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Thursday July 13, 2006

Shorts: World

Georgian leader welcomes Jews

jta | Georgia’s president welcomed the return of 700 Jewish families from Israel.

On a visit to the United States, Mikhail Saakashvili said up to 85,000 Georgians living abroad returned to their homeland in 2005, signaling an upturn in the former Soviet republic’s economy and political freedoms. Appearing Thursday, July 6 at the American Enterprise Institute during a state visit to Washington, Saakashvili said it was “good news” that the returnees were ethnically diverse.

Saakashvili said an Israeli chief rabbi told him with regret about Jewish families leaving Israel for Georgia. “Of course, Israel also doesn’t want to lose population, and I fully understand and share that. But I was very, very pleased, and told him about that,” Saakashvili said.

London bombing victims remembered

london (jta) | An art exhibit opened featuring the work of one of the Jewish victims of last year’s London bombings. The exhibit featuring Miriam Hyman’s work is on display at London’s City Hall.

Hyman, a photo editor and artist, was one of three Jews killed in the July 7, 2005 suicide bombings.

London Mayor Ken Livingstone called Hyman’s illustrations “vibrant and life-affirming,” the European Jewish Press reported.

Two other Jews, Anat Rosenberg and Susan Levy, also died in the bombings, which killed 52 people. An interfaith concert was held in Hyman’s memory at the South London Liberal Synagogue, one of many ceremonies held across the capital to remember the victims.

Anti-Semitic graffiti found after World Cup

rome (ap) | Italian Premier Romano Prodi on Tuesday, July 11 denounced a swastika and other graffiti scrawled on walls in a Jewish neighborhood in Rome overnight, when huge crowds of soccer fans were in the streets to celebrate the nation’s World Cup triumph.

Prodi condemned the anti-Semitic graffiti in a letter to the president of the Union of the Italian Jewish Communities.

In a related story, vandals sprayed two swastikas on signs at a Jewish cemetery in western Germany on Friday, July 7.

The vandals also daubed with paint the wall of the cemetery in the town of Alsbach-Haehnlein, south of Frankfurt. Police in nearby Darmstadt said it was the fifth time the cemetery has been desecrated in the past two years.

Israeli scores Wimbledon crown

jta | Andy Ram became the first Israeli to win a Grand Slam professional tennis title.

Ram teamed with Russian Vera Zvonareva to win the mixed doubles championship Saturday, July 8 at Wimbledon with a victory over Americans Bob Bryan and Venus Williams. Two Israelis, Anna Smashnova and Shahar Peer, have won juniors titles at Grand Slam events.

Federation Cup is won by forfeit

london (ap) | Israel was awarded a Federation Cup tennis match when the Indonesian team forfeited by refusing to play a World Group II playoff in Israel.

The International Tennis Federation’s Fed Cup committee also will consider sanctions against Indonesia. The ITF said it had received confirmation in writing that Indonesia would not travel to the July 15-16 match in Ramat HaSharon.

Francesco Ricci Bitti, ITF president, said the organization was saddened by the decision.

“The Israeli Tennis Federation, who are now winners of this tie by walkover, were prepared to welcome the Indonesian team to Ramat Hasharon and are no doubt disappointed to advance to 2007 Fed Cup World Group II in this way,” said Ricci Bitti.

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