The Unmentionable Foe. With Malice Toward Goyum,
Etherzone, November 8, 2002
"Former Judge Roy Moore now Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court whose refusal to remove the Ten Commandments from his courtroom created lawsuits and much furor, has now had a two ton granite monument placed in the rotunda of the state Judicial Building inscribed with the same Godly Statutes which created the first furor ... The furor is supported by small groups of God haters and an inordinate number of Jews. Montgomery attorney Stephen Glassroth is the Plaintiff. He is represented by Attorney Morris Seligman Dees, Jr. Attorney Dees is head of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) which he formed with a New York Jewish Attorney named Joseph J. Levin, Jr. SPLC is the Nation’s wealthiest civil rights organization with $68 million in assets. Dees was raised a Baptist on an Alabama cotton farm and has apparently reverted to Jewish roots. Attorney Dees has been joined in the prosecution by Americans United for the Separation of Church and State (AUSC) and its president, peripatetic spokesman Rev. Barry Lynn. SPLC has been involved in prosecuting various white supremacy groups and in promoting Tolerance. Both are Jewish agendas. Jews have been major backers of racial strife between blacks and whites and are solidly behind tolerance and diversity which includes open borders, gays and lesbians, religious minorities, pornography, etc. As events of this sort unfold it is ironic that Christians and Christian organizations fail to notice that the adversary is often Jewish. D. James Kennedy has lambasted the ACLU for years. He has mentioned that the roots are Communistic but has failed to mention that they are also Jewish."

WARMONGERS, LEFT AND RIGHT TEAMING UP AGAINST THE ANTIWAR MOVEMENT, by Justin Raimondo
Etherzone, November 6, 2002
"The resounding success of the recent antiwar demonstrations called by the International A.N.S.W.E.R. coalition has the pro-war forces in a panic, and this has given rise to an unlikely alliance between the limousine liberals over at Salon.com, the born-again wacko 'Christian Zionists' of WorldNutDaily, and frothing-at-the-mouth ex-Commie –turned-rightwing-nutball David Horowitz. We might call it the pinko-brown alliance – two colors that, when combined, produce a shade of dirty beige almost exactly the color of cow-dung. The strange tone of Michelle Goldberg’s Salon piece – 'A day for peace – and fury' [warning: link for pay] – leaps right out at the reader in the opening sentence: 'Kaffiyehs, the checked Palestinian head scarves, were selling for $15 each at the massive antiwar rally in Washington on Saturday, and they were selling well.' Not that there’s anything wrong with that – but clearly Ms. Goldberg found it disturbing, along with those 'indie-rock cheerleaders jumping around crying, ‘Liberate! Smash the state!’' This is an ideological cue to sober liberals of the 'It Takes a Village" variety – who, after all, make up a significant chunk of Salon Premium subscribers – that these are not necessarily the good guys. After all, the Clintonian Left loves the State, and any attempt to smash it – even metaphorically – sounds just Gingrichian enough to cause them some real discomfort."

Sharon eyes 'Samson option' against Iraq,
The Scotsman (Scotland), November 3, 2002
"In Biblical times, the Israelites relied on God to triumph over their enemies. These days the Israeli government puts its faith in the godlike power of its formidable arsenal of nuclear weapons to annihilate its foes. The alarming prospect of Israel unleashing its weapons of mass destruction is high on the list of concerns of strategic planners and analysts as the United States prepares to attack Iraq as part of its ‘War on Terror’. According to experts, a retaliatory nuclear strike against Baghdad in the event of a chemical or biological weapons attack against Israel has never been more likely - particularly with Ariel Sharon in power ... Many believe Sharon would be prepared to use his deadly arsenal. As Israel’s most respected military affairs commentator, Ze’ev Schiff, put it: 'If Iraq strikes at Israel with non-conventional warheads, causing massive casualties among the civil population, Israel could respond with a nuclear retaliation that would eradicate Iraq as a country.'"

Pigs, Jews & War,
by Jonah Goldberg, National Review, November 1, 2002
"I am fascinated by this idea of wrapping dead terrorists in pigskin and lard. This is what the Russians — who understand far better than Americans how to deter Muslim terrorists — are doing with Chechen terrorists. The idea is that some Muslims believe they cannot enter heaven if they're wrapped in pork, which may be the other white meat here but is the unclean meat over there. Which is just another example of the growing rift between our two civilizations, as many Americans consider being swaddled in pork products to be heaven itself. Eternity in bacon… mmmmm ... First of all, Hamas is in the murder business and they pay very little in terms of cash wages. Their only compensation for (literally) self-sacrificing employees is a promissory note redeemable for, among other things, free nookie and booze in the afterlife. (Muslims aren't allowed to drink in this life but are promised great wine in the next, which always struck me as odd. Why should something be sinful in this life but okay in the next?) Obviously, if, all of a sudden, Jews could invalidate Hamas's bottomless bowl of nookie coupons by simply tacking a piece of bacon to the corpse of a murderer — sorry, 'martyr' — then Hamas would either have to up its wages considerably or get into a totally different line of work. .... Hell, let's just glide past the whole Islam-means-peace thing (unless you think, in the light of those 72 virgins, that "peace" should be spelled 'piece')."

Trust No One,
Sidney Riley: The Man, Undated
"The Man Who Knew Everything...' 'The Man Who Never Made a Mistake'... 'An International Crook of the Highest Order...' The man best known as Sidney George Reilly [born Salomon Rosenblum] -- although he used many names-- spent his life in the shadows of international intrigue and counted among his legion of allies, accomplices and victims the likes of Winston Churchill, the mysterious Basil Zaharoff and Boris Savinkov. Usually portrayed as a master spy, Reilly's real exploits exceeded anything credited to Fleming's fictional Bond. The son of a Polish Jewish family in Imperial Russia, he early embarked on an amazing, daring and often bewildering career which led him to assume the personas of an Anglo-Irish gentleman, an international arms-merchant and a Bolshevik commissar among many others. He was a slightly different person to every man who knew him and every woman who loved him. But Reilly was as much a cunning master criminal as secret agent, amassing a fortune by the ruthless bartering of influence and information. He was used and feared by capitalists and commissars alike. Was he a dedicated anti-communist, the Soviet's first 'mole,' or simply a bold and unscrupulous con man?"

Man Testifies Paid by Rabbi to Kill Email this story Printer friendly format Top Stories Lawyers Seek Files on Alleged Scheme Convicted Killer Faces Death Penalty Judge Denies Access to Malvo Hearing Sharpton Seeks Migrants' Release Poultry Co. Recalls Chicken, Turkey By TOM BELL Associated Press Writer November 1, 2002, 8:35 PM EST FREEHOLD, N.J. -- A man who confessed to killing a rabbi's wife told jurors Friday that he bashed her head with a lead pipe and then took her purse at the rabbi's instruction to make it look like a robbery. "I heard her say, 'Why? Why?' Like why was I doing this," Len Jenoff testified on the 8th anniversary of Carol Neulander's death. Rabbi Fred Neulander is accused of arranging the murder so he could continue an affair with a Philadelphia radio host. Neulander's first trial ended in a mistrial last year after a jury could not reach a verdict. Jenoff said Neulander promised him $30,000 and a job in the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad if he killed Carol Neulander. The rabbi gave him a $7,500 downpayment a month before the murder, he said.

Critics of Mideast coverage put heat on local papers,
Jewish Bulletin of Northern California, November 1, 2002
"[Pete Hebert] led a weeklong June boycott of The Washington Post that pro-Israel activists claim led to 1,000 subscription cancellations ... EyeonthePost.org already links to such onetime boycott efforts as http://geocities.com/ truthmasters/ jointheboycott.htm -- aimed at the Los Angeles Times. David Frankenthal, the Los Angeles attorney and teacher behind that Web site, said 'thousands' of people boycotted the Times for one day in April. 'There are so many sites commenting on the media that have identified this problem. It's a crowded field,' he said ... [T]he JCRC [Jewish Community Relations Council] undertook a study that organizers say demonstrates an anti-Israel leaning within the [San Francisco] Chronicle, and facilitated a meeting between the paper's editors and Jewish community leaders in May ... Like [Rabbi Doug] Kahn, Frankenthal is troubled by the 'moral equivalence' that newspapers purportedly draw between Palestinian terror attacks and Israeli counter-terror operations ... In Philadelphia, for example, the Zionist Organization of America, which led a boycott fight against the Philadelphia Inquirer that culminated in a July rally at the newspaper's headquarters, maintains the Inquirer is guilty of 'bad journalism' when it comes to reporting on Israel, said Steve Feldman, executive director of the Greater Philadelphia district of the ZOA ... In Chicago, Kotzin said Jewish officials continue to meet with Chicago Tribune officials and journalists to foster good relations and voice Jewish concerns about Mideast coverage. Meanwhile, Ed Lasky, a stock trader who is active in a group called Citizens Against Terror, which has been critical of the Tribune's Israel coverage, said that in coming weeks the group will launch a Web site called The Tribune Watch to track the Tribune's reporting ... One group that claims success with its media campaign is Minnesotans Against Terrorism, which says it convinced the Minneapolis Star Tribune to alter its editorial policy on Mideast stories. Mark Rotenberg, a general counsel for the University of Minnesota and a leader of the group, said the Star Tribune has begun reversing that trend, owning up to mistakes in columns and running 'dozens of references' to anti-Israel terrorism. The paper's reader representative, Lew Gelfand, could not be reached for comment."

The Secret History of Television Corporate power, patent law, and lone inventors,
Reason, November 2002
"Here’s a story for you. Inspiration strikes a Mormon farmboy, the improbably named Philo T. Farnsworth, as he plows a potato field in Idaho. Armed with his new insight, he moves to L.A., finds investors and assistants, and on a shoestring invents television. A corporate giant tries to steal his creation, and a long, expensive legal fight ensues. Farnsworth wins the battle but loses the war, successfully defending his claim to the patent but nonetheless watching most of the credit -- and most of the profits -- accrue to the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and its self-aggrandizing chief, [Jewish mogul of RCA and NBC] David Sarnoff. Farnsworth spends his last years chasing the dream of nuclear fusion, then dies poor, depressed, and virtually forgotten. It’s not a bad tale. Drain out the melodrama and sprinkle in some nuance, and you’ll find it’s actually true. The saga of Philo Farnsworth may have a special resonance in the dot-bust era, as battles rage over intellectual property and corporate turpitude dominates the headlines. Or perhaps it’s just a coincidence that two books about Farnsworth have been published this year: Evan Schwartz’s The Last Lone Inventor: A Tale of Genius, Deceit, and the Birth of Television (HarperCollins) and Daniel Stashower’s The Boy Genius and the Mogul: The Untold Story of Television (Broadway)."

