Recent Films Make Jews the Victors

Talk about an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

In Quentin Tarantino's blood-soaked new film "Inglourious Basterds," Brad Pitt and his merry band of Jewish soldiers bash Nazi soldiers' heads with a baseball bat and collect their scalps in a bid to avenge their people and stop the Holocaust.

At its roots, Tarantino's World War II fantasy and its orgy of violence are little more than cartoonish savagery and perhaps a cathartic experience for some Jewish viewers. It's a sort of reverse form of Schadenfreude: Jews giving Nazis the ultimate taste of their own medicine.

Yet the film also represents a growing genre of Jewish-themed films in which the victims become the victors.

But does Judaism condone such raging retribution? Rabbis and academics point out that Judaism distinguishes between acts of self-defense and vengeance and Jewish law frowns upon torturing an enemy - even Adolf Hitler himself, said Rabbi Joel Roth, a professor at Jewish Theological Seminary in New York.

"On the other hand, I also understand the human emotion," he said. "Dispassionately, do you want to see them scalped? No, but you have to consider the context. And, if it's a greater deterrent that would save other people's lives, maybe one could defend it."

Rabbi Irwin Kula, president of the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, a New York-based Jewish think tank, heralds the film as a long-overdue "fun action Jewish-revenge fantasy." Roth, meanwhile, wonders about a backlash from depicting Jews as "more Goliath than David," giving more fodder to those who see Israel as an aggressor and oppressor, rather than a haven for survivors of centuries of persecution.

Yet anti-Semites weren't swayed by films like "Schindler's List" or "The Diary of Anne Frank" that focused wholly on Jewish suffering, noted Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a global Jewish human rights organization named for a Holocaust survivor who helped bring Nazis to trial after World War II.

Cooper hasn't seen "Inglourious Basterds" yet, but said it seems like a fitting addition to the emerging genre of celebrated Jewish resistance, including last year's "Defiance," about a community of Jews who found refuge in a Belarusian forest during the Holocaust, and 2005's "Munich," about efforts to assassinate Arab terrorists who killed Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics.

This evolution may be due to changing (internal and external) perceptions about Jewish strength, given Israel's military victories in the decades since the Holocaust, he and Roth speculated. It has also taken longer for heroic tales like "Defiance" to come out - either because of modesty or due to concerns about accuracy.

In addition to being completely fictional, the big shift with "Basterds" is that its glorified brutality contradicts the cautionary message of those previous films - that revenge, even if justified, is ultimately destructive to those who seek it, said Antony Polonsky, a Holocaust studies professor at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass.

"I don't think there is one view among Jews about these matters," he said. "Immediately after the war, there were different views among those who survived the attempted Nazi genocide. But, the strongest view was that to seek revenge by murder was to lower yourself to the level of the murderers."

Even Wiesenthal, the famed "Nazi hunter," believed in "justice, not vengeance" right up until his death in 2005, Cooper said. He refused to help Jews track Nazis down for their own purposes, or to harm their family members.

"He said we need convicted criminals, not martyrs for a cause," Cooper said.

During the Holocaust and in other times when Jews are actively threatened by their enemies, however, Cooper believes some vengeance is permissible, if not encouraged.

"I don't think there's moral ambiguity at all," he said. "Unlike in the Christian tradition of turning the other cheek, in Jewish law, if somebody comes at you with a knife to kill you, you are required to defend yourself and, if necessary, kill that person first. If your entire community is being threatened with annihilation, then you have a mitzvah (a moral obligation) to shoot these people down."continues here

Virulent new strain of anti-Semitism rife in UK, says Chief Rabbi

Britain is in the grip of a “virulent” new strain of anti-Semitism, according to the Chief Rabbi. Sir Jonathan Sacks told The Times in an interview that in January the number of anti-Semitic incidents reached the highest level since records began.

Jews have been physically attacked, schools targeted and cemeteries desecrated.

“I was in the synagogue a few months ago when one of the members came in visibly shaken: somebody had just shouted at him, ‘It’s a pity Hitler didn’t finish the job’,” the Chief Rabbi said.

Although the new “mutation” was different from the anti-Semitism promoted by Hitler, it was dangerous because it was international, he said. “The internet means that we no longer have national cultures; we have global cultures and the new anti-Semitism is very much a phenomenon of the global culture.”

Whereas in the past, hatred was focused against Judaism as a religion or Jews as a race, the focus this time was on Jews as a nation. The rise in the number of attacks in January took place at the same time as Israel’s assault on Hamas in Gaza.

“It begins as anti-Zionism — but it is never merely anti-Zionism when it attacks synagogues or Jewish schools,” Sir Jonathan said. “In the post-Holocaust world the single greatest source of authority is human rights — therefore the new anti-Semitism is constructed in the language of human rights.”

In a new book, Future Tense, he describes a “virulent new strain of anti-Semitism”. A worrying alliance had developed between radical Islamists and anti-globalisation protesters, he said.

The UN had also fanned the flames. At the World Conference against Racism in Durban in 2001, he said, “Israel was accused of the five cardinal sins against human rights — racism, apartheid, ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity and attempted genocide. So the old myths are recycled they are alive and well but they are done in a new kind of vocabulary.”

