Archive
Adventures in San Diego Jewish History, January 21, 1955, Part 4
Compiled by San Diego Jewish World staff
In the Name of “Security” (Editorial)
Southwestern Jewish Press, January 21, 1955, Page 7
The case of Wolf Ladejinsky has again brought into sharp focus the problems facing a people whose precious liberties are being threatened under the guise of “security.”
Ladejinsky, a qualified agriculturist, was dismissed as a “security risk” with no explanation. His proven anti-Communism was used to prove that he could be a spy!
The letter, released by the Agriculture Dept to bolster their stand, lauded the Department’s action on the ground that “a goodly share of those Russian revolutionaries were found among Russian Jews.” An investigation revealed that the letter was written by a White Russian émigré who admits he never met nor had he ever heard anything derogatory about Ladejinsky.”
The earlier cases of Abraham Chasanow, reinstated after his dismissal from the Navy, and the twenty-four Ft. Monmount scientists, similarly reinstated, aroused grave suspicions that anti-Semitism and other prejudices were operating at various levels of our government. In spite of formal statements and disavowals these suspicions were never allayed. Ladejinsky’s dismissal with the mysterious circumstances surrounding his case, the incredible reasons advance to justify the action and the readiness to make use of anti-Semitic material confirms theses suspicions.
It took the action of Harold E. Stassen, Foreign Operations Administrator, to pull the Agriculture Department out of an embarrassing situation which would have made us the butt of international ridicule.
“Security” is the aim of man whether it be for himself or his country. Where is “Security” for an individual who can be released after years of public service merely because of an accident of birth?
*
Banks and Savings (Editorial)
Southwestern Jewish Press, January 21, 1955, Page 7
Savings Week is currently being noted by banks throughout the country. The growth of banking in an Diego has been phenomenal . Banks and saving institutions have kept pace with this growth by instituting new services to make it easier to save and bank money. Driveby Banks, Night Deposits and the opening of a large number of branches in every part of the city and ccounties are some of the latest services instituted by the banks.
Travel clubs, Christmas clubs, Bonds and other plans for saving were designed to give the thrifty saver an incentive and a goal to accumulate funds for a specific purpose.
January is the month for us to lay plans for the entire year. Savings Week is just a reminder that banks are doing all they can to make it easier for us to save. Benjamin Franklin whose birthday is noted this month, extolled the virtues of gathering a nest egg for the future. He would approve our present day streamlined banking systems.
*
False Faces (Editorial)
Southwestern Jewish Press, January 21, 1955, Page 7
The long overdue report on neo-Fascist and Hate Groups by the House Committee on un-American Activities must have been an eye opener to the Congressional investigators. The report plainly shows that these groups invariably turn out to be basically anti-Jewish in character. To quote the forward of the report—“The organized hate group, which masquerades as a defender of our Republican form of government yet conducts hate campaigns against racial and religious minorities in the infamous tradition of the Fascist dictatorships.”
Clearly indicated in the report is the fact that “these Fascist hate groups frequently support the position of the very Communists it allegedly opposes.” For example, the National Renaissance Party accused the United States Government of seeking to promote a world war to “carry out the economic and political ambitions of a small coterie of international Wall St. bankers.” Does that sound familiar? Word for word it comes from the Communist party propaganda.
One of the most virulent of these hate groups has a publication called “Common Sense,” published by Conde J. McGinley, in New Jersey. In contrast to the Fascist National Renaissance Party, the McGinley enterprise appears to be a shrewd and going business.
The report goes on to say that McGinley’s so-called anti-Communist and patriotic publication apparently is not adverse to serving the Communist propaganda cause, and further states that anti-Semitism is the chief stock in trade of “Common Sense” which defines Communism as the “false face of Judaism.”
The Committee Report concludes with the statement that they are continuing their investigation and exposure of Communist conspirators, but that they are convinced that there is also a need for further study, exposure and prosecution of the Fascist hate groups that seek to divide and disrupt the American people.
It is regrettable that any American should contribute to the perpetuation of the hate factories. If loyal Americans wish to play an active part in protecting their country from subversion, let them remember that there exist agencies well equipped to deal with the traitors from the extreme Left and extreme Right. Beware the 20th Century Janus, who presents two false faces.
*
Southwestern Jewish Press, January 21, 1955, Page 7
By Irving R. Stone, Psychological Consultant
Operation Courtship
History books tell us many interesting things—elections, economic depressions, discoveries, war, little known facts that seem to escape the attention of people, except when some Hollywood motion picture company plays it up and makes the news worthy of a potential Oscar award winner.