No War with Iraq,
The Nation, November 4, 2002 issue
[Compilation of links to articles and web sites against a war with Iraq]

Lawyers for Jewish Defense League Leader Want FBI Files on Alleged Scheme to Extort Rap Stars,
TBO (Tampa Bay, FL), November 3, 2002
" In a bizarre twist to the case of a right-wing Jewish leader accused of trying to blow up Muslim-related sites, defense attorneys have requested records of an FBI probe into whether the suspect's group tried to shake down rap stars Tupac Shakur and Eazy-E. Jewish Defense League leader Irv Rubin is being held without bail along with group member Earl Krugel on charges of plotting to blow up a mosque and the office of an Arab American congressman. They have pleaded innocent. In papers filed this week in U.S. District Court, Rubin's lawyers asked a judge to order prosecutors to hand over records of the FBI probe, claiming it provides evidence of government bias against the league. An informant outlined the alleged extortion scheme during FBI interviews in 1996 about the murder of a figure in the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday. The informant said the JDL planned to make death threats against Shakur and Eazy-E, then offer them protection for a fee, the Times said, citing documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act."

Police investigate new Israeli Defence Minister over war crimes,
Sydney Morning Herald (Australia), November 2, 2002
"Lieutenant-General Shaul Mofaz, named as Israeli Defence Minister by the Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, is under investigation by British police for alleged war crimes in the occupied territories. The appointment of General Mofaz, a former army chief of staff, to such a key post has confirmed suspicions that Mr Sharon would lurch further to the right after the Labour Party walked out of the coalition government on Wednesday. The Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, described the appointment as a further blow to hopes for peace and warned it would lead to an Israeli military escalation."

Restitution Exec Was Probed on Spending Sher Resigned After Inquiry,
[Jewish] Forward, November 1, 2002
"The top American professional of an international Holocaust restitution commission was investigated for allegedly misappropriating commission funds for personal use before resigning last summer, according to sources and an internal document written by the commission's chairman. Neal Sher, former chief of staff in the Washington office of the International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims, was investigated by the commission after admitting 'unauthorized reimbursements of his ICHEIC travel expenses,' the internal commission document states. The document was written by the chairman of the Holocaust commission, former secretary of state Lawrence Eagleburger. Following the investigation, which was subjected to a 'review' by a former FBI chief, Judge William Webster, Sher resigned in June and paid 'full and immediate restitution,' the document states. A source with direct knowledge of the situation, as well as other sources close to the commission, verified the existence and content of the document. Although these allegations were made, the Forward has not established that they are true. Sher is widely admired for his groundbreaking work as the federal government's chief Nazi hunter during 11 years as director of the Office of Special Investigations of the U.S. Department of Justice. During that time he oversaw the denaturalization and deportation of dozens of onetime Nazi war criminals."

Asper's charges of media bias 'bizarre,'
Globe and Mail (Toronto),by Doug Saunders, November 1, 2002
"After a long, angry speech by Winnipeg media mogul Izzy Asper, which accused most of the world's media of being insufficiently pro-Israeli and implied that reporters are anti-Semitic, bewildered journalists yesterday struggled to respond. Mr. Asper's Wednesday night speech, which was reprinted prominently in his city papers and the National Post, effectively positioned Mr. Asper and his newspapers to the far right of most of the world's major media. As with speeches he delivered last month with former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, it repeated the Israeli Likud party's conservative and aggressively anti-Arab views. This time, though, he named names, accusing the CBC, The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Associated Press and Reuters wire services, ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, BBC, the British Guardian, Independent, Evening Standard and Daily Mirror newspapers, as well as ITV and Sky News networks, and other outlets of being 'lazy, or sloppy, or stupid . . . [or] plain and simple, biased or anti-Semitic.' He singled out the CBC and its former Middle East reporter Neil MacDonald, accusing them of providing 'the most slanted and biased information' and of routinely practising 'dishonest reporting.' In particular, he demanded that reporters in the Mideast, such as Mr. Macdonald, refer to all Palestinian militants as 'terrorists.' Tony Burman, head of the CBC-TV news division, said yesterday that he considered Mr. Asper's opinions 'bizarre,' and that he would be demanding space to respond to the accusations in the Asper-owned papers. 'To suggest that most of the world's media are involved in a conspiracy against Israel, it's just a totally extreme conception on Asper's part.' ... 'There is something profoundly ironic about being told off about media bias by someone like Izzy Asper,' said Mr. Burman, apparently referring to Mr. Asper's former practice of forcing his city papers to print company-written editorials that expressed the owner's views."

Mexican film of priest in love affair prompts an anti-Semitic response,
Jewish Telegraphic Agency, November 1, 2002
"The American distributor of a Mexican film denounced by Catholic groups has been flooded with protest letters, many with a distinctly anti-Semitic tone. 'The Crime of Father Amaro' is based on a 19th-century Portuguese novel, but the film is set in contemporary Mexico. Its protagonist is an ambitious young priest who starts an illicit affair with a young woman, which ends in tragedy. Also shown are issues confronting modern Mexican priests, such as donations received from drug dealers and aid sent to guerilla activities in poor rural areas. Catholic groups say the film depicts the church in an unfair, negative light. A huge success in Mexico, where it was released last summer, 'Father Amaro' is being distributed in the United States by Samuel Goldwyn Films. The company’s president, Meyer Gottlieb, told the Los Angeles Times that he is alarmed by the anti-Semitism in many of the protest letters and postcards the company has received ... .Among the objectionable scenes are one in which the priest and the young woman make love under the mantel of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and another in which a cat eats a communion host. Carlos Carrera, the film’s director, defended it as 'fictional,' but also told the Times that 'all of this behavior seen in the film has happened in reality. None of this is a lie or a part of our imagination.' 'Father Amaro' became the highest grossing movie produced in Mexico, despite pressure from Mexican bishops to have the movie banned."

A Hawk Who Earned His Feathers Under Clinton,
[Jewish] Forward, November 1, 2002
"Kenneth Pollack is the ultimate guy behind the guy... behind the guy. Pollack, 36, has spent the last 12 years in the upper echelons of government and intelligence work. In his capacity as a CIA analyst, director of Gulf affairs for the National Security Council and director of research for the liberal Brookings Institution's Saban Center for Middle East Policy, he has conferred with kings, presidents and prime ministers — nearly always in the capacity of aide-de-camp. But the behind-the-scenes expert is now making his voice heard on the main stage. With the publication of 'The Threatening Storm: The Case for Invading Iraq' (Random House), Pollack has become a leading figure among the punditocracy supporting a pre-emptive American strike on Baghdad. So far he's made his case on CNN, NPR, Fox News, CSPAN and Charlie Rose's and Oprah Winfrey's television shows; Senator Joseph Lieberman quoted from the book on the floor of the Senate during the debate on Iraq last month. Pollack, who was once called by one of his colleagues 'the most hawkish man in the Clinton administration,' does not consider himself a hawk in the mold of Richard Perle, Douglas Feith or Paul Wolfowitz, the Bush administration neoconservatives who have been at the forefront of the call to arms against Iraq." [Pollack, Perle, Feith, and Wolfowitz are all Jewish]

Berliners protest move to put 'Jewish' back into street name,
Drudge Report, November 1, 2002
" Crowds of angry residents in Berlin Friday protested attempts to return a road to its pre-Nazi-era name of Jewish Street, with several shouting, 'The Jews have made us suffer enough.' The protest began peacefully enough Friday afternoon when about 40 people turned out to protest the changing of Kinkel Strasse to Jueden Strasse, which had been approved by the Berlin city council. Local residents, particularly several retailers, said they had not been adequately informed about the name change and they resented the inconvenience of changing business cards and advertisements. The protest turned ugly, however, when representatives of Berlin's Jewish community arrived for the formal name-changing ceremonies. Then there were chants of 'You Jews have had enough say' and 'The Jews have made us suffer enough.' Jewish Community Chairman Alexander Brenner attempted to fend off the attacks as TV camera crews filmed the scene, but as the vehemence rose, he responded, 'You people are siding yourselves with the Nazis with such remarks,' and turned and left."

Man Testifies Paid by Rabbi to Kill,
Newsday, November 1, 2002
" A man who confessed to killing a rabbi's wife told jurors Friday that he bashed her head with a lead pipe and then took her purse at the rabbi's instruction to make it look like a robbery. 'I heard her say, 'Why? Why?' Like why was I doing this,' Len Jenoff testified on the 8th anniversary of Carol Neulander's death. Rabbi Fred Neulander is accused of arranging the murder so he could continue an affair with a Philadelphia radio host. Neulander's first trial ended in a mistrial last year after a jury could not reach a verdict. Jenoff said Neulander promised him $30,000 and a job in the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad if he killed Carol Neulander. The rabbi gave him a $7,500 downpayment a month before the murder, he said."

The Strategic Function of U.S. Aid to Israel,
Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, by Stephen Zunes, October 31, 2002
"Since 1992, the U.S. has offered Israel an additional $2 billion annually in loan guarantees. Congressional researchers have disclosed that between 1974 and 1989, $16.4 billion in U.S. military loans were converted to grants and that this was the understanding from the beginning. Indeed, all past U.S. loans to Israel have eventually been forgiven by Congress, which has undoubtedly helped Israel's often-touted claim that they have never defaulted on a U.S. government loan. U.S. policy since 1984 has been that economic assistance to Israel must equal or exceed Israel's annual debt repayment to the United States. Unlike other countries, which receive aid in quarterly installments, aid to Israel since 1982 has been given in a lump sum at the beginning of the fiscal year, leaving the U.S. government to borrow from future revenues. Israel even lends some of this money back through U.S. treasury bills and collects the additional interest. In addition, there is the more than $1.5 billion in private U.S. funds that go to Israel annually in the form of $1 billion in private tax-deductible donations and $500 million in Israeli bonds. The ability of Americans to make what amounts to tax-deductible contributions to a foreign government, made possible through a number of Jewish charities, does not exist with any other country." [U.S Financial Aid To Israel: Figures, Facts, and Impact Summary Benefits to Israel of U.S. Aid Since 1949 (As of November 1, 1997): "Foreign Aid Grants and Loans $74,157,600,000. Other U.S. Aid (12.2% of Foreign Aid) $9,047,227,200. Interest to Israel from Advanced Payments $1,650,000,000. Grand Total $84,854,827,200. Total Benefits per Israeli $14,630"]

Press Release: ADL Survey of Five European Countries Finds One in Five Hold Strong Anti-Semitic Sentiments; Majority Believes Canard of Jewish Disloyalty,
Anti-Defamation League, October 31, 2002
"An opinion survey of adults in five European countries found that 21% harbor strong anti-Semitic views, and 56% believe that Jews are more loyal to Israel than their own country, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reported today. European Attitudes Toward Jews: A Five Country Survey of 2,500 -- 500 each in Austria, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland -- was conducted by telephone in the native language of each of the countries September 9-29, 2002 by First International Resources for ADL ... The Findings: ... Of those surveyed: 21% harbor strong anti-Semitic views. 34% in Spain, 23% in Italy, 22% in Switzerland, 19% in Austria, 7% in the Netherlands. 56% believe Jews are more loyal to Israel than their own country. 72% in Spain, 58% in Italy, 54% in Austria, 49% in Switzerland, 48% The Netherlands. 40% believe that Jews have too much power in international financial markets. 71% in Spain. 29% say Jews don't care about anyone but their own kind. Spain and Switzerland 34%. 25% say Jews are more willing than others to use shady practices to get what they want. Spain 33%, Austria 28%, Italy and Switzerland 27%. 49% believe Jews still talk too much about the Holocaust. Spain 57%, Austria 56%, Switzerland 52%, Italy 43%, The Netherlands 35%."

