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The Yale Initiative for the Interdisciplinary Study of Antisemitism
Newsletter
Volume 2 No. 45
7 March 2008

YIISA SEMINAR
*THERE WILL BE NO LECTURE NEXT WEEK – ENJOY THE BREAK!*
THURSDAY, MARCH 27 @ 4:15 PM
Institution for Social and Policy Studies (ISPS), Room A-002 (77 Prospect St)
“Muslims are not the new Jews:  Comparing Islamophobia and antisemitism in Britain and Europe”
Speakers:       Professor David Cesarani
History Department, Royal Holloway, University of London
 
YIISA IN THE NEWS
 
Initiative linking researchers on anti-Semitism
(Jewish Telegraphic Agency) Yale University launched an international association to link researchers on anti-Semitism. The International Association for the Study of Anti-Semitism, to be headquartered at Yale in New Haven, Conn., is an outgrowth of the Yale Initiative on the Study of Anti-Semitism.
Click here to read
 
Discussions of hate wrap up on political note
(Yale Daily News) In light of a string of incidents of hate-speech on campus, students, faculty and community members convened last night for the fourth time to hash out the intricacies of hate — this time from a political perspective. The panel — preceded by similar events on the history, psychology and sociology of hate, the first of which took place last December — featured political science professors Ange-Marie Hancock and Khalilah Brown-Dean as well as Charles Small, director of the Yale Initiative for the Interdisciplinary Study of Anti-Semitism, who explored both the general as well as Yale-specific implications of hate speech and action.
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REPORT
 
Beyond Rhetoric: Hizballah Threats after the Mughniyeh Assassination
(Washington Institute) In response to the February 12 assassination of chief of operations Imad Mughniyeh, Hizballah has ratcheted up its threats, warnings, and saber rattling. In turn, Israel has locked down its foreign missions, put its military on heightened alert, and deployed Patriot missiles near Haifa. And in Washington, the FBI issued a bulletin to its field offices warning of possible attacks on U.S. soil.
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STUDENTS SLAUGHTERED WHILE STUDYING IN JERUSALEM
 
Gunman Kills 8 in Attack on School in Jerusalem
(NY Times) A gunman entered a prominent Jewish seminary in the heart of Jerusalem on Thursday night, killing at least eight students and wounding at least nine others, three of them seriously, the Israeli police said. It was the deadliest attack on Israeli civilians in nearly two years and the first attack inside Jerusalem in four.
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Eight killed when terrorist opens fire in library at Jerusalem yeshiva
(Haaretz) Eight people were killed and nine others were wounded Thursday evening when a terrorist entered a crowded library at a Jerusalem yeshiva and opened fire. The head of the Zaka emergency service described the scene after the shooting as "like a slaughterhouse."
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Gaza: Thousands celebrate Jerusalem attack
(YNet) Gaza's streets filled with joyous crowds of thousands on Thursday evening following the terror attack at a Jerusalem rabbinical seminary in which eight people were killed. In mosques in Gaza City and northern Gaza, many residents went to perform the prayers of thanksgiving.
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ARTICLES OF INTEREST
 
