Livni lectures Norway's FM on
danger of Hamas
JERUSALEM (Press Release)—Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs
Tzipi Livni met today (6 August) with the co-chairmen of the Socialist
International Middle East Committee, Norwegian Foreign Minister Johas Gahr Store
and Secretary General of the Italian Democrats of the Left, Piero Fassino.
Against the background of the dialogue conducted by Norway with Hamas, Foreign
Minister Livni said:
"Palestinian unity means standstill and deterioration. Israelis and Palestinians
need decision. Our position vis-a-vis Hamas is not punishment for the past, but
a response to the fact that Hamas is preventing any chance or hope for the
future.
“The
Arab world must support the Palestinian government and the steps Israel is
taking towards normalization by stages. The role of the donor countries and of
Tony Blair is to bridge the gaps between the ideal and the reality of the
Palestinians' ability to combat terror and set up governing institutions.
Normalization will be implemented only where there is effective rule by a
government that accepts the Quartet conditions. It is only with such a
government that Israel and the world should interact.”
The preceding story was provided by
Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs
(Return to top)
Wiesenthal Center praises UN on resolution calling for release of
kidnapped Israeli soldiers
(Return to top)
LOS ANGELES—The
Simon Wiesenthal Center has commended the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
and the UN Security Council for demanding on August 3 that Hezbollah
immediately and unconditionally release Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser,
the Israeli soldiers kidnapped last summer.
The Center also praised the Council’s denouncing of Syria for continuing
to smuggle weapons to the terrorist group--a violation the Council’s
Resolution 1701 called for at the end of the Lebanon War.
“We commend the leadership of Secretary
General Ban for dealing directly and forthrightly on Hezbollah’s failure to
release the Israeli soldiers they kidnapped and for not turning a blind eye to
Syria’s mocking of the international community’s will by continuing to smuggle
arms into Lebanon,” said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Wiesenthal
Center.
“We hope that the leadership exhibited by
the Secretary General will be matched by actions on the ground that reunite the
kidnapped soldiers with their families and forestall an even greater
conflagration than was experienced in last summer’s Lebanon War,” Cooper
concluded.
The preceding story was provided by the
Simon Wiesenthal Center
.
Olmert
denounces survivor protests against stipend
JERUSALEM (Press
Release)—Israel’s prime minister Ehud Olmert has denounced protests by
Holocaust survivors at the level of their Israeli pension. Olmert said
at a cabinet meeting on Sunday: "Those who submit a newspaper photograph
of a woman wearing pajamas and a yellow patch drag the discussion down
to an unacceptable level, and such images will not dictate the
government's actions on the issue."
Outside his residence, dozens of survivors and hundreds of supporters
staged a protest. Carrying signs that said, “Let us live in dignity,”
the demonstrators demanded that the prime minister issue a formal
statement revoking a reported government decision to provide a monthly
stipend next year of 83 shekels, about US$ 20, to the country’s
Holocaust survivors.
Some survivors have likened their treatment in Israel to that of the
Nazis and threatened to march on Jerusalem dressed in prison uniforms
recalling the concentration camps of World War II. With talks between
the government and survivors' representatives under way, social welfare
minister Isaac Herzog said the monthly pension might be increased.
Herzog said that the protest march, “all in the name of a financial
dispute with the government, is an insult to the collective memory of
the Holocaust.” Herzog also denied claims that the original pension for
survivors proposed by the government was only 83 shekels a month and
said that the sum was actually an addition to the pensions proposed by
Olmert.
The preceding story was provided by the World Jewish Congress
|
The Peres Diary |
|
More
on the visit with Condoleezza Rice
JERUSALEM (Press Release) —The
President of Israel, Mr. Shimon Peres, met August 1st with the Secretary
of State of the U.S.A., Ms. Condoleezza Rice and conveyed through her an
Official Invitation to President Bush to come to Israel as Guest of
Honor at the 60th Independence Celebrations of the State of Israel
President Peres: “The entire State of Israel wishes to honor President
Bush at the 60th Independence celebrations and it is a great opportunity
to thank America.”
During the joint statements given by the two before they went into the
meeting, the President said: “Ms. Rice brings with her freshness and
hope and I believe that her latest moves can lead Israel and the
Palestinians to the last stage in the peace negotiations.”
