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 The Jewish Grapevine
                                                 
Home   August 2007      September 2007          Jewish Grapevine by month

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Saturday, September 1
 

CYBER-REFERRALS—San Diego Jewish World appreciates and thanks those individuals and organizations which recommend or post stories of interest to the worldwide Jewish community:

●San Diego Union-Tribune: An Associated Press story about Holocaust survivors who have become philanthropists and now are helping to reestablish life in their native Poland. Here is the link.


 JEWISH POLITICAL FIGURES

● U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel (Democrat, Illinois) and U.S. Sen. Richard J. Durbin (Democrat, Illinois) have appealed to the federal Environmental Protection Agency to overrule a decision by the Department of Environmental Management in the neighboring state of Indiana to permit British Petroleum to emit more than double the amount of particulate matter into the air at its Whiting, Indiana, refinery.  "Particulate matter can cause serious respiratory illnesses and aggravate conditions such as asthma," the two legislators wrote.  "The air permit issued by IDEM for BP's Whiting facility also would allow the refinery to increase the amount of carbon monoxide it discharges into the atmosphere."


PEERING OVER THE DIVIDE—The Middle East Cultural and Information Center is hosting a $15-per-person dinner at the Normal Heights Community Center, Saturday, Sept. 22, at which two Arab speakers and an Iranian music group (Darvak Music Ensemble) will be featured. The speakers are Khalil Bendib, an editorial cartoonist whose book is entitled Mission Accomplished, and Michel Shehadeh, a Palestinian activist against whom a federal deportation case was dismissed. This event is sponsored by Alternate Focus, which produces television programming on the Dish Network.  More information is available via the organization's website, www.alternatefocus.org

Sunday, September 2
 

CYBER-REFERRALS—San Diego Jewish World appreciates and thanks those individuals and organizations which recommend or post stories of interest to the worldwide Jewish community:

● Bruce Kesler: A review in The Observer of The King's Most Loyal Enemy  Aliens by Helen Fry.  Here is the link.

●San Diego Union-Tribune: A story by Tony Manolatos about the growing violence of neo-Nazis in the Lakeside area of San Diego County.  Here is the link.

●Shahar Masori: A feature in the San Francisco Chronicle about Zebulon Simentov, the last Jew in Afghanistan. Here is the link.

JEWISH OFFICEHOLDERS

●U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein  (Democrat, California) has a private bill to award citizenship to Jacqueline Coats of Kenya, whose husband, Marlin, lost his life trying to save two boys from riptides off the San Francisco coast  Because she had  not instituted immigration proceedings before he died, Coats is not eligible to stay in the country without such intervention.

Monday, September 3
 

CYBER-REFERRALS—San Diego Jewish World appreciates and thanks those individuals and organizations which recommend or post stories of interest to the worldwide Jewish community:

 ● Bruce Lowitt: An article on Salon.com on the best 18 Jewish baseball players of all time.  Here is the link.

● Cable News Network reports that the leader of Fatah al-Islam, Shaker al-Abbsi, may have been among 39 killed when Lebanese troops stormed  a refugee camp which it had under siege.  DNA tests will be required to verify.  Here is the link.

JEWISH PUBLIC OFFICIALS
 ● U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter (Republican, Pennsylvania) says maybe U.S. Sen. Larry Craig (Republican, Idaho) should reconsider his resignation from the U.S. Senate in the wake of a sting operation in which Craig was accused of soliciting an undercover policeman for gay sex.  Specter advised his colleague to fight the charge.  Here is the link. 

IN MEMORY
 ●Ben Borevitz, 79, an attorney who was an active supporter of such Jewish defense agencies as the American Jewish Committee, the Anti-Defamation League and the Community Relations Council of United Jewish Federation of San Diego County, has died of ALS, otherwise known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.  Active in Democratic politics, Borevitz also was known as a wine connoisseur. Here’s the link to an obituary by Elizabeth Fitzsimons in today’s San Diego Union Tribune.

 Tuesday, September 4
 

CYBER-REFERRALS—San Diego Jewish World appreciates and thanks those individuals and organizations which recommend or post stories of interest to the worldwide Jewish community:

 ● Israel's Consulate General in Los Angeles: A story on YNet News that Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak has put a 48-hour special defense status into effect in the Sderot area, enabling Defense officials to lawfully intervene in certain civilian affairs, in response to the barrage of rockets from Gaza.  Here is the link.

 ● Jay Jacobson: A story in the International Herald Tribune about how parents in Sderot evacuated their babies from a daycare center after rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip on Monday.  Here is the link.

● Hillel Mazansky: A humorous cartoon video in which Israel gets New Year's greetings from some unexpected well-wishers.


Wednesday, September 5
CYBER-REFERRALS—San Diego Jewish World appreciates and thanks those individuals and organizations which recommend or post stories of interest to the worldwide Jewish community:

 ●United Jewish Communities: An article about Israel President Shimon Peres' trip to Italy during which he will confer with Italian leaders and Pope Benedict XVI. Here is the link.

 JEWISH OFFICEHOLDERS
 ● U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman (Democrat, New York) is pushing what is known as the ABC Bill for "America's Better Classrooms."  The measure, which he cosponsored, would pump $25 billion into interest-free funds for construction and renovation of local schools.

