Front Lines

ROUNDUP

Roundup from page 11

Religious Display Ruling
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Some Jewish
groups have expressed disappointment
with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that calls
for a policy of accommodation toward reli-
gious displays on government-owned land.
In a 5-4 ruling on April 28, the high
court determined in Salazar v. Buono that
displaying a Christian cross on government
property to honor the war dead is accept-
able, adding that the Constitution "does not
require the eradication of all religious sym-
bols in the public realm."
The case concerns an 8-foot-high Latin
cross that has been maintained in the
Mojave Desert in some form since 1934 to
honor World War I soldiers. The cross is on
public property, and Frank Buono, a regular
visitor to the Mojave National Preserve,
filed suit alleging a violation of the First
Amendment's Establishment Clause against
the creation of a national religion. Buono
sought the cross' removal.
A district court found that the petitioner
had standing to sue and granted Buono's
injunction.
While a government appeal was pending,
the Department of Defense Appropriations
Act was passed, which allowed the
Secretary of the Interior to transfer the land
and the cross to the Veterans of Foreign
Wars in exchange for an equal amount of
land that the VFW owns adjoining the pre-
serve. Buono filed suit again, alleging that
the land transfer violated the injunction he
had been granted.
The Supreme Court remanded the case to
the lower courts; Justice Anthony Kennedy
urged the courts to reconsider the case in
light of the land transfer.
The Anti-Defamation League, the Jewish
Council for Public Affairs, the American
Jewish Committee and the Union for
Reform Judaism joined other organizations
in filing an amicus brief to the high court,
urging the justices to find the display of the
cross unconstitutional.
"We are disappointed by the Court's
action, but this is not a case destined to
have much impact on religious freedom , ) '
ADL National Chair Robert Sugarman and
National Director Abraham Foxman said in
a statement.
"One troubling aspect of this decision is
that the plurality drew far-reaching theo-
logical conclusions when it determined
that the cross has some universal meaning
beyond Christianity:'

Google Buying Israeli Firm
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Google has acquired
its first Israeli company.
Google said last week it was buying the
privately backed start-up Labpixies, which
develops personalized Web site gadgets for
Google's personalized search page iGoogle

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May 20 .3 2010

and mobile devices.
The deal has been estimated at $25 mil-
lion. It was the first deal for Google in Israel
since launching a research and develop-
ment center there in 2005.
The Labpixies staff of 10 will be inte-
grated into the Google Israel office based in
Tel Aviv.
"Google believes in Israeli innovation
and creativity, and we'll continue to strive
for collaborations with local companies
and start-ups in the future," Google Israel
managing director Yossi Matias told the
Israeli business daily Globes.

Gatorade Goes Kosher
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Gatorade, the
popular sports drink company, received
kosher certification for two of its bever-
ages.
Gatorade Thirst Quencher and G2 are
now certified kosher by the Orthodox
Union. The beverages will go on sale
beginning this spring.
"We're proud to make these offerings
available to help meet the needs of ath-
letes who maintain kosher diets so they
can perform at their best:' said Andrea
Fairchild, vice president of brand market-
ing for Gatorade.

Israel Latin Trade Pact
RIO DE JANEIRO (JTA) — A pioneering
free-trade agreement between Israel and
a bloc of South American countries began
operating.
Israel is the first country outside South
America to sign such an agreement with
Mercosur, a regional bloc that includes
Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay
and produces more than $3 trillion in
combined GDP. With the agreement, which
came into effect on April 4, bilateral trade
is expected to increase threefold in the
next five years.
The final approval for the agreement
was announced by Brazilian President
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on March 15 dur-
ing his visit to Israel.
"We hope to advance economic and
business ties between Israel and Brazil as
trade has increased significantly between
our two countries in the past few years:'
Lula said in Jerusalem.
Brazil is Israel's largest trade partner
in Latin America. The new agreement
is expected to provide a special boost to
trade in agriculture, education, science,
medicine, and space.

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Anti Semitism Up
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Anti-Semitic inci-
dents around the world more than doubled
in 2009 over the previous year, posting their
worst year since monitoring began two
decades ago, according to a new survey.