The Secretary of State replied: "With your wisdom, your faith and your
courage you influenced all of us to act in order to achieve peace. You
are not loved only Israel but in the entire world who regard you as a
courageous warrior for peace and freedom.”
After the joint statements the two entered the President’s bureau where
they held a long tête à tête working meeting on a series of security and
political issues concerning our region. Later the two joined their
official delegations and held a discussion on the various aspects of the
Peace Valley Project.
President Peres emphasized that the best way to achieve true and
comprehensive peace in this region is through a combination of political
negotiations and economic cooperation between Israel, Jordan and the
Palestinians and that many countries and entrepreneurs wish to
participate in this economic process, with Japan and Turkey at their
head.
The office of Israel's President Shimon
from time to time releases accounts of his official activities. We have
been publishing them as they are made available.
President Peres news from other sources:
"Happy
Birthday, Mr President:
Representatives of youth movements hold a surprise party for President
Peres on his 84th birthday,"
Ynet
News, August 5, 2007
Jewish-born French Cardinal Lustiger dies at 80
P ARIS (Press Release)—The French cardinal
and former archbishop of Paris, Jean-Marie Lustiger, a Jew who converted
to Roman Catholicism, has died aged 80. The son of Polish refugees, he
was close to the late Pope John Paul II. His appointment as archbishop
in 1981 gave him one of the highest ever positions for a convert to the
French Catholic church. In 1983, he was made a cardinal.
|
"He had a notable role in our
society and in the intellectual debates of our time," the Paris
diocese said in a statement. "France loses a great figure of our
country's spiritual, moral, intellectual and religious life,"
Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, said. Lustiger's funeral
will be held on Friday at the cathedral Notre-Dame de Paris. |
Cardinal Lustiger (right) with
Edgar Bronfman in 2005
Cardinal Lustiger was an early champion of
interfaith relations. In 2000 he accompanied Pope John Paul to Jerusalem
and a year later to Damascus, Syria, where John Paul II became the first
Pope to set foot in a mosque. Earlier, Lustiger was involved in efforts
to close a divide between Jews and Christians over the presence of a
Carmelite convent at the site of the Auschwitz death camp, where his
mother had perished during the Holocaust. Aaron Lustiger was born on 17
September 1926 in Paris. He was the first of two children of Charles and
Gisèle Lustiger.
After the Nazi occupation of France in 1940, Aaron was sent with his
sister, Arlette, to live with a Catholic woman in Orléans, where the
children were exposed to Catholicism and where Aaron, aged 13 and
against the wishes of his parents, decided to convert to Catholicism. He
was baptized in August 1940, adding the name Jean-Marie to Aaron. His
sister was baptized later. In September 1942, Gisèle Lustiger was
deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau, where she died in 1943. The father
survived the Holocaust and returned to Paris.
Lustiger always asserted that despite his conversion he remained a Jew,
a claim which drew criticism from many orthodox Jewish leaders.
"Christianity is the fruit of Judaism," he once said. "For me, it was
never for an instant a question of denying my Jewish identity. On the
contrary," he said in a book published in 1987. He was a regular guest
at inter-religious conferences and the first cardinal to address a World
Jewish Congress (WJC) Plenary Assembly meeting in Brussels (in 2005).
Last May, Lustiger made an emotionally charged final appearance at the
Académie Française of which he was a member since 1995. Despite his
diminished physical appearance, "we felt his fervor," fellow academy
member Jean-Marie Rouart said later. Richard Prasquier, president of
France’s Jewish umbrella group CRIF, said Lustiger “was among those who
have done the most for the relations between Catholics and Jews.”
The preceding story was provided by the World
Jewish Congress
(Return to top)
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
Porthole Table for Four—Brothers Casey and Travis
Ford (right) enjoy a meal at sea with Jodi Randolph (left) and Leah
Williams.
Thanks to the Ford
family of Agoura, California, for sharing their photos of
their family reunion weekend cruise
|
University
of Cambridge opposes Israel academic boycott
CAMBRIDGE, United Kingdom (Press
Release)—The University of Cambridge has opposed the planned boycott of
Israeli academic institutions by the University and College Union, a trade
union of British academics.