IRAN
 
U.S. warns Europe of Iran missiles
(LA Times) With American officials working to close a deal on a missile defense system in Europe, the head of the U.S. program warned Thursday that Iran was within two or three years of producing a missile that could reach most European capitals. "They're already flying missiles that exceed what they would need in a fight with Israel. Why? Why do they continue this progression in terms of range of missiles? It's something we need to think about," Air Force Lt. Gen. Henry Obering III, director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, told a conference here on missile defense.
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Iran's Nuclear Program
(NY Times) Iran's leadership says that its goal in developing a nuclear program is the ability to generate electricity without dipping into the oil supply it prefers to sell abroad. The Bush administration says the program is meant to give Iran nuclear weapons to use to intimidate its neighbors and threaten the existence of Israel.
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Iran's Nuclear Threat
(Wall Street Journal) The United Nations Security Council has passed another resolution concerning Iran because its nuclear program is an unacceptable threat. Iran's violations of Security Council resolutions not only continue, but are deepening. Instead of suspending its proliferation-sensitive activities as the council has required, Iran is dramatically expanding the number of operating centrifuges and developing a new generation of centrifuges, testing one of them with nuclear fuel.
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U.N. Imposes New Sanctions on Iran
(Washington Post) The United Nations imposed new sanctions on Iran yesterday, capping a year of difficult diplomacy that may represent the Bush administration's final bid to mobilize international action against Tehran over its controversial nuclear program.
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ElBaradei's Real Agenda
(Wall Street Journal) International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Mohamed ElBaradei submitted a report on Iran's nuclear program to the IAEA's Board of Governors. It concluded that, barring "one major remaining issue relevant to the nature of Iran's nuclear programme" -- including a mysterious "green salt project" -- Iran's explanations of its suspicious nuclear activities "are consistent with [the IAEA's] findings [or at least] not inconsistent."
Click here to read
 
Why not just blow your whistle?
(Economist) The latest report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), published on February 22nd, shows how tentative the UN's nuclear watchdog must sometimes be. Iran took the report as proof of its innocence. America and several European countries drew the opposite inference. They say that although the IAEA has still found no clear evidence of a bomb programme, the report leaves ample grounds for suspicion.
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Putting Iran on notice
(LA Times) Victories for bush administration diplomacy are rare these days, and the adoption of a third U.N. Security Council resolution tightening sanctions against Iran is worth celebrating -- even though it probably represents more of a belated act of self-defense by the rest of the council than a triumph of U.S. statecraft. True, the resolution passed Monday isn't as strong as the U.S. wanted, it took an entire year, and in the short term it won't stop a determined Iran from making nuclear weapons. Still, it's an important step in the long-term international campaign to convince Iran's coolest head -- Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei -- that the cost to Iran in isolation and lost prestige if it persists with its nuclear program will simply be too high.
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World Group Tells Banks to Beware Deals With Iran
(NY Times) In a move that strengthens the American-backed effort to isolate Iran, a leading international organization responsible for combating financial crimes called Thursday for all countries to be wary of Iran’s banking system because of concerns over money-laundering and aid to terrorists. The action, by the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force, was welcomed by the Bush administration as likely to help its drive to punish Iran economically for its nuclear activities and its support of Hezbollah and other militant groups.
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Iranian clerics face a backlash over good life
(Telegraph) The Ayatollah Khomenei brought millions on to the streets of Iran to overthrow the decadence of the Shah. Now the late leader's grandsons and other Iranian clerics face a backlash over their families' fondness for fast cars, big houses and hot tubs. The criticism reflects a growing resentment of the wealth accumulated by some of the religious leaders who took power after 1979.
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Who leaked the details of a CIA-Mossad plot against Iran?
(Haaretz) The Bush administration is prolonging the hunting season against journalists. The latest victim is James Risen, The New York Times reporter for national security and intelligence affairs. Conversations with several sources who are familiar with the affair indicate that Risen has been asked to testify as part of an investigation aimed at revealing who leaked apparently confidential information about the planning of secret Central Intelligence Agency and Mossad missions concerning Iran's nuclear program.
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MIDDLE EAST
 