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The total number of anti-Semitic inci-
dents was 1,129 in 2009, compared to 559
in 2008, according to a report released
Sunday by the Stephen Roth. Institute for
the Study of Contemporary Anti-Semitism
and Racism at Tel Aviv University.
The record number of incidents — cases
that show clear anti-Semitic content and
intention — included 566 incidents of van-
dalism of Jewish property, which constitut-
ed 49 percent of all incidents. Hundreds of
incidents against Jewish people and prop-
erty did not meet the criteria, according to
the institute. Incidents also go unreported.
In Europe, Britain and France led with
the number of incidents, according to the
report. There were 374 violent incidents
against Jews recorded in Britain in 2009,
compared to 112 in 2008, according to
the institute. France saw 195 attacks in
2009 compared to 50 the previous year.
Britain and France have the highest Jewish
populations in Europe as well as the largest
Muslim populations.
Only 78 incidents of anti-Semitic vio-
lence were recorded in 1989, the year that
the institute began recording such inci-
dents. In 2009, some 41 of the incidents
were armed assaults directed at Jews
because of their religion; 34 incidents were
arson, according to the report.
The report was compiled and released
in cooperation with the European Jewish
Congress.

Jerusalem Tops For Travel
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Jerusalem was
named one of the world's top 10 travel
destinations for culture and sightseeing.
The TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice
award for Jerusalem was the only city
in the Middle East and Africa to receive
the honor. TripAdvisor lists several sites
in Jerusalem as must-see for travelers,
including the Western Wall, Temple Mount,
Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial and City
of David.
About 317,000 visitors entered Israel in
April, a 26 percent increase over the same
month last year.
TripAdvisor features 30 million traveler
reviews and opinions on vacation destina-
tions around the world. It attracts 9 mil-
lion viewers per month.
Other destinations on the top 10 list
include London, New York City, Paris,
Rome and Washington, D.C. Also, Florence
and Venice, in Italy; Istanbul, Turkey; and
Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Israel Markets Gold Coin
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel issued its
first gold bullion coin to mark Jerusalem
Day.
The coin, nominally valued at 20 shek-
els, will be retailed at a price linked to the

price of gold on the day of sale.
On May 12, the day of issue and
the Hebrew calendar anniversary of
Jerusalem's reunification in 1967, the price
was listed at 6,393 shekels, or $1,702.
The coin is issued by the Bank of
Israel and marketed by the Israel Coins &
Medals Corp., a former government entity
that has been privatized.
Featuring the Lion of Judah on one side
and a bas relief of Jerusalem's Tower of
David on the other, the coin is the first in
a series called "Jerusalem of Gold:' accord-
ing to the ICMC Web site.
Bullion coins, made of a pure precious
metal, are marketed as an investment
in a number of countries. South Africa
famously markets the krugerrand and the
United States markets the American eagle,
among other coins.

Burger King Leaving Israel
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Burger King will
shut down its Israel stores this summer.
The 55 Burger King fast food restau-
rants will be renovated and reopened
as Israeli Burger Ranch restaurants, the
Israeli business daily Globes reported.
Orgad Holdings, the company that owns
franchise rights to Burger King in Israel
and the full owner of the Burger Ranch
chain, made the announcement last week.
Burger Ranch operates 52 outlets in Israel.
Burger King joins Starbucks, Wendy's and
Dunkin' Donuts as American franchises
that could not make it in the Israeli market.
Israelis appear to prefer an Israeli-style
burger to Burger King's American-style
Whopper, the company said in a statement.
Burger Ranch opened in Israel in the
1970s. McDonald's came to Israel in 1993.

Answering
Israel's Critics

The Charge
The Palestinian Boycott, Divestment
and Sanctions National Committee on
the West Bank said last week that Israel
practices an apartheid system against
its Arab citizens.

The Answer
The Arab citizens of Israel are pro-
tected from discrimination under the
law and have a democratic and inde-
pendent court system to apply to for
redress of grievances.

- Allan Gale

Jewish Community Relations Council

of Metropolitan Detroit

© Jewish Renaissance Media, May 20, 2010