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INTERNATIONAL Obama wasting political capital on settlements issue ... by Barry Rubin in Herzliya, Israel
Although somewhat quieted by the successful Netanyahu-Obama meeting, a predominant theme in current talk about U.S. Middle East policy is that there will soon be a U.S.-Israel confrontation.READ MORE
Democratic institutions, not just elections, required for Mideast democracy to survive in religious environments ... by Gary Rotto in San Diego
In analyzing President Obama's Cairo speech, the Wall Street Journal noted that “Mr. Obama intends to continue George W. Bush's crusade for democracy.” READ MORE
Briefing on Jewish issues, lawmakers in the U.S. capital Schumer says Sotomayor's asylum rulings in line with other judges READ MORE
Congressman Steve Israel urges control of counterfeit medications READ MORE
Kohl wants to continue incentives for confessions of price-fixing READ MORE
Lieberman seeks funds for preserving fish habitats READ MORE
Congressman Klein wants hearings into Iran's South America role READ MORE
Boxer and Lautenberg favor increased biomonitoring READ MORE
Senate Republicans urge EPA to reanalyze Waxman's climate bill READ MORE
Jewish news—good and bad—from around the world Eliezer Schwartz, 81, completes doctoral thesis on subject he knew well: Nazi labor camps READ MORE
Norway's King Harald V and Crown Prince Harkan sing with kindergartners in synagogue READ MORE Canadian Jewish Congress presents human rights award to PM Harper READ MORE
Letter to the Editor: Maybe Obama's new friends will help the U.S. in Afghanistan? READ MORE
The Jews Down Under...Roundup of Australian Jewish news by Garry Fabian in Melbourne Strong Jewish presence on 2009 Rich List READ MORE
Jewish recipients of Queen's birthday honours list READ MORE
Swine flu forces cancellation of junior soccer tournament READ MORE
Is one firm hogging kosher catering business in Sydney?READ MORE
'Lone wolf' gunman at Holocaust Museum followed strategy urged by hate groups on the Internet ... by Donald H. Harrison in San Diego The attack on the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. yesterday by a well-known white supremacist, James von Brunn, 88, matched the modus operandi that has been urged on websites by such fellow racists as Tom Metzger and Alex Curtis, commented Morris Casuto, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League.READ MORE
Editor's Mailbox: S.D. County news of Jewish interest
Toni Atkins announces her backers for Assembly seatREAD MORE
Jewish Cyber-Referrals READ MORE
Bidding for rabbi as a golf partner precedes Sunday's CBI tournament READ MORE
JUDAISM Bible in Pop Culture The beast of the earth, Genesis 1:25 VIEW IMAGE
JEWISH HISTORY Adventures in San Diego Jewish History May 1, 1953, Southwestern Jewish Press Linda’s Lookout by Linda Solof READ MORE
San Diego Hebrew Home for the AgedREAD MORE
Pioneer Women READ MORE
Magic Carpet Day READ MORE
City of Hope to Hold Luncheon for Mothers READ MORE
Temple Beth Israel Family Picnic READ MORE
Temple Teens READ MORE
Cottage of Israel READ MORE
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HERZLIYA, Israel—Although somewhat quieted by the successful Netanyahu-Obama meeting, a predominant theme in current talk about U.S. Middle East policy is that there will soon be a U.S.-Israel confrontation. This is so expected that there are daily misinterpretations or fabrications of events implying some anti-Israel step by the Obama administration.
Such things might well-almost inevitably will-happen at some point. But by the end of May 2009, there had still been no material action hostile to Israel undertaken by the administration.
What is curious, and counterproductive for the administration, is the one area which might be the scene of direct confrontation: the settlement issue.
Israel does not start new settlements. The issue is a narrower one: adding a building or even rooms or floors onto buildings in existing settlements. A second potential issue is over construction in the east Jerusalem area.
So far, there is a consensus in Israel that the same policy as has been held since 1993 should continue: no new settlements but construction on existing settlements.
From the administration's standpoint, making this the big push doesn't make sense and is likely to lead to looking foolish in the future no matter how it comes out.
First, if Israel refuses, is the United States going to apply disproportionate diplomatic force on the issue? Will huge threats or actions be deployed to make a small change?
Second, there is no implication of an enforced reciprocity. That is, Israel is not being offered anything for making such a concession on a policy held by the last six prime ministers. The United States, for example, urged the Palestinian Authority (PA) to stop incitement for murdering Israelis in its media and other institutions but there was no statement that this was a high priority or that the United States would punish the PA for not doing so.
How, then, will the United States get Israel to take steps of much greater importance it will want in future if a lot of political capital is used up on this one?
If the United States fails to force a change in Israeli policy it will look foolish. But what if it succeeds? The PA will just move to the next item on its list: refusing to negotiate with Israel unless Netanyahu explicitly endorses a "two-state" solution.
And the PA will do or give nothing in exchange for a cessation of Israeli settlement construction. Neither will the Arab states. They will not help it more on the Iran issue or meet any other U.S. request.
On the contrary, they will say that now the United States has demonstrated it can get Israel to do what it wants. Thus, Washington has no excuse for not ordering Israel to withdraw from all the West Bank, agree to an independent Palestinian state without preconditions, and do whatever else the Arab
regimes want. Indeed PA leader Mahmoud Abbas said that in his interviews while in Washington.
In short, the United States will have reaped zero advantage from achieving its current number-one priority on the peace process.
And what will it do if the PA refuses to cooperate even after a settlement freeze, threaten to cut off aid or withdraw the military training mission?
The administration has already signalled the PA that the Palestinians are doing America a favor by taking the dollars. After all, doesn't Obama say that the peace process and good relations with the Palestinians are the keystone of U.S. Middle East policy? Hasn't Washington accepted the notion that keeping the PA happy is the way to get Arabs and Muslims to love America? So it has already given away the leverage needed to get anything done.
As usually happens nowadays, I'm unaware of any government, media or analytical response to the points made here. Something like "stop settlement activity" becomes a mantra which involves no serious thought, longer-term strategy, or response to criticisms like the ones I'm making here.
Stopping settlement activity will not advance a diplomatic solution. That's a fact.
PS: No sooner did I write the note above than I saw this. It is an article by Rashid Khalidi who cheers Obama's focusing on settlements and then says: Great. Once we stop all the settlements the next step is to demand the "Right of Return." I think that's a fair reading of his article. It just shows how pushing on the settlements will not "moderate" the Palestinians. As I wrote in the article, they just go on to their next demand.
