Passaic mayor ousts a top official

PASSAIC — Mayor Alex D. Blanco fired Jane Grubin, director of human services, late last week, in the biggest personnel move since he named a new business administration in June. And there may be more changes soon.

Sources with firsthand knowledge said Monday that the next employee on the chopping block is Planning Director Glenn Carter, who declined comment.

Grubin, who was appointed by former Mayor Sammy Rivera in 2001, was let go Friday. Business Administrator Anthony Iacono said Monday that there could be more restructuring. “Like all administrations, there are changes and that is our prerogative,” he said. “This is one of a few moves and other personnel moves are coming.” He declined to elaborate.

Attempts to reach Blanco were unsuccessful.

Iacono said that Grubin’s dismissal was not a political decision, even though Grubin’s husband, Simon Grubin, supported Blanco’s opponent, Vincent Capuana, in May’s mayoral election. Jane Grubin said she was proud of her work and both she and Iacono said her termination was unrelated to her performance.

“I serve at the pleasure of the mayor or at the whim of this mayor,” Grubin said. “It is their prerogative, that’s all. It wasn’t because I did a poor job. It had nothing to do with my job performance. I just hope they have someone from Passaic to fill that position and someone who cares about the people of Passaic.”

Grubin, who grew up in one of the city’s most prominent families, the Gurtmans, said her eight years in the job offered her a chance to give back to the community.

Her grandfather, Max Gurtman, owned a sheet company in Passaic, Max Gurtman and Son. He and the rest of the family contributed to local families and charities. Her father, Nathan, an architect, designed some of the city’s buildings, including the former Ginsburg’s Department Store on Madison and Lexington avenues, and the Ahavas Israel synagogue on Van Houten Avenue.

“Anything I can do is very important, because I have been blessed and this was the perfect way to give back to the community,” Grubin said. “These things are important. It wasn’t a job. I loved going to work every day.”

The Human Services Department is the fourth largest department in the city and oversees a wide range of programs that help city residents, from free HIV testing and food programs for children to running a health clinic.

Grubin, who made $77,000 this year, said one initiative of which she’s particularly proud was rehabilitating the city’s animal shelter, which was slated for closure by the state in 2003.

“I was able to get money to redo the shelter to become a state model for animal shelters,” she said.

Grubin thanked her staff, which numbers 55, for their work. She specifically cited those health professionals who developed a pandemic flu plan, after which the state modeled its program.

Grubin said she will remain active in the community, remaining as board chairwoman of the Mental Health Clinic of Passaicand continuing her work on the Jewish Family Service Board.

P.C.J.N would like to thank Jane Grubin for all she has done for our City and especially the Jewish community. We wish her all the best.

(News Source: NorthJersey.com/PCJN)

Learn in honor of the people who were murdered in the Mumbai attacks.

Join in the community-wide Passaic-Clifton Siyum. Five years ago, over 300 people – representing every shul in the community – participated in a siyum on Torah, Neviim, Kesuvim, Mishna, and Shas Bavli. Take part in the upcoming siyum scheduled for Shavuos 5769. Demonstrate the Achdus and Ahavas Hatorah that is sure to have an impact on world, community and personal events.

When one participates in a siyum its as if they completed the entire limud themselves.- Margolius Hayam

Experts speculate gas may drop below $1 a gallon

A worker lowers the price of regular unleaded gasoline in Independence, Mo. in November
How low can the price of gas fall? With drivers paying the cheapest price to fill their tanks in nearly four years, it is a question many consumers are pondering, with some experts speculating it is possible prices could even drop below $1 per gallon.
Prices already have decreased to below $1.25 per gallon in some parts of the Midwest. With the economy in a freefall, analysts do not rule out crude oil, which traded Friday in the mid-$40 range, sinking to $20 per barrel, a price that could translate to gas at $1 per gallon.

“Right now, you look at the way demand is retreating, it tends to predict lower prices,” said John Kingston, global director of oil for Platt’s, a provider of energy information. “A drop to $20 per barrel is not out of the question.”

In New Jersey, the price of unleaded regular fell to $1.60 Friday, the lowest it has been since March 2004, said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst for Oil Price Information Services in Wall Township. In July, the state recorded its highest ever average price for unleaded at $3.99.

“I’m not in the camp where we’ll see prices fall to $1 per gallon or less,” said Kloza, who thinks crude could dip below $40 per barrel, but if so, only briefly. “Here, (in New Jersey), we will see some numbers below $1.50 per gallon.”

Capuana ops stay up and running in advance of next year’s contest

PASSAIC – It stands right across from City Hall, and although he came up 400 votes short in last week’s mayoral election, sources close to Vinny Capuana say his headquarters isn’t going anywhere.

It will remain open and active.

There is a mayor’s race next year, after all.

As mayor, Capuana’s conqueror, Alex Blanco, will enjoy the advantage of incumbency in next year’s mayoral contest for a full, four-year term.

But both Blanco and Capuana are trying to secure the backing of those other contestants in last week’s race to fill the unexpired term of Sammy Rivera: real estate developer Jose Sandoval, City Councilman Joe Garcia, and bail bondsman Carl Ellen.  PolitickerNJ.com

 

Reminders of Jersey greeted Corzine throughout Israel trip

New Jersey Governor Corzine

As he soaked up the sights and culture of Israel during a five-day trade mission halfway around the world last week, Gov. Jon Corzine often felt like New Jersey was just a Turnpike exit away.

