European body criticizes Poland for lack of progress in fighting anti-Semitism

(WJC)–In a new report, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) has criticized Poland for lack of progress in fighting anti-Semitic and racist discourse as well as a lack of comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation and the vulnerable situation of the Roma minority.

The report says that “it  is disturbing that discriminatory attitudes persist in Poland. Anti-Semitism is tolerated in parts of the political world and influential media. Racism among football fans, involving serious insults to Black players and crude references to the Holocaust, is a major problem which must be tackled by the authorities as well as by the Polish Football Association and football clubs.

“Some extreme right-wing organizations continue their activities unchallenged. There is an obvious need to curtail hate speech in publications and on the Internet. The courts have an important contribution to make in this respect and confidence should be built in the National Broadcasting Council’s ability to deal with complaints about ethical standards.

“There is no comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation, no independent specialized body to combat racism and discrimination on grounds of race, color, language, religion, nationality or national or ethnic origin and no independent police complaints mechanism”.

ECRI is an independent human rights body of the Council of Europe, based in Strasbourg, France. It monitors problems of racism and intolerance, prepares reports and issues recommendations to the Council of Europe’s member states.

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Preceding provided by World Jewish Congress.

Alleged Mossad agent wanted in Germany arrested at Warsaw Airport

(WJC)–An alleged Mossad agent who is wanted in Germany in connection with the assassination of a Hamas official in Dubai has been arrested in the Polish capital Warsaw. The arrest earlier this month of Uri Brodsky, and his possible extradition to Germany, could lead to a diplomatic row between Germany and Israel.

Germany wants Brodsky to face charges of falsifying documents to obtain a German passport, but according to news reports, Israel has pressed Poland not to extradite him. The German news magazine  ‘Der Spiegel’ reported on Monday that Brodsky – an Israeli citizen suspected of working for the Mossad in Germany – was taken into custody upon arrival at Warsaw’s airport on 04 June. He is suspected of having helped another Mossad agent to illegally obtain a German passport as part of the plot to assassinate senior Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in a Dubai hotel room in January, according to the German Federal Prosecutor’s Office.

Al-Mabhouh co-founded the military wing of Hamas and was allegedly in Dubai to conclude a weapons deal when he was killed. Dubai police investigations have pointed to the involvement of 33 people in the plot. They were placed on Interpol’s most wanted list, and Germany particularly sought Brodsky, according to media reports.

A prosecution spokesman in Poland was quoted by ‘ Haaretz’  as saying that Polish authorities will ask the court in Warsaw to meet the German request for Brodsky’s extradition. The Polish prosecutor noted that the extradition would be based on a European arrest warrant which leaves Poland little choice in the matter, consistent with its legal obligations as a member of the European Union. “The Polish court will rule in 30 days whether the incarcerated person, under the name of Brodsky, will be extradited to Germany or not,” the spokesman for the Warsaw District Court added, according to the Israeli newspaper.

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Preceding provided by World Jewish Congress.

US senators press Obama to include Turkish charity in terrorism list

(WJC)–Leaders of both parties in the United States Senate have urged the Obama administration to consider placing the Turkish charity involved in the Gaza flotilla incident on the list of terrorist organizations, JTA reports. Senate majority leader Harry Reid (Democrats) and minority leader Mitch McConnell (Republicans) circulated a letter last week among colleagues that would press Obama to investigate the Turkish Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH), which helped to charter one the six ships of the ‘ Gaza Freedom Flotilla’.

“Israeli forces were able to safely divert five of the six ships challenging the blockage,” the letter says according to the JTA news agency, adding: “However, video footage shows that the Israeli commandos who arrived on the sixth ship, which was owned by the Turkish Humanitarian Relief Foundation were brutally attacked with iron rods, knives, and broken glass. They were forced to respond to that attack and we regret the loss of life that resulted.”

Competing accounts of the melee blame both the Israeli commandos and the passengers for starting the fight. The letter alleges that IHH is affiliated with Hamas. “We recommend that your administration consider whether the IHH should be put on the list of foreign terrorist organizations, after an examination by the intelligence community, the State Department, and the Treasury Department,” it says. Placement on the list makes it a crime to raise funds for such a group. The letter also encourages Obama to continue to support Israel “before international organizations such as the United Nations.

“We ask you to stand firm in the future at the United Nations Security Council and to use your veto power, if necessary, to prevent any similar biased or one-sided resolutions from passing,” the letter states.

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Preceding provided by Worlod Jewish Congress.

Hard-line ayatollah says Iran must not give up right to build “special weapons”

(WJC)–In a thinly veiled reference to nuclear arms, Ayatollah Mohammad Taqi Mesbah Yazdi – a hard-line Iranian cleric who is seen as spiritual mentor of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad – has called for the production of those “special weapons’’ that were a monopoly of a few nations. Yazdi wrote in a book circulated among senior clerics that Iran should not deprive itself of the right to produce these “special weapons.’’