A meeting of the governing Council of the prestigious British university
unanimously endorsed the following statement: “UCU members are free to
debate the pros and cons of an institutional boycott of Israeli
universities. Universities in the UK, however, would oppose any such boycott
as this would be inimical to academic freedom, including the freedom of
academics to collaborate with other academics, regardless of nationality or
location.”
In May, at its annual congress, UCU delegates voted a motion urging
lecturers to "consider the moral implications of existing and proposed links
with Israeli academic institutions," to protest the treatment of the
Palestinians. Other trade unions also called for a boycott of Israel.
The preceding story was provided by the
World Jewish Congress
(Return to top)
.
Diplomat who denies Armenian genocide by Turks
is withdrawn as nominee for ambassadorship
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release) – Congressman Adam Schiff
(Democrat, California) expressed his support on Friday, August
3, for the White House’s withdrawal of the nomination of Richard
E. Hoagland’s to be the next U.S. Ambassador to Armenia.
Hoagland had been nominated to replace Ambassador John Evans who
was pushed to retire from his post by the Bush Administration.
Congressman Schiff and many of his Congressional colleagues
believe Ambassador Evans was recalled for his comments made in
February of 2005 in which he publicly recognized the Armenian
Genocide.
“The President
was right to withdraw Mr. Hoagland’s nomination,” Schiff said.
“During his confirmation hearings, Mr. Hoagland continued to
deny that the massacre of a million and a half Armenians between
1915 and 1923 was genocide, thereby compounding the injury done
to the Armenian people and, especially, the few remaining
survivors of the first genocide of the Twentieth Century. I
hope that the President will soon nominate a new ambassador who
will be more forthcoming in discussing the Armenian Genocide”
On March 21,
at an Appropriations hearing before the Subcommittee on State,
Foreign Operations, and Related Programs, Schiff pressed
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on her opposition to
recognizing the Armenian Genocide carried out by the Ottoman
Empire between 1915 and 1923. In his pointed questioning,
Schiff repeatedly asked the Secretary of State if she believed
that the murder of 1.5 million Armenians could be characterized
as anything other than a genocide. The Secretary did not
directly respond.
The
preceding story was provided by the office of Congressman Adam
Schiff
Brazil-Syria cooperation pact draws strong criticism
The Simon Wiesenthal Center criticized leaders of
Brazil's ruling party, Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT) for
signing a cooperation agreement with the Syrian Baath Party.
In a letter to Ricardo Berzoini (President) and
Valter Pomar (Secretary for International Relations), Center
officials wrote in part;
“There can be no doubt that PT authorities know very well that
the Baath Party has been leading for decades an authoritarian
regime that disregards human rights, that has been accused of
supporting terrorism and has protected Nazi war criminals such
as Alois Brunner, who was Adolf Eichmann’s deputy in the
implementation of the so-called ‘Final Solution.’” said Shimon
Samuels, Director for International Relations of the Wiesenthal
Center.
The PT emphasized that the agreement promotes “a
joint action towards an agenda which includes the work in favour
of international peace, the combat against imperialism, and the
fight for a more balanced international institutional life.”
“What peace agenda can promote a ruling party
which supports terrorist groups such as Hizbollah and Hamas,
which has violated the sovereignty of a neighbour-country such
as Lebanon, and also looks down on democracy?” added Sergio
Widder, the Center’s Latin American Representative.
“We call on PT to review its position, to leave
the agreement without effect, and to call on Syria to stop
financing terrorism, to refrain from boycotting any Middle East
peace initiative and to provide information about Nazi war
criminals who found refuge in its territory. Eluding those
responsibilities would seriously damage the credibility of the
PT in front of the democratic world,” concludes the letter.
________________________
Click the ad above to go to the "I'm there for you baby" website
AJC salutes Defense report on proselytizing
NEW YORK (Press
Release) – The American Jewish Committee has
commended the U.S. Department of Defense for its
recent investigative report on the access given
a leading evangelical organization and its
direct influence on senior officers.
