Today's e-alert

Chicago, Midwest, and US news

Chicago Tribune Op-Ed: The damage done by talking to Hamas
L'hitraot to Israeli Consul General to the Midwest Barukh Binah
JUF News reports from southern Israel
Poll: Chicago Jews favor two-state solution, but doubt it will come soon
Mistrial for man who killed Seattle Jewish Federation leader
Egyptian Ambassador speaks to JCRC
Jewish Federation continues collecting funds for Mynamar, Chinese disasters
Presidential candidates speak at AIPAC conference

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict


IDF faces 'new threat' from Gaza
Defense Minister Barak: Hamas is exhibiting signs of distress
Three Israeli Arabs charged with planning to kidnap, kill soldier
Rocket terror continues in western Negev
Man killed in mortar attack from Gaza

Palestinian leader urges talks with Hamas

Israel and World News

Bush, Olmert meet at White House
Syria seeks U.S. role in talks
Syrian source: Israel did not ask us to sever ties with Iran
Israel frees Hezbollah spy, gets soldiers' remains
State Dept. reinstates Gaza Fulbright Grants

Baghdad Jews have become a fearful few
The Real Israel

Iran Watch

IAEA 'alarmed' by Iran's alleged nuclear weapons work: diplomat
US, Israel: World not doing enough to counter Iran
Rome's Jews protest Ahmadinejad's visit
US intelligence chief visits Israel to consult on Iran

Events and Programs

TOV announces first annual Green Mitzvah Mania!
Teens: Learn about terrific programs just for you
Greater Chicago Jewish Festival June 15
Learn modern Hebrew at Chicago's Hebrew Ulpan Center


Editorial, Opinion & Analysis


From the world press



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Chicago, Midwest, and US news

CHICAGO TRIBUNE OP-ED: THE DAMAGE DONE BY TALKING TO HAMAS
Read JUF/JF Executive Vice President Michael C. Kotzin's Op-Ed, The damage done by talking to Hamas, published in the Chicago Tribune yesterday.


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L'HITRAOT TO ISRAELI CONSUL GENERAL TO THE MIDWEST BARUKH BINAH
Members JUF's Jewish Community Relations Council said "l'hitraot" and "thank you" to Israel Consul General to the Midwest, Barukh Binah, his wife Shuli Binah and Deputy Consul General Andy David at the June 5 meeting.

"Not only did Chicago gain a thoughtful, articulate and experienced diplomat representing the State of Israel, but he brought us Shuli, his wife," said JCRC chair Midge Perlman Shafton. "In this too brief time when they have been posted here, we have shared simchas, commiserated about teenage angst and worked as partners on serious issues of concern to Israel and the Jewish community."

Binah, who was presented with a certificate on behalf of the Jewish Federation establishing an annual Barukh Binah Israel Scholarship Fund, thanked Chicago's Jewish community for embracing him and his family. "The midwest somehow made a mark in our hearts," he said. "This is really a bittersweet moment for Shuli and I."

Binah is returning to Israel early to take up the significant position of Deputy Director General for North American Affairs, making him the highest ranking official in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs charged with handling all aspects of Israel's relations with the United States and Canada. And David is also returning to Israel to become the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Deputy Spokesperson. Listen to remarks from Shafton and Binah.

Also at the meeting, Lisa Klein, Associate Director of JCRC, gave a brief report and analysis of the JCRC/Hillels Israel Initiative program. Read her report


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JUF NEWS REPORTS FROM SOUTHERN ISRAEL
JUF News exec editor Aaron Cohen is in southern Israel this week on a UJC media trip. Read his blog and hear his description of how JUF contributions help Israelis cope with life under Hamas rocket fire.

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POLL: CHICAGO JEWS FAVOR TWO-STATE SOLUTION, BUT DOUBT IT WILL COME SOON
At the Walk With Israel in Chicago, a poll of participants revealed that 60% of the interviewees thought a two-state solution was the best resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but 95% thought there would be no peace between Israelis and Palestinians in the next year.

The poll reflected a general trend of hope that the Palestinians would make peace with the Israelis. However, respondents expressed doubt that a peaceful resolution was imminent.

The poll was administered by high school juniors participating in Write On for Israel, an Israel advocacy program sponsored by the Community Foundation for Jewish Education and JUF News and funded by the AVI CHAI Foundation. Students interviewed 281 people over 12 years old during the walk. Nearly all the interviewees were Jewish, and a majority of them had either visited Israel or lived there at some point in their lives.


