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Moran legislation would aid cyber-space communications of Iranian opposition
WASHINGTON, DC (Press Release)– Rep. Jim Moran (Democrat,Virginia) on MOnday introduced bipartisan legislation that would clarify current sanctions law to provide the Iranian people access to information and the ability to communicate both internally and with the outside world in an effort to undermine censorship and monitoring efforts by the Iranian government.
When it authored the original Iran sanctions law several decades ago, Congress carved out an exception to protect the free exchange of information and educational materials between the people of the U.S. and the private citizens of Iran. But the exception does not take into account technological developments in recent years and some companies have withheld or cut off Iranian’s access to services such as web mail, instant messaging, and online news sites.
“Due to our outdated laws governing information sharing, U.S. sanctions have had the unintended consequence of denying the Iranian people the tools necessary to advance democracy,” said the Congressman. “This is a classic case of the law lagging behind the pace of technology. Given the tectonic shifts in Iranian society following the fraudulent national elections and emboldened democracy movement that rose from it, we need to move fast to make these sanctions smarter and more relevant to current technology.”
The Iranian Digital Empowerment Act (IDEA Act; H.R.4301) will clarify the intent of current sanctions law and enable the Iranian people to bypass the Iranian government’s online spying and censorship. The bill authorizes the provision of certain software and related services to Iran, specifically:
– Tools that allow private Iranian citizens to circumvent online censorship and monitoring efforts imposed by the Government of Iran; and
– Software and related services that enable the Iranian people to communicate with each other and the outside world
“IDEA takes a smart approach to our existing sanctions policy by ensuring that Iranians fighting for change are strengthened — those at the front lines of the pro-democracy movement — and not the oppressive regime.” Moran said.
Reps. Bob Inglis (Republican, South Carolina) and Bill Delahunt (Democrat, Massachusetts) are original sponsors of the bill.
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Preceding provided by Congressman Moran
Terrors conspirators sentenced to federal prison
ATLANTA, Georgia (Press Release)– Ehsanul Islam Sadequee, 23, of Roswell, Ga., and Syed Haris Ahmed, 25, of Atlanta, were sentenced Monday in federal court following their convictions earlier this year in separate but related criminal trials, the Justice Department announced.
“With their words and their actions, these defendants supported the wrongheaded but very dangerous idea that armed violence aimed at American interests will force our Government and our people to change our policies. That is terrorism, and it will not succeed,” said Sally Quillian Yates, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia. “The risk posed by men such as these defendants continues, both here and abroad. Hopefully, meaningful sentences such as these will make our citizens and our soldiers safer around the world as the message is sent that we will vigorously investigate and prosecute those who would ally themselves with terrorists.”
In Washington, D.C., David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division, said, “This case serves as another reminder of the global nature of the terrorism threat and the importance of international and domestic cooperation in addressing it. These defendants, who conducted surveillance of potential terror targets at home and pursued terrorist training overseas, were part of an online network that connected extremists in North America, Europe and South Asia. I commend all those who were involved in this prosecution and the related investigations around the world.”
FBI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Greg Jones said, “The radicalization of U.S. citizens by jihadist recruiters abroad is a very real and growing concern that the FBI and the U.S. Government as a whole must deal with. The FBI is charged with preventing terrorist attacks before they occur and we are committed to this task. Individuals engaged in such activities as these two individuals cannot successfully argue that such activities are constitutionally protected.”
U.S. District Court Judge William S. Duffey, Jr., sentenced Sadequee to a term of 17 years in prison, to be followed by 30 years of supervised release. Judge Duffey sentenced Ahmed to 13 years in prison, also to be followed by 30 years of supervised release.
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Yates and the evidence presented during the trial: Sadequee was born in Fairfax, Va., in 1986. He attended school in the United States, Canada and Bangladesh. In December 2001, while living in Bangladesh, he sought to join the Taliban, to help them in their fight against U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan.
Ahmed, a naturalized citizen born in Pakistan in 1984, came to the United States in the mid-1990s. He attended high school in Roswell and Dawsonville, Ga., followed by college studies at North Georgia College and Georgia Tech.
Sadequee and Ahmed began discussing their obligation to support jihad in late 2004. By this time, both Sadequee and Ahmed had become active on several web forums known to support the cause of violent jihad. These discussions quickly grew into an active conspiracy with others to provide material support to terrorists engaged in violent jihad. The evidence indicated that the material support consisted of (1) Sadequee, Ahmed, and other individuals who intended to provide themselves as personnel to engage in violent jihad, and (2) property, namely, video clips of symbolic and infrastructure targets for potential terrorist attacks in the Washington, D.C., area, including the U.S. Capitol, the World Bank headquarters, the Masonic Temple, and a fuel tank farm — all of which were taken by Sadequee and Ahmed to be sent to “the jihadi brothers” abroad.
