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| WEEK OF 12/16/2004 | |
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| Sharon Hopes to Form National Unity Government | |
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| Weekly Digest of News, Analysis and Opinion | |
| Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is reshuffling his government in light of Shinui’s pullout over 2005 budget allocations. Sharon is attempting to piece together a unity government by bringing in the Labor, United Torah Judaism and Shas parties. Although Sharon won a Likud central committee vote approving his efforts to form a new government, senior members of the party are fuming over his offer of ministry portfolios to Labor as part of coalition negotiations. Earlier today Shas chairman Eli Yishai informed the Likud coalition negotiating team that his party has decided not to enter the coalition, citing spiritual leader Ovadia Yosef's objection to disengagement and a lack of improvements in the budget for social issues. | |
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| Sharon Wins Backing to Reshape Government, Keeps Gaza Plan on Track | |
| Labor-Likud Coalition Talks Stall | |
| Shas Refuses to Join Coalition | |
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| France Orders Al-Manar Off French Airwaves | |
| France's highest administrative body on Monday ordered the Lebanese Hezbollah TV station off French airwaves within 48 hours for broadcasting hateful content in some shows. A December 2 broadcast accused Israel of crimes against humanity, and a November 23 program quoted someone described as an expert on Zionist affairs warning of "Zionist attempts" to transmit dangerous diseases like AIDS to Arab countries. | |
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| Chicago Sun-Times Editorial: There's More Than One Way to Choke Off Terrorism | |
| Following last week’s decision by the U.S. District Court jury in Chicago holding 3 local groups and one individual liable for Hamas’ murder of David Boim and ordering $156 million in damages to parents Stanley and Joyce Boim, the Chicago Sun-Times editorialized that the legal victory will impede the ability of terrorists to buy weapons and bombs. | |
| See also: | |
| U.S. court blows terrorists' cover, chokes off their funds | |
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| Judge Eases Curb in Hamas Case | |
| Abdelhaleem Ashqar, under home incarceration on charges linking him to the terrorist group Hamas, was cleared Monday by a judge in Chicago to hold a news conference in Washington on his candidacy for Palestinian Authority president. In August, an indictment in Chicago accused Ashqar, a former Howard University professor, of laundering and disbursing more than $1 million to support Hamas. JUF’s JCRC reported on Ashqar in the Fall Terrorism Newsletter. | |
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| JCRC's Fall Terrorism Newsletter | |
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| Hillel Soothes Parents' Worries About birthright israel Program | |
| World Jewish Congress published an article by Felix Grudsky, a graduate student and intern at University of Illinois at Chicago with the Initiative for Israel on Illinois Campuses (a joint program of JCRC and Hillel), describing a program for parents of birthright Israel programs. “Let My Children Go” was intended to alleviate fears of parents in anticipation of the trips. | |
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| DI Editors Respond to Chancellor’s Accusations | |
| After the Daily Illini published an op-ed writer's fabricated quote attributed to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that the student newspaper is in hot water with the University of Illinois chancellor over what he says is a series of items offensive to Jews in the last two years. If staff journalists don't undergo better training and do more to fight error, Urbana-Champaign Chancellor Richard Herman threatened to start a newspaper to compete with the independent campus paper. A DI staff editorial responded by saying that the offensive items are a result of the paper’s high staff turnover and are not indicative of an anti-Semitic agenda. JUF's JCRC and the university Hillel have been engaging both the chancellor and the student editors and have recommended action steps the editor is now reportedly taking, including the publication of an admission of error and changes in the paper's employee manual. | |
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| An Evening of Jewish Music | |
| A Lollapajewza concert on December 18th will feature Shakshuka, Kol Sasson and Listen Up at the Schaumburg Prairie Center for the Arts. To order tickets call (847) 895-3600. | |
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| Israeli and Chicago Performers Celebrate “Knishmas” | |
| Yuri Lane, star of the hit one-man show “From Tel Aviv to Ramallah” joins three Chicago Jewish bands and New York’s Blue Fringe for “Knishmas.” This new festival will be on Saturday, December 25 at the HotHouse, 31 E. Balbo. Chicago acts performing that night will be Even Sh’siya, Listen Up!, and Farbrengiton. | |
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| Israel and the New Anti-Semitism: A Debate | |
| Tonight in Skokie, Brian Klug, Samuel Fleischacker, Rachel Havrelock and Gidon D. Remba will discuss the relation between anti-Semitism today and the Arab-Israeli conflict. | |
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| Upcoming Israel-related events | |
| See more event listings | |
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| E-Alert is a weekly service of the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago 1 South Franklin Chicago, IL 60606 visit us at www.juf.org | |