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MISTRIAL FOR MAN WHO KILLED SEATTLE JEWISH FEDERATION LEADER
A judge declared a mistrial Wednesday in the case of a man who stormed into a Jewish center two years ago and shot six women, killing one, as he ranted against Israel and the Iraq war. Jurors had indicated in questions posed to the judge that they were hopelessly deadlocked and struggling to determine whether Naveed Haq, 32, was not guilty by reason of insanity, as he claimed.


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EGYPTIAN AMBASSADOR SPEAKS TO JCRC
H.E. Nabil Fahmy, Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt met with JCRC organizational leaders and delegates, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and local diplomatic corps May 30 at the JUF/JF headquarters to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Listen to the talk

Ambassador Fahmy, appointed to this post in 1999, served as Egypt's Ambassador to Japan from September 1997 to August 1999. Prior to that, he was Political Advisor to the Foreign Minister between 1992 and 1997, and earlier was a Senior Disarmament Official, Department of International Organizations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a member of the Egyptian Mission to the United Nations (Disarmament and Political Affairs) in Geneva and New York.



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JEWISH FEDERATION CONTINUES COLLECTING FUNDS FOR MYNAMAR, CHINESE DISASTERS
In the wake of the Myanmar cyclone and the earthquake in China, the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago continues collecting for humanitarian aid for these two emergency relief funds. Last Sunday, David Brinn of JUF's JCRC, participated in a major Chinese community memorial program in Chinatown, reporting on both JUF's and the global Jewish community's response. Read his remarks.

Also, read more information on the memorial event, in the Chicago Tribune's report and read a situation report on the earthquake produced by the JDC.

The Jewish Federation China Earthquake Relief Fund and Jewish Federation Myanmar Cyclone Relief Fund support humanitarian, non-sectarian needs through the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC). 100% of collected funds will go directly to aid the victims; the Jewish Federation will not deduct any administrative costs.

Contribute online, by phone at (312) 444-2869 or by mail, making checks payable to:

Jewish Federation China Earthquake Relief Fund
or
Jewish Federation Myanmar Cyclone Relief Fund
c/o Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago
30 S. Wells St., Room 3017
Chicago, IL 60606


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PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES SPEAK AT AIPAC CONFERENCE
Senators John McCain, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton each addressed issues on the US-Israel agenda in speeches this week in Washington DC.

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The Israeli-Palestinian conflict


IDF FACES 'NEW THREAT' FROM GAZA
Air force combat helicopters flying over Gaza "will have to take a new threat into account," an IDC security analyst said Saturday, following the discovery of 30 anti-aircraft missiles by Egyptian police in Sinai, said to be destined for the Gaza Strip. The arms cache, uncovered 80 km. south of the Rafah border crossing, also included hand grenades, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, rifles, and 2,000 rounds of ammunition, Egyptian authorities said. Hours later, Egyptian police announced a second seizure, this time finding 100 kg. of explosives just 3.5 km. from Gaza.
"There's no doubt that the appearance of these weapons represents a very significant change," said Yoram Schweitzer, director of the Program on Terrorism and Low Intensity Conflict at the Institute for Counter-Terrorism at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya.


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DEFENSE MINISTER BARAK: HAMAS IS EXHIBITING SIGNS OF DISTRESS
Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Monday said that Israel has identified signs of distress coming from Hamas. According to the defense minister, some 70 Hamas fighters have been killed during the last two months, and more than 300 have been killed during the past six months.
"Hamas is very stressed. The most effective action is the siege," Barak said, referring to the Israeli-imposed economic blockade on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. Israel imposed the blockade on Gaza after the Islamist group seized power over the impoverished coastal strip last June. Since then, Israel has allowed only basic staples to be transported through the border crossings it controls, into Gaza.

Addressing the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Barak also praised recent Egyptian efforts to prevent the smuggling of weapons from Egypt into the Gaza Strip, saying a significant improvement has been made, but stressing that still more can be done.


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THREE ISRAELI ARABS CHARGED WITH PLANNING TO KIDNAP, KILL SOLDIER
The Shin Bet security service and the police arrested three Israeli Arabs over the course of the last three weeks on suspicion that they planned to kidnap an Israel Defense Forces soldier, murder him and demand the release of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the body. The men, all residents of Lod, are Amir Nafar, 20, who studies sharia at a Jordanian university, Iman Kadura, 26, and Yassin Hinawi, 19.
The suspects, activists in the Islamic movement, allegedly planned to use a knife and a gun to commit the murder, after which they would videotape the soldier and bury him in an undisclosed location. According to the indictment, the suspects then planned to give the soldier's identification card to an accomplice whose identity is as yet unknown.


