Diaspora Jews world-wide genetically close, study finds

(WJC)–A genetic study by scientists, published in the journal ‘Nature’, has found that most Jewish populations in the Diaspora are “genetically closer” to each other than to their non-Jewish neighbors. It also revealed genetic ties between globally dispersed Jews and non-Jewish populations in the Middle East. The researchers analyzed genetic samples from 14 Jewish communities across the world and compared them with those from 69 non-Jewish populations.

The findings support the view that most contemporary Jews are descendents of ancient Hebrew and Israelite residents in the Levant. Doron Behar from Haifa, Israel, who led an international team of scientists, described this as a form of “genetic archaeology”.

“It seems that most Jewish populations and therefore most Jewish individuals are closer to each other [at the genetic level], and closer to the Middle Eastern populations, than to their traditional host population in the Diaspora,” he was quoted as saying by ‘BBC News’.

There were exceptions to this key finding, though, Behar explained. For example, Ethiopian and Indian Jewish communities were genetically closer to their neighboring non-Jewish populations, which might be partly because a greater degree of genetic, religious and cultural crossover took place when the Jewish communities in these areas became established.

Novel analytical techniques allowed the scientists to examine the genetic samples they took in unprecedented detail. Behar said the data from this study could aid future research into the genetic basis of diseases that are more prevalent in the Jewish population.

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Preceding provided by World Jewish Congress.

No change in US stance toward Hezbollah, says top official

(WJC)–The Obama administration will not treat Hezbollah as being divided into political and military factions, a senior official has told the US Senate’s Middle East subcommittee. “Despite the group’s rhetoric and political campaigning, there remains today no meaningful distinction between the military and political wings of Hezbollah,” Jeffrey Feltman, assistant secretary of state in charge of the Middle East, said.

Feltman’s remarks appeared to be aimed at ending a controversy started last month when President Obama’s counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan, suggested that the United States should cultivate Hezbollah “moderates” in the Lebanese government, as opposed to the militants who run the terrorist group. Feltman said the United States would deal with the group should it leave behind its terrorism, but added that he believed it to be unlikely.

“Should Hezbollah truly desire to join the ranks of Lebanon’s other political groups in its democratic system, its path would be clear: It would fully disarm, like all other militias, renounce terrorism and political intimidation, and acknowledge the authority of the government of Lebanon and that government’s right, like other governments, to a monopoly on the use of force,” he said. “Under those circumstances we could reconsider the group’s status. Make no mistake, these are significant hurdles, and we have seen no indication to date that Hezbollah is ready to take these steps.”

The Iranian-backed Shiite group, Feltman said, remained “the most technically capable terrorist group in the world and a continued security threat to the United States.”

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Preceding provided by World Jewish Congress

United Nations imposes fourth round of sanctions on Iran

(WJC)–By 12 out of 15 votes, the Security Council of the United Nations on Wednesday approved a fourth round of sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program, which many fear is ultimately aimed at developing nuclear weapons. Turkey and Brazil voted against the resolution text while Lebanon abstained. Earlier this week, the permanent members of the council – Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States – agreed on the most far-reaching sanctions package so far.

Hours before the vote, the US, France and Russia dismissed a proposal by Iran to swap some of its enriched uranium for reactor fuel, arguing that unlike the original plan drawn up in Geneva eight months ago the proposal negotiated by Brazil and Turkey would leave Iran with enough material to make a nuclear weapon.

The new measures prohibit Iranian investment in nuclear facilities and activities abroad and ban new categories of weapons to be imported into Iran. It imposes asset freezes on 40 new entities, many linked to the Revolutionary Guard in Iran. Resolution 1929 also imposes sweeping new restrictions on financial activities that could contribute to Iran’s nuclear or proliferation activities.

Travel and financial restrictions also were imposed on more officials and institutions, and the resolution has a qualified call for the boarding and inspection of ships heading for Iran. However, that can be carried out only if the country whose flag the vessel flies agrees to inspections.

