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IN
THIS ISSUE:
CRIMEAN AUTHORITIES DOWNPLAY THREATS AGAINST
PROGRESSIVE JEWS
Authorities and police in
the Crimean city of Kerch say numerous verbal threats made by a local
man against members of the city's Progressive congregation are merely
manifestations of "drunken and disorderly behavior" and not hate
crimes. According to Anatoly Gendin, president of the United Jewish
Communities and Organizations of Crimea, the most recent incident took
place on February 22 when the man entered the building used by
Congregation Gesher and said he was going to "kill all the Jews" and
"finish the Nazis' work." Gendin says Gesher president Boris Kapustin
and other congregational leaders filed complaints of hate crimes with
the local Department of Security Services of Ukraine, but so far the
complaints have been ignored. He adds that local authorities are
refusing to meet with them, and that in response they have now appealed
to the chief of State Security Services for the Kerch district, saying
that a "policy of suppression [of] the anti-Semitic character of the
incidents is [endangering] the…Jewish Community." The World Union will
be closely following developments in Kerch, and will work with the
community to ensure its safety and ascertain that the local authorities
conduct a responsible follow-up.
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NEIGHBORLY RELATIONS BETWEEN ORTHODOX AND REFORM
JEWS IN NEW ZEALAND
There was a rare display
of cooperation between Orthodox and Reform Jews recently, taking place
in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. Renovations being undertaken
by the city’s Reform congregation, Temple Sinai, meant its synagogue
would be unusable for a number of weeks. When congregational president
Dave Moskovitz sought a temporary venue, he was welcomed by Wellington
Hebrew Congregation, an Orthodox community, which told him the temple
could use a community hall on its premises for Shabbat morning
services. (Wellington Hebrew Congregation’s sanctuary is in a separate
building.) When members of the Reform congregation conducted a Torah
procession to the Orthodox synagogue, its chairman, Harvey Phillips, was
waiting to provide them with an official welcome, saying he was
delighted to be able to assist. Replied Moskovitz, "It's nice to have
generous friends in the neighborhood. I'm looking forward to both
congregations getting to know each other better.” [with thanks to Rachel
Bolstad]
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IRAC ISSUES COMPLAINT OVER VISA BARRIERS FOR NON-ORTHODOX
CONVERTS
The Israel Religious
Action Center recently wrote to acting Prime Minister and Interior
Minister Ehud Olmert to complain that Israel has been posing barriers to
non-Orthodox converts seeking visas to Israel. IRAC legal department
head Nicole Maor said at least four people from the former Soviet Union
who had undergone non-Orthodox conversions sought to obtain tourist
visas to join spouses already in Israel, a process that takes relatively
little time for Jews. However, they were informed by Israeli consular
officials that they would have to undergo a lengthy and at times
exhaustive process that involves multiple government authorizations, as
well as sworn affidavits and monetary deposits by Israeli relatives.
Although Israel’s Supreme Court has ordered the Interior Ministry to
consider non-Orthodox converts Jews when it comes to the Law of Return,
the ministry insists it is not barring anyone, but merely handling each
request on a case-by-case basis. The IRAC complaint was also sent to
the Foreign Ministry, the country’s attorney general, and the
government’s immigrant liaison bureau, Nativ. Both the
prime minister’s office and the Foreign Ministry responded that they are
investigating the matter.
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WORLD UNION WELCOMES APPOINTMENT OF SAPERSTEIN AT
LBC-CJE
Professor Marc Saperstein
has been appointed principal of Leo Baeck College-Center for Jewish
Education in London, effective at the beginning of July. He succeeds
Rabbi Jonathan Magonet, who retired last summer after 31 years at LBC-CJE,
the last 20 as principal (see WUPJnews #167). Saperstein is currently
Charles E. Smith Professor of Jewish History and director of the Program
in Judaic Studies at George Washington University in Washington, DC. He
was ordained on the New York City campus of Hebrew Union College-Jewish
Institute of Religion and holds a PhD from Harvard, where he taught for
nine years, holding the first regular faculty position in Jewish Studies
at the Harvard Divinity School. Saperstein is the author of five books
and a two-time National Jewish Book Award winner. He is the son of the
late Rabbi Harold Saperstein, Rabbi Emeritus of Temple Emanu-El of
Lynnbrook, New York, and a longtime political activist, and brother of
Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center of the
Union for Reform Judaism. Rabbi Uri Regev, president of the World Union
for Progressive Judaism, applauded Saperstein’s appointment. “We warmly
welcome this step and believe it will strengthen the existing ties and
mutual respect between Leo Baeck College and the World Union, and
further build on the foundations that his predecessors set in place.”
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SECOND ANNUAL "MORAL MAZES"
CONFERENCE SET FOR MAY IN HAIFA
The Lokey International Academy of Jewish
Studies will host the second annual International Hugo Gryn Conference
May 26-28 on the campus of the Leo Baeck Education Center in Haifa. The
conference, which addresses moral and ethical dilemmas, aims to
perpetuate the legacy of the late Rabbi Hugo Gryn, a Holocaust survivor,
educator, broadcaster, respected community leader and central figure of
British Reform Judaism. For further information on this year's
conference, contact
carol@leobaeck.org.il or
shelley@leobaeck.org.il.
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