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ROCKET TERROR CONTINUES IN WESTERN NEGEV
With truce talks on hold - rocket terror continues. Five people sustained shrapnel wounds after a rocket crashed into a community in the Eshkol Regional Council on Tuesday afternoon. Emergency medical teams evacuated those wounded to the Soroka Hospital in Beersheba for treatment. The rocket landed outside a packing factory in the community, near the residence quarters of the foreign laborers employed there. A Thai worker was lightly-to-moderately wounded and four others, one of them an Israeli, were lightly wounded.

Earlier in the day an IDF soldier was moderately wounded near the Kissufim crossing from Palestinian sniper fire during an operation to uncover explosive devices planted along the Gaza border. The soldier was also evacuated to the Soroka Hospital. A short time earlier on Tuesday a 107 mm Katyusha rocket landed in the Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council. No injuries were reported and no damage was caused.


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MAN KILLED IN MORTAR ATTACK FROM GAZA

Terrorists in Gaza fired a mortar shortly before noon which slammed into a factory in Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel, killing a worker. Several other people were wounded, including one in moderate condition. Kibbutz Nir Oz is located some 25 kilometers southwest of Sderot, meaning the deadly mortar was fired from near the former Jewish towns of Gush Katif in Gaza. Ariel Sharon, who led the Disengagement from Gush Katif, often said that the goal of the unilateral withdrawal and eviction of thousands of Jews was to improve Israel's security.

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PALESTINIAN LEADER URGES TALKS WITH HAMAS
The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, called unexpectedly late Wednesday for a resumption of dialogue with the Islamic militant group Hamas, a move that could herald a breakdown of his peace talks with Israel. In a short televised speech, Mr. Abbas, who is based in the West Bank, expressed his desire to restore national unity. Hamas took control of Gaza in June 2007.
Abbas said that if talks with Hamas succeeded, he would call for legislative and presidential elections. His term is supposed to end in January.


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Israel and World News

BUSH, OLMERT MEET AT WHITE HOUSE
President Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert discussed Iran and Middle East peace issues at the White House. "We're going to spend a lot of time talking about Iran," Bush said Wednesday as he greeted Olmert in the White House Oval Office. "It's very important for the world to take the Iranian threat seriously." Also on the agenda were Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and renewed Israel-Syria negotiations. The latter has aroused skepticism at the White House, which describes Syria as a state sponsor of terrorism. Read the address by PM Ehud Olmert to the AIPAC Policy Conference 2008.

Before conferring with Olmert yesterday, President Bush held an unannounced meeting this week with onetime Soviet dissident Natan Sharansky, another prominent Israeli with whom the president has forged a friendly and intriguing relationship.


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SYRIA SEEKS U.S. ROLE IN TALKS
As Syria and Israel begin pursuing peace negotiations, Damascus is calling for the U.S. to play a direct role in brokering the talks, arguing that a successful outcome is unlikely without American participation. To date, the Bush administration has offered only lukewarm support for the dialogue announced in May, breaking from decades of American foreign-policy doctrine that has sought to actively encourage any engagement between Jerusalem and an Arab state.
In an interview, Syria's ambassador to Washington, Imad Moustapha, said Damascus believes the U.S. is the only country that could realistically deliver a peace deal between the two countries and that Israel's trust in the U.S. would make Washington central to actually implementing any peace agreement.



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SYRIAN SOURCE: ISRAEL DID NOT ASK US TO SEVER TIES WITH IRAN
Israel did not ask Syria to sever its ties with Iran, the London-based Arabic-language newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat reported Friday morning, quoting a Syrian source involved in the indirect negotiations between Jerusalem and Damascus.

According to the source, Tehran expressed its understanding over the negotiations and is also holding talks "with other elements". In a phone call with the newspaper, the source said that "serious progress has been made in the talks." He added that both sides were on the verge of launching direct talks, but that direct negotiations depended on developments in the diplomatic and regional conditions.


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ISRAEL FREES HEZBOLLAH SPY, GETS SOLDIERS' REMAINS
Israel handed over a convicted Hezbollah spy to Lebanon on Sunday and in a surprise move the Islamic guerrilla group turned over what it said were the body parts of Israeli soldiers killed in a 2006 war. The Hezbollah gesture, along with recent comments by its leader, signaled that a larger prisoner exchange could be in the works between the two bitter enemies.



