San
Diego Jewish World
Friday Afternoon, August 3
Vol. 1, Number
95
David Harris and Salah Udin Shoaib Choudhury |
Bangladeshi
journalist facing death for resisting radical Islam receives AJC
tributes
NEW YORK
(Press Release) Bangladeshi journalist Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, on
a rare visit to the
United States, personally thanked the
American Jewish Committee |
for supporting his efforts to combat radical Islam and promote Muslim-Jewish
relations. “I cannot afford to let my country fall into the grips of the
radicals,” Choudhury declared before a large luncheon at AJC headquarters in
New York.
Choudhury, editor of
the Weekly Blitz, a major English-language weekly in
Bangladesh, has been on trial in
Bangladesh
for sedition because of his writings on radical Islam and his attempt to visit
Israel. His newspaper offices have
been bombed, and he has been physically assaulted. If convicted, he could face
the death penalty.
San Diego Jewish World—August
3, 2007
(click on headline below to jump
to the story)
Israel and Middle East
Bangladeshi journalist
facing death for resisting radical Islam receives AJC tributes
UN agency for Palestinian
refugees condemns
Israeli incursion into southern Gaza school
Latin America
U.S. House seeks
Interpol arrests in AMIA bombing
Asia
ADL calls for
release of Korean hostages; expresses solidarity with families and friends
United
States of America
Chabad now has its own news
website
Judaism
A parable of
the donkey trapped in the well
Now,
Israel has different kinds of milk and honey
Sports
Blue Sox sock
Miracle 8-0
Restless lawyer, editor,
stockbroker Feingold
now a pitcher for Israel Baseball League's Tigers
|
“We are in the
presence of someone unafraid to stand up in a world which needs more people to
follow his example and stand together shoulder to shoulder against the forces of
hatred, and incitement, who would divide us in the name of religion, in the name
of other ideologies,” said AJC Executive Director David A. Harris.
AJC presented its
Moral Courage Award to Choudhury, in absentia, in 2006. Dr. Richard Benkin, who
accepted the award on behalf of Choudhury at AJC’s Annual Meeting, also attended
the luncheon.
Choudhury described
in detail the ongoing efforts of Islamist groups, funded by Saudi Arabia, to take over Bangladesh.
“They are patronizing the culture of jihad,” he said. Saudis are investing in
every sector, including banks, education, hospitals and “trying to capture
Bangladeshi politics,” he said. |
|
There are 64,000 madrassas in
Bangladesh, 70 percent of them
dedicated to Koranic education, said Choudhury.
Additionally, Saudi Arabia has provided $20 million to
establish a television station in Bangladesh to “combat secular-Western
media.”
While most Bangladeshis are moderate, their leadership and
educational system have been radicalized, he said.
Choudhury has been actively involved in the reinvigoration of
moderate voices in Bangladeshi society and has spoken out
against misinformation about Jews and Israel. The
Jewish state should be a natural ally of Bangladesh, since it was one of the first nations
to recognize Bangladesh’s independence in 1971, he
said.
“We
are in the presence of a real hero,” said Irwin Cotler,
Choudhury’s lawyer and former Canadian Minister of Justice, who
also attended the luncheon at AJC.
Choudhury said he looked forward to returning to Bangladesh after the weekend to
continue his struggle. “Political asylum is not a solution,” he
said. “If I don’t go back, Bangladeshis will not raise their
voices against the radicals.”
“We
have to win the battle in
Bangladesh,” said Choudhury.
Bangladeshis must declare “no to jihad, no to culture of hate,
no to Holocaust denial.”
(Return to top)
|
UN
agency for Palestinian refugees condemns
Israeli incursion into southern Gaza school
(Editor's Note: The following story from the United Nations was
issued on Friday. Because of the time difference between the United
States and Israel, it was already Shabbat and there were no corresponding
postings on Israel's official websites. If and when a reply is posted,
it will be carried here)
UNITED NATIONS,
N.Y. (Press Release)—The United Nations agency entrusted with aiding
Palestinian refugees today condemned an Israeli army incursion into one of
its schools in southern Gaza, which left property damaged.
“This is a violation of our property
and we expect the IDF to halt any operation that places in danger our staff
and which damages our installations,” UN Relief and Works Agency for
Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)
Director in Gaza John Ging said, using the acronym of the Israeli Defence
Forces.
