e World . Viral ALBOM SEPT'S) 710P111 Propaganda War from page 30 An Evening With Mitch Albom and the Jewish Federation September 30, 2009 • 7:30 pm • The Fox Theatre To celebrate the launch of his newest book, Have a Little Faith, Mitch Albom will host a special charity event, and the Jewish Federation's Jewish Assistance Project has been selected as one of only three beneficiaries of the event. Ernie Harwell Anita Baker Dave Barry Joe Dumars Longtime Tigers' Broadcaster, Author Grammy-Award Winning Artist Pulitzer Prize Winning Author and Humorist Detroit Pistons President Rev. Henry Covington Rabbi Harold Loss Pastor, I Am My Brother's Keeper Ministries Temple Israel $40 General Admission $125 YIP-Preferred Reserved Seating - Orchestra Center* *Join Mitch Albom and special guests at 6:30 for a special backstage reception Tickets available at Ticketmaster outlets and can be ordered online at ticketmastercom or by calling 800-745-3000 Groups of 20 or more, call (313) 471-3099 for special group rates (11,1)Jewish jewishdetroit.org — 79 Federati o n of hieth000liton Detroit 1540590 Unlimited international $5 a month. No signed contracts. One flat rata No calling cards. No 800 tuanbers. No PiNs. Unlimited international calling to over 100 countries worldwide! Yes, you read that right. Now you can add unlimited international calling to over 100 countries for only $5 a month. Unlimited. International. $5. If you listen closely, you can hear our competitors' jaws dropping. 877-BUY-MPCS vnvw.metropes.corn mealroPCS. Unlimit Yourself. 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Yet the release of information that at least 13 incidents were under criminal investigation prior to the July 29 publication date of the military's report might have gone some way toward refuting claims that Israel was cavalier about abuse allegations. Instead, Israeli officials have devolved into name-calling, backed by an array of pro-Israel NGOs and lobbying groups that distribute — sometimes anonymously — "back- grounders" that attempt through sometimes tenuous links to dis- credit the human rights groups. The foreign ministry recently distributed material implicating HRW editor Joe Stork with dis- seminating radical, anti-Israel and pro-terrorist material in the 1970s; it was an odd volley from the office of a minister, Avigdor Lieberman, who says police investigations of his alleged criminal conduct and a youthful flirtation with the racist Kach movement should not bear on his current diplomacy. More substantively, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government is now seeking ways to legally cut off foreign government funding for Israeli human rights NGOs. The human rights groups are not above using the law to make an exception of Israel; HRW frequently calls for international investiga- tions, saying that Israel has repeat- edly failed "to conduct credible investigations into alleged viola- tions of the laws of war:' The problem with such calls is that Israel believes such inter- national mechanisms cannot be trusted because they are wrapped into the United Nations — a worry Human Rights Watch admits is credible. Moreover, left unsaid is the failure generally among Western democracies to dig too deep when human rights abuses are at hand. The Obama administration report- edly is considering a strategy for prosecuting individuals who car- ried out torture for the U.S., but not those who ordered it. Israeli army spokesmen say it is fairer to note what Israel is doing to prevent the recurrence of abuses, citing as an example the introduc- tion of the ultra-precise missiles. El Educator Training New YorkIJTA Three Jewish seminar- ies across the denominational spectrum will receive a total of $12 million to help train new Jewish educators. The Jim Joseph Foundation said it will distribute the grants over a five- year period to the Conservative move- ment's Jewish Theological Seminary, the Reform Hebrew Union College- Jewish Institute of Religion and the Modern Orthodox Yeshiva University. Financial aid for students who are pursuing careers in education at each of the seminaries will get the first round of grants. — Film Fest Counter Protest Toronto/JTA A prominent list of celebrities is opposing a group that has criticized the Toronto International Film Festival's spotlight on Tel Aviv. Jerry Seinfeld, Natalie Portman, Sacha Baron Cohen, Lisa Kudrow, Jason Alexander and Lenny Kravitz were among 100 artists endorsing a state- ment against what they call the black- listing of Israeli artists at the TIFF, which ended Sept. 19. Titled "We don't need another blacklist," the statement applauds the festival's decision to spotlight Tel Aviv in the program's City to City series. Visiting Israeli filmmakers "rep- resent a dynamic national cinema, the best of Israel's open, uncensored, artistic expression. Anyone who has actually seen recent Israeli cinema ... knows they are in no way a propaganda arm for any government policy:' the statement said. It adds that "blacklisting [the artists] only stifles the exchange of cultural knowledge that artists should be the first to defend and protect. Those who refuse to see these films for themselves or prevent them from being seen by others are violating a cherished right shared by Canada and all democratic countries." Filmmakers Ivan Reitman, David Cronenberg and Norman Jewison issued statements last week attacking those who had criticized the festival for highlighting films from Tel Aviv. The counter protest is in response to the so-called Toronto Declaration signed by more than 1,000 filmmak- ers, actors and academics — includ- ing Jane Fonda, Danny Glover, Harry Belafonte, Julie Christie and Alice Walker — protesting that by showcas- ing movies from Tel Aviv, the festival, "whether intentionally or not, has become complicit in the Israeli propa- ganda machine." —