I refer to what might be termed “Operation Courtship.” Those of Napoleon, Lincoln, Miles Standish and Marc Anthony are a few that we can mention. Not that courtship isn’t a familiar happening, for it is as frequent as birth and taxes. But too often we take such things for granted.
The strange thing is that courtship is so important that even the participants are often unaware that it is happening but when they are, they are completely different in behavior and thinking. Another fact is that it starts, in many cases, at a tender age and during the teens may be as intense as in mature adulthood.
Courtship is usually expected to be the time for getting acquainted. Fundamental attitudes and expectations should be extended during this period to make later adjustments easier and often possible. It is the time to work out many of the later problems which arise in every family –children, budgets, special needs and living arrangements are but a few.
Irving Stone
As the Psychologist Sees You
Parents frequently become quite alarmed over what seems to be an involvement in the form of a courtship by their adolescent boy or girl. In almost every case, this is part of a normal condition of that age level when crushes seem to abound in every direction, and each month appears to be like New Years –“Ring out the old, ring in the new.” It is far better for the youngster to have one or more of these crushes because it gives them a better opportunity to evaluate the situation when true courtship takes place than to be unaware of the method of handling approaching marriage. Too often, the boy or girl who has not had a share in crushes jumps at the first opportunity for marriage without evaluating its efficacy.
The only cure for hasty marriages is courtship. It affords planning, evaluation and reevaluation. It is the intervening step between a crush and a marriage. So, when your child enters a courtship, remember that your youngster is growing up and not just getting older.
*
More about Three Hundred Years in America~Jewish Contributions to American History
By Dr. Philip L. Seman, University of Judaism
The last installment of early experiences and records of the synagogue as the Jewish Community Center is an indication that the Jews have for thousands of years recognized the need for centrally located places where the community was given an opportunity to function as social human beings as well as in a civic manner.
However, with the growth of our American communities, the question of the Community Center became a problem. The real problems, so far as the Jew in America is concerned, were not aggravated, however, until 1881, when the Jews of this country were confronted with a large immigration as the result of the pogroms of 1881 in Russia and Poland, and similar atrocities in Rumania in 1902 and 1903. It was during these years that the number of immigrants arriving in the United States kept increasing in almost impossible proportion to the ability to assimilate them, and meet the many social and economic problems that congestion and large numbers of new comers into a comparative complacent population create. The immigration, reports show that beginning with the year 1820 to the year 1912 the total number of immigrants that arrived in the United States was 29,000,000 of which approximately 3,000,000 represented Jews. The high water mark was in 1907 when the total immigration was 1,285,000 of which 150,000 represented Jewish immigrants. From the year 1900 to the year 1912, there came to the United States a total of 10,000,000 immigrants of which number approximately 1,500,000 were Jews. In other words, one-third of this country in 1912 came within a period of 10 or 12 years. These facts alone indicate what an enormous problem American Jewry was confronted with in the matter of adjusting such a huge army of newcomers to an entirely new environment.
It was during these years when the communal workers particularly in New York, but likewise in other large American cities throughout the country, realized the importance of providing facilities for the construction educational, recreational and social life of those who made up in a large measure the congested sections of these cities. It was during this period that there was developed such agencies as the Educational Alliance in New York; the Young Men’s and Women’s Hebrew Association (now known as the Jewish Community Centers), the Hebrew Technical Institutes and many other similar institutions all over the country where Jews settled in large numbers. (To Be Continued).
*
(Reputation and business)
Southwestern Jewish Press, January 21, 1955, Page 7
A good reputation always proves to be a good business capital.
*
(Resolutions)
Southwestern Jewish Press, January 21, 1955, Page 7
Often a man and his New Year’s resolutions go broke together.
*
(Spare time)
Southwestern Jewish Press, January 21, 1955, Page 7
The man who makes the best use of his time has the most to spare.
*
Famous Group of Jewish Artists Here Sunday March 6th
Southwestern Jewish Press, January 21, 1955, Page 8
Dora Kaliowna and Schmuel Fisher in their first American appearance and also Pola Kadison, talented pianist, will appear in a program of Jewish songs, sketches and comedy. The Concert will take place at Beth Jacob Center of Sunday, March 6th at 8 p.m. under the sponsorship of Jewish Labor Committee
Dora Kaliowna was born in Lodz, Poland. After she graudated from the government dramatic school in Warsaw, she remained for the theatre a short while and later devoted her talents to solo appearances.