The media should also be more careful in coverage of the Middle East: “I do think too little of the history has been set out and people don’t really understand what’s at stake, so the Jewish community has felt quite vulnerable because of that.”

Asked whether he thought the BBC had shown anti-Israeli bias, he replied: “No comment.”continues here

Sssh don't say a word its anti-semitic...

Mandelson's family history - and how he could claim to be the uncrowned King of Poland

To his critics, Lord Mandelson of Foy and Hartlepool is Machiavelli in ermine, though few can fault his remarkable ability to survive and prosper. 

He twice resigned from Tony Blair's Cabinet but last month returned to frontline politics for a third time, now serving his former nemesis, Gordon Brown. 

Enemies tangle with the new Business Secretary at their peril, as Shadow Chancellor George Osborne recently discovered after his holiday in Corfu. The other key players in that drama - Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska and banking scion Nat Rothschild - are proof of Mandelson's ability to make powerful friends. 

Where does it come from, this combination of talents and contacts that makes Mandelson the consummate political operator? Could it be in his genes and family history? 

The Mail on Sunday can reveal that Mandelson's family has links with powerful Russians stretching back at least two centuries, and he may even be related to the fabulously wealthy Rothschilds themselves. 

Indeed, the history of the Mandelsons encompasses a swashbuckling colonel who fought for the Russians against Napoleon, a revolutionary who turned against Moscow, and a family fortune built on diamonds, rubies and opals. 

However, as with most matters connected with the Prince of Darkness, close scrutiny of the Mandelson lineage reveals a shadowy web from which it is sometimes difficult to unpick the truth. 

It is Lord Mandelson's distant Australian cousin, John Mandelson, who has kept alive the flame of the family history. 

John, 80, who lives in Sydney, says: 'I wrote to Peter twice, but the b***** never bothered to reply. I wanted to tell him about our history, but clearly he is not interested. Perhaps it is time he paid attention.' 

John and Peter Mandelson share a common ancestor in Nathan Mandelson, who was born in Warsaw around 1800 when it was part of the Russian Empire. Nathan would go on to make his fortune in Australia. 

According to family history, Nathan - Peter Mandelson's great-great-grandfather - was the son of Polish Jew Naphtali Felthusen. Felthusen was a colonel in the 13th Polish Lancers and fought with the Russian 1st Army against Napoleon's invading French forces in 1812. 

For his bravery in battle, Felthusen was awarded a coat of arms by the King of Poland, but he was killed in a skirmish as the French retreated across the River Niemen, in modern-day Lithuania, later that year. 

Nathan, however, rebelled against the Russian yoke and became involved in the 1825 Decembrist plot to overthrow Tsar Nicholas I. His reward, according to family tradition, was to be declared King of Poland for a day. 

When the Tsarist secret police began hunting the plotters, Nathan fled, making his way to England in 1829. 

The irony of Peter Mandelson, once a member of the Young Communist League, becoming notorious for enjoying the generous hospitality of the rich and powerful would surely not be lost on his colourful ancestors.

On arrival, he changed his surname to Mandelson to throw Imperialist secret agents off his scent.

Forced to earn his passage to England, Nathan had worked as a baker, a trade in which he made great use of almonds, or 'mandel' in German. He had cooked up a unique family name. 

In 1830, Nathan married Phoebe, daughter of Jacob Levy Cohen, of Leicester. The Leicester Cohens were related to a woman named Hannah Cohen who married Nathan Mayer. 

Mayer would go on to found a banking dynasty and become the first Lord Rothschild - giving Peter Mandelson a family link to the Rothschild clan and, by extension, to Karl Marx, who was related to them. 

Three years after marrying, Nathan and Phoebe decided to carve out a new life in Australia. They moved to Goulburn, New South Wales, where Nathan established a hotel and became a successful businessman. 

Their eldest son, Levy, great-grandfather of Peter, would eventually move back to Britain, while another son, Joseph, John Mandelson's grandfather, stayed in Australia. 

John Mandelson says: 'With that the two branches of the family lost contact. It was only during the Second World War that Norman Mandelson, Levy's son and the grandfather of Peter, made contact with my father and the two branches were reunited. 

'We used to send Norman and his family food parcels, including tins of beef dripping. After the war we kept in contact and my late sister met up with Norman when she went over for the Queen's Coronation in 1953. We have pictures of Norman and Peter's father George, both as a boy and an officer in the British Army. 

'In 1956 my father went over to meet Norman but when he arrived he discovered that Norman had died. He met George who had no time for my father because he was a "bloody colonial". After that we lost contact.' 

John also has pictures of a young Levy Mandelson, whose dandy clothes and saturnine features echo those of Lord Mandelson himself. 

Extensive searches of records in both Poland and Russia unearthed no trace of the Felthusens, but Polish Jewish records were largely destroyed during the Second World War. 

There are, however, records of Polish lancers serving with the Russians, and of Russian forces clashing with Napoleon's army at the River Niemen, where family history has it that Colonel Felthusen was killed. 

Joachim Russek, an expert in Polish Jewish history and head of the Judaica Foundation in Krakow, says: 'It is certainly plausible that you could have had a Polish Jewish officer in the Russian forces. 