“What the Defense Department has uncovered is
deeply disturbing, and we are gratified that
those officers who participated while in uniform
in a fundraising video for the Christian Embassy
will face disciplinary action,” said Rabbi Gary
Greenebaum, AJC’s
U.S. director of Interreligious
Affairs.
”The fact that certain senior officers in the
military have enabled the Christian Embassy, an
evangelizing organization, to long sponsor
programs in the Pentagon is troubling,” said
Rabbi Greenebaum. “Every effort must be made to
ensure that no single faith is favored in the
military.”
Unfortunately, proselytizing in the military is
not a new issue. AJC expressed concerns about
religious coercion in the U.S. military two years ago in the
wake of allegations of discrimination at the
U.S. Air Force Academy where some commanding
officers and chaplains abused their positions to
advance their own religious agendas.
The preceding story was provided by
the American Jewish Committee
CYBER-REFERRALS—Israel's Consulate General in Los Angeles
noted the following news stories in today's editions of Israeli
media outlets: A Qassam rocket landed on an empty kindergarden
in Sderot
(Ynet); Israel, PA will expand talks on establishing
Palestinian state as soon as possible
(Ha'aretz).
California, Arizona & Nevada
sales positions
Start your career, help save the planet
The
foremost environmentally friendly packaging company, Bubbla,
seeks sales personnel throughout the three-state area to
demonstrate and sell its packaging systems. We offer sales
assistance, payment for pre-qualified customer demonstrations
and a high commission structure for independent representatives.
To find out more, email us at
acooper@bubbla.com, or
call our offices in Canoga Park at (818) 884-2000, or click on
this link to visit our website
http://www.bubbla.com
(go to the "contact us" tab).
7931 Deering Ave. Los Angeles, CA 91304 Toll Fee
(877) 4-Bubbla Fax (818) 883-2164 info@bubbla.comhttp://www.bubbla.com
|
D.A, Sheriff team up to offer citizen's academy
SAN DIEGO (Press Release)—The San Diego County District
Attorney’s Office announced it will hold its popular, expanded
Citizens Academy starting in early September on the University
of San Diego campus. The ten-week long Citizens Academy is a
free course in partnership with the San Diego Sheriff’s
Department that demystifies the criminal justice system and the
workings of the District Attorney's Office for members of the
general public.
“This is an amazing opportunity
for people to meet prosecutors in the District Attorney's Office
and get an insider’s look at what we do,” said DA
Bonnie M. Dumanis.
“The feedback from the first Citizens Academy last year has led
us to expand our efforts this second time around.”
Citizens Academy classes are held once a week for three hours
each evening at USD. The course lasts ten weeks and participants
receive a certificate upon completion. The Academy introduces
citizens to the inner-workings of the law enforcement system as
it is administered by the District Attorney and Superior Court.
The course includes on-site visits to the Sheriff’s Training
Facility, central jail, and a superior courtroom.
A diverse group of speakers from
the DA’s Office and Sheriff’s Department will discuss topics
ranging from cold case homicide to prosecuting sexually violent
predators. Prosecutors and deputies will also cover narcotics,
gangs, crime scene investigations, ballistics/firearms, witness
protection, Internet crimes against children, sex crimes and
stalking, domestic violence, public integrity and the workings
of the judicial system.
Praise from those who attended the DA’s first Citizens Academy
has been strong. As one Academy graduate wrote, “Real…law
enforcement is traditionally an arcane, obscure and sometimes
frightening institution; it rarely has its curtain lifted or its
interior workings broadly disclosed. If you can afford the time,
don’t mind a background check and have an interest in community
affairs, by all means apply to be included in this course.”
The Citizens Academy begins Thursday, September 6. Classes will
be held from 6p.m. to 9p.m. at the Manchester Conference Center
on the University of San Diego campus at 5998 Alcalá Park, San
Diego, CA 92110. Space is limited. Members of the public wishing
to attend the academy should contact the District Attorney's
Office at (619) 515-8294 to make a reservation by August 15. A
required application is available online at
http://www.sdcda.org/office/academy.php
The preceding story was provided by the office of District
Attorney Bonnie Dumanis
Davis
tells of vote against warrantless wiretapping
Washington, DC —
Congresswoman
Susan Davis
(Democrat, California) released the following
statement on passage of Senate legislation (S.