`Now we have only hostility in our hearts.' Jenin residents tell the story of Operation Defensive Shield,
By Goel Pinto, Ha'aretz (Israel), October 31, 2002
"'In memory of Iyad Samoudi, producer in charge of `Jenin, Jenin,' who was killed by IDF bullets, after the completion of filming on 23.6.02, in the village of Al Yamoun.' This is the opening caption of Mohammed Bakri's documentary film, 'Jenin, Jenin.' The film, to be screened tonight at the Jerusalem Cinematheque and tomorrow night at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque, portrays Jenin residents' perspective on Operation Defensive Shield. This week, right-wing politicians called for the cancellation of the screenings. MK Yuri Stern of the National Union-Yisrael Beiteinu faction argued that the film amounted to incitement. The Likud faction representative in the Tel Aviv city council, Yeshayahu Drori, contacted Mayor Ron Huldai and asked him to reprimand Alon Garbouz, the director of the Tel Aviv Cinematheque, or remove him from his job. These requests are surprising, given the fact that Stern and Drori did not see the film and based their remarks solely on rumors. Had they bothered to ask the director for a copy of the 50-minute film, they would not have made fools of themselves. 'Jenin, Jenin' is not a shocking film and the testimony heard in it is familiar to anyone who has ever watched foreign television reports about events in Jenin. Nevertheless, it is a sad film that shows Israel, as a democratic and enlightened state, in a miserable light. Even those who explain the horrors of war as stemming from an existential need, cannot silence its victims ... Israeli television viewers will also not see this film. Only a few will have the chance to see it at the Cinematheques. But those who see it will not forget the words of one witness: 'Children can be given birth to, houses can be built and even a wife can be replaced, but our feelings cannot be changed. Now we have only hostility in our hearts. How will they bring back the days when we were calm and agreed to live with them?'"

Storm over 'Elders of Zion' Anti-Semitic series on Egypt TV stirs outrage,
San Francisco Chronicle, October 31, 2002
"Muhammed Sobhi seems genuinely puzzled by all the fuss being made about his latest project -- a 'historical' series about a Jewish plot to rule the world due to start airing during the television-intensive holy month of Ramadan. 'The whole issue doesn't deserve five minutes on the headline news,' said the popular Egyptian actor-playwright. 'The bigger issues we should talk about are the events in Palestine and the decision to attack Iraq.' Nevertheless, Sobhi, the Egyptian government and the country's media and entertainment structure find themselves in the center of a gathering storm. The reason: Sobhi's series appears to take much of its inspiration from the infamous 'Protocols of the Elders of Zion,' the alleged blueprint for Jewish global domination almost universally regarded in the West as an anti-Semitic fraud first perpetrated by czarist secret police in 19th century Russia ... The series, funded with private money, is scheduled to begin airing on Egyptian state television early next month, during Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting, when television ratings and ad prices traditionally are at their peak. The fact that the Egyptian government -- the world's second-largest recipient of U.S. aid -- is not only sanctioning but profiting from the series could become a major diplomatic issue ... The U.S. official in Cairo worried that neither Sobhi nor his potential television audience recognize the depth of negative feeling in the West regarding the 'Protocols.' 'There's a line between talking about a Zionist conspiracy, which I know a lot of people out here do believe, and actually talking about the 'Protocols' as an authentic document,' he said."

Israeli branch of British university in fake degree affair,
Ha'aretz (Israel), October 31, 2002
"The Israeli branch of the University of Humberside and Lincolnshire is suspected of handing out fake degrees, the third such case in Israel. The University was operating in Israel for about five years, with lecturers sent over from Britain. It ceased teaching around three years ago, and is now suspected of granting fake degrees in education. The police have begun investigating the case. Local branches of Burlington College of Vermont and the University of Latvia have also been involved in similar scandals ... [The government decision not recognize Israeli University of Latvia degrees] applies to many hundreds of security forces personnel, policemen, jail wardens and civil servants."

Feds Throw The Book At Fastow,
Forbes, October 31, 2002
"U.S. federal prosecutors have indicted Andrew Fastow [who is Jewish], former Enron chief financial officer, on charges that he set up and manipulated a group of off-the-books partnerships to hide the bankrupt company's debt and line his own pockets with millions of dollars in ill-gotten gains. The move was expected, as prosecutors had filed a complaint against Fastow on Oct. 2 and were required by federal law to bring an indictment within 30 days. The charges included 78 counts of securities, wire and mail fraud, money laundering and conspiring to inflate Enron's profits and enrich himself at the company's expense. Fastow is the first former top executives at Enron to be indicted. Investigators say Fastow made at least $30 million on the partnerships during his tenure as CFO from 1999 until October 2001. Massive losses from various Enron partnerships hid billions in debt, inflated profits and were directly responsible for the company's eventual bankruptcy filing in December 2001."

Holocaust uproar student apologises,
New Zealand Herald, October 31, 2002
"A German student at the centre of a controversial Holocaust denial case at Waikato University has apologised to the Jewish community and university staff. Hans-Joachim Kupka, who is in his early 50s, offered his apology from his home in Germany after reading about a report on the case released this month after a two-year investigation. Mr Kupka, who was a New Zealand citizen, left Waikato in June 2000 after allegations that he denied the Holocaust during internet chatroom debates. The chatroom comments were unrelated to Mr Kupka's doctoral thesis on the use of German in New Zealand, but academics feared he would contact Jewish migrants who survived the Holocaust - the systematic killing of Jews in the 1940s. The Jewish community considered this a clear breach of university cultural safety protocols."

Holocaust memorial plan in Italy prompts an anti-Semitic diatribe,
Jewish Telegraphic Agency, October 29, 2002
"Officials in northern Italy have condemned a far-right political party for protesting a drive to erect a Holocaust memorial in the city of Bolzano. In cooperation with the local Jewish community, local newspapers in the province of Alto Adige launched an effort last Friday to build a monument in Bolzano’s Jewish cemetery to honor Jews killed in a Nazi transit camp in the town. Alto Adige, also known as the South Tyrol, is a largely German-speaking province on the border with Austria. Thousands of South Tyroleans were enrolled in the German Wehrmacht, Waffen-SS or Nazi police units. The local Freiheitliche, or Freedom, Party, which is closely allied with Austrian right-wing extremist Jorg Haider, attacked the monument initiative in terms that mixed classic anti-Semitism with pro-Palestinian rhetoric. 'South Tyroleans have more important problems than continually listening to Jews,' party secretary Ulli Mair said over the weekend in a statement. 'One must stop attributing to new generations the sins of the past, in which always and only the Jews are represented as victims,' the statement said. 'Jews everywhere have positions of power, above all in the United States,' it added. 'But have they at least learned something from history? Or is it always others who must learn? It’s enough to see what’s happening in Palestine. For this, we are against South Tyroleans giving their money for a Jewish monument.'”

The Wages of Hate. Anti-semitism and the war,
Andrew Sullivan, October 2002
"A student-written article in the Yale Daily News last week, the paper for the elite American university, was typical fare. It was a piece by a precocious first-year student criticizing what he regards as the anti-Semitism tolerated at the U.N. The response, however, was far from typical. He'd touched a nerve. In the comments section, posted online next to the article, a torrent of anger was unleashed. Here's one respondent's comments: 'I recently attended a forum focusing on the Israeli/Palestinian issue. Both sides made very valid points but there was a moment of heated exchange when the pro-Israel side initiated the "anti-semite" slur and completely ended it for me. I am sick and tired of Jewish people always smearing those that merely disagree with their views as 'evil'. I never thought I'd say this but a lot of what the so-called "white supremacists" are saying are proving to be more accurate than I feel comfortable admitting.' Sympathy for the arguments of 'so-called white supremacists'? At Yale? The comment was not anonymous. Now there's always scope for nut-cases venting on the web. But the tenor of the discussion on a Yale website was certainly something new."

No Respite for West Bank Locals,
National Geographic, October 2002
"The latest news from the West Bank, occupied by Israel since June 1967, differs from earlier reports only in that the situation for the vast majority of inhabitants has grown even worse. Take, for example, one of the most fundamental human requirements: water. The drought that has been ravaging the entire Middle East for several years hit Israel hard, and Palestinians, according to the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem, have been undergoing 'a severe water shortage.' Two hundred thousand Palestinians on the West Bank found themselves without any access to a water pipeline network and therefore had to rely in part on supplies brought in by tanker, which cost them three to five times as much as piped water. However, the tankers often come from areas that are under Israeli curfew (meaning that all outside movement is forbidden.) They therefore have to wait until the curfew is lifted before filling up and setting off to make deliveries. The roughly 8,500 people living in the town of Bayt Furik, for example, totally depend in water brought in from the city of Nablus, which has been frequently under curfew for most of the day since May. The Israeli military authorities allow tankers to enter Bayt Furik only between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. In consequence, each of the 13 tankers serving the town can make only one delivery a day, as opposed to the four or five daily deliveries that they usually made before the present disturbances, known as the Al Aqsa intifada, began in September 2000. The effect of this severe reduction in summer water supply on the town’s beef and chicken industry has been predictably severe, just one more reason why some 70 percent of the inhabitants of the occupied territories are living on $2 a day or less."

On Eve Of Merger, Comcast Says It Can Play,
Forbes, October 29, 2002
"Comcast stands out as a port of sanity in a sea of mad overbuilding and overreaching. Yesterday, on the eve of closing its massive $46 billion acquisition of AT&T Broadband from AT&T, the company reported a quarterly profit of $75.6 million, or eight cents a share ... The QVC home shopping network, the least glamorous side of Comcast's business, posted a 13% increase in revenue, to $1.01 billion. Beyond QVC, Comcast owns E! Networks, Comcast-Spectacor, the Golf Channel and other channels. Advertising revenue increased nearly 12% to $93.2 million, reflecting in part a stronger local ad market. 'As we prepare to complete the merger with AT&T Broadband in the fourth quarter, we are building from a position of strength. Each of our businesses are financially and operationally strong and we have a solid balance sheet and liquidity position to support our growth,' [Jewish mogul] Brian Roberts, Comcast president, said in a prepared statement. As of today, Comcast is the third-largest U.S. cable company. After it merges with AT&T Broadband, which has seen its subscriber rate declining, it will be the largest.