The World Jewish Congress (WJC) applauded the Security Council vote. WJC President Ronald S. Lauder, said in a statement: “This resolution is an important demonstration of the international community’s unwillingness to tolerate a nuclear Iran that is characterized by continuous human rights abuses and threats against its neighbors. The resolution includes a ban on Iran’s acquiring heavy weapons and prevents Iran from investing in any nuclear related entities such as uranium mines or nuclear enrichment plants.”

“The World Jewish Congress believes that these sanctions are an important step and that additional pressures must be applied as well in order to stop Iran. We applaud the members of the UN Security Council, led by the United States Mission to the United Nations which invested yeoman efforts, for all their work in passing these measures and urge the international community to immediately enact and enforce them. We also urge the European Union to enact its own sanctions, as it has been promising for a long time, which would go a long way in bolstering these UN measures. We also urge the United States Congress to finalize its sanctions legislation and President Obama to sign it into law. The entire international community can together demonstrate the courage and determination to exercise the ability to keep Iran in check,” added Lauder.

Meanwhile, Russia said the sanctions meant it could not supply Iran with the S-300 anti-missile system Tehran had ordered, a military source told the ‘Interfax’ news agency. “It is compulsory to fulfil a decision by the UN Security Council, and Russia is not an exception here,” the unnamed source in the Federal Service for Military Technical Co-operation, which supervises Russian arms sales, was quoted as saying, adding: “Naturally, the contract for the delivery to Tehran of the S-300 air defence missile systems will be frozen. Russia agreed the S-300 deal with Iran several years ago, but has never delivered the weapons, under pressure from the US and Israel.

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Preceding provided by World Jewish Congress.

Israelis banned from Madrid gay pride parade over flotilla incident

(WJC)–A delegation of gay residents of Tel Aviv has been banned from joining a gay pride march in Madrid because city authorities failed to condemn the recent Israel attack on the Gaza flotilla, the UK newspaper ‘The Guardian’ reports. “After what has happened, and as human rights campaigners, it seemed barbaric to us to have them taking part,” the paper quotes The Tel Aviv group have reacted angrily to theAntonio Poveda of the Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Transsexuals and Bisexuals in Spain as saying. decision, claiming that the Madrid activists were getting their priorities wrong by mixing the flotilla incidents with gay pride. “I cannot recall anyone asking the Tel Aviv city hall to either support or condemn in this case. That is not their job. I also don’t recall Madrid’s gay organizations condemning any of the Palestinian terrorist attacks on cafés or buses,” Eytan Schwartz, a spokesman for Tel Aviv city, told the newspaper ‘El Mundo’.

Schwartz said that Tel Aviv had also extended an invitation to Madrid to send a delegation of gay activists to the city. Among other things, Tel Aviv had planned to take the Spanish organizers of the march to Gaza so they could witness a place “that is controlled by the fundamentalists of Hamas, who do not respect any human rights and believe that homosexuals should be killed,” Schwartz said.

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Preceding provided by World Jewish Congress.

J*Company, its director and actors win numerous awards

LA JOLLA, California (Press Release) – J*Company Youth Theatre, a program of the San Diego Center for Jewish Culture, announced its National Youth Theatre and Old Globe Theatre nominations and awards for the recently completed 2009-2010 season, which featured productions of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s beloved musicals South Pacific, The King and I, The Sound of Music, and Cinderella.   

“To have had the opportunity to direct these fantastic Rodgers and Hammerstein productions has been an absolute dream, and to be honored with so many awards is just icing on the musical cake,” said Joey Landwehr, J*Company’s Artistic Director.  “I count myself lucky to have been able to work with these wonderfully talented young artists.”   “It is amazing to me that we produce four shows a year and since becoming Artistic Director of J*Company almost five years ago, we have not presented one production that has not been honored in some way,” said Landwehr.  “I am such a proud papa!”  

Landwehr directed all four productions of the 2009-2010 season.  Landwehr has worked extensively as an actor and director in New York City, both on and off Broadway, as well as in national tours and regional theatre.  

