San Diego Jewish World

                                            Tuesday Evening, July 3, 2007    

                                                                      Vol. 1, Number 64
 

 Republican Jewish Coalition director says House
 GOP members ultimately will support Israel aid

By Donald H. Harrison

SAN DIEGO—Matthew Brooks, executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, said in a telephone interview from Washington today that Republican members of the House will ultimately vote in support of foreign aid to Israel, just as they have in the past.

He said that when 164 Republican members of Congress voted on June 22 against the foreign aid bill, which included $2.44 billion for Israel, they did so knowing that the Democratic majority had sufficient votes for the bill to be approved and sent to the Senate.

"When you have the luxury and latitude of knowing the bill will pass, it allows people to make a statement," said Brooks.  "If anyone thought that the Republican vote would have made a difference in the outcome, there would have been a much stronger effort to persuade the members to put their objections aside" to other parts of the foreign aid bill, particularly a provision permitting the United States to provide non-governmental organizations overseas with contraceptive devices.

Jewish misgivings over pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel comments made by former President Jimmy Carter as well as over "Republicans' support for Israel's right to defend itself in the recent Second Lebanon War."  He characterized Democrats as being less supportive of Israel's right to defend itself in that flare-up against Hezbollah.

Brooks added that "Republicans have bent over backwards to make it clear to the community that the vote was in no way a reflection on their commitment to Israel.  They have been there, will be there, and will continue to be there."

The RJC leader expressed the hope that when the foreign aid bill goes to a House-Senate conference committee, it will be reported out as "a clean foreign aid bill," but said no matter what form it takes, "at the end of the day Israel will get its money." He added that the Bush Administration has been taking the lead not only on appropriating money for Israel this year, but "extending the foreign aid agreement for 10 years in order to support Israel militarily."

Brooks said the vote on the bill in the House of Representatives was meant to show that although Republicans are in the minority, they will not be "pushed around" by the Democratic majority.

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Olmert visits Modi'in, marvels over growth

MODI'IN, Israel (Press Release)—Prime Minister Ehud Olmert this morning visited the city of Modi'in/Maccabim-Reut.  He toured the city with Mayor Moshe Spector and observed new neighborhoods under construction, the nearly complete train station and the city's industrial zone.

Olmert met with city council members to discuss management issues in the wake of the city's rapid development.  He told the Mayor: "I must compliment you and the city council members on your city's extraordinary pace of development.  There are already 70,000 residents, which is very impressive – that is much more than there were during my previous visit here as Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor, but it is certainly less than I will see here one year from now.  In order to make this city even more central, I will instruct that Highway #443 be upgraded in order to enable better access to the city and on August 31st you will be able to inaugurate a new train station here which will enable residents to reach Tel Aviv in just 22 minutes.  You know that I am a sports fan, and I have therefore instructed Mifal Hapayis to greatly hasten the construction of a sports center.  I am happy about this visit here.  It is wonderful to see roads being paved and neighborhoods being built.  This is a reality which is developing before our very eyes."

The preceding story was provided by the office of the Prime Minister

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 Solana hints Iran link to Hamas takeover in Gaza

BRUSSELS (Press Release)—Javier Solana, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, has suggested that Iran could be linked to the Hamas military takeover of Gaza, as well as to recent attacks on the Lebanese army and on European peacekeepers in Lebanon.

"What happened in Gaza cannot be seen separately from what happened in Lebanon," he said during a two-day conference in Brussels on the Middle East organized by the Socialist group in the European Parliament. "There are new groups in the Palestinian camps," Solana is quoted as saying. He added: "And the fact that UNIFIL has been attacked for the first time cannot be taken separately."

Solana’s spokesperson later said the statements attributed to the EU official were misinterpretated: "Mr. Solana did not make any links. He didn’t’ say so," Christina Gallach said. According to the “Reuters” news agency, Javier Solana stopped short of blaming Tehran outright, but said the incidents could not be treated separately.

Solana said that while the car bomb attack that killed six Spanish members of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) on 24 June was carried out by "forces we don’t know", he added: "It would be naive not to see this as part of a global approach." "Somebody I know well – Ali Larijani – has said ’we are supporting Hamas’," he said in a reference to the chief Iranian negotiator on the nuclear program. He had made this statement in an interview with “Newsweek” last month.