Local residents said Israeli soldiers
and two tanks entered the compound of the Al Shouka Elementary Coeducational
School and arrested two of the guards. The main gate of the school was
damaged during the operation. Israeli soldiers then rounded up some 50 other
people, bringing about 15 of them to the school, where they were held for
several hours before being moved elsewhere.
The preceding story was provided
by the United Nations
.
U.S. House seeks Interpol arrests in AMIA bombing
WASHINGTON (Press Release)—The United States House of
Representatives has called upon the international police
organization Interpol to implement the arrest warrants of six
suspects in the 1994 terrorist attack against the AMIA Jewish center
in Buenos Aires.
In a resolution, legislators call on the Interpol General Assembly
"to uphold, issue and implement the international arrest warrants
supported by the Executive Committee of Interpol" in March 2007 of
five Iranians and a Lebanese accused by Argentina of masterminding
the 1994 bombing that killed 85 and wounded 300.
Iran has ignored the executive committee's demand and the arrest
warrants are still not active.
The preceding story was provided by the World Jewish Congress
Dear Readers,
Along with my husband Don, I co-publish
San Diego Jewish World. As a couple we have gone to many
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|
Adventures in Cruising—Royal
Caribbean's Monarch of the Seas
Lunching with the staff
Thanks to the Ford
family of Agoura Hills, California, for sharing their photos of
their family reunion weekend cruise
|
ADL calls for release of Korean hostages;
expresses solidarity with families and friends
LOS ANGELES (Press
Release)— As the
crisis in Afghanistan enters its third week, the Anti-Defamation
League calls for the immediate and unconditional release of the
captive South Korean aid workers.
"ADL is outraged by these acts of cowardice and terror. Our
thoughts and prayers are with the hostages and their families. We
mourn for those who have lost their lives in this unspeakable
tragedy. We stand in solidarity with the citizens of South Korea,
the Korean American community, and the international community
calling for the immediate release of the 21 remaining hostages,"
said Amanda Susskind, ADL Director, Pacific Southwest Region.
ADL works closely with the Korean American community in Los
Angeles. "As Jews, who are targets of terrorism here and in Israel,
we understand the frustration of standing by as innocent victims are
taken hostage," Susskind said, referring to Israeli soldiers Gilad
Shalit, who was kidnapped by Hamas on June 25, 2006, and Ehud
Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, who were kidnapped by Hezbollah on July
12, 2006.
In June, ADL launched the Asian Jewish Initiative. Its mission is
"to advance alliances and partnerships between Asian and Jewish
communities in Los Angeles through constructive dialogue and
exploration of common ground; to empower and enrich both
communities; and to foster a positive environment for open and frank
discussion about topics of mutual concern." The Initiative
includes outreach to and interaction among the communities served by
the ADL, the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, Japanese American
National Museum, Korean American Coalition and Leadership Education
for Asian Pacifics.
The preceding story was provided by the Anti-Defamation League
(Return to top)
Chabad now has its own news
website
NEW YORK, N.Y. (Press Release)—Chabad-Lubavitch has launched a new
website with Jewish news. The site, which can be accessed at
www.chabad.org/news, will feature updates from Chabad centers around
the world as well as profiles of Jewish figures, information about
Jewish holidays and rituals, articles on Lubavitch philosophy and
links to other resources at
www.chabad.org.
Current offerings include the announcement of a new Chabad rabbi in
Cancun, Mexico, Jewish community news from Ukraine and Germany, and
a comprehensive guide to Jewish marriage.
The site is headed by Joshua Runyan, a former news editor of the
”Philadelphia Jewish Exponent”. Readers may sign up for a free daily
e-mail of top stories.
The
preceding story was provided by the World Jewish Congress
(Return to top)
Rabbi
Baruch Lederman
Amazing tales of Judaism
Congregation Kehillas
Torah, San Diego |
A parable of the donkey trapped in the well
DVAR TORAH: Eikev
SAN DIEGO—Moshe was commanded to carve a second set of Tablets
with the Ten Commandments, to replace the first set of Tablets,
which was smashed during the incident of the
golden calf. The second set of Tablets were not as great as the
first set. The first set was written by the finger of Hashem
(G-d) and possessed many miraculous properties. One
might say, "I can never duplicate the original so I will give up
and not bother." We see here instead the correct attitude, that
one must always do the best one can with whatever one has to
work with.
