SJSU issues apology to Consul General
The president of San Jose State University has issued a letter to Israel Consul General Akiva Tor, apologizing for students’ disruptive behavior during an on-campus event last month.
Tor, representing the Northwest Pacific region in San Francisco, was invited to speak at the student union Feb. 5 to discuss the situation in Gaza, the Israel elections and other timely issues regarding the political discourse between Israeli and Palestinian regions.
Constant outbursts from audience members during a Q&A session, including accusations that Tor was “full of lies,” prevented Tor from finishing his talk, according to the Spartan Daily campus newspaper.
“Freedom of expression is inexorably connected to the importance of ensuring that all voices are given the opportunity to speak and to be heard in a respectful manner,” wrote SJSU President Jon Whitmore. “We are working to encourage more respectful dialogue in all future events on our campus.”
Whitmore also apologized for the delay in sending his letter, dated Feb. 23, explaining that it took time to examine “all of the issues related to this event and identifying proactive solutions.”
Holocaust scholar to speak in Palo Alto
Author and Holocaust scholar Deborah Lipstadt will be in Palo Alto to deliver a lecture titled “In Every Generation They Wish to Destroy Us: Holocaust Denial, Anti-Semitism and Anti-Israelism as factors in Jewish Identity.”
The professor will speak at 8 p.m. March 22 at Congregation Kol Emeth. Admission is free. The Stephanie Sussman Memorial Fund is sponsoring the event.
Lipstadt is a professor of modern Jewish and Holocaust studies at Emory University in Atlanta. Her book “History on Trial” chronicles her role in her libel trial against Holocaust denier David Irving. She has written extensively on the Holocaust and Holocaust denial.
Kol Emeth is located at 4175 Manuela Ave., Palo Alto. For more information, contact Adeena Sussman at (917) 374-8456.
Demand soars for Birthright Israel trips
After only nine days of registration, more than 35,000 young Jews in North America had applied for the 8,000 available free 10-day educational trips to Israel this spring and summer. That’s double the average number of applicants Birthright usually receives.
Due to the exceptionally high demand, registration, which began Feb. 19, is already closed — the shortest registration period ever. Students from San Francisco, Berkeley, Davis, Santa Cruz and Stanford are among those signed up for spring trips.
Emergency scholarships aid students
The S.F.-based Jewish Community Federation’s Jewish Preschool Scholar-ship Fund and Jewish Day School Scholarship Fund have released emergency scholarships to families suffering from the economic downturn.
A total of $225,000 was granted, enabling 89 children to remain in their schools, according to the S.F.-based federation.
Families of many of the almost 4,000 children attending Jewish schools in the federation’s service area are facing financial hardship, and the current recession has depleted the existing scholarship funds used by these schools.
School administrators and leadership expressed gratitude for the scholarships, which are administered by the S.F.-based Bureau of Jewish Education on behalf of the JCF.
As the economy continues to struggle, more funds will be needed to keep children enrolled in their schools.
For more information on how to help in this and other community needs, contact Lisa Gurwitch, executive director of the Jewish Community Endowment Fund, at (415) 512-6211 or [email protected].
Silicon Valley JFS to hold benefit
Jewish Family Services of Silicon Valley will hold its 30th anniversary celebration, “Small Plates, High Spirits and All that Jazz,” on March 22 at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View.
Proceeds will benefit JFS’ Project N.O.A.H. (No One Abandoned Here), which provides assistance to community residents in crisis.
Food, wine and entertainment will be part of the evening lineup, with gourmet food prepared by local chefs and paired with wine poured by select California vintners. The Simply Jazz trio will perform. Scott Budman, NBC11 technology reporter, will serve as master of ceremonies and auctioneer.
Stephen Schleimer and his wife, Cyndi Sherman, will be honored for their work on behalf of the community. He is president of the Jewish Family Services board; she is director of the Addison-Penzak JCC’s preschool.
Tickets for the 5 p.m. event are $95 per person, or six for $500. For more information or tickets, go to www.jfssv.org/news_ details.html or contact Sandi Gaertner at [email protected] or (408) 357-7543.
‘Mini-Madoffs’ in Los Angeles face federal charges
A Jewish business executive in Los Angeles whose foundation mostly gave to Jewish causes is facing federal fraud charges.
The alleged man- ipulation by Bruce Karatz did not approach the scale or impact of Bern-ard Madoff’s alleg-ed $50 billion Ponzi scheme, but further unsettled a Jewish community affected by its fallout.
Karatz was indicted by a federal grand jury on 20 counts of mail, wire and securities fraud, and making false statements.
Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange Commission sued another “Mini-Madoff”: Jewish business executive in Los Angeles, Bruce Friedman, over charges that he diverted investors’ money for personal luxuries and to his private foundation. Friedman also gave to Jewish causes but on a smaller scale than Karatz. — jta
Ramah offering Passover camp
Looking to do something different this Passover?
Camp Ramah in Ojai is inviting families to Passover Camp from April 8 to 17. There will be three services and three kosher-for-Passover meals daily, as well as educational programs, nature walks and family-friendly evening activities.
The scholar-in-residence, Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson, is an author, teacher and dean of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at the American Jewish University.
The family camp costs $1,765 per adult, $965 for youth ages 12 to 18, and $745 for children 12 and under. Individuals and families can also attend the first or the second four days of camp.
For more information about registration and rates, contact Camp Ramah at (310) 476-8571 or [email protected].
Man behind SoCal terrorism plot gets 16 years
One of four men accused of founding a terrorist group that plotted attacks on Jewish and military targets in California was sentenced to 16 years in federal prison.
Kevin James, 32, pleaded guilty in 2007 to conspiracy to wage war against the United States. Prosecutors had sought an 18-year prison term, but U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney said March 6 he decided on a lighter sentence after being convinced that James was remorseful.
Prosecutors said that in 1997, James founded a radical Islamic organization while serving time in state prison. They said he later recruited fellow inmate Levar Washington, 30, of Torrance.
Washington and Patterson robbed 11 gas stations in Los Angeles and Orange counties in May and July of 2005 to raise money for attacks on Los Angeles International Airport, Army recruiting stations, a military base and other targets, prosecutors said.
Synagogues and the Israeli Consulate also were to be targeted by remotely activated bombs, they said. None of the planned attacks took place. — ap