Yazdi’s book, ‘The Islamic Revolution – Surges in Political Changes in History’, was written in 2005 and then reprinted last year but would have had only a very limited circulation among senior clerics and would not have been widely known. “The most advanced weapons must be produced inside our country even if our enemies don’t like it. There is no reason that they have the right to produce a special type of weapon, while other countries are deprived of it,’’ Yazdi wrote. The ayatollah is a member of the Assembly of Experts, a conservative body of 86 senior clerics that monitors Iran’s supreme leader and chooses his successor. He also heads the Imam Khomeini Educational and Research Institute, an Islamic think tank, in the city of Qom, 80 miles south of the capital.

Iran’s government and its clerical hierarchy have repeatedly denied the country is seeking nuclear weapons. The United Nations Security Council last week imposed a fourth round of sanctions in response to Tehran’s refusal to halt uranium enrichment. The fourth sanctions package includes an asset freeze of 40 additional companies and organizations, including 22 involved in nuclear or ballistic missile activities.

On Monday, European Union foreign ministers agreed on a package of additional sanctions against Iran which go beyond the UN measures. The EU sanctions would focus on trade, especially on dual-use items that could have nuclear applications. They also would further restrict insurance and financial transactions.

The Australian government also imposed sanctions against two Iranian companies and an Iranian general to protest against Tehran’s nuclear program. The new measures were in addition to those adopted by the UN Security Council, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith told Parliament in Canberra.

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Preceding provided by World Jewish Congress.

Reason behind world’s Gaza flotilla uproar: plain, simple, old-fashioned anti-Semitism

By Morton A. Klein and Dr. Daniel Mandel

NEW YORK–Disturbing, shocking and eye-opening. Israel attempts to legally prevent Iranian missiles and rockets from being delivered to Gaza, controlled by the internationally recognized terrorist group, Hamas; yet the world and media condemns the Jewish state of Israel and mourns the nine Hamas supporters who were killed by Israel in self-defense. And remember – Israel stops weapons, but daily allows delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza. So why this upside-down world? There is no reasonable explanation but one – anti-Semitism against the Jewish state.

By striking contrast, North Korea’s unprovoked torpedoing and sinking a South Korean ship, killing 45 on board, evokes little response. Russia bulldozing and carpet-bombing of Chechnya, killing thousands of civilians, again evokes little response. The Sudanese regime’s endless massacre of hundreds of thousands of Sudanese Christians and animists is greeted with a deafening silence. Yet, it is Israeli officials who do not travel to certain Western countries for fear of arrest on war crimes charges. North Korean leaders, Russian officers, Sudanese officials and Hamas terrorists travel freely without fear of arrest and prosecution.

Colonel Richard Kemp, former British commander in Afghanistan said, “I don’t think there has ever been a time in the history of warfare when any army has made more efforts to reduce civilian casualties and deaths of innocent people than the IDF in Gaza.” Yet we live in a world in which people increasingly ignore real war crimes while obsessing on fabricated Israeli ones.

The Gaza flotilla consisted of six ships, five of which peacefully complied with the Israeli blockade, were searched and proceeded without bloodshed. Only the sixth ship, the Mavi Mamara, refused to comply. Naturally, the Israelis boarded the ship. Expecting only some noisy pro-Palestinian activists, the Israelis carried merely paintball guns, often used in riot control, and side arms, which were not even drawn.

This was hardly an overreaction. However, the jihadists and their sympathizers on board, who were armed with weapons, night vision goggles and bullet-proof vests, assaulted, seized and overpowered the Israelis with metal rods, bats, knives and even shot and wounded some of the Israelis with the Israelis’ own side arms.

The evidence of the unprovoked assault on the Israelis was clear and quickly available: video footage showing the Israelis being assaulted upon setting foot on board; video clips of the Hamas supporters on board the ship singing songs celebrating the murder of Jews and happily anticipating violence and their own ‘martyrdom.’ Weapons and contraband were subsequently found on the ship. The Turkish IHH, who are known to be Al-Qaeda supporters and aligned with Iran, were the violent Hamas supporters’ enablers. The Turkish government, which permitted the flotilla to sail, claimed falsely that no weapons were on board. But there is no outrage at the violent pro-Hamas activists, the IHH or the Turkish government, who caused or made possible the bloodshed – only the Israelis who defended their lives.

In short, this is not merely a case of biased reporting, confusion or lack of relevant data – it is a case of anti-Semitic agitation. What is occurring is not just the attempted delegitimizing of Israel: this is also the re-legitimizing of anti-Semitism, the idea that Jews are a uniquely sinister force for evil in the world. Anti-Semitism produces the distorted vision which sees Jews as inflicting evil, regardless of the facts.

This resurgent disease is also evident in the generalized criticism of Israel grounded in the false notion that Israel is to blame for the absence of peace. Israeli concessions of territory, money, arms and assets to the Palestinians over 17 years since the 1993 Oslo accords are simply airbrushed from history. Palestinian terrorism is ignored or rationalized, as is the incitement to hatred and murder within the Palestinian Authority and Gaza which feeds it.