One day a farmer's donkey fell into a well. The animal cried
piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to
do. Finally, he decided the animal was old and the well needed
to be covered up anyway, it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the
donkey. He invited all his neighbors to come over and help
him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into
the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and
cried horribly.
Then, to everyone's amazement, he quieted down. A few shovel
loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well and was
astonished at what he saw.
With every shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was
doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step
up. As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top
of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty
soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge
of the well and trotted off!
Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The
trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a
step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone. We can get
out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up!
Shake it off and take a step up!
Dedicated by Dr. Scott A. Magnes in honor of his parents Dr.
& Mrs. G. D. Magnes.
Torah
on One Foot
By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal
Tifereth Israel Synagogue, San Diego
|
Now, Israel has different kinds of milk and honey
SAN DIEGO—Parshat Ekev describes Eretz Yisrael
as eretz zavat chalav u’dvash, "a land flowing with
milk and honey." (Deut.
11:9) The Torah does
not mean this literally, of course, but uses this euphemism
to describe the abundance and fertility of the Promised
Land.
Earlier in the parasha
the Torah explicitly delineates the shiva minim,
seven species, which still flourish in Israel: "For the Lord
your God is bringing you into a good land, a land with
streams and springs and fountains issuing from plain and
hill; a land of wheat and barley, of vines, figs, and
pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey*." (Deut.
8:7-8)
To this day one can find all of
these wonderful fruits and grains in Israel. When Judy and I
traveled through the country we saw an abundance of
vineyards and orchards with much of the fruit near ready
harvest. We were especially enamored of the pomegranates.
The type of pomegranate grown in Israel is much redder and
symmetrical than the ones that are grown here. We also
enjoyed visiting some of the wineries, though not close to
the near 200 that now can be found there.
One fruit that one does not see
as much of these days is one that until recently had been
closely associated with the modern State of Israel: the
Jaffa orange. For many years these sweet oranges, similar to
Valencias, had been one of Israel’s most prominent exports.
One could find them in the United States as well as in
European markets. In many ways the Jaffa orange symbolized
Israel’s reclaiming of the desert and burgeoning
agricultural industry.
What, then, led to its decline?
The answer is simple: water. It takes a lot of water to
irrigate an orange grove. In fact, it takes 50 glasses of
water to grow enough oranges to make one glass of juice. In
the Middle East water is a very precious commodity. Israel
is a pioneer of drip irrigation, but even so it is more
efficient to use Israel’s water sources for less thirsty
plants and growing population.
Although Israel still has a
large agricultural industry (among
other things, you can often find flowers grown in Israel at
local stores), "High
Tech" has become one of Israel’s greatest exports. Driving
through the country one does not have to look far to see
large buildings bearing logos such as "Intel"** and "IBM."
One especially successful locally founded company is Amdocs,
which is a leading international supplier of business
software for the telecommunications suppliers. We even saw
an advertisement posted in Hebrew soliciting applicants to
work at Qualcomm Israel, a research and development center
which is a wholly owned subsidiary of San Diego’s Qualcomm.
Israel is still a land flowing
with milk and honey, but some of its sweetness and fertility
today is not produced by that which grows from the ground
but the people who live upon it.
*The honey referred to
in the Bible is "date honey," the sweet sticky substance
found on the outside of dates.
**Many of Intel’s Pentium Mobile chips were developed in
Israel.
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News from the
Israel Baseball League |
Blue Sox sock Miracle 8-0
Upper Left: Bet Shemesh pitcher Juan Feliciano and catcher
Scott Jarmakowicz have a friendly conference
on the mound; Upper Right: Bet Shemesh right fielder Jason Rees
takes a mighty cut. Bottom: Jarmakowicz
slides into second base as Modi'in infielder Oren Gal attempts a put
out.
IBL photos by Asher Stein
By Nathaniel Edelstein
GEZER, August 3- The Bet Shemesh Blue Sox had no problem
dropping the Modi'in Miracle to four games out of first place on
Friday, beating Modi'in 8-1 behind the arm of Dominican right-hander
Juan Feliciano.
Feliciano improved to 6-1 with a complete-game three-hitter at the
field of Kibbutz Gezer, giving up one run while striking out 12 and
walking three.
