World ROUNDUP Torah Center Dedication The Sara and Morris Tugman Bais Chabad Torah Center will rededicate its learning center in memory of the late Gerald "Jerry" Gerald Pollack Pollack on Sunday, July 19, 10:30 a.m. at 5595 W. Maple, West Bloomfield. Brunch will be served. Pollack was one of the founding mem- Obama Links Slavery, Shoah Washington/JTA — President Obama corn- pared the history of slavery to that of the Holocaust, according to the CNN Web site. "It's one of those things that you don't forget about," Obama told CNN in an inter- view on Anderson Cooper 360, according to a report on the Web site. Obama gave the interview over the weekend while visiting the African country of Ghana, once a major slave trading center. "I think it's important that the way we think about it, the way it's taught, is not one in which there's simply a victim and a victimizer, and that's the end of the story': the president said. "I think the way it has to be thought about, the reason it's relevant, is whether it's what's happening in Darfur or what's happening in the Congo or what's happening in too many places around the world, the capacity for cruelty still exists:' Obama called his visit to Cape Coast Castle, a slavery dungeon,"reminiscent of the trip I took to Buchenwald," a German Nazi death camp. "It reminds us of the capacity of human beings to commit great evil': he said. Obama said he hoped his daughters, Malia and Sasha, who accompanied him on the trip, learned about the history of slavery during the visit. "And hopefully, one of the things that was imparted to them during this trip is their sense of obligation to fight oppression and cruelty wherever it appears': he said. Brutal Slayer Of Jew Gets Life Paris/JTA — The leader of the gang respon- sible for torturing and murdering a French Jew received the maximum sentence for a crime judges ruled anti-Semitic. Youssouf Fofana was sentenced Friday to life in prison and 22 years without parole for organizing the gang kidnapping, torture and murder of Ilan Halimi in 2006. The verdict is the most severe permitted under French law Two of Fofana's lieutenants who played particularly active roles in the 24-day tor- ture of Halimi were sentenced to 15- and 18-year prison terms. The public prosecu- tor had asked for 20. The young woman known as "Emma," who was used to lure Halimi to his attackers, was sentenced to 9 A22 July 16 • 2009 bers of Bais Chabad, which was built in 1982; the Torah Center's original social hall was dedicated by the Pollack family. Several years ago, Pollack founded and dedicated the Elvin and Loraine Pollack Learning Center in memory of his par- ents. With Pollack's recent passing, the learning center will now be known as the Gerald Pollack and Elvin and Loraine Pollack Learning Center. For brunch reservations, e-mail bctc770@aol.com or call (248) 705-3561. years of jail time rather than 12. Of the 26 suspects on trial over the past two months, two gang members were acquitted and others received sentences ranging from 6 months to 18 years in prison. The general prosecutor in the case told French journalists that the court's final decision was "fair:' The Jewish umbrella organization CRIF criticized the court's decision, calling it "too lenient" toward Fofana's accomplices. CRIF regretted that the trial was kept closed to journalists, a condition that "withdrew the exemplary and educational value that [the trial] should have had:' Halimi was found at the point of death, naked and bound near the railroad tracks outside of Paris in February 2006. U.S. Aid To Israel, P.A. Washington/JTA — The U.S. House of Representatives approved foreign funding that included aid packages for Israel and the Palestinians. Israel won 52.775 billion when the funds approved in the bill 2010 appropriations bill passed on July 9 are added to those approved in an earlier supplemental fund- ing bill, consistent with the memorandum of understanding signed two years ago that guarantees Israel $30 billion in defense assistance over 10 years. Israel also was allotted $25 million in refugee settlement assistance, the only remnant of U.S. assis- tance to Israel's domestic economy. Also approved was more than $500 million in assistance for the Palestinians, including up to $150 million that may be transferred directly to the Palestinian Authority and $100 million that will go to training P.A. security forces. Egyptian and Jordanian funding also remained consistent: $1.3 billion in Egyptian defense assistance and $250 mil- lion in assistance for the Egyptian econo- my; and $300 million in defense assistance for Jordan as well as $363 million in eco- nomic assistance. The bill also would keep the U.S. Import-Export Bank from guar- anteeing companies that have significant stakes in Iran's energy sector. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee praised the bill's passage. "This year's package holds heightened signifi- cance with the United States, the region and Israel facing renewed challenges from Iran's drive to dominate the Middle East, acquire nuclear weapons and its support for Islamic terrorist movements, including Hezbollah and Harnas," said AIPAC President David Victor of West Bloomfield."Congress' sup- port for this year's aid package sends the strong, unambiguous message that the United States stands firmly behind Israel and underscores the strength of the U.S.- Israel bond:' The overall $48.8 billion bill passed 318-106; of the 106 voting against, 97 were Republicans. The U.S. Senate is considering a similar bill. Subsequent to its passage, both bills must be reconciled, subject to new votes and then sent to President Obama for his approval. Ancient Jerusalem Quarry Jerusalem/JTA — Israeli archaeologists uncovered an ancient quarry whose stones were likely used to build the Temple walls. The stone quarry, uncovered during excava- tions on Shmuel Hanavi Street in Jerusalem prior to the construction of residential buildings, dates from the end of the Second Temple period. "The immense size of the stones inch- cates it was highly likely that the large stones that were quarried at the site were destined for use in the construction of Herod's magnificent projects in Jerusalem, including the Temple walls," said Ofer Sion, the excavation director on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority. Among the artifacts discovered in the excavation were metal plates referred to in the Talmud as cheeks that were used as ful- crums to sever the stones from the bedrock, and coins and pottery shards that date to the end of the Second Temple period. Organic Kosher Poultry New York/JTA — Empire Kosher poultry is launching lines of organic and antibiotic- free poultry. The Pennsylvania company announced last week that it is ready to roll out both lines nationally. ABF designates poultry that is not injected with any antibiotics or hormones. Organic chicken also adheres to ABF standards, as well as U.S. Department of Agriculture standards for organic poultry. Empire also announced that new equip- ment design would enable the company to increase its peak production volume from 350,000 chickens per week to nearly 800,000. AJC Eyes Immigration Reform New York — The American Jewish Committee (AJC) has received a major grant of $500,000 from the Ford Foundation for a new initiative to create momentum for comprehensive immigra- tion reform. Building on decades of experience work- ing with diverse ethnic partners, AJC will convene a series of roundtable discussions with a spectrum of community stakehold- ers in the immigration debate to seek corn- mon ground. AJC will offer advocacy skills- building workshops to Latino leaders and organizations in four localities (Arizona, Chicago, Houston and New Jersey). "Our goal is to encourage a civil and informed national discourse about immi- gration that will lead to policies reflecting America's fundamental commitment to democratic values and human rights, and also respond effectively to our nation's national and economic security needs," said Ann Schaffer, director of AJC's Arthur and Rochelle Belfer Center for American Pluralism. Wagner Family's Nazi Past Berlin/JTA — Descendants of German composer Richard Wagner announced plans to have independent historians research the family archives. Katharina Wagner, a great-grand- daughter of Hitler's beloved composer, and now head of the annual Bayreuth Wagner Festival together with her older sister, Eva, told the Welt Online newspaper on June 18 that it was important to lay bare the family's Nazi past. Included in the family archives are nearly 300 letters from Hitler. "An independent and complete docu- mentation of the history of Bayreuth will be prepared without any influence from us," Katharina Wagner told the Welt Online edition. The research will focus on the private archive of the festival and of her father, Wolfgang Wagner, born in 1919, who retired last year as director. "I don't know the extent to which other family members will get involved in this project,"Wagner, 31, said in the interview. "But I want to emphasize that Eva and I will make everything available that we possibly can." Rumors of a romantic involvement between Hitler and Katharina Wagner's grandmother, Winifred Marjorie Williams, fueled in part by a 2008 novel by A.N. Wilson titled Winnie and Wolf have never quite died. Katharina Wagner said she did not know if there would be any surprises in the archives."The subject has been han- dled before but not thoroughly': she said, "otherwise there wouldn't be questions hanging in the air anymore." An informal ban on the public perfor- mance of Wagner's music in Israel has been in place since the founding of the Jewish state.