Roundup
Boycott Ahmadinejad At U.N.
NEW YORK (JTA) -- A major Jewish
umbrella organization has called on mem-
ber states of the United Nations to walk
out on a speech by Iran's president.
Anticipating that
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
again will seek to
address the General
Assembly this year, lead-
ers of the Conference
of Presidents of Major
American Jewish
Mahmoud
Organizations issued a
Ahmadinejad
statement asking del-
egates to leave should
Ahmadinejad be allowed to speak before
the international body.
The 65th session of the U.N. General
Assembly in New York starts Sept. 14.
Obama On Mosque
NEW YORK (JTA) -- The developer of
a proposed mosque near Ground Zero
in Lower Manhattan said it would con-
sider building elsewhere a day before
President Obama defended its right to
build there.
New York Gov. David
Paterson last week raised
the idea of building the
mosque on a different
site, possibly offer-
ing state-owned land.
Paterson does not oppose
the current location.
President
"We are open to a
Obama
conversation to find
out more on what the
governor has in mind," the developer of
the mosque, Park 51, said in a Twitter post
Aug. 12, the New York Daily News reported.
Mosque developer Sharif El-Gamal, the
CEO of Soho Properties, has said the group
is interested in hearing from Paterson.
Obama said on Aug. 13 during a White
House dinner in honor of Ramadan, "As
a citizen, and as president, I believe that
Muslims have the same right to practice
their religion as anyone else in this coun-
try. That includes the right to build a place
of worship and a community center on
private property in lower Manhattan, in
accordance with local laws and ordinanc-
es. This is America, and our commitment
to religious freedom must be unshakable."
Obama added on Aug. 14 that he "will
not comment on the wisdom of making a
decision to put a mosque there."
Park 51, which will include a mosque as
well as a 13-story Muslim cultural center,
will be located at 45-47 Park Place, two
blocks from Ground Zero. Jewish groups
have come down on both sides of the
debate over whether the site is appropriate
in the wake of the 9-11 attacks.
Israel Rejects Preconditions
JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Israel said it will
reject any preconditions set forth by the
Quartet of Middle East peace negotiators
on resuming direct talks between Israel
and the Palestinians.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
was among a forum of seven senior
Cabinet officials who made the decision
Sunday evening. The Quartet consists
of the United States, the United Nations,
the European Union and Russia. Israel's
10-month West Bank settlement freeze is
set to expire Sept. 26.
U.S. sources said Sunday that the
Quartet would call for the establishment
of a Palestinian state, based on the 1967
borders, within a year or two. The United
States, as an intermediary for months
of "proximity talks" between Israel and
the Palestinian Authority, has tried to
convince the Palestinians to enter face-to-
face talks.
A senior Israeli government source said
Sunday that "the Quartet announcement
could serve as camouflage for Palestinian
preconditions, and that is unacceptable."
Several reports said Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas would announce the
start of direct peace talks in only "a mat-
ter of days." A senior official in the Obama
administration told Haaretz that a num-
ber of minor details still need to be clari-
fied with Abbas and Netanyahu that will
open the way for direct talks.
El Al, JetBlue Deal
NEW YORK (JTA) -- El Al and JetBlue will
now offer connecting options for custom-
ers traveling between the United States
and Israel.
The deal, which was announced Aug.
12 after four months of negotiations,
means that beginning in October pas-
sengers can buy a single ticket for con-
necting service between Ben-Gurion
Airport and 61 JetBlue flight destinations
in North America from New York's JFK
International Airport, the Jerusalem Post
reported.
JetBlue CEO David Barger and other
executives were in Israel this week to ink
the deal.
"The agreement allows us to reach plac-
es that we haven't been able to get to in
the past and offers simpler and more-fre-
quent connections through JFK Airport,"
El AL CEO Eliezer Shkedy said. "The fact
that we are the fifth airline to sign such an
agreement with JetBlue, after companies
such as Lufthansa and American Airlines,
shows that we are on the same level as the
industry leaders."