The preceding story was provided by the World Jewish Congress

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 True United Church of Christ position on Israel
 now a matter of controversy—Wiesenthal Center

LOS ANGELES (Press Release)—The Reverend John Thomas, head of the United Church of Christ (UCC), expressed outrage at watchdog groups who he says are misleading the public about a change in the Church’s policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which is seen as focusing criticism solely on Israel.  At the UCC General Synod held this week, a resolution seeking to change that policy by calling for “balanced study, commentary and critique related  to the conflict” was voted to the Church’s Executive Council for implementation, a move publicly praised by the Simon Wiesenthal Center and other groups. But according to the Reverend Thomas, that move does not signal a rejection of the current policy and statements from these outside groups only distort the truth. “General Synod policy related to Israel and Palestine remains today what it was before our Synod convened,” he said in a statement.
 
“Reverend Thomas’ remarks only shows that there’s a disconnect between the Church’s leadership and the people in the pews,” said Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein, Director of Interfaith Affairs for the Wiesenthal Center. “There’s a significant number of UCC members who agree that the Church’s policy is one-sided and the fact that their resolution was passed is evidence of that,” he continued. 

Adlerstein noted that the laity have now spoken and that this issue can only move forward. “We’re confident that the process to correct the imbalance will continue unabated,” he concluded.

When the UCC proposed the two measures against Israel in advance of its 2005 National Synod, the Wiesenthal Center launched an online petition campaign that called on the Church’s leader, Reverend John Thomas, to defeat the measures. The campaigned generated over 20,000 signatures. At the 2005 Synod, a number of UCC members stood side by side with Wiesenthal Center officials and other interfaith leaders as they protested the adoption of the resolutions.

The preceding story was provided by the Simon Wiesenthal Center

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 Auschwitz has new, longer, official name

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (Press Release)—The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has approved a request by the Polish government to rename the Auschwitz Birkenau concentration camp. The death camp, which claimed the lives of as many as 1.5 million people during World War II, most of them Jews, was officially renamed 'Auschwitz-Birkenau. Nazi German Concentration and Extermination Camp (1940-1945).'

In 2006, the Polish government had asked the UN body to change the name of the World Heritage Site in a bid to avoid confusion over its historical origin. The UNESCO World Heritage Committee made the decision on Wednesday at a session in New Zealand. Poland’s request for a name-change came after a string of incidents over the last decade in which international media referred to the camp as "Polish" due to its location in Poland.

The preceding story was provided by the World Jewish Congress

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Genghis Khan and the 4th of July                                                        By Sheila Orysiek

SAN DIEGO—When I think of the Fourth of July, I am reminded of Genghis Khan.  In the 13th century C.E. when people looked up at the horizon and saw a black cloud they knew a terror of unimaginable proportions was about to descend upon them.  The hooves of thousands of horses kicked up the dust which blackened the sky, an appropriate omen of what was about to befall the hapless people in the path of Genghis Khan.  The folk memory of this was passed down to me by my mother who was a Jewish immigrant from Russia.  It was told and retold generation to generation.

History is replete with such reigns of terror. Kings, despots, potentates and dictators have strewn human history with death and misery; from the emperors of China, to the many Ramses of Egypt, from Alexander of Macedonia to Napoleon, to Stalin to Hitler to Pol Pot to Saddam Hussein.  The list is as long as human history. There is no time or clime that has not had the vicious head of despotism raise its glaring eyes intent on acquisition and aggrandizement of power.  Tiny England expanded its rule through the Raj of India and on around the world.  European colonization of Africa and the Americas, the Soviet Union’s suppression of Eastern Europe, Japan’s rape of East Asia, Mao’s purges in China, the Taliban’s reign of terror in Afghanistan are but continuing examples of the ruthlessness of the human story.  And now we face new enemies consecrated to our annihilation.

Though reading history has always interested me, I must admit to a certain glazing of the mind (and horror of the heart) by the unremitting rise and fall of vicious regimes headed by a despot whether his title is Khan or King.  First one group is dominant and then another, each for a space of time subjugating the other.  And then, something different occurred, slowly and at first almost unnoticed, a different scenario appeared; a strange blip on the stage of the usual human carnage.

