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Knesset puts aside bill declaring United Jerusalem to be the capital of the entire Jewish people
JERUSALEM (WJC)—A bill proposed by a member of the Israeli Knesset that would have declared Jerusalem the capital of the Jewish people – and not just the State of Israel – was withdrawn after disagreements within the governing coalition. Attempts to amend Israel’s Basic Law that "Jerusalem as the Capital of Israel" to read that "United Jerusalem is the capital of the entire Jewish people” were quashed after the Labor Party voiced opposition to the amendment.
In June 2008, the Knesset Plenum approved by a large majority the preliminary reading of the amendment, with 58 in favor and 12 opposing. In order to become law, a majority of 61 is required in the final reading.
The sponsor of the bill, MK Zevulun Orlev of the party Our Jewish Home said: "This is a betrayal by the Labor Party, and they are turning their back on Zionist values and the path of (David) Ben-Gurion, who established Jerusalem as the country's capital in opposition to the opinion of the countries of the world." Welfare and Social Services Minister Isaac Herzog of the Labor Party said: "This law would not serve the interests of Jerusalem and the state of Israel. "Every Jew understands that Jerusalem is the capital of the Jewish nation. A legislative move, at this point in time, would be likely to be misinterpreted."
JERUSALEM (WJC)—Israel has rejected accusations by a UN expert panel that it may be involved in the illegal export and sale of so-called ‘blood diamonds’ from the Ivory Coast. Israel's Diamond Controller Shmuel Mordechai said he was shocked the “false accusations" in the report to the UN Security Council on international compliance with UN sanctions imposed on the Ivory Coast. Along with Israel, the panel also named the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Guinea and Liberia as some of the countries that needed to step up efforts to enforce a four-year-old UN embargo on buying rough diamonds mined in the West African country.
"Israel has never dealt in diamond trade with the Ivory Coast," Mordechai said in a statement. "We are shocked by these false accusations and completely refute them." The Security Council is expected to renew for another year embargoes on arms and rough diamond sales and other sanctions on the Ivory Coast, which is still recovering from a civil war. The report recommends that Jerusalem "investigate fully the possible involvement of Israeli nationals and companies in the illegal export of Ivorian rough diamonds."
Mordechai said the UN experts had visited Israel twice in recent years and were provided with "unequivocal proof" that it had never dealt in rough diamonds from the Ivory Coast or any other countries that are not members of the Kimberley Process.
Heinrich Boere, former SS death squad member, trial in Germany
AACHEN, Germany (WJC)—Sixty-four years after the end of World War II, an 88-year-old German man is being tried for war crimes in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands. Heinrich Boere, a former SS death squad member, went on trial in Aachen on Wednesday for carrying out revenge killings on three men in 1944. Boere was able to evade prosecution for years, first by fleeing the Netherlands and then because German courts ruled he could not be extradited to the Netherlands. During World War II, the SS announced that for every attempt on the life of a German, or German collaborator, three Dutchmen would die. Boere admitted to killing a pharmacist, a businessman and a bicycle shop owner, but said he acted on orders from his superiors.
The son of a Dutch man and a German woman was in captivity after the war, but then fled to Germany. In 1949, he was sentenced to death in absentia in the Netherlands. This sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment. In 1983, a German court refused to send him to the Netherlands because he might have German citizenship as well as Dutch, and back then Germany had no provision to extradite its nationals. Another German court refused in 2007 to make him serve his Dutch sentence in a German prison because he had been absent from his trial and therefore unable to defend himself. Boere lived in an nursing home for the elderly until now.
Together with that of Ivan Demjanjuk, the 89-year-old Ukrainian-born man who is to be tried in Munich next month on charges of complicity to murder in 27,900 cases, Boere’s trial will probably be the last major Nazi war crimes case in Germany.