America's Richest Politicians,
Forbes, October 29, 2002
"For too long, politics has been the playground of the legal class. Indeed, there are more attorneys keeping seats warm in the three branches of the federal government than any other profession. Recently, though, business leaders--who are responsible for society's most dynamic and important improvements--have started to crash the political party. [Richest: Michael Bloomberg, Mayor of New York. Net Worth: 4.8 billion dollars, four times richer than the next wealthiest politician]

Before Jewish fascism takes over,
by Yossi Sarid, Ha'aretz (Israel), October 29, 2002
"They're putting the historical cart before the horses, to drag the horses after them down the slippery slope until we once again crash, for the third time; they are enlisting history into the cause to make sure the zealots of our day can once again bring us to destruction ... Gush Emunim's path to their heaven and our hell is paved with violence and brutal expressions of refusal and rebellion, always supported by Ariel Sharon (all the quotes are in the archives), who to this day, now as prime minister, is playing a double game together with his good friend, the most important man in the territories, that one from the Jewish Underground, Ze'ev Hever, also known as Zambish. Together, Sharon and Zambish are zambushing Fuad Ben-Eliezer and Shimon Peres. And the Yesha Council leaders will continue denying their paternity over the 'hilltop youth,' while the sanctimonious, self-righteous politicians who prepared the groundwork for the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin will continue using their saccharine rhetoric about 'the unity of the nation' warning about 'civil wars' and 'baseless hatred.' If today's zealots continue on the path of their ancestors, I'm not sure the opposing camp will continue the tradition of surrender and panic exhibited by the moderates of the Second Commonwealth. We have the right of self-defense from the likes of Effi Eitam, his rabbis and pupils, before they bring down the horrors upon us, before Jewish fascism runs over us all."

Arab legislators aren't equal,
International Herald Tribune, October 29, 2002
"Israel calls itself the only democracy in the Middle East, a description readily accepted in the West. Only critics in the Arab world and a handful of radical Israeli academics have challenged this orthodoxy, observing that the country is really a democracy only if you are a Jew. Azmi Bishara, a former philosophy professor and now an Arab member of the Knesset, calls Israel a 'tribal democracy.' Not included in the tribe, he says, are the country's million Arab citizens, a fifth of the population. Although they have the vote, they have long complained that they are excluded from participation in the government. Since the mid-1990s they have campaigned for the Jewish state to become a state of all its citizens. The Jewish Israeli public and political establishment angrily oppose such reforms, claiming that they would destroy Israel as a Jewish democratic state. However, a new report, 'Silencing Dissent,' commissioned by Israel's Arab Association for Human Rights, challenges the view that Israel can extol its virtues as a democracy while defining itself as a state for Jews. Our research throws up disturbing facts about the operation of Israel's parliamentary democracy that are little appreciated outside Israel ... The special treatment meted out to the Arab legislators has every appearance of being designed to intimidate and silence them. In fact, new pieces of legislation passed by the Knesset this past summer will do just that. Israel's election committee will now be able to ban any party from running which implicitly denies that Israel is a Jewish and democratic state."

Lieberman: We Don't Need U.N.,
New York Post, October 28, 2002
"A leading Democrat yesterday urged President Bush to get tough with the United Nations, saying that the United States should go it alone on Iraq if France and other countries drag their feet ... Al Gore's running mate in 2000 and a potential 2004 candidate, [Senator Joseph] Lieberman has consistently taken a tough line with Iraq. His criticism of Bush yesterday put Lieberman into a small group of lawmakers willing to see the United States ignore the United Nations completely."

Jeffrey Epstein: International Moneyman of Mystery,
New York Magazine, October 28, 2002 issue
"He's pals with a passel of Nobel Prize–winning scientists, CEOs like [fellow Jew] Leslie Wexner of the Limited, socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, even Donald Trump. But it wasn't until he flew Bill Clinton, Kevin Spacey, and Chris Tucker to Africa on his private Boeing 727 that the world began to wonder who he is. He comes with cash to burn, a fleet of airplanes, and a keen eye for the ladies -- to say nothing of a relentless brain that challenges Nobel Prize–winning scientists across the country -- and for financial markets around the world. Ever since the Post's 'Page Six' ran an item about the president's late-September visit to Africa with Kevin Spacey and Chris Tucker -- on his new benefactor's customized Boeing 727 -- the question of the day has been: Who in the world is Jeffrey Epstein? It's a life full of question marks. Epstein is said to run $15 billion for wealthy clients, yet aside from Limited founder Leslie Wexner, his client list is a closely held secret. A former Dalton math teacher, he maintains a peripatetic salon of brilliant scientists yet possesses no bachelor's degree. For more than ten years, he's been linked to Manhattan-London society figure Ghislaine Maxwell, daughter of the mysteriously deceased [Jewish/Zionist] media titan Robert Maxwell, yet he lives the life of a bachelor, logging 600 hours a year in his various planes as he scours the world for investment opportunities. He owns what is said to be Manhattan's largest private house yet runs his business from a 100-acre private island in St. Thomas. Power on Wall Street has generally accrued to those who have made their open bids for it. Soros. Wasserstein. Kravis. Weill. [All Jewish moguls] The Sturm und Drang of their successes and failures has been played out in public. Epstein breaks the mold. Most everyone on the Street has heard of him, but nobody seems to know what the hell he is up to. Which is just the way he likes it."

Smearing the Antiwar Movement. Neocon Thought Police on the Prowl,
by Justin Raimondo, Etherzone, October 28, 2002 issue
"As if to confirm what some opponents of this war have been saying – but not too loudly – about this being a war for Israel, the Bush administration is now 'weighing an Israeli proposal for a joint operation in Iraq's western desert to disarm Iraqi missiles before they could be launched against Israel.' That this war has always been about Israel is a matter of simple geography. For all the President's palavering about the 'threat to Americans' posed by Iraq, those 'weapons of mass destruction' Saddam supposedly has couldn't even reach Europe, let alone the U.S. But Tel Aviv is well within range. Indeed, the prospect of Iraqi missiles raining down on Israel has been one of the chief deterrents against a move by Israel's far-right Likud government to ethnically cleanse Palestine of Arabs – a plan that is increasingly popular among Israelis – and/or move the IDF back into Lebanon. The U.S. occupation of Iraq will eliminate that deterrent – and set up Israel to deal with Hizbollah the Syria in the regional conflagration to follow. The oddly showy attempts by U.S. government officials to downplay the extent of U.S.-Israeli collaboration have never been too convincing – if they were, you see, the Israeli lobby in the U.S. would be outraged, and that would be the end of that. But who's kidding whom? The coming war in the Middle East will be a joint operation between Washington and Tel Aviv in every sense, not only militarily but also on the political and diplomatic fronts. In the blockbuster second issue of The American Conservative, Paul W. Schroeder, professor emeritus of history at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne, disdained the Oedipal explanation for the origins of the President's war plans, writing: 'Much more plausible is the suggestion that this plan is being promoted in the interests of Israel. Certainly it is being pushed very hard by a number of influential supporters of Israel of the hawkish neoconservative stripe in and outside the administration (Richard Perle, Paul Wolfowitz, William Kristol, and others) and one could easily make the case that a successful preventive war on Iraq would promote particular Israeli security interests more than general American ones.'"

Best of the Web Today: Oh, Those Presidents All Look Alike,
Opinion Journal (Wall Street Journal), October 28, 2002
"Slate, the online magazine that gave us 'monkeyfishing,' has also created a tiresome feature called the 'Bushism of the Day.' Jacob Weisberg, who succeeded Michael Kinsley [both are Jewish] as editor, scours the president's statements and takes short quotes out of context, attempting to make Bush look stupid by putting into writing his spoken quotes. This is a cheap gimmick; few people speak in polished sentences and paragraphs, and you could make almost anyone look dumb by employing the Weisberg method. Still, today's 'Bushism of the day' breaks new ground. Here it is: 'I would like to express my deep condolences for the loss of the Senate.'--Commenting on Sen. Paul Wellstone's death, Crawford, Texas, Oct. 25, 2002. Now, let's go to the transcript, which is of a joint appearance with Bush and China's President Jiang Zemin. It begins with Bush speaking: 'Thank you for coming, President Jiang.' PRESIDENT JIANG: 'Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen. I just learned that one plane crashed. I would like to express my deep condolences for the loss of the Senate. And also I would like to express my condolences to the bereaved family.' Did Weisberg deliberately present Jiang's words as Bush's in a dishonest attempt to make Bush look bad? It's hard to imagine he did, and we certainly know of no reason to question the Slate editor's integrity. More likely, Weisberg was just being sloppy. Even so, this is pretty stunningly slipshod. Someone who demands perfect syntax in spoken expression ought to be more careful in his own writing."

Winona Jury Shocker,
Slate, October 28, 2002
"A Jury of Her Peers: How dumb were prosecutors to let Peter Guber, former head of Sony Pictures, on to the Winona Ryder [both Guber and Ryder, originally Horowitz, are Jewish] shoplifting jury? They must not have read Nancy Griffin and Kim Masters' Hit and Run: How Jon Peters and Peter Guber Took Sony for a Ride in Hollywood. If the lawyers in the D.A.'s office do get hold of a copy, they perhaps should pay special attention to the pages cited in the index entry: 'Guber/Peters ... and greed, 9, 108, 109, 119, 142, 148.' Can the prosecutors seriously think Guber is someone who's about to get all moralistic over a few missing hats and hair bands? ... "

No, they don't rest in peace. Improper construction, neglect and vandalism have turned Ashkelon's Christian cemetery into an eyesore,
Ha'aretz (Israel), October 27, 2002
"'Whenever Jewish gravestones in overseas cemeteries are sprayed with hate messages, there is a huge hue and cry: `Anti-Semitism!' However, when Christian gravestones are uprooted in Israeli cemeteries, are any protests heard?' This is what Romy Nudelman recently wrote in protest over the desecration of the grave of her Catholic mother in the Christian cemetery in Ashkelon. 'Is it not a divine decree that the stranger living in your midst should be treated with dignity? And is respect for the dead merely a cliche?' she continued in her letter to the President of the State of Israel, to the ministers of religious affairs and the interior, and to the mayor of Ashkelon. For more than seven years, she has protested the vandalism that has been carried out in Ashkelon's Christian cemetery. Various government agencies have admitted that the situation in that cemetery is 'serious and shocking'; however, no substantive measures have yet been taken to amend it."