By these means Israel is held out as the aggressor, the inflexible power unwilling to make the concessions to the Palestinians that would bring peace. Israel obtains little support for taking justifiable action anyone else wouldn’t hesitate to take – like boarding a ship defying a blockade.

Anti-Semitism demands that Jews do nothing: not fight wars, not kill terrorists, not even block funds and arms reaching their would-be genocidal enemies. Anti-Semitism regards anything short of Jews being defenseless as a violation of the natural order. That is why the Jewish state of Israel is being widely condemned when it is simply trying to protect its own citizens.

Spanish leftist politician Pilar Rahola has asked of much of today’s European left, “Why, of all the world’s conflicts, only this one interests them? Why a tiny country which struggles to survive is criminalized? … why when it is the only country in the world which is threatened with destruction, it is the only one that nobody considers a victim?” The tragic answer, as Rahola rightly concludes, is that this is how “anti-Semites” behave.

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Morton A. Klein is National President of the Zionist Organization of America. Dr. Daniel Mandel is Director of the ZOA’s Center for Middle East Policy and a Fellow in History at Melbourne University.

Conference of Presidents urges senators to sign letter to Obama urging Israel support

NEW YORK (Press Release)– Leaders of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations urged members of the Senate to join Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in their letter to President Barack Obama that reaffirms “support for our strategic partnership with Israel” and encourages the President to continue to support Israel at the United Nations, citing Israel as “our strongest ally in the Middle East and a vibrant democracy.”  The letter notes the partnership “on military and intelligence issues” and the U.S. “national interest” in supporting Israel and its “right to self-defense.”

“We hope that members of the Senate will rally behind this very important statement that notes the deep concern of the Senate regarding the role of the IHH in the attack against Israeli soldiers on the Mavi Marmara and urges the Administration’s consideration of adding the IHH to the list of foreign terrorist organizations. 

While the statement commends the U.S. for preventing a United Nations Security Council resolution that would have condemned Israel and for voting against the deplorable United Nations Human Rights Council resolution that did single out Israel alone for condemnation, it urges the President ‘to stand firm in the future at the United Nations Security Council,’ and to use the veto power, when necessary, to ‘prevent any similar biased or one-sided resolutions from passing.’ The letter also notes support for moving quickly to direct negotiations and ultimate resolution of the conflict,” said Chairman Alan Solow and Executive Vice Chairman Malcolm Hoenlein.

“We are grateful to Senators Reid and McConnell and the senators who have or will sign on to show their support for this important and timely statement.  We look forward to an equivalent initiative in the House. Similar to the results of polls across the country, this letter reflects the deep commitment of the American people to the special U.S.-Israel relationship, and their understanding and support for Israel, its efforts to protect its citizens and prevent Hamas from acquiring more sophisticated and greater quantities of weapons,” the leaders said.

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Preceding provided by the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations

San Diego Israel Coalition plans June 17 organizing meeting

SAN DIEGO (Press Release)—An organizing meeting of the San Diego Israel Coalition – described as a “grassroots, passionate, inclusive pro-Israel group focused on powerful and peaceful Israel advocacy”– will be conducted at 7:15 p.m., Thursday, June 17, at Congregation Beth Am, 5050 Del Mar Heights Road in the Carmel Valley area.

Co-chairs Audrey Jacobs and Michael Lurie said the organization will work in partnership with the United Jewish Federation, Anti-Defamation League, American Israel Public Affairs Committee, Hillel, Scholars for Peace in the Middle East, Tritons for Israel, T.E.A.M., Tarbuton, the Zionist Organization of America and all other pro-Israel organizations.

Information about the group and the meeting may be obtained via sdisraelcoalition@gmail.com

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Preceding based on information provided by the San Diego Israel Coalition

San Diego County’s historic places: Santee Lakes

Santee Lakes

By Donald H. Harrison

Donald H. Harrison

SANTEE–As you feed the ducks in the Santee Lakes, or watch naval enthusiasts sail radio-controlled model battleships and cruisers on its waters, or picnic along its shores, you may not realize that you are standing at a venue that back in the 1960s was a sensation of the water reclamation world and a magnet for delegations from parched countries everywhere.

Today, it’s not at all uncommon for cities to used reclaimed water for recreational purposes but a half century ago in 1959, when the Santee County Water District decided to reclaim water from sewage and turn it into lakes, it was a novel and controversial idea. However, with the neighboring City of San Diego charging more and more for the pipelining of treated sewage into the Pacific Ocean, the district’s director, Ray Stoyer, was able to persuade his board that creating the lakes would be less expensive economically and more beneficial for recreation-hungry residents of Santee, a small city east of San Diego.

There were some special geologic circumstances permitting Stoyer to envision his system of small lakes, chief among them the fact that the area he wanted for the project already had been mined for gravel down to the impervious layer of clay. Thus, there was no danger of the treated water percolating down to the ground water supply.