'But the "king for a day" story confuses Jewish myth with family history. Polish kings used to be elected and when one of the first kings fled the throne, the legend of people being elected king for a day took shape. 

'In family history there is a tendency to exaggerate. People rarely admit their grandfather was a cobbler - they would rather claim he was a chief rabbi.' 

Indeed, it isn't the first discrepancy in the Mandelsons' illustrious lineage. Nathan's involvement with the Decembrists seems unlikely, given their anti-Semitism, but another family version has him involved simply in an unspecified anti-Russian plot. 

The coat of arms also remains shrouded in mystery. Polish heraldry expert Wlodek Lesiecki was unable to find the Mandelson family crest in the records, but believes it could be genuine.

'It doesn't look like a modern creation because too much care has gone into it,' he says. 'It looks as if the original was hand-painted.'

The Australian part of the story is easier to confirm. Records show that a Levy Mandelson was a merchant in New South Wales in the 1850s, making a fortune dealing in precious stones.

He left the area in the 1870s and appears in the 1881 British census at a smart address in Kensington, West London.

At the time of his death in 1891, wealthy Levy could boast knights of the realm among his neighbours - an achievement that his great-grandson Peter, with his fondness for expensive property in West London, must surely be proud of.

Levy's son Norman became financial advertising manager of the Jewish Chronicle between the wars. His son George, known as Tony, became the Chronicle's advertising director.

Tony was also known as a sharp dresser with an even sharper tongue. After a failed first marriage, he enchanted Mary, the daughter of Labour Deputy Prime Minister Herbert Morrison. They married and had two sons - Miles and Peter.

The irony of Peter Mandelson, once a member of the Young Communist League, becoming notorious for enjoying the generous hospitality of the rich and powerful would surely not be lost on his colourful ancestors. Nor would the family motto: Omnia Desuper or Everything From Above. continues here

Lord’s Prayer debate reignited

THE debate over the Lord’s Prayer – an Anglican prayer recited in parliaments around the country has been reignited by new federal MP Rob Oakeshott.

Oakeshott, an independent from New South Wales, said he was “surprised and disappointed” that Australia’s indigenous population is not recognised daily in Canberra.

In response, the Speaker of the House of Representatives Harry Jenkins called for public debate over whether the Lord’s Prayer should continue to be recited each day by all parliamentarians. He suggested that the prayer might be rewritten or replaced.

Robert Goot, president of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, explained that his organisation does not have a set policy on the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer. He said that the group’s executive would discuss the matter shortly.

Rabbi Meir Shlomo Kluwgant, president of the Rabbinical Council of Victoria (RCV), said it had discussed the matter with former Victorian premier Steve Bracks. The RCV recommended that a generic prayer be introduced, which would be acceptable to members of all faiths.

While the Victorian Parliament opted to retain the Lord’s Prayer, Rabbi Kluwgant said that he nevertheless feels it is “crucial” for some sort of prayer to be recited before each parliamentary session.

The Prime Minister and Opposition Leader – both of whom are Christians – this week expressed their support for retaining the Lord’s Prayer.

  “Opening the Australian Parliament each day with the Lord’s Pray is an important reminder of our shared humanity and a reference to the words of our constitution when “humbly relying on the blessing of the Almighty God” we established the Commonwealth of Australia over 100 years ago,” Turnbull said via a statement.

Greens leader Senator Bob Brown suggested that after the Lord’s Prayer has been recited, senators and MPs should be given a moment to reflect on “the privileges and responsibilities of representing Australians in our national parliament”. 

He also endorsed Oakeshott’s call to recognise the first Australians.

In 1997, Senator Brown called for a review of the Lord’s Prayer.  continues here
 

Members of the tribe / 36 Jews who have shaped the 2008 U.S. election

The John McCain-Barack Obama contest has been one in which the issues of Wall Street and fitness for the presidency have far overshadowed the subject of Israel. But the Jewish vote remains a key element in battleground states, and, playing a wide variety of roles, Jews have helped to shape the campaigns. Thirty-six of them are mentioned below. This list is by no means all-inclusive, and, for considerations of space, many Jews who have played active parts in the campaigns do not appear - among them Obama surrogate U.S. Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland, and Obama advisor and ex-California congressman Mel Levine. 

Also missing are a number of Jews who have played minor roles, but merit mention for the interest they have attracted - in particular, Sandra Froman, the first Jewish president of the National Rifle Association (2005-7), and a steering committee member of Sportsmen for McCain; and Linda Lingle, the first Jewish governor of Hawaii and an early defender of Sarah Palin. 

It should be noted that perhaps the most significant name that appears on the list belongs to a man who has been dead for 153 years. Following is the list, in alphabetical order: 

Sheldon Adelson: He is Republican, neoconservative and a mega-donor, however, a combination of financial reverses and internal disputes has muted his contribution to the McCain effort. 

David Axelrod: Chief strategist and media advisor for the Obama campaign, he has harnessed grassroots support through "viral" media, new technology and emphasis on the theme of change. 

Steven Bob and Sam Gordon: The two Reform rabbis from the Chicago area founded Rabbis for Obama, which has persuaded hundreds of rabbinical colleagues to go on record by name supporting the candidate. The group's influence on the Jewish electorate has been difficult to gauge. 

