World
DIGEST
Iranian Arsenal?
Jerusalem/JTA — The head of the Mossad
said Iran is trying to develop more than
one nuclear weapon. "The concern is that
if they manage to acquire the bomb, they
will not make do with the fissile materials
required for one, but will go on producing
larger amounts," Meir Dagan told the
Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense
Committee in his annual briefing Tuesday.
According to Dagan, Iran is months away
from being able to enrich uranium inde-
pendently, a key step for making nuclear
weapons. He predicted that Iran would
have the bomb within two years after that.
Israel has been urging the U.N. Security
Council to threaten Iran with sanctions
unless it abandons its nuclear program.
Nazi Guard Ruling
Washington/JTA — A U.S. judge ruled that
John Demjanjuk could be deported to his
native Ukraine. In a ruling Wednesday,
Chief U.S. Immigration Judge Michael
Creppy rejected Demjanjuk's contention
that he would be tortured in Ukraine.
Demjanjuk can still appeal the decision.
Demjanjuk, 85, served as a guard at the
Sobibor, Majdanek and Flossenburg
camps, but lied about his past when he
applied to enter the United States in 1952.
Demjanjuk, who now lives near Cleveland,
was acquitted in Israel in 1993 of being
"Ivan the Terrible:' one of the most notori-
ous Nazi guards.
Abramoff Guilty
Washington/JTA — A prominent U.S.
Jewish lobbyist pleaded guilty to criminal
charges. Jack Abramoff, until last year
Washington's pre-eminent Republican lob-
byist, pleaded guilty to two charges related
to his purchase in 2000 of a fleet of gam-
bling boats in Florida.
The plea suggests that Abramoff is ready
to testify against a host of lawmakers,
most of them Republican, on campaign
finance improprieties. Abramoff is still
under investigation in a number of other
cases. There are allegations that he mis-
used money from clients to fund some
Jewish charities.
Buys Israeli Team
JerusalemlJTA — A Jewish tycoon from
the former Soviet Union bought an Israeli
soccer team. Lev Leviev's purchase of
Hapoel Tel Aviv had been expected,
Ha'aretz reported. Leviev, who made his
money in diamonds and real estate, is a
major supporter of Chabad-Lubavitch in
the former Soviet Union. He now holds 75
percent of the team. A Russian Jewish
businessman, Arkady Gaidamak, recently
38 January 5 • 2006
purchased the Betar Jerusalem soccer
team.
Camp For Victims
New York/JTA — A group that supports
Jewish camping recently established a
scholarship fund for Jewish children
affected by this year's hurricanes. The
Foundation for Jewish Camping's fund,
called Habayita: Coming Home to Jewish
Camp, aims to help an estimated 400
Jewish families affected by Hurricanes
Katrina and Rita.
The foundation hopes to raise $1.5 mil-
lion for the fund. More information is
available at www.jewishcamping.org .
Raps Anti-Semitism
Paris/JTA — French President Jacques
Chirac called on all French citizens to be
uncompromising in the fight against
racism and anti-Semitism. In his New
Year's message to the country, Chirac iden-
tified schools as the key to fighting racism
and discrimination.
Rabbinic Warning
London/JTA — Britain's Orthodox chief
rabbi warned against a "tsunami of anti-
Semitism." Rabbi Jonathan Sacks made
the tsunami comment in an interview
broadcast over the BBC on Sunday after he
was asked about the recent anti-Semitic
comments of Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadenijad.
Ahmadenijad's comments are part of a
"sunami of anti-Semitism which is taking
place a long way from this country but
which Europe seems unaware of',' Rabbi
Sacks said.
Hitler Film On Tap
New York/JTA — A European Jewish film
director is planning a satirical comedy
about Hitler. Dani Levy, whose Jewish
comedy "Go for Zucker" won awards in
Germany, said he would start shooting his
movie in January, according to the DPA
news agency. With "Zucker," Levy broke a
taboo in German society by poking fun at
Jewish characters.
term of seven years, though lawyers have
argued that the sentence should be
reduced. A related case against the prime
minister was dropped for lack of evidence.
