Orthodox Jew sworn in as N.H. lawmaker
New Hampshire swore in its first Orthodox Jewish state representative Dec. 13.
Republican Rep. Jason Bedrick, 23, was elected in a state that has fewer than 10 Orthodox Jewish families, according to the Union Leader newspaper. Bedrick, a Chabad-Lubavitch follower who keeps strictly kosher and does not shake hands with women, won his election by six votes. He said he won’t favor Jewish issues and is a proponent of school vouchers. — jta
Pelosi adds 2 more Jewish lawmakers
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), speaker-elect of the U.S. House of Representatives, doubled the Jewish membership of its most powerful committee.
Announcing additions to the House Appropriations Committee this week, Pelosi increased Jewish membership from two to four with Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.).
Wasserman Schultz’s appointment underscores the young congresswoman’s rapid rise; she was elected in 2004, and placement within two years on Appropriations, the committee that determines federal spending, is exceptional.
The two other Jewish lawmakers on the committee are Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.), who will chair its foreign operations subcommittee; and Rep. Steve Rothman (D-N.J.). — jta
Jewish groups urge veto of Palestinian act
Sixteen activist Jewish groups, including Jewish Voice for Peace, signed a petition urging President Bush not to sign legislation that would isolate the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority. The petition was organized by the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation.
Separately, Americans for Peace Now and Brit Tzedek v’Shalom also have opposed the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act, passed in Congress’ final days, saying it is too constraining at a time when relative moderates among the Palestinians need U.S. support.
The bill’s backers, including the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, say the bill is flexible enough to allow funds to reach destitute Palestinians and moderates. — jta
Reform pushes for recognition in Israel
Leaders of the Reform movement launched a campaign to demand recognition by the Israeli government.
The North American Federation of Temple Youth, the movement’s youth organization, is encouraging Reform teens to send letters to Israeli President Moshe Katsav, who refused to refer to Reform leader Eric Yoffie as a rabbi.
At a meeting of the World Zionist Congress this summer in Jerusalem, Yoffie refused to join a meeting with Katsav unless the president addressed him by his title; Katsav responded that he would address Yoffie as “Reform rabbi.”
Reform and Conservative rabbis have struggled for years for equal recognition by Israel alongside their Orthodox counterparts. — jta
Hawaii airports get menorahs
Airports in Hawaii for the first time included menorahs in their holiday displays.
Rabbi Itchel Krasnjansky, director of Chabad of Hawaii, told the Associated Press that he had approached the airports in light of a recent incident in Seattle, where the international airport removed Christmas trees in response to a demand by a Chabad rabbi that a menorah be added to the holiday display. The trees were restored last week.
“In light of everything that’s going on, we thought it was a good idea to approach the state and see if we can put the menorahs up there. And we got a very, very favorable response,” Krasnjansky told AP. Hawaii’s governor, Linda Lingle, is Jewish. — jta
Rabbi stars in video game
A new video game claims to be the first with a rabbi as its hero.
“The Shivah,” launched this week by Manifesto Games in New York, features a rabbi who sets off on a murder-mystery quest after his cash-strapped congregation receives an unexpected donation. Manifesto, which deals in downloadable games, is selling “The Shivah” for $5. — jta
Koch to Shoah board: Boot ‘bigot’ Prager
Ed Koch wants Dennis Prager kicked off the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council.
The former New York City mayor plans to ask the council’s advisory board to remove Prager, a columnist and radio host, because he condemned Keith Ellison, a Muslim recently elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Minnesota, for saying he will take the oath of office with his hand on a Koran in a private ceremony after the mass swearing-in.
Koch said there’s no room for a “bigot” on the Holocaust Memorial board, the Washington Post reported. — jta
CopyrightJ, the Jewish news weekly of Northern California