Barger and Shkedy said the agreement
would enable the airlines to offer com-
petitive prices.
Accused Serial Killer To Be
Extradited To Michigan
ATLANTA (JTA) -- The Arab-Israeli
suspect in a series of killings and
attacks in three states waived objec-
tions to his extradition to Michigan.
Elias Abuelazam, 33, a Christian Arab
from Ramle, on Aug. 13 in an Atlanta
court did not contest his extradition
to the state where most of his attacks
allegedly took place.
Abuelazam will be extradited within
the next two weeks. He is expected to
face an attempted murder charge in one
of the attacks.
Following a trial in Michigan, Virginia
will likely request his extradition. One of
the attacks also took place in Ohio.
Abuelazam reportedly was living
legally in the United States on a green
card obtained when he married a U.S.
citizen, from whom he is now divorced.
He was last in Israel six months ago,
when he reportedly was involved in a
Mental Health Needs Studied
NEW YORK (JTA) -- The mental health
needs of the haredi Orthodox and Chasidic
communities are not being sufficiently
addressed, according to a new Yeshiva
University study.
The study said that service gaps are par-
ticularly pronounced in those communities.
Eliezer Schnall, a YU psychology profes-
sor who led the research team, presented
his findings Aug. 13 in San Diego, Calif.,
at the annual convention of the American
Psychological Association.
Researchers asked approximately 250
Orthodox mental health professionals to
assess the state of services offered to the
Orthodox community today compared to
25 years ago. The 100 respondents per-
ceived little if any improvement, particu-
larly among the Chasidim.
Schnall called the results a "wake-up
call" and said there is still a stigma in the
Orthodox community attached to mental
illness that prevents people from seeking
help. An additional factor impeding good
mental health services is their cost, he said.
The study showed that the most com-
mon problem for which Orthodox Jews
seek mental health services is marital dif-
ficulties. More services for children and
teenagers are needed, and there is a lack of
services for substance abuse problems, the
report found.
Most respondents said few of their
patients were referred by their rabbis.
Researchers said this indicates the need to
train Orthodox rabbis to recognize mental
illness and understand that proper treat-
ment can help.
brawl in Ramle. He
reportedly does not
have a police record in
Israel.
Abuelazam, who
lived in the United
States for several years
as a child, was arrest-
Elias
ed Aug. 11 in Atlanta
Abuelazam
after boarding a flight
to his native Israel.
Nearly all of the attacks, which
include at least a dozen non-fatal stab-
bings and five deaths, involved dark-
skinned victims. Most were African
American; at least one was Latin
American.
The crimes have not been linked by
forensic evidence or DNA testing, but
the unprovoked attacks all have simi-
larities.
The attacker approached his victims
from behind or asked them for help to
get close. ❑
Israel Buys U.S. Jets
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel's defense min-
ister has approved a $2.75 billion deal to
purchase the world's most advanced war-
plane from the United States.
Ehud Barak approved "in principle" the
purchase of 20 U.S.-built F-35 warplanes,
reportedly capable of evading radar. The
fighters will be delivered between 2015
and 2017, Reuters reported.
A final approval by Israel's Cabinet is
expected at the end of September.
Eight international partners that helped
develop the plane already have signed
purchase agreements. The countries are
Canada, Turkey, Britain, Italy, Norway,
Denmark, Australia and the Netherlands.
Israel's purchase would mark the first
foreign military sale of the new military
jet.
The deal between Israel and the
United States has been in the works since
September 2008, when the Pentagon
approved the sale of 25 fighter jets with an
option for 50 more.
Israel had been concerned initially that
it would not be permitted access to some
technologies on the aircraft.
Extend Refugee Benefits
WASHINGTON (JTA) -- The Hebrew
Immigrant Aid Society urged Congress
not to cut off funding for Supplemental
Security Income, which helps elderly and
disabled refugees and other immigrants
pay for food and shelter.
SSI funding will run out Sept. 30. BIAS
urged Congress to extend funding because
many refugees who are Jewish and from
Roundup on page 10
8 August 19 • 2010