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Friday, September 01, 2006
Some headlines and summaries from JTA
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Critical congressman tours Israel
A Democratic congressman who came under fire after calling for an immediate cease-fire during Israel’s Lebanon war visited Israel.
Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) toured Israel for five days at the end of last month. He told the Washington Jewish Week that the trip “reinforced my ongoing commitment to ensuring Israel survives and thrives in a very dangerous neighborhood.”
The American Israel Education Foundation, which is affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, sponsored the trip, and an AIPAC staffer accompanied Van Hollen.
Van Hollen had infuriated constituents in his affluent suburban Washington riding when he wrote to Condoleezza Rice, the U.S. secretary of state, to urge her to call for an immediate cease-fire, saying the deaths of hundreds of Lebanese civilians were not in the best interests of Israel or the United States.
DC JCRC asks Cathedral to drop Khatami
Washington’s Jewish Community Relations Council asked the National Cathedral to rescind an invitation to the former Iranian president.
Mohammad Khatami, who was president from 1997-2005, is scheduled to address an audience at the cathedral on Thursday. Khatami was elected as a reformer, but failed to prevent the consolidation of Iran’s theocracy.
The JCRC said Khatami’s “reform” was a panacea for Iran’s continued backing of terrorism against Israel and other targets.
“His reign, like that of his successor, has been repressive, intolerant, and autocratic,” the letter said. “All the evidence contradicts his reputation as a reformer.”
National Jewish groups have denounced the U.S. State Department decision to award Khatami a visa.
The National Cathedral, run by Episcopalians, is open to all faiths and often serves as the site for national events, including presidential inaugural prayers and the service after the Sept. 11 attacks.
Activist: ‘Crusaders’ inappropriate in military
A Jewish activist seeking to contain the promotion of Christianity in the U.S. military complained about a fighter squadron that calls itself “The Crusaders.”
Airmen of the 523rd Fighter Squadron, based at Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico, “not only have invoked the term ‘Crusaders’ to describe their unit, they use blatantly sectarian religious symbolism on the patches they affix to their uniforms and the official logo of their unit,” retired Air Force officer Mikey Weinstein wrote in a letter to be published this Monday in military newspapers.
The emblem features a cross, sword and armored helmet. Weinstein leads the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, which combats evangelism in the military.
http://www.jta.org/
posted by Somebody @ 11:01 PM Permanent Link
 
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