GENEVA, Switzerland—The renowned Swiss historian Jean-Francois Bergier, who led an international panel studying Switzerland's role during World War II, has died aged 77. In 2001, the Bergier study concluded that Switzerland "became involved in crimes by abandoning refugees to their persecutors" even though the Swiss government knew by 1942 of the Nazis' Final solution and that rejected refugees would likely face deportation and death. "Large numbers of persons whose lives were in danger were turned away needlessly," Bergier said when presenting the report.
Switzerland provided shelter during the war to nearly 30,000 Jews, while it turned back an estimated 20,000 refugees, including many Jews, his panel found. The historical undertaking, which produced 26 volumes, confronted Switzerland with unpleasant truths about its dealing with Hitler's Germany. The study, by historians from Switzerland, the United States, Israel, Britain and Poland, was commissioned by the Swiss government after criticism by the World Jewish Congress and other Jewish groups that the Swiss banks had made it difficult for heirs of Holocaust victims to claim assets deposited by their relatives.
Bergier was born as the son of a vicar in 1931. He studied in Lausanne, Munich, Paris and Oxford and was appointed professor of economic history and social economy at Geneva University in 1963.
Senate Banking Committee approves Dodd's Iran sanctions
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release)—The Senate Banking Committee on Thursday unanimously approved the Dodd-Shelby Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act.
“Earlier this year, I believe that all of us were deeply troubled to see the Iranian regime violently punishing its own citizens for calling for fair and open elections in their nation. And we have watched with growing concern the illicit nuclear activities of this troubled regime, including their deception about the previously secret enrichment facility at Qum,” said Senator Chris Dodd (Democrat-Connecticut), Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. “And so today, Senator Shelby and I have worked to
put together comprehensive legislation dealing with Iran sanctions.”
“Our approach acknowledges the gross human rights abuses that Iran’s people suffer at the hands of Iran’s security forces – with the approval of its political leadership – and the widening chasm that has opened between the regime and the people of Iran.”
The bill will: expand the Iran Sanctions Act to cover a range of financial institutions and businesses and extend sanctions to oil and gas pipelines and tankers; impose new sanctions on entities involved in exporting certain refined petroleum products to Iran or building Iran’s domestic refining capacity; impose a broad ban on direct imports from Iran to the US and exports from the US to Iran, exempting food and medicines; require the Administration freeze the assets of Iranians, including Iran’s
Revolutionary Guard Corps, who are active in weapons proliferation or terrorism;require the President to determine and report to Congress if investments in Iran’s energy sector are eligible for sanctions; enable Americans to divest from energy firms doing business with the Iranian regime; strengthen export controls to stop the illegal black market export of sensitive
technology to Iran through other countries and impose tough new licensing requirements on those who refuse to cooperate; and prohibit the U.S. government from purchasing goods from firms that do business in Iran’s energy sector, or that provide sensitive communications technology to monitor, jam or otherwise disrupt communications among Iranians, or between the Iranian people and the outside world.
“We must send a clear signal to Iran’s leaders that, if they continue to defy the will of the international community, our nation is prepared to confront them on that,” Dodd concluded
Jewish 'Conference of Presidents' lauds Senate Banking, House Foreign Affairs Committee votes
NEW YORK (Press Release)--The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations praised the House Foreign Affairs Committee, its Chairman, Rep. Howard Berman (Democrat, California), and Ranking Member, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), for marking up and passing the Iran
Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act (IRPSA) by a voice vote yesterday and the Senate Banking Committee, its Chairman, Sen. Christopher Dodd (Democrat-Connecticut), and Ranking Member, Sen. Richard Shelby (Republican, Alabama), for a unanimous vote passing the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability and Divestment Act of 2009 on Thursday.
"We thank Chairman Berman and Rep. Ros-Lehtinen for their leadership in moving this important bill forward and the 332 co-sponsors of IRPSA for their valuable support. We also
thank Chairman Dodd and Sen. Shelby for their important leadership in bringing about a unanimous vote on this key bill in the Banking Committee that includes provisions from both the IRPSA and the Iran Sanctions Enabling Act. By strengthening President Obama's authority to impose penalties on any entity that helps Iran import or produce refined petroleum, preventing those entities from doing business in the United States, and authorizing state and local governments to divest from
companies investing in Iran's petroleum and natural gas sector, these two bills reinforce America's diplomatic leverage.
