Work Cezanne DIGEST Dali Degas Gauguin Magritte Matisse Pay Raise Waived Jerusalem/5A — Due to the difficult economic times, Israel's Knesset members will waive a 2009 pay raise. The Knesset House committee decided Dec. 23 that lawmakers would give up an automatic 3-percent pay raise in January, according to reports. Knesset members earn about $8,300 a month and receive raises tied to the retail price index four times a year. They also get the use of a car. Modigliani Monet Picasso Renoir Rodin Van Gogh October 12, 2008 — January 18, 2009 Masterpiece after masterpiece after masterpiece. See them now. For tickets visit www.dia.org or the DIA Box Office. Members receive FREE tickets. Join today! 313.833.7971 New Year's Special! Half off tickets January 2, 3 and 4. - 11,41/1101.....11 atrutuo4 r i cka- .0/7 Bank of America'?: This exhibition has been organized by the Cleveland Museum of Art In Detroit, the exhibition is proudly sponsored by Bank of America. Additional support has been provided by the Michigan—;-1;74.—"1— Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the City of Detroit .Pierre Auguste Renoir (French, 1841-1919). Romaine Lacaux (detail), 1864. Oil on fabric; 813 x 65 cm. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of the Hanna Fund 194/1065.0 The Cleveland Museum of Art. Amedeo Modigliani (Italian, 1884-1920). Portrait of a Woman (detail), c. 1917-18. Oil on canvas; 65 x 48.3 ctn. The Cleveland Museum of Art. Gift of the Hanna Fund 1951358. 0 The Cleveland Museum of Art. 1456750 MERCEDES-BENZ*A SUPPORT OUR COMMUNITY, Shop with our advertisers! A22 January 1 • 2009 Aliyah Down Jerusalem/JTA — Some 16,500 Jews from around the world have made aliyah in 2008, a 16 percent drop from the previous year. The 6,100 immi- grants from the former Soviet Union accounts for 35 percent of the olim. Some 3,250 of the immigrants came from Western Europe, or 20 percent, with 3,150 from the United States and Canada, or 19 percent. The number of Ethiopian immi- grants fell to 1,700 from 3,600 because of Israel's decision to halt the immigration of Falash Mura. French aliyah dropped as well because of the Jewish community's comfort with President Nicolas Sarkozy. Immigration from South Africa nearly doubled to 350 from the previ- ous year. Small numbers of new immigrants in 2008 also came from far-flung countries such as China, El Salvador, Uganda, Angola, Martinique, Andorra and Gibraltar. There have been 3,041,714 immi- grants to Israel since the founding of the state in 1948. Ancient Gold Coins Jerusalem/JTA — A cache of ancient gold coins was discovered at a Jerusalem archeological site. More than 250 coins, thought to be 1,300 years old, were found Dec. 21 in the excavations at the Givati car park in the City of David. Archeological excavations under the auspices of the Israel Antiquities Authority began in the area two years ago. The coins were discovered on the site of a large seventh-century C.E. building that is being uncovered. Since no other pottery vessels were discovered near the hoard, it is sus- pected that the coins were hidden inside a niche in the building's wall, according to Dr. Doron Ben-Ami and Yana Tchekhanovets, the directors of the excavation at the site on behalf of the Antiquities Authority. Abbas Lauds Bush Washington/JTA — Mahmoud Abbas praised President Bush for laying the foundations for Israeli-Palestinian peace. "Together we put the fundamental, basic things needed for the peace pro- cess:' the Palestinian Authority presi- dent said Dec. 19, addressing Bush at a White House meeting, their last before Bush leaves office. "There is no doubt that we will continue these efforts and the peace negotiations. But everything will be based on the foundation, and that foundation was laid by you during your time in office." Talks between Israel and the Palestinians were renewed a year ago in Annapolis, Md., under U.S. aus- pices. Bush's administration shepherded the codification of the Annapolis pledge of Palestinian statehood through the U.N. Security Council, essentially underpinning the goal with international law. "I was pleased to note that the U.N. Secretary Council passed a resolu- tion which confirms that the bilateral negotiation process is irreversible, and it's a path to a Palestinian state and a path to peace in the Middle East," Bush told Abbas. Nonprofits Hurt By Madoff New York/JTA — The Jewish Funders Network is developing a comprehen- sive plan to help nonprofits hit hard by Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme that includes bridge funding. JFN President Mark Charendoff told JTA of the plan after convening a Dec. 23 meeting in New York of 35 of the country's largest Jewish foundations. By its estimates the JFN, which has some 900 members who are major funders of Jewish causes, counts some $2.5 billion in philanthropic funds as erased by Madoff's scam, Charendoff told JTA's philanthropy blog, the Fundermentalist. The foundations involved with JFN will create a pro-bono human resources bank through which foundations and nonprofits can share costs for legal resources, accounting, grant writing and development needs. The foundations also decided to create a mechanism to create bridge financing for organizations directly hit by Madoff. That mechanism would pro- vide a vehicle for emergency loans from philanthropists to nonprofits in trouble. The JFN has pledges for "millions" of dollars in loans, Charendoff said.