1927) to amend the Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Act (FISA). The Senate bill passed
the House of Representatives by a vote of
227-183. Davis joined a majority of her
Democratic colleagues in voting against S. 1927.
“While Congress has
a duty to protect the American people from
attacks, we must do so in a manner consistent
with the Constitution and the Fourth Amendment.
I believe that S. 1927 went too far by allowing
wiretapping without a warrant and giving too
much power to the Executive Branch, especially
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.
“The Bush
Administration has made it perfectly clear that
they do not believe Congress or the Courts
should play a role in overseeing national
security efforts. I firmly disagree and
strongly urge the Administration to work with
Congress on issues vital toward the protection
of American citizens. The people are best
served when all branches work for the greater
good and not toward political aims.
“The only bright
spot in S. 1927 is that it expires in six
months. I am hopeful that my colleagues on the
House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
and the Judiciary Committee will make the matter
of reforming the law a top priority upon
returning in September.”
{Click the above ad for more
information}
News from the
Israel Baseball League |
JEWISH BASEBALL SYMBOLS—The
players of the Modi'in Miracle in the Israel Baseball League wear
two familiarJewish symbols. A menorah on their batting
helmets—symbolizing the Chanukah miracle—
and the JNF pushke or tszedakah box on their right shoulders.
IBL photo by Nathaniel Edelstein
Game and home run derby won by Miracle
By Nathaniel Edelstein
KIBBUTZ GEZER, Israel— It took a homerun derby here for the Modi'in
Miracle to defeat the Ra'anana Express 2-1 today
Ra'anana righty Joshua Zumbrun threw a complete game and gave up
just one unearned run on three hits with five strikeouts and no
walks. But Miracle left-hander Ian Okorofsky of Ontario, Canada,
was almost as un-hittable, pitching 6 1/3 innings and allowing one
run on four hits with a strikeout and two walks.
The masterful pitching from both teams led to the homerun derby in
which Modi'in first baseman Aaron Levin slugged three homers to lead
the Miracle to the 4-2 derby win and the overall victory.
The Bet Shemesh Blue Sox and the Netanya Tigers played the last
half-inning of the protested July 1st game with the Blue Sox opening
the bottom of the seventh leading 10-5. The Tigers managed to score
two runs, but it wasn't enough to come back on the Sox.
The Tigers did come back during the day's regularly scheduled game
to beat the Blue Sox 5-3 at Sportek Bet Shemesh was leading 3-1
through 5.5 innings, but the Netanya offense came alive in the
bottom of the seventh to put four runs on the board. First baseman
Ty Eriksen of Vancouver, Washington, went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a
run scored while catcher Sam Faeder and leftfielder Dan Rootenberg
also chipped in two hits apiece for the Tigers.
New York native Leon Feingold collected his third victory of the
season with seven innings of work, giving up three runs on six hits
while striking out two and walking four as the Tigers remain 11
games behind the first-place Sox.
The second-place Tel Aviv Lightning pulled within a game of Bet
Shemesh by beating the Petach Tikva Pioneers 8-3 at the Baptist
Village.
Rightfielder Jeff Hastings went 3-for-4 with two RBI and a run
scored while Dominican shortstop Raul Franco raised his average to
.380 with two hits, an RBI, and two runs scored. Third baseman Nate
Fish also collected two hits and an RBI as the Lightning's winning
streak reaches five games and the Pioneers lose their eighth
straight.
