world

n Review

NOVE
he National M
American Jewish History
opens in Philadelphia with
a gala headlined by Barbra
Streisand, comedian Jer
Seinfeld and entertainer
Bette Midler.

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4 0'

1

CP

ASEPTEMB
Despite offer
of increas
U.S. milita
equipment
Israeli Pri
Ministe
Benjamin
Netanyahu
decides against
extending
the 10-month
West Bank
settlemen
freeze.

OCTOBER
For the first tim
in history, the
U.S. Supreme
ourt convene
with three Jewish
*u t ces.

JANUARY
stronaut Mark Kelly, the husband of
.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, holds his
critic ily ounded wife's hand at the
University Medical
Center in Tucson the
day after she was
hot in a shopping
mall in that Arizona
city, Jan.
011.

-two people are killed and
12,000 acres are destroyed by
massive forest fire in northern
Israel that prompts firefightin
assistance from countries around
the region.

- 10

JANUARY
Jews worldwide mourn the
passing of Debbie Friedman, a
popular singer and songwriter
who is widely credited with
reinvigorating synagogue
music.

a

JTA Staff

New York

T

he following is a review of the
news highlights of the Jewish year
5771.

September 2010

Despite offers of increased U.S. mili-
tary equipment, Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu decides against
extending the 10-month West Bank settle-
ment freeze.

October

President Obama's top two Jewish aides —
Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and senior
adviser David Axelrod, both with offices
within shouting distance of the Oval Office
— announce that they will be leaving the
administration.
For the first time in history, the U.S.
Supreme Court convened with three
Jewish justices.
A Knesset proposal to require loyalty
oaths of non-Jews wishing to become
Israeli citizens wins the endorsement of
Israel's Cabinet and prompts protests in
Tel Aviv. The proposal is later amended to
include Jews as well.
The Anti-Defamation League lists a

Jewish group, Jewish Voices for Peace, on
its list of top 10 anti-Israel organizations
in America.
A month after the collapse of renewed
peace talks with Israel, Palestinian
Authority officials begin talking publicly
about declaring statehood unilaterally.
Packages containing explosive devices
are mailed from Yemen to Jewish institu-
tions in the Chicago area but are inter-
cepted before they reach their intended
targets.

from Ethiopia to immigrate.
WikiLeaks' release of thousands of clas-
sified U.S. documents shows Arab leaders
expressing grave concern about Iran's
nuclear intentions and urging the United
States to curb Iran's nuclear program.
The National Museum of American
Jewish History opens in Philadelphia with
a gala headlined by Vice President Joe
Biden, comedian Jerry Seinfeld and enter-
tainer Bette Midler.

November

Forty-two people are killed and 12,000
acres are destroyed by a massive forest fire
in northern Israel that prompts firefight-
ing assistance from countries around the
region.
In a speech to an Arab-American group
in Michigan, former White House journal-
ist Helen Thomas says that Congress, the
White House, Hollywood and Wall Street
are "owned by the Zionists." The remark
prompts the Society of Professional
Journalists later to drop her name from an
annual lifetime achievement award.
Newly released Nixon-era tapes include
recordings of Henry Kissinger saying the
theoretical gassing of Soviet Jews wouldn't
be an American concern.
A Seattle group pays for ads to run on
buses in the city that accuse Israel of war

In the Republican Party's near sweep
of the 2010 midterm elections, six
Jewish members of the U.S. House of
Representatives lose their seats.
The U.S. Attorney's Office and the
Claims Conference disclose that they
have discovered thousands of fraudulent
claims, including ones filed by Claims
Conference employees; 17 people are
arrested. By mid-2011, more than $50 mil-
lion in fraudulent claims had been found.
A review panel established by Israel's
Chief Rabbinate threatens to invalidate
thousands of conversions performed
under the auspices of the Israel Defense
Forces. The Knesset moves to safeguard
the IDF conversions.
Israel allows another 8,000 Falash Mura

December

crimes. The ads are pulled before they ever
run, prompting a lawsuit.
Former Israeli President Moshe Katsav
is convicted of rape.

January 2011

Jews worldwide mourn the passing of
Debbie Friedman, a popular singer and
songwriter who is widely credited with
reinvigorating synagogue music and
best known for her composition "Mi
Shebeirach," a prayer for healing that is
sung in many North American congrega-
tions.
U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.),
the first Jewish woman elected to state-
wide office in Arizona, is shot in the head
during a public campaign appearance in
Tucson, triggering a national outpouring
of sympathy and prayer. First respond-
ers later credit the emergency bandage
colloquially known as "the Israeli ban-
dage" with saving lives in the aftermath
of the shooting that left six dead and 13
wounded.
Newly leaked maps detailing Palestinian
and Israeli negotiations over the West
Bank in 2008 show how close the two
sides were on some issues — and how far
apart they were on others. With Lebanon
in turmoil and a Hezbollah-backed prime
minister poised to take power in Beirut,

Year In Review on page 76

September 22 2011

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