In this Issue:

• JUF, Hillel condemn agitators' disruption of Olmert speech at U of C

• Israelis not participating in cancer conference in Egypt

• Court won't get involved in Hamas financier suit

• Dispatch from Istanbul: 'Will Turkey yet be a bridge for peace?'

• JCRC engages foreign diplomats on Goldstone report

• YLD partners with ARK to collect clothes for needy

• Upcoming community events

• Human Rights Watch founder condemns organization for unrelenting focus on Israel

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Jewish United Fund leadership and Hillel officials condemned the verbal attacks and attempts to silence former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as he spoke at University of Chicago Oct. 15.

Olmert addressed about 400 people at the King Abdullah II Leadership Lecture series presented through the University’s Harris School of Public Policy, and was interrupted and berated by shouts of “war criminal” and “murderer,” and citations of the alleged death count from Operation Cast Lead throughout his speech, according to news reports.

“The ultimate goal of these agitators was to delegitimize Israel,” said JUF Executive Vice President Michael Kotzin. “Significantly, Olmert’s lecture itself centered on his support for a two-state solution.”

In an interview with The Jerusalem Post, JUF President Steven B. Nasatir and Kotzin reaffirmed the strong ties between Chicago and Israel, noting that the incident was "a campus phenomenon aimed at intimidation and there is by no means a growing Jewish apathy in Chicago. Frankly, Chicago is definitely one of the most pro-Israel communities in the United States," they said.

Meanwhile JUF Senior Vice President Jay Tcath reported that he and professional leaders of several other groups are working on a coordinated community response, one that addresses both the immediate issues at U of C as well as the implications for other activities at other local campuses.

U of C President Robert Zimmer has issued a statement condemning the disruptive behavior.

Three current and former U of C students wrote in a letter to the editors of the Chicago Maroon, U of C's student newspaper, that Olmert was denied respect afforded to other controversial speakers. The Maroon first reported on the incident last week.

New developments have emerged in the controversy involving an international conference begun in Egypt yesterday that was denying entry to Israeli participants.

Originally the two Israelis invited to the conference were cleared to attend. At the last minute, the Egyptian Minister of Health rescinded the invitation to the Israelis. Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the conference co-sponsor, announced today that "all advocates, regardless of their country of origin, are invited to fully participate in events to bring breast cancer to the forefront of public discussion in the Middle East."

But, in part because the conference has already started, the Israelis have chosen not to participate.

JCRC has communicated the community's strong objections over this matter to the Egyptian consulate in Chicago.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to hear an appeal from the parents of David Boim, a 17-year-old killed in a 1996 drive-by shooting in Beit El on the West Bank. The parents sought to collect damages from Mohammed Salah, the man accused of funding Hamas. Salah, of suburban Chicago, is completing a 21-month federal prison sentence for lying in the civil suit, according to news reports.

“While disappointed that the Supreme Court did not allow the Boims to continue their case against Muhammad Salah, the entire lawsuit can only be seen as a success. Our goal from day one was to put the Hamas/Abu Marzook network out of business. That was achieved," Steve Landes of the Wildman Harrold law firm and the lead attorney for the Boims told JUF News. "The Holy Land Foundation (then the largest self-described US Islamic charity) was convicted and their principals are now in jail. The Islamic Association for Palestine and the Quranic Literacy Institute, fronts for the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas, are defunct. Salah himself served a 21-month term in federal prison for obstruction of justice in our case. Now, as a result of the Boim case, anyone who knowingly finances even the so-called 'charitable' wings of terror groups faces serious liability.”

JUF’s Senior Vice President Jay Tcath praised Landes for his and his firm’s extraordinary dedication on the case, as well as those firms – DLA Piper and Greenberg Traurig – who assisted JUF in filing amicus briefs. Tcath added that while less than what was possible, “the Boim case is a landmark case, one that will continue to assist our nation’s efforts to cut off US-based funding for international terrorism. The pain of the heart-wrenching loss of their son David to Hamas terrorism can never be healed, but we know that Stanley and Joyce Boim have taken a measure of comfort that their legal efforts have helped the world’s urgent battle against the scourge of international terrorism.”