Schmuel Fisher, who is called the Jewish Charlie Chaplin, lived in Israel since 1930, was educated in the University of Art and Literature at Tel Aviv. He was in the army and gave 500 of his outstanding performances on the fronts during the historical battles of the Israel liberation. His source of humor and song is unique.
Pola Kadison, the renowned concert pianist, has appeared in many cities in the United States. She has been acclaimed by the critics as one of the finest interpretes of Folk and Classic music.
For an evening of nostalgic Jewish humor, drama and songs, call Ben Feinberg at Belmont 2-5525 or Belmont 2-3524. Mrs. Ira Gordon at Cypress 8-6230 or Morris Penn at Hudson 8-5906.
*
Dog Show
Southwestern Jewish Press, January 21, 1955, Page 8
The Annual All-Breed Dog Show will open on Sunday, Feb. 13, in the Electric Bldg., Balboa Park. Entries will come from Canada, Hawaii, Mexico, Alaska and South America. Entry blansk may be obtained at any pet shop or phone HI 4-4714.
*
Golf Greats To Appear At Mission Valley
Southwestern Jewish Press, January 21, 1955, Page 8
La Jolla, Calif – The best playing conditions in years are anticipated this week when two annual golf classics are staged in the San Diego area.
Clear skies and gentle breezes are predicted for the four-day Convair-San Diego Open Tournament starting January 20 in Mision Valley.
The tournament is sponsored by Convair Division of General Dynamics Corporation on behalf of the San Diego Society for Crippled Children.
*
Demos Dance on Valentine’s Day February 12th
Southwestern Jewish Press, January 21, 1955, Page 8
“Music in the Morgan Manner,” Russ Morgan and his internationally famous band will be featured in the St. Valentine’s Day dance planned by the Democratic County Central Committee which is to be held February 12 at 8:30 p.m. in the Mission Beach Ball Room.
The dance will be open to the public at popular prices and tickets are available by contacting D.G. Hamilton, chairman of ticket sales, Room 412 Orpheum Theatre Bldg. Ticket reservations may be had by mail or call BE 9-4070.
*
Settlement Cook Book Supports Center
Southwestern Jewish Press, January 21, 1955, Page 8
Milwaukee, Wis – The Jewish Community Center of Milwaukee, whose first home was made possible by a cook book, dedicated its new $1,750,000 building on January 16th. It was profits from the now world-famous Settlement Cook Book which paid for the site on which the local Center’s forerunner, the Abraham Lincoln Settlement House, was erected at the turn of the century. In the dining room of the new building there is a picture of Mrs. Simon Kander, the mother of the original settlement house, whose pioneering book of recipes for Jewish immigrants first appeared in 1901.
It has since become a perennial best-seller. The sale of 1,250,000 copies of the cook book in its 34 editions has netted the Jewish Community Center of Milwaukee $350,000 over the years, including $50,000 for the new building, as well as substantial sums for scholarships, day care and other community needs.
*
(Consideration)
Southwestern Jewish Press, January 21, 1955, Page 8
Consideration for the rights of others is the strongest link in the chain of human friendships.
*
Blanc Qualifies In Mayor’s Race
Southwestern Jewish Press, January 21, 1955, Page 8
Sol Blanc, veteran Broadway businessman and former realtor, today filed for qualification papers in the race for mayor of San Diego.
In announcing his candidacy, the Broadway restaurateur and long-time auctioneer pointed to his long record in public life as qualifying him for the top city office.
He said his platform will include such progressive measures providing more downtown parking, critical and hospital care for indigent and service families, inducing industry to move to san Diego, providing more docking facilities for commercial craft and generally working toward “more jobs for the working people, and therefore more business for the businessmen.”
He said he will concentrate on a “good neighbor” policy between San Diego and its neighboring south-of-the-border towns of Tijuana and Ensenada.
He pledged a “two fisted fight, but no mud slinging” in his bid for the mayor’s post and said he already has been assured the backing of several groups in the city.
*
(Past and Future)
Southwestern Jewish Press, January 21, 1955, Page 8
You can get rid of your past by building a future out of it.
*
“Adventures in San Diego Jewish History” is sponsored by Inland Industries Group LP in memory of long-time San Diego Jewish community leader Marie (Mrs. Gabriel) Berg. Our “Adventures in San Diego Jewish History” series will be a regular feature until we run out of history. To find stories on specific individuals or organizations, type their names in our search box.
