This Week

News Digest

Mistrial

Jury can't agree on rabbi's fate in murder case.

SUZANNE POLLAK
Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Cherry Hill, N.J.
he case of a rabbi accused of arranging
his wife's murder has ended in a mistrial.
Judge Linda Baxter declared a mistrial
Tuesday after the jury said it was unable
to decide on all three counts against Rabbi Fred
Neulander.
Jurors deliberated for more than 40 hours over
seven days before sending the judge a note saying
they could not reach a decision.
There is the possibility that Rabbi Neulander will
be tried again.
Rabbi Neulander's wife, Carol, was found beaten to
death at the couple's home in 1994. Authorities say

Related story: www.detroitjewishnews.corn

U.S., Russia Focus
On Mideast Woes

Washington/JTA — The United States
and Russia plan to step up efforts to
end Israeli-Palestinian violence.
President Bush and Russian
President Vladimir Putin said in a
joint statement after summit talks in
Washington on Tuesday that they
would be "acting in concert with other
key parties" to end the conflict.
Israeli and Palestinian officials
praised the statement. However, in a
sign of the challenges ahead, Israeli
and Palestinian officials traded new
charges over who is to blame for the
failure to halt the bloodshed.

Peres Foresees
Chance For Peace

New YorkIJTA — Israel's foreign min-
ister sees a new chance for Mideast
peace after the Sept. 11 attacks.
Speaking to reporters in New York,
Shimon Peres said the attacks had cre-

ated a "window of opportunity" by
making clear to the Palestinian
Authority that its embrace of terror
organizations is no longer acceptable.
P.A. leader Yasser "Arafat says he's part
of the anti-terror camp," Peres said.
"The problem is not his declared posi-

11116
2001

32

the rabbi wanted his
wife killed so he could
continue an affair.
Rabbi Neulander
resigned his pulpit in
February 1995 amid
reports that he had
been unfaithful.

Capital Case

Rabbi Neulander, who
had been the religious
Rabbi Neulander
leader of one of the
largest Reform congre-
gations in southern New Jersey, could have received
the death penalty if found guilty.
Camden County Prosecutor Lee Solomon said his
office will retry Rabbi Neulander.

tion, it's his implementation."
Only when Arafat "will be true to
his promises" should he be granted a
meeting with President Bush, Peres
said. Asked about Israeli morale in the
face of Palestinian violence, Peres said,
"We have between 30 to 40 incidents
of terror daily. I wouldn't describe it as
a great pleasure."
Still, he added, Israelis "will not give
up. They are determined."

Shoah Camp
Artifacts Shown

Washington/JTA — A treasure trove
of documents about a Croatian con-
centration camp is being made avail-
able to the public.
During the past year, the U.S.
Holocaust Memorial Museum in
Washington assembled its archive
about the Jasenovac camp, where
Croatian fascists killed 17,000 Jews
and scores of thousands of Serbs,
Gypsies and others during World War
II. The archive includes tens of thou-

sands of documents, thousands of
photographs and hours of film
footage.
"These records are not relegated to a
distant past. The events at Jasenovac
continue to reverberate through the
region," said Rabbi Irving Greenberg
chair of the museum's council.

,

Solomon also said the charge of capital murder,
which carries a possible death sentence, will remain.
In a news conference after the mistrial was
declared, Rabbi Neulander's attorney, Jeffrey Zucker,
said Rabbi Neulander "certainly is relieved, but he's
disappointed he wasn't completely cleared." Zucker
said he will ask for bail.
Solomon said his office will oppose any request
for bail. Rabbi Neulander has been in jail since
June 2000.
In declaring the mistrial, Baxter called the jury
members — six men and six women — very consci-
entious and praised them for not giving up easily
"You took the responsibility very seriously," she said.
Attorney Glenn Zeitz called the hung jury "pre-
dictable," noting that the testimony of the two hit
men, Leonard Jenoff and Paul Michael Daniels,
lacked credibility and Rabbi Neulander was "serious-
ly impeached" during cross examination.
Jenoff testified that he killed Carol Rabbi
Neulander after her husband had promised him
$30,000 and a chance to work for the Mossad,
Israel's spy agency.
Jenoff later admitted in court that he often lies to
make himself look better and that he has a drinking
problem. Daniels testified that he suffered from
drug problems. ❑

Jordan: Guarantee
Israel Security

UJC Requests
Policies On Aged

London/JTA — The Arab world must
be prepared to offer a collective guar-
antee of Israel's security, Jordan's King
Abdullah said. Such a move will be
necessary in return for the creation of
a Palestinian state, he told the Times of
London on Saturday.
The king said the collective Arab
guarantee is part of a peace plan now
being discussed by countries involved
in trying to forge peace, including the
United States, Russia, the European
Union, Egypt and Jordan.

Washington/JTA — The United States
must develop national policies on
long-term care for the aged, the
United Jewish Communities says.
In a new guide, the umbrella organi-
zation of North American Jewish fed-
erations suggests financial reforms to
Medicare, inter-agency partnerships in
government and tax incentives as some
ways to address an expected increase in
need for elderly services.
More than 20 percent of American
Jews are older than 65, compared with
13 percent of the general population.

Century-Old
Mikvah Found

New York/JTA — A 100-year-old
mikvah was found beneath the
streets of New York. The Jewish ritu-
al bath was found beneath a vacant
lot near the Eldridge Street
Synagogue on the city's Lower East

Side.
"This important discovery will help
us better portray the day-to-day lives
of immigrant Jews" at the start of the
20th century, said Amy Waterman,
executive director of the Eldridge
Street Project, which sponsored the
excavation.

Red Cross May
Admit Israel

New York/JTA — Israel's relief organi-
zation may soon be admitted into the
International Red Cross.
"There is now, I think, a genuine
willingness on the part of the leader-
ship" of the International Red Cross to
find an answer" regarding Magen

David Adorn, American Red Cross
chairman David McLaughlin told the

Jerusalem Post.

He made the comment after he told

NEWS DIGEST on page 33