In Abbas's Washington Post interview, he made it clear that once the settlements were stopped the next step was for the United States to demand a timetable for a full Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank. Without, of course, the PA giving anything in return. Then when Israel has given up everything, the Arab side will discuss what it will do in order to make peace.
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SAN DIEGO --In analyzing President Obama's Cairo speech, the Wall Street Journal noted that “Mr. Obama intends to continue George W. Bush's crusade for democracy.”
I get nervous when people talk about spreading democracy around the world. I certainly believe in representative democracy with a majority rule and minority rights. It’s just that our rush to impose democracy usually leaves moderate groups and nascent institutions in the dust.
President George W. Bush pursued democracy in the Middle East, pushing for a democratic election for the Palestinian Parliament in January 2007. One problem was that Bush placed not one condition on the parties that would seek seats in the legislature. So Hamas won 56% of the seats and then the American administration called upon the new Hamas government to renounce violence, recognize Israel’s right to exist, and accept the terms of all previous agreements. Of course, they refused as they had no incentive to do so.
The US had many allies in the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. But once that was accomplished, these groups wabted to stake their territory in Iraq and were not interested in state-building, which must come before democracy-building.
Revolutionaries make lousy statesmen. The skill set needed for overthrowing a government is different than for creating institutions.
This makes me wonder if HaShem wisely saw this problem and tried to warn us. For Moses led the uprising against Pharaoh, but was not allowed to enter the land of Canaan. It was Joshua who was entered the land and eventually divided it among the Tribes of Israel, essentially taking on the task of state-building.
But back to the spreading of democracy. It needs to be done wisely. Some governments and political parties are unprepared
for an election and could easily become swamped by unyielding populists. In Egypt, for example, the Muslim Brotherhood could overtake the government of Hosni Mubarak in a pure democratic election if there were no prerequisites. I would much rather have a semi-benevolent Mubarak lead the government on Israel’s border than a “democratically elected” government lead by the violent and Sharia based group.
There are some bright spots. The moderates in Lebanon delivered a great set back to Hezbollah in its parliamentary elections last week. That is because the moderates have had time to incubate and develop the electoral infrastructure to win elections. But here again, Hezbollah was allowed to run candidates in 1992 without the preconditions necessary to convert from a revolutionary/liberation movement to a mature political entity.
Writing a number of years ago in the Middle East Quarterly, Bernard Lewis noted that “an explanation of the relative success of democracy in Turkey, if one can be found, could also be of value in explaining, and perhaps correcting, the failures of democracy elsewhere.” He says that as much as introducing limited democracy over time, one of the key elements to the success of Turkish Democracy has been the establishment of a Civil Society.
“A professional, technical, managerial, entrepreneurial middle class” is essential to the establishment of a Civil Society, complete with a responsible and mature free press, disestablishment of religion and the emergence of trade unions, Lewis said.
While in some US quarters unions are considered in a negative light, from a democratic standpoint, unions can provide a non-sectarian, non-religious institution to counterbalance radical organizing by religious fundamentalists.
President Obama would be wise to go slow and cautiously, building democratic foundations and institutions before falling into the pitfall that all the world needs is more democracy. What the world needs is democratic, civil institutions.
Briefing on Jewish issues, lawmakers in the U.S. capital
Schumer says Sotomayor's asylum rulings in line with other judges
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release) – U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer (Democrat New York and pictured at left), the chairman of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, released a new analysis Tuesday of Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s judicial record on immigration-related cases, showing she ruled against asylum claims 83 percent of the time, a rate that places President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee squarely in the judicial mainstream.
Schumer said the figures, which had not previously been compiled, undercut attempts by Sotomayor’s critics to paint her as a judge whose decision-making is influenced by factors other than the rule of law.
“These findings should put to rest any doubts about Judge Sotomayor’s fidelity to the rule of law,” Schumer said. “Even in immigration cases, which would most test the so-called ‘empathy factor,’ Judge Sotomayor’s record is well within the judicial mainstream.”
Schumer’s office examined 955 rulings from Sotomayor’s 17 years on the federal bench. Of those, 848 were asylum cases, 35 were criminal alien cases, and 72 fell under the category of “other” (technical cases). Sotomayor decided 83 percent of the asylum cases in favor of the government, and just 17 percent in favor of the alien.
Those figures put Sotomayor right in line with the 17.1-percent “remand” rate for the entire U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals, as calculated in a comprehensive Stanford Law Review study for the period of 2004-05. Sotomayor’s rate also trends very much in line for the national average for all the appeals court nationwide. The Stanford study pegged that average at 15.4 percent.
Preceding provided by Senator Charles Shumer
Congressman Steve Israel urges control of counterfeit medications
WASHINGTON, DC (Press Release) – On Tuesday, Rep. Steve Israel announced the introduction of the Counterfeit Drug Enforcement Act of 2009, also known as Tim Fagan’s law. The legislation expands FDA authority to combat the distribution and sale of dangerous counterfeit medications.
“I first learned about the dangers of counterfeit drugs from my constituent, Kevin Fagan. The drugs he purchased from a national drug store chain on Long Island turned out to be fake and wreaked havoc on his son, Tim,” said Representative Israel. “We must do everything in our power to combat the counterfeiters and stop the distribution of these dangerous drugs. My legislation will give the FDA expanded authority to protect consumers.”
Tim Fagan received counterfeit medication in place of the prescription he needed following a liver transplant. The pills he received only had a small amount of the medicine he actually required.
“It is our hope and our prayer that other parents will not have to see their child suffer the way we watched Tim suffer,” said Kevin Fagan. “Over the years since Tim's agonizing experience with counterfeit drugs, much has been done privately to help secure our nation's drug supply system. But it is clear that much more still needs to be done. As long as drug prices remain high there is ample motive for counterfeiters to sell their dangerous wares. Tougher laws are needed to protect consumers from criminals infiltrating the supply chain and preying upon those who are most vulnerable – those in need of life-saving medicine."
Counterfeit drugs are defined as those without the active ingredient, with an insufficient or excessive quantity of the active ingredient, with the wrong active ingredient, or with fake packaging. The World Health Organization estimates counterfeit drugs are a $35 to $40 billion a year industry.