● U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley (Democrat, Nevada) has praised a recent federal court ruling precluding the appropriation of water by the federal government for use at the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear dump.  "Water is one of the most important natural resources we have and allowing these supplies to be polluted by toxic nuclear waste is not in the best interest of the families who call Las Vegas and other Nevada communities  home," she said on September 4.

● U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl (Democrat, Wisconsin) is studying ways to prevent financial advisors who merely attend seminar from representing themselves as experts on senior needs.  "Seniors should be able to truth the people who invest their money.  They should not b worried that the title after their advisor's name is scarcely more than a marketing ploy, and that it was not earned through sufficiently rigorous financial education or training."

 ●U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler (Democrat, New York) has joined with U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton and Rep. Carolyn Maloney (both Democrats, New York)  in releasing a report by the Government Accounting Office (a congressional arm) indicating serious flaws in the Environmental Protection Agency's assessment and response to the destruction of the World Trade Center on September 11.  Said Nadler: "The GAO report confirms the horrible reality that to this day, due to their negligence and inaction, the EPA cannot say with certainty that even a single building in the area is free of World Trade Center contamination. As such, we cannot know how many people will become sick because of lingering environmental toxins in their homes, workplaces and schools.."
 

Thursday, September 6
 

AROUND THE TOWN—Dr. Merle Fischlowitz, a retired psychologist and noted counselor, is the newly elected president of the 19-member board of Mainly Mozart, the nonprofit performing arts organization that produces chamber music and orchestral programs in San Diego County and in Baja California.  Fischlowitz succeeds Christopher Weil. “My main goal as president will be to expand the visibility of Mainly Mozart and increase the outreach of its programs to new audiences in the community,” said Fischlowitz, whose term as president runs through October of next year.


CYBER-REFERRALS—San Diego Jewish World appreciates the individuals and organizations who by their posts or their emails alert the Jewish world to articles of interest. We gratefully acknowledge their  important contributions to helping all of us stay informed.  If you would like to join our volunteer team of story-spotters, please notify us of Jewish-interest stories that you spotted in news publications in your area.  Please write to us at sdheritage@cox.net.

● Israel's Consulate General in Los Angeles: A story in the Jerusalem Post  about Israeli soldiers foiling an attempt by Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to kidnap one of its soldiers, and the ensuing gun battle killing at least 10 Palestinians.  Here is the link.

 ● Jay Jacobson of St. Louis Park, Minnesota: A commentary by Emma Hayward of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy  on the Islamist party's seemingly favorable chances in tomorrow's elections in Morocco.  Here is the link.

● Hillel Mazansky of San Diego: A kabbala-toon video produced by Chabad entitled "filling the hole."  Here is the link.

● Cantor Sheldon Merel  of San Diego: A column by Denis MacShane in the Washington Post about growing anti-Semitism in Britain and continental Europe.  Here is the link.

● The New York Times: Syria said Israeli planes over flew its territory and jettisoned ordnance over an unpopulated area after they were detected.  Israel had no comment, nor did the U.S. State Department.  Here is a link to the story.

● Norman Sarkin of San Diego:  A campaign by a pro-Israel Christian group called the Jerusalem Prayer Team, which  is circulating a petition urging Israel's government to retain control of the Temple Mount in any negotiations with the Palestinians.  Here is the link to the site.

● United Jewish Communities: Israel's President Shimon Peres met with Pope Benedict XVI in Italy. Here is the link.

 IN MEMORY—Fred Lewis, a golden-voiced announcer who also was San Diego's biographer as the host of the interview show, The Heart of San Diego, died today.

JEWISH POLITICAL FIGURES—

 ● Matt Brooks, executive director of the Republican Jewish Caucus, says Republicans from the Eastern Seaboard are being mobilized on Tuesday, September 18, to participate in a lobbying effort to persuade Congress to maintain the course in Iraq. 

●San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis joined California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger at a news conference today to protest a decision by a three-judge panel that California's prison overcrowding requires the early release of felons. They called for construction of more prisons and rehabilitation centers.

● U.S. Rep. Bob Filner (Democrat, California), breaking his silence on a shoving incident at the Dulles International Airport last month, says he was tired after a long flight, and offense was taken and there was much misunderstanding with an airline baggage handler.  Now, he says, he wants to get the incident behind him.


 Friday, September 7

 

CYBER-REFERRALS—San Diego Jewish World appreciates and thanks those individuals and organizations which recommend or post stories of interest to the worldwide Jewish community:

 ●Howard Feldman of San Diego: A YouTube video telling some of the accomplishments of Israel over the last 60 years.

● Jay Jacobson, St. Louis Park, Minnesota: An essay by Rabbi Daniel Gordis on the status and expectations of Arabs inside Israel.  Here is the link.

● Republican Jewish Coalition: Column by Clifford May in The Washington Post on U.S. military successes in Iraq.  Here is the link.

● Michael Rosen, San Diego: His column in Politico noting that six top contenders for the presidency are attorneys (so is Rosen).  Here is the link.

● United Jewish Communities: A story on the Pope honoring victims of the Holocaust on the first day of his trip to Poland.  Here is the link.


JEWISH POLITICAL FIGURES

● Mitchell Berner is hosting a fundraising breakfast for Todd Gloria, who is running in San Diego's 3rd City Councilmanic District for what will be an open seat, at 8 a.m. Thursday, September 13, or what is otherwise known as Rosh Hashanah, at the Cafe Westgate.  "Suggested contribution," says the flyer, "$150." 

