ERKLEY School District is the Oakland County school district where personal excellence is achieved through a powerful community, a true culture of caring, and extraordinary resources. Ethiopian Jews Marry In Jerusalem/JTA About 90 percent of Ethiopian Jews marry within their community, according to a new report. The report by Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics, which was released on Nov. 15, found that 93 percent of Ethiopian men and 85 percent of Ethiopian women marry other Ethiopians. The report was released on the eve of the Ethiopian's Sigd holiday, which com- memorates the community's acceptance of the Torah. Some 119,000 Ethiopians — 81,000 of whom were born in Ethiopia — live in Israel, mostly in the center and south. Less than 0.5 percent of Ethiopians live in Tel Aviv. — Shalit To Be Swapped? Jerusalem/JTA Israel will free up to 980 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for captured soldier Gilad Shalit, accord- ing to reports. Some 450 prisoners will be released to free Shalit, who has been held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip for more than three years, before as many as another 530 are freed following his release as a "gesture to the Palestinians',' the Israeli State Prosecutor's office announced Sunday. The information was disclosed in response to a suit filed in Israel's Supreme Court by the Almagor Terror Victims Association and three bereaved parents, who requested the Palestinian prisoners' names be made public. Shalit's parents met Sunday with Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman for an update on the negotiations. "We are neither encouraged nor the opposite. We're still waiting',' the soldier's father, Noam, said following the meeting. "We have nothing new." The Voice of Palestine radio station said on Nov. 28 that Shalit would be transferred soon to Egypt in prepara- tion for his release. Egypt and Germany have been mediating the prisoner swap between Israel and Hamas. — Pope Meets Survivor Rome/JTA Pope Benedict XVI met with a Holocaust survivor from his native Germany. The pope met on Nov. 25, after his weekly general audience, with Cacilie Peiser, the founder and honorary presi- dent of the Child Survivors Deutschland Association. Peiser presented the pope- with a signed copy of her biography, which tells the story of her survival. She was accompanied by Father Norbert Hofmann, secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Religious Relations With the Jews. — "After the 'night of broken glass' in 1938, at the age of 13, I was forced to flee with my younger sister Jutta and other children to Holland',' Peiser,said Her mother and younger brother were deported and killed. No Second Rubashkin Trial Washington/JTA Federal prosecu- tors have dropped all immigration charges against Sholom Rubashkin. Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Deegan Jr. said in court papers filed last week that even if Rubashkin, the former manager of the Iowa kosher slaughter- house Agriprocessors, was convicted on all 72 charges of using undocu- mented workers, it would not have any impact on his sentence because of his conviction earlier in the month on 86 fraud charges. Rubashkin faces up to 1,255 years in prison. Deegan said dismissing the charges also would avoid a long trial. The prose- cutor noted that some of the fraud con- victions obtained in the first trial were premised on the fact that Rubashkin made false statements to a bank about the use of undocumented workers at his Postville plant. Rubashkin's lawyer, Guy Cook, said the decision by the government was a victory for his client, who has main- tained his innocence and is filing an appeal for a new trial on the fraud charges. Rubashkin has been denied bail while he awaits sentencing because he has been deemed a flight risk. — Answering Israel's Critics The Charge Recent highly critical reports focusing on Israel, which were issued by the United Nations Human Rights Council and by Human Rights Watch, have been fair and unbiased. The Answer Hannah Rosenthal, newly appoint- ed State Department Special Envoy to monitor and combat anti-Semitism, said this week that some of the criticism Israel sees, and its isolation in the United Nations, clearly comes "from a place of anti-Semitism." — Allan Gale, Jewish Community Relations Council of Metropolitan Detroit © December 3, 2009 Jewish Renaissance Media The Berkley School District values individuality in our students and we strive to provide an educational experience tailored to each child. Our students achieve personal excellence in all areas of study — both in and outside of the classroom. Our relationship with our local community helps us foster unique and creative programs for our students. Our Holocaust to Righteousness class at Berkley High Our relationship School partners with the Holocaust Memorial Center with our local to educate the students on the importance of community helps us tolerance. Natalie Taylor, who teaches this unique foster unique and course, wants the students to learn that, "They are creative programs very much connected to events that happened for our students. decades ago, centuries ago, on the other side of the world." The class is broken up into four main units: culture, hate, resistance, and altruism. In the last six weeks of the class, students volunteer in their local community, "where they are putting someone else's needs before their own," says Mrs. Natalie Taylor. Berkley High School pioneered this course with the Holocaust Memorial Center. We focus on nurturing the creative spirit of each child. Students have had the opportunity to cook with some of the best chefs in Michigan through the Spoons Across America program which came to Anderson Middle School last year thanks to parent Michelle Kobernick. Students spent weeks learning everything from nutrition to napkin folding on their way to planning an elaborate dinner party for their families, friends, and community members. "I think this is something these kids are going to take with them For more through all their years," said Kate Lawson of the information or to Detroit News. inquire about enrollment for your child, Creativity thrives throughout the Berkley School please visit us on our new District as was recently shown by 10-year-old Sydney Knisley from Angell Elementary. Her artwork was published on the cover of the new Curtis Granderson book "All You Can Be: Dream lt, Draw It, Become It!" which came out in August 2009. Sydney's art teacher was happy to surprise her with the news that her drawing would appear on the cover. The A Cappella choir also recently learned that PBS would like to tape them for a musical special titled "Celebrate America". Finally, several students from Anderson Middle School showed off their artistic talents when they participated in the "On Location: Spotlight on Your Community" program. The students produced a video highlighting the Detroit Dance Collective called, "The Power of Dance". Visit www.livestream.comiwbsd to view video of various Berkley School District events. 1523900 Have The Detiwort Jewish News Delivered To Your Door Every Thursday For About A Dollar A Week To subscribe today 248.351.5174 Dj19Oif JN December 3 • 2009 29