Another factor was that the man who owned the mined-out gravel pits, Bill Mast, was willing to donate the land to the district, which since has become known as the Padre Dam Municipal Water District. Mast was a good businessman. If the project were to be built, irrigation water could be routed from the lakes to the property he wanted to develop into a golf course, which today is known as the Carlton Oaks Country Club.

Up to the point it decided to create the lakes, the water district had been giving its sewage primary and secondary treatment. Primary treatment involves holding the sewage in a tank long enough to permit big particles to settle out and light particles to float up. The particles then are separated from the water and disposed of.

In secondary treatment, the water is pumped to another tank in which bacteria, kept alive by a constant flow of air, feed off the impurities, a process that further cleanses the water.

To be able to turn this water into lake water, suitable for fowl and fish, other processes needed to be introduced to remove both nitrogen and phosphorus from the wastewater. By pumping the wastewater from the secondary treatment tank to another tank, with a different population of bacteria, Stoyer was able to solve the problem of nitrogen.

Removing the phosphorus was a more difficult problem, but this was where the geology of the region came in handy. The district was able to pump the water to a gravel area lying upstream from the proposed lakes. Located on the same kind of impervious clay, these gravel beds could serve as giant filters, cleansing the water of phosphorus before it flowed by gravity into the lake system. In the first lake, the water would be allowed to oxidize by exposure to the air, then be pumped to the second lake for more oxidation, and finally to a third lake, which could be used for recreational purposes.

The engineering and most chemical problems solved, Stoyer next considered the public relations problem—how was he going to get the people of Santee to accept the idea of boating, fishing, and picnicking by lakes filled with water that once had been in their toilets? He decided to tantalize them by fencing off the lakes and using its waters to irrigate the grounds surrounding them with trees, grass and other plants. He also put in picnic tables which could be seen—but not touched—through the fence. And then he waited.

In Santee, summer temperatures can sometimes exceed 100 degrees. Sweltering in such heat, Santee residents saw the clear waters of the lake, the ducks and other water fowl splashing happily, the empty picnic tables, and began to question why they also could not take advantage of the lake. To which Stoyer replied in speech after speech promoting water conservation that only after the county Department of Health ruled that the water was absolutely safe for human contact could the district even consider opening it up. Stoyer thereby helped to create pent-up demand.

Dr. J.B. Askew, the health department’s director, announced opposition in 1961 to permitting boating and picnicking at the lakes following unsatisfactory sampling of the waters for bacteria. Ten years later, in his book “The Town That Launders Its Water,” author Leonard A. Stevens quoted Askew as voicing these concerns: “You cannot let children around a body of water before they are in it. At least their hands are in it, and the next minute their hands are in their mouths.”

Stevens reported that in discussions between the district and the health department, it was decided that “they would percolate the water from the oxidation pond through soil and then channel it into the recreational lake. After this, there would be little chance of pollution endangering human health.”

The system was constructed, the water was again tested, and Dr. Askew gave his permission for the lakes to be opened to the public in June 1962. Grand opening ceremonies attracted 10,000 people. The California Fish and Game Department meanwhile introduced some fish species into the lake to see which ones would thrive and which ones would not. After gathering its data, the department authorized Santee Lakes to have “fish for fun” programs, in which fish caught in the lakes had to be thrown back. After two years of further testing, the Fish and Game Department concluded fish taken from the lake were safe to take home and cook.

Step by step, the six lakes proved themselves the equivalent of freshwater lakes. A swimming pool, drawn from lake waters, was authorized. A small water park where children can cavort is a favorite feature today.

Today, the Santee Lakes no longer can accommodate all of Santee’s reclaimed sewage, so much of it is pumped to the San Diego Metropolitan Water District—the very agency whose charges back in 1959 prompted Santee officials to develop the lakes.

In his book, Stevens reported that during the development stages, the lakes became internationally famous. “The significance of what happened at Santee is pointed up by several name-packed guest books kept by Martin Poe, the project’s chief water pollution control plant operator. They show that thousands of official visitors have come to see the lakes from nearly every state in the United States and from thirty-nine countries. Many of the visitors are officials from local, state or national governments. They are also water pollution control engineers and scientists, journalists, students and other individuals interested in solving water problems. The dry lands of Israel and India are well represented in Poe’s books, for in these distant countries, as in southern California, water is so precious that using it to the fullest extent is absolutely essential.”

Today these lakes are taken for granted as pleasant places to while away a lazy afternoon.  Water historians record them, however, as key projects that encouraged acceptance of wastewater reclamation for recreational purposes.

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Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. This article previously appeared on examiner.com

Adventures in San Diego Jewish History, June 11, 1954, Part 2

Compiled by San Diego Jewish World staff

As the Psychologist Sees You
Southwestern Jewish Press, June 121, 1954, page 2

By Irving R. Stone, Psychological Consultant

“Escapes from Reality”

I believe everyone looks at himself in the mirror at least once a day and views the environment about him from his home or office several times a day. Each time he forms an opinion, often not expressed aloud to others. Sometimes, these opinions are brushed from our thoughts without further consideration; at other times they represent emotional responses which are quite disturbing.

