World Report

WASHINGTON (JTA) -- President Bush said Vladimir Putin assured him that "anti-Semitism has no place in a modern Russia."

The president reported on his recent meeting with the Russian president in a letter to leaders of NCSJ: Advocates on Behalf of Jews in Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic States & Eurasia. "Mr. Putin provided clear assurances that his government would take concrete actions to promote our common interest in core human rights and basic freedoms," the president wrote.

Mass graves excavated at Sobibor death camp

WARSAW (JTA) -- Archaeologists found mass graves at the former Nazi death camp in Sobibor. The excavations were the first since World War II at the camp, which is located in eastern Poland.

The graves could provide valuable new evidence about the number of victims, mainly Jews, who died in the Sobibor gas chambers. According to official Polish accounts, 250,000 people were killed there by the Nazis.

Citing terrorist threats, center to open quietly

BRASÍLIA (JTA) -- Opening ceremonies for a Jewish center in Brazil were canceled. Citing terrorist threats, the board of directors of the center in the city of Recife said the building will be opened to the public without any official ceremonies.

The center, located where the 17th-century Zur Israel Synagogue once stood, is slated to host public lectures and an exhibit on Jewish immigration to Brazil.

The opening was indefinitely postponed last month after Brazil's president refused to attend a dedication ceremony because he feared a possible terrorist attack.

Russian Jewish head enjoys political success

MOSCOW (JTA) -- A Russian Jewish leader was elected to the upper house of the country's parliament.

Leonid Nevzlin, the president of the Russian Jewish Congress, was unanimously elected Nov. 22 to the Federation Council by the legislature of one of Russia's regions. Nevzlin said he will work for the region's interests, as well as build interethnic relations.

Nevzlin is a former official of a leading Russian oil company.

Italian rabbi assumes chief post in Rome

ROME (JTA) -- Rome has a new chief rabbi. Dr. Riccardo Di Segni, 52, who was elected to the post last week, will succeed 86-year-old Elio Toaff.

Di Segni has served as director of Italy's rabbinical college since 1999.