Preceding provided by Congressman Steve Israel
Kohl wants to continue incentives for confessions of price-fixing
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release) – U.S. Senator Herb Kohl (at left) on Wednesday introduced the Antitrust Criminal Penalties Enforcement and Reform Act of 2004 Extension Act. This legislation extends a critical component of the Antitrust Criminal Penalty Enforcement and Reform Act of 2004 (ACPERA), set to expire on June 22, which encourages participation in the Antitrust Division’s leniency program. As a result, the Justice Department will be able to continue to detect, investigate and aggressively prosecute price-fixing and other cartels which harm consumers.
“ACPERA’s damages limitation is set to expire later this month, so we must act quickly to extend it,” Kohl said. “Otherwise, the Justice Department will lose an important tool that it uses to investigate and prosecute criminal cartel activity.”
The Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice has long considered criminal cartel enforcement a top priority, and its Corporate Leniency Policy is an important tool in that enforcement. Criminal antitrust offenses are generally conspiracies among competitors to fix prices, rig bids, or allocate markets of customers. The Leniency Policy creates incentives for corporations to report their unlawful cartel conduct to the Division, by offering the possibility of immunity from criminal charges to the first-reporting corporation, as long as there is full cooperation. For more than fifteen years, this policy has allowed the Division to uncover cartels affecting billions of dollars worth of commerce here in the United States, which has led to prosecutions resulting in record fines and jail sentences. Preceding provided by Senator Kohl
Lieberman seeks funds for
preserving fish habitats
WASHINGTON - Senator Joe Lieberman (Independent, Connecticut, picutred at left) on Tuesday announced the introduction of the National Fish Habitat Conservation Act, legislation which will significantly advance ongoing efforts to restore and protect fish habitats, improve the health of America's waterways and ensure that the United States has robust fish populations far into the future.
"The National Fish Habitat Conservation Act will go a long way toward ensuring the viability of our fish and their habitats for generations to come," said Senator Lieberman. "I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass this important legislation and reverse the decline of our ailing waterways and fisheries."
The legislation authorizes $75 million annually for fish habitat projects. Based on the highly successful North American Wetlands Conservation Act model, the bill establishes a multi-stakeholder National Fish Habitat Board to recommend science-based conservation projects to the Secretary of Interior for funding. Regional partners will then work to implement those conservation projects to protect, restore and enhance fish habitats and fish populations.
The bill is co-sponsored by Senators Kit Bond (R-MO), Bob Casey (D-PA), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
Congressman Klein wants hearings into Iran's South America role
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release) – Congressman Ron Klein (Democrat, Florida) on Tuesday released a letter to his colleague, Congressman Eliot Engel, Chairman of the House Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere. Klein wrote to Engel to call for a hearing on what he described as a “disturbing trend in our region” - the efforts of the government of Iran to influence events in Latin America.
Klein partnered with Republican Congressman Connie Mack to author H. Res. 435, which called attention to Iran’s current and potential footholds in the region and urged the State Department to work with other countries on counter-terrorism and diplomatic measures that would reinforce the United States’ role in the region and the mutual threats that the United States and neighboring countries face. The resolution passed the U.S. House unanimously in November of 2007.
In his letter, Klein writes that since the passage of H. Res. 435, other developments of concern have arisen in the region. Klein urges the Chairman to call a hearing which will “spotlight this issue and determine what future action Congress and the administration should take as we move forward.”
Preceding provided by Congressman Ron Klein
Boxer and Lautenberg favor
increased biomonitoring
WASHINGTON, DC (Press Release)- U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer (Democrat, California), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, and Frank R. Lautenberg (Democrat, New Jersey), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Superfund, Toxics and Environmental Health (both pictured above) released the following statements regarding a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) showing that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should increase its ability to protect public health by expanding its assessment of toxic chemical exposures through the use of biomonitoring.
Biomonitoring involves assessing chemical levels in blood and tissue samples to study levels of human exposure to toxic chemicals in our workplaces, homes, and environment.
Senator Boxer said: "This GAO report shows that EPA could do much more to incorporate biomonitoring into the process of assessing the threats posed by toxic pollution. I look forward to working with my colleagues, including Senator Lautenberg, and with the EPA to ensure that the Agency is using every tool available to protect our children and families from exposure to toxic chemicals."
Senator Lautenberg said: "Every day, Americans use household products that contain hundreds of chemicals - yet few of these chemicals have actually been proven safe for our families and children. Biomonitoring data is critical for assessing the risk of chemicals, but EPA does not have the tools or authority to effectively collect and use this information. This GAO report is proof positive we need a law like my Kids-Safe Chemicals Act, which would give EPA the tools it needs to better protect Americans from toxic chemicals." Sen. Lautenberg is preparing to reintroduce legislation later this year -- the "Kids-Safe Chemicals Act" -- to shift the burden for proving chemicals are safe from the EPA to chemical manufacturers, and to better utilize biomonitoring data, among other provisions.
Preceding provided by Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works
Senate Republicans urge EPA to
reanalyze Waxman's climate bill
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release) - U.S. Senator James Inhofe (Republican, Oklahoma), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, during Tuesday's EPW Committee hearing announced that he and several of his Republican colleagues on the committee sent a letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson requesting new analysis be conducted on Waxman-Markey, H.R. 2454, “The American Clean Energy and Security Act” (ACESA), that reflects more realistic assumptions. Senator Inhofe asked Administrator Jackson to complete the analysis by June 26, 2009.
The bill was authored by Congressmen Henry Waxman (Democrat, California, pictured at left) and Congressman Edward Markey (Democrat, Massachusetts)
“Considering the profound economic impacts from global warming legislation, Congress must have the best available economic analysis to inform policymakers and the public,” Senator Inhofe said. “EPA’s Waxman-Markey analysis is flawed in several important respects, including its assumptions about nuclear power, CCS, and the availability of offsets. It also fails to account for the impact of the bill’s overlapping mandates, and the regional disparities the bill will create. EPA should conduct policy analysis using the best available science, which is clear, objective, and accessible so the public can understand it.”
Preceding provided by Republicans of Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works
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Eliezer Schwartz, 81, completes doctoral thesis on subject he knew well: Nazi labor camps
HAIFA, Israel (Press Release)--At the age of 81, Eliezer Schwartz has come full circle. Once a young forced laborer in the Nazi concentration camps, he has now received a doctorate from the University of Haifa for his study of "Forced Laborers in the Third Reich."
"At 16 I was taken to Auschwitz and then moved from camp to camp for a year, until the end of the war. After liberation, I returned to my hometown in Hungary, but I saw that no other members of my family had returned, so I decided to emigrate to Israel," he related.