Reality is like every one of those views and every attempt to escape reality is our way of finding displeasure I what we see. Mental hygiene requires that we face reality and not hide from it; we must not only learn to accept ourselves as we are but must accept the conditions of the external world as they exist. True, it may be difficult but if we struggle to escape reality we court a mental breakdown.

Realism allows a person to operate on a level of aspiration that will be a reasonable one for him. He will seek attainment within his capacity; the discrepancy between ability and level of aspiration will be minute or non-existent.  If unrealistic, constant failures will create havoc and lead to a disrupting effect upon emotions.

Escapes from reality, like everything else, may be of different degrees.  The extreme condition, where detachment from reality is complete, is seen in psychotic patients. In a less severe condition, we see the person of dull intelligence attempting to complete or even enter college; the person with an average salary trying to “keep up with the Jones’s,”; or the young man with little athletic ability fighting against the lack instead of accepting it.

Persons with physical handicaps soon must learn that they are limited in their particular condition and adopt a form of compensation which will give them satisfaction. The person who is blind resorts to sound to help him get around; the person who is deaf depends upon sight.

Often one’s interests are out of line with one’s aptitudes and we frequently see someone wanting to engage in an activity for which he is not suited. But, as long as we keep our goals within our reach, we have a chance for success.  Too often we try to emulate someone else, forgetting that no two persons, except identical twins, are ever exactly alike.

In the same way, we must see our fellow human beings as they are and not as we would like them to be. This applies to our parents, our children, our friends, our political leaders, and our neighbors in other countries.

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From Where I Sit
Southwestern Jewish Press, June 11, 1954, page 2

By Mel Goldberg

The Town and Country Club requires that applicants for admission list their religion… Why?… Tempers are flaring over the “confidential list” sent out by the Community Chest to business “chief executives.”  It lists business firms, the number of their employees and amounts of contributions. It also lists those who did not give.  The procedure may or not be okeh, but someone certainly slipped up on cross-checking. In more than one case, people who own several business and gave their contribution through one, were listed as non-givers in the other business. This creates an erroneous impression. Fund-raisers who make up “black-lists” for public consumption, should exercise more care, before releasing them.

Bobby Beck tells about a bopster cannibal, who ate three “squares” a day… David Weissman saw a headline, “Jewish People Seldom are Problem Drinkers.”  Maybe they just can’t mix a problem drink properly.  Or, perhaps, the Jewish problem is stiff enough a potion for them without alcohol. … Many World War II veterans have tossed some vitriolic remarks at the Red Cross because the organization charged for services rendered at clubs overseas. Never publicized, however, was the true story. The Red Cross was compelled to charge because of a directive issued by the U.S. Secretary of War.  Our government took this stand as a “diplomatic measure” to keep certain foreign allies happy, because their troops were being paid much less than ours, and it was felt that this measure would keep other troops from feeling too resentful about the better amenities supplied to the U.S. forces.

Al Perper heard of a fellow who told a faith-healer that his brother was very ill. “Bosh,” said the faith healer, “he only thinks that he is ill.”  A few days later the two met again and the faith healer inquired about the “ill” brother.  “Oh, he’s worse,” said the brother, “now he thinks he’s dead”. … Report from a teacher of the 2^nd grade in suburban San Diego school. Session began last September with 34 students, present enrollment is 35. … There are 58 student names on her full year registration and only 6 students present in attendance were registered last September.  How’s that for turnover. … Maybe it helps explain why some children have trouble spelling “cat.” … Mike Soule passes the story along concerning the hen who was gazing at a dish of scrambled eggs and muttering, “Man, dig my poor crazy mixed up kids.”

A local social service agency suggested that one of their unemployed clients, take advantage of his idle time while looking for work, by attending night school. This seemed to be a worthwhile project, since the man in question would probably have had a better chance to secure a job, with some educational background… On his next trip to the unemployment office, h mentioned that he was now attending night school, and they cut off his financial assistance because as they put it—“he was unavailable for work.”

Strange but true: there was a mezuzah on the door at the F St. Rossi headquarters … Pre-viewed the new library… It contains many new innovations in library construction and despite its simplicity and lower than anticipated cost—is definitely a showplace.  Sig Stein mentioned to the chef at the 4-A Roundup that Lawrence Welk was in the dining room enjoying the prime ribs.  In acknowledgment, the chef, a veteran of the kitchens asked, “Yeah, who does he cook for?”

The Navy’s withholding commissions on five Annapolis graduates, needs plenty of explaining. Since when are we responsible for acts committed by relatives. If the actions of a grandfather or an uncle, etc., are to be used as a basis of an individuals character assessment or loyalty background, then we’d better start floating a big bond issue to build bigger and better jails, ‘cause the present pokeys aren’t going to hold all the relations of unfavorable characters… We’d also like to know how it’s possible for a buy to go through 4 years in a service academy, and then suddenly, they find on his graduation, that he is a security risk.