Why The Rise In Anti-Semitism In Europe?,
by Alfred M. Lilienthal, Palestine Chronicle, October 27 2002
"Any time that we hear that Jews are 'suddenly' being persecuted, we have to ask what is really going on. Are their opponents attacking them only because they are Jews? An op-ed piece by Abraham Foxman, head of the Anti-Defamation League, entitled 'Europe's Anti-Israel Excuse' appeared in the Washington Post on June 26, 2002. Foxman claims to believe that the growing criticism in Europe of Israeli misconduct somehow equals a resurgence of anti-Semitism similar to the dark Hitler era. For that matter, he makes an even far wider claim that this supposed new rise in the old anti-Semitism is somehow central to all human experience: Throughout history a constant barometer for judging the level of hate and exclusion vs. the level of freedom and democracy in any society has been anti-Semitism -- how a country treats its Jewish citizens. Jews have been persecuted and delegitimized throughout history because of their perceived differences. Any society that can understand and accept Jews is typically more democratic, more open and accepting of 'the other.' This predictor has held true throughout the ages.' Here in Foxman’s own words, we have a prime example of the kind of egocentric and grandiose preoccupation with his Jewishness that tends to give other Jews a bad name. What hogwash that throughout all of human history and throughout all the societies that have ever existed, the world has somehow revolved around the status of 'The Jews!' This claim of unique Jewish specialness is preposterous and offensive. If the Irish, the Chinese, the Arabs, the Catholics, the Buddhists, or any other ethnic or religious group made such a ridiculous universal claim about themselves, we would likely find it both disgusting and laughable. Foxman makes this absurd statement, but if we dare to say it is absurd, immediately he would counter that we are anti-Semitic to say so."

Who Has Hijacked Google?
[Commentary, and links, about the Jewish dimensions of the Google World Wide web search engine]
Focal Point, October 28, 2002

Ad says Cleland silent on anti-Semitism,
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, October 26, 2002
"More than 100 Jewish Georgians have signed an advertisement scolding U.S. Max Cleland (D-Ga.) for not condemning [African-Americans] U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney and state Rep. Billy McKinney's 'anti-Semitic and anti-Israel statements' during their re-election campaigns last summer. The full-page ad in Friday's edition of the weekly Atlanta Jewish Times, which has a circulation of 25,000, endorses Cleland challenger Republican Saxby Chambliss. The ad includes a picture of the Israeli flag at the top next to the headline: 'The Jewish Community Supports Saxby Chambliss for U.S. Senate.' Jewish business leaders, local entertainment figures and politicians signed the ad, including Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus, who could not be reached for comment Friday."

High Stakes on ‘Down Ballot’,
Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, October 25, 2002
"They may be 'down ballot,'or low profile, races for state offices, but the contests for insurance commissioner and controller in the Nov. 5 election could have important international effects on the Jewish community. California’s next insurance commissioner will have an important voice in the settlement and distribution of Holocaust-related funds. The responsibilities of the state controller include seats on public pension fund boards, where the battles over divestment of investments related to Israel may be fought. Nearly a quarter of all U.S. claims made to the International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims (ICHEIC) have come from California. The California insurance commissioner, along with the commissioners of several other states, European insurance regulators and Israeli and Jewish organization officials form the ICHEIC board ... In 1999, California passed the Holocaust Victim Insurance Relief Act, which requires insurance companies that do business in the state to provide information regarding any policies sold by the companies or their affiliates in Europe between 1920-1945. The insurance commissioner has the power to revoke the business license of any company that does not comply with the law ... [Candidate Gary] Mendoza, a former state corporations commissioner and Los Angeles deputy mayor under Richard Riordan, was also state chairman of the Bush for President 2000 campaign. . ... 'I’ve been an outspoken supporter of Israel for years,' Mendoza said. 'Israel is fighting our fight right now. Statewide officeholders have an opportunity to speak out and support our allies. I’d like to see a declaration of independence from Arab oil.'"

Academic accused of promoting anti-semitism,
Guardian (UK), October 25, 2002
"A row has broken out between a Birmingham University lecturer and Jewish groups over a personal website which the Jewish groups say promotes anti-semitism. The Board of Deputies of British Jews, has written to the university demanding that they remove links between Ms Blackwell's official university website and her personal pages. They say links from the site take you to images glorifying suicide bombing and comparing Israel with Nazi Germany. Sue Blackwell, an English lecturer, today defended her site saying: 'I would not link to a terrorist organisation - there is no link to a Hamas website. If I've inadvertently linked to something that glorifies suicide bombers I would remove it immediately. Nobody has yet told me which one leads to these images. I think these allegations are groundless and malicious.' A spokesperson for the Board of Deputies said: 'Over the past year, Jewish students have felt increasingly threatened by anti-Israel and anti-semitic propaganda on campus which has directly resulted in an increase in campus anti-semitism. As an academic, Ms Blackwell has a responsibility to the truth and it is sad that she has allowed herself to become a mouthpiece for recognised anti-Israel groups.'" [Here is Susan Blackwell's web site]

Is This a Joke? Jewish Humor Fails To Make List of Funniest Jests,
[Jewish] Forward, October 25, 2002
"Rabbi Moshe Waldoks recently left an angry message on the Forward's voicemail service. 'I'm curious to hear what someone has the nerve to call 'the funniest joke,'" growled the disgusted co-author of 'The Big Book of Jewish Humor.' 'What chutzpah!' The wise men of Chelm would be turning in their graves if they knew of the results of a study published earlier this month that named the most widely praised jokes throughout Europe and North America. While, according to Waldoks, 60% to 70% of people in the humor industry (writers, comedians, etc.) are Jews, there is not a single joke involving Jews in the survey's top tier. LaughLab, created by the University of Hertfordshire in England and the British Association for the Advancement of Science, conducted a yearlong survey via the Internet, in which more than 2 million people passed judgment on 40,000 jokes. 'There aren't 40,000 gentile jokes," huffed Alan King, the comic's comic and author of the brand-new 'Alan King's Great Jewish Joke Book' (Crown). 'If there are, they've been changed.' The British, King told the Forward, are 'carriers of bad humor. India wasn't funny, South Africa wasn't funny, so what do they know?' ... Waldoks says that he doubts that the absence of Jewish jokes indicates any overt antisemitism on behalf of the world at-large. 'I think it's an ignorance,' Waldoks said, not any lack of material.".

Court: Jewish community can mark symbolic district,
CNN, October 24, 2002
"Officials in a New Jersey borough discriminated against an Orthodox Jewish community when they refused to allow it to place plastic strips on utility poles to mark the boundaries of a symbolic religious district, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the borough of Tenafly's argument that allowing the unobtrusive strips constituted an improper government endorsement of religion. The strips mark an eruv, a symbolic district within which Orthodox Jews are allowed to perform physical tasks otherwise banned on the Sabbath, such as pushing baby carriages or helping elders who use wheelchairs visit friends. Most major American cities contain eruvs, although many residents may not realize it because they often are marked with easily overlooked strands of wire."

What Happened to The Angry White Male? The media's "racial profile" of the sniper turned out to be dead wrong,
by Jonah Goldberg, Opinion Journal (Wall Street Journal), October 25, 2002
"'This person is kind of a wallpaper white male, a disenfranchised, disrespected man who's getting back at society.' So explained Brian Levin, a criminologist and director of the Center for Hate and Extremism in San Bernardino, Calif., to the Christian Science Monitor on Oct. 9. 'That's one of the reasons he's kept his distance from inner D.C., where he might lose his cover.' Don't hold your breath waiting for Mr. Levin's Gilda Radner-esque 'never mind,' as the image of two handsome black men--who'd need no cover in inner-city Washington--fills every television in America. He has too much company to be singled out for mockery."

Canadian Jews are incensed as Quebec union calls to boycott Israel,
Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Oct. 25, 2002
"Members of a Quebec labor union who recently visited the West Bank and Gaza Strip have denounced Israel as an 'apartheid regime' and called for a boycott of Israeli products. The Centrale des syndicats du Quebec, a major union representing teachers, healthcare and social service workers and other labor groups, sent 10 members on a 12-day fact-finding mission to Palestinian areas. The group did not meet with any Israeli government representatives or Israeli colleagues from the Histadrut trade union federation. The delegation prepared a blistering report on Israel’s treatment of Palestinians, outlining a litany of Palestinian suffering that they blamed on Israel’s military presence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip ... Incensed, Montreal’s Jewish leadership is striking back. At a press conference Thursday, representatives of Canadian Jewish Congress’s Quebec region, the Canada-Israel Committee’s Quebec region, the Communaute Sepharade du Quebec and Federation CJA condemned the union’s report."

From Israeli nukes to 'silly strategists',
Ha'aretz (Israel), October 25, 2002
"The last time strategic analyst Anthony Cordesman topped the Israeli news was when his testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee yielded the headline: 'Israel will retaliate with nuclear weapons in case of heavy casualties from an Iraqi missile attack' (by Ze'ev Schiff, on August 15). Cordesman's updated opinion, disseminated this week by the online Gulf Wire news agency, deals among other things with expected Israeli reactions to an Iraqi missile attack. But the Israeli reader will find much more interesting reading in other parts of the document written by the person now considered one of Washington's leading strategic thinkers on the Middle East. In the article, which deals with 'the gap between strategic theory and operational reality in the Middle East,' Cordesman writes that 'conventional missile attacks on Israel, and even token and ineffective Iraqi use of weapons of mass destruction, could trigger Israeli conventional attacks on Iraq. The U.S. can quietly discourage this by its traditional means.' Cordesman bluntly identifies these as 'bribes in the form of more aid to Israel' ... Hinting broadly about the advice President George Bush is getting from two key [Jewish] policy advisors, Richard Perle and Douglas Feith, Cordesman writes: 'The U.S. also needs to make it clear to the region that it does not endorse neo-conservative and Israeli fantasies about going on to region-wide conflicts or triggering broader overthrows of regimes. The U.S., however, can make it clear that its commitment to Israel does not involve a commitment to its sillier armchair strategists and more vocally irresponsible hardliners.'"

Maxwell Killed by Mossad: New Book,
New York Post, October 25, 2002
."'Robert Maxwell, Israel's Superspy,'" to be published in December by Carroll and Graf, claims Mossad decided to get rid of Maxwell because he was threatening to expose his knowledge of Israeli secrets unless he received Israeli help in propping up his failing businesses. Maxwell's sudden death at sea in November 1991 off the Canary Islands brought about the collapse of his worldwide publishing empire and triggered theories ranging from suicide, murder or accident. Maxwell - who owned the Daily News at the time - disappeared overboard just as the complex web of financial deals keeping his businesses afloat was beginning to unravel and a few weeks after U.S. investigative journalist Seymour Hersh published a book claiming Maxwell had close ties with the Israeli secret services. The new book, by British thriller writer Gordon Thomas and Irish journalist Martin Dillon, is based on interviews with former Mossad agents and chiefs."