At trial, the government presented evidence that Sadequee, Ahmed, and their co-conspirators used the Internet to develop relationships and maintain contact with each other and with other supporters of violent jihad in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Pakistan and elsewhere. In support of the conspiracy, in March 2005 Sadequee and Ahmed traveled to Toronto to meet with other co-conspirators, including Fahim Ahmad, one of the “Toronto 18″ suspects awaiting a terrorism trial in Canada. While in Canada, Sadequee, Ahmed, and their co-conspirators discussed their plans to travel to Pakistan in an effort to attend a paramilitary training camp operated by a terrorist organization, as well as potential targets for terrorist attacks in the United States.
In April 2005, Sadequee and Ahmed drove to the Washington, D.C., area to take the casing videos, which the government’s evidence showed they made to establish their credentials with other violent jihad supporters as well as for use in violent jihad propaganda and planning. Sadequee later sent several of the video clips to Younis Tsouli, aka “Irhabi007″ (Arabic for “Terrorist 007″), a propagandist and recruiter for the terrorist organization Al Qaeda in Iraq, and to Aabid Hussein Khan, aka “Abu Umar,” a facilitator for the Pakistan-based terrorist organizations “Lashkar-e-Tayyiba” and “Jaish-e-Mohammed.” Both Tsouli and Khan have since been convicted of terrorism-related offenses in the United Kingdom and are imprisoned there.
The government’s evidence additionally showed that Sadequee and Aabid Hussein Khan, the convicted U.K.-based terrorist, using a members-only violent jihadist web forum known as “At-Tibyan Publications,” recruited at least two individuals to participate in violent jihad. One, a self-identified 17-year-old American convert, was praised by Sadequee for his “capacity of fulfilling [his] largest obligations in [his] native land.”
The government also presented evidence at trial that in July 2005, Ahmed traveled from Atlanta to Pakistan in an unsuccessful attempt to enter a paramilitary terrorist training camp and ultimately engage in violent jihad. While in Pakistan, Ahmed met with Aabid Hussein Khan, and the two discussed Ahmed’s intention of joining a camp. The day before Ahmed returned to Atlanta, Sadequee departed Atlanta for Bangladesh, carrying with him, hidden in the lining of his suitcase, an encrypted CD; a map of Washington, D.C., that covered all of the areas he and Ahmed had cased; and a scrap of paper with Aabid Hussein Khan’s mobile phone number in Pakistan.
Once in Bangladesh, Sadequee began to conspire more closely with Younis Tsouli and Mirsad Bektasevic, a Swedish national of Serbian origins. Specifically, Tsouli, Bektasevic, Sadequee and others formed a violent jihadist organization known as “Al Qaeda in Northern Europe.” The group was to be based in Sweden. The evidence at trial showed that in October 2005, Sadequee sought a visa that would allow him to relocate from Bangladesh to Sweden. Bektasevic was arrested in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on Oct. 19, 2005. He and a co-conspirator were found in possession of over 20 pounds of plastic explosives, a suicide belt with detonator, a firearm with a silencer and a video recorded by Bektasevic demonstrating how to make detonators; showing an arsenal of semi-automatic weapons, grenades, explosives and other arms; and depicting Bektasevic and others placing a grenade booby-trap in a forest near Sarajevo. Sadequee had been in electronic and telephonic contact with Bektasevic as recently as three days before Bektasevic’s arrest, discussing the silencer and explosives Bektasevic had acquired for the group. Bektasevic has since been convicted of terrorism offenses in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Meanwhile, after returning to Atlanta to resume his studies at Georgia Tech in August 2005, Ahmed remained in contact with Sadequee, expressed regret at his failure to join violent jihadists, conducted internet research on topics such as high explosives and defeating Special Operations troops, and discussed his intent to make another attempt to enter a violent jihad training camp. In March 2006, Ahmed was approached by FBI agents and agreed to a series of voluntary, non-custodial interviews over the course of eight days. Amid efforts to deny his illegal activities and mislead the agents, Ahmed made increasingly incriminating statements. Efforts by the FBI to obtain Ahmed’s cooperation in the ongoing international terrorism investigation ended after the FBI discovered that Ahmed was surreptitiously contacting Sadequee, who was still in Bangladesh, to advise him of the FBI investigation and to warn him not to return to the United States.