Ahmadinejad calls Iran’s new drone ‘a messenger of death’
TEHERAN (WJC)–President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has unveiled Iran’s first bomber drone and said it would serve as a “messenger of death” to Iran’s enemies.
The ‘Karrar’ unmanned fighter plane can carry two 115-kilo bombs, or one precision bomb twice that weight. The drone reportedly has a range of 1,000 km, not enough to reach Israel.
On Monday, state television reported that the Iranian military had opened production lines for two new types of assault boats. Iran frequently announces advances in military technology, boasting of self-sufficiency in the face of international sanctions and efforts by the West to isolate the country. However, US State Department Spokesman P.J. Crowley warned the new weapons could reduce Iran’s security as Washington partners with allies in the region to counter a potential Iranian threat.
“This is one of the reasons why we believe that if Iran continues on the path that it’s on, that it actually might find itself less secure,” he told reporters in Washington.
The Iranian announcements came amid growing international concerns about Iran’s nuclear program. On Saturday, Russian experts began loading fuel rods into the reactor at the Bushehr nuclear power station. Iran has maintained all along that the site will produce energy, but the United States and some other international observers remain unconvinced.
*
Preceding provided by World Jewish Congress
Commentary: Some important concerns about Russia-Iran nuclear power cooperation
By Shoshana Bryen
Shoshana Bryen
WASHINGTON, D.C. –It isn’t exactly Iran’s Bushehr reactor that is making people really nervous this week, and it isn’t exactly the Russians. It is the understanding that no matter what the United States and the West say about Iran with nuclear technology, Iran is moving toward the acquisition of nuclear weapons technology and capability – and moving on the path toward the creation of an actual nuclear weapon(s).
That is coupled with the possibility that Russia will next deliver the S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems to Iran, providing a serious new level of protection for the regime and its illegal uranium enrichment program.
The Russians, who took over construction of the reactor in 1995, twenty years after Germany started the project, delivered the fuel in 2007 and 2008, but held off installing it. They say they are now preparing to install the fuel rods and plan to have the reactor up and running within weeks, bringing it up to speed over the next six months. According to public reports, it will be tied to the Iranian electricity grid, monitored by the IAEA, and appears to have no link to Iran’s uranium enrichment program. In addition, the Russians claim to have struck a deal with Iran for the return of spent fuel to preclude production of weapons-grade plutonium.
On its face, the Russian position seems reasonable – since Iran repeatedly said it wouldn’t cooperate with the IAEA on enrichment activities because Tehran was being prevented from having even civilian energy reactors, the Russians took away that excuse. They also contrived to retain control of the spent fuel. The Russians appear smug about the arrangement and their role as Iran’s energy partner. And as long as the Russians have control, there appears to be no problem.
At least that’s what the State Department implied. Unwilling, perhaps, to “re-reset” relations, a State Department spokesman said the United States does not regard Bushehr as a proliferation risk. “Russia’s support for Bushehr underscores that Iran does not need an indigenous enrichment capability if its intentions are purely peaceful,” and the Russian fuel deal mirrors the failed Western offer for a broader fuel swap.
But what if its intentions are not “purely peaceful”? The United States had previously expressed three concerns about Bushehr:
Weapons grade plutonium could be processed from the reactor’s uranium allowing the Iranians to construct nuclear weapons.
The Russians and Iranians could use Bushehr as a cover for the transfer of sensitive technology.
The knowledge gained by Iranian scientists working at Bushehr could further Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
Even assuming the Russians have the first covered, what about the others?
As recently as May, two German men were arrested for trying to buy dual-use parts prohibited under EU sanctions for use at Bushehr. And Iranians working at Bushehr would certainly gain important understandings about nuclear technology that can be transferred to other parts of Iran’s program – secret parts. The State Department spokesman did note, “the world’s fundamental concerns with Iran’s overall nuclear intentions,” and the fact that “Iran remains in serious violation of its obligations to the IAEA, particularly as regards separate enrichment.”
The UK Daily Telegraph reports that Iran has announced plans for ten new enrichment plants “within protected mountain strongholds… The move is a response to sanctions imposed on Iran in an attempt to stop it from producing enriched uranium, which can be used as fuel for nuclear power plants but for weapons if produced in higher levels. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also issued an edict ordering the government to offer only ‘minimum levels of co-operation’ with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog.”