"The IRPSA, together with the Iran Sanctions Enabling Act which overwhelmingly passed the House earlier this month, have the potential to seriously impact the Iranian economy. Coupled with the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability and Divestment Act of 2009, these bills demonstrate unwavering support for increasing pressure on Iran and
ensuring that Iran does not gain nuclear weapons capacity. The prospect of the sanctions in these bills are a key part of pressuring Iran, the leading violator of human rights and state sponsor of terrorism globally, against pursuing nuclear arms," said Conference of Presidents Chairman Alan Solow and Executive Vice Chairman Malcolm Hoenlein.
"Again, we thank the leaders and the members of the House ForeignAffairs Committee and the Senate Banking Committee and hope that both the IRPSA and the Comprehensive Act will be passed by the full House and Senate, respectively, in the near future. Iran must know that the United States will not allow it to continue to obfuscate, delay and deceive.
The American people overwhelmingly support the use of sanctions to pressIran for full compliance. The strong backing of Congress will strengthen the Administration's position and sends a message to our allies regarding our determination," the leaders said.
Ayatollah warns against questioning election results
TEHRAN (WJC)—Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said that questioning the results of the controversial Iranian presidential election in June presidential was “the biggest crime.” Khamenei, who has the final say on all state matters in Iran, did not go so far as to order the arrest of opposition leaders, but his words signaled the regime could take stronger action if the criticism of the ballot continues. "The day after the election, some people, without logic or reason, called the glorious election a lie," Iranian television quoted Khamenei as saying.
Although the street protests died down months ago, leading opposition figures have refused to silence their protests. Khamenei said he sent private messages to those who continue to question the election telling them they may not be able to control the future direction of events – an implied threat of additional government action if they fail to cease their activities.
Meanwhile, Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Miliband urged Iran to overturn a four-year prison sentence given to a local employee of the British embassy in Tehran. Hossein Rassam, 44, was arrested in June at the time of massive street protests over the disputed presidential election. The Iranian, who worked as the embassy's chief political analyst, was accused of spying and inciting unrest. In a statement, Miliband called the reported sentence "wholly unjustified".
Lebanon tells U.N. that Israel
is gearing up to attack
UNITED NATIONS (WJC)—Lebanon's envoy to the United Nations has warned that Israel was exhibiting signs of an imminent attack on his country, the newspaper ‘Al-Hayat’ reported on Friday. Ambassador Noaf Salaam contacted UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council condemning Israel's recent artillery fire on the village of Houla, carried out in retaliation for the firing of a Katyusha rocket at the Upper Galilee last week. Salaam called the artillery fire a clear violation of Lebanon's sovereignty as well as of UN Resolution 1701.
According to the newspaper article, Salaam described in his missive repeated Israeli threats against the Lebanese government and citizens. He also said that the Israeli decision to bomb Lebanese territory following every rocket attack from southern Lebanon delayed and prevented the regular Lebanese forces from investigating the attacks.
President Obama, on signing hate crimes bill, declares that 'bells of freedom ring out a little louder'
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release)—The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act became law on October 28, and President Obama hosted a reception to celebrate a victory decades in the making and steeped in blood and pain. Amongst those attending were the families of the victims for which the law was named, as well as civil rights community leaders. Below are the President’s remarks in full.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you so much, everybody. Thank you so much, and welcome to the White House. There are several people here that I want to just make mention of because they
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helped to make today possible. We've got Attorney General Eric Holder. (Applause.) A champion of this legislation, and a great Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. (Applause.) My dear
friend, senior Senator from the great state of Illinois, Dick Durbin. (Applause.) The outstanding Chairman of Armed Services, Carl Levin. (Applause.) Senator Arlen Specter. (Applause.) Chairman of the Judiciary Committee in the House, Representative John Conyers. (Applause.) Representative Barney Frank. (Applause.) Representative Tammy Baldwin. (Applause.) Representative Jerry Nadler. (Applause.) Representative Jared Polis. (Applause.) All the members of Congress who are here today, we thank you.
