Shorts: U.S.

Houston Jew dies fleeing Rita

new york (jta) | A Jewish woman from Houston died when a bus evacuating residents of an assisted-living community ahead of Hurricane Rita caught fire.

Bessie Kaplan, 92, was among an estimated 24 people killed when a bus chartered by Brighton Gardens of Bellaire burst into flames as it was bringing residents of the assisted-living community to Dallas. Another passenger, Ruby Goldberg, was treated for injuries at Dallas' Parkland Hospital and released. Authorities believe a mechanical failure caused the fire.




New Orleans out as Maccabi host

new york (jta) | New Orleans no longer will be a host of next year's JCC Maccabi Games.

New Orleans was to be the kick-off site of the four-city games next summer until Hurricane Katrina ravaged the city, the Atlanta Jewish Times reported. The other host cities are Phoenix, Stamford, Conn., and Vancouver. New Orleans has yet to be replaced.




Chabad to dedicate Pentagon Torah

new york (jta) | The Lubavitch movement is dedicating a Torah at the Pentagon to mark the 9/ 11 terrorist attack there.

The Torah will be installed in a chapel built precisely where a hijacked plane hit on Sept. 11, 2001. The Aleph Institute, a Chabad affiliate that reaches out to prisoners and troops, is dedicating the Torah in coordination with the Pentagon chaplain's office.




Jewish Republican woman to chair public broadcasting

washington (jta) | A former chairwoman of the Republican Jewish Coalition was chosen to lead the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Cheryl Halpern was elected by the corporation's board Monday, Sept. 26, to replace Kenneth Tomlinson, whose term as chair expired. As a board member, Halpern has been critical of Middle East reporting by National Public Radio, which the board oversees.

"We have a duty to provide the public an explanation for the kind of work we do," Halpern said in Washington after being elected. "And we must honor the principles clearly stated in our charter, to encourage objective and balanced programming."




20 years for JDL bomb plot

los angeles (jta) | A Los Angeles court sentenced a member of the Jewish Defense League to 20 years in prison for plotting to bomb a mosque and the office of an Arab American congressman.

U.S. District Court Judge Ronald Lew handed Earl Krugel the maximum sentence last week for his role in the 2001 plot, which targeted the King Fahd Mosque in Culver City and a regional office of Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.).

Three years that he already has spent in prison will be counted against the sentence of Krugel, 62, who expressed remorse for the plot. JDL leader Irv Rubin, also arrested in the case, died in prison in 2002 in unclear circumstances.




New beer for the new year

new york (jta) | San Francisco's most well-known Jewish beer company has brewed a special beer for Rosh Hashanah.

He'Brew's Jewbelation 5766 is a nut-brown ale made from nine malts and hops to mark the company's ninth anniversary, He'Brew owner Jeremy Cowan said. The company currently makes 24,000 cases of its different brews each year. More information on the Jewbelation 5766 brew is available at http://www.schmaltz.com.




Jewish institutions get security funds

new york (jta) | Thirty Jewish institutions in New York City received government money to help bolster security.

The yeshivas and synagogues received an average grant of $65,000 each as part of a $7.3 million aid package to nonprofit groups in New York City and its suburbs. Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) helped the institutions get the money, which came from federal and state homeland security funds.




Rabbi arrested outside White House

washington (jta) | Police outside the White House detained a rabbi protesting the Iraq war.

Rabbi Arthur Waskow of the Shalom Center in Philadelphia joined dozens of other protesters who sat down this week on the sidewalk in front of the White House and refused police entreaties to move.

Waskow, who wore a bright blue tallit, was handcuffed and put on a bus with other protesters.




Student kicked off college newspaper

new york (jta) | A Jewish student at the University of North Carolina was kicked off the student newspaper after writing an article defending racial profiling.

Jillian Bandes, 20, was kicked off the Daily Tar Heel after she wrote in a column that she wanted all Arabs to be "stripped naked and cavity-searched if they got within 100 yards of an airport," the Forward reported.

The paper's editor originally defended the column, but later fired her, saying she had misrepresented the views of three Arab Americans whom she quoted as agreeing with her. Bandes, the daughter of a Jewish man and Catholic woman, who grew up attending a Reform temple, said that if she had to do it over again she would state her argument differently.