Printer Friendly

Email to A Friend

Friday January 14, 2005

Shorts: U.S.

State Department intends to open anti-Semitism office

new york (jta) | State Department officials said an office to monitor international anti-Semitism will be unveiled shortly after Condoleezza Rice is confirmed as secretary of state.

Michael Kozak, an acting assistant secretary of state, said last week that discussions of where to place the office are ongoing, as well as a budget for the office, which was mandated as part of the Global Anti-Semitism Awareness/ Review Act, which passed Congress in October.

State Department officials say plans are almost complete to incorporate the office into the portfolio of the special envoy for Holocaust issues. The plan is awaiting Rice’s approval before moving forward.

The State Department had originally opposed the office, suggesting it would be viewed as favoritism in its overall reporting on human rights.

Survivor, war hero dies at 90 in N.Y.

new york (jta) | Michel Thomas, a French-born Jew who received a Silver Star for his service in the U.S. Army during World War II, died this week in New York. He was 90 years old.

Thomas served in combat during the battle of Autrey, France. Among his other exploits, Thomas, a master linguist, infiltrated a postwar Nazi and SS group plotting to form an underground terrorist organization.

Thomas was a member of the French Resistance when he was arrested by Vichy French official Klaus Barbie. Thomas later testified against Barbie when the latter was tried in 1987.

In 2001, a Los Angles Times reporter questioned Thomas’ World War II record. Outrage against the article led to the campaign that resulted in Thomas’ Silver Star award.

Israeli mutual fund goes Nasdaq

new york | The Blue and White Fund, a growing mutual fund that invests exclusively in Israeli companies, received a Nasdaq ticker symbol, BWFAX, and will be published in more than 800 newspapers nationwide.

“In the past few years, the Blue and White Fund has expanded tremendously, says Michael Poutre, president of the Blue and White Fund. “With the Nasdaq symbol, we will gain even more exposure and prestige among investors.”

Poutre, along with Chairman and CEO Shlomo Eplboim, launched the mutual fund in February 2003. Since its inception, it has almost doubled in size.

O.U. says certified pies are kosher

new york (jta) | The Orthodox Union denied that non-kosher pies went out under its kosher certification.

Officials said non-kosher pies were made in 2001 at Mrs. Smith’s Bakery as the plant was closing, but none of those pies had the group’s seal on them.

After a lawsuit from a Jewish lawyer in Raleigh, N.C., Flowers Foods, a Georgia-based company that owned Mrs. Smith’s at the time, settled last month without acknowledging liability.

Flowers agreed to distribute $2.5 million to charities, including the Orthodox Union and Jewish Family Services.

Jewish congressman gets chairmanship

washington (jta) | Democrats appointed a Jewish congressman to run their 2006 House elections.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), the U.S. House of Representatives minority leader, appointed Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) to the chairmanship of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Emanuel, a major fund-raiser for former President Bill Clinton, is the third Jewish representative in a decade to hold the post. Rep. Martin Frost (D-Texas) ran the campaign from 1996 to 2000 and Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) ran it from 2000 to 2002. Emanuel was named to replace Rep. Robert Matsui (D-Calif.), who died New Year’s Day.

‘Wave rat’ has charitable heart

new york (jta) | A man who sold the Internet domain name tsunamirelief.com donated his earnings to Chabad of Thailand.

Josh Kaplan, 20, whom the New York Post called a “wave rat” when he put up the site name for sale on eBay, gave Chabad the $10,000.

After offering the site name for sale, Kaplan was criticized for trying to profit from the Southeast Asian tsunami disaster. Kaplan’s mother told Reuters that her son always had planned to use the money for charitable purposes.

Baseball’s top Jewish player traded

new york (jta) | The Los Angeles Dodgers dealt slugger Shawn Green to the Arizona Diamondbacks early this week.

Green made headlines last year when he sat out a game on Yom Kippur.

Did you find this article interesting? Subscribe to our FREE newsletter and you'll be notified each week when "J." goes online. We'll tell you about the most important stories of the week and give you a link to each one.

This page contains a BETA version of Amazon contextual links. They are marked by the dashed underline.  Your purchases support our site. At times they point to items which are not related to the actual link. Please alert us by email if you discover objectionable links.