The award recipients and nominees are listed below:  

J*Company National Youth Theatre Award Recipients 2009-2010  

Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Musical – Satya Chavez

Rodgers & Hammerstein’s The King and I Outstanding Production – J*Company Youth Theatre
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical – Daniel Myers
Outstanding Supporting Actress (13 and under) – Gabriela Lipson
Outstanding Ensemble – J*Company Youth Theatre
Outstanding Costume Design – Shulamit Nelson
Special Creativity Award – J*Company Youth Theatre: Daniel Myers (the King) and Joey Landwehr (Director) shaving their heads “Yul Brynner Style” to raise over $10,000 for children with cancer.  

Rodgers & Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical – Ali Viterbi  

J*Company National Youth Theatre Award Nominations  
Rodgers & Hammerstein’s The King and I Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Musical – Zachary Herzog
Outstanding Direction – Joey Landwehr
Outstanding Set Design – David Weiner  
Rodgers & Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical – Zachary Herzog
Outstanding Ensemble – J*Company Youth Theatre
Outstanding Set Design – David Kievit  

Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella Outstanding Supporting Actress (13 and Under) – Hallie Bodenstab
Outstanding Supporting Actress (13 and Under) Ilana Engle
Outstanding Supporting Actress (13 and Under) – Celia Tedde
Outstanding Ensemble (13 and Under) – J*Company Youth Theatre  

The Old Globe Honors Awards Recipients 2009-2010 Satya Chavez, Daniel Myers   J*Company
The Old Globe Honors Nominations 2009-2010 Jesse Carpentier. Lindsey Grant. Maddie Houts, Naomi McPherson, Kevin McRee, Scott Peterson. Darien Sepulveda.

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Preceding provided by the San Diego Center for Jewish Culture

At 75 years young, Jewish Federation tacks onto new course

Rabbi Philip Graubart installs Jan Tuttleman as new Jewish Federation chair

By Donald H. Harrison

Donald H. Harrison

SAN DIEGO—The umbrella agency of San Diego’s Jewish community celebrated its 75^th anniversary with a new name, new logo, new board chairperson and a newly-defined six-part mission.

All this became clear Thursday evening, June 10, when the agency formerly known as the United Jewish Federation announced its board had changed its name to the Jewish Federation of San Diego County and had redesigned its logo to reflect this change.

After the new board chair Jan Tuttleman and other board members were installed by Congregation Beth El Rabbi Philip Graubart, who serves as this year’s president of the San Diego Rabbinical Association, and after outgoing board chair Andrea Oster and other lay leadership were recognized with various awards, Steve Morris, the Jewish Federation’s president and CEO, told of the symbolic and substantive changes the organization has decided to make.

Morris said the new logo “places us clearly in sync with the brand and logo that the Jewish Federations of North America, our national system, has adopted and will help articulate our role as part of a nationwide effort to raise awareness, connect communities and raise financial resources to support Jewish life.”

Outgoing Federation President Andrea Oster is shown under organization’s new logo

Federation's now historic logo

He added that “the name change is an opportunity to launch a new era of coordination of planning and practice in our community in the pursuit of our mission.”

The Jewish Federation’s chief executive avoided the podium in front of the David and Dorothea Garfield  Theatre of the Lawrence Family JCC, and instead walked back and forth in front of theatre with a slide clicker in his hand.  “Our goal is to go beyond philanthropy and engage the community in all aspects of Jewish life,” he said.

He enumerated six conceptual areas in which the Jewish Federation plans to be active: 1) Jewish Philanthropy; 2) Israel and Overseas Jewry; 3) Community Engagement and Leadership Development; 4) Community Planning and Innovation; 5) Community Finance and Administration, and 6)Jewish Community Relations.

These six overlapping “centers of excellence,” Morris said, will “allow us to be a partner in Jewish giving, optimize planning for the future, connect Jews in San Diego to Israel and all of the worldwide Jewish community, connect Jews in San Diego to each other, and provide a voice for the Jewish community in the public sphere.”

Jewish Philanthropy—In the last two decades, “Federation and its donors have provided over $180 million of support for Jewish causes,” Morris said.  “”But during that time, the number of individuals supporting Federation has declined by 50 percent. 

