Roundup
UNIVERSITY LIGGETT SCHOOL
The Liggett Lecture Series
Roundup from page 6
in conjunction with The Jewish Forum
and the Jewish Community Center
presents
Theologian Dr. Jon D. Levenson
of the Harvard Divinity School in a talk titled
"Abraham Our Father:
What Does He Father?"
7:30 p.m.
Sunday, April 10
Jewish Community Center
6600 W. Maple Road, West Bloomfield
Free
Dr. Levenson is the Albert A. List
Professor of Jewish Studies at the
Harvard Divinity School. His work concentrates
on the interpretation of the Hebrew Bible. His
books include "Resurrection: The Power of God
for Christians and Jews" and "Resurrection and the
Restoration of Israel: The Ultimate Victory of the
God of Life" which won the
2006 National Jewish Book Award.
The Liggett Lecture Series presents
experts who explore ideas in education and culture.
For information call 313-884-4444
or 248-354-6415, ext. 2
THE
EWISH
CRL1M
8 March 31 . 2011
Israel May Reopen
Case Against Reporter
Jerusalem/JTA — Israel may seek
charges against the journalist who
allegedly accepted classified docu-
ments from a soldier.
Uri Blau, an investigative reporter
for Haaretz, allegedly accepted more
than 1,500 classified military docu-
ments from Anat Kamm, who is await-
ing sentencing after accepting a plea
deal.
Blau was abroad when the Kamm
case broke last year, and returned only
after brokering a deal through lawyers
that would give him immunity from
prosecution as long as he handed over
classified documents in his possession.
The Justice Ministry is now consid-
ering charging Blau for holding unau-
thorized information.
Synagogue Apologizes
For Murder Footage
New York/JTA — A New York syna-
gogue apologized to its members for
screening a video about the murders
of five members of the Fogel family in
the West Bank settlement of Itamar.
The video shown March 19 at the
the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale prior
to the Purim Megillah reading includ-
ed photos of the crime scene, includ-
ing the body of the Fogel's 3-year-old
son, from the Sabbath eve attack on
March 11.
The New York Jewish Week reported
that in an e-mail to its membership,
Rabbi Avi Weiss, Rabba Sarah Hurwitz
and Associate Rabbi Steven Exler
wrote, "We deeply regret the terrible
mistake we made in the video which
we showed."
They explained that they had down-
loaded the wrong video presentation,
and then made a second mistake by
not halting the screening, the newspa-
per wrote.
"We recognize the real and profound
trauma and hurt this has caused chil-
dren and adults in our bayit (home),
and we take personal responsibility:'
the letter said.
The spiritual leaders and the con-
gregation's social worker made them-
selves available to discuss the footage
with members and their children.
Hitler's Den Pool Hall
Raises Objections
Bombay/JTA — The owner of the
Hitler's Den pool hall in central India
is refusing to change the name, despite
objections from the Israeli Embassy
and a Jewish group.
"There is no way we will change the
name," owner Baljeet Ghosal told the
Times of India. "We have been operat-
ing under this name since 2006 and
now opened another one in Laxmi
Nagar under the same banner. It is our
identity."
Ghosal told the newspaper that
he had sought a "different-sounding
name He also told the newspaper
that people in Nagpur are not aware of
Hitler's atrocities against the Jews.
Author's First Novel
Wins Rohr Prize
New York/JTA — Austin Ratner was
awarded the 2011 Sami Rohr Prize for
Jewish Literature for
his debut novel.
Ratner will receive
the Jewish Book
Council's first prize
award of $100,000
for The Jump Artist.
The book is based
on the true story of
Austin Ratner Phillipe Halsman,
a man who Adolf
Hitler knew by name, who Sigmund
Freud wrote about in 1930, and who
put Marilyn Monroe on the cover of
Life magazine.
Joseph Skibell, author of A Curable
Romantic, is the runner-up and recipi-
ent of the $25,000 Sami Rohr Prize for
Jewish Literature Choice Award.
Other finalists were Allison Amend,
author of Stations West, Nadia Kalman,
for The Cosmopolitans, and Julie
Orringer for The Invisible Bridge."
Greece OKs Compensation
For Jewish Cemetery
Athens/JTA — The Greek government
will compensate the Salonika Jewish
community for the destruction of its
cemetery during the Nazi occupation.
New income tax legislation included
the more than $14 million for the com-
munity payable in five- and 10-year
government bonds with interest.
The 500-year-old cemetery was one
of the oldest and largest in Europe,
with more than 300,000 graves. The
earliest grave was dated 1493, one year
after the Jewish expulsion from Spain.
On Dec. 6, 1942, the cemetery was
destroyed by the Greek puppet gov-
ernment with connivance of the Nazi
occupiers. Three months later, the
transport of Salonika Jews to the Nazi
death camps started.
After the war, the cemetery was
expropriated by the Greek government
in favor of the Aristotelian University
and its campus.