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month by Israel and an independent
inquiry under way in the P.A.
The United States voted against the
resolution. Fifty countries were not pres-
ent for the vote.
The resolution calls for an investiga-
tion that is "independent, credible and in
conformity with international standards"
into charges raised in the U.N.'s Goldstone
report, which stated that Israel and the
Palestinians committed war crimes and
possible crimes against humanity during
last winter's Operation Cast Lead.
The resolution follows a similar resolu-
tion adopted last November, but sets no
deadline to complete the investigations.
Israel's ambassador to the United
Nations, Gabriela Shalev, addressed the
assembly before the vote.
"In the aftermath of Operation Cast
Lead, Israel is conducting and will con-
tinue to conduct, investigations that are
independent, credible and in conformity
with international standards;' she said.
"Such investigations are conducted by
us after any military operation as part of
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our law and practice. The investigations
after Operation Cast Lead are detailed
in the reports of the State of Israel that
were shared, and will continue to be
shared, with the United Nations."
Students Oppose Boycott
Irvine/JTA — Five Jewish student
groups at the University of California-
Irvine do not agree with a call to
boycott the university over campus
anti-Semitism.
In a Feb. 22 letter, the groups said,
"As students at UCI, we respectfully
disagree with the ZOA's position that
students should stop attending UCI
and that donors should stop support-
ing the many programs at the school."
"This is both counterproductive and
one of the worst ways to deal with the
Muslim Student Union (MSU) at UCI."
The groups — Anteaters for Israel,
Alpha Epsilon Pi, Chabad at UCI, Hillel
at UCI and Alpha Epsilon Phi — called
instead for "engaging in positive dia-
logue and peace-seeking efforts."
The Zionist Organization of America
last week in a statement accused the
university of enabling bigotry and
violating civil rights "by failing to con-
demn longstanding anti-Semitic and
Israel-bashing speech and conduct on
campus, and failing to enforce its own
policies against the perpetrators."
The group urged donors to stop sup-
porting Irvine, which has long been a
flashpoint in the campus pro-Israel wars,
and for students to stop enrolling there.
The ZMs call followed a speech at
the university by Israel's ambassador to
the United States, Michael Oren, which
was interrupted repeatedly by protest-
ers. Eleven students were arrested.
The student groups' letter also
applauded campus police for arresting
students who broke the law, and the
university administration for "swiftly
beginning the student conduct judicial
review process which can result in sus-
pension or expulsion."
Oren: Wall Compromise
Dallas/JTA — Israel's U.S. ambassador
said resolving the controversy over
prayer at the Western Wall will require
compromise on everyone's behalf."
Michael Oren, speaking on Feb. 21 at
the annual plenum
of the Jewish Council
for Public Affairs in
Dallas, responded
to a question about
Israel's police inves-
tigation into women
who wore prayer
Michael Oren
shawls openly and
((
read from the Torah at the Western Wall.
The controversy, which came to a head
in January when the leader of the group
Women of the Wall was questioned by
Jerusalem police, has galvanized liberal
Jewish groups in the United States.
"I will only assure you that I think there
are good solutions for the problems at the
Kotel," Oren said in response to a question
on the subject."They are at the top of my
agenda. And that at the end of the day, it will
require compromise on everyone's behalf:'
Rabbi Steven Wernick, the president of
the Conservative movement's congregation-
al arm, welcomed Oren's remarks, saying
"they show he understands that the status
quo isn't working and that some changes
and compromises need to be made."
Jewelers Arrested
New York/JTA — Two jewelers were arrest-
ed for staging the robbery of $4 million in
jewelry from their own store using thieves
dressed as Chasidim.
The two diamond wholesalers from the
New York Diamond District — Atul Shah,
48, and Mahaveer Kankariya, 43 — staged
the robbery on the afternoon of New Year's
Eve 2008. They were charged on Feb. 23
with grand larceny, insurance fraud and
falsifying business records, according to
reports.
The Chasidic-disguised thieves, who
wore false beards, black hats and black
coats, have not yet been apprehended.
The wholesalers told police that $4 mil-
lion in diamonds, emeralds, sapphires and
jewelry had been stolen and tried to claim
the sum from their insurer, Lloyd's of
London, according to the New York Daily
News. The men were $1 million in debt
and six months behind on their rent in the
days before the alleged heist, police said.
But police became suspicious because
the alleged robbery looked a lot like the
opening scene of the 2000 film Snatch,
directed by Guy Ritchie, in which Benicio
Del Toro and a gang of diamond thieves
pose as Chasids.
109 Birthday Candles
Sydney/JTA — Australia's oldest Jewish per-
son turned 109. Mary Rothstein was feted
at a party Sunday at a Jewish Care home
for the aged in Melbourne attended by her
daughter, Ruth Cavallaro, two grandchil-
dren and six great-grandchildren.
Rothstein was born in Russia on Feb. 27,
1901, moved to the United Kingdom when
she was 2 and immigrated to Australia in
1958."I can't understand why I've lived so
long:' Rothstein told the Australian Jewish
News. "It doesn't seem possible."
The world's oldest Jewish person, 112-
year-old Rosa Rein, died in Switzerland in
early February.