At the very moment that a door slammed shut on the long history of Jews (Sephardim) in Spain (Sepharad), another door opened – on the same day.  Ships had crowded into the Spanish harbor of Palos, (now Delba) and thousands of Jews were crammed aboard desperate to find succor abroad. But when all those ships sailed, three of them went in a different direction: sailing west into the setting sun, to find a new land.  The day was the 3^rd, the month was August, the year was 1492 – the final day of the Edict of Expulsion of the ancient Jewish population from Spain and the same day on which Columbus sailed.

From the beginning Jews began sailing west, too, as crypto-Jews aboard Spanish ships and openly aboard Dutch ships, founding the oldest synagogue (est. in 1651) in the west on the Dutch island of Curacao. In the wilderness of North America another group, the Puritans (1620), sought religious freedom for themselves, though initially reluctant to extend it to others. Eventually they laid a foundation that in time offered freedom and tolerance to disparate groups – Jews among them - the first arriving in 1654.  That foundation led to the glimmer of an idea to further secure civic freedom – finally – from the despots of the future.

A century later a rather unpretentious, numerically small, hitherto unheard of group of men, subjects of a mighty king, decided to declare for themselves independence from their overlord.  They had at the moment no powerful allies to help them, no great wealth, no large commercial underpinning, no long experience to sustain them and no history of success from which to learn.  They only had an idea; an idea that they might create a body of law and govern themselves.  It was a daring proposition.

No one took them seriously; even amongst the group some doubted this could be done.  It had never been attempted before on such a scale – an entire nation based on such a principle.  They gathered together in the small but bustling city of Philadelphia in a modest red brick building – ironically of (King) Georgian design.  It was (and is) but a short walk from the Mikveh Israel Synagogue, established in 1740; a congregation that supported ideologically and financially both the Declaration of Independence and the Revolution that followed.

The men in this group meeting in Philadelphia represented many different strata of endeavor and attainment.  Some were rather wealthy but many were of modest means such as John Adams.  Samuel Adams was quite poor and his traveling clothes were purchased for him by neighbors.  They were from the plantations of the south as well as the rocky farms and port cities of the north.  Most had classical educations.  This was one of the few things that united them – they knew the history of previous endeavors to limit autocracy and used it as inspiration to structure a form of self-governance for themselves and their descendants. 

What they created in that modest red brick building in Philadelphia has changed the world.  That people might indeed declare independence from a king and then govern themselves was so alien an idea that there was little in all of previous human experience to suggest it.  In almost every facet of human existence; in tradition, written and oral law, religious and cultural structure and stricture, just the opposite had been the norm. Whether internally or externally enforced “Render unto Caesar” had been the universal song, appease tyranny had been the dance.  And, then seemingly out of no where, this unique idea that the constituent people might chose those whom they would allow to govern over their affairs.

It is true that this fantastic notion has not kept us, America, from having some dark closets in our house; the utter suppression of the original population, the stink of slavery, discrimination against Catholics, Jews, and others.  But the path that was laid down by that group of men in Philadelphia has guided us on the continuing road to repent and repeal these dark corners. We are creatures with many faults and we are constantly at war with our baser selves and America has many lessons still to learn. But a start has been made - the blueprint for good has been set before us: that we might govern one another with prudence and equity. 

In the very dark time of August 3rd, 1492, the merest glimmer of light appeared on the horizon and culminated on July 4th, 1776. On that day, a new idea, a new nation sent out a message and its call is still being heard and answered by millions of feet that walk here and millions of hands that build here.  As Jews, this land opened a door to us through the centuries, and we have come to be a part of the fabric of the country – a haven when we were sorely in need.  A perfect place?  No. No place is.  But we have lived and thrived because of a small group of men with a different idea.

Look how the world has changed since that first meeting of the Continental Congress in Philadelphia!  At that time the only claim to a truly representative non-monarchical parliamentary system of self-governance was Iceland’s Althing established in 930 CE.  Today democracies, parliaments, and representative republics span the globe.  Two hundred years after that meeting in Philadelphia, as we breathlessly watched, Jefferson’s words were painted on a wall in Tiananmen Square. 

As I hoist my flag on the Fourth of July this is all very personal. My entire family – my mother - were desperate immigrants who sailed past the Statue of Liberty when all other countries were closed to them and I was born within walking distance of the Liberty Bell in Independence Square, Philadelphia.  Because of July 4th, we are free to celebrate the holidays of the Jewish Calendar in peace.

Happy Birthday, America.