From the first day of his journey to the last, Corzine stumbled upon reminders of his home state in all corners of the country.

Tourists recognized him during breakfasts at the hotel. Summer interns in the Knesset government headquarters told him they hailed from the Garden State. A cluster of Jersey schoolteachers descended on him at the Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem.

“It feels like I’m in New Jersey most of the time when I am in a public forum,” Corzine said early on in the trip.

New Jersey and Israel often invite comparisons over their similar size and population, as well as specializing in some of the same industries. New Jersey’s large Jewish community also makes for strong cultural ties.

But for the governor and his traveling posse, last week took the link to another level.

Bradley Abelow, Corzine’s chief of staff, took to calling the New Jersey state Legislature “our Knesset,” after the famously combative Israeli legislative branch.

Parallels popped up when driving around the country. Spotting a nasty traffic jam on the main north-south highway leading to the urban center of Tel Aviv, Ambassador Asaf Shariv, consul general of Israel in New York, pointed to the green exit signs and grinned. “It’s like the Turnpike, no?”

The governor’s motorcade – led by a blue stretch limousine provided by the Israeli government — was itself an attention magnet. Curious passers-by who were told the governor of New Jersey was inside sometimes asked if he was the one who romanced an “Israeli guy,” Shariv said.

Corzine’s predecessor, former Gov. James E. McGreevey, resigned from office after admitting a homosexual affair with Israeli national Golan Cipel, who claims McGreevey sexually harassed him.

One-on-one connections were equally bizarre. Visiting Israel’s leading technical university on Tuesday, Corzine made small talk with a professor showing off a surveillance camera embedded in a miniature helicopter. Soon they found common ground: both used to live in Summit.

Another random encounter brought Corzine face to face with Kenny Kleinerman, who said he worked with former Gov. Thomas Kean on developing E-ZPass.

By Thursday morning, it was hardly a surprise when Tal Brody – the Trenton Central High School graduate who achieved Israeli basketball superstardom – stopped by Corzine’s hotel.

“It was like musical chairs in terms of people coming to meet with him,” said Abe Foxman, a Bergen County resident and national director of the Anti-Defamation League who stumbled upon the governor in the hotel dining room one morning. “He’s so comfortable, you’d think he was in Jersey.”

The constant stream of connections clearly amused Corzine as he hawked Jersey as a home for Israeli business. On a tour of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot Thursday afternoon – the last public stop on his official trip – Corzine was shown an exhibit of dangling mirrors meant to portray chaos.

Want chaos? “Come to New Jersey,” he said.

“You’re from New Jersey?” asked his young tour guide, Hadas Cahalla.

“Yes,” said the governor. “Are you?”

For once, the answer was no. NJ.com

Squad leader claims ‘harassment’

Letter says Jewish group not up to code

PASSAIC — The city has told one of two Passaic-based Orthodox Jewish volunteer ambulance squads that it must shut down because the squad isn’t up to city code.

But the squad’s founder called the city’s action “harassment” and questioned why the other Jewish squad wasn’t scrutinized.

On Monday, the city sent a letter signed by its law firm, Scarinci & Hollenbeck, to David Kaplan, 26, founder of Hatzolah EMS of North Jersey, saying the squad wasn’t in compliance with city law.

The letter said Hatzolah must shut down operations by the end of the day on May 19 if it did not fulfill the requirements of proving that all volunteers are qualified and that the squad has insurance that covers any legal action against the city up to $2 million. The requirements are outlined in a 2004 ordinance.

Kaplan said his squad does meet city requirements and showed necessary proof to the city last September. A letter to Kaplan from former Mayor Samuel Rivera, dated Sept. 12, states that Hatzolah is qualified to provide emergency medical services in Passaic and that a certificate remains in effect for two years from that date.

But Acting Mayor Gary Schaer said to the best of his knowledge Hatzolah had not met all the city’s requirements.

Hatzolah is licensed to operate by the state’s Department of Health and Senior Services, although a license is not necessary to operate, said spokeswoman Marilyn Riley.

As of Wednesday, Hatzolah had not provided documentation to the city, Kaplan said. But Hatzolah is continuing operations anyway, he said, because Kaplan believes the city’s letter is unfair and unfounded.

To complicate matters, a second Hatzolah ambulance service with a similar name — Hatzolah of Passaic/Clifton — has never been used informally by the city and is not on the list of squads the city uses. Hatzolah means “rescue” in Hebrew. The squads are local chapters of a worldwide organization that has volunteer ambulance squads in Jewish neighborhoods.

Greg Hill, the business administrator, said the city has not checked whether the second Jewish squad is violating city law. Schaer, an Orthodox Jew, said he asked Hill on Tuesday to verify that all private ambulance squads comply with city law. Passaic has only the two Hatzolahs as private squads.

The city’s paid squad, which has two ambulances, is overseen by the Police Department. When both vehicles are in use, the city calls other municipalities and private squads to ask if they can dispatch an ambulance immediately. Andy White, police spokesman, said Kaplan’s Hatzolah has been called in recent months after the Clifton squad and a private company based at Hackensack University Medical Center.

Last week, the City Council entertained a resolution that would formally add Kaplan’s Hatzolah to the city’s list of mutual aid services. But the resolution was defeated by a 3-3 tie vote. A tie means the measure is rejected.

The three Orthodox Jewish council members voted against the resolution, while the three Hispanic members voted in favor.

Schaer, who proposed the resolution, said he voted against it because he believes Hatzolah was stoking ethnic divide in the city.

