r. Digest A U.N. For Religions? One of Israel's two chief Rome/JTA rabbis renewed calls for a Jerusalem- based "religious United Nations" to promote dialogue. Rabbi Yona Metzger was attending a weeklong interreligious conference organized by the Milan Archdiocese and the St. Egidio community, a Catholic social action group. "We should form a permanent assembly of religious leaders, like the U.N. General Assembly, for interna- tional political and diplomatic rela- tions, with its permanent center in Jerusalem," Metzger told the opening session. The ADL investigates and exposes anti-Semitism a plane crash last month that is being investigated as a possible terrorist attack. — Blood Center Backed New U.S. donors are giv- York/JTA ing $10 million to Israel's national blood center. The National Blood Services Center of Magen David Adorn is responsible for collecting, processing, testing and distributing blood units and blood products throughout Israel. The donation by American Red Magen David for Israel will help fund the blood center's expansion plans. The center currently collects 270,000 blood units a year from volunteers. The pro- posed plans would nearly double the amount of testing and blood storage possible for Israel. Russian Victims Honored Italian Jews are paying Rome/JTA tribute to the hundreds of victims of recent terrorism in southern Russia. During ceremonies marking the annual European Day of Jewish Culture, community leaders mourned the dead and expressed solidarity with the survivors. "In these times, lacerated by vio- lence, culture is democracy's only defensive weapon," Amos Luzzatto, president of the umbrella Union of Italian Jewish Communities, said at the Culture Day's opening ceremony in Pisa, which held a moment of silence for the victims. — — Synagogue Rededicated Hundreds of people Moscow/JTA attended events over the weekend marking the inauguration of a renovat- ed Moscow synagogue. Agudas Chasidei Chabad Synagogue, whose 19th-century building was returned to Jews bty the government in 1991, was completely restored in a multimillion-dollar renovation project. In addition, the downtown Moscow synagogue inaugurated its brand-new multifunctional community center built next to the synagogue. The syna- gogue, which includes classrooms, a bookstore, a lecture hall, a mikvah and a restaurant, has been one of the prime centers of Jewish life in the Russian capital. The shul also runs a kosher store and provides kosher food packages to hun- dreds of needy and elderly Jews every day. One of the facilities in the new building was dedicated to the memory of Tengiz Yakobashvili, a leading donor in the renovation project, who died in Jewish Theater In Kiev Kiev, Ukraine/JTA — The European Day of Jewish Culture was marked in Kiev by the opening ceremony of a theater festival. The five-day Wandering Stars International Festival of Theater Art was sponsored by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and the local Jewish corn- munity. Professional and amateur theater troupes from Ukraine, Russia and Israel will participate in performances and exhibitions on the history of Jewish theater. The festival is co-organ- ized by Ukrainian Jewish groups, Ukrainian groups and the Ukrainian government. Since September 11, 2001, a new wave of anti-Semitism has been spreading across the world. The Anti-Defamation League is at the forefront of the battle. Call and tell us how you want to get involved. Phone: 248-646-2440 The Anti-Defamation League . Michigan Region E-mail: detroit@adlorg Fax: 248-646-2462 www.acilorg 885E60 24 month Lease p er month plus tax $1,203 due at signing including $325 re rl fable security deposit plus applicable tax, If — French Cite Spielberg Jacques Chirac praised Paris/JTA Steven Spielberg's work in preserving the memory of the Holocaust. The French president made his com- ments during a ceremony in which the American filmmaker received France's Legion of Honor. Presenting Spielberg with the award at a ceremony in the Elysee Palace, Chirac said that thanks to Spielberg's work, "that which risked being lost with the gradual disappear- ance of witnesses to the darkest hours in the history of humanity could now be preserved." Spielberg's Shoah Foundation has collected close to 40,000 Holocaust survivor accounts. Spielberg praised Chirac for his efforts in combating anti-Semitism in France while warning that "we have to work very, very hard so that people glorify differences and not condemn them." — DWYER "' SONS VOLVO On Maple Rd.,West of Haggerty Volvosalesg dwyerandsons.corn www. dwyerandsons. corn OPEN SATURDAYS J11 '24 month lease. 20 cents per mile over 20,000 miles. New 2005 S40 2.41 with climate package, T-Tec Interior 5-speed, great gas mileage for M.S.R.P. S24,570 based on Ford X-plan pricing. Ford NZ pricing will be less. Offer ends 9-30-04. 886050 9/10 2004 57