It is that – “minimum levels of cooperation,” new enrichment facilities in “mountain strongholds” and the clear determination of Iran to move ahead on the nuclear front coupled with threats well understood by Saudi Arabia, the Gulf States and Israel – which makes us very nervous about the possibility that Russia will, in fact, load up Bushehr.
*
Bryen is senior director of security policy of the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs. Her column is sponsored by Waxie Sanitary Supply in memory of Morris Wax, longtime JINSA supporter and national board member.
Commentary: Palestinians, Israelis ever so slowly being pushed by U.S. into direct talks
By Ira Sharkansky
Ira Sharkansky
JERUSALEM– Israel and Palestine may be inching, crawling, or sidestepping toward direct, face to face negotiations.
We have heard this before. It is a long and contorted road even to the beginning of talks. Neither side appears to be enthusiastic. They are being pushed by the pathetically naive, led by the champion of brazen optimism who is trying to outdo his predecessor by choosing peace in the Holy Land over democracy in Iraq as an icon of foreign policy. European leaders can do no less than add their voices to that of a president with the status to define what is politically correct. Those in power hope that a miracle will occur quickly enough for them to claim credit.
What is shaping up is a call to negotiations from a quartet that includes representatives of Europe, Russia, the US and the UN with parameters favorable to the Palestinians. It is said to include the 1967 boundaries as the basis of negotiations, and a continuing freeze on Israeli construction over that line. Israel has already rejected those conditions, but may be willing to accept an invitation from the United States that is less unfriendly.
One can guess about the prospects of discussions that neither side wants, and which begin with each claiming to be operating according to different invitations. For Palestinians, the 1967 lines represent their major hope of rescuing something from an area shrinking and cut up with the settlements of Jews they do not want living among them.
Also important to the Palestinians is a continuation of a freeze in the building of settlements. They are also talking about a freeze in what they call Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem, but one can reach a high level of skepticism about any chance of achieving that detail. A continuation of the freeze over 1967 boundaries outside of Jerusalem will be difficult enough, given the intensity of the opposition in the polity that counts for more than the Palestinian and perhaps more even than that in Washington.
Recent news is that settlers and their friends have approvals for 5,000 housing units ready to be unfrozen in September, and will not tolerate a continuation of a freeze that has failed to show any tangible results with respect to its contribution to peace.
One can only wonder at the importance of 1967 or any other date in a conflict between peoples that was already apparent to the authors of the Books of Joshua and Judges, whenever it was that they began to tell their stories.
“The Israelites lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. They took their daughters in marriage and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.” (Judges 3:5)
Today there are considerable personal interactions, cooperation in the workplace and the universities, more mutual tolerance in Jewish than Arab neighborhoods, along with few romances or conversions in the directions of Islam or Judaism.
The boundaries of Jerusalem have changed several times since the British arrived in 1917, and many times before then. The walls around the Old City reflect the lines defined by the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent in the 1530s. They are only one of several walled arrangements meant to protect a city whose shape changed going back at least to the time of David.
Conceptions of “Palestine” are fuzzier. The bombast of activists represent their efforts to find some basis for a national claim in what can fairly be described as a backwater of empires thinly populated by diverse and quarreling families.
No doubt that all national claims–including those of the Jews–rest on contentious narratives more often spiritual than factual in nature. The Bible, Talmud, numerous other writings, and the success of modern Israel represent the Jews’ claims to legitimacy. It will take some time to see if the Palestinians can achieve the status of other Arab countries. The records achieved by Gaza and the West Bank indicate that the phrase “Arab democracy” will remain an oxymoron even if the Palestinians do accomplish something.
We should expect maneuvering rather than anticipate anything like a breakthrough. Part of the playbook we can write already. There will be some further hemming and hawing by the principals, with each adhering to its own rules of the game. Palestinians will emphasize those 1967 boundaries and maybe a settlement freeze; Israelis will insist that they are beginning negotiations without preconditions. If things go well, overseas sponsors may invite the principals to a party on the White House lawn, or some other ceremonial venue where they declare a breakthrough and their commitment to helping the parties reach an agreed solution within a short period of time.
The principals will put on their frozen smiles and express mutual commitments to settling disputes peacefully, or maybe their stern faces and commitments to what those loyal to each side will see as a reaffirmation of well known principles.
Given Muslim sensitivities, the refreshments will feature fruit juice rather than wine.