● U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein (both Democrats, California) today lauded final passage of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act Conference Report, legislation which boosts college aid by roughly $20 billion over the next five years.  Both Senators have continuously worked to improve college accessibility and affordability for students and families in California. In a statement, they said: "Twenty years ago, the maximum Pell Grant covered 40 percent of costs for attending a four-year college in California.  Today, it covers just 30 percent.  This bill helps our students when they start out by increasing the maximum Pell Grant award from $4,300 today to $5,100 in fall of 2008 and $5,400 in fall of 2011.  This provision is particularly important to California, which had over 584,580 Pell Grant recipients in the 2005-2006 school year -- more than any other state in the country."
● U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman (Republican, Minnesota) announced the Senate today passed the College Cost Reduction and Access Act by a vote of 79 to 12.  It contained a critical amendment authored by Coleman and Mary Landrieu (Democrat, Louisiana). Coleman’s provision, known as the Fostering Adoption to Further Student Achievement Act, ensures adopted teenagers who seek an education are not forced to choose between a loving family and financial aid for college.  “This legislation helps tip the scale in the youth’s favor, making adoption more likely for even the oldest youth in foster care,” said Michelle Chalmers of the Minnesota Adoption Resource Network. “I can name dozens of Minnesota youth whose odds of joining an adoptive family and being able to afford college both increased exponentially with the passage of this bill.”

● U.S. Rep. Susan Davis (Democrat, California) took steps to end dog fighting by supporting legislation to strengthen federal laws and increase penalties. “Dog fighting is an inhumane and cruel practice that results in the suffering and sometimes death of innocent animals,” said Davis, a member of the Congressional Friends of Animals Caucus.  “Those who are engaged in this reprehensible endeavor should know that there will be severe consequences if they participate in dog fighting.”  The Dog Fighting Prohibition Act (H.R. 3219) makes it a federal crime to buy, sell, transport, train or possess fighting dogs, or to participate as a spectator at a dog fight.  It also eliminates the requirement that federal prosecutors prove dogs were transported across state lines, and increases sentencing penalties from a maximum of three, to a maximum of five years in prison.

●U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel (Democrat, Illinois) has announced his skepticism about any report about Iraq that may come from the Administration.  In a speech on the House floor, he said: "Instead of a new strategy for Iraq, the Bush Administration is cherry-picking the data to support their political objectives and preparing a report that will offer another defense of the President’s strategy. We don’t need a report that wins the Nobel Prize for creative statistics or the Pulitzer for fiction. Americans are demanding the facts, an end to this open-ended commitment, a surge on the political and diplomatic front.  In short, the American people want a new direction in Iraq.”

● Do "veterans preferences" provide benefits commensurate with the service and sacrifice members of the Armed Forces make for the United States?  The House Veteran Affairs Committee took testimony on this issue.  Said its chairman, U.S. Rep. Bob Filner (Democrat, California): “Veterans’ preference is an important tool to honor the military service of our veterans, as well as help them return to civilian life, Returning veterans have shown their commitment and dedication to our country and by honoring the spirit of veterans’ preference, we can assist in this reintegration process.”

● U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (Democrat, Massachusetts), Chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services, offered the following statement in response to this morning’s August employment report:  “The deeply troubling August employment report should end any debate about the action that the Federal Reserve Board must take when the Open Market Committee meets on September 18th.  The notion that inflation risks out weigh the risks to output and employment growth is not supported by the evidence and a strong response is required – specifically, a meaningful interest rate cut.”

● U.S. Rep. Paul Hodes (Democrat, New Hampshire) has announced he will ask the Government Oversight and Reform Committee, chaired by U.S. Rep. Howard Berman (Democrat, California) to launch an investigation whether the White House was involved in the 2002 New Hampshire "phone gate" scandal in which members of a Republican campaign organization jammed the phone banks of the Democratic party during its "Get Out the Vote" efforts. "Voting is our most sacred right," Congressman Hodes said. "If anyone, let alone the federal government, has obstructed our right to free and fair elections, it is critical that it be known."

● Democratic brothers, Sen. Carl Levin and U.S. Rep. Sander Levin of Michigan are teaming up with Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida in support of reforming the presidential primary system.  "“We need an orderly primary and caucus system that combines the need to bring Americans truly into the decision-making process with the need to allow candidates the opportunity to interact meaningfully with citizens throughout the nation,” said Rep. Levin.  “This legislation spaces out the primary dates over several months, requiring candidates to establish themselves in multiple states.  At the same time, each primary date will include at least one state from every region in the country, which will ensure that a broad spectrum of Americans' views is accounted for in the selection process,” concluded Levin.  The legislation would establish six primary or caucus dates between March and June.  On each of the dates, a state or group of smaller states from each region of the country would go on every day.  Every election date would have a fair and representative presence from every region of the country.

 ● U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman (Democrat, California) says that the campaign mounted by the Bush Administration in 2005 to privatize Social Security cost taxpayers at least $2.8 million. "The initiative included campaign-style events featuring the President and a roster of top Administration officials as well as the creation of a “Social Security Information Center” in the Department of the Treasury," Waxman said. "The analysis shows that the White House effort cost more than $2.8 million, including more than $1.6 million for staging the events, more than $800,000 for Air Force One and Air Force Two travel, and more than $200,000 for the creation of the Treasury Department’s privatization war room and website. The $2.8 million estimate is an underestimate of the true costs, as it does not include the cost of staff time, Secret Service protection, and other expenses."

