The report was completed on Nov. 23 and delivered in recent days to the European Union in Brussels, according to Ha'aretz. It charged that the Israeli government and Jerusalem municipality are working to change the demographic balance of Jerusalem and to cut off eastern Jerusalem from the West Bank. It also accuses the municipality of discriminating against the Palestinian residents of Jerusalem in areas such as building permits and education. The report, according to Ha'aretz, also criticizes archeological excavations near the Temple Mount of focusing exclusively on Jewish history and of being "an ideologi- cally motivated tool of national and religious struggle." Foreign Ministry officials told Ha'aretz that the report will help Sweden promote a draft plan to divide Jerusalem and have the European Union formally recognize east Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state. Czech Menorah Kindled Washington/JTA A rare menorah on loan from the Jewish Museum in Prague will be lit during a special White House ceremony. The museum handed over the rare menorah to Mary Thompson-Jones, charge d'affaires of the U.S. Embassy in the Czech Republic. It is set to be lit on the sixth night of Chanukah, Dec. 16, during a Chanukah event at the White House that is expected to draw about 500 guests. First Lady Michelle Obama requested the loan, according to the museum, when she visited Jewish Town and the museum during an official visit to Prague by President Obama in April. The menorah was created in 1873 by Viennese silversmith Cyril Schillberger and originally was dedicated most likely to — the congregation in Prost joy, according to the museum. Survivor, Savior Reunite Washington/JTA A Holocaust survivor and the man whose family hid him from the Nazis in Poland reunited for the first time in 64 years. Joseph Bonder, 81, and Bronislaw Firuta, 82, met Nov. 25 in New York. They were honored by the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous in New York. From 1942 to 1944, Firuta's family hid Bonder and his older sister in their unlocked barn, where the two teenagers lived among the animals and subsisted on whatever food the Firutas could sneak out to them. The foundation, which honors non-Jews who risked their lives to help Jews during the Holocaust, funded Firuta's trip from Faszczowka, Poland, to New York. Bonder has lived in the United States since 1944, when he fled Poland. Bonder, who believes his parents were murdered at the Bergen-Belsen concentra- tion camp, and Firuta first made contact after the war in the 1960s. In 2006, with Bonder's help, Firuta and Firuta's parents were designated Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust authority. The designation entitles the rescu- ers to financial aid. — Curbing Draft Evasion Jerusalem/JTA Some 25 percent of mili- tary-age men do not join the Israeli army, Israel's Cabinet was told during a discussion on curbing draft evasion. In addition, 40 percent of women do not serve — 30 percent for religious reasons and 10 percent who are married, abroad or have a medical condition. Many religiously observant women do national service, but those figures were not included in the discussion, according to the Jerusalem Post. Of the men who evade service, 13 percent receive deferments to study in yeshivah, 5 percent receive a deferment for a medical issue or because they are abroad and 7 percent are turned down by the army. The Cabinet established a committee to find ways to reduce the number of women falsely claiming a religious lifestyle to evade army service. Jerusalem/JTA El Al is no longer the Jewish Agency's exclusive carrier to fly new immigrants to Israel. The agency signed a deal on Nov. 29 with Israel's Arkia airlines to bring immigrants on its newly opened Ukraine-Israel line. Arkia does not fly to the United States. Ha'aretz reported that the agency's $2.5 billion contract with El Al expired earlier in November. The agency also is looking to contract with other airlines, including U.S. Airways, according to the newspaper. El Al No Longer Just El Al Roundup on page 34 LACE Lls.OL LECTION Trunk Show Monday 12J14 - Thursday 12/17 Special orders available many colors and styles to choose from. Sce 0-143 — Women Helping Women Hadassah National President Nancy Falchuk and Princess Keisha Omilana of Nigeria became fast friends at the recent launch of Same Sky, an organi- zation that enables Rwandan women to earn money through the sale of their handmade beaded bracelets. Francine Lefrak hosted the launch event at the Ana Tzarev Gallery along with Somers Farkas, Donna Karan, Patricia Duff and others. 2008 Africa Prize laure- ate spoke to the assembly about the women of Rwanda. Falchuk told the princess about the Hadassah Medical Center's outreach in Africa. Rwandan general physician Charles Muhizi, M.D., was trained by Hadassah as an oph- thalmologist. His Butare Eye Clinic, equipped through the generosity of Hadassah Luxembourg, is the only such facility for hundreds of miles around. — T' Oh, t•xt,1 nac ,s :n3.12 ty band ter , 31:.:Klat on 5h; •t Lone , bails :0 , :v.1 a Thi• an.Que cl , st,rlit ■ ye , ,Oph.StWateJ ies,gns e! .r,rntale •.arl 4u3 , ∎ ty , rsr+. Mghly ,,, ki■ y.-1,!ai lock Lewng a,nled at tne diSZernalg lifter :1S tJ P.XtuCe T., %val., tne I Ws! striqzh Eden lace Ct,tOrne-r :sx,Irl9 tar S.Xnethuig rely br•zral & \ r"nr Merchancise 30% off 6901 Orchard Lake Road • West Bloomfield (located on the Boardwalk) 248-626-7776 • 10 am - 5 pm December 10 • 2009 33