“Picking up an ambulance group that’s working primarily in one part of town — I don’t think it’s a good idea, if we’re continuing our fight to unite Passaic,” Schaer said.

Kaplan said Hatzolah serves the entire city, not just Jews.

“It’s ludicrous, because the whole point of doing 911 is we service anybody. We don’t ask them, ‘Are you Jewish? Are you Orthodox?’ when someone calls,” Kaplan said. “Gary Schaer has furthered the stereotype that we only want to help ourselves.”

Hatzolah gets an average of 600 calls a year to its direct line, Kaplan said. He did not know what percentage was Jewish.

Councilman Gerardo Fernandez said he supports the squad.

“We never had a problem before. We voted for it. I voted ‘yes’ because they’re providing a service with the community. They’ve been doing it all along,” Fernandez said.

On Tuesday, Schaer said that the letter sent to Kaplan was purely out of concern for public safety.

“It’s not my personal feelings at play here. This affects the health and welfare of city residents,” he said. “What’s relevant is what’s in compliance.”

Reach Karen Keller at 973-569-7158 or kellerk@northjersey.com myheraldnews.com

As many as 700 arrested in Iowa illegal immigration raid at the nation’s largest kosher meatpacking plant

POSTVILLE, Iowa — A raid by federal immigration officials at the nation’s largest kosher meatpacking plant may have resulted in as many as 700 arrests, immigration officials said Monday

Agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement entered the Agriprocessors Inc. complex in northeast Iowa Monday morning to execute a criminal search warrant for evidence relating to aggravated identity theft, fraudulent use of Social Security numbers and other crimes, said Tim Counts, a Midwest ICE spokesman.

Agents are also executing a civil search warrant for people illegally in the United States, he said.

Immigration officials told aides to Rep. Bruce Braley, D-Iowa, that they expect 600 to 700 arrests. About 1,000 to 1,050 people work at the plant, according to Iowa Workforce Development, the state’s employment services agency.

Chuck Larson, a truck driver for Agriprocessing, was in the plant when the agents arrived. “There has to be 100 of them,” he said of the agents.

Larson said the agents told workers to stay in place then separated them by asking those with identification to stand to the right and those with other papers, to stand to the left.

“There was plenty of hollering,” Larson said. “You couldn’t go anywhere.”

When asked who was separated, Larson said those standing in the group with other papers were all Hispanic

ICE spokesman Harold Ort in Postville did not confirm or deny that anyone had been detained, but went on to say that the children of those detained would be cared for and that “their caregiver situation will be addressed.”

“They were asked multiple times if they have any sole-caregiver issues or any childcare issues,” Ort said.

Aides to Braley said they have been told that “hundreds” of arrests are expected because the action is more of an “investigation” than an immigration raid, and specific individuals are being targeted for arrest as part of the investigation.

Counts described the events in Postville as a “single site operation.” He said he was not aware of any other immigration raids being conducted elsewhere Monday.

Postville Police Chief Michael Halse said he did not know anything about the raid until Monday morning.

Postville is a community of more than 2,500 people that includes natives of German and Norwegian heritage and newcomers who include Hasidic Jews from New York, plus immigrants from Mexico, Russian, Ukraine and many other countries.

The Agriprocessors plant, known as the nation’s largest kosher slaughterhouse, is northeast Iowa’s largest employer.

About 200 Hasidic Jews arrived in Postville in 1987, when butcher Aaron Rubashkin of Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighborhood reopened a defunct meat-packing plant with his two sons, Sholom and Heshy, just outside the city limits. Business boomed at the plant, reviving the depressed economy while pitting the newcomers against the predominantly Lutheran community.

Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack said that the Postville immigration investigations were warranted despite concerns that federal official violated the constitutional rights of people in past raids.

“Remember our concern has not been about whether or not there should be raids,” Vilsack said. “It’s the way the raids have been conducted and the way in which American citizens’ rights have been violated by virtue of sort of a roundup process that’s used and what we think are inappropriate and unconstitutional actions on the part of immigration officials.”

Vilsack and others have alleged that immigration officials used humiliation, opposite-sex searches and long periods of secrecy in the Dec. 12, 2006, raids at Swift & Co. in Marshalltown, Iowa, where 90 people were arrested on immigration charges. UsaToday.com

Clinton holds big leads in West Virginia and Kentucky

Even as her campaign appears to be in its final stages, Hillary Clinton is headed for two sweeping victories in West Virginia and Kentucky, the next two states to weigh in on the prolonged Democratic presidential race.

According to new polls released Monday, Clinton holds a 34 point lead in West Virginia and a 27 point lead in Kentucky.

In West Virginia, which votes Tuesday, a Suffolk University Poll has Clinton drawing 60 percent of likely Democratic voters compared to Obama’s 24 percent. That poll also shows Clinton holds a 70 percent approval rating among West Virginia’s Democratic primary voters. Only half the state’s primary the state’s likely primary voters think Barack Obama can beat John McCain in a general election matchup.

In Kentucky, a Research 2000 poll shows Clinton winning 58 percent of the vote to Obama’s 31 percent. But despite Clinton’s strength in the state, the poll suggests John McCain would easily defeat both Democrats in November — the Arizona senator holds a 25 point advantage over Obama and a 12 point lead over Clinton. Kentucky is considered a solidly Republican state, though former President Bill Clinton carried it twice. The state’s primary is May 20.

