Worlo

it' s

ROUNDUP

Anti-Semitism
Envoy Squabble

Washington/JTA

while they last

* stunning accessories
unique & unusual gifts always 30% off most mfrs
6644 orchard lake road • west bloomfield • 248.855.1600
just south of maple
mon tue wed fri sat 10-6 thur 10-9 sun 12-5

1562510

1p tiszpr

p?,
•cc maccabi

— The U.S. State
Department
expressed its "com-
plete support" for its
anti-Semitism envoy
Hannah
and encouraged
Rosenthal
"broad dialogue"
toward Israeli-
Palestinian peace.
A statement
Monday from the
State Department
said it would not add
comment to a con-
troversy that erupted
Michael Oren
in the last weeks
of December when
Hannah Rosenthal
criticized Michael Oren, the Israeli
ambassador, for snubbing the dovish
lobbying group J Street.
However, the statement went on,
"Special Envoy Rosenthal has the
complete support of the department.
As a matter of longstanding policy the

jcc maccabi*

etELS®

2010 JCC Maccabi Games & ArtsFest
Information Meeting
For Parents, Athletes and Artists

Sunday, January 17, 2010 - 4 p.m.

Sharon's Coma

ewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit • D. Dan & Betty Kahn Building
ifgene & Marcia Applebaum Jewish Community Campus • 6600 W. Maple Rd, West Bloomfield

Jerusalem/JTA — Ariel Sharon's family
and friends marked the fourth anni-
versary of the former prime minister's
massive stroke.
Sharon, now 81,
has never regained
consciousness from
the Jan. 4, 2006, stroke.
He remains in a coma,
though he is breathing
on his own. He lives in
a long-term care facil-
ity in Ra'anana. Family
Ariel Sharon
and friends visit fre-
quently, according to
reports.
Medical experts say it is unlikely
that Sharon will come out of the coma.

Meet the coaches, receive tryout/audition schedule
and hear other important information

JCC Maccabi Games host communities:

Denver, CO — August 1-6
Richmond, VAN August 1-6
Baltimore, MD — August 8-13

JCC Maccabi ArtsFest host community.

San Rafael, CAN August 8-13

For more information please contact Karen Gordon at 248.432.5482 or
kgordon©jccdet.org . Up-to-date schedules can be found at www.maccabidetroit.org

6._
THE CENTER

20

January 7 2010

United States has supported a peaceful
solution of the Israeli-Palestinian con-
flict. To that end the U.S. government
encourages broad dialogue among
responsible partners for peace."
The controversy started last month
when Oren told a group of synagogue
leaders that J Street was "fooling
around with the lives of 7 million
people."
Other dovish groups and then
Rosenthal criticized Oren. In an
interview with the Israeli newspaper
Ha'aretz, Rosenthal described his com-
ments as "most unfortunate."
Some Jewish groups then slammed
Rosenthal for criticizing an Israeli
ambassador — and doing so on a
topic that they considered to be unre-
lated to her portfolio.
And Jeffrey Feltman, the assistant
secretary of state who runs Middle
East policy, issued a statement defend-
ing Oren's overall performance.
In an interview last week with JTA,
Rosenthal, who had served on J Street's
advisory panel before her appoint-
ment, refused to retract her criticism
of Oren and said she had done nothing
wrong.
Separately, Rosenthal's predecessor,
Gregg Rickman, has slammed her for
her remarks about Oren.
"Ms. Rosenthal's criticisms of
Ambassador Oren strike a chord par-
ticularly because this is not her policy
portfolio to advocate," said Rickman,
who served in the Bush administra-
tion, in an opinion piece on The Cutting
Edge News Web site.
"She is supposed to fight anti-
Semitism, not defend J-Street, an orga-
nization on whose Advisory Board she
formally sat before her appointment to
the State Department."

,

1582570