He said Federation needs to preserve “the strength of the traditional annual campaign while attracting new donors through new donor engagement.”  The latter will require “new opportunities to address the needs of younger generations of donors.”  Additionally, said Morris, “partnering with the San Diego Jewish Community Foundation and other local and global partners” will help “assure that donors have the highest quality team, resources and opportunities possible.”

Israel and Overseas Center–The Jewish Federation currently operates an Israel Center which encourages Jewish group travel to Israel, often in conjunction with trips to Jewish communities in other parts of the world.   Morris said to this function Federation plans to find ways to “allow San Diegans to actualize their support of Israel in new and increasingly more effective ways.”  In addition to advocating for Israel and Jewish communities around the world, the center “will identify specific funding opportunities for our donors and will continue to make travel to Israel, as well as education, cornerstones.”

Community Engagement and Leadership – Morris said this initiative will focus on promoting volunteerism, connecting Jewish community institutions with young adults, developing future leadership and “partnering with other community institutions to create and implement a community leadership development strategy.”

Community Planning & Innovation—Comprehensive community planning will “help our communal institutions and organizations understand, predict and plan for the Jewish community’s needs and develop plans to strategically meet those needs,” Morris said.

Community Finance & Administration—Working with San Diego State University, the Jewish Federation plans to utilize students in master’s of business administration (MBA) programs to help Jewish community institutions such as synagogues, agencies, and volunteer associations, professionalize their approaches to finance, human relations, information   technologies, purchasing, and facilities management.

 Jewish Community Relations Council – This organization will utilize “a consensus based approach to advance the Jewish community’s goals,” Morris said.  It will serve as coordinator of the Jewish Federation’s public affairs agenda; “encourage ties between the Jewish community and other ethnic groups/ religions”; serve as a “Jewish voice and advocate in the media and government;” and be an “organizer and convener of Jewish community-wide events.”

Both the outgoing and incoming board chairs –Andrea Oster and Jan Tuttleman—also spoke at the well attended meeting, at which the normal theatre-style seating of the Garfield Theatre was replaced by tables permitting some snacking during the proceedings emceed by theatre critic Pat Launer.

Oster told the assembled guests that over her two-year-term, Federation had responded to the national economic crisis by cutting its staff by one third and bringing in as executive director Steve Morris.  The new chief executive officer, she said, “is a great fit for San Diego and  is leading our innovative, exciting and inspiring transformation process.  ‘Business as usual’ is not an option.”

Furthemore, she said, Dave Sigal, the new chief financial officer, helped Morris  to ensure that “the federation is operating at peak efficiency.”

The Federation and the Jewish Community Foundation created a Joint Economic Crisis Relief Fund which collaborated to assess the community’s needs due to the economic downturn, and design a plan and fundraise “to help those Jews with the greatest needs.” Oster said.  “Together we raised almost $1 million… for economic crisis relief programs, scholarships and additions to rabbi’ discretionary funds.”

In addition to Federation’s annual campaign, Oster reported, $927,000 has been raised toward the $1.3 million goal “to build a safe, bomb-resistant arts center on the campus of the educational village in our sister city, Sha’ar Hanegev.”

Sha’ar Hanegev lies along Israel’s border with Gaza in the northern Negev Desert.  The center will be in an educational complex that includes the municipality’s elementary and high schools and which adjoins the Sapir College campus in Sderot.

Oster presented presidential awards on Gary Kornfeld,a board member who helped with the administration of the Federation during its search for an executive, and to Betty Byrnes, a longtime community activist, who spearheaded the “On the Go” program to provide transportation services to Jewish senior citizens.

Before Tuttleman came to the podium, Jessica Effress, a past recipient of Federation’s Pauline and Stanley Foster Young Leadership Award, also presented awards to this year’s recipients: Danielle Shulman, Robert Fink, and her husband Rich Effress.

