Year In Review from page 43 for the opposition party. more international action to stop the Islamic Republic's nuclear program. > Tel Aviv kicks off its centennial celebra- tions. > As the health care reform debate heats up, Jewish organizations back the Obama administration on several key points, including the creation of a government- run public insurance option and pushing for measures that would help the rapidly aging Jewish community. MAY > The U.S. government moves to drop charges against two former AIPAC staffers charged with passing classified informa- tion to Israel. > During speeches at the annual AIPAC policy conference in Washington, Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Sen. John Kerry pledge to confront Iran and protect Israel, but call on the Jewish state to freeze settlements. In the ensuing weeks, U.S.- Israel tensions mount as President Obama and other administration officials also press for a settlement freeze. > Pope Benedict XVI visits Israel and the West Bank. In Bethlehem, he calls for a Palestinian homeland, leaves an inter- faith conference in Jerusalem early after a Palestinian cleric accuses Israel of kill- ing women and children and destroying mosques and prompts disappointment among some Israelis for remarks on the Holocaust seen as insufficient. > President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hold their first meeting at the White House. Obama talks of putting a timetable on U.S. diplo- matic outreach to Iran over nuclear weap- ons while also emphasizing that Israel needs to take "difficult steps:' such as freezing settlements. Netanyahu stresses his interest in achieving peace, but stops short of endorsing a two-state solution. > The first Jewish historical doll in the American Girl series — a 9-year-old girl named Rebecca Rubin living on the Lower East Side in 1914 — goes on sale. JUNE > In a speech in Cairo billed as an address to Muslims worldwide, President Obama describes Israel and the United States as sharing an unbreakable bond, then criticizes Holocaust denial in the Arab world and the use of the Palestinian issue to distract Arab populations from other problems. Obama draws criticism from some corners of the Jewish community for reiterating his call for a settlement freeze and failing to talk tough on Iran. Some critics claim that the president appears to embrace the Palestinian understanding of the Israeli-Arab conflict. > Alysa Stanton becomes the first African-American female rabbi after 44 September 17 <. 2009 > With its decision in favor of comedian Al Franken, the Minnesota Supreme Court gives the U.S. Senate a 13th Jewish member. JULY > Nearly 40 Jewish and evangelical Christian leaders meet in Washington for a groundbreaking dialogue session. The rise of Yisrael Beiteinu's Avigdor Lieberman is seen in Israel as a sign of the rightward swing of the Israeli electorate. Lieberman is now facing corruption charges. - Photo by Brian Hendler being ordained by the Reform movement's Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. > The United Jewish Communities decides to change its name to the Jewish Federations of North America and hires Jerry Silverman, a key player in raising tens of millions of dollars for Jewish sum- mer camps and a former business execu- tive who helped popularize the Dockers brand, as its next president and CEO. > Far-right parties in Europe score sig- nificant gains in continent-wide elections for European Parliament. > A security guard is killed when a gun- man known for his anti-Semitic beliefs opens fire at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. > Natan Sharansky, the former Soviet dis- sident and Prisoner of Zion, is formally elected chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel. > At the close of a Holocaust Era Assets Conference in Prague, 46 countries sign the Terezin Declaration, a nonbinding set of guiding principles aimed at faster, more open and transparent restitution of art and private and communal property taken by force or under duress during the Holocaust. > With unrest mounting in Iran over official claims of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election, U.S. Jewish organizational leaders call for more American support for the protesters and > In a speech at Bar-Ilan University, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expresses conditional support for the even- tual creation of a demilitarized Palestinian state. The Obama administration hails the speech as "positive movement:' while the Palestinian Authority condemns it. > President Obama has his first White House meeting with Jewish leaders, sitting down with representatives of 14 organiza- tions. Jewish leaders offer no direct criti- cism of his calls for a settlement freeze, but say he appears to be putting more pressure on Israel than on the Palestinians and Arab states. The president says he will work to change that perception. > Some 8,000 athletes from around the world participate in the 18th Maccabiah Games, including U.S. Olympic swimmer Jason Lezak, who chooses the so-called Jewish Olympics in Israel over the World Championships. Lezak wins four gold medals, but Israel easily wins the medals competition. > Five rabbis are among 44 people arrested as part of a public corruption and international money-laundering investiga- tion in New Jersey that uses a prominent rabbi's son as an informant. Also charged are the mayors of several New Jersey cit- ies and other state politicians, as well as a Brooklyn man who is accused of acquir- ing and trading kidneys for transplants. > Haredi, or fervently Orthodox, dem- onstrators in Jerusalem turn violent, protesting the opening of a parking lot on Shabbat and the arrest of a haredi woman on charges of child neglect. > Camps across the U.S. report outbreaks of the swine flu virus, forcing some to postpone their openings and others to implement sweeping measures to screen new arrivals for signs of the illness. > The leader of the gang responsible for kidnapping, torturing and murder- ing French Jew Ilan Halimi in 2006 is sentenced to life in prison. Many French Jews are upset that the trial is held behind closed doors, as the crime's anti-Semitic nature was in dispute. Did Barack Obama's election mean increasing pressure on Israel? AUGUST > A masked gunman attacks a gay com- munity center in Tel Aviv, killing two people and injuring a dozen. The tragedy sparks demonstrations throughout Israel in solidarity with the victims and the gay community. 5769 in Israel on page 46