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tion that supports BDS, Seeger met recent-
ly with representatives from the Israeli
Committee Against House Demolitions,
which he supports financially with pro-
ceeds from his music. He told them, the
report claims, that he "misunderstood" the
Arava Institute's ties to the Jewish National
Fund, which he criticizes for taking
Palestinian lands for Jewish settlement.
"I appeared on that virtual rally because
for many years I've felt that people should
talk with people they disagree with. But
it ended up looking like I supported the
Jewish National Fund',' Seeger told the
representatives from the Israeli Committee
Against House Demolitions, they report.
"Now that I know more, I support the
BDS movement as much as I can',' Seeger
reportedly said.
Pink Floyd's Roger Waters
Joins Boycott Movement
(JTA) — Former Pink Floyd front man
Roger Waters has officially joined the the
campaign of Boycott, Divestment and
Sanctions against Israel and is urging fel-
low artists to do the same.
In a letter posted
on the website of the
Alternative information
Center, Waters said he
would continue to wage
a boycott campaign
against Israel until it
ends its occupation
of the West Bank and
Roger Waters
dismantles the security
fence, grants full equality to Arab citizens
of Israel and allows all Palestinian refu-
gees to return to their homes in Israel.
"Where governments refuse to act, peo-
ple must, with whatever peaceful means
are at their disposal," Waters, a co-founder
of the Pink Floyd rock band, wrote in
the letter dated Feb. 25. "For me it means
declaring my intention to stand in solidar-
ity, not only with the people of Palestine,
but also with the many thousands of
Israelis who disagree with their govern-
ment's racist and colonial policies, by
joining a campaign of Boycott, Divestment
and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel.
"My conviction is born in the idea that
all people deserve basic human rights. My
position is not anti-Semitic. This is not an
attack on the people of Israel. This is, how-
ever, a plea to my colleagues in the music
industry, and also to artists in other disci-
plines, to join this cultural boycott."
Waters last performed in Israel in 2006.
After visiting Jerusalem and Bethlehem
and viewing the security fence — on
which he spray-painted "we don't need
no thought control;' a lyric from the Pink
Floyd song "Another Brick in the Wall"
— he canceled his concert at a sports
6
March 10 - 2011
stadium in Tel Aviv and moved it to Neve
Shalom, a village in which Jews and Arabs
live together in a planned community.
Artists including Elvis Costello and the
Pixies have canceled concerts in Israel in
recent months, citing political reasons.
Israel Names New
Ambassador To U.N.
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Ron Prosor, Israel's
ambassador to Britain, has been appointed
as ambassador to the United Nations.
Prosor, a former
director of Israel's
Foreign Ministry, was
approved Sunday by
the Israeli Cabinet. He
has held diplomatic
positions in Bonn and
Washington.
Prosor succeeds
Ron Prosor
Gabriela Shalev, who left
the post more than six months ago. Meron
Reuben has been filling the slot since
August.
No replacement has been named for the
London envoy position.
U.S. Soldiers' Killer
Hates Jews And Israel
BERLIN (JTA) — The man who shot and
killed two U.S. servicemen at Frankfurt
Airport was possessed by hatred of Jews
and Israel, police say.
Arid Uka, 21, born in Albania, had
posted remarks on Facebook condemning
German Chancellor Angela Merkel as an
"infidel" for her support for Israel, accord-
ing to a Wall Street Journal report. He
wrote that "means we're on the side of the
Jews." He likened this to a "declaration of
war on Muslims."
Uka had openly expressed hate for Jews,
Shiite Muslims and "nonbelievers" on sev-
eral Internet forums.
Police said the gunman, who is in cus-
tody in Karlsruhe, had ties to well-known
Islamic extremists but probably acted
alone. He is facing charges of murder,
attempted murder and aggravated assault.
The murdered servicemen were part
of a British-based U.S. Air Force Security
Forces team on a military bus about to go
to the U.S. airbase at Ramstein, Germany.
Uka allegedly forced himself onto the
bus and fired his gun before fleeing. He
was caught by German police and an
American serviceman. Uka reportedly has
confessed to the crime.
Egypt's Revolution Will
Aid Israel, Obama Says
JERUSALEM (JTA ) — Israel ultimately
will benefit from the recent revolution in
Egypt, President Obama reportedly told
Democratic donors in Miami.
Australia's Eldest Jew
Turns 110 Years Old
SYDNEY, Australia (JTA) — Australia's
oldest Jew, Mary Rothstein of Melbourne,
turned 110.
Rothstein celebrated the historic mile-
stone Sunday surrounded by her daugh-
ter, two grandchildren, three of her six
great-grandchildren and other relatives
at her Melbourne Jewish nursing home.
She and her family escaped from the
pogroms in her native Russia to England
soon after Rothstein was born in 1901.
She lived in London for half her life,
working as a milliner and occasionally
making hats for the royal family.
Rothstein's daughter, Ruth Cavallaro,
visits her mother twice a day to give her
lunch and dinner.
"She's never eaten in an ordinary
restaurant, only a Jewish restaurant:'
"All the forces that we see building in
Egypt are the forces that should be natu-
rally aligned with us, should be aligned
with Israel;' Obama told 80 supporters at a
fundraising dinner March 4 at the home of
real estate magnate Michael Adler, the New
York Times reported.
Obama said he was repeating the mes-
sage that he had delivered to Jewish lead-
ers with whom he met three days earlier at
the White House.
"I told them we have to be sober, we
can't be naive about the changes that are
taking place in the Middle East',' the U.S.
leader said, according to the Times. "Our
commitment to Israel's security is invio-
lable, is sacrosanct. But we should not be
afraid of what is happening in the region.
"It's a dangerous time, but it's also a
huge opportunity for us',' Obama report-
edly said of "the winds of freedom that are
blowing through countries that have not
felt those winds in decades."
Cavallaro said. "She's very, very kosher."
Rothstein used to walk to synagogue
every Saturday until she was moved
into an aged-care facility 17 years ago,
Cavallaro said.
As for her secret to long life, Rothstein's
daughter said, "The only thing I can hon-
estly say about her is she's never drunk,
never smoked and worked very hard."
Rothstein is not the oldest Jew in
the world, according to Robert Young,
a senior researcher at the U.S.-based
Gerontology Research Group, which
specializes in verifying centenarians and
super-centenarians.
"The oldest verified Jewish person is
currently Evelyn Kozak of New York City,
born Aug. 14, 1899:' he told JTA.
Kozak added that Rothstein "would
be in second place among those I know
about if her age could be verified." I I
Tunisian Jews Embrace Revolt;
Say They Don't Fear Islamism
BERLIN (JTA) — Jews in Tunisia are
embracing the recent revolution there
and do not fear a turn toward Islamism,
according to a German Jewish weekly.
Jewish leaders believe Tunisia's tourism
industry and the participation of women
in the recent uprising will help guarantee
that Islamists will not gain the upper hand
there, the Juedische Allgemeine reported.
Georges Tibi, director of the Jewish
community, noted that the legally sanc-
tioned Tunisian branch of the Muslim
Brotherhood in the wake of the uprising
renounced violence and insured it would
respect human rights and democracy.
Several people died in major confronta-
tions with police on Feb. 25. Interim Prime
Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi later
resigned.
Still, there have been reports of anti-
Semitic arson attacks in recent weeks.