Tuttleman was touchingly introduced by her husband Craig Lambert, who heads up the senior services division of Jewish Family Service, and by her daughter, Emma, a graduating student at San Diego Jewish Academy who has been active in the Hand Up pantry program through which students collect, store, and distribute food to needy families in the county.  Lambert told of Tuttleman’s constantly active involvement in the Jewish community—regardless of where in the world they might go—and daughter Emma told of how her own extensive Jewish community involvement was modeled after her mother’s.

Trained as a scientific researcher, with a doctorate in microbiology from the University of Pennsylvania, Tuttleman has more recently turned her attention to business, earning an MBA at the Rady School of Business at UCSD.  She has served as the founding chair of the San Diego Women’s Foundation and a co-founder of the Women Give San Diego in addition to such responsibilities within the Jewish community as president of the women’s division of United Jewish Federation and vice president of the Jewish Community Foundation.

Tuttleman said her involvement in the Jewish community began when she enrolled her daughter Sophie in a Jewish kindergarten program and decided to take an Introduction to Judaism class herself.  That prompted her to become involved with the Women’s Division of Federation and to travel to Israel the first time to learn about the works of the Jewish Agency for Israel and the Joint Distribution Committee.

After her husband died, leaving her with two small children, Tuttleman said such members of the Jewish community as Barbara Sherman, Becky Newman and Mary Ann Scher offered comfort and support, further cementing her sense of belonging in the community.

Tuttleman said her administration will be “all about action,” stressing what is called the “be” campaign – ‘be connected, be together, believe, belong, be caring, be proud, be Jewish in San Diego.”

To those in and outside the room, Tuttleman said:  “I encourage you to bring your energies and expertise to the Federation. Get involved by participating on a committee, attend our programs, travel on our missions, and help us to raise the needed funds to keep our community vibrant while we show Israel and Jews around the world that we care.  Embrace this time as an opportunity to make your personal impact on our global Jewish community.”

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Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World

Bible calls upon humanity to try to make peace

By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal

Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal

SAN DIEGO–In this week’s parasha we find one of the most infamous disputes in Jewish history: that of Korach and his followers. Korach led an uprising agaisngt Moses and Aaron.  He wanted to remove them from leadership and make himself the ruler instead.

Moses challenged Korach to a “duel.” Korach and Aaron would each offer incense. The person whose incense God accepted would be validated as the true leader of Israel. The loser would die an unnatural death.

God accepted Aaron’s incense offering, but the earth opened up and swallowed  Korach and his followers.

Moses and Aaron were the legitimate rulers. Korach was not!

Before proposing the duel, Moses tried to make peace with Korach and his followers.  “Moses called Korach, Datan and Abiram.” (Num. 16:12) He wanted to meet with them to discuss an equitable way of settling the dispute. They refused and met an ignominious end.

Rashi says, “From this we learn that one should never perpetuate a dispute: Moses and Aaron sought them out to appease them with words of peace.” That is, despite the fact that Moshe and Aaron were impugned by Korach, and there was not question of who was right and who was wrong, they went out of their way to make shalom with their enemies.

Rabbi Abraham Shmuel Binyamin Sofer, who wrote the famous work Ketav Sofer, says that we would be justified to be surprised by Moses’ response to the rebels. After all, on a previous occasion when Moses tried to solve a dispute he not only failed but was almost killed for his trouble!

When was this? In Egypt, after he killed an Egyptian taskmaster beating a Hebrew slave. He thought there were not witnesses. However, “When he went out the next day he found two  Hebrews fighting; so he said to the offender, ‘Why do you strike your fellow?’ He retorted, ‘Who made you chief and ruler over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?’ Moses was frightened…When Pharaoh learned of the matter, he sought to kill Moses; but Moses fled from Pharaoh.” (Ex. 2:13-15) In retrospect, Moses may have considered that it would have been better not to interfere.

Nevertheless, when Korach rebelled Moses decided that the risk of making peace was greater than the risk of ignoring or inflaming the dispute. He did his best to bring Korach to the bargaining table. In doing so he set an example for his people and decedents, living through his deeds the teaching of the Sages: “One should never perpetuate a dispute.”

