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> In Rio de Janeiro, a diverse crowd of
800 Jews, homosexuals, Afro-Brazilians,
Gypsies, students, human rights activ-
ists and members of several other
groups protest Iranian President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to
Brazil.

DECEMBER

> The European Union officially calls
for a divided Jerusalem, which would
serve as the capitals of both a Jewish
state and a Palestinian state. The Israeli
Foreign Ministry condemns the EU's
move and calls for more pressure on the
Palestinians to resume talks.

> Cuban authorities arrest Alan Gross,
a contractor who works with Cuban
Jewry and was in the country to visit
Jewish non-profit organizations, and
accuse him of being a spy. American
officials insist that the charges against
Gross, who was in Cuba on U.S. busi-
ness, are false. In July, U.S. Secretary of
State Hillary Rodham Clinton would
urge the Jewish community to work for
his release.

> President Obama accepts the Nobel
Peace Prize and scientist Ada Yonath
receives the chemistry prize, becoming
the first Israeli female Nobel laureate.

> Yuri Foreman, a rabbinical student,
becomes the first Orthodox Jewish
boxer in more than 50 years to win a
world championship when he deci-
sions Daniel Santos for the World
Boxing Association super-welterweight
crown. In June, Foreman, a Belarus
native living in Brooklyn, N.Y., via
Israel, would lose in his first title
defense and for the first time as a pro
when he is stopped in the ninth round
by four-time champion Miguel Cotto
before a crowd of more than 20,000 at
Yankee Stadium in New York.

JANUARY

> Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu announces the construction
of a border fence with Egypt to help
prevent illegal immigration, saying that
illegal immigration is a huge threat to
Israel's economic and social livelihood.

> President Obama delivers his first State
of the Union address. Many Jewish
groups are upset over his lack of specif-
ics on health care and the threat of Iran.

> After a devastating earthquake in Haiti,
Jewish nonprofits mobilize to provide
aid. Israeli volunteers, officials, nongov-
ernment organizations and industries
maintain a long-term presence in
Haiti to help with rebuilding and relief
efforts.

> Uganda proposes legislation outlaw-
ing homosexuality, prompting the
American Jewish World Service to
mobilize against the bill.

FEBUARY

In a speech at the University of
California, Irvine, Israel's ambassador
to the United States, Michael Oren, is
interrupted continually by protesters
and ultimately forced to prematurely
conclude his remarks. The school even-
tually recommends a one-year suspen-
sion for its Muslim Student Association,
which is named as the group behind the
heckling. In between, at a three-hour
meeting in March of the University
of California Board of Regents, hun-
dreds show up to decry the recent
spate of racist, homophobic and anti-
Semitic violence plaguing University of
California campuses, from Davis to San
Diego; UC President Mark Yudof calls
the unrest "the worst incidents of rac-
ism and intolerance I've witnessed in
20 years."

> Due to Israel's stringent standards for
competing, Israel sends just three of its
athletes to the Olympic Winter Games
— its smallest delegation in 12 years.
At the Vancouver Games, a U.S. Jewish
ice dancer, Charlie White from Detroit,
teams with Meryl Davis to win a silver
medal.

> The assassination of a llamas operative
at a Dubai hotel by agents thought to
be from Israel and bearing forged pass-
ports from European Union countries
and others friendly with Israel prompts
outrage among many of Israel's friends
and results in the expulsion of Israeli
diplomatic personnel from a variety of
countries.

MARCH

Israel's half-century jinx at the Oscars
continues when Ajami, a gritty film
about Jewish-Arab tensions in the
mixed quarter of Jaffa, loses out for best
foreign language film. Three Jewish-
themed films vying for the best picture
nod — Inglourious Basterds, A Serious
Man and An Education — also are
passed over. Christoph Waltz takes the
Oscar for best supporting actor for his
portrayal of Hans Landa, aka "The Jew
Hunter:' in Inglourious Basterds.

On the day of U.S. Vice President Joe
Biden's arrival in Israel for talks, Israel
announces plans for 1,600 new housing
units in eastern Jerusalem. Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the
announcement takes him by surprise as
well and he offers an apology — which
Biden accepts, but other U.S. officials
continue to press the issue.

With tensions still high over the
Jerusalem building flap, AIPAC speakers
at the organization's annual policy con-
ference call on the Obama administra-
tion to keep disagreements with Israel

behind closed doors — an approach
rejected in an otherwise friendly
speech by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary
Rodham Clinton.

> President Obama's massive overhaul of
the U.S. health care system draws praise
from most Jewish groups.

APRIL

> A plane crash in Russia kills Polish
President Lech Kaczynski and 96 other
members of the Polish elite. Amid
weeks of condolences and reflections
sent by heads of state, including Israeli
President Shimon Peres, many reflect
on Kaczynski's positive impact on
Polish-Jewish relations.

> Olympic swimmer Jason Lezak and
wrestler Bill Goldberg are among seven
prominent Jewish sports figures induct-
ed into the National Jewish Sports Hall
of Fame.

> The volcanic ash cloud over Iceland
affects 6.8 million airline passengers,
including 48,000 people stranded trav-
eling between Europe and Israel. British
Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks found him-
self stuck in New York.

MAY

> Israeli author Amos Oz is the first recip-
ient of a new literary prize awarded
at the 2010 International Book Fair in
Turin.

> President Obama announces the nomi-
nation of solicitor general Elena Kagan
to fill a vacant seat on the U.S. Supreme
Court. Her confirmation by the U.S.
Senate in August marks the first time
that three women, as well as three
Jewish members, serve on the high
court at the same time.
YIR I World on page 56

September 2 • 2010

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