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Friday October 26, 2007

Shorts: U.S.

Florida governor: Kotel prayer saved state

Florida’s governor said a prayer he made at the Western Wall spared his state from hurricanes.

Charlie Crist, speaking Sunday, Oct. 21, at a prayer breakfast at the state’s Republican Party convention in Orlando, related how he had placed a note in the Western Wall asking God to protect Florida from hurricanes, according to Shmais.com, a Chabad news service.

“So far, so good,” said Crist, who governs the state with the nation’s third-highest Jewish population and traveled to Israel in May to promote economic ties. He was criticized recently by the Florida chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union for hanging a mezuzah outside his office in Tallahassee. — jta

Romney conducted postmortem baptisms

U.S. presidential candidate Mitt Romney conducted “baptisms for the dead.”

The former Massachusetts governor and one of the front-runners in the race for the Republican presidential candidacy told Newsweek that he had taken part in the Mormon ritual, which involves baptizing live proxies for dead people.

Jewish groups have protested the practice, noting that in some cases the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has used Holocaust archives to search for names of the dead. — jta

Muslim helps build Arkansas synagogue

A Jewish synagogue is rising in the hills of Arkansas, in large part because of the generosity of the project contractor: a Muslim immigrant from the West Bank.

Since 1981, members of Fayetteville’s Temple Shalom have practiced their faith where they could. The congregation had bought a home to convert into a temple, but members abandoned their plans after residents complained that the synagogue would bring traffic to their neighborhood.

The Reform congregation then bought new land — and Fadil Bayyari got involved. The general contractor agreed to waive his regular fee, saving Temple Shalom at least $250,000.

“Abraham is our forefather,” Bayyari said. “We’re first cousins. How we got to hate each other is beyond me.” — ap 

Evangelicals raise $8.5 million for Israel

Pastor John Hagee, head of San Antonio’s Cornerstone mega-church and a founding member of Christians United for Israel, this month raised $8.5 million for Israeli causes at his 26th annual “Night to Honor Israel.”

More than $6 million went to aliyah organizations such as Nefesh B’Nefesh and Exodus II.

The massive multimedia extravaganza of music, skits, speeches and dance was broadcast live throughout the world. It aimed to show solidarity between the evangelical community and the state of Israel, which Hagee calls the “apple of God’s eye.” — jps

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