It remains unclear how Clinton’s likely large wins in both states will affect the presidential race, given Obama’s significant lead in total delegates. Only 28 pledged delegates are at stake in West Virginia Tuesday, while 51 are up for grabs in Kentucky. Cnn

Convictions still haunt ex-mayors

The real punishment may be the remaining life of regret, longing and debt.

Sammy Rivera, 61, may face as little as 18 months in prison when a federal judge sentences him in August for accepting a $5,000 bribe from an FBI informant. But when Rivera finishes whatever term he may receive, his troubles will be far from over if the experiences of other Passaic County mayors toppled by federal corruption charges are any indication.

Although their prison sentences stretched no longer than three years, their punishments seem to have lasted much longer.

Since emerging from their prison cells, three former Passaic County mayors — Louis V. Messercola of Wayne, Joseph Lipari of Passaic and Martin G. Barnes of Paterson — have been saddled with mountainous legal debts and fees.

But the bigger price is the loss of power and influence. While the three disgraced men all still live in or around the cities they once ruled, their presence has eroded from larger than life to practically invisible.

That’s a crushing blow for politicians such as Lipari, who used charisma and backroom dealings to rule Passaic for nearly a decade until his 1993 conviction forced him to step down. Asked to sum up the price of his conviction, he replied: “Very costly. Too costly.”

The former mayor has since regained a semblance of normality, if not opulence. Two black Mercedes-Benzes were parked near the backyard swimming pool of his ranch-style house in Garfield. But the words he spoke in an interview last week echoed a longing for the station he once held.

Of the three mayors, only Lipari invited a reporter into his house, and for an hour he ruminated about his political past while reclining on a couch. Withered by chronic illness and a heart condition, he managed to muster the energy to speak about his life as a street kid with a sixth-grade education who grew up to become mayor.

Lipari spoke defiantly about the charges he once faced, proudly about his accomplishments in office and vaguely about the vicious entanglement of money and politics he found himself in.

“Unfortunately,” the 71-year-old said, his voice a sleepy gravel, “you get wrapped around an axle, and the next thing I know, I’m indicted.”

He asserted he never was convicted of accepting bribes, only conspiracy to extort money and evading taxes, albeit on cash bribes he allegedly took. Lipari was acquitted of seven other charges, including demanding and receiving $175,000 in bribes for steering city contracts to crooked roofing and towing companies.

First regret filled his voice as he wondered how he could have avoided his conviction. “I wanted to testify,” but his lawyers advised against it, he said.

“Maybe that was a big mistake,” he said.

Then mist filled his eyes when his thoughts turned to his beloved Passaic.

“I don’t think there’s a day that goes by that I don’t think about Passaic,” Lipari said slowly and surely. “I loved Passaic. I still love Passaic. The city will always be in my heart.”

And Passaic still loves him, too, he said.

“If I ran for mayor of Passaic, I’d win,” he said. Then, when talk turned to who should come after Rivera, Lipari muttered: “They should appoint me mayor.”

That’s not a possibility. Those who are convicted of federal corruption charges are barred from holding elected office again.

Lipari emerged from prison in 1996. Burdened with debts, he was forced to sell his lucrative meat business, Top Grade Sausage Inc. in Hawthorne, which he said once earned him more than $500,000 a year. His children now own the firm.

Louis V. Messercola’s leadership unraveled on a day in 1988, when federal agents nabbed him in a grocery store parking lot. He later was convicted of extorting enormous cash bribes from contractors wanting to do business in Wayne. When he left prison in 1991, he declared in a newspaper article that incarceration had freed him from personal demons. NorthJersey.com

Rabbi, priests, sheriffs support Passaic imam in court

A Jewish rabbi, Roman Catholic and Episcopalian priests, a federal prosecutor and two sherriffs took the witness stand today to heap praise upon a popular Muslim cleric as his attorneys began presenting their case for why he should not be deported.

Mohammad Qatanani, imam of the Islamic Center of Passaic County in Paterson faces deportation for allegedly failing to disclose on his 1996 green card application that he had been arrested and pleaded guilty to aiding the terrorist group Hamas in an Israeli military court three years earlier.

His attorneys argue that Qatanani was detained administratively, convicted in absentia and subject to interrogation tactics Israel’s top court later outlawed as torture.

Among the witnesses subpeonad by Qatatani’s lawyers was Assistant United States Attorney Charles McKenna, who described numerous trips to the Paterson mosque as part of an effort to create better understanding between law enforcement and the Muslim community.

As an example, he said investigators often interpreted the tendency of Muslim women to not look them in the eye as a sign of deceit. Through the dialogue at the mosque, they realized it is routine in Arab culture for women not to look men outside their family in the eye.

“It’s important for us to have leaders in the Islamic community who will be accepting of us and give us inroads in the community,” he said.

The sheriffs of two north Jersey counties echoed McKenna’s statements that the mosque’s open door policies had helped investigators become more familiar with cultural aspects of the Muslim community.

But they also described a more personal connection they had made through their cooperation with Qatanani.

“When I’m in his presence, and he does have a presence, this small, unassuming person, he doesn’t say “boo” but he gives me a better feeling of peace,” said Bergen County Sheriff Leo McGuire. “I feel better as a person to be with him.”

Jerry Speziale, the sheriff of Passaic County echoed McGuire’s testimony saying Qatatani “radiates peace.”

Christopher Brundage, one of two Department of Homeland Security attorneys serving as prosecutors in the case, pressed Speziale and McGuire, asking if they would have different opinions if they had known about Qatatani’s alleged ties to Hamas.

Speziale said he would need to see proof of the conviction himself. McGuire said, “It would surprise me,” but added, “it cannot change my mind about what I have observed.” NJ.com

Gary Schaer becomes acting Mayor and keep’s 3 other job’s

Passaic City Council President/Acting Mayor Gary S. Schaer released a statement today in the aftermath of Mayor Samuel Rivera’s departure from office. Rivera re signed at 5 p.m. after earlier in the day pleading guilty to extortion in federal court.

“This is a difficult time for Passaic,” said Schaer. “I am committed, along with my city council colleagues, to restoring confidence to the residents of Passaic and assuring them that the services provided by our municipal government will continue as normal.

“The hard-working residents of Passaic deserve a municipal government that is honest and trustworthy,” he added. “…While I did not seek this position, my role as Council President statutorily requires this service.” Schaer, who said he would receive no additional compensation or benefits as acting mayor, announced that he will be sworn-in during a “private ceremony” performed by the city clerk. He has scheduled a meeting of the city’s department directors for Monday morning. “Together, we will move forward and continue to improve the quality of life for everyone who lives in our great city,” Schaer said.

Mayor to plead guilty of corruption

(You first heard it yesterday, here on PCJN!)

PASSAIC — Mayor Samuel Rivera was expected to be in Trenton today, pleading guilty to federal corruption charges. But on Thursday, he was in City Hall as streams of well-wishers said their goodbyes.

Men and women stood in a line outside his office, crying. Even the mayor’s hefty bodyguard, Passaic police Detective Lucho Candelaria, was a little misty.

“He’s leaving, and we’re never going to see him again,” said the mayor’s secretary, Angely Ramirez, who wiped her eyes with tissues.

“It’s just sad for the people who knew him well,” Ramirez said between sniffles. “He helped a lot of people.”

Rivera, a former police detective who built his reputation on being tough on crime and cleaning up the streets, is expected to plead to a two-count indictment alleging he accepted a $5,000 bribe and the promise of another $50,000, in exchange for lucrative insurance contracts with the city. Rivera’s plea hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. in Trenton.

In an interview Thursday evening with Univision 41, a Spanish-language news channel, Rivera sat down with a reporter and said in Spanish, “I have to resign.”

Julio Luciano, the mayor’s assistant, carried cardboard boxes out of the office. Later, he stood on the steps of City Hall, smoking a cigarette and shaking his head.

“He gave a lot of people jobs and helped a lot of police,” Luciano said. “The people that don’t like him are going to see: Passaic is going to be bad. Without him, there will be a lot of gangs and dirty streets.”

Ramirez said Rivera would not see reporters in his office: “He’s not in a good mood right now,” she said.

Then, about noontime, Rivera emerged from his office. A group of employees surrounded him as he made his way out of City Hall. He shook their hands and embraced them.

When asked whether he had resigned, he simply shook his head and said, “No.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said, offering a handshake. If convicted, Rivera faces up to 30 years in prison on both offenses as well as up to $250,000 in fines on each.

Under state law, once Rivera pleads guilty, he must resign.

Rivera, along with former Councilmen Jonathan Soto and Marcellus Jackson, was accused of taking bribes from undercover FBI agents in exchange for working to get public contracts for a fake insurance company, called Coastal Solutions LLC. The officials were arrested in September as part of a statewide FBI sting dubbed “Operation Broken Boards.”

Jackson pleaded guilty in December and resigned from the council in January. Soto awaits trial.

Neither prosecutors nor Rivera’s attorney, Henry Klingeman, would comment on whether a plea agreement had been struck.

Thus far, all but five public officials have pleaded guilty to being part of the scheme. Among them are former state Assemblyman Alfred Steele, D-Paterson; Jackson, of the Passaic City Council, Pleasantville school board members Rafael Velez, Jayson Adams and James Pressley, and Pleasantville Councilman Peter Callaway. All await sentencing. NorthJersey.com

Israel turned 60 today

 

Israel celebrated the 60th anniversary of its creation today with fireworks, air force flyovers and street parties, but the atmosphere of heady jubilation was marred by doubts over future security and prospects for peace with the Palestinians.

A security crackdown sealing off the West Bank and Gaza and marches by Palestinians marking the expulsion of some 760,000 inhabitants as part of what they regard as the “Nakba” – the catastrophe – was a stark reminder of the uncertain future of the Jewish State.

Across the country, Israelis held barbecues in backyards and public parks and attended parachute jumps, a Bible quiz, concerts and the inauguration of a footpath around the Sea of Galilee.

The Nasa astronaut Garrett Reisman, the first Jewish crew member on the international space station, sent a greeting from space to the people of Israel. “Every time the station flies over the state of Israel, I try to find a window, and it never fails to move me when I see the familiar outline of Israel coming toward us from over the horizon,” the American-born astronaut said

Breaking News Mayor (sammy) Samuel Rivera to plead guilty tomorrow

Passaic New Jersey   Mayor Samuel Rivera will plead guilty on Friday tomorrow ( 05/09/2008 ) to taking bribes last year.

 The mayor will be resigning from his office tomorrow. He will plead guilty for a plea deal. As more will come we will update you.

You heard this story first from P.C.J.N 

ISRAEL: Terrorists Kill 2 Israelis

Two Israelis were killed Friday morning when Palestinian terrorists opened fire at them in the Nitzane Shalom industrial complex near Tulkarm in the West Bank.Israel Defense Forces troops and police were at the scene and were searching for the shooters.

According to the preliminary investigation, at least one terrorist arrived at one of the factories in the complex and opened fire at the two.

The gunmen initially intended to infiltrate Israel but returned to the industrial complex after they were unable to penetrate the security barrier, Army Radio reported.

The two men, Shimon Mizrachi, 53, of Bat Hefer and Eli Wasserman, 51, of Alfei Menashe, were declared dead by a Magen David Adom team that was called to the area. They were security guards at one of the factories.

Wasserman’s funeral is scheduled for Sunday at 3 p.m. at the cemetery in Netanya. He is survived by a wife and two children.

Itzik Mimran, an MDA paramedic, was one of the first to arrive on the scene.

“When we arrived, there were two casualties,” he told Channel 10. “One of the senior medics reported that one of the casualties was dead and that another was wounded. We immediately initiated advanced resuscitation, but sadly he died.”

The two had weapons on their person, Mimran said.

The Nitzane Shalom complex was built in 1995. It houses nine factories that provide jobs to many Palestinians from the West Bank. Jewish.com

 

  

 

 

 

 

‘Tribal’ tension in Crown Heights keeps neighborhood from moving beyond hate

Nearly 17 years after riots tore Crown Heights apart, the recent beating of a black college student by Jewish assailants has exposed rising tensions between blacks and Jews in my neighborhood.

Cops and city officials have quietly gone on high alert, worried that another riot could be in the works.

The troubles began on April 14, when Andrew Charles, a 20-year-old sophomore at Kingsborough Community College, says he and a friend encountered a pair of young Jewish men while walking down Albany Ave. about 6 p.m.

“One was on bike, one was on foot. They were staring at us, staring us down,” Charles told me. “We stared back. They approached us and asked if we had a problem.”

The man on the bike sprayed Charles with tear gas, and a few minutes later a contingent of Jewish men arrived by car and in scooters and began chasing them.

One man beat Charles on the back and arm with a nightstick, inflicting injuries that sent him to the hospital. The group fled, but not before a witness on the street got the license plate number.

In any other neighborhood, a staredown between young men, even one that turns into a beatdown, would barely count as major news.

But this is Crown Heights, where a smoldering pile of intergroup grievances and injustices – some real, many imaginary – set the stage for the shocking outburst of mob violence in August 1991.

According to a memo circulated by Mayor Bloomberg’s Community Assistance Unit, city officials immediately descended on Crown Heights last week to establish “contact with the [Charles] family before outside agitators could jump in and reach out to the family to create community turmoil.”

I don’t know which “outside agitators” the mayor’s people were afraid of, but community activist Taharka Robinson, founder of the Central Brooklyn Anti-Violence Coalition, is acting as Charles’ adviser. The family also has retained Paul Wooten, a well-known Brooklyn lawyer recently nominated for a Supreme Court judgeship.

Robinson and Wooten are reliable, levelheaded men. They will have their work cut out for them.

At the urging of city officials, a group of leaders from both communities will meet tomorrow – “before the Sean Bell verdict,” the Community Assistance Unit memo cautions – to figure out a way to dial down the tension.

In the neighborhood’s calculus of tribal resentments, the attack on Charles was the mirror image of a January incident in which a teenage yeshiva student named Samuel Balkany said five black kids jumped and beat him, shouting “little Jew boy, you think you own this neighborhood,” and such.

Despite a call from authorities for help in solving the case, nobody was arrested for the Balkany beating. Let enough of these tribal skirmishes accumulate, and you end up with a neighborhood ready to explode.

Last week, much to their credit, cops from the 71st Precinct and Patrol Borough Brooklyn South quickly began a full-court press to solve the latest beating, with an extra incentive supplied by the fact that Charles’ father, Moses Charles , is a cop in Brooklyn’s 70th Precinct.

The NYPD swiftly found the attackers’ car in East New York , stripped of plates but still traceable. At the car owner’s home, according to the Community Assistance Unit memo, cops arrested a man – believed to be the brother of the car’s owner – for interfering with government administration, and later released him.

All along the way, local politicians and community leaders – both black and Jewish – have been talking.

It’s a rotten shame that people in my neighborhood haven’t figured out how to live side by side, and an embarrassment that we have to rely on cops and nervous bureaucrats to keep the peace.

Nowhere in the city will you find more devout religious people than in Crown Heights, yet it has come to this – shortly after Easter and the Pope’s visit, and in the middle of the Jewish High Holy Days.

Can’t we all just get along? DailyNews

New Jersey – Rabbi Issues Warning Against Yeshiva Week Vacation in Florida

 

New Jersey – A local Orthodox rabbi has joined colleagues in warning about the high risk behaviors of some students who spend the so-called yeshiva week vacation in Florida.

In advance of yeshiva week, Rabbi Eliezer Zwickler of Ahawas Achim B’nai Jacob and David in West Orange sent an e-mail to synagogue families urging them not to send their children to Florida unsupervised.
“In past years, there has been activity which has been unbecoming of Orthodox Jews, involving abuse of alcohol, drug use, and promiscuous behavior. At times, there have been very tragic results,” wrote Zwickler. “We are obligated as parents to educate our children and keep them safe even if they feel that our actions are not in their best interests. This is a matter of life and death on many levels.”