Ahmadinejad Heads to Iraq as Chairman of U.S. Joint Chiefs Visits
(NY Times) Army and police checkpoints dotted Baghdad on Saturday in preparation for a visit by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran, which will coincide with a visit by the chairman of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff. Adm. Mike Mullen arrived in Baghdad on an unannounced trip to meet with commanders and Iraqi officials before a series of briefings he is to give President Bush in April about the future of the war effort.
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Iran's Ahmadinejad in Baghdad for landmark visit
(Reuters) Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, arrived in Baghdad on Sunday, Iraqi officials said, making the first visit to Iraq by an Iranian president. Ahmadinejad will hold talks with Iraq's top leaders during the two-day trip. A key issue likely to come up will be U.S. accusations that Iran arms and trains Shi'ite militias in Iraq. Iran denies the charges.
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U.S. wary of Iran's growing activity in Iraq
(Chicago Tribune) U.S. military officials are voicing increasing concern that Iranian-backed Shiite militants are stepping up their activities in Iraq, as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad prepares to make a historic visit to Baghdad that is expected to reinforce Iran's expanding influence.
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Commentary: Iraq ripe for Iranian domination
(Times) Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was right to look smug at the end of his two-day state visit to Iraq. Not only did he become the first Iranian president to visit Baghdad, but he also took a big step towards achieving the victory that had eluded Ayatollah Khomeini, the father of the Iranian revolution.
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Senior official: Iran behind rocket fire
(Jerusalem Post) Rockets continued to hit Ashkelon and the western Negev after the IDF ground operations in the Gaza Strip were concluded early Monday morning. As the defense establishment began to analyze the recent days of fighting, intelligence officers pointed an accusatory finger toward Teheran.
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U.S.: Libya foiled UN Sec. Council condemnation of J'lem attack
(Haartez) The United States accused Libya on Thursday of preventing the Security Council from condemning as a "terrorist attack" a deadly assault on a
Jewish school in Jerusalem, but Tripoli called for "balanced action".
Click here to read
 
Jumblatt says surrender of Hizbullah's weapons to army is 'inevitable'
(Daily Star) Lebanon’s Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) leader MP Walid Jumblatt said on Monday that reaching a comprehensive national defense strategy where arms are to be put under the Lebanese Armed Forces' control is "inevitable." In his weekly remarks to PSP's mouthpiece, Al-Anbaa, to be published on Tuesday, Jumblatt said.
Click here to read
 
Hezbollah: We're ready for war with Israel, but we won't start it
(Haaretz) Hezbollah is ready for another war with Israel but it will not start one, the deputy leader of the Lebnon-based guerilla group said in an interview published Wednesday, a day after Israel told the European Union its intelligence showed Iran was rearming the group via Turkey.
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Bringing Tragedy Upon Themselves
(The New Republic) Let no one be deluded. Hamas is bruising for a war, and Israel will oblige. Sooner rather than later. Four Kassam rockets hit the city of Ashkelon, which dates to deep antiquity and is now home to 120,000 people. Palestinian terrorism had mostly skirted this population center, having concentrated its rocketry on Sderot and a few Kibbutzim in the Negev. But the attacks on Ashkelon signfy that Hamas' capacity is now longer range and greater accuracy.
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Jerusalem & Babylon / Ignoring Durban summit not an option
(Haaretz) There is something faintly ridiculous about Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's decision that Israel will not participate in the "Durban 2" Conference, a year from now. This is an event that so far lacks a definite date, a fixed venue, and certainly a settled agenda. Even the conference's name is still under discussion. So what exactly is Israel, and apparently Canada, supposed to be boycotting?
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The mother of all mistranslations
(Spectator) Israel’s deputy defence minister said the stepped-up rocket fire in the imminent conflagration in Gaza would trigger what he called a ‘bigger holocaust.’ For an Israeli minister to use the word ‘holocaust’ to describe a limited war of Israeli self-defence, when for Jews of all people the ‘Holocaust’ means one thing: genocide was simply beyond belief. But it was indeed without any credibility — because Vilnai never said it. It was an appalling mistranslation by Reuters.
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Independent expert: IDF bullets didn't kill Mohammed al-Dura
(Haartez) A report presented to a French court last week by an independent ballistics expert maintains that the death of Mohammed al-Dura, a Palestinian child seen being shot in the Gaza Strip during the first days of the intifada in September 2000, could not have been the result of Israeli gunfire, corroborating claims that the shocking footage was doctored.
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Jewish teen tortured in French town where Ilan Halimi was killed
(Haaretz) The incident of brutal abuse began at 10 A.M. on February 22. Mathieu Roumi, 19, whose father is Jewish, was strolling through his neighborhood in the Paris suburb of Bagneux, which has been the site of violent riots by immigrants in the past two years. The suburb became notorious as the scene of Ilan Halimi's 2006 murder, which horrified France.
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NORTH AMERICA
 
