News Digest It is More Than Just a Place to Live... New Group Aids Aliyah , ittet= vzsgoz,.. • Complete Kosher Meal Service •Personal Care Assistance •Medication Administration •Health Clinic • Safe, Secure Environment •Daily, Shabbat, and Holiday Services in our Synagogue •Recreational Programs •Adult Educational Classes •Laundry, Housekeeping, Transportation Beauty / Barber Shop •Nosh Nook and Gift Shop •Respite and Guest Rooms for application, contact: Tracey Proghovnick, m.s.w., c.s.w. Director of Admissions New York/JTA — Some 400 North American Jews are slated to make aliyah with the help of an organization created to finance immigration. The immigrants will arrive in Israel on July 9 on a chartered plane organ- ized by Nefesh B'Nefesh. Working in coordination with the Jewish Agency for Israel and the Ministry of Absorption, the group provides new immigrants with eco- nomic assistance in the form of one- time grants. It will provide a hotline in Israel to help address such issues as finding housing and jobs. Funding for the initial group of immigrants comes mostly from a $2 million grant from the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, the group's president, said this is the first time American Christians are funding Jewish immigration to Israel. Annan Visits Babi Yar Moscow/JTA — U.N. Secretary- General Kofi Annan visited the memorial at Babi Yar during a trip to Ukraine. "I wanted to visit Babi Yar to express my solidarity with the victims of anti- Semitism and intolerance, and as a sign of my resolve to do everything in my power to fight the hatred and evil that so disfigure our world," Annan said. On Sept. 29 and Sept. 30, 1941, 33,000 Jews were killed by. German forces and local collaborators; and their bodies were thrown into the open ravine at Babi Yar. Until the end of World War II, Babi Yar served as a site for twice-weekly killings. Up to 100,000 people, both Jews and non- Jews, were killed there. available evenings for appointments Fleischman Residence I Blumberg Plaza 6710 W. Maple Road, West Bloomfield located on the Eugene & Marcia Applebaum Jewish Community Campus 248-661-2999 www.jhas.org w TV," 6/7 2002 26 a service of Jewish Home & Aging Services Group Downplays FBI Warning New York/JTA — The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations downplayed an FBI warning to Jewish groups. The FBI has notified Jewish organi- zations that U.S. troops in Afghanistan uncovered Al-Qaida documents listing 12 Jewish groups, sparking concerns they could be possible targets. But the executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents, Malcolm Hoenlein, told JTA he does not think there is a serious threat. While Jewish organizations should remain on alert, he said the docu- ments were outdated and contained no indication of any specific danger. Bombers Targeted Jewish Areas New York/JTA — A man allegedly involved in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing told an interviewer - he and his accomplices originally wanted to target Jewish neighbor- hoods in Brooklyn. In an interview with CBS-TV's 60 Minutes conducted in Iraq, Abdul Rahman Yasin said the conspirators changed their minds and targeted the twin towers because they believed that most of those who worked there were Jewish. The FBI has offered a $25 million reward for information leading to Yasin's arrest. Six people were killed and 1,000 injured in the Feb. 26, 1993, bombing of the World Trade Center. Jenin Allegations Are Challenged. New York/JTA — U.S. Jewish leaders gave U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan a report countering allegations that Israel committed war crimes during its operation in the Jenin refugee camp. The 150-page report, submitted to Annan by the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, includes scores of accounts by doctors, soldiers and oth- ers who witnessed first-hand the Israeli operation in the camp. In a related development, the Anti- Defamation League issued a separate report that details how international organizations, nongovernmental agen- cies, foreign governments and the media prematurely attacked Israel for committing atrocities in the refugee camp in April. Tel Aviv Drill Simulates 9/11 Jerusalem/JTA — A drill simulating the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Centerin New York City was held in Tel Aviv. Hundreds of firefighters, police officers and paramedics took part.