Centerfielder Sean Slaughter led the Blue Sox offense with a 2-for-3
day and a second-inning homerun, three RBI, and three runs scored.
Australian rightfielder Jason Rees chipped in going 2-for-2 with a
solo homer, two RBI, and two runs scored to raise his average to
.371.
At Sportek in Tel Aviv, the Ra'anana Express handed the Netanya
Tigers their 17th loss, winning 7-2. The game was tied through five
innings as each team scored a run in the third and a run in the
fifth before Ra'anana pulled away in the sixth.
A three-run homerun by shortstop Brendan Rubenstein, who went
2-for-4, capped off a five-run sixth inning that put the Express on
top for good. First baseman Scott Feller went 3-for-4 with two
doubles to give right-handed Columbian Max Vasquez all the support
he needed in his third victory. Vasquez threw a complete-game,
giving up
two runs on six hits with two strikeouts and five walks as the
Tigers fall ten games out of first place.
The Tel Aviv Lightning defeated the Petach Tikva Pioneers 13-1 to
stay 1.5 games behind the first-place Blue Sox. Tel Aviv native Dan
Rothem picked up his third win, throwing five innings and giving up
no runs on three hits with one strikeout and one walk in Yarkon
Field action.
Dominican shortstop Raul Franco led the Lightning offense, going
3-for-3 with three RBI and two runs scored. Third baseman Nate Fish
of Brooklyn, New York, contributed a double, two RBI, and three runs
scored while first baseman Steward Brito added three hits of his
own. The loss is the sixth consecutive for Ken Holtzman's club,
which isnow 16.5 games out of first place.
League Leaders
Avg. - Raymundo (BS) .526, Rodriguez (Mod) .468, Doane (Net) .410
HR - Rees (BS) 14, Lopez (BS) 13, Rodriguez (Mod) 13
RBI – Rees (BS) 44, Raymundo (BS) 38, Rodriguez (Mod) 38
SB - Lyons (BS) 22, Doane (Net) 21, Hastings (TA) 18
W-L Pct.- Bergstrom (BS) 6-1 .857, Feliciano (BS) 6-1 .857, 2 Tied
at 5-2
Strikeouts - Nelson (Mod) 63, Feliciano (BS) 61, Bennett (Mod) 59
ERA - Bergstrom (BS) 2.03, Feliciano (BS) 2.14, Pribble (TA) 2.15
Summaries:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Modi'in 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 3 1
Bet Shemesh 1 2 1 4 0 0 x 8 11 0
W: Juan Feliciano (6-1); L: Noah Walker (0-1); HR: Sean Slaughter
(5),
Jason Rees (14), Moko Moanaroa (3)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Ra'anana 0 0 1 0 1 5 0 7 9 2
Netanya 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 2 6 3
W: Max Vasquez (3-2); L: Matt Comiter (1-2); HR: Brendan Rubenstein
(2)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Petach Tikva 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 5 5
Tel Aviv 1 0 3 0 9 0 x 13 9 0
W: Dan Rothem (3-1); L: Scott Cantor (0-4); HR: Willis Bumphus (3)
Standings:
Team W L % GB
Bet Shemesh Blue Sox 22 8 .733 –
Tel Aviv Lightning 20 9 .690 1.5
Modi'in Miracle 18 12 .600 4.0
Netanya Tigers 12 16 .429 9.0
Ra'anana Express 11 19 .367 11.0
Petach Tikva Pioneers 5 24 .172 16.5
On Sunday at 5 pm the Petach Tikva Pioneers play the Ra'anana
Express at Sportek in Tel Aviv while the Tel Aviv Lightning and
Modi'in Miracle play at Kibbutz Gezer. At 6 pm the Bet Shemesh Blue
Sox match up against the Netanya Tigers at Yarkon Field at the
Baptist Village in Petach Tikva.
{Click the above ad for
more information}
Restless lawyer, editor, stockbroker Feingold
now a pitcher for Israel Baseball League's Tigers
By
Yoni
Peres, DVM
HAKFAR
HAYAROK, Israel—“The nicest guy I've ever met in baseball.” That's
how
Leon
Feingold was described by former Major Leaguer and Indians coach
Billy “B-Dub” Williams.