Oil and Israel. Two unspoken reasons why Bush wants to wage war against Iraq,
by Michael Kinsley, MSNBC (Slate magazine), October 24, 2002
"So, why exactly is Iraq different from North Korea? Both are founding members of President Bush’s 'axis of evil,' and both deserve that honor. North Korea has now admitted to a nuclear weapons development program on about the same timeline as what we only suspect about Iraq. So, why are we barely complaining in one case and off to war in the other? ... The lack of public discussion about the role of Israel in the thinking of 'President Bush' is easier to understand, but weird nevertheless. It is the proverbial elephant in the room: Everybody sees it, no one mentions it. The reason is obvious and admirable: Neither supporters nor opponents of a war against Iraq wish to evoke the classic anti-Semitic image of the king’s Jewish advisers whispering poison into his ear and betraying the country to foreign interests. But the consequence of this massive 'Shhhhhhhhh!' is to make a perfectly valid American concern for a democratic ally in a region of nutty theocracies, rotting monarchies, and worse seem furtive and suspicious." [Kinsley is Jewish]

Google excludes sites from French, German listings,
ITworld, October 24, 2002
"Internet search engine company Google Inc. has been discreetly removing over 100 controversial sites from some search result listings on its German and French Web sites, according to a study from Harvard University's Berkman Center. The study found that listings for 113 Web sites that are anti-Semitic, pro-Nazi, or related to white supremacy have been either partially or fully removed from Google.fr and Google.de, though they are available on the U.S. site, Google.com, according to the report posted Tuesday on Harvard University's Berkman Center Web site. Google, in Mountain View, California, could not immediately be reach for comment. The Harvard study, conducted by assistant professor Jonathan Zittrain and law student Benjamin Edelman, used automated testing, conducted between Oct. 4 and Oct. 21, of Google's 2.5 billion page index to compare the results returned by different foreign-language versions. The study found that among the banned sites are a 'white pride' site, Stormfront.org, and a fundamentalist Christian site opposing abortion, Jesus-is-lord.com. Testing revealed that 65 sites removed from German google.de were also removed from French google.fr results with an additional 48 sites removed only from google.fr results. Zittrain and Edelman point out that German and French Internet users can still circumvent such bans by simply conducting searches on Google.com. German law forbids material that is considered to incite racial and ethnic hatred, including the publication of Holocaust denials. Similar laws exist in France. Both countries have been involved in high profile cases in an attempt to get Internet providers to block access to offending U.S. Web sites."

Doers and doings in business, entertainment and technology: Michael Eisner says there's no broader strategy with Microsoft,
Forbes, October 24, 2002
"[Jewish mogul] Michael Eisner's Walt Disney and Microsoft's MSN [Microsoft is headed today by Jewish mogul Steve Ballmer] announced they are banding together to launch a family-friendly Internet service in a bid to challenge embattled industry leader America Online, a unit of AOL Time Warner. The new service will offer items such as parental controls and new start-up pages for kids that are filled with Disney characters like Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, as well as a separate start page for adults, the companies said in a statement."

World press freedom ranked,
BBC (UK), October 23, 2002
"This is the first time press freedom has been ranked The international journalism pressure group Reporters Without Borders has published a list judging 139 countries on their respect for press freedom. At the top of the list are Finland, Iceland, Norway and the Netherlands. North Korea, China and Burma are at the other end of the scale. There are some surprises for Western governments - the United States ranks below Costa Rica and Italy scores lower than Benin ... The US' 17th place was lowered because of the number of journalists arrested for refusing to reveal their sources, the report says ... Elsewhere, the organisation places the Palestinian Authority (82) higher than Israel (92) in terms of press freedom. Israel's ranking was hurt by what the pressure group claims are 'a large number of violations of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights' in the West Bank and Gaza." [Iraq is listed at the bottom, at 130]

Israeli embassy told to move,
Aftenposten, (Norway), October 24, 2002
"Closed streets, barricaded sidewalks and heavily armed guards just behind Norway's royal palace have taken their toll on Oslo officials' patience. After years of neighbor complaints over security measures at the Israeli embassy, city authorities now agree the embassy must move within four years. The Israeli embassy on Parkveien in Oslo has been a security nightmare for local officials. Fears of terrorist attack have led to security demands from the Israeli embassy that city and state politicians have tried to meet. The city has paid for round-the-clock police patrols at the embassy, agreed to block off the street it sits on (earlier one of busiest in the city) and allowed the embassy to violate building codes by erecting such things as a steel fence around the gracious old rented mansion that the embassy leases. Now city officials agree that the very threat of terrorist attack means the embassy must be re-located. They now think its current site, across the street from the palace where both King Harald and Queen Sonja live, is a threat to the entire area."

Setting the Stan-dard. How one man transformed a basement tutoring service into an American dream machine known as the test prep industry,
Moment, October 2002
"Stanley H. Kaplan is a nice Jewish boy who was never able to become a doctor—and that might have been the best thing that ever happened to him. Convinced that anti-Semitism and his lack of an upper-crust academic pedigree kept him out of medical school, Kaplan pursued his first love: teaching. In the process, he became so successful that today, his name is a household word among aspiring collegians. Yes, that Stanley H. Kaplan, whose moniker has become synonymous with college test preparations, a burgeoning industry he singlehandedly created ... Apparently Kaplan, who was first exposed to big-time standardized testing 56 years ago when a high school student from his hometown of Brooklyn approached him and asked him for help on an exam he'd never heard of. That exam—the Scholastic Aptitude Test—became his meal ticket ... Over the years, his tutoring operation grew into Kaplan, Inc., the nation's largest test preparation company. It has helped more than 3 million students—200,000 last year alone—prepare for not only the SAT, but dozens of other standardized tests ... Despite Kaplan's belief that standardized testing enables students 'to show off their skills on a level playing field,' it has been accused of being both elitist and trivial. Likewise, Kaplan's own test prep program has come under fire. Critics have called it elitist, charging that its high cost (about $800 to $900 for a 30-hour-plus seminar) effectively discriminates against poor and middle class students—the very population Kaplan had sought to serve."

Settlers defying Israeli law Actions spark fear in the region,
Boston Globe, October 23, 2002
"Jewish settlers in the occupied Palestinian territories have suddenly broken into open defiance of the government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on multiple fronts, threatening the stability of the ruling coalition and creating an environment that some Israelis compare to that which led to the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Across the rocky, rolling hills of the northern West Bank, which the settlers call by the biblical name Samaria, settlers are attacking Palestinians attempting to harvest their olives - a major ritual of Palestinian society and an important source of income for the impoverished rural population. Olive harvesters have been beaten, shot at, wounded, and, in one case, killed... In the past week alone, a Palestinian was found crawling through the groves near an Itamar outpost after allegedly being beaten severely by residents, Palestinian villagers fled their homes after a settler rampage, and numerous olive harvesters were threatened. The injured man had three broken fingers, and was burned and bruised all over his body, according to the doctor in Nablus who treated him. A relative who took him to the hospital said the man told him settlers hung him upside down in a tree, with his hands tied behind his back, while beating him. In other Samarian settlements, Israeli police said, armed, masked settlers torched seven cars owned by Palestinians after the Palestinians refused to leave their olive groves."

Rights groups: Israel is waging a campaign to silence Arab MKs,
Ha'aretz (Israel), October 23, 2002
"Israel is carrying out at a 'campaign for silencing Arab members of Knesset [the Israeli Parliament],' and has adopted a 'strategy aimed at denying the [Arab] minority its voting rights, contrary to its international obligation,' organizations representing Arab minority rights said in two ground-breaking reports presented to the Knesset yesterday. According to reports prepared by the Arab Association for Human Rights (HRA) and the Mussawa Center, Israel's nine Arab MKs have been targets of a concerted policy of physical attack by security forces and their freedom of movement has been restricted. There are also a number of legal and legislative processes in the works aimed at neutralizing their political activity, the reports note. Since the current Knesset was convened in May 1999, eight of the Knesset Arab MKs have been physically hurt in 11 attacks carried out by military police, according to the rights organizations; most of the MKs were attacked more than once, and in seven cases medical treatment was required. 'In most of the cases, security forces knew who they were attacking,' the HRA report claims. According to both reports, no proceedings were taken against the attackers, despite complaints filed by the MKs."

The Usefulness of Daniel Goldhagen. His new book attacking Pope Pius XII is filled with factual errors, providing an opportunity for other anti-Catholic writers to claim the middle ground,
by J. Bottum, Weekly Standard, October 23, 2002
"If you haven't been able to read all the writing about Pius XII, the Catholic Church, and the Holocaust, you needn't feel too bad. Not even scholars in the field have been able to keep up. By my count, there have been at least fourteen books on the subject in the last three years, with the threat of more to come ...Into this flood of (mostly Catholic) works for and against Pius XII, there will shortly splash Daniel Goldhagen's new book, 'A Moral Reckoning: The Role of the Catholic Church in the Holocaust and its Unfulfilled Duty of Repair' ... As I say, no one is going to have trouble finding Goldhagen's mistakes. And that's exactly the problem. By writing such an error-filled, anti-Catholic diatribe as 'A Moral Reckoning,' Goldhagen makes what used to be the extreme of public discourse look like middle ground--the middle ground that, on any historical question, most of diffident, well-mannered America wants to inhabit."

Backpackers warned about strict foreign drug laws,
Ha'aretz (Israel), October 23, 2002
"The War on Drugs Authority is putting a warning booklet on sale cheaply at travel agents outlining the drug laws in 39 countries popular with young Israeli travelers. With examples ranging from India and Thailand to Ecuador and Brazil, the booklet tells in a dry tone what happens to someone caught with drugs in these countries. With drugs ranging from marijuana to cocaine and heroin, there are vast differences between countries in the punishments they mete out for having drugs for personal use and for dealing. Authority chairman Haim Messing says 'on average the Foreign Ministry gets requests to help Israelis in trouble abroad over drugs - we're talking about hundreds of cases a year. We thought it would be appropriate to bring the information about international drug laws to public attention.'"