Matt Brooks: The executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition is a frequent media "first responder" on Jewish issues. 

Mark Broxmeyer: A businessman and chair of the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs conservative think tank, Broxmeyer serves as national chairman of the McCain campaign's Jewish Advisory Coalition and as a member of the candidate's national finance committee. 

Eric Cantor: This Virginia congressman, the sole Jewish Republican in the House, has emerged as a primary McCain surrogate in a bid to sway Florida and his home state. 

Laurie David: The global-warming activist and producer of "An Inconvenient Truth," starring Al Gore, she is ex-wife of "Seinfeld" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm" creator Larry David and one of Jewish Hollywood's most prodigious fundraisers. 

Ira Forman: The executive director of the National Jewish Democratic Council, he is Matt Brooks' counterpart. 

Barney Frank: The Massachusetts Democratic congressman is one of the most visible, outspoken liberals in the House. He is openly gay and a frequent target of pro-McCain commentators, particularly on Fox News, where, because of his role as chair of the House Financial Services Committee, he has been said to bear crucial responsibility for the sub-prime lending crisis. He played a key role in negotiating the Wall Street bailout package. 

Malcolm Hoenlein: Formally nonpartisan as professional chief of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, he invited Sarah Palin to speak at an anti-Ahmadinejad rally at the UN, then bowed to pressure to rescind the invitation. He is seen to have aided the McCain campaign in terms of some Jewish undecideds. 

Cheryl Jacobs: A McCain campaign co-chair in Broward County, Florida, the Conservative rabbi, a longtime Democrat, supported Hillary Clinton's primary race for president, but then switched to McCain. 

Henry Kissinger: The New York Times calls the former secretary of state a "close outside adviser" to McCain's campaign. He is regularly called upon by the candidate for advice on foreign affairs, and held a high-profile briefing session with Palin prior to the vice-presidential debate. 

Ed Koch: The former New York City mayor is still a gold standard for Jews of a certain age. He backed Bush in 2004 and Hillary Clinton during the primaries. Now he's for Obama. 

William Kristol: As editor of Rupert Murdoch's Weekly Standard magazine, a New York Times columnist and a Fox News commentator, he is an extremely influential neoconservative voice. 

Sherry Lansing: The first woman to head a major Hollywood studio (Paramount), she is a major Democratic donor and fundraiser. 

Ed Lasky: Through the American Thinker Web site, his articles helped spawn the widespread Internet campaign alleging that Obama is anti-Israel. 

Henry Lehman: A Bavarian immigrant who settled in Alabama in 1844 at age 23, and founded H. Lehman, a general store that, by accepting raw cotton in lieu of cash, would later lead to commodity trading in cotton. In 1850, he and his brothers Emanuel and Mayer formed Lehman Brothers, which became one of the first and most powerful investment houses on Wall Street. Lehman Brothers' spectacular collapse in mid-September, the largest bankruptcy in American history, triggered a worldwide financial panic that, more than any single factor, may determine the outcome of the 2008 presidential election. 

Joe Lieberman: The Connecticut senator was Al Gore's 2000 Democratic running mate. He is now McCain's point man for undecided Jewish voters. 

Mik Moore: He launched Jewsvote.org, utilizing high-tech methods to counteract Web-borne attacks on Obama. The group also sponsors The Great Schlep - a campaign to get grandchildren to visit grandparents in Florida, to persuade them to vote for Obama. 

Eli Pariser: He heads MoveOn.org, a liberal on-line advocacy group that has raised large sums for Democratic candidates. 

Martin Peretz: The editor of The New Republic, he wrote an influential article entitled "Can friends of Israel - and Jews - trust Obama? In a word, Yes." 

Dennis Prager: He is an influential, outspoken and often strident nationally syndicated radio talk-show host. Despite reservations over McCain's campaign reform bill, he has thrown his weight behind the GOP ticket. 

Penny Pritzker: She is the national finance chair of the Obama campaign. A billionaire executive, pioneer Obama supporter and scion of a well-known Jewish mega-donor family, she has taken flak over the degree of her involvement in a the failure of a bank driven by sub-prime mortgages. 

Ed Rendell: The governor of the key swing state of Pennsylvania, he is former head of the Democratic National Committee and a top Democratic campaign spokesman. 

Denise Rich: The socialite and ex-wife of disgraced billionaire Marc Rich is a Democratic megafundraiser. 

Dennis Ross and Dan Kurtzer: They are the center-right and center-left anchors of Obama's Middle East advisory staff. 

Robert Rubin: The top Obama economics advisor has unsurpassed knowledge of the workings of Wall Street and was treasury secretary in the Clinton administration. 

Dan Shapiro: A former Clinton administration National Security Council official, he is a senior Mideast policy advisor and Jewish outreach coordinator for the Obama campaign. He is said to have co-written Obama's speech before AIPAC (the pro-Israel lobby), in which the candidate declared "Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel and it must remain undivided" - a statement Obama later partially recanted. 

Sarah Silverman: A "shock comedian," she served as video spokeswoman for The Great Schlep (see Mik Moore, above). Her monologue spawned a counter-clip from veteran comic Jackie Mason. 

Alan Solow: The Chicago lawyer is active in the Jewish community and in the Conference of Presidents. He has been an Obama supporter for a dozen years. 