Art Leitch, the East San Diego real estate man, has opened a new office at 6300 El Cajon Blvd….It was refreshing (in the midst of all the political harassing) to note that one of Art’s competitors took it upon himself to insert a welcome salute to Art in the daily paper…That’s real praise!  We might add that we have had occasion to deal with Art for some time now, and only wish that all our business relationships could be as pleasant… He’s the kind of guy, we enjoy seeing successful.

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Personals
Southwestern Jewish Press, June 11, 1954, page 3

Mr. and Mrs. Nate Ratner and their sons, Harry and Larry, are leaving for a tour of Europe on June 25, on the S.S. United States. They will be gone approximately three months. The Ratners have been feted by many of their friends wishing them Godspeed.

Among them were Mr. and Mrs. Alex J. Newman, MRs. Ben Gordon, Jolly 16 and Mr. and Mrs. Milo Berenson Jr., Charity League, MR. and Mrs. David Frank, Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Drogin, Mr. and Mrs. George Martin, MR. and Mrs. Murray Goodrich, Mr. and Mrs. Abe Ratner, Mrs. Martco Ratner; Mrs. R.M. Stone, Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Newman, Mr. and Mrs. R.W. Smith, and Mesdames Sam Smith, Abe Smith, Ray Smith, Isadore Shapiro, and David Horowitz.

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Nixie and Roy Kern celebrated their 30^th wedding anniversary by spending, according to Nixie, “five glorious days” at Big Bear Lake.

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Mrs. Jennie Drogin and the Bill Warners left Wednesday on a motor trip to the north. They plan to spend several weeks seeing Washington, Oregon and British Columbia.
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Showered—Bride –elect Esther Weitzman was complimented with a miscellaneous shower biven by Mesdames Charles Press, Morton Thaler, Nathan PRager and I Domnitz on June 3. Fifty five guests attended.

On June 19, Mrs. William Schwartz will entertain in her garden with a luncheon and personal shower for Esther. About 40 of Esther’s young friends are expected.
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Pre-theatre Cocktails

Several gay cocktail parties were held preceding the J.C.C. Co-operative Nursery School Globe Theatre  Party on June 1q.  Dr. and MRs. Melvin Karzen entertained Messrs and Mesdames Harold Reisman, Mort Lieberman, Sidney Berman, Abe Malkoff, Arthur Rubin and Dr. and Ms. Seymour Okmin.

Mr. and Mrs. Murry Luftig had as guests for cocktails in their home Messrs and Mesdames Frank L. Gegaz, George Lykos, Lester Friedman, and W. D. Smell.

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Foreign Note – Writing from Paris, Edie Press Greenberg and her husband, Dean, thank all the people in San Diego for their good wishes and wedding gifts received.  Mr. and Mrs. Zel Greenberg are in Paris spending some time with them. A San Diego get-together was held when Sam and Roanne Krasner visited them from Germany.
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Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Veitzer are understandably delighted at the news that their son, Leonard, will be home from Japan the first part of July.  Leonard will be receiving his Army discharge soon and plans to return to the University of California at Berkeley and his studies in Architecture.
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The San Diego contingent in Las Vegas over Memorial Day included the Jack Wyners and Al Teppers; the Harry Spatz’ and Jack Spatz’; and the Ted Naumans and Harry Sugarmans.
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Bar Mitzvah -0- Raphael Levens, son of Rabbi and Mrs. Monroe Levewns, was Bar Mitzvah at services at the Tifereth Israel Synagogue Saturday, June 5. Raphael conducted the Sabbath morning services and delivered an address.  A Kiddush and luncheon followed the service.

Jay Lawrence Sugarman, son of Mr. and Mrs. David Sugarman, will become bar mitzvah tonight (June 11) at Temple Beth Israel with Rabbi Morton J. Cohn officiating. A reception will follow the services.
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Young Prexy—Congratulations to Phil Brenes, son of Mr. and Mrs. Sam Brenes, who has been elected president of Woodrow Wilson Junior High for the 1954-55 term.

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Flies to Wedding—Mrs. Betty Cohan is flying to the wedding of her granddaughter, Susan Jane, daughter of  Harold Cohan. The wedding will performed on June 26.

Hostesses at a farewell party in Mrs. Cohan’s home were Mesdames Hyman Rabinowitz, Arthur Block, L. Schlesinger, Edith Segal.

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European Jaunt – Ira Fischbein and his parents, MR. and Mrs. David Fischbein, flew to New York June 7 and then by K.L.M Dutch Airlines to Amsterdam, Holland. They will then tour through Israel, Italy, Switzerland and England. They plan to return in about 6 weeks on the S.S. United States.

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New Appointment – Irving M. Stone has been appointed to lecture at the College for Men of the University of San Diego. He will teach the courses in Psychology and Education in the fall.
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Art Note—Suzanne Hutler, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Al Hutler, was chosen to hang her picture in the Fine Arts Gallery as a member of the San Diego Art Guild. Susie’s work can be viewed this week.