Summaries:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 HR R H E
Ra'anana 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 1 4 3
Modi'in 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 2 3 1
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Bet Shemesh 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 10 7 0
Netanya 0 0 3 0 1 1 2 7 9 5
W: Jeff Mor (1-0); L: Matt Comiter (0-1); SV: Scott Perlman (1); HR:
Ramon Rodriguez (1), Jason Rees (3), Mike Lyons (1)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Bet Shemesh 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 3 6 1
Netanya 0 0 0 1 0 4 x 5 9 0
W: Leon Feingold (3-2); L: Rafael Bergstrom (6-2); HR: None
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Tel Aviv 0 0 2 0 5 0 1 8 11 1
Petach Tikva 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 3 4 1
W: Mike Etkin (4-0); L: Andrew Morales (1-5); HR: None
Standings:
Team W L % GB
Bet Shemesh Blue Sox 24 9 .727 -
Tel Aviv Lightning 22 9 .710 1.0
Modi'in Miracle 19 13 .594 4.5
Ra'anana Express 13 19 .406 10.5
Netanya Tigers 12 19 .387 11.0
Petach Tikva Pioneers 5 26 .161 18.0
Tuesday the Tel Aviv Lightning and the Modi'in Miracle play a
doubleheader at the Sportek in Tel Aviv with the first game starting
at 2 pm and the second game at 5 pm. At Kibbutz Gezer the Petach
Tikva Pioneers take on the Bet Shemesh Blue Sox at 5 pm and at 7 pm
the Netanya Tigers play the Ra'anana Express at Yarkon Field at the
Baptist Village.
{Click the above ads for
more information}
Baseball league may help
Israelis fight stress
SAN DIEGO—Back in 1967, Bruce Lowitt and I were both rookies in the
Associated Press bureau in Los Angeles. He was on the sports
desk and I was working the news desk. One of my jobs was to
edit stories turned in by both news and sports reporters before
putting it on the wire.
Bruce, whose columns occasionally appear on San Diego Jewish
World, was quite gung-ho about sports, an attitude that landed
him in New York City, where he became one of AP's chief football
writers before eventually moving on to the St. Petersburg
(Florida) Times.
I might have been described as similarly motivated about news,
but when it came to sports, I was somewhat lackadaisical. Bruce
would knock out the result of some sports game and breathlessly
bring it to my desk, exclaiming "this is a final!" "Great,"
I'd reply, casually pushing it aside to continue reading some news
analysis, or "thumb sucker" as we used to call long stories
providing background on the news.
"Don, this is competitive," he'd insist. "Aw, who gives a s*** about
sports," I'd respond.
"I mean it!" he'd say.
"Oh, all right," I'd reply somewhat begrudgingly, then read his copy
and give it to the telegrapher.
Truth was, even though as a kid I was a pretty good first baseman, I
didn't "get" sports, and really haven't until recently.
Editing this on-line newspaper heightens my appreciation for sports.
So much of the news in our Jewish world, necessary though it is, is
angst-producing: Iran wanting to wipe Israel off the map;
neo-Nazis vandalizing cemeteries in Eastern Europe; constitutional
protections for the separation of church and state forever being
eroded.
But in sports,
where someone comes from, or what that person's race or religion is,
simply is an incidental fact—far less important in, say, the world
of baseball then whether he or she throws right handed or left
handed, how high is his/her batting average, and how low is his/her
ERA. Someday, I believe, even gender will be an incidental.
Women will be permitted, even encouraged, to try out for major
league baseball teams, and some will take the field.
I was talking with Norman Manson, who writes book reviews for us.
He started out as a sportswriter some 60 years ago, and later had a
full and productive career on the San Diego Union-Tribune as
a copy editor.
For many people, he told me, sports is a vicarious thrill; people
actually imagine themselves in the batting box or on the pitcher's
mound trying to establish a record or reaching a new plateau the way
Barry Bonds and Tom Glavine did recently. Or for some, he
suggested, sports is a respite from the tensions and stresses of the
every day world.
I must fall within the second category of fan. I like to read sports
stories because they are all about people winning respect based on
their merit. Are you a good tennis player? Then you'll
get respect no matter what your race, religion or gender. You
are judged by your performance, by how many games, sets and matches
you have won, by the number of tournaments that you've placed
first.
In this online
newspaper, we have been giving quite a bit of attention to the
Israel Baseball League. Why? I'm enchanted by the idea
of Israelis being afforded the same kind of relaxation from the
stress of the news as we enjoy in the United States. Oh, I
know they have some darn good soccer leagues, and that they follow
World Cup action avidly, but something tells me that in time,
Israelis will fall in love with baseball as much for the cerebral
qualities it induces as the athletic prowess it encourages.
In the
meantime, reading and editing stories about the IBL relieves my
stress and I hope yours... and let's us get on to the rest of the
news.
{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}
(Return to top)
|
|