● U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner (Democrat, New York), a member of the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security announced today the National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO), which represents over 230,000 law enforcement officers nationwide, has named his First Responder Funding Modernization Act as one of its top legislative priorities for the 110th Congress. The bill would increase the amount of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) grants available to pay for salaries and overtime for anti-terror cops.

● U.S. Rep. Robert  Wexler’s (Democrat, Florida) legislation repealing Medicare’s 45 percent rule was approved last month by the House of Representatives as part of the Children’s Health and Medicare Protection Act of 2007. Congressman Wexler has opposed the 45 percent rules since its passage in by the Republican Congress in 2003 because of "the disastrous impact it could have on Medicare beneficiaries. The 45 percent rule requires the President to submit to Congress a plan to cut Medicare spending when Medicare trustees predict that government revenues must be used to pay up to 45 percent or more of total program costs," Wexler said.  As the the Republican Congress predicted, this trigger has in fact been reached, and without the passage of  Wexler’s bill, Medicare could have faced "potentially drastic cuts by the Bush Administration," according to the congressman.
 

Saturday, September 8

CYBER-REFERRALS—San Diego Jewish World appreciates and thanks those individuals and organizations which recommend or post stories of interest to the worldwide Jewish community:

American Jewish Committee: A paper by Ben Cohen, AJC's expert on extremism and anti-Semitism, on the roots of the boycott campaigns in Britain against Israel. Here is the link.

San Diego Union-Tribune: Pope Benedict XVI and Rabbi Chaim Eisenberg prayed together before a stone memorial to the Holocaust victims of Austria.  Here is the link.

 Sunday, September 9 |
 

● U.S. Sen. Russell Feingold (Democrat, Wisconsin) is among those senators who have become alarmed by dropping water levels of the Great Lakes.  He wants the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and the U.S.-Canada International Joint Commission to investigate quickly to decide what can be done.

●U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Democrat, California) said the Foreign Operations Bill approved on Sunday by the Senate includes a provision putting restrictions on the sale or transfer to other countries of cluster bombs.  Too often, she explained, they cause deaths of innocents when utilized in civilian areas. She and Sen. Patrick Leahy (Democrat, Vermont) were co-sponsors of the provision.

● U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman (Democrat, California), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has written to U.S. Interior Secretary Dick Kempthorne "to question the Department of Interior’s refusal to comply with the Energy Policy Act of 2005 requirement to study the effects of coal bed natural gas production on surface and ground water resources in six western states, and insisted that the Department comply with the law," according to a committee news release.

● U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden (Democrat, Oregon) and Norm Coleman (Republican, Minnesota) were among a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators calling on Thursday for a $50 billion national bond issue to finance construction and repair of roads, bridges and rail lines. "The Build America Bonds Act is a creative solution to a critical problem,” said Wyden.  “By giving Americans the opportunity to invest in the nation’s infrastructure, these bonds will not only create jobs, they’ll save lives ... Although often overlooked, the bridge collapse in Minnesota demonstrated what can happen when infrastructure is not sustained.  This is a problem that cannot be ignored and I am proud to be a part of legislation that takes serious aim at it."”
  
 Monday, September 10, 2007
 

ABOUT OUR CALENDAR—The second item at the top of the left column on this page is the link to the San Diego Jewish World community calendar. If you are looking for something Jewish to do in the greater San Diego area, click on the link, which will take you to a calendar.  Click on the date  you are interested in to find scheduled activities. In many cases, you will find our internal links to stories that have appeared previously in San Diego Jewish World describing upcoming activities.


CYBER-REFERRALS—San Diego Jewish World appreciates and thanks those individuals and organizations which recommend or post stories of interest to the worldwide Jewish community:

Shahar Masori: A story in the Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) Tribune-Review about the neo-Nazi ring that was broken up in Israel.  Here is the link.

StandWithUs: A video showing how the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), supposedly a peace group, recruits Palestinians and orchestrates confrontations with the IDF.  Here is the YouTube video:




 JEWISH POLITICAL FIGURES


 Rothman speaking at memorial for 9/11 victims
●U.S. Rep. Steve Rothman (Democrat, New Jersey commemorated the sixth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 at the World Trade Center Memorial in Overpeck County Park in Leonia, New Jersey. Bergen County lost 147 residents in the attacks. Families of some of the victims, a host of local officials, and police, fire, and rescue workers joined Rothman for the solemn county-wide remembrance on Sunday. "The terrorist attacks of 9/11 and those who died remind us of the price we pay if we fail to remain vigilant against those who wish us harm. Each individual who was killed and all those who gave their lives for others will forever hold a special place in our hearts and in our prayers," said Rothman.