On an interfaith mission to Turkey, JUF New Executive Editor Aaron Cohen reflects on developments in Turkey and its potential to be a bridge for peace amidst rapid – and troubling – changes.

In the wake of the United Nations Human Rights Council vote to endorse the highly controversial Goldstone Report condemning Israel's actions against Hamas terror, JUF's Jewish Community Relations Council is meeting with diplomats from Brazil, China, and India. The purpose of the meetings, to be held by Steven Dishler, director of International Affairs, is to protest "yes" votes by those countries.

Prior to the vote, JUF, along with the local offices of the American Jewish Committee and the Anti-Defamation League, issued a letter to 24 nations, urging their representatives in Geneva not not to endorse the report.

In related news, a British army hero testified to the United Nations that the IDF is the "most moral army in history of warfare."

Each month, ARK social workers dispense thousands of dollars in ARK Thrift Shop vouchers to clients who use them to shop for clothing and household goods. Fall LEADS (a YLD program) is hosting a “Fall Closet Clean-out” event on Sunday, October 25 for the ARK thrift shop.

During this changing-of-the-seasons, YLD suggests encouraging friends, family and other members of the community to donate clothing. Donations can be dropped off at 2650 Lakeview Avenue on Sunday, Oct. 25 from 1 to 3 p.m. A LEADS volunteer will be there to collect the donations. If you have any questions, contact Ariel Zipkin in the YLD office at 312-357-4880.

• YLD features Andy Samberg at Big Event

Andy Samberg, star of "Saturday Night Live" and an internationally acclaimed comedian, will joke his way through YLD's Big Event Nov. 15 at the Swissôtel Chicago. Tickets are $75 and include open bar, hors d'ouevres and a dessert reception. Last year’s event sold out, register in advance.

• Frankie Valli to perform at JUF Vanguard Dinner

Attendees at the 2010 JUF Vanguard Dinner will be treated to a special performance by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons on Nov. 3 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago. A minimum gift of $5,000 to the 2010 Jewish United Fund-Israel Emergency Fund is required to attend.

• U.N. ambassador, Israeli scholars to focus on 'sustaining the world' at conference

Faculty from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem will lecture in Chicago as part of "Sustaining the World – A Day of Dialogue." The conference will feature sessions on Israel's role in sustaining the world, new frontiers in medical research, Israel's role in creating a sustainable environment, and the politics of a sustainable peace. Gabriela Shalev, Israel's permanent representative to the United Nations will give the keynote address. The conference will take place Nov. 8 at the Chicago Hilton. To register and for more information, contact Judy Siegal at jsiegal@afhu.org or 312-329-0332.

• Conference to explore spiritual wisdom of women

An interreligious conference to be held in Chicago will celebrate the spiritual wisdom of women. "Hidden Treasures: Spiritual Wisdom Through the Eyes of Women in Judaism, Christianity and Islam" will take place Nov. 8-9. Co-sponsored by the Chicago Board of Rabbis, the conference will offer a chance to engage in dialogue with women and men of faith to build relationships and discover new pathways of understanding and peace.

Speakers from the Jewish community include:

• Jane Shapiro, founder of Jane Shapiro Associates. Ms. Shapiro is a consultant to synagogues and Jewish organizations in visioning, curriculum programming and professional development, and a doctoral candidate in Jewish Education, Jewish Theological Seminary.
• Miriam Weinberger, executive director of The ARK, a social service agency for the Jewish community in the Chicago area.

Learn more about the conference here.

The founder of Human Rights Watch, Robert Bernstein, describes the reasons for joining the group's critics in a New York Times op-ed.

"Human Rights Watch had as its original mission to pry open closed societies, advocate basic freedoms and support dissenters. But recently it has been issuing reports on the Israeli-Arab conflict that are helping those who wish to turn Israel into a pariah state," he writes. "The region is populated by authoritarian regimes with appalling human rights records. Yet in recent years Human Rights Watch has written far more condemnations of Israel for violations of international law than of any other country in the region."

And writing in The Jerusalem Post, Anne Herzberg details what ails Human Rights Watch.