In 1947, at 19, he landed in Israel. Another 57 years would pass before he would come full circle with his doctorate study. Before doing so, he had to build a family, find work and, of course, complete his bachelor's and master's degrees; and even in achieving these milestones he did not take the common course. He completed his first degree at the age of 45. He acquired two master's degrees: one in sociology and anthropology and another in his field of urban planning.
When Schwartz retired at 75, his grandchildren advised him to fill his time by dedicating himself to writing a doctoral thesis. Years passed and technology developed; but this did not deter him. "It went by smoothly. I had no problem becoming accustomed with the changes," he said.
He set about his doctorate with a scientific and composed approach. "I cut myself off completely from my personal and emotional story. I forced myself to," Schwartz explained. But he still used his past for the sake of his professional work. "For example, I worked in the adaptation of mines for underground industries. I labored there. I have first-hand familiarity with the topic and how the process was managed. It is a source of information that no other historian has access to."
One of the conclusions that he proposes in his thesis, is that many elements of construction in Nazi Germany were carried out unprofessionally. "To understand how a people that was considered meticulous and precise did such clumsy work, you will have to read the full study," he suggested.
Preceding provided by the University of Haifa
Norway's King Harald V and Crown Prince Harkan sing with kindergartners in synagogue
OSLO, Norway (WJC)—King Harald V of Norway and his son, Crown Prince Haakon, have made a historic visit to Oslo's Jewish Community and met with local teens to hear about difficulty of being Jewish in country. The king and his son visited the local synagogue and Jewish nursery school, attended a Torah reading ceremony, listened to songs by the community's cantor and joined the kindergarten's children in song.
The king also met with a group of Bnei Akiva youth guides, all local teens, who shared with him the difficulty of being a Jew in Norway these days. They told the monarch that their meeting with him helped strengthen their Norwegian identity.
Community leaders hope visit will help counter growing anti-Semitism in Norway. The Norwegian royal family has been making efforts recently to get acquainted with minority groups in the northern country and have also visited mosques and Muslim communities.
Preceding provided by World Jewish Congress
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Maybe Obama's new friends will help the U.S. in Afghanistan?
Editor: San Diego Jewish World
Will some one please ask President Obama which are the 47 nations that are part of the coalition supposedly participating with the US in Afghanistan? Chances are that Afghanistan will become Obama’s Vietnam.
In reality what this country should do is to start the draft to provide a massive source of fighters to insure that we can defend ourselves against the possible military confrontations which loom in the future. It’s not right and we see the danger of a volunteer military which needs multiple deployments to fight an insurgency as you’ve seen in Iraq. We are creating a brutalized legion of former service men who return to America and who knows what chaos they will create. I believe it’s the plan of the terrorists to brutalize the American fighting man.
It will be constructive for Obama to ask his new found Islamic friends to gradually take over the pacification of Afghanistan since they are seen by him as having the same sense of purpose as we in the west. NATO with all its promise has been a flop when asked to increase its fighting men and women, leaving a major source of military dependency on the United States.
Norman Mann
San Diego Canadian Jewish Congress presents
human rights award to PM Harper
TORONTO, Canada (WJC)—The Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC) has presented its annual Saul Hayes human rights award to the country's Prime Minister, Stephen Harper. Harper used the occasion to announce that his government will introduce legislation in parliament that will allow terrorism victims to sue their attackers and their state sponsors in Canadian courts. "This week in parliament, we will introduce legislation that will give victims of terrorism the power to obtain just compensation from those responsible for their suffering," Harper said. The bill "will allow victims to sue perpetrators and sponsors of terrorist acts, including foreign states, in Canadian courts."
The prime minister used the occasion, which coincided with the CJC's 90th anniversary, to re-iterate his support for Israel and criticized those who use the veneer of opposition to Israel's government as "an intellectually respectable cover for anti-Semitic discourse," saying that "It is all too common nowadays for politicians to claim to support Israel and the Jewish people. Yet when Israel is attacked for the umpteenth time, because its enemies refuse to accept the right of the Jewish state to exist, these same politicians are quick to condemn Israel, to accuse it of war crimes and to demand that it unilaterally suspend its right to self-defense,” he said. "You will not hear that kind of double-speak from our government -- ever."
The Jews Down Under ... a roundup of Australian Jewish news by Garry Fabian
Strong Jewish presence
on 2009 Rich List
MELBOURNE--For the first time, Jewish businessmen have taken up the top three positions in the BRW Rich 200 list.
Despite the tough economic climate, the top three positions were taken by Anthony Pratt ($4.3 billion), Frank Lowy ($4.2 billion) and Harry Triguboff ($3.66 billion).
Jewish families also took out the top three positions in the wealthiest family list Smorgon family ($2.2 billion), Liberman family ($1.8 billion) and Besen family ($1.73 billion).
Rich 200 stalwart James Packer and last year's leader Andrew Forrest dropped back following significant year-on-year losses in both the gaming industry and resources respectively.
Despite a $1.18 billion loss year-on-year, Pratt topped the list in Australia just months after inheriting the Visy cardboard empire from his father Richard.
Richard Pratt was on the rich list for 25 years, but the title of BRW's richest Australian eluded him.
Anthony assumed the role of executive chairman following Richard's death on April 28.
BRW reported Anthony now shares the ownership of the Visy empire with his mother Jeanne and sisters Heloise Waislitz and Fiona Geminder.
A drop in retail spending and a decline in the price of Westfield Group's shares saw Lowy drop an estimated $2 billion in wealth.
Despite the loss, the Rich 200 stalwart this year claimed second position.
With the second highest gain on the list ($410 million), Sydney property tycoon Triguboff rounded out the top three. Contrary to most of his contemporaries, the depressed economy presented many opportunities for Triguboff.
BRW reported that Triguboff who has an aversion to debt following an experience during the 1973 recession was able to capitalise on other developers' failed opportunities.
This year's BRW Rich 200 saw a $25 billion or an 18 per cent decline in wealth on last year, with the entry level dropping from $200 million to $150 million and the number of Australian billionaires falling from 38 to 28. NSW had the
most (70) followed by Victoria (50).