●U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner (Democrat, New York), a member of the House of Representatives Energy & Commerce and Judiciary Committees, climbed the stairs to the Statue of Liberty’s closed crown today and announced that Congressional hearings into reopening Lady Liberty will begin on Tuesday, Sept 18th in Washington D.C. The statue is the only national park to remain closed since the attacks of 9/11. The hearings, which will review management of the Statue and the decision to keep Lady Liberty's crown closed, will be chaired by Rep. Raul M. Grijalva (D-AZ), Chairman of the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands Subcommittee. While Lady Liberty’s base, pedestal, and observation deck were reopened in August 2004, her crown – and the observation deck it houses – remain closed.  The Statue’s crown is the only site overseen by the National Park Service that has yet to re-open since 9/11.  The National Park Service overseas such sites as the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., Mount Rushmore in South Dakota and Cabrillo National Monument in San Diego.
 

  Tuesday, September 11, 2007

AROUND THE TOWN—Rabbi Wayne Dosick and his wife Ellen Kaufman Dosick are co-authors of 20 Minute Kabbalah, which is described in its sub-title as "the daily personal spiritual practice that brings you to God, your soul-knowing and your heart's desires."  They plan to introduce the concepts contained within the book first at a book signing on September 30, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at their home at 3207 Cadencia in La Costa, and a week later, on Sunday, October 7, at a four-hour workshop beginning at 2 p.m. at Temple Solel   Cantor Kathy Robbins will contribute some of the melodies that can accompany meditative prayer. RSVPs should be sent to the Elijah Minyan (which Rabbi Dosick leads) at 3207 Cadencia, La Costa, CA 92009.  Dosick said the fee for the workshop is on a sliding scale, with participants choosing whether they wih to pay $36, $54, or $72.

 ●Nehama Eilfort was led to believe that the get-together on Monday night would be a small gathering of women.  In fact, however, her husband Rabbi Yeruchem Eilfort of Chabad of La Costa had a big surprise planned.  Congregation membersof both genders and friends from beyond showed up to wish Nehama a Happy 40th Birthday.

 ●Phyllis Schwartz, president and genral manager of KNSD (NBC 7/39) has been promoted to executive vice president of the NBC Network for news, promotion and original conten for the company's stations division.  She will focus on helping 10 NBC owned stations to develop local coverage. A search for her replacement in San Diego is underway.
CYBER-REFERRALS—San Diego Jewish World appreciates and thanks those individuals and organizations which recommend or post stories of interest to the worldwide Jewish community:

 ● Israel's Consulate General in Los Angeles: A story over YNET quoting a senior IDF official that checkpoints should not be removed from the West Bank prior to the High Holidays because terrorists appear highly motivated to attack during that time.  Here is the link.

 ● Bruce Kesler: A story on the Campus Watch website in which Steven Schwartz, son of a Jewish father and Christian mother who converted to Islam and now serves as director of the Center for Islamic Pluralism, criticizes Brandeis University President Jehuda Reinharz for turning  a blind eye to the extremists within Islam.   Here is the link.

 ●United Jewish Communities: A story that Ehud Olmert and Mahmoud Abbas want their teams to reach some agreements before the start of an international conference on the Middle East. Here is the link.

 JEWS and POLITICS

 ● Betty Byrnes is hosting a kickoff fundraiser for Marti Emerald, the local television troubleshooter, who is running for the 7th City Council District in San Diego. It will be at the home of Byrnes, a former president of Congregation Beth Israel, at 4901 Yerba Buena Drive in the Alvarado Estates. Suggested contribution is $270 per person. 

● San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis announced that Helen Ferrell, 62, former director of the Robert Egger-South Bay Community Park, was arraigned today on embezzling charges.  Ferrell pleaded innocent to charges that she stole more than $74,000.  Dumanis said the charges "send a clear message that any government employee who abuses the public trust will be held accountable for their actions.  This latest case is just one example of our office's continuing commitment to prosecuting public integrity cases."

 ● Rep. Henry A. Waxman (Democrat, California) and three other federal legislators  on Monday released a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report revealing that more must be done to define the federal government’s role, promote interagency cooperation, and develop a national strategy to deal with pandemic influenza.  The bipartisan group of lawmakers called on the Administration to address the problems identified in the GAO report.   “It’s alarming to learn that this far into the process, key federal leadership roles in a pandemic have not been adequately defined, much less tested through rigorous exercises and drills,” said Rep. Waxman, Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. “It is vital to resolve questions of turf, responsibility, and performance in advance, rather than in the heat of an actual pandemic.  But the GAO observed that the only pandemic exercise involving cabinet members conducted to date took place nearly two years ago, in 2005.”

 Wednesday, September 12, 2007  

 

AROUND THE TOWN—Not only did Eileen Wingard survive a minor heart attack following a Selichot performance at Ohr Shalom Synagogue, but her sense of humor also came through nicely. After playing on the bima with daughter Myla Wingard and son-in-law Dr. Lou Rosen, the violinist walked to the back of the sanctuary where her husband, Hal, was seated. She collapsed, and even though she was revived quickly, Rosen and Dr. Eli Meltzer advised that she be taken to the E-R just in case.  Turned out, she needed three stents in her heart, and lots of bed rest.  So other than that, Eileen, how was the performance?  "Well," she said, "we played our hearts out—er, for sure I did."


CYBER-REFERRALS—San Diego Jewish World appreciates and thanks those individuals and organizations which recommend or post stories of interest to the worldwide Jewish community:

 ●Israel's Consulate General in Los Angeles: A story over the Jerusalem Post wire that a terrorist was arrested before he could carry through with a suicide bombing plot in Beer Sheva.  Here is the link.
●Jay Jacobson, St. Louis Park, Minnesota: A slide presentation by David Horowitz providing the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict.  Here is the link.

