by it.

OPERATOR: At this time, there are no further questions in queue. If you do still have a question, please press *1 and record your name when prompted.

MR. CASEY: Well, actually, as long as we have nothing else in the queue here, Nick, thank you very much. I know we've taken a lot of your time this morning to have you present this. I'm very glad we were able to arrange this with you and appreciate everyone else joining us today. Thank you, everyone, for being with us. And Nick, good luck with your travel next week.

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Thank you very much. Thanks.

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Hadassah education projects ...
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Second Place (TIE):

Golda Leah Chapter of the Florida Atlantic Region for their study group of 80 to100 participants who gathered monthly to focus on a different Jewish community from various world locations and points in history. Areas of study included, among others, 15th century Seville, 16th century Venice, and 19th century Frankfurt. Participants learned about Jewish history and communities interactively, thereby better understanding the impact these past communities have on our lives as Jews today. Each meeting was facilitated by a group member who used Allan Levine’s book, Scattered Among the Peoples, to help them present a community, often by impersonating one of its more famous members with the assistance of visual aides and handouts. Many of the sessions also included relevant speakers, such as Diane Abravanel, a descendant of the famous Abravanel family, who attended the Seville session.

Lois Cohen and Barbara Grau accepted the award on behalf of the chapter.

Pasco Chapter of the Florida Central Region for their study group that focused on Sephardic Jewry, with special emphasis on the methods Jewish people use to adapt to exile and maintain Jewishness as a minority in America. The first meeting featured Sephardic dishes, cookbooks, and music. Each member received a folder with timelines and maps and was given access to the group’s lending library. In each subsequent meeting, one Sephardic dish was presented and members opened the session by sharing what they had read from the library that month. Topics included “The Golden Age,” “Sephardic Life in Latin America,” and “Destruction of Cordoba and Formation of City States,” among others.

Sharon Lee Sisselsky accepted the award on behalf of the chapter.

Third Place (TIE):

Pearl Landau Main Line Group of the Greater Philadelphia Chapter for their study group that focused on “Our Extraordinary Jewish Women Scientists.” Members researched female scientists and educated other participants during the study sessions. Scientists presented included Dr. Devra Davis, a contemporary epidemiologist and toxicologist at Carnegie Mellon University, and Rita Levi-Montalcini, a neurobiologist and Nobel Prize Winner in Medicine.

Shirley Chalick accepted the award on behalf of the chapter.

Teaneck-Hackensack Chapter of the Northern New Jersey Region for their study group, which has been meeting since 1993 and this year focused on the Holocaust. Since many of the members were Holocaust survivors, this year’s topic was an extremely emotional one, inspiring members to bring pictures, mementos, and stories to the discussions. Subtopics included “Art during the Holocaust” and “FDR and the Holocaust.”

Marilyn Saposh accepted the award on behalf of the chapter.

Hadassah launched the Hannah L. Goldberg Study Awards in 1981 to emphasize its commitment to interactive Jewish learning. Since its inception in 1912 as a study circle, Hadassah has encouraged and facilitated peer-led Jewish study for thousands of women of all ages across the nation. The award is named in honor of the late Hannah Goldberg, a woman profoundly committed to Jewish education, who served Hadassah as executive director from 1953-1971.

The preceding story was provided by Hadassah

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