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Friday March 30, 2007

Shorts: U.S.

Clinton thanks AJCommittee for tackling Carter’s book

Former President Clinton told the American Jewish Committee he was “grateful” that the group criticized Jimmy Carter’s claims about Clinton’s peacemaking efforts.

“I don’t know where his information (or conclusions) come from,” Clinton wrote in a handwritten note to AJCommittee Executive Director David Harris, who had critiqued former President Carter’s book, “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid,” “but Dennis Ross has tried to straighten it out, publicly and in two letters to him. At any rate, I’m grateful.”

Ross, Clinton’s top envoy to the region, has disputed Carter’s contention that the Clinton-sanctioned offer Israel made to the Palestinians in 2000 would have left them with just small “bantustans.” Ross says Carter misrepresented maps Ross published outlining the offer. — jta

Former Rep. DeLay says he quit to fight for Israel

Tom DeLay says he quit the U.S. Congress to fight for Israel and conservative causes.

The former Republican majority leader in the U.S. House of Representatives was forced to step down from his leadership post last year to face charges of breaking fund-raising laws in his home state of Texas. DeLay surprised colleagues by quitting Congress altogether and joining a conservative think tank.

Appearing on CNN to promote his new book, “No Retreat, No Surrender,” DeLay said he stepped down because “I had to do two things, push the conservative cause and support Israel.” He said he felt he would be more effective doing so as a commentator than as a rank-and-file congressman.

DeLay was one of Israel’s fiercest defenders in the House, at times deriding bills driven by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the main pro-Israel lobby, as insufficiently pro-Israel. — jta

U. of Judaism merges with Brandeis-Bardin

The University of Judaism and the Brandeis-Bardin Institute are merging to form the American Jewish University.

The UJ campus in Los Angeles’ Bel Air section includes undergraduate, graduate and rabbinical schools, as well as an extensive adult education program. The Simi Valley campus of Brandeis-Bardin extends over 2,800 acres and is known for its innovative camping and weekend programs. UJ President Robert Wexler will assume the same post at AJU. — jta

American ORT sues ORT Israel over name

American ORT filed suit against its former Israeli partner over use of the name ORT. American ORT is the American fundraising arm of World ORT, which runs an international system of Jewish-based vocational schools.

Until this fall, World ORT also oversaw ORT Israel, the management company for some 162 schools in Israel. The Israeli branch split with the world organization, claiming it was not receiving enough funding from the parent group.

ORT Israel would not comment on the suit, filed in U.S. District Court in New York, until it had a chance to review it, a source close to the situation said.

ORT Israel had filed suit Jan. 26 with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office claiming that the ORT name — an acronym for Organization for Rehabilitation through Training — has become generic and Israel ORT should be allowed to use it. “For ORT Israel to come to America and use the ORT name and trademark for their own fundraising is wrong,” Judy Menikoff, president of American ORT, said in a statement. — jta

N.J. poet loses free speech lawsuit

An appeals court ruled last week against a former New Jersey poet laureate who lost his job after writing a poem that suggested Israel had advance knowledge of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Former N.J. Gov. James E. McGreevey eliminated the post in July 2003 after Amiri Baraka wrote the poem. Baraka, a native of Newark, N.J., had claimed his First Amendment rights were violated when he lost the post and its $10,000 honorarium. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 ruling, said the action was legislative and not political in nature and therefore qualified for immunity.

The move came after Baraka read the 60-stanza poem “Somebody Blew Up America” in public. It includes the lines: “Who knew the World Trade Center was gonna get bombed/Who told 4,000 Israeli workers at the Twin Towers to stay home that day?/Why did Sharon stay away?” — ap

Jerusalem peace contest launched

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is launching a contest to redesign Jerusalem in a way that fosters peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

The “Just Jerusalem” contest, to begin March 31, invites entrants to propose design-based answers to questions at the core of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, Reuters reported.

Winners in five categories will receive $50,000 fellowships at MIT to work on implementing the winning ideas.

The contest is open to anyone and the deadline for submissions is Dec. 31. Winners will be announced next March. — jta

Seattle Jewish federation returns to shooting scene

The Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle returned to its old building after a shooting spree last summer forced them out.

The group moved into the building in a ceremony Sunday, March 25. The building had been remodeled since July 28, when a gunman killed federation worker Pam Waechter and wounded five others.

The $1.1 million renovation includes improved security more bright, open spaces and a large picture of Waechter. The shooting site was turned into conference rooms.

The decision to move back was not an easy one, federation member Robin Boehler told KomoTV.com. “Some people felt that we should move to another location. Others thought it was important to come back,” Boehler said.

“The majority of the folks thought that we should come back, that this is our space and we shouldn’t be chased away by an act of hate.” — jta

Hadarom gets Internet-friendly

The Rabbinical Council of America, the largest Orthodox rabbinic group in the world, recently announced that Hadarom, its 50-year-old Hebrew Torah journal, is available online at www.rabbis.org.

The Web site isn’t the first time Hadarom has embraced technology. Several years ago, the council scanned issues that appeared until 2000 and made them available on CD-ROM.

The annual journal has had a long, venerable history among American Torah journals appearing in print. From 1947 when it was founded to 1989, it was edited by the late Rav Chaim Dov Chavel. Since then, it has been edited by Rav Gedaliah Dov Schwartz, Av Bes Din of the Bes Din of America and the Chicago Rabbinical Council.

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