Worl d

Touro Tours Off

Newport/JTA — Touro Synagogue, the
nation's oldest Jewish house of worship,
canceled public tours because of finan-
cial difficulties. The last two paid staff
members of the Newport, R.I., synagogue
were let go last week, according to the
Providence Journal.
Plans to open a museum of American
Jewish history at the site this summer will go
forward. Group tours already scheduled for
the summer will take place, but no new ones
will be booked, said a spokesman for the
nonprofit foundation that runs the project.
Touro is a major tourist destination,
especially for Jewish visitors. It was built
in 1763 and declared a national historic
site in the 1940s. In 2001, the National
Trust for Historic Preservation designated
it as the nation's first religious historic site.

Pope's Mideast Trip

Rome/JTA — The Vatican officially
announced that Pope Benedict XVI will
visit Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian
Authority. Describing the May 8-15 trip
as a "pilgrimage to the Holy Land:' the

announcement said the pope would
visit Amman, Jerusalem, Bethlehem and
Nazareth. It will be the first papal trip to
the Holy Land since Pope John Paul II's
landmark pilgrimage in 2000.
Israeli President Shimon Peres wel-
comed the pope's announcement Sunday.
"I am delighted that His Holiness Pope
Benedict XVI has responded positively
and accepted my invitation to visit the
Holy Land:' Peres said. "The pope will
be a most honored guest, welcomed and
respected by people from all walks of life.
His visit will be a moving and important
event bringing the spirit of peace and
hope. Welcome to Israel!'

will be named Israel's next foreign min-
ister and that his party also will get the
public security, tourism, national infra-
structures and justice portfolios.
On Sunday, Labor leader Ehud Barak
told Netanyahu that he would not join his
governing coalition. "There is no basis for
opening a dialogue on the Labor Party to
join a coalition due to the sweeping adop-
tion of the demands of Yisrael Beiteinu's
chairman Avigdor Lieberman," Barak said,
according to news reports.
Meanwhile, sources have told Israel
media that Netanyahu will present a nar-
row right-wing government to President
Shimon Peres next week.

Mum On Coalition

Hamas' Shalit Video?

Jerusalem/JTA — Benjamin Netanyahu
said coalition talks are continuing and that
discussing negotiations in public weaken
the party's standing. The prime minister-
designate asked party members at a Likud
faction meeting Monday not to talk about
cabinet appointments with the media.
Israeli newspapers are reporting that
Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Lieberman

Gaza City/JTA — Hamas has a videotape
showing kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit,
according to a Kuwaiti newspaper. Al
Jarida reported Monday that the head of
Hamas' military wing, Ahmed Jabari, gave
a video to Hamas deputy political bureau
chief Moussa Abu Marzouk showing Shalit
in apparently good health.
An Israeli official said that Israel does

not know anything about the video, Israel
Radio reported. The tape will be released
when significant progress is made in the
talks, according to the newspaper. Marzouk
received the tape from Jabari during the
latter's secret visit to Gaza last month.

Answering
Israel's Critics

The Charge
An outcome document central to the
U.N's Durban Review Conference of the
World Summit Against Racism singles
out Israel with harsh criticism.

The Answer
The United States has called the text
a missed opportunity to speak clearly
about racism, has refused to negotiate
its language further and will decline
the invitation to attend the conference.

— Allan Gale, Jewish Community Relations

Council of Metropolitan Detroit

© Jewish Renaissance Media, March 12, 2009

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