Ahmed was arrested on March 23, 2006, in Atlanta, on material support of terrorism charges. He has been in custody ever since.
Sadequee was arrested on April 20, 2006, in Bangladesh, on charges arising out of false statements he made in an August 2005 interview with the FBI in the Eastern District of New York (EDNY). Sadequee was indicted in the Northern District of Georgia on July 19, 2006, and transferred to Atlanta in August of that year, after the charges in EDNY were dismissed at the Government’s request.
This case was investigated by agents and officers of the Atlanta Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), which is led by the FBI, Atlanta Division.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert McBurney, Alexis Collins and Christopher Bly prosecuted the case.
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Preceding provided by the U.S. Justice Department
‘Palestine, New Mexico’ offers message of cultural unity
By Cynthia Citron
LOS ANGELES— Ever since the government permitted Native Americans to establish—and keep the proceeds from—their own gambling casinos, there has been a stampede among people of many different ethnic backgrounds to claim their “Indian heritage.” This “rush to authenticity”—no matter how remote—is a running gag in Richard Montoya’s new play Palestine, New Mexico, which is now having its world premiere at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles.
The title, which one might assume is a metaphor for hostilities between diverse cultures, is in fact, nothing of the sort. It’s the name given sardonically to their Rez, as they call the reservation, by the Native Americans, following a large influx of “tribal” Jews.
This amusing conceit, which Montoya created, appropriately, for Culture Clash, the prominent Chicano/Latino theater ensemble, is the background for the return home to the Rez of the body of a native son, Raymond Birdsong, who had been killed in the war in Afghanistan. Ray was the son of the tribal chief, played here by Russell Means, the political activist that the Los Angeles Times called “the most famous American Indian since Sitting Bull.”
Means, who has appeared in more than 22 feature films, is a commanding and dignified presence onstage, and brings a solemnity to his role as the father of the dead soldier. Accompanying the arrival of Ray’s body is the distraught Captain (Kirsten Potter), who is determined to deliver Ray’s last letter to his father. Barred from the Rez as an unwelcome trespasser, she pleads with the armed and belligerent border guards to allow her a visit with the chief. Three of the guards, a hilarious trio of Culture Clash loonies, are closer in spirit to The Three Stooges than to the earnest and solemn Indians we usually see depicted in films.
There is Top Hat, beautifully played by playwright Richard Montoya, who talks to his bicycle as if it were a horse and carries in his hatband an “Indian authenticity card” that verifies his claim to being “1/100th Indian.” There is also Bronson (Ric Salinas), the “bad-ass outlaw” named for movie bad guy Charles Bronson, who identifies himself as a “Rhodes Scholar from East Los Angeles College.” And finally, there is Farmer (Herbert Siguenza), who rides around in a golf cart equipped with a police siren and flashing lights and worries aloud, “Do I look Armenian?”
Interspersed with the silly goings-on are projected flashbacks of the Afghanistan war—flashes of gunfire, heavily armed soldiers darting back and forth, and the interior courtyard of the mosque where Ray Birdsong met his death. There are also surrealistic touches: the water tower on the Rez momentarily becomes a dazzling white minaret, a larger-than-life portrait of Osama bin Laden suddenly appears onscreen, a line of soldiers appears in silhouette along the clifftops of the New Mexico plateau.
Ray, who spoke Pashto to the Afghanis, believed that they were one of the lost tribes of Israel. And, in keeping with the diversity theme of the play, believes that his own tribe is Jewish as well. Top Hat, it turns out, used to teach Kaballah in Santa Fe. And Farmer, examining his tribe-mates, suddenly shouts, paraphrasing Haley Joel Osment in “The Sixth Sense,” “I see Jewish people!”
Witty and well-written, but sometimes disjointed, “Palestine, New Mexico” is an interesting theater-piece. Set in Rachel Hauk’s stark desert in the midst of red sandstone monoliths, the surroundings leave you with grit in your teeth. And Paul James Prendergast’s music and sound are also dramatically effective. Alexander V. Nichols’ lighting and projection design are integral to the production and are timely and well done, and the occasional bursts of Indian dancing and chanting are the icing on the cake.
Director Lisa Peterson falters a bit, though, by keeping much of her large cast of tribe members stationary and a little wooden. They often pontificate, rather than just speaking naturally, which makes their overall message of cultural brotherhood seem a little less sincere and their body language too stiff for the message. Except for “The Three Stooges,” who are pluperfect throughout!
“Palestine, New Mexico” will continue at the Mark Taper Forum, 135 N. Grand Avenue, in downtown Los Angeles, Tuesday through Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2:30 and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 1 and 6:30 p.m. through January 24th, 2010. Call (213) 628-2772 for the exact schedule and for tickets.