Beyond these details, my predictive capacity weakens. After a brief flurry of daily bulletins, it is likely that the weather will provide more interesting news. Americans will concern themselves with who will win and lose by how much thanks to the president’s health reform, as well as the World Series and the endless parade of college sports. For Europeans there will be a new season of football.
*
Sharkansky is professor emeritus of political science at Hebrew University.
The Jews Down Under~Roundup of Australian Jewish News
Garry Fabian
Compiled by Garry Fabian
Jewish community alarm expresses alarm over terrorist affiliate
MELBOURNE, 5 August – The Victorian Jewish community has expressed concern that an extremist Islamic organisation with a history of incitement and antisemitism has begun holding meetings in Melbourne. Hizb ut-Tahrir is banned in the US, Germany, Russia and many Muslim countries including Pakistan and Egypt because it is defined as a terrorist group. Terrorists involved in 9/11 and the London bombings have been linked to the group.
In Australia the group has been meeting in Sydney since 2007 but over the past year has begun holding events in Melbourne. Jewish leaders are
concerned that the group held a meeting in theBrunswick Town Hall on Sunday, with the permission of the Moreland City Council.
They will be writing to council to ensure it is aware of Hizb ut-Tahrir’s history of incitement, rejection of democracy and race hatred.
The chairman of the Jewish Community Council of Victoria Mr John Searle said he was sure the Moreland Council would not wish to support a group that preaches violence and runs counter to the spirit of multiculturalism.
“This is an issue that anyone who respects democracy and the rule of law should be concerned aboutas this a group that rejects Australian values.
“Hizb ut-Tahrir in Sydney describes Israel as ‘a dagger in Muslim lands’ and argues that democracyis not for Muslims. We don’t want that kind of
divisiveness undermining multicultural Melbourne.”
A Jewish community organisation which monitors antisemitism says internationally Hizb ut-Tahrir hasan appalling record of spreading hate against Jews, The chairman of the B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation
Commission Mr Tony Levy said Hizb ut-Tahrir’s ideology of destroying democracy and replacing itwith an Islamic Caliphate was partially
responsible for terrorist attacks like 9/11 and 7/7. In Britain Hizb ut-Tahrir disseminated material claiming Jews were “a people of slander” and in Denmark aHizb ut-Tahrir leader was convicted of inciting racial hatred after telling Muslims to kill Jews.
“Australians would be foolish to ignore the violence and hatred this group has expressed in othercountries. We have a wonderful tolerant multicultural society and we have to be vigilant in protectingit,” he said.
*
Jewish school runs into resident objections
MELBOURNE, 4 August – While its new Minimbah Campus on Orrong Road is set for completion within weeks, The King David School has been left
in limbo over the usage of its new multimillion-dollar facility.
The City of Stonnington issued a notice of decision to grant a permit for King David to use the new classrooms and theatre earlier this year, but objectors quickly applied to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) to have the decision reviewed.
Local residents are concerned about the opening times, the number of people permitted to use the new building and a lack of parking.
With the VCAT hearing only set for mid-October and the August completion date of the facility looming, school president Michael Lawrence sought
advice from local member Tony Lupton before requesting an intervention from Victoria’s Planning Minister.
“Last time we had a VCAT hearing scheduled for October and we didn’t receive a response until March,” Lawrence said. “We are nearing completion
of the building and part of the Federal Government’s conditions for use of the site under the Building the Education Revolution initiative, under which we received funding, is for the site to be available for community use within a specific timeframe.”
Despite concerns from residents, a spokesperson for Planning Minister Justin Madden said it is in fact common practice for the minister to call in matters on the basis of land use, particularly when the site is to be used for educational purposes.
“With building works due to finish shortly it is common sense to address the matter of the building’s use quickly,” she said this week. “Calling the matter in from VCAT means a decision can be reached more quickly, while still considering the differing views.”
The spokesperson also confirmed a meeting had been held last month between residents, the school, council representatives and the minister’s staff. The department is currently reviewing the information and is expected to make
a recommendation to the minister shortly.
She said the matter is of state significance as it is a multimillion-dollar development, has an educational usage, was part of the Building the
Education Revolution stimulus package and was partly funded by the Federal Government.
*
Film Festival threatened over Israel link
MELBOURNE, 5 August – The Melbourne International Film Festival has been threatened with legal action for refusing to withdraw a film at the
request of its makers, who objected to the festival receiving funding from Israel. Feature film Son of Babylon, which is set in Iraq, screened on July 26 and July 28 as scheduled, despite demands it be withdrawn in protest at
funding from the Israeli government. The funding amounted to a return economy-class airfare for an Israeli director.