Jews in the BRW Rich 200 were: 1. Anthony Pratt and family; 2. Frank Lowy; 3. Harry Triguboff; 7. John Gandel; 18. Maurice Alter; 27. Solomon Lew; 47. David Goldberger and David Wieland; 54. Naomi Milgrom; 70. Nathan Werdiger; 77. Jack Bendat; 82. Charlotte Vidor and Ervin Vidor; 103. Hilton Nathanson; 105. Robert Magid; 114. Iris Lustig-Moar and Max Moar; 140. Marylyn New; 141. David Shein and family; 142. David Mandie; 145. Allan Moss; 192. Philip Wolanski; 197. Brian Sherman.
Jewish recipients of Queen's birthday honours list
CANBERRA - The dean of a law faculty and a Jewish fundraiser who passed away recently from cancer are among the members of the community recognised in the Queen's Birthday Honours List.
Professor Arie Freiberg, dean of the faculty of law at Melbourne's Monash University, and Dr Jack Bendat, a quiet businessman whose interests are largely Western Australian media organisations, were the only Jews to be named a Member of the Order of Australia (AM).
Prof Freiberg was honoured for his service to law, particularly criminology and sentencing reform, while Dr Bendat was recognised for his philanthropic work, including a $5 million
donation to a Perth cancer centre and ongoing support for youth services.
Victorian Jews led the Queen's Birthday charge, with eight people -- five men and three women -- receiving honours.
The honours committee showed community volunteering is highly valued in Australian society with medals of the Order of Australia (OAM) awarded to long-time King David School
president Jim Cyngler; tireless National Council of Jewish Women Australia past president Di Hirsh and Jewish Day Schools Integration Program, Australian Jewish Geaneological Society and Australian Jewish Historical Society stalwart Lionel Sharpe.
North Eastern Jewish Centre founding member Benjamin Alexander was also on the OAM honours list.
Other Victorian OAM recipients include educator Helen Morris, clinician Dr Laila Rotstein and haemetology expert and B'nai B'rith international vice president Dr Peter Schiff.
New South Wales was home to six Jewish honours recipients -- three women and three men were awarded OAMs.
Roz Feitelson, a tireless community volunteer who was best known for her assistance with Jewish Communal Appeal campaigns and B'nai B'rith's Courage to Care program, was posthumously awarded an OAM.
Robyn Gerber's work in the Jewish community and with Oxfam was recognised, as was Barbara Clayman's role in recording and distributing copies of The Australian Jewish News to people with vision impairments.
Amateur astronomer and volunteer guide at the Sydney Observatory Monty Leventhal will be presented with an OAM, as will Norton Whitmont, a former president of The Great Synagogue and also president for 10 years of the NSW Caravan, Camping and Touring Industry.
Peter Price, the chairman of Crime Stoppers Australia, was also recognised for his contribution to crime fighting.
In Western Australia, Sydney Berinson was awarded an OAM for his long-time commitment to Perth Hebrew Congregation, and in Queensland, National Council of Jewish Women Australia stalwart Carolyn Goldsmith -- a member of the women's organisation since 1962 -- was also an OAM recipient.
Swine flu forces cancellation of
junior soccer tournament
MELBOURNE - Swine flu has forced the cancellation
of a NSW Maccabi Junior Soccer Club tour to
Melbourne on the Queen's Birthday long weekend.
Approximately 100 Sydney-based Maccabi junior
players were due to play North Caulfield Maccabi's junior soccer sides in the annual Chef Innox State of Origin carnival.
The decision to cancel the tour came after the NSW Department of Health upgraded its swine flu containment measures last week, requiring children who have travelled to greater metropolitan Melbourne to stay away from school
for seven days after their return to NSW.
After consultation with the Department of Health and event organisers, Maccabi Junior Soccer Club president Danny Hochberg made the urgent decision to cancel the tournament just two days out from the event.
"We had a duty of care to the kids, we felt it was appropriate to take a conservative point of view," he told The AJN. "It's never an easy decision to pull out after all the hard work we
have done ... but the safety and security of the kids ... and the liability made the decision easier."
The decision will cost both clubs financially, but Hochberg said that Mark Davis and Sam Gansu in Victoria "were resigned to the reality ... and understand the position we find ourselves in. They were good in accepting the decision we have made".
Hochberg described the cancellation of the much anticipated event as a "blow ... everyone was ready to go," but hopes the tournament will return again next year, be it in Melbourne or Sydney.
The club is awaiting word from its insurance company and Virgin Blue about refunds.
Is one firm hogging kosher catering business in Sydney?
SYDNEY - With Sydney customers beginning to employ interstate kosher caterers to supply their function needs, key players are raising questions about the costs of kosher catering in Sydney.
Sydney's leading kosher caterer, Passion8, is being dogged by claims it has a monopoly on the local market and is driving up the price of kosher functions by securing privileged arrangements with venues.
Widely considered Sydney's best out of just a handful of kosher-certified caterers, Passion8 is currently the "preferred supplier" for a number of venues across Sydney, including Doltone House
in Pyrmont and The Wharf Restaurant in Walsh Bay.
But critics argue this arrangement is blocking out other kosher vendors who offer more competitive prices, and that it is forcing
clients who are hooked on a venue and kosher fare to be signed up with Passion8.
Many also complain that Passion8's prices are out of the range of specific venues, or even causing some to totally opt out for the cheaper, non-kosher alternative.
Passion8's Steve Edelmuth, however, has strongly denied the "monopoly" claims. "No-one is forced to use us," he says.
"Considering the limited market and the restrictions that attract the kosher catering market, there is definitely competition."
The NSW Kashrut Authority (KA) said Passion8 had already come under review by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and was not considered a monopoly in the "technical sense of the word."
But that's not to say the KA isn't concerned. After receiving numerous complaints about what some people perceive to be Passsion8's apparent stranglehold, the KA recently wrote to Sydney's KA-accredited venues, threatening to review
their kosher status if they didn't allow access to "all KA licensees" and give kosher clientele the "freedom of choice in selecting a caterer."
"Clearly the KA deplores any practice that makes it difficult for any KA licensee," KA president Baron Revelman said
But Edelmuth maintained Passion8 has never signed an exclusive contract with any venue. Certain venues have chosen Passion8 as their "preferred supplier", he said, but that's their right.
"[It's] pretty much the same as a preferred Halal caterer or a preferred fruit and vegetable supplier," he said.
Passion8's competitors, however, who hold similar Gold Licensed accreditation, argued they're being unfairly locked out of the market and clients are paying the price.
"It's a very sad state of affairs," said Catering by Flavours' director Lance Hurvitz.
"We field calls every single day to quote on functions, and this is becoming the main stumbling block. If we do 10 quotes, we have to knock off five of them straight away because Passion8 is tied up with that venue."
