world Chavez's Hatred Of Jews And Israel Ben Cohen JNS.org V enezuelan President Hugo Chavez died March 5 following a two-year fight with cancer. In his 14 years in power, there is scarcely a fellow dictator he didn't befriend — among them anti-Semites like Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. With allies like these, it should come as no surprise that Chavez became an arch-foe of the State of Israel. In attacking Israel, though, Chavez marked Venezuelan Jews out as a fifth column. Before he came to power in Ethiopian Israeli Named Miss Israel Ynet News Yityish (Titi) Aynaw, 21, of Netanya, was crowned Miss Israel 2013 on Feb. 27. She is the first Ethiopian-born woman to win the beauty pageant. She will represent Israel in the Miss World pageant to be held Sept. 20 in Indonesia. In response to a question by one of the contest's judges, the new beauty queen said: "It's important to have a first [beauty] queen from the Ethiopian community. Israel has many ethnic groups and many colors, and it's impor- tant to show it to the world." Yityish, which means "a look to the future" in Amharic, a Semitic language spoken in Ethiopia, served as an officer in the Israel Defense Forces and now runs a fashion store. She immigrated to Israel at age 12. "My aliyah was pretty tough," she said. "A new language, a modern society. 1999, there were 30,000 Jewish target, in the form of the rival presi- Jews in Venezuela. Now, there are fewer dential candidate to than 9,000. Chavez, the youthful Having experienced vir- and energetic Henrique tually no anti-Semitism in Capriles. While Capriles their history, the Chavez is a practicing Catholic, his mother's family, the years ushered in a set of new and frightening expe- Radonskis, arrived in riences for Venezuela's Venezuela after surviv- Jews, from cartoons in the ing the Holocaust in Poland. Other members press that could have been lifted from the notori- of the family perished in ous Nazi newspaper, Der the Nazi concentration Hugo Cha vez Sturmer, to the vandalism camps. of the main synagogue in There are few reasons Caracas in 2009. to believe that antagonism toward Jews In 2012, Israel was temporarily dis- will disappear in Venezuela post-Chavez. placed by the emergence of a domestic Nicolas Maduro is an orthodox Chavista who, as foreign minister, has enthusias- tically pushed for even closer relations with Israel's enemies. Maduro's main rival, the National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello, is viewed as less ideologically motivated — yet he, too, is unlikely to mend fences with Israel and the U.S. Sammy Eppel, director of the Human Rights Commission of B'nai B'rith Venezuela, said, "Chavez will probably be remembered as the one who made Venezuelan Jews feel that for the first time they were not welcome in their own country, a chilling reminder of past tragedies?' For the Venezuelan people, facing eco- nomic chaos and political meltdown, the tragedy continues. ❑ — Yityish Aynaw I'm lucky to have had a friend, Noa, who befriended me from the start and helped me out. I didn't study in an ulpan. I was thrown into the deep water and learned the best that way?' Asked during the competition which historical character had influenced her the most, she mentioned Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. "He fought for justice and equality, and that's one of the reasons I'm here — to show that there are also good things in my community, which are not presented in the media," she said. 4 9 • WHERE PROFESSIONAL SERVICE MAKES THE D ERENCE ea,teft 64.44 248.855.87 I as featured on HGTV Leading the industry with over 20 years experience in the Metro Detroit Area. Now also organizing the Metro Denver Area with our 2nd location Custom Closets, West, Inc. Call today for your free in-home consultation 40 March 14 • 2013 820 Jewish Law Students Association (JSLA) treasurer Geoff Brockman, Professor Alan Gershel, Judge Paul Borman, JSLA President Lauren Rennert, attorney Robyn Lederman, Cooley Associate Dean John Nussbaumer, JSLA vice president Ben Lesnick Cooley Interfaith Dinner Features Panel Discussion Students, faculty and legal profession- als from the Metro Detroit area recently attended the Third-Annual Interfaith Dinner co-sponsored by the Cooley Muslim Legal Society (CMLS), the Christian Legal Society (CLS) and the Jewish Law Students Association (JLSA). The dinner was held at the Auburn Hills Thomas M. Cooley campus on Feb. 12 and featured a panel discussion headlining the following speakers: Judge Paul D. Borman, (U.S. District Court), Mary Ellen Brennan (Oakland County Circuit Court) and Charlene Elder (Wayne County Circuit Court), and attorneys Tim Attalla (Miller Canfield), Robyn Lederman (Brooks Kushman) and John Sier (Kitch, Drutchas, Wagner, Valitutti and Sherbrook). Presidents of the respective organiza- tions — Amy Bhuiyan (CMLS), Brittney Boston-Jones (CLS) and Lauren Rennert (JLSA) — co-hosted and moderated the event. Cooley Associate Dean John Nussbaumer gave opening remarks describing the evolution and profession- alism the religious organizations con- tribute to the Auburn Hills campus. The highlight of the event was the panel discussion, which spotlighted the judges' and attorneys' relevant viewpoints on how their faith affects both their per- sonal and professional lives. Clinical Trial For Type 2 Diabetes Researchers at Beaumont Health System are seeking volunteers who have Type 2 diabetes and are currently taking the drug metformin. The research study will evaluate the effectiveness of an investigational medication, dulaglutide. The research will be conducted at the Beaumont Health Center, 4949 Coolidge. Royal Oak. For information, contact Beaumont's Research Institute, (248) 655-5865. ❑