Shorts: Bay Area

Lantos goes to bat for Chabad

Rep. Tom Lantos (D-San Mateo) has written to Vladimir Putin, asking the Russian president to see to it that the Schneerson archives are given to Chabad.

The archives, which belonged to the Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson, were confiscated when he fled the country at the onset of the Holocaust. The archives were assumed to be destroyed by the Nazis but, in fact, were recovered by the Soviet Army and brought to Moscow.

Now Chabad is asking for them to be returned, claiming they are not being stored properly and are in danger of being ruined.

"The restoration of illegally seized and held property from the victims of the Holocaust is a noble cause for all humanity," Lantos wrote in a letter last week.




Berkeley activist in detention in Israel

Kate Bender-Raphael, a Jewish activist from Berkeley, remained in an Israeli jail at press time, after being arrested Dec. 14.

Bender-Raphael, 45, was denied bail and filed an appeal to her deportation order.

She was in the West Bank under the auspices of the International Women's Peace Service and was arrested in Bil'in while filming a confrontation between activists and the Israel Defense Forces at a security barrier. Bender-Raphael, who is active in Queers Undermining Israeli Terrorism (QUIT) and San Francisco Women in Black, was arrested last year for the same offense, and was eventually deported.




Russian officials to come to S.F.

A delegation of community leaders from Novgorod, Russia, will visit San Francisco in January. The delegates are participating in the Climate of Trust program, sponsored by the Bay Area Council for Jewish Rescue and Renewal.

This is the fifth year of the Climate of Trust program. The BACJRR partners with the San Francisco Police Department to educate Russian officials on how they can promote tolerance and fight anti-Semitism. The delegates will be welcomed at a private dinner reception with Russian Consul General Viktor Lizun.




Fair features summer camps, Israel programs

Representatives from more than 50 Jewish camps and other summer programs in the United States, Israel and elsewhere will be on hand Sunday, Jan. 23, for the Jewish Summer Camps and Israel Program Fair.

The event takes place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Jewish Community High School of the Bay, 1835 Ellis St. in San Francisco (www.israelcentersf.org/summer-fair/2005).

Parents and youth can learn about overnight and day camps, adventure programs, specialty camps and family programs. In addition, there will be children's activities.

Attendees also can find out about adult programs, volunteer opportunities and summer job possibilities, as well as scholarships.

The event is sponsored by the S.F.-based Jewish Community Federation, its Israel Center and other organizations.

Admission is free. Information: Shiri Limor, (415) 512-6267 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address); or Tamar Cohen, (415) 512-6203 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).