Weill Says He Stands With Citigroup,
Forbes, October 23, 2002
"At this point in the Wall Street story, a conflict of interests has emerged between the conflict of interests. The Wall Street Journal reported early today that the New York attorney general's office is 'stepping up pressure' on Citigroup by seeking to question Chairman and Chief Executive Sanford Weill 'after gathering new evidence in its broad investigation' into research activities at the financial services giant. In a memo to his senior management also published as a press release, Weill denied the story within hours of it being posted on the Journal's Web site and said, in effect, he will stand with the bank he loves and noted that his retaining a lawyer should imply nothing to the contrary. After all, the lawyer he retained, Martin Lipton, is a corporate lawyer, not a divorce lawyer nor a criminal lawyer. Besides which, Sandy and Marty are good friends ... [I]f anyone has a conflict of interest, it could well be Lipton, who is advising the chairman and the bank. It isn't clear what 'new evidence' the attorney general has uncovered about Weill, but the Journal's report suggests that it may have something to do with Weill's membership on the board of AT&T ... Weill's memo quotes Lipton's 'strong response' to the idea that there may be a conflict between the bank and its chairman: 'The notion that there could be any charge against Sandy Weill is inconceivable. There is no divergence between the interests of Sandy and Citigroup,' Lipton said. As it happens, Lipton's firm, Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz, also represents AT&T. Is this another conflict? Or have we heard a little too much about conflicts."

Pro-Israel lobby flexes muscles, making some legislators uneasy,
Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Oct. 22, 2002
"Pro-Israel lawmakers, including some Jewish members of the U.S. House of Representatives, are complaining about the influence of Jewish lobbying groups on Middle East issues. According to congressional staffers and lobbyists, several pro-Israel congressmen are agitated by the type of influence that Jewish organizations are exerting, specifically their calls to support the policies of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Following the defeat this year of several incumbents deemed anti-Israel — defeats attributed in part to the influence of Jewish money — congressmen who normally would speak out on the Middle East are finding it better to stay quiet. Most of the focus is on the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the influential pro-Israel lobbying organization. The organization stresses that its mandate is to support the policies of the current Israeli government, but lawmakers say AIPAC has little tolerance for more dovish stances, such as calls for restraint during Israeli military incursions into the West Bank and Gaza Strip ... In two highly publicized congressional primaries this year, incumbents who were considered anti-Israel lost to challengers who received large amounts of Jewish money. Both Reps. Earl Hilliard (D-Ala.) and Cynthia McKinney (D-Ga.) were targeted by Jewish groups because of their perceived anti-Israel stances. “It was designed to send the message, ‘Shut up,’ and that message was heard,” one longtime Jewish community activist said. 'It will have a chilling effect on the Middle East debate' ... While there have been cases in the past of Jewish money helping to defeat powerful legislators, the McKinney and Hilliard races showed that Jewish activists will target even lawmakers without a great deal of influence. That has forced some lawmakers to cast votes against their better judgment, sources said. “For the first time they are going after people who are obscure and insignificant,” the community activist said. 'It sends a message that you can be from Podunk, Miss. and we’ll go after you.' Officials at other Jewish organizations say they are being told by lawmakers and staffers that they feel more pressure than usual, and are fearful that any vote could come back to haunt them. 'Since Sharon became prime minister they hold their nose and do what they’re told by AIPAC,' the community activist said. 'What members say privately is totally at a variance with what they say publicly.'”

Home PM plans to ask U.S. for aid that could top $10 billion,
Ha'aretz (Israel), October 22, 2002
"An inter-ministerial team headed by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's bureau chief, Dov Weisglass, is working on a proposal requesting American economic assistance that could top $10 billion. The team includes representatives from the treasury, the Foreign Ministry and the Defense Ministry. A government source said the reason for the aid request stems from the United States' expected campaign against Iraq coupled with the American desire that Israel not interfere with Washington's plans or use IDF troops against Iraq. Sources at the Prime Minister's Office said yesterday that American readiness to provide economic assistance has not been made in concrete terms. However, a number of ideas have cropped up in Jerusalem over the type of aid Israel could use: cash, guarantees for low-interest bank loans from American banks, direct state-to-state loans from the U.S. treasury, and the conversion of some American defense aid into shekels. Currently, Washington provides Israel $2.1 billion a year that must be spent in the United States on defense supplies. One proposal is for $2 billion to be converted to shekels and used to purchase defense equipment from Israeli manufacturers in the hope that it would invigorate the Israeli economy."

Commander charged with torturing Palestinian boy,
Guardian (UK), October 22, 2002
"An Israeli army commander has been relieved of his post after being charged with torturing a young Palestinian boy in Bethlehem while interrogating him as to the whereabouts of his father. Lieutenant Colonel Geva Saguy is awaiting a court martial on several charges, including ordering the boy to strip naked, holding a burning paper under his testicles, threatening to ram a bottle into his anus and threatening to shoot him. The boy's name and age have not been revealed. A military court was told that Lt Col Saguy was trying to obtain information about the boy's father - described as a 'wanted Palestinian' - during the army's invasion of Bethlehem in April. Lt Col Saguy was charged with extortion, behaviour unbecoming an officer and exceeding his authority to the point of endangering human life. He was relieved of his post on the orders of the military court after it turned down a request for the charges to be thrown out. The army had resisted the move for several months. A sergeant is accused of translating Lt Col Saguy's threats into Arabic and of beating the youth."

Ryder shoplift trial to begin Defense says star's arrest was setup,
San Francisco Chronicle, October 22, 2002
"Actress Winona Ryder's arrest led to jokes on late-night television about her allegedly sticky fingers, triggered the production of 'Free Winona' T- shirts and inspired a comic play about her plight. Now, 10 months later, the Oscar-nominated actress, who was raised in Petaluma, is starring as criminal defendant in a real-life drama featuring a varied cast: hawk-eyed Saks security guards, employees from other high-end department stores and Beverly Hills police officers who handcuffed America's most famous shoplifting suspect ... Ryder, born Winona Laura Horowitz, grew up in Petaluma. Her parents were friends of poet Allen Ginsberg, and her godfather was Timothy Leary."

How to shut up your critics with a single word,
by Robert Fisk, The Independent (UK), October 21, 2002
"Thank God, I often say, for the Israeli press. For where else will you find the sort of courageous condemnation of Israel's cruel and brutal treatment of the Palestinians? Where else can we read that Moshe Ya'alon, Ariel Sharon's new chief of staff, described the 'Palestinian threat' as 'like a cancer – there are all sorts of solutions to cancerous manifestations. For the time being, I am applying chemotherapy.' Where else can we read that the Israeli Herut Party chairman, Michael Kleiner, said that 'for every victim of ours there must be 1,000 dead Palestinians'. Where else can we read that Eitan Ben Eliahu, the former Israeli Air Force commander, said that 'eventually we will have to thin out the number of Palestinians living in the territories'. Where else can we read that the new head of Mossad, General Meir Dagan – a close personal friend of Mr Sharon – believes in 'liquidation units', that other Mossad men regard him as a threat because 'if Dagan brings his morality to the Mossad, Israel could become a country in which no normal Jew would want to live'. You will have to read all this in Ma'ariv, Ha'aretz or Yediot Ahronot because in much of the Western world, a vicious campaign of slander is being waged against any journalist or activist who dares to criticise Israeli policies or those that shape them. The all-purpose slander of 'anti-Semitism' is now used with ever-increasing promiscuity against anyone – people who condemn the wickedness of Palestinian suicide bombings every bit as much as they do the cruelty of Israel's repeated killing of children – in an attempt to shut them up. [Jewish academics] Daniel Pipes and Martin Kramer of the Middle East Forum now run a website in the United States to denounce academics who are deemed to have shown 'hatred of Israel'. One of the eight professors already on this contemptible McCarthyite list – it is grotesquely called 'Campus Watch' – committed the unpardonable sin of signing a petition in support of the Palestinian scholar Edward Said. Pipes wants students to inform on professors who are guilty of 'campus anti-Semitism'. The University of North Carolina is being targeted – apparently because freshmen were required to read passages from the Koran – along with Harvard where, like students in many other US universities, undergraduates are demanding that their colleges disinvest in companies that sell weapons to Israel. In some cases, American universities – which happily disinvested in tobacco companies – have now taken the step of blocking all student access to their records of investment."

Palestinian Enemies Of the United States,
by David Horowitz, Front Page, October 21, 2002
"In the Gulf War, Palestinians sided with Iraq against the United States. A recent Palestinian poll (see today's Sidebars) shows that 80% of the Palestinians will side with Iraq in the next Iraq-US War as well. It’s time for the United States to recognize a mortal enemy when it sees one, and stop understanding the 'root causes' of Palestinian malevolence and hatred. It’s time to end the delusion of a Palestinian state on the West Bank. Such a state would immediately form terrorist alliances with Iraq and Iran and become part of the general Islamicist jihad against America. Until the complete occupation and denazification of the West Bank is undertaken and achieved, it should be obvious that no decent state can emerge from a culture that has been poisoned by its own leaders. There is little or no chance of such denazification taking place in the foreseeable future."

The Bible as 'hate literature'? Canadians advance bill that chills speech about homosexuality, World Net Daily, October 21, 2002
"A prison sentence for quoting the Bible in Canada? Holy Scriptures treated as 'hate literature'? That could happen if a proposed bill is passed by Parliament, according to opponents who believe it would criminalize public expression against homosexual behavior. A self-described homosexual member of the House of Commons, Svend Robinson, is expected this week to reintroduce bill C-415, which would add sexual orientation as a protected category in Canada's genocide and hate crimes legislation ... But opponents point out that the law addressed by Robinson's amendment spells out three different types of actions or speech considered criminal, and only one can be excused by a religious defense. And even that one, opponents maintain, has not always held up in court, because its vagueness leaves wide discretion to judges. The most dangerous aspect of this amendment is that 'hate' and 'hate propaganda' are not defined, says Brian Rushfeldt, executive director of the Canada Family Action Coalition in Calgary, Alberta. ... No religious defense is contained in section 318 of the current law, which has a sentence of up to five years in prison for advocating 'genocide,' nor in section 319(1), prohibiting public incitement of 'hatred' against an identifiable group that is 'likely to lead to a breach of the peace.' Section 319(2), which prohibits a public statement that 'willfully promotes hatred' against a protected group, does have an article that excuses statements expressed in 'good faith,' including religious expression."