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Jews in the News            --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Like you, we're pleased when members of our community are praiseworthy, and are disappointed when they are blameworthy. Whether it's good news or bad news, we'll try to keep track of what's being said in general media about our fellow Jews. Our news spotters are Dan Brin in Los Angeles, Donald H. Harrison in San Diego, and you. Wherever you are,  if you see a story of interest, please send a summary and link to us at sdheritage@cox.net and we'll acknowledge your tip at the end of the column. To see a source story click on the link within the respective paragraph.

*The office of San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis has obtained a grand jury indictment against Chula Vista City Councilman Steve Castaneda on unspecified charges, Tanya Mannes reports in a story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune. An arraignment, at which time the charges formally will be announced, is scheduled on Thursday.

*A combined wire service story in the San Diego Union-Tribune on President Bush commuting the sentence of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, contained negative reactions from some top Democrats including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who suggested the President's action "condones criminal conduct."  In an editorial, the newspaper called Bush's decision "another mistake" and a Steve Breen cartoon showed the Republican elephant commenting approvingly "Now that's amnesty I can support."  At the White House today, press secretary Tony Snow answered questions about the Libby commutation for more than an hour and a half.  Here's a link to the transcript.

*George Kovacs, a Kindertransport child from Austria who later brightened up the world with his innovative lighting designs, has died at 80.  An obituary by Dennis Hevesi of the New York Times News Service is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Opera star Beverly Sills has died at age 78.  An obituary by Antony Tommasini of the New York Times News Service is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Paul Wolfowitz, who was forced out of job as president of the World Bank, has signed on as a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. The story is in today's Los Angeles Times. 

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The Jewish Grapevine

BOOKS—Diana Lindsay, owner of Sunbelt Publications, says workers straightening its warehouse found a misplaced copy of Norton B. Stern's 1973 book, Baja California Jewish Refuge and Homeland published by Dawson's Bookshop in Los Angeles. Yup, they'll sell it, at its $30 retail price.

CYBER-REFERRALS—Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs distributed a link to the episode on Al-Aqsa Television, operated by Hamas, in which the Mickey Mouse-like character Farfur is beaten to death by an Israeli.  The Foreign Ministry made this comment: "In this episode, Farfur is beaten to death by an Israeli, becoming a shahid, or martyr for Allah, further nurturing the cult of martyrdom which has inspired Palestinian children to take an increasingly active role in the violence."


DEAD SEA SCROLLS—Burl Stiff, writing about the glitzy party preceding the opening of the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit, said that in addition to people like sponsors Joan & Irwin Jacobs,  the party featured camels outside the San Diego Natural History Museum and a belly dancer within.  His account is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune. .. Delle Willett, the museum's marketing director, confides that on opening day, June 29, the morning that she arrived, she found the museum entrance  blocked by yellow warning tape.  It turned out there was a nest of angry bees that might have posed a hazard to visitors. Although bees might help provide the ambience of a "land of milk and honey," it seemed better to move the nest to an orchard in the back country.

GOVERNMENT & POLITICS—A dispute may be settled between District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis and the North County Times over her barring one of that newspaper's reporters from a news conference last month, but the local journalism community still is buzzing with indignation about it, notwithstanding an  acknowledgment by Dumanis that it was a mistake. Jack Reber, who edits the daily newsletter for the "919 Gang" comprised of former Union-Tribune journalists, commented: "We're all in trouble if public officials get to decide who attends their press conferences." ... A story by Michael Kinsman about the death of former San Diego Police Office Allen D. Brown in today's San Diego Union-Tribune notes that he was the training officer for then rookie cop, now Sheriff Bill Kolender. In  a tribute to Brown, Kolender said: "He just had a way of teaching young men and women how to care about their jobs, care about the people they dealt with and how to do their jobs professionally." ..

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The Jewish Sports Fan

Unless otherwise indicated, source for these stories is today's edition of The San Diego Union-Tribune, to which we gratefully provide the links below.