● Bruce Kesler, Encinitas, California: A story on the Politico website that Barack Obama's choice of Zbigniew Brzezinski as a foreign policy advisor is causing some concern in the Jewish community, considering that Brzezinski has been following the same "anti-Israel lobby" line as former President Jimmy Carter and authors Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer.  Here is the link.

● Gail Umeham: A humor column, okay a dark humor column, by Yair Lapid on YNET about the Jewish response to cremation.  Here is the link.

●Republican Jewish Coalition: An op-ed piece by U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman (Independent, Connecticut) on National Review Online joining the war in Iraq to the fight against 9/11-style terrorism.  Here is the link.

● United Jewish Communities: A story that as the Jewish New Year fell in Israel, so too did six rockets fired from Gaza. They landed harmlessly.  Here is the link.

 JEWS and POLITICS—Besides for such Jewish communal issues as support for Israel, and domestic separation of church and state, the Jewish community lends its support and leadership to a wide range of issues affecting the broad general community.  In this section of the column, compiled from news releases, we note some of those efforts:


Senator Boxer, Jane Goodall and friend
● Forest Destruction and Global Warming
 U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (Democrat, California), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, met Monday with Dr. Jane Goodall to discuss the contribution of tropical forest destruction to carbon in the atmosphere and how tropical forest preservation can help offset the United States’ carbon footprint. Deforestation accounts for some 20% of global carbon emissions when global emissions are calculated including changes in land use and forestry. Dr. Goodall is a scientist known for her research relating to chimpanzees, as well as a global conservationist, an author of many books, a Dame of the British Empire, and a United Nations Messenger of Peace.

 ● Health Care Insurance for Women
 U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel (Democrat, New York) denounced the Bush administration's decision to reject New York's State Plan Amendment for increasing eligibility for children to get health insurance under the State’s Child Health Plus program. Last  Friday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services notified the NYS Department of Health it was rejecting its plan which would have increased the CHIP eligibility level from at or below 250 percent of the Federal poverty level to at or above 400 percent. “…(T)he Administration is taking a step which would deny quality, affordable health coverage to the most vulnerable among us," said Engel, a member of the Health Subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee. “I urge the President to reverse course and begin working with Congress to protect the health of our children.  This action is mean-spirited.” In rejecting the plan, CMS cited new administration requirements announced last month that restrict flexibility at the state level. On August 17, CMS outlined new conditions that states must comply with before providing health coverage to certain populations of low-income children under CHIP.  

● Subway funding for Los Angeles
The Fiscal Year 2008 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development bill approved today by the Senate includes a provision sponsored by U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer (both Democrats, California) that would allow for subway tunneling in parts of Los Angeles. This could allow construction to move forward on the expansion of the City’s Metro Red Line, providing a public transit link between downtown Los Angeles and Santa Monica.  “Today’s vote by the Senate brings us one step closer to bringing the long-awaited expansion of the Metro Red Line closer to reality,” Senator Feinstein said. “It’s time to give the commuters of Los Angeles relief from the severe gridlock they face every day.” Senator Boxer said, “This subway project is so important to helping reduce the terrible congestion in Los Angeles. We’ve been told this project can be done safely, so it’s time to move forward.”

 ● Protection for homebuyers
 U.S. Reps. Paul Hodes (Democrat, New Hampshire) and Congresswoman Gwen Moore (Democrat, Wisconsin) unveiled legislation today that would protect homebuyers from risky loan practices." The number of foreclosures in New Hampshire this year has already surpassed last year’s total," Congressman Hodes said.  "A home foreclosure is incredibly traumatic for the affected family and for their community.  This bill will help protect folks from questionable loan practices and enforce their rights as consumers." The Homebuyers Protection Act would require all subprime loans to include an escrow account for the life of the loan – just like prime loans – so that subprime borrowers aren’t sacked with a huge tax bill at the end of the year, but rather pay on a monthly basis. These huge tax bills often can contribute to early foreclosures. The legislation also would help to prevent faulty appraisals – and the higher homeowner taxes that result from them – by requiring a licensed appraiser to appraise all residential homes when a consumer seeks a mortgage. The legislation would also provide assurance to the secondary mortgage market of a proper appraisal of a home.

● Midwest Airlines merger
U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl (Democrat, Wisconsin) today called the head of the Antitrust Division at the Department of Justice to urge an expedited review of the proposal by TPG Capital to acquire Midwest Airlines.  “As you know, Midwest Airlines is crucial to consumers in Wisconsin,” Kohl wrote to Thomas Barnett. “Midwest Airlines's principal hub is located in Milwaukee's General Mitchell International Airport. Many thousands of travelers throughout Wisconsin have come to rely on this hub for competitively priced, frequent, high quality and convenient service to dozens of cities throughout the nation. In 2006, Midwest Airlines served over 3,700,000 passengers out of its Milwaukee hub to 36 destinations by direct service (and to a total of 55 destinations including those served using connections). Midwest Airlines is also a significant employer in Milwaukee where it employs over 2,000 people. The thousands of employees of Midwest Airlines in Wisconsin, as well as its millions of customers in Wisconsin and elsewhere deserve certainty regarding this transaction. I therefore expect that the Antitrust Division will complete its review in a fair and expeditious manner.”

