I
Roundup
Roundup from page 10
Favor Contact With Arabs
JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Female Israeli Reform
rabbis issued a letter slamming some ele-
ments of a call earlier this week for Jewish
women to shun contact with Arab men.
"We, rabbis of the Israel Movement for
Progressive Judaism, oppose interfaith mar-
riages, but we consider professional and
social contacts between us and all of Israel's
citizens and residents to be positive —
regardless of race, religion or sex:' the new
letter, dated Dec. 29, read.
The letter is signed by the 40 female
Reform rabbis who are part of the rab-
binical council of the Israel Movement for
Progressive and Reform Judaism.
The letter came in response to a state-
ment distributed earlier this week by
Lehava, an organization dedicated to pre-
venting intermarriage between Jews and
Arabs, and signed by 27 Israeli rabbis' wives
that urged Jewish women not to date or
work with Arab men.
Several weeks ago, several dozen Israeli
municipal rabbis signed a letter calling on
Jews not to sell or rent properties to non-
Jews. That letter met with strong condemna-
tion, particularly from American rabbis.
Last week's Reform letter said, "Jews
who are confident in their Jewish identity
do not have to fear contact with people
from other nations."
It went on, "Dialogue and social contact
between Jews and non-Jews are the foun-
dations of a healthy society. The way to
strengthen the Jewish identity of our sons
and daughters is through education, not
incitement and fear."
The 50 male Reform rabbis who are
members of the council also support the
statement, Rabbi Gilad Kariv, executive
director of the movement, told JTA.
Auschwitz Thief Sentenced
(JTA) -- A Swedish neo-Nazi leader who
organized the theft of the Arbeit Macht
Frei sign from Auschwitz was sentenced to
nearly three years in prison.
A Polish court on Dec. 30 sentenced Anders
Hogstrom, who acted as a middleman
between a neo-Nazi buyer and five Polish
thieves, to 32 months in prison, according to
news reports. The sentence was part of a plea
bargain struck in late November. Hogstrom
faced up to 10 years in prison. He will serve
his sentence in a Swedish prison.
The iron sign, which measures 16 feet
across and means "Work makes you free,'
was stolen from the former Nazi concentra-
tion camp on Dec. 18, 2009, and recovered
elsewhere in the country 72 hours later. It
was found cut into three pieces.
Hogstrom, who was arrested in February
in Stockholm and extradited to Poland in
April, founded the National Socialist Front, a
Swedish neo-Nazi movement, in 1994.
Ambassador To Syria
(JTA) -- President Obama used a recess
appointment to name Robert Ford as the
new U.S. ambassador to Syria.
Ford will become the first U.S. ambas-
sador to Syria since 2005. The Bush admin-
istration recalled its ambassador from Syria
in February 2005 in the wake of the assas-
sination of former Lebanese Prime Minister
Rafik al-Harari; evidence pointed to Syrian
involvement in the murder.
In 2009, Obama announced that he would
place a new ambassador in Syria, and in
February he named Ford as his choice. Ford
formerly served as the deputy chief of mis-
sion at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, and as
ambassador to Algeria.
Obama made the recess appointment,
one of six announced on Dec. 29, in order
to bypass the need for Senate confirmation.
The nomination had been held up by oppo-
sition from Republican senators.
U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla.,
slammed Obama's decision to make the
recess appointment. Ros-Lehtinen is the
incoming chairman of the House Foreign
Affairs Committee.
"I am deeply disappointed that the
President decided to make such a major con-
cession to the Syrian regime. Using this con-
gressional recess to make an appointment
that has far-reaching policy implications
despite Congressional objections and con-
cerns is regrettable,' read a statement issued
by Ros-Lehtinen's office.
"Making underserved concessions to
Syria tells the regime in Damascus that it
can continue to pursue its dangerous agenda
and not face any consequences from the U.S.
That is the wrong message to be sending to a
regime which continues to harm and threat-
en U.S. interests and those of such critical
allies as Israel."
Roman Statue Uncovered
ASHKELON (JTA) -- A nearly 1,800-year-
old Roman statue of a woman was discov-
ered near Ashkelon after it was uncovered
by a severe storm.
The weekend storm caused a cliff near a
seaside archeological dig to crumble, expos-
ing the nearly 4-foot-high statue, as well as
the remains of a large building believed to
be part of a Roman bathhouse.
The statue, which is missing its head
and a hand, is thought to have stood inside
the bathhouse. The white marble statue is
wearing a toga and sandals, and may have
been imported from Italy or Greece, accord-
ing to the Israel Antiquities Authority.
Archeological sites all along the
Mediterranean coast were damaged by the
storm.
Answering
Israel's Critics
The Charge
Palestinian advocate Diana Buttu,
referring to the recent northern Israel
forest fire and to the Israeli military's
Cast Lead operation in Gaza in 2008 in
a recent op-ed, accused Israel of bru-
tally setting Gaza ablaze that December.
The Answer
Buttu ignores the thousands of Kassam
rockets fired by the Hamas terrorists in
recent years, and the fires they caused
in southern Israel.
— Allan Gale
Jewish Community Relations Council
of Metropolitan Detroit
© Jan. 6, 2011 Jewish Renaissance Media
Beat the Clock
ONE DAY ONLY...
SATURDAY, JAN 811-3.
1 4 AM - H AM 60% off
I I AM I PM SW/0 off
I PM - S PM 40% of
Turn your old GOLD into
CASH! We wily buy ALL
of your precious metals,
diamonds & watches.
Fall and winter merchandise
(At 14 Mile Rd. in the Broadway Plaza)'
• Previous purchases excludedSales Are Final • Sale an select merchandise only
12
January 6 2011