Shorts: U.S.

Evangelical refuses to apologize for stem-cell research Nazi comparison

washington (jta) | An evangelical political leader defended his comments comparing stem-cell research to Nazi medical experiments.

James Dobson, who founded the group Focus on the Family, said his "recent comments are being spun like a top by the ultraliberals who don't care about unborn life." Officials from the Anti-Defamation League and the Reform movement's Religious Action Center have issued statements calling on Dobson to repudiate his comments.

Dobson told a radio show last week that embryonic stem-cell research may have the potential to produce positive findings, but it should be condemned the way Nazi "experiments" on concentration-camp inmates during the Holocaust were condemned.




Messianic messaging in Manhattan

new york (jta) | A billboard calling the late Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson the messiah went up in Manhattan.

Newsday reported last week that the billboard's sponsor, a group called Jewish Women United for the Messiah, believes that publicly acknowledging the deceased Chabad leader as the messiah will hasten the onset of the messianic era, according to a spokeswoman for the group, Basha Oka Botnick.

Chabad officials repeatedly have distanced themselves from such messianic groups.




Jewish players cover the field

new york (jta) | Three Jewish baseball players took the field at the same time for the Boston Red Sox.

Gabe Kapler, Kevin Youkilis and Adam Stern all played the ninth inning for the Red Sox in their 11-6 victory Monday, Aug. 8, over the Texas Rangers.

The event will be recorded on a card in the second edition of a Jewish baseball card set, slated to be ready for Chanukah this year. More information about the Jewish card set will be available at jewishmajorleaguers.org. The 1946 New York Giants had five Jewish players on their roster, though it's not known whether all played together on the field at the same time.