Shorts: U.S.

Thousands mark anniversary of rebbe's death

new york (jta) | More than 30,000 people streamed by the grave site of the Lubavitcher rebbe to mark the 11th anniversary of his death. Many of the visitors reflected and prayed this week at Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson's burial place in the Old Montefiore Cemetery in Queens, N.Y., said Rabbi Zalman Shmotkin, a spokesman for Chabad-Lubavitch.

"The tens of thousands who came to the rebbe's grave site ... is testament to the ever-increasing mark the rebbe's soul continues to have around the world," said Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky, a leader of the Lubavitch movement.




Jewish ads hit GOP in Air Force fracas

washington (jta) | The National Jewish Democratic Council released a series of ads attacking Republican lawmakers over religious intolerance at the U.S. Air Force Academy.

A glowering Uncle Sam asks, "Have YOU been born again?" in the ads unveiled this week, which will be published in Jewish newspapers in Florida and Texas. The ads target the House majority leader, Tom DeLay (R-Tex.), and U.S. Reps. Clay Shaw (R-Fla.) and John Culberson (R-Tex.), who voted against an amendment last month that called on the academy to address charges of religious coercion.