● Global ban sought for lead paint
U.S. Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (Democrat, New Jersey) sent a letter to President Bush urging him to spearhead a ban on lead paint in children’s products worldwide.  Lautenberg’s letter follows recent recalls of millions of toys because of lead paint. In his letter, Sen. Lautenberg said, “Lead is a hazardous toxin that can have a devastating effect on human health, especially for young children whose brains are still developing.  I call on you to work with our trading partners to initiate a worldwide ban on lead paint in children’s products.  A worldwide ban would protect children at home and around the world from the debilitating effects of lead exposure.  Our children deserve no less.”

● Fighting Fish Disease in the Great Lakes
 Determined to prevent viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS), a deadly fish disease, from spreading in the Great Lakes, Senators Carl Levin  and Debbie Stabenow, (both Democrats, Michigan) joined eight of their colleagues in a bipartisan letter to the Senate Agriculture Committee asking them to include authority in the upcoming 2007 farm bill for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide assistance to states for monitoring, testing, controlling and enforcement efforts. “The Great Lakes face a number of ongoing challenges, one of which is viral hemorrhagic septicemia, a very serious invasive species,” Levin said. “We don’t have a minute to spare when it comes to fighting this virus. One way to combat VHS is to require the USDA to help states in managing, researching and monitoring VHS.”

● Support for Julie Myers
 U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman (Independent, Connecticut) said today he would support the nomination of Julie Myers to be Assistant Secretary of Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Department of Homeland Security. Lieberman, who chairs the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, told Myers:  " During your nomination hearing in 2005, I and several of my colleagues raised concerns about whether you had sufficient experience and managerial ability to lead an agency such as ICE - a big and complicated agency. I ultimately voted against your nomination in Committee because of those concerns. As you know the Senate never acted, but the President gave you a recess appointment. You have now been Assistant Secretary at ICE for more than a year and a half, and the relevant criterion now becomes whether you have been doing a good enough job running this important agency to have overcome my earlier concerns.All things considered, based on your performance and on more than 20 interviews conducted by members of Committee staff of people, inside ICE and outside of ICE, who have worked with you, I believe that you have what it takes to get the job done and will therefore vote to confirm your nomination.".”

● Protecting journalists and their sources
 U.S. Senators Arlen Specter (Republican, Pennsylvania), Chuck Schumer (Democrat, New York), and Richard Lugar (Republican, Indiana), this week introduced the Free Flow of Information Act of 2007. The Act seeks to protect the public’s right to information and a free press by providing appropriate protections to reporters and their employers in order to protect confidential sources while ensuring effective law enforcement.
“There has been a growing consensus that we need to establish a federal journalists’ privilege to protect the integrity of the newsgathering process – a process that depends on the free flow of information between journalists and whistleblowers, as well as other confidential sources,” stated Specter. “It is time to simplify the patchwork of court decisions and legislation that has grown over the last three decades. It is time for Congress to clear up the ambiguities journalists and the federal judicial system face in balancing the protections journalists need in providing confidential information to the public with the ability of the courts to conduct fair and accurate trials.” Said Schumer: “A vibrant, free press that provides accurate information to citizens is fundamental to a healthy democracy. And a reporter’s ability to effectively gather information is central to that process. Our courts already protect the privacy of many forms of communication, and this balanced bill recognizes that a reporter’s relationship with a source deserves substantial protection, too. We have struck a proper balance between preserving journalistic integrity with the public’s right to seek justice.”

 ● A brush with Rush
U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler (Democrat, Florida) says radio personality owes his constituents an apology.  In a segment of Limbaugh's show in which he criticized Wexler's opposition to the Iraq War, Limbaugh also had this to say about Wexler's constituents: "They are deranged -- and, yes, they are listening to me right now. You people down here, you are deranged. You Democrats down here are absolutely delusional, devoid of any rationality or reason." Wexler responded in a press release: “Many of the same people Rush Limbaugh is calling ‘deranged’ and ‘lunatics’ are World War II and Korean War veterans. Many of them are Holocaust survivors. These are the same men and women who re-built American after the Great Depression. These are good, law-abiding citizens -- and he owes them an apology. It is pathetic that Mr. Limbaugh only supports veterans that share his opinions.”
 

Thursday, September 13, 2007
AROUND THE TOWN—Amnon Ben-Yehuda of San Diego earlier this year underwent prostate surgery  after thoroughly researching the alternatives.  Now his prognosis for beating the cancer is good, and he has shared his story, and research, on the web.  Here is a link.

● Chip Brent sent out Rosh Hashanah greetings for a "sweet year" accompanied by a photo of his wife, Dale's baklava.  Yum, this is great for Rosh Hashanah, but a photo you definitely don't want to look at during the Yom Kippur fast.



CYBER-REFERRALS—San Diego Jewish World appreciates and thanks those individuals and organizations which recommend or post stories of interest to the worldwide Jewish community:

 ● Jay Jacobson, ST. Louis Park, Minnesota: A commentary by Mohammad Yaghi for the Washington Institute for Near East Policy on the authoritarianism of the Hamas regime in Gaza.  Here is the link.
JEWS, GOVERNMENT and POLITICS—The Jewish community lends its support and leadership to a wide range of issues affecting the broad general community.  In this section of the column, compiled from news releases, we note some of those efforts:

● San Diego County Sheriff Bill Kolender is sending deputies and crime prevention specialists to Vista on Friday, September 14, to hand out educational brochures on best-ways to combat burglaries.  They also will conduct on-the-spot security inspections. "This is taking crime prevention to the people," Kolender commented. "We want to make it easy for anyone with questions or issues to make those known, and we'll do all we can to help them."
 