British Intelligence is Smarter than Ours
(Front Page Magazine) Alan Dershowitz writes, “Anyone who doubts that Iran is determined to develop deliverable nuclear weapons should not be in position of decision making or influence. The evidence is as clear as can be, despite the “fog of peace” artificially constructed by the recent National Intelligence Estimate issued by our government’s collective intelligence agencies. It may be true, as the estimate concludes, that in 2003 the Iranians shifted from a single track approach to a duel track approach—from taking direct steps toward building the bomb to taking indirect steps that have both civilian and military applications. But it does not follow that either the goal of the program, or even its schedule, has changed significantly.”
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Struggling to Squelch an Internet Rumor
(NY Times) During its 30 years on the curriculum, Prof. Jeremy D. Popki’s course on the Holocaust at the University of Kentucky has grown perpetually popular, with 60 applicants vying for half as many seats. The university has even created a Judaic Studies program. Yet, when Professor Popkin opened his e-mail that day, he was informed that his class did not exist. “This week, the University of Kentucky removed the Holocaust from its school curriculum,” the message stated, “because it offended the Muslim population, which claims it never occurred.”
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Bernard-Henri Lévy Exposes the Wiring on Today's Anti-Semitism
(Media Bistro) The 92nd Street Y invited a number of bloggers to last night's Francine and Abdallah Simon State of World Jewry Lecture, as philosopher Bernard=Henri Lévy weighed in on the ways that anti-semitism has reconfigured itself for the 21st century. "I am a few months younger than Israel," Lévy quipped at the start of his speech, but he cannot remember any moment in his lifetime when the nation seemed "as lonely, as vulnernable, and as threatened" as it is now, particularly as the anti-semitism that he sees at the root of much anti-Zionist rhetoric has become more openly expressed.
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EUROPE
 
Edinburgh U. cancels Prosor's talk
(Jerusalem Post) The University of Edinburgh called off a lecture by Israeli Ambassador to Great Britain Ron Prosor scheduled for Thursday, citing logistical reasons while distancing itself from a claim by a pro-Palestinian fringe group that a planned protest had caused the cancellation.
Click here to read
 
Anti-Semitism in France / Calm interrupted
(Haaretz) The year 2007 was the quietest year the French Jewish community has known since 2000. In October 2000, after the second intifada broke out, French Jews were hit by a wave of anti-Semitic attacks the likes of which had not been seen since World War II. In 2007, fewer than 200 anti-Jewish incidents were recorded, a scale akin to the number of attacks recorded in just one month in 2001.
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WEEKLY QUOTES (Canadian Institute for Jewish Research - Montreal)
 
“We pulled out of Gaza, we tore Israelis from their homes, just for quiet in the communities in the Gaza envelope. These were painful concessions that we made for quiet, and Hamas has continued its fire without reason…. The time has come for action. The military operations are continuing and Hamas bears the responsibility…. They are firing on innocent civilians and have left us no choice. We will operate with force to change the situation, and we will change it.” ­Defense Minister Ehud Barak, during Sunday’s meeting with various defense officials including IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi and Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin, implying that due to the continued firing of terrorist rockets against innocent Israelis, Hamas has left the Israel Defense Forces with no choice but to operate in the Gaza Strip. Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, in a statement released Tuesday, declared that Israel evacuated Gaza “not in order to come back, but we might find ourselves in a situation where we have no choice.” (Ha’aretz, Mar. 2; Jerusalem Post, Mar. 4)

