ADL Headlines: A Bi-Weekly News Bulletin from the Anti-Defamation League

     

Hispanic Community Reacts to Immigration Report Congress Urged to Press Governments to Respond to Anti-Semitism Poland Should Reject Extremist Parties Sweden Legitimizes Hamas Terror House Committee Seeks to Breach Church-State Wall MySpace: Protecting Kids Online Arizona: Holocaust Survivor Graduates High School Boston: Cardinal Speaks Out Against Anti-Semitism Denver: Holocaust Program Draws Thousands Houston: Beating Has Indicators of Hate Crime Michigan Right to Refuse Funding to Faith-Based Group Missouri: Holocaust Education Bill Passes Senate Media Watch May 11, 2006      In Memoriam: Sister Rose Thering, A Woman of Valor ADL mourns the passing of Sister Rose Thering, our dear friend and colleague in promoting Christian-Jewish relations. Sr. Thering, who died this week at age 85, understood early in life that anti-Semitism was wrong and devoted herself to working against it. For her seminal role in convincing the Vatican to repudiate the centuries-old charge of deicide against the Jewish people, and her years of teaching the lessons of the Holocaust to students of all ages, ADL honored Sr. Thering with its Cardinal Bea Interfaith Award. More >> Sister Rose: A Woman of Valor By Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director     Anti-Semitism In The Arab World Cartoon of the Week Al-Watan, May 2, 2006 (Qatar) In Arabic: “No to the Palestinian Aid.” Click to Enlarge Hispanic Community Reacts to Immigration Report ADL’s groundbreaking report on extremists co-opting the national discussion on immigration to sow seeds of prejudice was widely disseminated and discussed among American Hispanics, with the report getting the attention of Spanish-language newspapers, television networks and Web sites. Since releasing the report last month, ADL has continued its outreach to Latino civil rights and community organizations across the country, both at the local and national level, offering resources and assistance on extremist groups and security awareness. More>> In the News: El Diario/La Prensa Univision Congress Urged to Press Governments to Respond to Anti-Semitism In a briefing on Capitol Hill, ADL urged members of Congress to engage more governments in implementing programs to combat anti-Semitism across the 55 participating states of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.   More >> Poland Should Reject Extremist Parties The League expressed grave concern to Polish Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz about the prospect of his forming a coalition government with the extremist political parties Self-Defence and the League of Polish Families. Leaders of both parties have made statements suggesting sympathy for racist and anti-Semitic views.  More>> In the News: Forward Sweden Legitimizes Hamas Terror ADL condemned Sweden’s decision to grant a visa to a representative of Hamas, saying it “legitimizes terror” and compromises the European Union stance of having no dealings with the Palestinian terrorist organization unless its leaders recognize Israel and disavow violence and terrorism. More>> House Committee Seeks to Breach Church-State Wall A provision included in the 2007 Department of Defense Authorization Bill by the House Armed Services Committee would circumvent the separation of church and state by promoting sectarian prayer in official military ceremonies.  More>> MySpace: Protecting Kids Online The social networking site MySpace has enabled some kids to use their 15 megabits of fame to feature racist, misogynistic, homophobic and anti-Semitic content. Chris Wolf, Chair of ADL’s Internet Task Force, argues that industry self-regulation is an effective means of dealing with such offensive but legal online content.  More>> Arizona: Holocaust Survivor Graduates High School Thanks to the students at Marcos de Niza High School in Tempe, Arizona, the date of May 5 will forever have a new meaning for Carl Ofisher, a Holocaust survivor who never completed high school as a result of his confinement in five concentration camps during World War II. More>> Boston: Cardinal Speaks Out Against Anti-Semitism In his first public remarks on Catholic-Jewish relations, Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley of Boston reaffirmed the message of Nostre Aetate, vowing that the Catholic efforts to remove anti-Semitic teachings and traditions from Church teachings would continue. At the event, ADL presented the 2006 Tishler Confronting Anti-Semitism Award to Father Daniel J. Mahoney, pastor of St. Frances de Sales Parish in Charlestown and fire department chaplain, in recognition of his lifelong efforts against anti-Semitism, bigotry and prejudice.  In the News: Boston Globe, “O’Malley Fights Anti-Semitism” Boston Globe, “Afire With Faith” Denver: Holocaust Program Draws Thousands More than 1,500 people attended the ADL’s 25th annual Governor’s Holocaust Remembrance Program, where David Gewirtzman, a child Holocaust survivor, and Eugenie Mukeshimana, a survivor of the Rwandan genocide, together shared their compelling stories of survival and redemption amidst horrific humanitarian atrocities. ADL recognized former Gov. Richard D. Lamm and former ADL regional directors Sheldon Steinhauser and Saul Rosenthal for their efforts to help raise awareness of the Holocaust in the State of Colorado.  Houston: Beating Has Indicators of Hate Crime ADL reacted with outrage to the beating and sodomizing of a 16-year-old Hispanic boy, saying that the crime carried the hallmarks of a bias crime, with one of the alleged perpetrators purporting to be a racist skinhead.  More>> Michigan Right to Refuse Funding to Faith-Based Group In a “friend of the court” brief before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, ADL defended the state of Michigan’s decision to refuse funding to a faith-based program for abused and abandoned children. The League said the Teen Ranch organization “infuses Christianity into its publicly funded residential care program and proselytizes kids placed there by the state.” More>> Missouri: Holocaust Education Bill Passes Senate The Missouri House voted unanimously in favor of a bill establishing the Missouri Commission on Holocaust Education and Awareness. ADL spearheaded the legislative effort, which provides for the establishment of a new commission housed in the Education Department with a primary mission to promote implementation of Holocaust education programs and resources. Missouri is one of 18 states nationwide to have enacted Holocaust Commissions or mandated statewide Holocaust education programs.  Media Watch Jimmy Carter Wrong on Hamas 5/09/06 Carter trivializes and mischaracterizes the challenges facing the international community in response to Hamas's governance over the Palestinians. Molly Ivins: False Positions on ‘Israel Lobby’ 4/28/06 Molly Ivins made several false arguments in her defense of the academic paper by professors John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt. Independent Exaggerates 'Israel Lobby' 4/28/06 It appears that The (UK) Independent has bought into the conspiratorial charge of an all-powerful pro-Israel lobby. Hartford Courant: Letter Omits Danger to Israel 4/21/06 The assertion that Israel has attacked its neighbors without justification ignores the fact that Israel is the only country in the Middle East under perpetual threat. Editor's Note: The next edition of ADL Headlines will appear on May 25, 2006. 2006 Anti-Defamation League. All rights reserved. Donate | Change Your E-mail Address | Update your E-mail Preferences | Unsubscribe | Privacy Policy