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Birdie Stodel to Hold Membership Luncheon
Southwestern Jewish Press, June 11, 1954, page 3

Birdie Stodel Chapter 92 of B’nai B’rith Women, will hold a paid up membership luncheon on Monday, June 14, at 12:00 o’clock at the Temple Center.  Lunch will be served free to all members whose dues are paid up for the year.

The following members were elected as delegates to the District Convention to be held in San Francisco: Mrs. Morris Kraus, Mrs. Jeremiah Aronoff, Mrs. Ted Brav, and Mrs. Berwin.

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‘Nite at Ball Park’
Southwestern Jewish Press, June 11, 1954, page 3

Morrie Douglas and Alvin Cushman won season baseball passes at “A NIte at the Ball Park,” sponsored by Temple Beth Israel Men’s Club and Sisterhood on June 2. 

Awards donated by Morrie Douglas, William Erichsen, Milton Roberts and Bill Starr were won by top ticket salesmen: Lillian Rosenbaum, Rose Weinberger, Sid Posin, Sam Sussman, Dick Silberman, Sam Berger and Al Brooks.

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Z.B.T. Mothers’ Invite
Southwestern Jewish Press, June 11, 1954, page 3

Zeta Beta Tau Mothers’ Club Card Party is Saturday, June 12 at 8 p.m.at the Beth Israel Temple Center.  In addition to cards, they will be entertained by the fraternity members; there will be door prizes and refreshments will be served. Donation is $1.00 per person and a good time is assured all who attend.
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Cradle
Southwestern Jewish Press, June 11, 1954, page 3

Cantor and Mrs. Joseph Cysner announce the birth of a daughter, Pamela Rochelle, born May 29 in the Quintard Hospital and weighing 6 lbs, 4 oz.  Big sister, 5 year old Charlotte Susan, is delighted with the new arrival.

Grandparents are Mr. and Mrs. David Nagler of London, England, and Mrs. Chaja Cysner of San Diego.

In honor of naming the baby, a Kiddush is being served after Sabbath morning services, June 12, at Tifereth Israel Synagogue. The community is most cordially invited.

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Mr. and Mrs. Harry Schonfeld and 18 month old daughter, Rochelle Anne of Pomona are happy to announce to all their San Diego friends, the birth of Benjamin Allen, on May 19. The husky young man weighed 7 lbs 7 oz.

San Diego grandparents are Mr. and Mrs. David Hurwitz and Mr. and Mrs. Sam Schonfeld.

A bris was held in the Schonfeld Pomona home on May 26 with MR. and Mrs. Seymour Saltzman acting as godparents.

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Classified
Southwestern Jewish Press, June 11, 1954, page 3

Companionship and home for elderly lady.  HO-9-7358.

Mature woman wanted as baby sitter in College area. References.  JU 2-5364.

Room for Rent in a very nice home. Cooking privileges.  ½ block from bus.  Call before 11:00 a.m. or after 65:00 p.m.  AT-4-6586.

For Sale – Paisley shawl, lace, antique, gold jewelry, fine china.  Phone BE 9-7340.

Woman Will share modern cozy apartment with working woman. Everything furnished.  Near bus lines 1 and 2. AT1-2102; AT-1-7869 after 6 p.m.

Driving to N.Y. about June 20.  New Chev. Will take 1 or 2 riders to share driving aned exp.  JU2-6429 after 5:30 p.m.

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Calendar
Southwestern Jewish Press, June 11, 1954, page 3

June
12^th—ZBT Mothers’ Club Card Party-Temple Center -8:00 p.m.
13^th—Beth Jcob Men’s Club “Golden Nugget” Nite – B.J. Center – 6:00 p.m.
13^th – Tifisra Men’s Club June Dinner—6:30 p.m.
14^th –Birdie Stodel Luncheon – Temple Center -12 noon
14^th –Lasker Lodge –Variety Show-Temple Center – 8:00 p.m.
17^th—Bay City B.B. – Garden Luncheon Paryt –4525 48^th St –12 noon
19^th—Fox Lodge Card Party – Beth Jacob Center – 8:00 p.m.
20^th—Pioneer Negba Cloub Donor Dinneer—6:00 p.m
26^th—Y.J.C. Installation-Admiral Kidd Club
27^th—J.C.C. “Lucky Nite”—Beth Jacob Center – 6:30 p.m.
29^th – J.W. V. Aux. Membership Tea—4565 Norma Dr. – 1:30 p.m.
30^th—City of Hope Aux. –Anna Shelley Memorial Luncheon.

July
4^th – Y.J.C. Picnic—Presidio Park

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“Adventures in Jewish History” is sponsored by Inland Industries Group LP in memory of long-time San Diego Jewish community leader Marie (Mrs. Gabriel) Berg. Our indexed “Adventures in San Diego Jewish History” series will be a regular feature until we run out of history.