 “The Palestinians don't have the internal ability to overpower the terrorist bodies within them. More and more, the Palestinians are losing their ability and entitlement to [establish] an independent Palestinian state.”­ Pensioners' Affairs Minister Rafi Eitan, a member of the Israeli Security Cabinet, in an interview with Army Radio Tuesday, indicating that Egypt and Jordan may have to temporarily take control of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank due to the Palestinian leadership's inability to curb terror activity in its territories. Eitan's statements come at a time when Egypt and Jordan are becoming more involved in providing for the needs of the Palestinian population. Egypt is reportedly considering supplying the besieged Gaza Strip with electricity and the West Bank town of Jericho was recently connected to the Jordanian electric grid, for the first time since the Six Day War. (Jerusalem Post, Mar.4)

“At this present juncture, I am opposed to armed struggle because we cannot succeed in it, but maybe in the future things will be different.” ­PA President Mahmoud Abbas, advancing his position in an interview with the Jordanian daily al-Dustur  last Thursday, that a return to “armed resistance”, or terrorism, against Israel may be necessary. “I had the honor of firing the first shot in 1965 and of being the one who taught resistance to many in the region and around the world; what it's like; when it is effective and when it isn't effective; its uses, and what serious, authentic and influential resistance is… It is common knowledge when and how resistance is detrimental and when it is well timed… We (Fatah) had the honor of leading the resistance and we taught resistance to everyone, including Hizbullah, who trained in our military camps,” added Abbas. (Jer. Post, Feb 28)

“I couldn’t identify the body of my son… It was very hard until I found the head of my son. I’m against these rockets, but I am afraid. What can I do? If I protest they will hit me, they will kill me.”­ Hussein Dardouna, speaking to reporters in Gaza on Friday after the funeral for his son Omar, 14, killed by an Israeli strike aimed at a rocket-launching team. (New York Times, Mar. 2)

“Israelis have a right to defend themselves. I have also said to the Israelis that it is extremely important that they remember that there has to be a day after, a partner to work with, and that innocent people who have the bad fortune to have to live under Hamas control should not be subject to injury and death. There should really be a very strong effort to spare innocent life.”­ U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, at a press conference Tuesday in Ramallah with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. (U.S. Department of State transcript, March 4)

“[The film is] an insult to Islam….We in Afghanistan will increase our attacks against Dutch forces if the film is broadcast….We call on the United Nations to step in and stop any such acts which create rifts between the Islamic world and the rest of the world.” ­Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, threatening the Government of Netherlands if they allow far-right Freedom Party politician Geert Wilders to release his 15-minute film Fitna. The film, which is critical of Islam, links images of violence from Muslim countries to chapters of the Koran and also includes images of Mohammad. Wilders has been under heavy protection since 2004 when director Theo van Gogh was murdered by a radical Muslim for directing a film critical of Islam. (National Post, February 29)

“Reports of Hezbollah rearming are a cause of great concern, posing serious challenges to the sovereignty, stability and independence of Lebanon…. I, therefore, remain concerned that this border remains vulnerable to such breaches, which would represent serious violations of the resolution and constitute a significant threat to the stability and security of Lebanon…. All member states in the region, in particular the Syrian Arab Republic and the Islamic Republic of Iran, have a key responsibility in this regard…. Such violations risk further destabilizing Lebanon and the whole region.”­ UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, warning the Security Council that Hezbollah was in violation of the UN cease-fire resolution that ended the Second Lebanon War in 2006 between Israel and Hezbollah. Ban quoted an Israeli government report which stated that Hezbollah has acquired 10,000 long-range and 20,000 short-range rockets. (Ha’aretz, March 4)