Hurvitz said his company offered kosher catering at significantly less -- about 20 per cent -- and potential clients were missing out.
"They literally have only one option. If they want a function at a specific venue, they are being forced to pay Passion8's prices or lower their catering standards drastically."
Unlike Passion8, however, Flavours does not hold HACCP Australia Food Safety Accreditation, which Hurvitz contends is not required at most venues.
Regardless, Flavours was in the process of gaining the certificate to match Passion8, he said.
Sydney's kosher clientele are also getting frustrated.
One woman, who preferred not to be named, said she became so disheartened with Passion8's prices and the lack of quality choice in Sydney, she decided the most cost-effective option was to find an exclusive-free venue and hire a Melbourne caterer for the job.
This month, she paid for Melbourne's Passionate -- similar in name to its Sydney rival -- to cater a 110-person bar mitzvah function, with a three-course meal including alcohol.
On top of that, she covered additional costs, such as travel and two-nights accommodation.
She estimated the price tag was less than $100 per head and about $7000 cheaper than Passion8.
In the end, she said the quality was comparable.
"The desserts and hors d' oeuvres were as good, if not better. There was a small problem with presentation with the main course. Passion8 is a cut above, but I still would have gone with
Passionate in Melbourne. You just couldn't compare the costs."
Melbourne's Passionate chef David Trakhtman said it was good business for him.
He prepared most of the food in Melbourne, drove up to Sydney the same day in a refrigerated truck and stored it in a fridge overnight at The Yeshiva's Big Kitchen.
The next day, he was ready to go. "We're not the cheapest kosher caterer in Melbourne. However, we're more affordable than Sydney prices," he said. "When you do a wedding or bar
mitzvah, you want it to be done professionally and reliably and people can't pay through the roof."
Trakhtman said he could see it becoming an emerging trend -- Melbourne caterers working Sydney events -- but Sydney's kosher authorities remain skeptical.
"The KA believes that if it becomes widespread practice it may have some negative effects on existing kosher caterers in Sydney," said Revelman.
"Consumers also need to ensure that they are comparing 'apples with apples' when obtaining competing quotes for functions, to ensure they are receiving the same from all those from whom they obtain quotes."
But if price discrepancies continue to force Sydney's kosher clientele to look interstate, the KA said it has no other choice but to welcome them "regardless of their home address."
SAN DIEGO--The attack on the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. yesterday by a well-known white supremacist, James von Brunn, 88, matched the modus operandi that has been urged on websites by such fellow racists as Tom Metzger and Alex Curtis, commented Morris Casuto, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League.
Von Brunn seemed to have operated as a “lone wolf,” without consulting or notifying anyone who might be monitored by law enforcement, Casuto said.
He paraphrased white supremacists as saying about lone wolves, “if no one knows who you are, they can’t stop you doing what you want to do.” In other words as long as law enforcement has no suspicion of individual terrorist’s intentions, they can’t be stopped.
Von Brunn was known to law enforcement as someone who posts messages on the Internet denouncing Jews, blacks and immigrants to the country, but he apparently had said nothing causing anyone to suspect he planned an act of terror.
According to reports, von Brunn used a .22-caliber rifle to fatally wound African-American security guard Stephen T. Johns, 39, upon entering the museum, prompting other guards to return fire and resulting in Von Brunn being critically wounded.
Casuto offered condolences to Johns' family and said it was tragic that the guard was killed when “he should have had no responsibility greater than helping to find lost children.”
Casuto added that “many parents owe a debt to this individual. There were lots of school children there.”
The museum's director Sara Bloomfield said Johns "died heroically in the line of duty," and President Obama's spokesman Robert Gibbs' told the media the President was "saddened." The Holocaust Museum is within a short walk from the White House.
Because law enforcement officials can’t know in advance about a lone wolf, Casuto said it is up to members of the public to be
vigilant. “People need to be situationally aware,” the ADL official said. “They should report anything out of place.
For example, recently in Philadelphia, someone reported a strange incident of a paper bag being given to an employee of an airline who didn’t go through security. The witness could have shrugged it off—could have assumed that the airlines would take care of it—but the individual reported it. So airport security found the plane, and the guy, and the bag, and there was a pistol in his bag. The man didn’t intend mayhem but he had violated regulations.”
Another example, Casuto said, was that of an attendant who noticed a car that had been parked in the wrong spot in a lot for a Riverdale, New York, and shooed the people away. Apparently, the occupants of the car had been part of the group of plotters who had intended to blow up the synagogue and to also steal a missile to shoot down a plane. Fortunately the FBI had that group under surveillance and they were subsequently arrested, Casuto said.
Although it was good that car had been shooed away, it would have been better if the guard had been well trained enough to copy down the license plate, Casuto said.
Asked about the security of Jewish institutions in San Diego County, Casuto said that “I wouldn’t say that I am satisfied, but security has substantially improved.”
“No one wants to have a fortress, no one wants to have the type of institution where people don’t feel comfortable,” Casuto said. “Every institution has to toe a line between increased security and a welcoming, open atmosphere.”
While numerous Jewish institutions have become more security conscious, he said, many probably are not equipped to deal with the kind of situation confronted by the Holocaust Msueum.
“I don’t have any real answer,” said Casuto. “We hope Jewish institutions, and other institutions –churches, mosques and now museums – will take suitable precautions.”
Editor's Mailbox: S.D. County news of Jewish interest
Toni Atkins announces her
backers for Assembly seat
SAN DIEGO—Former San Diego City Councilwoman Toni Atkins reports she has rounded up support from eight former elected officials for her bid to become the next state Assembly member from the 76th District.
The list of former officials include three members of the Jewish community, Lynn Schenk, a former member of Congress; Sheila Kuehl, a former state senator; and Howard Wayne, a former state assemblyman.
Others included former state senators Dede Alpert and Lucy Killea, former Assemblymember John Laird, former San Diego County Supervisor Leon Williams, and former San Diego City Councilmember Scott Peters.
Atkins served on the San Diego City Council from 2000 to 2008, serving as acting mayor in the transition between Dick Murphy's resignation as mayor and the election of Mayor Jerry Sanders.
Preceding provided by the Atkins for Assembly campaign
Jewish Cyber-Referrals
We continue to receive recommendations for "must read" stories elsewhere on the Internet.
Dan Schaffer of San Diego saw the piece by Mort Zuckerman, president of the Zionist Organization of America, in Jewish World Review, presenting the case against the "two-state solution." Here's the link.