Well, I have met very few baseball players; however, in our two-hour
conversation, I discovered Leon to be a charming, gentle and polite
person, totally different than the "killer" expression he had when I
watched him pitch at the IBL all star game at Yarkon field.
I called Leon on Wednesday night to ask for an interview.
Introducing myself to him as the owner of the veterinary hospital at
Hakfar Hayarok, he was excited "Wow, I didn't realize there was a
veterinary facility here – I just found a little kitten and was
looking around for a vet"… So Leon brought the tiny kitten and we
named it, guess what ? Tiger !
|
The 6'6" 34 year old Netanya
Tigers pitcher, was born and raised in Long Island, NY.
In 1994, he began his baseball career playing for a
Cleveland Indians farm team. Unfortunately, one year later a
shoulder injury requiring arthroscopic surgery, and an
additional injury of the same shoulder from a car accident,
cut off his baseball career. Leon decided to become an
attorney and in 1998 he graduated from the law school at
Hofstra University, specializing in sport and entertainment
legal transactions. As a lawyer, that's where he
gained his nick name "Justice."
He tried playing in an amateur tournament and a scout
invited him to the spring training of the independent
Atlantic league. But again he had to retire due to shoulder
pain. |
Leon says he hates boredom and long-term plans and likes the
challenges of new experiences. Over a short period of time, he has
worked for trade publication, in the aviation industry, and as a
real estate broker, he told me.
Leon was
playing for four years at the semiprofessional level, when he heard
from his good friend, Dan Rootenberg about the tryout for the IBL in
Massachusetts, in August 2006.
The evaluation process was headed by Dan Douquette. Out of many
Jewish and non Jewish players, all anxious to try the Israeli
experience, the first four to be picked out were Feingold,
Rootenberg, Adam Crabbe (who flew in all the way from Australia just
for the tryout), and Willis Bumphus from San Diego, Ca.
A press
conference which was held in New York City in June 2006, by former
major league baseball players Art Shamsky, Ron Blomberg and Ken
Holtzman to announce the establishment of the Israel Baseball
League, to open one year later.
For Leon, this is his second time to Israel. The first was about 15
years ago. But for him, there is no comparison between the two. This
time he is more grown up and has many opportunities to interact with
Israelis.
"I love the concept of bringing baseball players to Israel, some of
them Jewish and the others have the passion for the game and the
curiosity for the Israeli experience. Israel is on the news in the
US all the time."
Leon thinks that Tel Aviv is an amazing bubbling city and he finds a
lot of similarities to Manhattan. "It is one of the few countries in
the world, where you can feel that the people like Americans,”
stresses Leon, who has traveled around to many countries throughout
the world. He met many friendly Israelis and made some friends – not
only at the baseball fields.
Besides meeting people, sports, music, movies and books, Leon loves
eating. He enjoys the food here and is quite knowledgeable of
restaurants in the Tel Aviv area that offer the best Middle Eastern
food.
He is also a Professional Competitive Eater and has been ranked as
high as 12th in the world by the International Federation
of Competitive Eating (IFOCE).
Leon says that baseball
is the most popular sport in the US as well as in other countries.
"We grow up with it and understand the game, which is, comparing it
to other ball games, not so fast and dynamic, but very cerebral.
Just like comparing chess, in which you have to plan several moves
ahead, to simpler games" explains Feingold, " It is a long game, a
social experience for the whole family".
As opposed to many pessimistic
Israelis, claiming that the baseball does not fit the Israeli public
mentality, he believes that there are enough curious people here and
it is a matter of time, before baseball becomes popular here as
well.
He thinks that the organization of the league has been amazing,
however he suggest that more efforts should be taken in order to
make the Israeli public aware of the game. " People recognize me on
the street, as the pitcher from the TV, however that is not
sufficient and the management should take more steps, such as
explaining the rules of the game to the Israeli public".
Plans for the future? Leon is spontaneous and does not like
planning too much. "I just want to be happy. I am very passionate
and would love to come back for the next season. I just need to
shape up a little…"
Aliyah? " I am not sure, I'll
have to think about it".
Well, Leon, I am sure that if your decision will be positive, you
would be a great asset to the state of Israel.
{Marc Kligman, who combines being
a sports agent with his life as an observant Jew, invites you to listen.
Click on the ad above for more information}
Shabbat
shalom, chaverim! |
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