year in review continued from page 77 Israel's Cabinet grants initial passage to a controversial bill that would identify Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people, prompting con- cern at home and among some American Jews that it will prioritize Israel's Jewish character over its democracy. Acrimony over the bill sparks a coalition crisis that ends up dissolving the Knesset in early December and sending Israel to early elections scheduled for the fol- lowing March. Steven Pruzansky, a New Jersey Orthodox rabbi known for his incen- diary rhetoric, is broadly criticized for publishing a blog post saying that Arabs in Israel are an enemy that must be "vanquished:' The post, titled "Dealing with Savages:' draws a strong rebuke from the Orthodox Union, which calls it "anathema to the Jewish religious tra- dition:' As the Ebola epidemic spreads in three countries in Africa, IsraAid becomes the sole Israeli or Jewish organization on the ground in the hot zone. A state monitor slams the East Ramapo Central School District in New York's Rockland County for giving preferential treatment to Orthodox schoolchildren who do not attend public schools. The school board, which is majority Orthodox, had been under fire for years for alleg- edly diverting public funds to religious schools. Inside the Max Rayne Hand In Hand Jerusalem School, an Arab-Jewish school that was vandalized over the weekend, Nov. 30, 2014. Some opponents of Israel's nation-state bill cite the recent proliferation of attacks on minorities in Israel as evidence that democracy rather than Jewishness needs attention. IsraAid psychosocial trauma specialists Hela Yaniv, left, and Sheri Oz led a counseling and training session for service providers in Sierra Leone, Oct. 27, 2014. Jonathan Greenblatt, a former special assistant to President Obama, is named the next national director of the Anti-Defamation League. Greenblatt is slated to replace Abraham Foxman, the ADCs leader since 1987. World powers, led by the United States, extend the deadline in nego- tiations over Iran's nuclear program to June 30, 2015, prompting a call by AIPAC for new sanctions against the Islamic Republic. Ultimately, additional sanctions are not levied during the negotiations, which last until a deal is struck in early July 2015. December 2014 Jonathan Greenblatt, right, succeeded Abraham Foxman, left, as national director of the Anti-Defamation League. WIKIMEDIA CO MMO NS France's parliament, the National Assembly, votes 339-151 to urge the French government to recognize the state of Palestine. The vote fol- lows similar motions passed the previous month by parliaments in Britain and Ireland. An oil pipeline ruptures near the southern Israeli resort city of Eilat, causing a spill that is called one of Israel's worst environmental disas- ters. The United Auto Workers Local 2865, which represents more than 13,000 teaching assistants, tutors and other student workers in the University of California system, approves a resolution to join the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel, becom- ing the first major U.S. labor union to hold a membership vote on Israel and BDS. The New Republic's longtime literary editor, Leon Wieseltier, and edi- tor, Franklin Foer, quit the 100-year-old magazine to protest its new direction under new owner Chris Hughes, a Facebook co-founder. The magazine has a long history of Jewish editors and coverage of Jewish issues. continued on page 80 78 September 10 • 2015 France's National Assembly voted 339 to 151 in favor of a motion that invites the French government to recognize a Palestinian state.