Mr. David Bohnett and Mr. Tom Gregory and the David Bohnett Foundation -- they are partners for this reception. Thank you so much, guys, for helping to host this. (Applause.)
And finally, and most importantly, because these were really the spearheads of this effort -- Denis, Judy, and Logan Shepard. (Applause.) As well as Betty Byrd Boatner and Louvon Harris -- sisters of James Byrd, Jr. (Applause.)
To all the activists, all the organizers, all the people who helped make this day happen, thank you for your years of advocacy and activism, pushing and protesting that made this victory possible. You know, as a nation we've come far on the journey towards a more perfect union. And today, we've taken another step forward. This afternoon, I signed into law the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. (Applause.)
This is the culmination of a struggle that has lasted more than a decade. Time and again, we faced opposition. Time and again, the measure was defeated or delayed. Time and again we've been reminded of the difficulty of building a nation in which we're all free to live and love as we see fit. But the cause endured and the struggle continued, waged by the family of Matthew Shepard, by the family of James Byrd, by folks who held vigils and led marches, by those who rallied and organized and refused to give up, by the late Senator Ted Kennedy who fought so hard for this legislation -- (applause) -- and all who toiled for years to reach this day.
You understood that we must stand against crimes that are meant not only to break bones, but to break spirits -- not only to inflict harm, but to instill fear. You understand that the rights afforded every citizen under our Constitution mean nothing if we do not protect those rights -- both from unjust laws and violent acts. And you understand how necessary this law continues to be.
In the most recent year for which we have data, the FBI reported roughly 7,600 hate crimes in this country. Over the past 10 years, there were more than 12,000 reported hate crimes based on sexual orientation alone. And we will never know how many incidents were never reported at all.
And that's why, through this law, we will strengthen the protections against crimes based on the color of your skin, the faith in your heart, or the place of your birth. We will finally add federal protections against crimes based on gender, disability, gender identity, or sexual orientation. (Applause.) And prosecutors will have new tools to work with states in order to prosecute to the fullest those who would perpetrate such crimes. Because no one in America should ever be afraid to walk down the street holding the hands of the person they love. No one in America should be forced to look over their shoulder because of who they are or because they live with a disability.
At root, this isn't just about our laws; this is about who we are as a people. This is about whether we value one another -- whether we embrace our differences, rather than allowing them to become a source of animus. It's hard for any of us to imagine the mind-set of someone who would kidnap a young man and beat him to within an inch of his life, tie him to a fence, and leave him for dead. It's hard for any of us to imagine the twisted mentality of those who'd offer a neighbor a ride home, attack him, chain him to the back of a truck, and drag him for miles until he finally died.
But we sense where such cruelty begins: the moment we fail to see in another our common humanity -- the very moment when we fail to recognize in a person the same fears and hopes, the same passions and imperfections, the same dreams that we all share.
We have for centuries strived to live up to our founding ideal, of a nation where all are free and equal and able to pursue their own version of happiness. Through conflict and tumult, through the morass of hatred and prejudice, through periods of division and discord we have endured and grown stronger and fairer and freer. And at every turn, we've made progress not only by changing laws but by changing hearts, by our willingness to walk in another's shoes, by our capacity to love and accept even in the face of rage and bigotry. In April of 1968, just one week after the assassination of Martin Luther King, as our nation mourned in grief and shuddered in anger, President Lyndon Johnson signed landmark civil rights legislation. This was the first time we enshrined into law federal protections against crimes motivated by religious or racial hatred -- the law on which we build today.