Street-Level Smut. The book shops of Times Square,
by Jay Gertzman, The Position, October 21, 2002
"By the end of World War II, Times Square was a general entertainment area in which tourists, young people on dates, gamblers, con men, street preachers, taxi dancers, frequenters of bars, prostitutes, panhandlers, readers of smut and fans of movie sex and violence all mingled ... In the late 40s, Allan Wilson and his partner, Aaron Moses ("Mo") Shapiro, founded the Jack Woodford Press, as an imprint of the Citadel Press, which featured socialist analysis of American politics. A prolific writer of soft-core erotica with a deft sense of plot construction and scene setting, Woodford wrote of free-spirited and well travelled young men, with jobs and ambitions similar to the heros of popular films, who bedded adventurous and spirited women. Both parties were raring to go on page one. Shapiro and Wilson's books, many by Woodford himself and others by Clement Wood, his wife Gloria Goddard, the glamorous Fan Nichols or 'Gorilla' Joe Weiss, sold especially well in drug stores and near army bases, as well as in general shops in Times Square and other cities .... The largest orders in New York for Jack Woodford Press titles came from [Louis] Finkelstein [at Time Square Book Bazaar], whom other booksellers regarded as a pioneer exploiter of the smut-hungry reader when he opened in 1940 as the first Times Square location which focused on erotica, mostly the varied girlie and nudist magazines of the era ... During the 1950s and early 60s, the most notorious pornographer on the Deuce was Eddie Mishkin. He owned several stores: Harmony, Midget, the Little Book Exchange, Kingsley Book Shop, Esther, and Main Stem ... . Sadomasochistic and fetish books, photos and magazines were a facet of erotica which Times Square democratized. Before World War II, the material was available in booksellers' back rooms, and of course to the wealthy, trusted customers of Manhattan's high hat dealers. The Mishkins, the Browns, the Shapiros and the Finkelsteins made it available to the hoi polloi' ... The Kefauver subcommittee investigating the effects of obscenity on juvenile delinquency subpoenaed Mishkin in 1955, as they did Irving Klaw, whose fetish photos included many of those of the era's supermodel, Bettie Page. Both men's photo sets and booklet- sized illustrated stories, with their themes of flagellation, bondage, transvestism, and passive men forced into women's clothing, were thought to 'get into the hands of small limited minds, and they . . . [get] worked up to a fever pitch, and some poor soul is the victim ...Al Goldstein readily admitted that the mob distributed Screw Magazine; he could get no one else to dare do so nationally, or even in New York City itself .... A final example of organized crime involvement in Times Square by the late 60s is the smuggling conviction of Lenny Burtman, an important publisher of sadomasochistic books and magazines with offices on W. 46th Street. Times Square bookstores carried his fetish booklets and magazines extensively, and his distribution system was more far- reaching than those of Mishkin, Klaw, or Brown."

Q&A. Party of God [Hezbollah],
by Jeffrey Goldberg, New Yorker, October 21/28, 2002
"This week in the magazine, in the second part of a two-part piece, Jeffrey Goldberg continues his examination of the world's most successful, and perhaps most dangerous, terrorist organization, Hezbollah, or Party of God ... [Interviewer]: One interesting question you explore is where, in the rhetoric and ideology of Hezbollah, hatred of Israel ends and frank anti-Semitism begins. Can you discuss this distinction? How unusual is Hezbollah in this respect? And how dangerous is it? [Goldberg:] To most Israelis, and, indeed, to most Jews, the belief that Israel should be destroyed is itself a kind of anti-Semitism. In other words, the argument approaches anti-Semitism when it goes beyond, say, the rights and wrongs of Israeli policy with regard to the West Bank and Gaza, and becomes a question of whether the Jews constitute a nation that deserves a state at all. That said, something new is happening in the Arab world—namely, the melding of Arab nationalist-based anti-Zionism, anti-Jewish rhetoric from the Koran, and, most disturbingly, the antique anti-Semitic beliefs and conspiracy theories of European Fascism. Add Holocaust denial, which is also becoming popular in the Arab world, and you have a dangerous new ideology, an ideology that Hezbollah, despite its assertions that it has nothing against Jews as Jews, propounds quite vigorously."

Burial Artifact May Be the Oldest Evidence of Christ,
ABC News, October 21, 2002
"An inscription on a burial artifact that was recently discovered in Israel appears to provide the oldest archaeological evidence of Jesus Christ, according to an expert who dates it to three decades after the crucifixion. Writing in Biblical Archaeology Review, Andre Lemaire, a specialist in ancient inscriptions at France's Practical School of Higher Studies, says it is very probable the find is an authentic reference to Jesus of Nazareth. The archaeology magazine planned to announce the discovery at a news conference today. That Jesus existed is not doubted by scholars, but what the world knows about him comes almost entirely from the New Testament. No physical artifact from the first century related to Jesus has been discovered and verified. Lemaire believes that has changed, though questions remain, such as where the piece with the inscription has been for more than 19 centuries. The inscription, in the Aramaic language, appears on an empty ossuary, or limestone burial box for bones. It reads: 'James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus.' Lemaire dates the object to 63 A.D. ... James is depicted as Jesus' brother in the Gospels and head of the Jerusalem church in the Book of Acts and Paul's epistles. The first century Jewish historian Josephus recorded that 'the brother of Jesus the so-called Christ, James by name,' was stoned to death as a Jewish heretic in A.D. 62. If his bones were placed in an ossuary that would have occurred the following year, dating the inscription around A.D. 63."

UN concerned about poverty among children in Israel,
Ha'aretz (Israel), October 21, 2002
"The commission responsible for the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the most widely ratified human rights treaty in history, has expressed its concern over 'the very high percentage of children living in poverty, particularly those living in large families, in single-parent families and Arab families,' in Israel and in the territories. 'The committee is concerned that discrimination persists in [Israel] and that non-discrimination is not expressly guaranteed constitutionally. In particular the committee is concerned about discrimination against girls and women, especially in the context of religious laws; inequalities in the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights of Israeli Arabs, Bedouin, Ethiopians, children with disabilities and children of foreign workers.' The commission 'encourages the state party to take all possible measures to reconcile the interpretation between religious laws with fundamental human rights.' The panel expressed its 'deep concern' about 'inhuman and degrading practices' and 'torture and ill-treatment of Palestinian children by police officers... [and] encourages the state party to take all possible measures to reconcile the interpretation between religious laws with fundamental human rights.'"

Officer charged with threatening to rape Ze'evi murder suspect,
Ha'aretz (Israel), October 21, 2002
"Military prosecution filed an indictment at the central command military court Sunday charging a military police officer with threatening to rape a detainee suspected of involvement in the assassination of former Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze'evi unless he undressed for a body search. The officer is also charged with threatening inmates, behavior unbecoming for a military officer, and for violating the limits of his authority. The indictment was submitted to the court as a result of a complaint filed about five months ago by the Public Committee Against Torture at the offices of Attorney-General Elyakim Rubinstein as well as with the head of the military police investigation unit, Brigadier General Yoram Tzahor. The detainee, Assad Haimuna, told attorney Allegra Pachko from the Public Committee Against Torture that on April 28 this year, after being brought to the Ofer detention center pending trial at the Beit El military court in the West Bank, he asked his accompanying officer for permission to use the bathroom. he said that he was then taken behind the medical clinic at the Ofer center, where the officer beat him, fracturing his arm."

Evangelicals Mix Church and Jewish State Prominent American Christian conservatives lead a nationwide prayer campaign in support of Israel. The push could help GOP at the polls,
Los Angeles Times, October 21, 2002
"Along with the soaring hymns and shouted hosannas, Sunday services at Mount Paran Church of God carried a sobering whiff of geopolitics. The 700 or so parishioners attending morning services at the church on the outskirts of Atlanta were asked to pray for Israel -- part of a nationwide effort among an estimated 16,000 churches to signal Christian backing for the violence-plagued Jewish state. 'The past two years of conflict unfortunately have reminded us that not only is there not peace in Jerusalem, but the very existence of Israel is being threatened by its adversaries,' Shmuel Ben-Shmuel, Israel's consul general in Atlanta, told the congregation. Israeli diplomats also were scheduled to appear at church services in San Antonio and Bakersfield, where an afternoon rally involving 16 churches was planned. The one-day prayer campaign was the latest in a series of high-profile events by evangelical Christians in support of Israel in recent months -- a show of solidarity that has gratified many American Jews but left others uneasy with what they see as an unlikely marriage of convenience ... [T]he visible expressions of support by Christians may help the GOP make inroads with Jewish voters, who as a group tend to tilt heavily Democratic ... Citing a recent survey, Stand for Israel said that U.S. Jews were warming to President Bush due to his handling of the war on terrorism -- 81% of respondents viewed him as a strong backer of Israel. Such a trend 'could have an impact' on the next two election cycles, the group said, although Democratic activists give Republicans little chance of prying away Jewish votes. 'That's not why we're doing what we're doing," [Ralph] Reed said. "We're doing what we're doing because Israel is in real crisis right now.'"

Utah to pursue Goldman despite 'global' deal,
Financial Times, October 20 2002
"Utah securities regulators are vowing to press their investigation of Goldman Sachs over alleged conflicts of interest even if the bank takes part in a so-called 'global' settlement being negotiated by securities regulators and Wall Street. Anthony Taggart, director of the securities department at the Utah Department of Commerce, said he was committed to unearthing any instances where Goldman's stock research might have been tainted by investment banking considerations. The strategy reflects securities regulators' desire to reform Wall Street research practices to protect future investors while seeking restitution for those who may have already lost money. It is also a reminder that one of the biggest threats facing investment banks in the current regulatory campaign is not simply new rules or fines but also a slew of potential investor lawsuits. 'We would like to help investors in some manner,' Mr Taggart said. 'One thing we can do is find evidence of wrongdoing so we can help investors in lawsuits and arbitration." A group of Goldman stock analysts had already been interviewed by officials from the New York Stock Exchange, which is helping Utah examine Goldman as part of the wider probe into the securities industry, Mr Taggart said."

At Canadian campus rally, speakers assail anti-Semitism,
Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Oct. 20, 2002
"One month after pro-Palestinian demonstrators prevented [former right-wing Israel prime minister] Benjamin Netanyahu from speaking at Montreal’s Concordia University, more than 500 people assembled on another Canadian campus for a forum about the Concordia riot. The rally came as Nazi-hunter Simon Wiesenthal asked Concordia to reinvite the former Israeli prime minister to speak at the school. Bob Rae, a former premier of Ontario, was the headline speaker at the rally, which was organized by an interfaith group called Canadians Against Anti-Semitism and filled the largest auditorium at the University of Toronto. Like the speakers who followed him, Rae linked the Concordia disturbances of Sept. 9 to a growing international climate of hate against Jews and Israel — expressed in union resolutions, divestment campaigns, boycotts of Israeli intellectuals, and pamphlets, posters and pronouncements that appear to meet every definition of hate speech."

'Let's talk about anything but our movie.'An intimate conversation about spirituality and Judaism with Hollywood heavyweights David Levien and Brian Koppelman,
Jewsweek, October 2002
"From the moment the door closes behind me, I know this interview is going to be different. Film director Brian Koppelman, sporting a 'Hoops is religion' t-shirt, escorts me into his suite at the swank Ritz Carlton hotel in midtown Atlanta. Seated at the table, relaxed and drinking a cup of coffee, is his writing/directing partner David Levien. We all sit down and this is the first thing Koppelman says: 'Jewsweek -- now that's a cool name.' The two Hollywood heavyweights, both Jewish, are in town to promote their new film, Knockaround Guys, but it seems like that's the last thing they want to talk about. 'Is there