“[Israel] has the right to respond to attacks…. We obviously want a cease-fire, we want negotiations, but I continue to be disappointed in the United Nations Security Council and their failure to condemn the attacks from Gaza orchestrated by Hamas, a terrorist organization, into Israel.” ­Republican Senator John McCain, expressing concern over the Security Council’s failure to condemn the Hamas rocket attacks onto Israel. Democrat Senator Hilary Clinton called on Hamas to stop its aggression against Israel, stating: “[The] terrorist [rocket attacks from Gaza were] aimed not only at the people of southern Israel; they are aimed at the heart of Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations…. [The Bush Administration] should have been taking a much more active role in bringing international pressure on Hamas to stop its attacks.” (New York Sun, March 4)

“[William F.] Buckley [Jr.] came to the University of Chicago, delivered a lecture and said: ‘David Brooks, if you’re in the audience, I’d like to offer you a job.’ That was the big break of my professional life. A few years later, I went to National Review and joined the hundreds of others who have been Buckley protégés. I don’t know if I can communicate the grandeur of his life…. Buckley’s greatest talent was friendship…. His second great talent was leadership. As a young man, he had corralled the famously disputatious band of elders who made up the editorial board of National Review. He changed the personality of modern conservatism, created a national movement and expelled the crackpots from it. He led through charisma and merit. He was capable of intellectual pyrotechnics none of us could match. But he also exemplified a delicious way of living…. I don’t recall him talking about politics much. He talked about literature, history, theology, philosophy and the charms of the peculiar people he had known…. But Buckley loved ideas, swept us along as his companions, and sent us out into the world.” ­Excerpt from a David Brooks op-ed, honouring the memory of the National Review founder William F. Buckley Jr. who died February 27, at the age of 82. (New York Times, Feb. 29)
SHORT TAKES
HATE CRIME IN PARIS SUBURB­ (New York) Six men, identified by the JTA as of “varying racial origins” and aged 17 to 25, were arrested on Feb. 27, accused of locking up a 19-year-old Jewish man in a storage room, beating and sexually tormenting him.  French police said the incident occurred on Feb. 22 in Bagneux, the same town in which 23-year-old Ilan Halami was brutally attacked, tortured and killed in 2006 in an antisemitic crime. The teen, identified only by his last name, Roumi, was lured to an apartment by assailants he knew, who accused him of stealing, according to the report. They then handcuffed him to a radiator and abused him for more than nine hours, forcing him to swallow cigarette butts. They scrawled "dirty Jew" and "dirty faggot" on his face. The case is being investigated as a hate crime. (JTA, Mar. 5)

ARBOUR TO RESIGN UN POST­ (Geneva) United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour is expected to announce that she will not seek a second four-year term in her post. Arbour is believed to be frustrated by certain members of the UN’s 47-member Human Rights Council, namely, Algeria, China, and Cuba, who have sought to influence her officially independent office by usurping control of the hiring process. This attempted manipulation of the High Commissioner’s office is part of wider campaign that has seen the HRC’s rules structured in such a way that only Israel can be singled out for criticism. (National Post, Feb. 28)

PALESTINIAN ROCKETS INCREASE RANGE­ (Jerusalem) Gazan rockets continue to fall on Israel, with Palestinian-made Qassams landing in Sderot and longer-range Iranian-made Grad-type Katyushas increasingly striking Ashkelon, a port town of 120,000 with a major hospital, ten kilometres from the Gaza border. Defense Minister Ehud Barak activated the “Color Red” rocket early warning system in Ashkelon, after a seventeen-year-old girl was wounded. By nightfall Thursday, Hamas claimed to have launched eighty-two rockets that day alone, fifty-one directly at Sderot, where a seventy-year-old woman was wounded by shrapnel. A bodyguard of Public Security Minister Avi Dichter, who was aiding the evacuation of a college where the minister was preparing to speak, was also wounded one day after a similar attack killed Roni Yihye, a soldier and father of four who was studying there. The IDF said that the Qassam rockets Hamas fired in 2001, that could not exceed eight kilometres, have now been substantially upgraded and reach twice that distance; by the end of the year, they expect them to be reaching targets twenty kilometres away (the imported Grad-type rockets already exceed Qassams by a distance of fifteen kilometres). (Ha’aretz, Jerusalem Post, Feb. 28, NYT, Feb. 29, BICOM, Mar. 1)