”The festival was informed in enough time to stop the screening . therefore if you have knowingly disregarded our wishes and screened the film, we will of course be left with little alternative than to take appropriate action
against the festival,” producer Isabelle Stead wrote to festival executive director Richard Moore last week in an email exchange leaked to crikey.com.au.
”You should not underestimate our resolve to ensure that our film is not associated with thestate of Israel as long as it continues itsillegal crimes against humanity,” she wrote.
There is, in the filmmakers’ stance, a distinct echo of Ken Loach’s decision to withdraw his film Looking For Eric from last year’s festival on the
same grounds. On July 18 last year, The Age broke the story that the veteran English filmmaker hadsaid ”if it did not reconsider the sponsorship,
he would not allow the festival to screen his film”. Mr Loach cited ”illegal occupation of Palestinian land, destruction of homes and livelihoods” and ”the massacres in Gaza” as reasons for the boycott.
Mr Moore said acceding to Mr Loach’s demand would be ”like submitting to blackmail”. That put him and the festival at odds with the Edinburgh Film
Festival, which had done precisely that. In acknowledgment of its stand and its response to pressure by the Chinese government over the
documentary, “The 10 Conditions of Love,” about Uighur independence leader Rebiya Kadeer,Victorian civil liberties group Liberty lastmonth gave this year’s Voltaire award to the Melbourne festival.
This year’s flare-up is a little more complicated, however.
Mohamed Al-Daradji, director and co-producer of “Son of Babylon,” wrote to the festival about 14 hours before his film’s first festival screening,
requesting that the festival cancel it and the second scheduled screening.
Within two hours, Mr Moore replied. ”To request a withdrawal of the film on the day of the screening is simply not acceptable and shows a lack of respect for our organisation,” he wrote.
”We are not able to replace the film at short notice and we will screen it today. I am prepared to consider other options for the second screening but I will also need to consider the financial ramifications.”
However, the July 28 screening went ahead, prompting an angry email from Ms Stead, who did not return calls or emails from The Age.
”When we grant a festival permission to screen a film that took us years to make along withdanger, blood, sweat and tears we do so with trust. I would have thought a festival would morally recognise the need to tell a Palestinian
co-production that it was funded by the state of Israel,” Ms Stead wrote.
The Zionist Federation of Australia president Philip Chester meanwhile wrote to festival director Richard Moore, and the film’s director Mohamed Al-Daradji and producers Isabelle Stead and Atia Al-Daradji saying “The request by the makers was completely inappropriate … “[The boycott] is part of a worldwide attempt to isolate Israel, to boycott Israeli products, creativity, programs
and culture. We’re seeing it everywhere and that’s the real worry.”
Chester praised Moore, whose wife and children are Jewish and lived in Israel for several years, for refusing to yield.
“Richard Moore has been very courageous in saying, ‘this is inappropriate. You don’t have to like every film we show, but that’s what art and
festivals are all about, don’t try and censor me’.”
Following the screening, the film’s producers again contacted Moore requesting the proceeds from ticket sales be donated to a charity of
their choice. The request was denied.
*
Fabian is Australia bureau chief for San Diego Jewish World
U.S. judge sides with Chabad in demand that Russia return a Jewish library
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge has issued a ruling against the Russian government for its refusal to return a library of historic books and documents to the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. The documents seized by the Nazis were transferred by the Soviet Red Army as war booty to the Russian State Military Archive.
In an order filed on 30 July and published on Wednesday, Justice Royce Lamberth told the Russian government to surrender to the US Embassy in Moscow, or to representatives of Chabad, the complete collection of religious books, manuscripts, documents and things that comprise the collection, and further ordered the defendants to assist and authorize the transfer of the collection and to provide whatever security and authorization is needed to insure prompt and safe transportation of the collection to a destination of the plaintiff’s choosing.
“This victory is a triumph for justice for the Jewish people and others who abhor the Nazi and Soviet exploitation of victims of genocide, and the unlawful and immoral suppression of religious faith by the current Russian government,” said Seth Gerber, one of the lawyers representing Chabad.
Last year, lawyers for the Russian government argued that judges had no authority to tell the country how to handle the sacred Jewish documents. Under the US Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, a sovereign nation is not immune to lawsuits in cases where property is taken in violation of international law. Lamberth found that the religious group had established its claim to the material.
