Jewish SIhgiPS Connection
ISRAEL page 70
Invites you to its
first Monday
Coffeehouse Series
Forum is sort of like a local bar,
and we're the regulars, all sitting
around on our electronic bar
stools."
When things really get rolling,
you may get invited into a group
conversation. A dialogue box will
politely ask you if you want to
join, and then you follow a con-
versation that looks sort of like a
screenplay, with each person's
contributions following his or her
name.
Not surprisingly, politicians
have discovered the potential of
services like the Israel Forum to
reach vast audiences. Recently,
Likud leader Binyamin Ne-
tanyahu and Labor party official
Nissim Zvili held online chats
Monday, Sept.11
p.m.
Lonesta Coffee - 207 S. Woodward, Birmingham
Speaker: Phil Jacobs, Editor of
The Jewish Never
Co-sponsored by
The Jewish
Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit
25-50 year olds welcome
Court Upholds
Visa Denial
Mo Charge for admission.
and
The Jewish News
For more information please call
Fern Hoberman Kepes at
(810) 642-4260, ext. 253
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that attracted hundreds of par-
ticipants around the world.
The Israel Forum has been in
operation since March 1995; on
an average day, about 1,200 par-
ticipants stop by to see what's
new. Currently, there are more
than 14,000 "members," accord-
ing to Lisa Shimoni, the Israel
Forum's director.
"People love the contact with
other Jews that the Israel Forum
provides," she said. "I was speak-
ing with one member from Hong
Kong as he was getting ready for
the Passover seder. Being in the
forum gave him a feeling of being
connected with other Jews, of cel-
ebrating this holiday with others
worldwide." 0
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Mon-Thur-Fri 10-9 • Tue-Wed-Sat 10-6 8 • Sun 12-5
810 855-1600
A Perfect Family Gift...
A Subscription to the Jewish News.
8 1 0-354-6620
Sydney, Australia (JTA) — A fed-
eral court has dismissed the ap-
peal of Holocaust denier David
Irving, blocking the London-
based writer from entering Aus-
tralia.
Mr. Irving, who was appealing
two government decisions not to
grant him a visa, also was or-
dered to pay court costs. In a
statement from London, Mr. Irv-
ing said he would appeal the
court ruling.
In making his decision, the
federal judge stressed that Mr.
Irving's views were not the cause
for the ban, despite the claim by
Mr. Irving and his Australian
supporters that he had been the
victim of censorship.
Rather, the judge said, Mr. Irv-
ing's record of contempt for the
law in a number of jurisdictions
was sound legal reason for him
to be refused entry to Australia.
The judge was referring to ac-
tions that include a conviction in
Germany for remarks denying
the Holocaust, and deportation
from Canada for lying under oath
to immigration officials.
Mr. Irving was appealing the
May 1994 decision of Nick
Bolkus, a senator and federal
minister for immigration, not to
approve a visa for Mr. Irving.
That decision reaffirmed a 1993
decision by then-Immigration
Minister Gerry Hand.
In 1994, a federal court prose-
cutor had said Mr. Irving was re-
fused a visa to Australia because
he was considered a liar, unreli-
able and a threat to the national
security of another country,
rather than for the views he es-
poused in his lectures.
Mr. Irving was refused entry
in December 1992 on the grounds
that he "did not meet the good
character requirements" of Aus-
tralia's Migration Regulations.
Mr. Irving, whose books are
available in Australia, has said
the facts of the Nazi Holocaust
are myths created by the Dias-
pora and the State of Israel for
propaganda purposes.
The Australian Jewish com-
munity has strongly protested
Mr. Irving's efforts to enter the
country.
Committee Rejects
Benefits Appeal
Jerusalem (JTA) — A military
appeal committee has upheld the
Defense Ministry's refusal to
grant the homosexual partner of
a deceased army officer the same
benefits given to bereaved het-
erosexual spouses.
Adir Steiner's request that he
be recognized as a bereaved
spouse, and subsequently eligi-
ble for the benefits, was rejected
by the Defense Ministry's appeal
committee.
Gay rights activists said the
decision could set back efforts to
gain equality "by years."
Mr. Steiner, 28, has main-
tained that the army had fully
recognized his relationship with
Col. Doron Meisel an army med-
ical officer, in the eight years they
were together before Col. Meisel's
death from illness in 1991.
However, the ministry has re-
fused to acknowledge Mr. Stein-
er's status since Col. Meisel's
death.
"I want the army to recognize
me as the partner of Doron, as it
recognized me when Doron was
,