Hebron Squatters
Hebron/JTA — Israeli police served evic-
tion notices to settlers who took over a
Palestinian market. The notices were
served Tuesday to eight settler families
who had squatted in abandoned market-
stalls in Hebron since 2001. They have
until Jan. 15 to leave or face arrest.
The stalls are on land owned by Jews
who fled Arab- rioting in 1929, but Israel's
Civil Administration said the squatters
had not proven personal claims to the
property, and therefore had to go. Police
who came to deliver the eviction notices
scuffled with settlers, at least two of whom
were arrested.
Give Fatah A Chance
Jerusalein/JTA — Tanzim leader Marwan
Barghouti apologized for the Fatah party's
failures. In a statement from an Israeli jail,
where he is serving life sentences for his
involvement in multiple terrorist attacks,
Barghouti urged Palestinians to give the
ruling party a second chance in upcoming
elections against Hamas, according to a
copy received by the Associated Press.
The statement is expected to run
Saturday in Palestinian newspapers. "We
do not hesitate to apologize to the
Palestinian people for the mistakes that
have been committed in recent years,"
Barghouti said. "And I call upon the
Palestinian people to renew their confi-
dence in Fatah and to give Fatah a new
opportunity" Barghouti was chosen to
head the list of Fatah candidates in next
month's parliamentary elections.
New Ad Campaign
Jerusalem/JTA — Israel launched an ad
campaign in Britain that uses sex appeal
to sell tourism to the Jewish state. The
campaign, which began Dec. 26 on Sky
TV and will include widespread adver-
tisements in the media, taxis, buses and
subways, features women in scantily clad
outfits. "We felt there was a need to
change the way people think about Israel
beyond the traditional, cultural and reli-
gious experience it has to offer," Uzi Gafni,
director of the Israeli government's
tourism office in the United Kingdom and
Ireland, was quoted as saying.
Museum Podcast
1,17ashington/JTA — The U.S. Holocaust
Memorial Museum will podcast commen-
taries on genocide. "Programs will pro-
vide the latest information on global
humanitarian crises, from the genocide in
Darfur to ongoing efforts to address
genocide worldwide," said Jerry Fowler,
director of the museum's committee on
conscience, who will host the
podcasts. Programs may be streamed
from www.ushmm.org/conscience/pod-
casts . Podcasting is recording and distrib-
uting audio files that recipients can listen
to on iPods and other devices that play
digital audio recordings.
Answering
Israel's Critics
Visit Hometown
The Charge:
The U.S. relationship with Israel is merely
favoritism, resulting from pressure by the
American Jewish community on Congress
and the White House.
Omri Sharon Out
Jerusalem/JTA — A group of Iraqi-born
Jews in Israel are planning a trip to their
hometown. A dozen people will make the
trip to Mosul this spring, the Jerusalem
Post reported. A Kurdish guide will help
coordinate the trip. An estimated 120,000
Jews left Iraq in the 1950s, with most
going to Israel.
Jerusalem/JTA— Ariel Sharon's son
resigned from the Knesset. Omri Sharon,
who is awaiting sentencing after pleading
guilty in a Likud Party funding scandal,
tendered his resignation Tuesday.
The move is unlikely to impact the
prime minister's chances of re-election in
the March 28 ballot, since Ariel Sharon
quit theLikud to form the new Kadima
Party. Omri Sharon, 41, admitted to illicitly
funding his father's 1999 run for the Likud
leadership. He faces a maximum prison
Jerusalem/JTA — Fewer Israelis are get-
ting married. According to Interior
Ministry statistics released this week, 35
percent fewer couples registered as mar-
ried in 2005 compared to the year before.
There was also a slight decrease in the
number of divorces. Around one in four
Israeli marriages is dissolved, a rate well
below that of Britain and the United
States.
Fewer Wedding Bells
The Answer:
The United States and Israel are deeply
connected strategic partners in a region
vital to U.S. interests, working closely on
the war on terrorism; jointly developing
missile defenses; and coordinating oppo-
sition to the proliferation of chemical,
biological and nuclear weapons in the
Middle East.
— Allan Gale,
Jewish Community Council
of Metropolitan Detroit