Friday, September 14
AROUND THE TOWN—The current issue of San Diego Metropolitan magazine carries a cover feature about 40 persons under 40 who appear to be the "brightest leaders of today and tomorrow."  Among those cites are attorneys Micah Parzen and Leonid Zilberman.

 ● Another fine issue of Jewish Impact magazine, edited by our friend Rabbi Yeruchem Eilfort of Chabad at La Costa has rolled around, and we find that in our advertisement we no longer are San Diego Jewish World, we are, for the purposes of that magazine, S. Diego Jewish World.  It wasn't a question of saving headline space: "San" is Spanish for "Saint," which is a person akin to a semi-deity in Catholicism.  Not wanting to endorse this non-Jewish concept, Chabad routinely abbreviates names like San Diego, Santa Monica and so forth. That is Chabad's prerogative, and we have no objection to the stylistic name change because we understand that in Judaism there are many perspectives, not just one.  On the other hand, our own perspective is different about the names given to our cities by the Spanish explorers, who routinely assigned to areas they "discovered" the name of the saint whose feast day was closest to the day of discovery.  We believe those names are an important part of our secular history and should be recognized.  That we are an online Jewish news service based in a city named for a Spanish saint (Diego was credited with performing medical miracles) indicates that we have the perspective of Jews living in the Diaspora.


CYBER-REFERRALS—San Diego Jewish World appreciates and thanks those individuals and organizations which recommend or post stories of interest to the worldwide Jewish community:

 Bruce Lowitt: A High Holiday-themed video clip about a garage door opener.  Here is the link.
JEWS, GOVERNMENT and POLITICS—The Jewish community lends its support and leadership to a wide range of issues affecting the broad general community.  In this section of the column, compiled from news releases, we note some of those efforts:

● U.S. Rep. Susan Davis (Democrat, San Diego) will be participating in her first public tikkun olam project of 5768 tomorrow (Saturday) when she joins a news conference at Ocean Beach Pier to kick off the 23rd annual coastal cleanup day in San Diego County.  Some 6,000 volunteers are expected to be picking up litter, recycling cans, and otherwise improving the looks of our beaches.

● U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (Democrat, Massachusetts), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, reflects on the mortgage crisis, in an article today in the Boston Globe. Here is the link.

●U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (Democrat, Arizona) says there is enough daily sunshine in her desert state to provide power to the rest of the country year-round.  She released a report on steps that need to be taken at various levels of government to turn such a dream into a reality.  Here is a link.

●Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger 's praise of the late U.S. President Gerald R. Ford was paraphrased by current Vice President Dick Cheney during a speech at the Gerald R. Ford Museum today. The speech mainly focused on the Iraq War, but some of his introductory comments—given congressional inquiries into missing White House E-mails—have potential for reverberating around the nation's capital.  Here is a transcript of those comments: "This Museum, and the Ford Library in Ann Arbor, mean a great deal to me -- not just personally but from the standpoint of history, because I was chief of staff in the Ford White House. I'm told researchers like to come and dig through my files, to see if anything interesting turns up. I want to wish them luck -- (laughter) -- but the files are pretty thin. I learned early on that if you don't want your memos to get you in trouble some day, just don't write any. But I'm certain that I wouldn't be Vice President today had it not been for the opportunities given to me by President Ford, and the confidence that he placed in me all those years ago. It was an eventful period for our nation and for the world. Henry Kissinger has aptly said that Gerald Ford's time in the White House involved challenge and effort enough for two full terms in office. In those 895 days, the whole nation came to know President Ford the way Grand Rapids knew him -- as a man of common sense, rectitude, and the greatest personal decency. And it's gratifying to see that his reputation has only grown in the three decades since he left office, and in the nine since he was laid to rest on these grounds..."
 

 Saturday, September 15, 2007

CYBER-REFERRALS—San Diego Jewish World appreciates and thanks those individuals and organizations which recommend or post stories of interest to the worldwide Jewish community:


 ● Cable News Network: Retired U.S. District Court Judge Michael Mokaskey of New York is said to be among the top contenders President Bush is considering for attorney general.  Here is the link.

 ●Jerusalem Post: Pop star/ Kabbalah enthusiast Madonna met for nearly two hours with Israel's President Shimon Peres, discussing ways to work together for peace.  Here is the link.
●Newsweek features former Federal Reserve Board chairman Alan Greenspan on its cover with an excerpt from his book, AGe of Turbulence, inside.   Here is a link.
JEWS, GOVERNMENT and POLITICS—The Jewish community lends its support and leadership to a wide range of issues affecting the broad general community.  In this section of the column, compiled from news releases, we note some of those efforts:

● Lynn Schenk is among the hosts of a $2,300 per person reception followed by a $500-per-person fundraiser on Monday night for presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton (Democrat, New York) in the La Jolla Farms area.  San Diego Union-Tribune columnist Diane Bell reports that former President Bill Clinton will redeem a promise to Schenk that he would return to San Diego by attending this fundraiser in his wife's behalf.