Ultra-running at the Dead Sea
By Ulla Hadar
DEAD SEA, ISRAEL–Last weekend the 5th of December was the date for the 2nd annualChallenge run held at the Dead Sea. This event is only one of several Ultra runs that has been introduced in Israel in the last few years.
250 runners set out on one of the three courses offered, 12 km, 20km and 30km. 1000 riders took part in the cycling race the following morning 100 athletes took part in the Ultimate Challenge of cycling and running.
All the participants met at the end of the race at the Solarium beach for a dip in the Dead Sea and the prize giving ceremony.
According to Carin Goldblatt, owner of the “Prosport” sport store and
pne of the organizers of these events,the idea of the races was born because a group of amateur athletes who enjoy running cross country wanted to run an Ultra Marathon
The first Ultra took place in the beautiful area of Meggido in 2007 with two courses, 53km and 17km.
This was followed in 2008 with 60km to commemorate the 60 years anniversary of Israel’s independence. In 2009 it was an 80km.
Goldblatt said “these races were so popular amongst the runners that we decided to offer two more races. A coastal race in September in the heat of the summer with sections running by the sea and on close by islands. And in the winter a race in the Desert in the area around the Dead Sea run at night under a full moon.”
All the races offer shorter and longer courses to appeal to a wide variety of abilities from 10km upwards. All are designed with the idea that running off road should be an uplifting experience and should take place amid beautiful scenery.
For the coming season of 2010 the following distances are available to the runners:The Ultra Marathon scheduled for the 5 of March 100km, 50km, 30km and 15km A well marked cross country course with hills, mud and water crossings
The Coastal race in September, 24km and 12km, will be a running race along the stunning Meditteranean coast with part of the course crossing over onto islands.
And a newcomer is the Adventure race in October with a 24 hour course and an 8 hour course – off-road cycling, running, orienteering and water challenges!
Finally in December there will be the Desert Race in the full moon with the option of just running at night, or just riding the same course during the day on off-road bikes, or doing the Ultimate Challenge of running and then cycling.
To get a feeling of what this run is all about here is the personal experiences of one of the runners, Helen Yahav from last year’s challenge run at the Dead Sea:
“I was quite surprised to find my partner waking me at 12:30 in the night for our drive to the start of the Desert Challenge.
“After a relatively uneventful journey punctuated with a lot of yawns and a thermos of coffee we arrived at the starting place just south of Ein Bokek on the Dead Sea. Getting out of the car and confronting the enormous moon hanging over the stunning scenery of the Dead Sea I began to appreciate the sacrifice of a Friday night’s sleep might not have been in vain. I was incredibly pleased to find I was not the only “sucker” to have been dragged out of bed.
“We were not a large group who gathered for the fairly simple instructions. “Put on your headlights run from stick-light to stick-light” don’t get lost, and if you do, don’t wander off too far in the dark, we will find you at first light!
“My partner and I had opted for the middle distance, the 20km. We could have gotten up even earlier and run 30 but we felt 20 was more than enough.
“The group set out and almost immediately the different pace of the runners made the field separate out. The eerie silence of the desert greeted us as we left the lighted start area and we were on our way, after a fairly straightforward 4 km run on a rocky jeep track with little or no height gain we reached the mouth of a canyon, the Sdom Canyon. The narrow walls on either side of the gentle upward slope of the canyon and the canyon floor winding from left to right made for one of the most stunning runs I had ever participated in. The bright light of the full moon reflected off the white walls of the canyon and sparkled where it hit the salt deposits in the rock.
“After about 7 km of following the stick-lights we came out of the narrow valley of the canyon and found ourselves on a vast open plain, Mishor Amiaz. The light from the moon was so bright I followed the lead of other runners and extinguished my headlamp, so that I could fully appreciate the milky white light and the moon behind our back lighting up the mountains of Sdom. The silence and the beauty of the scene took our breath away (or maybe our lack of breath had something to do with the slope of the canyon we had just climbed!)
“Strung out in front of us we saw the lights of other runners and the stick lights of the organizers light up the way straight across the plain. We set off at an easy run absolutely lost for words.
“Running in this area at night is quite easy. <y partner was worried about running off road, but we had no problems. We saw many runners who didn’t have head lights at all and managed fine in the full moon. The going underfoot was easy, the track was largely accessible to jeeps and there were no other obstacles to trip you. In the narrow canyons there is a wide enough trail to run comfortably, and again there were no obstacles to trip you up.
