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September 24, 2008
Londoners Angered by Yom Kippur Election
London
JTA Wire Service
Jews living in a north London neighborhood are outraged that the local council has scheduled an election for Yom Kippur. The election was triggered by the resignation of a Liberal Democrat councilor from the Alexandra ward. More than 300 Jews live in the ward, equivalent to 4 percent of the eligible voters. “It’s a great shame,” Rabbi David Masson of the nearby Muswell Hill synagogue told the local Ham & High newspaper. “I haven’t seen an apology yet. It can’t take much for the council to get a calendar of the festivals.
“With all the complicated restrictions on the date, it puts it into ridicule,” the rabbi added. “And it’s not the first time this has happened. They have organized events and courses on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath.” Local Member of Parliament Lynne Featherstone said, “I feel very sad for the Jewish population.” She went on to say, “Anyone could tell you that Yom Kippur is the most high holiday. It’s not rocket science; you can find it in most calendars…It’s the sort of thing you don’t expect in Haringey, where everyone is supposed to be included, and here we find that the Jewish community is excluded.”
A council spokesman said, “We had little choice over the date. Under the rules, the window for the by-election was Sept. 30 to Oct. 10, excluding weekends.” Elections are traditionally held Thursdays in Great Britian, and a change from this tradition could affect other segments of the electorate, the spokesman said. Those not able to vote on Election Day can send in a ballot early by mail.
Jewish-Related Groups to Fete Sarkozy
French President Nicolas Sarkozy will be honored by two Jewish-related organizations in New York. The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity on Monday will recognize Sarkozy with its annual Humanitarian Award. On Tuesday, Sarkozy will receive the 2008 World Statesman Award from the interfaith Appeal of Conscience Foundation. A news release from the Wiesel foundation cited Sarkozy’s global efforts to support war-torn countries, determination to improve U.S.-French relations and consistent support of Israel. “President Sarkozy is a humanitarian with deep concern for those in need and has contributed greatly to impoverished countries,” Wiesel said. “The president’s compassion and sincerity in these efforts is admirable.” Previous recipients include First Lady Laura Bush, then-First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, King Juan Carlos of Spain, President George H.W. Bush, then-French First Lady Danielle Mitterand and, most recently, Oprah Winfrey in 2007. At the Appeal of Conscience Foundation event, the organization’s president and founder, Rabbi Arthur Schneier, will present the award to Sarkozy. Henry Kissinger, the former U.S. secretary of state, will introduce the French leader, who will be joined by his wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy.
Prasquier: Attack on Teens was Anti-Semitic
Three Jewish teens in Paris were attacked recently because of their faith, a French Jewish leader reiterated. A Jewish suspect charged with participating in the group assault of the kipot-wearing teens on Sept. 6 “intervened at a later time,” said Richard Prasquier, the president of the French Jewish umbrella organization CRIF in an interview with the daily Le Figaro published Saturday. Paris prosecutors ruled out anti-Jewish motives to the crime last week mainly because one of the five suspects charged was Jewish, though Jewish leaders and French officials initially believed otherwise. Though his participation did not absolve the suspect of having racist motives, Prasquier said an act can be defined as anti-Semitic when a Jewish target is singled out. “There were a lot of people out that Saturday afternoon, and it was at them [the three Jewish teens] that the projectiles were thrown. It’s from that point on that one can legitimately evoke the motive of anti-Semitism,” said Prasquier. “The fact that one of the attackers, whom moreover intervened at a later time, is Jewish doesn’t change the problem: The anti-Semitic act comes from the choice of target and not from the person who commits it.” Paris prosecutors could not confirm when the Jewish suspect began to participate in the crime. In the same interview, Prasquier also lamented that French Jews are so accustomed to various and widespread forms of anti-Semitism that they do not even report incidents. Though the number of such crimes has not risen in France, he said it remains at a steady “high” level of 82 incidents for the first four months of 2008. “The most worrisome is to see the most classic theses of anti-Semitism recycled today … a kind of normalization of anti-Semitism,” he said.
This story reprinted courtesy of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.