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STATE DEPT. REINSTATES GAZA FULBRIGHT GRANTS

The American State Department has reinstated seven Fulbright grants offered to Palestinians in Gaza for advanced study in the United States, reversing a decision to withdraw the scholarships because of Israel's ban on Palestinians' leaving Gaza for study abroad. The American Consulate in Jerusalem sent e-mail messages on Sunday night to all seven telling them it was "working closely" with Israeli officials to secure them exit permits. Maj. Peter Lerner, spokesman for the Israeli Defense Ministry's office of civilian affairs, said the Gazans would be granted permits after individual security checks.

On Thursday the seven received e-mail messages saying the grants had been "redirected" because of Israel's closing of Gaza, an area run by the militant anti-Israel group Hamas. The closing, an effort to punish Hamas for its rocket and mortar barrages of southern Israel, prevents Palestinians from leaving Gaza except for medical emergencies. But after word of the grant withdrawals got out, senior American and Israeli officials expressed surprise and outrage, saying that training ambitious and talented young people under Fulbright grants was one of the ways to help blunt the appeal of radical forces in Palestinian society.


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BAGHDAD JEWS HAVE BECOME A FEARFUL FEW
The community of Jews in Baghdad is now all but vanished in a land where their heritage recedes back to Abraham of Ur, to Jonah's prophesying to Nineveh, and to Nebuchadnezzar's sending Jews into exile here more than 2,500 years ago.
Just over half a century ago, Iraq's Jews numbered more than 130,000. But now, in the city that was once the community's heart, they cannot muster even a minyan, the 10 Jewish men required to perform some of the most important rituals of their faith. They are scared even to publicize their exact number, which was recently estimated at seven by the Jewish Agency for Israel, and at eight by one Christian cleric. That is not enough to read the Torah in public, if there were anywhere in public they would dare to read it, and too few to recite a proper Kaddish for the dead.


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THE REAL ISRAEL
Read the Israeli Consulate newsletter, The Real Israel, to learn more about the other side of Israel.


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Iran Watch

IAEA 'ALARMED' BY IRAN'S ALLEGED NUCLEAR WEAPONS WORK: DIPLOMAT
Inspectors from the UN atomic watchdog are "alarmed" that Iran has in its possession a document describing the process for making what could be the core of a nuclear weapon, a western diplomat said last Thursday. The 15-page document describes the process of machining uranium metal into two hemispheres of the kind used in nuclear warheads.

And at a closed-door meeting with diplomats, the International Atomic Energy Agency's chief for inspections, Olli Heinonen, revealed that the agency had gathered intelligence from around 10 countries suggesting Iran was engaged in weaponisation studies in the past, the diplomat said. Tehran has repeatedly dismissed the intelligence as "fabricated," and the allegations that it was seeking to build a bomb as "baseless".


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US, ISRAEL: WORLD NOT DOING ENOUGH TO COUNTER IRAN
The United States and Israel said Tuesday the rest of the world isn't doing enough to stop Iran from getting the bomb and accused Iran of continuing a covert drive for nuclear weapons, although U.S. intelligence has said Tehran quit its active warhead program years ago. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Israel's embattled leader, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, both used speeches to a pro-Israel lobbying group to complain that European and other nations are undermining the hard line against Iran's nuclear program by pursuing business relationships with Tehran.

"Our partners in Europe and beyond need to exploit Iran's vulnerabilities more vigorously and impose greater costs on the regime - economically, financially, politically and diplomatically,'' Rice said. Olmert went further, saying in prepared remarks to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee that other countries should penalize Iran by barring business travelers, blocking financial transactions and imposing sanctions on Iran's import of refined gasoline and on countries that perform that task for oil-rich but facilities-poor Iran.

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ROME'S JEWS PROTEST AHMADINEJAD'S VISIT
The Jewish community in Rome conducted a spontaneous march on Tuesday, in protest against Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to the Italian capital, where he is participating in the United Nations summit on global food security. "We want to thank the Italian government, especially Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, for not welcoming him, and Foreign Minister Franco Frattini for deciding not to meet with the Iranian ambassador," the spokesman for the Jewish community said.

At the summit, Ahmadinejad said: "The people of Europe have suffered the most harm from Zionists and today the costs of that falsified regime, whether political or economic, are on Europe's shoulders." He added: "I do not believe my statements [at the conference] will cause any problems. People love what I say because they are trying to save themselves from the oppression of Zionists."