Arabs, Orthodox Jews and secular Jews often vie in Jerusalem

By Ira Sharkansky

Ira Sharkansky

JERUSALEM –This city’s population is 764,000. Groups with high political salience are 269,000 Arabs (35 percent), and an estimated 155,000 ultra-Orthodox.

The Arabs have great prominence among overseas watchers of Jerusalem, but opt out of local politics by boycotting municipal elections. Almost none of them accepted Israeli citizenship when it was offered after 1967, and the vast majority refuse to exercise their rights, as residents, to vote in local elections. The ultra-Orthodox vote largely as their rabbis instruct, and turn out at levels exceeding 80 percent in local elections. Insofar as the turnout of other Jews seldom reaches 30 percent in local elections, the ultra-Orthodox can make their 30 percent of the city’s Jewish population into a major force. They elected one of their own as mayor in 2003. Their rabbis split in 2008 and lost the office to a secular Jew.

Overseas media focus on Jerusalem as the meeting point of three faiths, and as a flash point in the conflict between Jews and Arabs. Incidents sure to gain prominence are those concerned with the Old City and especially the Temple Mount (or Nobel Sanctuary/Haram esh Sharif) and Western Wall, the movement of Jews into Arab neighborhoods, and Arab claims that their neighborhoods are denied a fair share of municipal resources. 

Despite their international prominence, Jewish-Arab tensions do not appear at the top of the local agenda. Staying out of politics has its impact. In democratic settings, groups get benefits by voting. If they do not vote, they do not get. Jews avoid Arab neighborhoods without thinking much about it. The contacts with Arabs in professional and managerial settings, the mixture of Arabs and Jews among university students, and the limited number of Arab residents in Jewish neighborhoods generally occurs without incident. Things may heat up during periods of violence, but the peak of the most recent intifada passed five years ago. Arab friends stayed away from the university gym during last year’s invasion of Gaza, but they returned to share space and banter.

Local tensions involving ultra-Orthodox Jews are more prominent and persistent. Distinctive dress assures their notice. They are more aggressive and more “in our face” in making their demands. Demonstrations are  likely to be in places that matter to other Jews. Although serious analysis may not support the stereotype, it is widely claimed that the ultra-Orthodox use their voting power to gain an undue share of resources. Topics of complaint include the per-child payments to large families, payments to adult men who avoid work for study in religious academies, small classes and transportation for ultra-Orthodox primary schools, the almost universal avoidance by the ultra-Orthodox of military service, the spread of ultra-Orthodox families into neighborhoods that had been secular, then the demands of the ultra-Orthodox to close roads on the Sabbath and religious holidays, campaigns against secular newspapers, the noise of television, non-kosher food, and “immodest” clothing. 

Ultra-Orthodox activities come in waves, sparked by an individual rabbi, politician, or other figure who succeeds in making an issue out of something that generally passes unnoticed. The early evening is the time to block major streets, burn trash containers, and tussle with the police. Demonstrations can come when there is a demand for an autopsy in the case of a suspicious death, the police intervene in a family accused of child abuse, an advertising poster features a woman in short sleeves, a shop too close to an ultra-Orthodox neighborhood sells pork, or a parking garage opens on the Sabbath. The ultra-Orthodox Knesset Member with responsibility for the Health Ministry made a national case out of the plan to construct a new emergency room at the hospital in Ashkelon. On account of ancient graves he felt could be Jewish, he ordered the facility to be built 300 meters from the hospital.

The ultra-Orthodox can make life difficult, but they do not dominate. Their campaigns generally get attention for several days, or weekends in the case of a Sabbath issue. They lost the struggle about the parking garage that opened on the Sabbath for tourists who visit the Old City, and the struggle over the emergency room at the Ashkelon hospital. A court imposed considerable restrictions on an ultra-Orthodox mother convicted of child abuse.

It is too early to guess the outcome of the most recent event. The Supreme Court dithered for 10 years before it ruled in favor of a case brought by former member of the Jerusalem City Council (who has since died) and a single mother (who has since received her Masters degree). They sued in behalf of university students denied the financial payments made to adult males who study in ultra-Orthodox religious academies. The Court agreed that the allocations violated principles of equality found in “basic law”. Basic laws are labeled as such, and enjoy constitutional status in this country without a formal constitution. The lack of a constitution, and the device of basic laws that represent a constitution in everything but name owes a good deal to the insistence of the ultra-Orthodox. They oppose anything that might claim higher status than Torah.

The Court has not ordered the immediate halt to the payments received by adult students in ultra-Orthodox academies, but indicated that they cannot continue beyond the present budget without the enactment of a basic law.

Ultra-Orthodox Knesset Members are flexing their muscles. We will see if they can leverage their 15 Members of Knesset into an action that will attract more attention than conventional legislation. The decision may have come too late for an immediate bonfire of trash containers, but there is always another evening. 

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Sharkansky is professor emeritus of political science at Hebrew University