NEVER FORGET­ (New York) The U.S. Navy christened its newest ship: an $850 million San Antonio-class transport, the USS New York. The ship’s motto, “NEVER FORGET,” painted on the side of its hull, is a reminder that seven-and-a-half tons of steel salvaged from the remains of the World Trade Center in 2003 were used in its construction. (New York Post, Mar. 2)

BOMB-PROOFED JERUSALEM BUSES (Jerusalem) Jerusalem is evaluating a six-week pilot program designed to protect its public transit riders from suicide bombers. Israel Military Industries, as part of a project by the Transportation Ministry and the Israel Police, has developed new buses with certain supported safety features. These include a one-way mechanism that allows the bus doors to be opened for exit only, a revolving arm at the door to enable better scrutiny of passengers entering the bus, a double-glazed blast-resistant door, and a speaker that allows the driver to address the passengers waiting to board the bus. Four of these armoured vehicles have been in circulation since Sunday, with specially trained drivers and inspectors. Dani Shenar, head of security for the Transport Ministry, said that ten countries have expressed interest in the project and would possibly invest in it as well. (Jerusalem Post, Mar. 2)

CITIZENSHIP RETURNED TO POLISH JEWS­ (Warsaw) Forty years after an antisemitic Communist Party purge expelled between fifteen and twenty thousand Polish Jews, the Interior Minister announced yesterday that their citizenship would be reinstated. Many of the 1968 victims, Holocaust survivors and their children, were forced to leave their jobs behind. Before emigrating, mostly to the U.S. and Israel, every Jew was stripped of his citizenship and passports were confiscated and replaced with one-way “travel documents” denying them return. (National Post, Mar. 5)

RUSSIAN PRESIDENT RUMOURED TO BE JEWISH ­(Moscow) A rumour circulating in Russia claims that President Vladimir Putin’s successor, Dmitri Medvedev, is of Jewish descent. Medvedev has not commented, though his nationalist opponents are charging that he would appoint Israelis to key positions and corrupt Russia’s relationship with Middle Eastern nations. While he impressed Jewish community leaders during Hannukah, before Putin announced that Medvedev was his preference to succeed him as President, now they are worried that “it would be better for the Jewish community if he did not identify himself as Jewish, so as not to draw fire.” (Ha’aretz, Feb. 22)

FORMER PRESIDENT INDICTED­ (Jerusalem) Former Israeli President Moshe Katsav was indicted Thursday, charged with committing an indecent act, without consent. He will appear at a hearing and is expected to plead guilty to a plea-bargain for reduced charges. He could have served up to seven years in prison, but the prosecution and defence will both recommend that he be given a one-year suspended sentence. The prosecution insists, however, that the court determine that the crimes involved moral turpitude, which would strip Katsav of an estimated NIS 1.1 million per year he receives as a former president for his home, office, staff, and vehicle costs. (Jerusalem Post, Feb. 28)

 IRAN, FACED WITH EVIDENCE, REFUSES TO BACK DOWN­ (New York) The International Atomic Energy Agency announced that it confronted Iran for the first time with Western intelligence reports showing that Iran was developing atomic weapons and had failed to provide it with satisfactory answers. The U.S. obtained the information on a laptop spirited out of Iran in 2005, but for security reasons only authorised the IAEA to reveal it last month. Teheran finally answered some other long-standing IAEA questions, but it also affirmed it would continue to enrich uranium in defiance of UN Security Council demands to cease. Since not all issues were addressed by it before the February deadline, additional sanctions were imposed Monday. Yesterday, Russia clarified its position, urging Iran to comply with the Security Council’s resolutions. (Globe & Mail, Feb. 23; NYT, Feb. 24; National Post, Mar. 5)