Jon Stewart: As host of the satirical TV news program "The Daily Show," he has become perhaps the most listened-to liberal voice in the nation. The New York Times called Stewart's program "a genuine cultural and political force." 

Barbra Streisand: The superstar singer is a Jewish-liberal icon and mega-fundraiser. She endorsed Hillary Clinton in the primary race and has backed Obama since the Democratic convention. She also headlined a Hollywood fundraiser in September, which included a $25,800-a-plate dinner. continues here

Exclusive: Shul-goer denies terror plot role

A man facing extradition to the United States on terrorism charges has spoken of his nightmare at being linked to attacks on coalition troops in Iraq. 

Farshid Gillardian, 39, from Hendon, North-West London, is accused by US authorities of being part of a network that allegedly supplied components used to make roadside bombs which have killed soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Prosecutors claim that the network illegally transported more than 30,000 electronic components - allegedly identical to those found in the bombs - from the US to Iran, thereby breaching export rules. 
The indictment accuses the network, also said to include people in Iran, Dubai, Malaysia and Germany, of taking part for financial gain. 

But Mr Gillardian, a married father-of-one who attends Finchley United Synagogue, strongly denies the 
allegations. 

He said he first knew of the accusations last month when three plain-clothes policemen arrived at his mother's house in Golders Green. 

"My mother called me and I immediately went round," Mr Gillardian said. "If I had something to hide, then surely I wouldn't have. The officers told me there was a warrant for my arrest from the US authorities, who wanted me to be extradited on terrorism charges. 

"I was completely shocked. I am a law-abiding person and just a normal, boring bloke. I fled Iran with my family when I was 10 because of the regime there and how inhospitable it was for Jewish people to live there. 

"So it is insulting, illogical and bizarre to think that I would do anything to benefit the Iranian government or anything against America. Which Jew would do something like that?" 

Mr Gillardian, who attended Carmel College and has previously been involved in Aish Ha'Torah, a Jewish outreach organisation, was remanded for two weeks and was released on bail last Friday. 

"It is all completely terrifying. The past two weeks have been a nightmare. My family and I can't eat or sleep. This whole situation is terrible." 

He said that he owns a company which buys and sells electrical components. Among his international clients, he has one in Iran. But, he insisted, the electronic chips he sold were for use in computers or household electrical goods. 

"This is like a shop-owner selling someone a knife for use in the kitchen and that knife then being used to stab someone. Does that make the shop-keeper guilty?" he said. He added that he was winding down his company as "it is making very little money". 

He added: "I conducted the whole business from my mother's home, where I lived until I got married in May last year because I could not afford to move out. If it was for terrorist purposes, surely I wouldn't have done it from my family home and from my mobile phone which is on a contract registered to my address?" 

His wife, Nicola, 33, a former JFS pupil, said the allegations are "preposterous", adding: "What they are claiming he was involved in is completely against his nature. We are very pro-America. 

"We are just ordinary people and now we are faced with this terrifying situation. We are not wealthy so we are very concerned about how we are going to fight this."  continues here

Jewish lobby threatens Candy brothers' US deal

They are the feted brothers of London's luxury property market whose services are courted by film stars and Russian oligarchs alike. In just 12 years, the Candy brothers' brand of bespoke opulence for the super rich has brought them wealth and kudos in Britain. But in striving to secure a place at the top table among the movers and shakers of California, the brothers, both in their 30s, are facing a serious problem.


Christian and Nick Candy, who with a £6,000 loan from their grandmother built a property design business worth an estimated £9bn, are now trying to allay the fears of members of the influential Jewish community in Beverly Hills over their associations with Middle Eastern financial backers.

At the heart of the controversy is a prime eight-acre £250m development in Beverly Hills, California, which the brothers are using as a first foothold in Hollywood's high-end property market.

According to the influential Beverly Hills Blog, local councillors, egged on by angry Jewish residents, have challenged the brothers to declare their links with the wealthy Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani, the Prime Minister of Qatar and part owner of a Middle Eastern newspaper that the Californians accuse of being anti-Semitic and anti-American. The sheikh and the Qatari government have bankrolled a number of the brothers' developments in London, including the £900m acquisition of the Chelsea Barracks.

While the brothers' Middle Eastern links are of little concern in London, any suggestion that the sheikh is connected to 9900 Wilshire, the name given to the Candy brothers' LA development, is a different matter. The Beverly Hills Jewish community is sensitive about doing business with some Middle Eastern states and investors. J A Mirisch, the Hollywood film distributor behind the Beverly Hills Blog, says: "Are we really so desperate that we need to welcome into our community people who incite to further hatred against Jews and Americans, or, for that matter, people who see fit do business with such anti-Semites and America-haters?" continues here

Minister pledges to fight hate

A government minister committed financial backing this week to help combat antisemitism. 

Jim Murphy, minister for Europe, made his pledge at the launch of a new London-based think-tank dedicated to combating the growth of antisemitic discourse and discrimination. 

Mr Murphy said the government would fund the European Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism through the Department for Communities and Local Government. 

“It is appalling that there is a need to launch an organisation such as this,” he told a packed meeting attended by MPs, members of the All-Party Inquiry into Antisemitism, and Jewish communal leaders. “It is unthinkable that antisemitism still exists, but it does. 