According to court papers reciting the history behind the case, during the 1990s Russian President Boris Yeltsin gave an explicit assurance to then-US President George H.W. Bush’s emissary, Secretary of State James Baker, that the Russian government would return the library of religious books and manuscripts to Chabad-Lubavitch.
*
Preceding provided by World Jewish Congress
Jerusalem tourism waxes and wanes with international politics
By Ira Sharkansky
Ira Sharkansky
JERUSALEM–More than two million overseas visitors arrived in Jerusalem during a recent year. The attractions are well maintained places linked to individuals and events featured in the Hebrew Bible and New Testament, and a functioning Old City enclosed by walls built in ancient times and last reconstructed in the 16th century. The Old City offers sites and shopping for tourists, and four distinctive neighborhoods that are the homes of 30,000 Jews, Muslims, Armenians and other Christians. Only a short ride away is Bethlehem, equally compelling for those wanting to see the roots of Christianity. Jericho is not much further in another direction. It offers winter visitors a chance to dine comfortably in an outdoor restaurant, while ten miles away in Jerusalem it may be raining and close to freezing.
While the numbers coming to Jerusalem are impressive, and often a nuisance to locals having to cope with crowds and traffic, the city ranks lower than 50 others in the numbers of tourists it attracts. London, New York, Bangkok, Paris, and Rome attract from three to seven times the number of international tourists as Jerusalem. Dublin, Amsterdam, and Prague get twice as many, while even Kiev and Bucharest, plus resorts near Bangkok attract 50 percent more international visitors than Jerusalem.
Jerusalem may have more of a mystic pull than these other places. The “Jerusalem syndrome” is a documented condition whereby some visitors believe themselves to be biblical characters. Jewish and Christian sufferers act as David, Jesus, or some other figure associated with their faith. I am not aware of visitors to London and Paris thinking that they are Henry VIII, Napoleon, or any of the other figures associated with local history.
Why does Jerusalem rank only #51 on a sophisticated ranking of international tourism?
Distance has something to do with it. Visitors to Western Europe can avail themselves of numerous attractive destinations as part of the same trip from home. There are decent beaches and other features in Tel Aviv and Netanya, but they attract only 60 and 10 percent of the overseas visitors as Jerusalem. Tiberias is on the Sea of Galilee and close to sites important to Christians, but draws only 25 percent of the number of visitors to Jerusalem.
There are other sites in countries close to Jerusalem, notably Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon, but the borders of the Middle East are not as easy to cross as those of Western Europe. For some years now Israeli security personnel have not allowed Israeli Jews to visit Bethlehem or Jericho without special permits, and others have to pass through barriers and inspections meant to protect us.
Politics and tension are more likely to figure in a decision to visit Jerusalem than other cities. The number of overseas tourists to Israel dropped from 2.4 million in 2000, which was mostly prior to the onset of the latest intifada, to a bit over one million in 2003, which was one of the bloodiest years. Numbers increased to 1.9 million by 2005 when the violence had diminished significantly. No other country included in the regions of Europe and the Mediterranean surveyed by the United Nations tourist agency showed comparable variations in the same period. Even on a mundane issue like this, the U.N. is unable to consider Israel part of the Middle East region, which includes all of the countries bordering it and Palestine.
Jerusalem has drawn more tourists that some well-known sites in Europe. It does better than Florence and Venice, and is pretty much tied with Athens. Why less than Kiev and Bucharest? There are mysteries in the world of tourism that may boil down to nothing more than current fashion or a lack of precision in the numbers.
Tourist flows change with politics and economics. Thirty years ago there was virtually no direct travel between Israel, the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Now Russian visitors are in second place behind those from the United States; there are sizable numbers from Ukraine and Poland. Thousands come each year from India, Korea, Japan, China, and Nigeria. Indonesia and Morocco receive Israelis and send visitors to Israel, even though there are no formal diplomatic relations. There are even a few hundred visitors annually from Malaysia and Iran, whose officials are usually among our most intense critics .
My latest Jerusalem experience may be part of a multicultural gesture to attract overseas visitors, or it may reflect nothing more than the lack of experience or attention by the person responsible. While I usually pay no attention to the music piped into the exercise room at the university gym, this morning I became alert to something familiar. It was Silent Night, in the English version I was required to sing many years ago at the Highland School. But only in December. Never in July.
*
Sharkansky is professor emeritus of political science at Hebrew University