The Ketav Sofer concludes that when you see people arguing you should never say that there is no possibility of agreement and keep your distance, but rather you should get involved and patiently counsel the disputants to set aside their grudges and emotions and compromise to make peace. (Shivim Panim l’Torah, Numbers, p.114)

Creating peace is a great mitzvah, one we should all pursue.

(Please feel free to forward this email to the Palestinian Authority, Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, etc.!)

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Rosenthal is the spirtual leader of Tifereth Israel Synagogue in San Diego

Can there be a fair Gaza Flotilla inquiry?

By Ira Sharkansky

Ira Sharkansky

JERUSALEM–The current mantra is, “Israel cannot investigate itself.” That is, an Israeli investigation will not satisfy those who sign on to one or another of what antagonists call the “Flotilla fiasco,” “State terror,” “Attack on a Turkish ship in international waters,” or “Israeli murder.”

The contrary mantra is, “The international community cannot investigate Israel.” Goldstone and all those automatic condemnations from the United Nations and NGOs have emasculated whatever confidence Israelis might have in fair judgement.

My own view is that those who are fair can assess the situation without any investigation. Perhaps only to me is it clear that enough people on the MV Mavi Marmara had evil intent. If Israeli intelligence was not good enough to make the take-over more efficient with fewer casualties, that is a failing common to military operations. 

Think of those Afghan weddings bombed by Americans with many more deaths. Oops. I guess they were not gatherings of terrorists. Or maybe there were a few terrorists among the dead. The scenario repeated itself several times without the intervention of the international community and demands for a non-American committee of investigation.

Were the deaths of nine Turkish fighters a tragedy? Not any more than that 15 year old Mexican boy recently killed by US officials on the Mexican side of the international border. But here, too, no demands for an international investigation, despite indications that there have been several of these incidents. 

Critics who focus on the failures of Israeli intelligence ridicule the use of guns capable of shooting only paintballs. The purpose behind these weapons has not be clarified. Military secret or intentional ambiguity like that Israel’s nuclear capacity?

Perhaps competing international and Israeli commissions of inquiry can break through the mystery and let us know why. One theory is that the munitions for these weapons were balls of pepper spray, meant for non-lethal crowd control. Another theory is that paintballs were meant to identify bad people for further treatment.

When viewed along with other events in the world, the attention to this is amazing. The blockade has been established for years, and is justified by the continued threat to Israel of the Hamas-Iran axis. People claiming humanitarian intentions were warned several times and provided with the option of transporting material after Israeli inspection. The rest of the ships in the first flotilla, and the Rachel Corrie were brought to an Israeli port without casualties.

The single most prominent conclusion I can make is that much of the world has signed on to the illegitimacy of Israel, and the illegitimacy of what it does to defend itself. The collection of motives includes Islamic fanaticism, anti-Semitism, and an excessive commitment to the procedures of internationalism no matter what they produce (i.e., Obama’s engagement). 

There is also a lack of information about the threat that Israel faces from Hizbollah and Hamas, the repeated rejections by Palestinians of Israeli efforts at compromise, and the opportunities of Israel’s Arabs. The latter are arguably better than any other minority in the Arab world, better than enjoyed by Arabs in most Arab countries, and better on some dimensions than minorities in the United States and other western democracies.

The explanation for Jews’ participation in the political assaults on Israel demands special consideration. For some, this may be nothing more than traditional Jewish obsession with absolute justice, an element in the culture since the Biblical Prophets. For others, it may reflect a lack of information, a wanting to participate in something fashionable and larger than themselves, along with a capacity to exploit their Jewishness or grandparents with a Holocaust experience in order to gain prominence. 

No doubt some of these Jews–as well as non-Jewish opponents of Israel–have come to their conclusions as a result of careful study and an effort to be fair. If there are many of these, it is sad that their voices have been lost in the din created by so many others.

Israel is a political entity, and its government may go along with international demands for an inquiry. 

Can an inquiry established by Israel satisfy the legions of deaf shouters? Or can an inquiry established by others claim fairness?

I await positive responses to either question.

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Sharkansky is professor emeritus of political science at Hebrew University