Bidding for rabbi as a golf partner precedes Sunday's CBI tournament
SAN DIEGO--Rabbi Michael Berk is being raffled off as a golf partner for Congregation Beth Israel's Men's Club golf tournament beginning at 10:30 a.m., Sunday, June 14 at the Riverwalk Golf Course. Those who want him for 18 holes of companionship are invited to submit a bid via jmalkus@san.rr.com.
Tickets for the golfing itself are $75 per person, a fee which includes lunch and golfcarts. For more information or to RSVP by phone, call 858 535-1111 ext. 3800
Preceding based on information provided by CBI Men's Club
In this selection, Hal Wingard turned his focus on the workaday world, describing why even idealists need money; the unsung army of people who clean offices over night, and how one doesn't need an advanced degree to be a success.
#218 -- Money
#204 -- The Cleaning People
#284 -- A Matter of Degree #218 Money
Make your concern
Money,
So you can earn
Money,
Or even burn
Money,
Should you so choose.
You’ve got to make
Money.
You can’t forsake
Money.
It’s only fake
Money
Gives people blues.
When others tout
Money,
If you’re without
Money,
You’ll think about
Money
All day and night.
If you respect
Money,
Then you’ll collect
Money,
And you’ll protect
Money
With all your might.
So don’t disdain
Money.
Just try to gain
Money.
Fancy or plain,
Money
Makes you secure.
Rich folks who own
Money
Never bemoan
Money.
They’ve always known
Money
Can’t make you poor.
Rich folks who own
Money
Never bemoan
Money.
They’ve always known
Money, money, money,
Money can’t make you poor.
(c) 2009 Estate of Hal Wingard; To Dan January 16, 1992;
Melody and words begun and completed at home, January 16, 1992.
When the doctors and the dentists
Have left their working place;
When the barristers and the bankers
Have quit their office space;
When the VIPs have parted,
Leaving dirty rooms;
It’s then the cleaning people
Enter with their brooms.
Oh, it’s rub-a-dub, scrub-a-dub,
Squeeze-a-dub and squish,
It’s plop-a-dub, slop-a-dub,
Mop-a-dub and swish.
With their broomsticks and their buckets,
With vacuums and mops,
With their scrapers and their sprayers,
And a million other props,
Like a hygienic army
Marching into murk,
While other folks are playing,
The cleaning people work.
Chorus
Oh, you heroes of the cleanup –
Unsung as you may be –
We are grateful for your efforts
Removing our debris.
Though we never get to tell you,
(We leave each day in haste),
We’re happy we are not the ones
Who clean up workday waste.
Chorus
(c) 2009 Estate of Hal Wingard; To Hal, a laundryman-type cleaning person, July 7, 1991. Idea germinated while walking through San Francisco’s financial district at 6:30 pm, June 26, 1991. Words begun the next day on flight from San Francisco to San Diego and completed the following day.
#284, A Matter of Degree
Although I quit school,
I’m nobody’s fool.
I’ve mastered my ABC.
You’ve got to believe
That what I achieve
Has made me a better me.
I own sev’ral banks.
There’s no one outranks
My rank in the Navy Reserve.
I donate each year
A million, or near,
For causes I’m willing to serve.
My practice of law
Has been without flaw.
I never have lost a case.
Inventions I’ve made
Have served as an aid
To put man in outer space.
But you hold the view
Whatever I do
Is not of the highest degree.
I know that it’s true
What matters to you
Is I’m not a Ph.D.
Although I quit school,
I’m nobody’s fool.
I’ve mastered my ABC.
You’ve got to believe
That what I achieve
Has made me a better me.
(c) 2009 Estate of Hal Wingard; January 25, 2000 Words written to fit a melody conceived while fooling around with the guitar at home.
God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, and the animal according to its kind, and every creepingbeing of the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
The book at the left makes a play on words on this phrase. The cartoons within promote environmentalism. It may be ordered on Amazon.
Do you have a photo that you think illustrates how a biblical verse has worked its way into pop culture. Please send it to us for possible publication in this series, "The Bible in Pop Culture."
If possible, please send it at 72dpi resolution and 400 pixels wide. Please include the name of the photographer, the date and place the photo was taken, and any other relevant caption information.
Adventures in San Diego Jewish History With thanks to Gail Umeham for the transcription
Linda’s Lookout Southwestern Jewish Press May 1, 1953, page 6
By Linda Solof
Say—gals ‘n guys! What has been happening to all those terrific parties—if you don’t give more parties, what’ll I write?
Club Dis “N Data: The T.Y.L. presents its’ big dance of the year—“Buttons ‘N Bows”!” It is a benefit dance for a memorial for Rabbi Smollar who was a dear friend of the T.Y.L.ers. The dress—Cottons and Denims. The Price--$1.00. Time—8:00 to 12:00. Date—Saturday, May 2. There will be drinks, cider and donuts and an extra long professional floor show! See you there!
The Beth Jacob Youth League had a terrific dance last Saturday night “Rainbow Romp.” It was a huge success. They are planning some sharp events for the future so be sure to watch for the dates!
The A.Z.A. boys had a dance that was a tremendous success! The boys and their dates danced to the music of Bill Lakin’s band and they were hosts to a chapter of A.Z.A. from Los Angeles. Altogether it was a fabulous nite of fun.
There are always lots of exciting club affairs that are always fun—so give them your support and make them even better. Don’t spend your evenings alone—get in the swim and really have a good time.
So long.
San Diego Hebrew
Home for the Aged Southwestern Jewish Press May 1, 1953, page 6
The Hebrew Home for the Aged invites you to their 8th annual Donor Luncheon which will be held May 6th at the El Cortez Hotel, 12 noon, and is given by the Women’s Auxiliary of the Home. A delightful program has been planned by the general chairman, Mr. A. J. Bard, under the direction of president, Mrs. Wm. Moss. A musical program will be presented by Mr. Harry Goodwin. An added surprise is in store for you, which you can’t afford to miss.
Rabbi Morton J. Cohn will give the invocation. Mr. Saul Chenin, president of the Home, will install the new officers and board. Mr. L. Karp will bring greetings from the Guardians. It is with pride that the Home will install the following:
Pres., Mrs. Wm. L. Moss; 1st Vice Pres., Mrs. Harris Rubel; 2nd Vice Pres., Mrs. N. Schiller; 3rd Vice Pres., Mrs. Paul Cudney; Fin. Sec., Mrs. Sam Waldman; Cor. Sec., Mrs. Wm. Richartz; Rec. Sec., Mrs. Sol Addis; Treas., Mrs. S. Goldstein; Aud., Mr. Max Rabinovitz; Parl., Mrs. Sue Gruenberg.
