Comments (0)Senate Panel Passes Iran Sanctions
November 8, 2009Washington
JTA Wire Service
The U.S. Senate Banking Committee passed an Iran sanctions bill by a unanimous vote.
The Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability and Divestment Act of 2009 passed Oct. 30 includes the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act, which would strengthen the U.S. president’s authority to sanction companies that help Iran import or produce refined petroleum. That is seen as potentially having a large impact on Iran’s economy because the country imports up to 40 percent of its refined petroleum.
Similar legislation had been passed a day earlier by the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee.
The Senate version also includes portions of the Iran Sanctions Enabling Act, legislation passed by the House earlier this month that protects from lawsuits state and local pension funds who want to divest from Iran. In addition, it would ban all imports from Iran, strengthen export controls to stop the diversion of sensitive technology to Iran through third countries and mandate that the president file a report every six months on sanctionable activities.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations both issued statements applauding passage of the bill in the committees. Both bills face further deliberation before full house votes.
“This comprehensive Iran sanctions legislation will reinforce American diplomacy should Iran continue to defy the international community and five U.N. Security Council resolutions by continuing to enrich uranium, refuse unfettered nuclear inspections and cover up the extent of its nuclear program,” AIPAC said in a statement. “The law would force Tehran to confront a real choice: continue its illicit nuclear program and risk economic ruin or suspend the program and open the door to relief from sanctions.”
Accused Spy Passed Data to Israel, Prosecutors Say
An alleged American spy passed classified material to Israel, U.S. prosecutors said.
Stewart Nozette, a U.S. government scientist who was caught last month in a sting operation, told an undercover FBI agent who he thought was an Israeli Mossad agent that he had passed information to Israel in the past, the prosecution said during an Oct. 30 hearing in U.S. District Court in Washington.
Though prosecutors said that Nozette transmitted information to Israel, the official charges do not contain those allegations.
Nozette, a Maryland resident who had demanded an Israeli passport from the undercover agent in exchange for information and had gold Krugerrand coins worth tens of thousands of dollars hidden in a safe deposit box in California, was named a flight risk by Magistrate Judge Deborah Robinson and ordered held without bail until trial.
Nozette worked for several decades on U.S. government science and space projects and had a high-level security clearance.
Police: L.A. Synagogue Shooting Likely Not Hate Crime
Los Angeles Police say there is no evidence of a hate crime or connections to terrorism in the shooting of two Orthodox Jews at a Los Angeles-area synagogue.
Police initially listed the Oct. 30 shooting at the Adat Yeshurun Valley Sephardic Synagogue in North Hollywood, Calif., as a hate crime, but sources told the Los Angeles Times that police are now looking into the possibility that it was related to a business or personal dispute. Police said one victim may have been the target and the other was shot because he witnessed the attack.
Maor Ben-Nissan, 53, and Allen Lasry both were shot in the legs. They were rushed to a hospital and underwent surgery, and were reported in good condition.
The shooter fled on foot. Police arrested a 17-year old African-American as a possible suspect, but released him. Detectives are studying videos taken by the synagogue’s security cameras.
The same morning, a police bomb squad investigated a suspicious-looking shopping bag at the historic Wilshire Boulevard Temple and cordoned off the building. Police gave an all-clear after a three-hour search.
Security guards making the rounds had reported an unattended canvas shopping bag inside the gates, which had not been there the night before.
Howard Kaplan, the temple’s executive director, said, “In light of the North Hollywood shooting this morning, we decided to err on the side of caution.”
In the Adat Yeshurun shooting, a man described as dark skinned and wearing a black hooded sweatshirt had approached Ben-Nissan and Lasry in the synagogue’s underground garage at approximately 6:20 a.m. Oct. 30 and attempted to shoot one before his gun jammed. When the second congregant approached, the gunman shot both men.
Yehuda Oz, 57, was inside the synagogue with about 20 others when he heard four shots. One of the victims then ran into the synagogue, bleeding and screaming for help, Oz said.
Among the first responders to the crime were a Hatzolah emergency aid team, as well as representatives of Chabad, the Anti-Defamation League, Simon Wiesenthal Center and the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles’ family service, education and rabbinical agencies.
“Regrettably, these attacks seem to go in cycles and peak near the time of Jewish holidays,” said John Fishel, president of the L.A. Jewish federation. “There’s a fine line between being alert and prepared, but not giving in to excessive anxiety or panic.”
The federation and ADL joined police in urging synagogues and Jewish schools to take extra precautions.
Adat Yeshurun has a diverse congregation, with some 150 families from Cuba, Argentina, Panama, Guatemala, Mexico, Algiers, Tunisia, Libya and Israel. The synagogue is located in an area with a large Orthodox Jewish population and numerous kosher stores, the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles reported.
This story reprinted courtesy of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.