“Across Mishor Amiaz we reached the first and only water station, a makeshift tent with muted Eastern-style shanty music, water, isotone energy drinks and gels. I carry my own water but my partner was happy to stop and drink and chat with the volunteers before turning left down towards the Prazim Canyon.
“This part of the run was the most awe inspiring. The light of the moon sparkled off the salt crystals in the walls of the canyon and we ran down the canyon in total silence in scenery that was so stunning again it took our breath away. An easy 3.5 km from the mouth of the canyon took us back to the start/finish area and as the first rays of the sun showed over the mountains of Jordan, we crossed the finish.
“This is the first race I forgot to stop the timer on my watch. The timing didn’t really seem to matter! More information can be found on the website
www.ultra.org.il and pictures from previous races can be seen at the following link http://www.pro-sport.co.il/articles_info.php?item=64
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Hadar, an accomplished runner and biker is Sha’ar Hanegev bureau chief for San Diego Jewish World
Soccer match was pre-Chanukah present for this dad
By Gary Rotto
EL CAJON, California–Hanukkah came a day early for me. On Thursday, I had the pleasure of watching the first San Diego Jewish Academy Middle School Girls Soccer game of the year. I’ve coached soccer for 8 years.
Soon after embarking on my coaching “career”, SDJA decided to initiate a Sports Booster Club. As the parent of a then-elementary school student, I was seen as a neutral party – someone who did not have a child on any school sports team and therefore, did not have a favorite team. So I became the first President of the Lions Athletic Sports Booster Club.
Our board sought to stimulate attendance at the high school football games, raise a little money for sports equipment such as weight room equipment, a batting cage and other non-budgeted athletic needs. My goal was to make sure that both boys and girls sports programs would be treated equally – from encouraging attendance at the football games to rallying support for the girls’ volleyball team. The weight room was a non-issue as the equipment would be available to all SDJA athletes.
When growing up in New Jersey, I don’t recall a girls’ sports program – or at least it was an afterthought. I have a vague recollection of the high school girls’ basketball team playing with six players on the court, but only two players could move out of the defensive zone. I recall my cousin Amy, the best jumper shooter I ever saw having to play on a “club” team at the University of Texas because the school did not have an official women’s basketball team. I couldn’t understand why young women didn’t have the same opportunity as me and my friends.
So for the time in which my daughter attended the SDJA elementary school, I made no secret of my desire to assure that not only would the boys’ sports thrive, but that the school would pay attention to the girls sports. If the program would develop and thrive during these years, a strong program – both boys and girls – would be in place for when my daughter and her classmates entered the Middle School years.
So several years after stepping aside, after many times attending SDJA girl volleyball, boys soccer, girls soccer and boys football games, here I was on the visitors’ side of the field in El Cajon. And there was my daughter in on the field for the first time representing SDJA at an away game. And she was asked to start in goal. And the boys watched on the sidelines, supporting the girls. And some of the boys asked if we would stay for the second game to cheer them on when they would take the field.
I could think of no greater gift – to see the two teams support each other, travel together to other schools and compete on an equal footing. And I felt as though I had received a bonus gift with my daughter playing in goal.
Go Lions and Chag Sameach!
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Rotto is a freelance writer based in San Diego. He may be contacted at rottog@sandiegojewishworld.com
Conference of Presidents, Israel tourism co-sponsor Chanukah promotion for trip to Israel
NEW YORK — The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations has launched a unique website with Israel’s Ministry of Tourism dedicated to Chanukah. The site, http://chanukah.goisrael.com, allows virtual “travelers” to log on and light candles for each night of the holiday.
With each candle “lit,” visitors to the Chanukah website will be able to access more information about travel to Israel. At the end of the holiday, site visitors who have lit all eight candles will be entered to win a free trip to Israel aboard EL AL Israel Airlines, to experience the country’s many areas of cultural, religious and historical interest for themselves.
“The ‘Light Your Way to Israel’ website helps the virtual traveler celebrate Chanukah while sparking their interest in exciting destinations throughout Israel. We are proud to partner once again with EL AL and Israel’s Ministry of Tourism on this Web site as part of our long-term efforts to promote tourism to Israel. Our collective efforts continue to stimulate American Jewish and general travel to Israel, and we hope this Web site will produce similar results. Beyond its positive economic impact, tourism is critical in uplifting the mood in Israel, demonstrating our solidarity during both peaceful and challenging times, and enhancing Israel’s image,” said Executive Vice Chairman Malcolm Hoenlein.
For more information, please visit: http://www.goisrael.com.
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Preceding provided by Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations


