Shorts: U.S.

N.J. waitress writes 'Jew Couple' on check

allenhurst, n.j. (ap) | The bill was a shocker, and not because of the amount.

After eating at a New Jersey shore restaurant, Elliott Stein and his girlfriend were handed a bill that said "Jew Couple" near the bottom, as a table identifier used by the wait staff. The slur also turned up on Stein's credit card statement weeks later.

The New Jersey Attorney General's Office said last week it is investigating the July incident at Parkhill's Waterfront Grill through its Division on Civil Rights.




Plea reinstated in JDL bomb case

new york (jta) | A U.S. judge reinstated a plea deal in the case of a Jewish radical accused of bomb plots against Muslim targets.

This week's decision means prosecutors cannot pursue additional charges against Earl Krugel, a member of the Jewish Defense League arrested in 2001 in California for plotting to bomb a mosque and the offices of a Lebanese American congressman. Krugel's accomplice, Irv Rubin, killed himself in jail in 2002.




Conservative Jews say Roberts is OK

washington (jta) | The Conservative movement deemed Judge John Roberts "qualified to serve" on the U.S. Supreme Court.

The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism sent a letter this week to Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), chair of the U.S. Senate's Judiciary Committee, concluding that the movement considers Roberts qualified to be a Supreme Court justice.

The movement said Roberts is well-educated, avoids an ideologically defined approach to judicial interpretation and has a "balanced respect for foundational documents, reasonable interpretation and societal realities."

Confirmation hearings for Roberts begin next month.