“We are fully committed to supporting this initiative. We think there is real scope for this organisation to make a difference,” he said. The situation in the UK was undoubtedly better than in most other countries, “but we will never lose a moment to complacency”. continues here

Brothels family faces jail

Three members of a Jewish family face jail after being convicted of running a chain of brothels. 
Spencer Rolfe and his sister Adele Lubin operated the £1 million-a-year vice ring in North London with Lubin’s son, David Howard. 

All three were found guilty of conspiracy to control prostitution at Southwark Crown Court. 

Officers began an undercover investigation in December 2006. When the trio were arrested the following April, police found 17 prostitutes working at four brothels. 

Lubin, 61, of Watford Way, Hendon, ran bordellos from beauty parlours in Hendon and Harrow, with Rolfe, 60, of Green Avenue, Mill Hill, running another close to his home. 

During the investigation, undercover policemen were offered sex, and a female officer was offered a job as a prostitute. 

Det Supt Dave Eyles said: “This was a family-run business, making a vast criminal profit. 

“This was a well-run, extremely well-organised vice business that was certainly cash rich. The trio had no other source of income. 

“Some may wrongly believe that this is a victimless crime. However, it traps and controls women who are left with no choice other than to concede to their exploitation.” 

The family had advertised the brothels in local newspapers, newsagents and a listings magazine. 

Howard, 40, was arrested at his home in Canvey Road, Canvey Island, Essex. 

Police now hope to seize the fortune amassed by the family members through their criminality. continues here

Man accused of spying for Israel

Above Ben-Ami Kadish

NEW YORK (JTA) -- The arrest this week of a retired Jewish man in New Jersey on charges of transmitting classified information to Israel two decades ago shows how the Jonathan Pollard spy case continues to haunt the U.S.-Israel relationship. 

Ben-Ami Kadish, a former U.S. Army engineer, posted $300,000 bond in federal court Tuesday in Manhattan before being whisked away from a mob of reporters in a silver Chevrolet without answering questions. Kadish is facing four charges of conspiracy to share classified information with Israel. 

From 1979 to 1985, Kadish allegedly "borrowed" documents from the library of the Army facility in Dover, N.J., where he was employed and shared them with the science affairs consul at the Israeli consulate in New York. 

The Justice Department says the documents included information on nuclear weaponry and plans for upgrading the F-15 combat aircraft. Kadish allegedly told FBI agents he shared the documents to help Israel; he was not paid by Israel for his services. 

The science affairs consul is not named in the Justice Department's complaint sheet, but an archival search reveals him to be Yosef Yagur. The complaint sheet notes that "co-conspirator-1" -- Yagur, who is not charged -- also received information from Pollard. 

Israel recalled Yagur and his Washington counterpart, Ilan Ravid, in November 1985 to avoid their involvement in the Pollard investigation. 

The Pollard case for a short time devastated U.S.-Israel relations. In its aftermath, Israel swore never to run a spy again, and Americans broadened their information sharing with Israel to keep the Israelis from temptation. 

This week's arrest of Kadish -- who lives in a retirement community in Monroe, N.J., and is active in his local Jewish community -- begs the question of why U.S. federal authorities are still pursuing Pollard-related leads more than 20 years after the fact. 

Pollard, a civilian U.S. Navy analyst, was sentenced to life in prison in 1987 after pleading guilty to the spy charges. 

Yagur on Tuesday would not answer reporters' questions. Israeli officials said they knew nothing of the case. Officials at Israel's consulate in New York declined to comment to JTA. 

Kadish, wearing black sweatpants and a long-sleeved blue shirt, stood during the court proceedings as Judge Douglas Eaton read the four counts of conspiracy against him. 


Kadish was released shortly afterward on a $300,000 bond, an amount tied to the approximate value of his New Jersey home. 

He was accompanied to his court appearance by his attorney, Paula Tuffin. Aside from having to post bond, Kadish's travel was restricted to his home state and to the court district of Southern New York. He already had surrendered his U.S. passport to the FBI. 

Upon leaving the court, Kadish held up a plastic bag to shield his face from the cameras. 

It is not clear from the complaint sheet filed Monday that Kadish was the original target of the investigation. The sheet notes that a grand jury subpoena was issued March 21, a day after Kadish's first interview with agents, but does not say whether the subpoena sought his testimony as a witness or as a target. In any case, detectives did not immediately serve the subpoena. 

Instead, the complaint sheet says that at the March 20 interview, federal agents presented Kadish with evidence that he shared 30 to 100 documents with Yagur between 1979 and 1985. Kadish allegedly first met Yagur in the 1970s when Yagur was employed by Israel Aircraft Industries. They were introduced by Kadish's brother, also employed by IAI, the complaint sheet says. 

At that meeting, Kadish acknowledged sharing some of the documents with Yagur, the complaint sheet says, and acknowledged that he did not have the authority to share such documents. 

That evening, Yagur allegedly phoned Kadish and implored him not to cooperate. The complaint sheet says that in a conversation in Hebrew, Yagur said, "Don't say anything. Let them say whatever they want." He also said, "What happened 25 years ago? You didn't remember anything." 