As he signed his name, at a difficult moment for our country, President Johnson said that through this law "the bells of freedom ring out a little louder." That is the promise of America. Over the sounds of hatred and chaos, over the din of grief and anger, we can still hear those ideals -- even when they are faint, even when some would try to drown them out. At our best we seek to make sure those ideals can be heard and felt by Americans everywhere. And that work did not end in 1968. It certainly does not end today. But because of the efforts of the folks in this room -- particularly those family members who are standing behind me -- we can be proud that that bell rings even louder now and each day grows louder still. So thank you very much. God bless you and God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)
ADL's Foxman calls hate crimes law "a great day for America'
NEW YORK (Press Release)—Calling it "a monumental achievement and a great day for America," the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) onWednesday hailed passage of the "Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act" (HCPA), a comprehensive hate crime law that will provide for expanded federal involvement in investigating and prosecuting hate violence in America.
Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, joined with members of Congress, civil rights organizations and other supporters of the hate crimes bill at a signing ceremony with President Barack Obama at the White House.
"The passage of this important, comprehensive and inclusive federal hate crimes law was long overdue," said Mr. Foxman, a civil rights leader and longtime proponent of expanded hate crimes laws.
"For 12 long years we have worked hard with coalition partners to build the case in Washington that this law was not just necessary, but vital to ensure that all victims of hate crimes would be covered, and that local and federal officials would have the tools they need to prosecute these horrific crimes to the fullest extent of the law. The passage of this bill is a monumental achievement, and a great day for America."
"Thanks to an extraordinarily broad coalition of supporters and the leadership of members of the House and Senate, we were finally able see this legislation through into law," added Glen S. Lewy, ADL National Chair.
"It is a lasting tribute to the memories of Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. They will not remain faceless victims of hate. Their deaths stirred an impetus for change, and inspired a determination to create federal-state partnerships that will ensure law enforcement authorities have the resources to investigate and prosecute such horrific hate crimes."
ADL has long spearheaded advocacy efforts for improved local, state and federal responses to hate violence. From the development of the ADL Model Hate Crime Law nearly 30 years ago, to the Hate Crime Statistics Act of 1990 signed by President George W. Bush, to President Bill Clinton's November 1997 White House Conference on Hate Crime where the HCPA was first introduced, the League has worked to ensure that local and federal law enforcement officials have important tools to combat violent, bias-motivated crime. Over time, ADL helped to build a broad coalition of religious, civil rights, education and law enforcement groups in support of the HCPA.
Forty-five states and the District of Columbia have enacted hate crime statutes based on or similar to the ADL model. In 1993, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously upheld a Wisconsin hate crimes statute based on the ADL model. According to the most recent data available from the FBI, there was almost one hate crime in America in every hour of every day in 2007, a total of more than 7,600 reported bias motivated crimes.
WASHINGTON, DC -- The National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) on Wednesday celebrated enactment of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. NCJW President Nancy Ratzan issued the following statement:
"NCJW is proud to join the White House celebration of the signing of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act – a goal we have worked toward consistently since 1997. We are privileged to have co-chaired the key task force on this legislation representing women’s groups and to have delivered the voices and activism of our grassroots. We were honored to join the families of Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. at the White House to commemorate this historic civil rights victory.
"Enactment of this legislation extends federal hate crimes protection to those victimized because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability. This expansion of current law will strengthen enforcement by providing federal resources to prosecutors around the country.
"The new law strikes a historic blow against hate and puts the federal government squarely in the battle to ensure that the full spectrum of hate crimes is deemed intolerable in this nation and is vigorously and appropriately prosecuted and punished. It also stands as a shining example of what can be achieved when people organize to do the right thing and persist through years of struggle to make change happen."
The National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) is a grassroots organization of volunteers and advocates who turn progressive ideals into action. Inspired by Jewish values, NCJW strives for social justice by improving the quality of life for women, children, and families and by safeguarding individual rights and freedoms.