“I don’t want to sound negative,” Zwickler said. “The bottom line is that parents have to be vigilant. As much as kids want their space and want their parents to stay out, they are still kids and we have to do parenting,”he said. [njjewishnews][vin]

Passaic Mayor indicted

Passaic Mayor Samuel Rivera was indicted on two counts of corruption today, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Rivera, 61, was arrested along with 10 other public officials in the FBI’s September 6th corruption bust. He is charged with accepting a $5,000 bribe in exchange for influencing local government contracts. The indictment states that Rivera intended to later be paid $50,000 for further help in peddling influence to make an undercover company the broker of record for city insurance services.

According to the indictment, Rivera told a cooperating witness that he could get them the necessary number of votes on the city council.

“I can get four votes easy, easy, easy,” the indictment quotes him as saying.

The indictment also alleges that when the insurance company’s presentation was questioned by a Passaic employee, Rivera responded “I make the [expletive] decision. And the council. And believe me, I’ve got the four [expletive] votes on the Council. So let’s stop [expletive] here and let’s get this thing rolling.”

If convicted, Rivera could face a maximum of 20 years in prison for the attempted extortion charge and 10 years for the bribery charge.  politickernj.com

Passaic 2 car M.V.A.

 Passaic N.J.—  At about 5:00 Pm  two-vehicle accident on Van Houten Ave and Park Ave sent 2 people to the hospital with head and neck injuries. One of them was a child.

Injuries suffered by both of them involved were not considered serious, and the individuals were taken by E.M.S. to Saint Joes Hospital in Paterson.

 No other details were available Sunday evening.

Brooklyn, NY – ALERT!! Thief Goes To Avelim To Steal Pushkas

Brooklyn, NY – Community Alert!

 

The Misaskim organization has informed VIN News to alert the community about the following.

There is someone going around to menachem aveilim calls, and while he distracts the aveilim, swipes all pushkas from the residence. He shows up the day before the mourners end the shivah week. The suspect has been successful several times already, including recently in Borough Park, exiting with 8 pushkas.

He employs various tricks, pretends to donate money, and then runs. The public is asked to be on the lookout. We will post more details as we receive the information.. Vin News

You Can Save A Life ; Just take a fiew minutes and wipe the Ice/Snow off your car

 

Above is a picture of a car that was smashed from falling ice. Please be considerate for your fellow freinds. Please take the extra fiew minutes to clear snow or ice off your car. Please use caution when driving leave extra time.

It was unseasonably warm last week, but it didn’t keep me from encountering people who sympathized — just barely — with this column’s call to ban the kind of road hazard that we call the Snow and Ice That Fall Twice.

That’s the kind of white junk that leaves the other guy’s car or truck, hits your windshield and makes your whole life flash in front of you. You know the kind:

* The Route 17 kind that killed Ridgewood’s Michael Eastman nearly 12 years ago.

* The Route 287 kind that caused Hawthorne’s Bob and Mary Mahon to chase after the car whose icy load smashed their windshield last year.

* The Route 80 kind that ran Kinnelon’s Tara Varner and her 2-year-old off the road last month.

Shouldn’t New Jersey fine drivers whose vehicles carry snow? Currently, statute 39:4-77.1 makes it illegal only when it causes damage or injury.

Cathy Eastman understands this because the vehicle whose icy load crushed her husband’s skull was long gone by the time police arrived. Tara, Bob, Mary and most of the 2,000 readers who sent me petitions early this year also get it.

But not some folks I’ve encountered. “There are thousands of SUVs, many driven by women,” said Pequannock’s E.L. Quigley. “They can’t clean ice off the tops of their vehicles.”

Ray R. also sympathizes, but:

“Do you have suggestions for clearing … snow from an SUV that’s been out overnight WITHOUT damaging the hood, roof rack or moon roof?” asked the Fair Lawn man. “Pushing snow off is easy, but after past storms, thick solid ice and packed snow didn’t budge after the car’s heater was on for 20 minutes.”

* Run a garden hose over the car with the heater running, but do this for short periods to avoid cracking the windshield.

* Put old cardboard, canvas or a rug over the vehicle before it snows, and yank it off after the storm.

* Run the engine for an hour, long enough to free frozen snow, or at least to help clear it.

Some consider all this unnecessary. One woman, 72, said: “If I can clean my SUV, so can anybody.” Cathy Eastman, who’s 5 feet 1, says she does it. NorthJersey.com And Passaic News.

Car Plunges off Route 21 and falls to the ground upside down;

Passaic New Jersey —Three people escaped death early Sunday morning after the car they were riding in plunged off rt 21 onto a local street , police and fire officials said.The male driver and the two passengers were able to escape from the vehicle before Police and E.M.S arrived.

The accident happened on Rt 21 but the car fell about 15 feet to the ground upside down  near Columbia and Passaic street. According to police, the driver of the car lost control of the vehicle around 1 a.m. The car struck the guard rail, flipped over and took a  tree down and fell to the ground. The rear window of the car popped out, allowing an escape route. Police said the driver and passengers were taken by Hatzolah Of North Jersey And Passaic E.M.S as well as Paramedics from the scene. Their conditions are not known at this time but they were transported to Saint Joes Trauma Center

Leaving New Jersey for Israel, Jews say they’re going home

EDISON — Cheryl Jacobi had been on several flights to Israel. But this time she was traveling on a one-way ticket.

The oldest of four children from a close-knit family in Edison, Jacobi decided to make aliyah � to immigrate to Israel as a symbol of taking one’s Jewish life to a higher level.

The 23-year-old, who goes by her Hebrew name Yocheved in her new homeland, said she was anything but nervous as she boarded the plane to Israel in late December.