Reservations may be made by calling Mrs. A. J. Bard, T-6030, or Mrs. N. Schiller, W-2796.
Donations $5.00. Pioneer Women Southwestern Jewish Press May 1, 1953, page 6
At a Board Meeting of Pioneer Women held at the home of Pres. Pauline Press, a nominating committee composed of Rose Domnitz, Anna Shelley, Bessie Fink and Dora Berner, was appointed to present a slate of officers to be presented at our next meeting.
All those who have J.N.F. Blue Boxes are asked tro bring them to our next meeting on May 7th. A delicious luncheon will be served by Eleanore Gordon and her committee.
Plans are being made for an outdoor picnic and social at Balboa Park by a group of hostesses who are hopeful of completing their Donor Dinner pledge. Date will be announced later. Members are urged to hold small home socials to help complete their Donor pledge.
Magic Carpet Day Southwestern Jewish Press May 1, 1953, page 6
Campaign Chairmen announced that the traditional Magic Carpet Day, which is the clean-up for the United Jewish Fund Campaign will take place on Sunday, may 17 starting at 9:00 a.m.
Headquarters for Magic Carpet Day will be at the Jewish Community Center, 3227 El Cajon Blvd. Campaign solicitors will be urgently needed and anyone wishing to serve on that day should immediately notify either the United Jewish Fund Office—Main 5172, or their organization’s Fund Chairman.
City of Hope to Hold
Luncheon for Mothers Southwestern Jewish Press May 1, 1953, page 6
You are cordially invited to the City of Hope’s Mothers Day Luncheon to be held at El Cortez Hotel, 12 noon, May 14th.
Chairman, Mrs. Betty Schwartz; Co-chairmen, Goldie Schusterman, and Bertha Rassin; assisted by committee, Bess
Seigal, Ethel Berwin, and Ruth Brav, promise a more elaborate and more entertaining afternoon than ever before.
If you do not have a daughter, come anyway and enjoy a very wonderful afternoon. All monies raised go to the very vital work done at City of Hope Medical Center at Duarte, Calif., a free national, non-sectarian medical center, doing Cancer Research and Tuberculosis healing.
Temple Beth Israel Family Picnic Southwestern Jewish Press May 1, 1953, page 6
From 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Sunday, May 24, all the families who comprise Congregation Beth Israel will gather in Balboa Park, on 6th Avenue, between Maple and Olive Sts., for the Temple Beth Israel Family Picnic.
Those who attend will provide their own lunches, with ice cream and cold drinks available at the canteen. Games, with prizes for the winners, will entertain the children.
This day of fun will climax the Religious School closing exercises, which will be held in the Temple Center at 10 a.m.
Temple Teens Southwestern Jewish Press May 1, 1953, page 6
May 23 is the date you hare been waiting for. It is the Temple Teens Formal Dance. There will be a live band and it will be held in the Temple Center. Come stag or drag but be sure to be there. It will be the best of everything in dancing and refreshments. You can’t miss it—you won’t want to miss it.
Temple Teens are invited to the T.Y.L. dance at the Temple Center on Saturday, May 2. It’s the big dance “Buttons and Bows.” Bids are $1.00 and wear Cottons and denims(cq).
Don’t miss the last two big dances of the year.
Cottage of Israel Southwestern Jewish Press May 1, 1953, page 6
The fifth anniversary of Israel’s independence was marked by the celebration held on the lawns of the House of Pacific Relations and was attended by a capacity audience. It is regrettable that there were not more chairs available for our guests, but this is entirely due to a lack of storage space in all of the cottages and one of the problems we hope to solve in due time.
On May 9th there will be an afternoon get-together and tea for our regular staff of hostesses and guides. Any persons interested in working on either of these committees will be welcome. Further information will be gladly given by phoning Mrs. Anna Peckarsky, hostess chairman at B.2-2365.
“Adventures in Jewish History” is sponsored by Inland Industries Group LP in memory of long-time San Diego Jewish community leader Marie (Mrs. Gabriel) Berg. Our indexed "Adventures in San Diego Jewish History" series
will be a daily feature until we run out of history.
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HERZLIYA, Israel—Although somewhat quieted by the successful Netanyahu-Obama meeting, a predominant theme in current talk about U.S. Middle East policy is that there will soon be a U.S.-Israel confrontation. This is so expected that there are daily misinterpretations or fabrications of events implying some anti-Israel step by the Obama administration.
SAN DIEGO --In analyzing President Obama's Cairo speech, the Wall Street Journal noted that “Mr. Obama intends to continue George W. Bush's crusade for democracy.” 
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release) – U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer (Democrat New York and pictured at left), the chairman of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, released a new analysis Tuesday of Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s judicial record on immigration-related cases, showing she ruled against asylum claims 83 percent of the time, a rate that places President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee squarely in the judicial mainstream. 
WASHINGTON, DC (Press Release) – On Tuesday, Rep. Steve Israel announced the introduction of the Counterfeit Drug Enforcement Act of 2009, also known as Tim Fagan’s law. The legislation expands FDA authority to combat the distribution and sale of dangerous counterfeit medications.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release) – U.S. Senator Herb Kohl
WASHINGTON - Senator Joe Lieberman (Independent, Connecticut, picutred at left) on Tuesday announced the introduction of the National Fish Habitat Conservation Act, legislation which will significantly advance ongoing efforts to restore and protect fish habitats, improve the health of America's waterways and ensure that the United States has robust fish populations far into the future. 
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release) – Congressman Ron Klein (Democrat, Florida) on Tuesday released a letter to his colleague, Congressman Eliot Engel, Chairman of the House Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere. Klein wrote to Engel to call for a hearing on what he described as a “disturbing trend in our region” - the efforts of the government of Iran to influence events in Latin America. 
The bill was authored by Congressmen Henry Waxman (Democrat, California, pictured at left) and Congressman Edward Markey (Democrat, Massachusetts)
SAN DIEGO--The attack on the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. yesterday by a well-known white supremacist, James von Brunn, 88, matched the modus operandi that has been urged on websites by such fellow racists as Tom Metzger and Alex Curtis, commented Morris Casuto, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League.