One of those good news, bad news days for Jason Hirsch

BASEBALL—Commissioner Bud Selig has decided that whichever league wins the All-Star Game should have home field advantage in the World Series.  Nick Canepa, who writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune, argues in a column that it is a terrible idea.  He notes that the National League has not won an All-Star game since 1996.  The San Diego Padres are in the National League. .. In Monday's games, catcher Brad Ausmus had a tough day at the plate, batting 0-3, but he had a good day behind the plate, helping to turn a double play....It was one of those good news, bad news days for Colorado Rockies pitcher Jason Hirsch.  The good news: He pitched six straight innings of shut out ball.  He was credited as the winning pitcher in the Rockies 6-2 victory over the New York Mets.  He brought his E.R.A. down to 4.9.  He even got two hits and credit for two RBIs.  The bad news: He sprained his ankle and had to be lifted for a pinch runner in the sixth inning... For the Mets, meanwhile, Shawn Green singled and racked up his 16th double of the season, lifting his batting average to .276.  ... 

TENNIS—We're certain that members of the Israeli team are Jewish, but other players at Wimbledon may also be.  If anyone knows for sure, we'd be delighted to pass the information along.  Here are some names worth checking out: Jaroslav Levinsky of the Czech Republic; Richard Bloomfield of Britain; Scott Lipsky of the United States, and Daniel Nestor of Canada.  Meanwhile, we can report that Harel Levy of Israel and Rajeev Ram of the United States defeated the Argentine doubles team of Martin Garcia and Sebastien Prieto 7-6 (0), 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4), 6-7 (3), 10-8.

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News from the        Israel Baseball League

Modi'in has its miracle, but Bet Shemesh still is undefeated

GEZER, Israel, July 3- Tuesday's game between the Petach Tikva Pioneers and the Modi'in Miracle was the quickest thus far in the IBL season, a 2-0 Miracle victory that lasted one hour and 36 minutes.

Australian lefty Matt Bennett pitched a no-hitter with 10 strikeouts and one walk to out-duel Brooklyn native Alper Ulatas, who gave up two runs and four hits in 5 2/3 innings.  Bennett was dominating throughout his seven innings of work, but there was a bit of controversy in the game when Miracle third baseman Jamie Aimar could not make a play to first.  The play was ruled an error and Petach Tikva asked for it to be reviewed after the game, but the official
scorekeeper stood by his ruling to give the IBL its second no-hitter of the season

The little offense from Modi'in came off the bat of Californian Aaron Levin who hit a solo homerun in the fourth inning to put the Miracle up 1-0.  In the bottom of the sixth Dominican centerfielder Adalberto Paulino added an insurance run with an RBI double as Modi'in improves to 3-2 on the season.

Meanwhile at Yarkon Field at the Baptist Village in Petach Tikva, the Bet Shemesh Blue Sox topped the Ra'anana Express 5-0 to improve to 7-0 on the season.  Dominican right-hander Juan Feliciano improved his personal record to 2-0 by pitching a complete game 2-hit shutout, striking out nine and walking just two batters.

The Blue Sox were aided by a shaky Ra'anana defense as well as the bats of star hitters Jason Rees and Johnny Lopez.  Rees went 2-3 on the night with an RBI raising his batting average to .579 and Lopez went 3-4 with a run scored putting him at .440 for the season. Manager Ron Blomberg's club is now 2.5 games ahead of the second-place Tel Aviv Lightning.


Summaries:
                         1   2   3   4   5   6   7   R   H   E
Petach Tikva     0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0    0    0
Modi'in             0   0   0   1   0   1   x   2    4    2
W: Matt Bennett (1-0); L: Alper Ulutas (0-1); HR: Aaron Levin (1)


                         1   2   3   4   5   6   7   R  H  E
Bet Shemesh     0   0   0   3   0   2   0   5   8   0
Ra'anana           0   0   0   0   0   0    0   0   2  3
W: Juan Feliciano (2-0); L: Joshua Zumbrun (0-2); HR: None

Standings:
Team                             W    L     %     GB
Bet Shemesh Blue Sox   7     0   1.000     –
Tel Aviv Lightning         4     2    .667     2.5
Modi'in Miracle              3     2    .600     3.0
Netanya Tigers               2     2     .500     3.5
Ra'anana Express            1     6     .143     6.0
Petach Tikva Pioneers    1     6     .143     6.0

Wednesday's games will be played during the day due to the celebration of
America's Fourth of July.  It will be the Netanya Tigers vs. the Modi'in Miracle at 12 p.m. at Gezer Field and at Yarkon Sports Complex the Bet Shemesh Blue Sox vs. the Petach Tikva Pioneers at 12 p.m. 

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