ADL reports 12% of Americans prejudiced against Jews
NEW YORK (Press Release)—Anti-Semitic attitudes in the United States are at a historic low, with 12 percent of Americans prejudiced toward Jews, a survey by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has found. The level of anti-Semitism matched that of 1998 as the lowest in the 45-year history of the poll, the ADL said in a statement. National Director Abraham Foxman said the poll results could simply be attributed to the United States becoming "a more accepting society.” He added: “At the same time there continues to be violence targeting Jews and an increasing use of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories," Foxman said in a statement. "We can't dismiss that 12 percent of the American people means that there are still over 30 million Americans that hold anti-Semitic views." When the poll was first conducted in 1964, it found 29 percent of Americans held anti-Semitic views.
The telephone survey of 1,200 adults showed men were more likely to hold anti-Semitic views than women, and that anti-Semitic tendencies among black Americans were higher than among the rest of the population. "Remarkably, since 1964, approximately 30 percent of Americans have consistently believed that Jews are more loyal to Israel than to America even though the makeup of the American population has changed dramatically," the survey said.
Saferstein pleads guilty in $75 million telemarketing fraud
PHILADELPHIA (Press Release)- Neal D. Saferstein, 36, of Mount Laurel, NJ, pleaded guilty today to four counts of an indictment1 stemming from a multi-million dollar telemarketing scam that defrauded as many as 400,000 small businesses out of as much as $75 million, announced U.S. Attorney Michael L. Levy. Saferstein was the President and Chief Executive Officer of GoInternet.net, Inc. (“GoInternet”), which did business at 20 N. Third Street, and 6 Strawberry Street, in Philadelphia.
GoInternet allegedly derived more than $75 million in gross revenues from a fraudulenttelemarketing scheme that lasted from 2001 to 2004. Co-defendant Tyrone L. Barr, 35, of
Philadelphia, was Vice President of Customer Service and Regulatory Affairs. Co-defendant Billy D. Light, 41, of Voorhees, NJ, was Chief Information Officer. Saferstein pleaded guilty on Thursday to one count of wire fraud, one count of mail fraud, and two counts of filing false tax returns. Sentencing
is scheduled for February 2010.
According to the indictment, the entire GoInternet business model was designed to defraud customers and potential customers into making monthly $29.00 payments for Internet-related services without their knowledge or authorization. GoInternet’s telemarketers duped customers into receiving a welcome packet without disclosing that the mailing would trigger monthly bills unless the customer called to cancel. The packets were then designed to look like bulk business mail to
prompt it to be disregarded or thrown away. GoInternet engaged in “cramming”. It would place monthly charges on its customers’ local telephone bills, without authorization, which customers routinely paid without noticing. By approximately 2003, GoInternet employed over 1,000 telemarketers and was signing on approximately 7,500 new customers every week. By the end of 2003, GoInternet’s customer base included more than 350,000 businesses.
Saferstein prevented customers from receiving notices disclosing the cost of services, and delayed and prevented refunds from going to customers that had been defrauded and werepromised refunds. Barr created fake sales-verification tapes which were purported to contain the telemarketer’s call to the customer and the customer’s consent. Barr pleaded guilty to wire fraud and is awaiting sentencing.
In 2003, the Federal Trade Commission brought a civil proceeding regarding GoInternet’s October 30, 2009
practice of billing consumers for services without their authorization, which resulted in a $58 million judgment being imposed against Saferstein and GoInternet. Light admitted that
Saferstein directed him to testify falsely before the federal district court in Philadelphia during the FTC proceedings. Light pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit perjury and is awaiting
sentencing.
Saferstein also used GoInternet corporate funds as if they were in his personal bank account, paying for significant personal expenses. He also failed to report income from the years
2000 to 2003 allegedly exceeding $1.7 million. In addition, the indictment charges defendant Saferstein with failing to pay over to the Internal Revenue Service more than $2.8 million in
payroll taxes while he ran GoInternet.
Saferstein faces a maximum penalty of 46 years imprisonment with a maximum fine of $1 million.
Barr faces a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment with a maximum fine of $250,000.
Light faces a maximum penalty 5 years imprisonment with a maximum fine of $250,000.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jennifer Arbittier Williams and Jason P. Bologna, and by FTC Special Assistant United States Attorney Larissa L. Bungo.
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