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US INTELLIGENCE CHIEF VISITS ISRAEL TO CONSULT ON IRAN
Amidst reports that President George W. Bush is considering taking military action against Iran, the US Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell paid a rare visit to Israel Tuesday for talks with heads of the Israeli intelligence community. McConnell was scheduled to meet with head of Military Intelligence Maj.-Gen. Amos Yadlin, Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi and Defense Minister Ehud Barak.
McConnell's office published the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) report late last year, which claimed that Iran had suspended its nuclear weapons program in 2003 even though it had renewed its enrichment of uranium in 2005.

Defense officials said that McConnell's visit to Israel was part of the ongoing intelligence dialogue between the two countries and that he would be presented with the most updated Mossad and MI assessments regarding Iran's nuclear program. MI recently moved up its assessment and now believes that Iran will master centrifuge technology by the end of the year, meaning that Iran could have a nuclear weapon by the end of the decade.


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Events and Programs

TOV ANNOUNCES FIRST ANNUAL GREEN MITZVAH MANIA!
In an effort to explore new areas of volunteerism and to uphold the Jewish values of environmentalism and tikkun olam, the JUF TOV Volunteer Network is proud to introduce the first annual Green Mitzvah Mania!! This program will feature three one-time environmental volunteer projects throughout the summer. The first opportunity will be a family craft project and is scheduled for Sunday, June 29. Register online.

Green Mitzvah Mania is a great opportunity for people to give back in a meaningful way, learn more about the Jewish community's response to climate change, and volunteer outside with friends and family!


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TEENS: LEARN ABOUT TERRIFIC PROGRAMS JUST FOR YOU
Applications are now open for the hands-on youth philanthropy programs Voices and Kolot; Camp TOV 2008, a week long, fun and interactive service oriented day program on wheels; TOV MTV - Monthly Teen Volunteering; and Write On for Israel, a selective, two-year advocacy training fellowship.

Get more information about all these opportunities.


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GREATER CHICAGO JEWISH FESTIVAL JUNE 15
The Greater Chicago Jewish Festival is coming up June 15 in Skokie. Organized by the Jewish POCET and sponsored in part by JUF/JF, it's the largest Jewish cultural event in Chicago and the largest ongoing Jewish festival in America.

The Israel Project Fair will also be held at the festival. The project is for students wishing to create projects and exhibits about Israel in honor of its 60th anniversary. The deadline for entries is May 15. Prizes will be awarded to everyone who participates.


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LEARN MODERN HEBREW AT CHICAGO'S HEBREW ULPAN CENTER

Hebrew has been an indispensable component of Judaism enduring more than 3,000 years and the undeniable key to Jewish culture and social literacy.
The Community Foundation for Jewish Education of Metropolitan Chicago (CFJE) offers adults an opportunity to learn and feel comfortable with Hebrew through its "Merkaz Ivrit" or "Ulpan Center."

• The CFJE takes great pride in offering only the highest quality experience to its adult students. Instructors are well qualified with extensive experience in Hebrew pedagogy. Students will be exposed to the most current teaching practices and will be absorbed into Israeli culture through literature, song, newspapers and video.

• Classes will take place in Skokie, the North Shore, Lakeview and new this year: the Northwest suburbs in Buffalo Grove.

• Running from October 2008 through May 2009, this 22-session program (1.5 hr/week) is structured to meet the needs of learners at all levels through more advanced.

In the year we celebrate Israel at 60, why not treat yourself to something new to spark a deeper connection with our Homeland?

Registration has begun and will fill up fast. We will accommodate students on a first-come first-served basis. For the Ulpan brochure and registration information, go to www.cfje.org, click on Adult Learning and then click on Ulpan.

Questions? Contact the Ulpan Center today (847) 410-3900 x 20 or by e-mail at Ulpan@cfje.org.


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Editorial, Opinion & Analysis


FROM THE WORLD PRESS
An empty package, by Jonathan Spyer
A critical mess over Iran, Christian Science Monitor editorial
Palestinian industry of lies, by Danny Seaman
ANALYSIS: Return of bodies is another PR victory for Nasrallah, by Yossi Melman
The Gaza breakdown, by Mark Matthews
Happy returns, by Martin Peretz
Analysis: Reading the Jerusalem construction script, by Herb Keinon
There is a military solution to terror, by Bret Stephens