The next day, Kadish allegedly downplayed his ties to Yagur in a second interview with FBI agents. He said that over the years the two had maintained nothing more than a social relationship, with phone calls, e-mails and occasional visits. Kadish and Yagur had met in Israel in 2004. 

More crucial, Kadish allegedly denied having been in touch with Yagur the previous evening. 

That alleged lie could prove critical to Kadish's prosecution: It allows prosecutors to expand the conspiracy from 1985 to March 20 of this year, when Yagur allegedly urged Kadish to lie. 

There is a 10-year statute of limitations on the crimes outlined in the complaint sheet. Without the alleged lie, the government's case would be flimsy. 

Kadish, a Connecticut native who grew up in prestate Palestine, served in the Haganah, Israel's prestate defense force and the precursor to the Israel Defense Forces. He also served in the U.S. military during World War II. continues here

Israel begins overhaul of EU relations

The Foreign Ministry has begun a strategic overhaul of relations with the EU and its member nations, increasingly "plugging into" EU institutions and, in turn, allowing Europe to play a greater role in Israeli diplomatic and economic processes, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

So central has Europe become to Israel's well-being, diplomatic officials have told the Post, that the Foreign Ministry believes it is time to reassess the Jewish state's traditional reliance on "two pillars" for Israeli survival: a strong IDF and an unbreakable alliance with America. Given the growing importance of the European Union in world events, and in the Middle East particularly, the officials said, a third pillar has become necessary: deepening ties to Europe.

"Increasingly, Europe is involved in everything that touches us: trade, the Palestinians, Iran, UNIFIL in Lebanon," said a senior Israeli diplomatic source. "They are in the [Middle East] Quartet, and central in many other areas. Developing a strong relationship with Europe is becoming the third pillar safeguarding Israel's survival."

Jerusalem's new strategy is to enhance cooperation with Europe in a variety of fields and to demonstrate that Israel can help with some of the EU's many interests in the region. To that end, Israel has in the past few weeks sent a detailed proposal to the European Union for negotiations on "significant" Israeli involvement with Europe in nine fields, including finance, education, environment, youth development, law enforcement, security cooperation and scientific research collaboration.

The plan comes on top of existing Israel-EU cooperation forums such as the Barcelona Process (established in 1995 to foster dialogue among EU member-states and countries on the southern and eastern shores of the Mediterranean), the European Neighborhood Policy (which aims to offer deeper political relationships and economic integration between EU members and their immediate neighbors), the Galileo space program, and bilateral ties.

The EU is studying the new Israeli proposal and has promised to give Israel a preliminary answer by mid-March. Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni is expected to meet with her European counterparts in June to try to finalize an agreement on the enhanced partnerships, the Post has learned.

Jerusalem is also seeking to deepen contact with Europe's growing Muslim communities - a source of hostility to Israel, but also, the Foreign Ministry believes, a potential bridge to better Jewish-Islamic relations and understanding. "Europe is becoming more and more Muslim, and we have identified a need to reach out to these populations," the diplomatic official said.

Israeli officials cite a change in relations with Europe following the 9/11 attacks, which "opened European eyes to the threats emanating from this region. They realized they had vital interests in this region, which is essentially their backyard."

Traditionally, Israel has relied overwhelmingly on its alliance with the US on questions of security and diplomacy, and officials stressed that the centrality of this relationship had not changed. Traditionally, too, Israel had been wary of over-involving Europe in fundamental survival issues. The relative marginalization of the EU, for instance, is emblemized by the fact that no serving Israeli prime minister has ever visited EU headquarters in Brussels on a formal diplomatic mission. "It's just never worked out," the diplomatic source said.

The reliance on Washington, indeed, has always been a strategic imperative, and has only grown more manifest as Israel and the Palestinians try to advance on the Annapolis-road map path to a permanent accord. Currently, as first reported by the Post, America, Israel and the Palestinians are working to formulate a plan under which NATO peacekeepers could be deployed in the West Bank if an agreement is reached and an Israeli withdrawal cannot otherwise be facilitated because of the inadequacy of the Palestinian Authority's security apparatus.

But Europe's role would be vital here, too: With NATO forces already deployed in areas such as Kosovo and Afghanistan, and with the bulk of US armed forces concentrated in Iraq, Europe would likely be asked to fill the ranks should a NATO-West Bank deployment materialize......Article conts (-)

All At Sea

Jewish pirates in Jamaica?

The discovery of an ancient cemetery in Jamaica has stirred speculation that Jews used to take part in piracy.

Several Jewish graves were found outside Kingston last week, some of them marked with the skull and crossbones, Yediot Achronot reported Thursday. The classic symbol of piracy suggests there were Jews involved in the notorious trade.

Historians are investigating the find, but one expert who is descended from Jamaica's 500-year-old Jewish community appears to have made up his mind.

"The major role of Jews and pirates was we were like the brains behind their brawn, i.e. We advised and backed them," Ed Kritzler wrote on the Web site of the United Congregation of Israelites in Jamaica......Article conts (-)

CSULB professor's work seen as anti-Semitic, racist

The controversial literature and writings of a Cal State University Long Beach psychology professor have him up for discussion.

The CSULB psychology department is considering disassociating itself from the works of Kevin MacDonald and met yesterday to discuss the issue.

MacDonald's works have been publicized as neo-Nazi and white supremacist ideology.

In 2006, the Southern Poverty Law Center sent representatives to CSULB to talk to students and faculty. Shortly after, they labeled MacDonald's three-part series as anti-Semitic...........Article conts (-)

Related Article below

Psychology department to issue statement on professor's controversial literature
Andrew Smith

Staff and faculty are worried that psychology professor Kevin MacDonald's work has anti-Semitic and racist overtones.

The Cal State Long Beach Psychology Department has recently initiated new plans to disassociate itself from controversial psychology professor Kevin MacDonald.

The department is currently considering publishing a statement to confirm its disassociation from MacDonald, with his research and writings on Judaism continuing to garner controversy and be used by publications considered to publicize neo-Nazi and white supremacist ideology.

MacDonald's three-part series in evolutionary psychology, "A People That Shall Dwell Alone," "Separation and Its Discontents" and "The Culture of Critique," was labelled as anti-Semitic and neo-Nazi propaganda in late 2006.

The labels came from the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a civil rights organization based in Montgomery, Ala., that tracks hate groups. The organization sent a representative to CSULB to interview students and faculty members about MacDonald's work in November of 2006.

The recent developments within the psychology department to distance itself from MacDonald's work came after the department's advisory committee met to discuss his December forum presentation.

Questions were raised regarding the methodology and ethics of MacDonald's work, which included his trilogy of books as well as his entries in The Occidental Quarterly - which has been described as a "white nationalist" publication - and the online journal VDARE.com.

The three-part book series stimulated the most controversy through its discussion of the influence of Jewish political and social movements on American politics and culture during the 20th century, according to associate professor of anthropology Ron Loewe.

"MacDonald is trying to argue that Jews undermine the foundations of Western society by supporting radical ideologies and radical political movements," Loewe said.

MacDonald's work also allegedly discussed "how Jews facilitated the immigration of minorities from southern Europe, and destroyed the whiteness of America," according to Loewe.

On Tuesday MacDonald replied to a series of questions put to him by psychology professor Martin Fiebert that focused on the four main areas of racism: anti-Semitism, quality of "scholarship" and involvement with and support for extremist groups.

Fiebert's questions were finally answered after several psychology, history and political science department members sent numerous e-mails to MacDonald requesting that he respond to the inquiries about his research and teachings.

The questions posed to MacDonald revolved around his relationship with J. Philippe Rushton, a professor from the University of Western Ontario, Canada, who has been criticized for his claims that race determines an individual's abilities and behavior, and that blacks are intellectually inferior because of "smaller brains."

In an e-mail response sent to Loewe and other CSULB faculty about the questions, MacDonald said that his only referral to Rushton's work was in a graduate seminar that was not related to racial differences research, and that he would not focus any more of his efforts on the topic at CSULB. In the e-mail, MacDonald wrote, "I see the issue of race differences in intelligence and other traits as hopelessly politicised."

In another e-mail sent to the Daily Forty-Niner, MacDonald also wrote, "I promised not to teach about race differences in intelligence in order to be able to teach [Psychology] 361." He also wrote that he is "not happy" about the proposed dissociation of his work by the department.

MacDonald confirmed publishing his claims that the Jewish race was having a negative effect on Western civilization in "The Culture of Critique."

"Individuals who strongly identified as Jews have been the main motivating force behind several highly influential intellectual movements that have simultaneously subjected Western culture to radical criticism and allowed for the continuity of Jewish identification ... Collectively, these movements have called into question the fundamental moral, political, and economic foundations of Western society," MacDonald wrote in the e-mail sent to Loewe and CSULB faculty......article conts (-)

Race-hate report dismissed by CST

BRITAIN is still a safe country for Jews, despite an Israeli government report to the contrary.

This is the claim of the Community Security Trust following a report of the Israeli government / Jewish Agency monitoring forum of world antisemitism which states that the UK suffered more antisemitic incidents than any other European country.

But the CST reckons that its own analysis of antisemitic incidents, based on detailed local reporting, presents a more accurate picture. The CST's own annual report is to be published on February 14.

A CST spokesman said: "The Israeli report is a welcome analysis of global trends, but the UK statistics reflect the quality of local reporting mechanisms as well as the actual number of incidents."

He added: "There is no doubt that incident levels have risen significantly over the last ten years in Britain as elsewhere, but Jewish life in Britain remains overwhelmingly positive, and it is wrong to perceive this as a country that is not safe for Jews.

"Nevertheless, we are fully alert to the dangers that these recent antisemitic trends pose to our well being, and we are working with a Government Task Force to address the situation."

The Israeli report said that France and Ukraine were also countries where antisemitism was "worrying",

However, worldwide the number of antisemitic incidents was shrinking following a rise in the wake of the Second Lebanon War,

Germany, it said, saw a rise in incidents. But the numbers were still much lower than in France and Britain.

In Latin America, where there was an increase in the wake of the Hezbollah war, there was now a "noticeable" return to previous levels.

The report is not a rigorous study but rather a compilation made by the Jewish Agency of findings gathered from the Jewish Agency situation room, the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem and Jewish communities worldwide......Article conts (-)