It helped that all 200 passengers on the chartered flight, which was sponsored by the Jewish organization Nefesh B’Nefesh, were also immigrating to Israel.

Nefesh B’Nefesh is a nonprofit organization founded five years ago to make it easier for American Jews who wish to move to Israel.

“We have flown about 14,000 Americans to Israel in the past five years; another 17,000 are in the pipeline,” Charley Levine, spokesman for Nefesh B’Nefesh, said.

He added that Israel needs these people, whom he described as the best and brightest the Western World has to offer, to help the country and the economy to grow.

“I’ve been singing songs about Israel and making maps of Israel since I was little,” Jacobi said, adding that as a child she went to both schools and summer camps that she said were incredibly Zionistic.

Simona Kogan, a departing Metuchen resident also on the flight, said being in a country where she feels connected to the people and the surroundings motivated her to move there.

“But,” she added, “it was a very tough decision because I was giving up everything I knew, the comforts of America, and of course my friends and family.”

Kogan, 25, said that in her new country she expects to make several adjustments, which include learning a new language, living in a home that is far more basic than what she has known in America, and working longer hours for less money.

New immigrants to Israel are entitled to a free five-month course in the Hebrew language as part of their acclimatization.

Jacobi, who made her first trip to Israel before she was 2 years old, said that she plans on taking the five-month course because, while she knows Hebrew, it is only as a second language.

She said she made the decision to move to Israel five years ago during a year at a Jewish seminary in Israel after high school.

A couple of her close high school friends are already in Israel, as are two of her younger siblings, which she said will make the move much easier.

“I find that when I’m here, no matter what city or what part of the country, I feel at home,” she said in a phone call from Israel.

Kogan, on the other hand, had several concerns before leaving � such as being away from her parents, relying on friends and family friends, traveling without a car, and having much less free time.

She also worried about communicating with relatives in America through different means � not to mention taking care of her own finances, bank account, and apartment for the first time in her life.

“Once I got to Israel, I knew I had made the right decision. I felt it. I don’t know, maybe in six months I will be saying something different but for now, I’m still on that high of doing something completely and totally out of the box and being happy with my decision,” she wrote in an e-mail from Israel.

Jacobi said that while she misses her parents, who are still in America because they have to take care of her grandparents, she knows that they will move to Israel eventually.

“Honestly, they are just jealous right now; they wish they could be here too,” she said.

She said a sense of Jewish community is very important to her, and it is something that she never experienced in America.

“There are Jews in America, too, but it’s just not the same feeling here and there,” Jacobi said, adding that after she graduated she couldn’t think of a place in the U.S. where she wanted to settle down.

“I encourage people who are thinking about making aliyah to make at least two or three trips there before they settle down, or they won’t know what they are getting themselves into,” she warned.

Kogan said that it was only until she came back to America that she became 100 percent certain this was what she wanted to do.

“They say being away from something makes you realize how much you miss it and for me, being away from Israel after being there for a year was the final decision to live there for good.” app.com

Passaic New Jersey House Fire

Passaic New Jersey Authorities are investigating the cause of a fire which heavily damaged a 2 story house in the Passaic Park section of Passaic. Police said the two-story house on Main Ave at Rutgers caught fire about 11.45pm (AEST) on Saturday.Residents either side of the home were evacuated and firefighters were able to establish no one was inside the home before extinguishing the fire.

However, the home was heavily damaged.

Several Departments helped out including Wallington and Carlstadt Fire Dept. Also Hatzolah Of North Jersey was on stand by.

Pictures Of The Honorable President Bush On His Mideast Tour

 

 

Mr Bush was joined on the red carpet by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (R) and Israeli President Shimon Peres (L) as he was greeted by religious leaders.

As Marine One, the helicopter carrying Mr Bush prepared to land in Jerusalem, security was at its tightest since Pope John Paul II’s visit to Israel in 2000.

Palestinian and Israeli leaders pledged to tackle core issues dividing them before Mr Bush arrived – and was treated to a song by these children at the Israeli president’s residence.

A young girl handed Mr Bush a rose as he arrived to meet with Mr Peres (L), who called on Mr Bush to “stop the madness” of Iran and the militant groups Hezbollah and Hamas.

Jerusalem rabbis indicted for racist incitement

The state has filed an indictment against two Jerusalem rabbis on charges of racist incitement regarding anti-Arab statements they made during a rally protesting the establishing of a bilingual school for Jews and Arabs in the capital’s Patt neighborhood.

The defendants are Rabbi Yitzhak Batzri, head of the Hashalom Kabbalist yeshiva, and his son David. They are liable to a prison term of up to five years if convicted.

The event in question took place on January 9, 2006 during a rally a the community center against the establishment of the school. About 200 people came to hear several rabbis speak against the plan.

One of them, Yitzhak Batzri, said, “The Arabs are donkeys and beasts. They are inferior. What do they want? To take our women. They say we are racist. In reality, they are the wicked and cruel ones. They are imbued with the filth of the snake. There are pure and impure, and they are impure. You residents of Patt must not give in.”

David Batzri told the audience, “The establishment of this school is an act of abomination and impurity. One can’t mix impure and pure. Of course we must stay apart from all the nations. You must stand in the breach and prevent this. It is forbidden to mix darkness with light. The nation of Israel is pure. The Arabs are a nation of donkeys. They are an affliction, a demon, a pestilence.

“Why, one may ask, did God not create them to walk on all fours, since they are donkeys? The reason is that they must build and clean, but must always understand that they are donkeys. There is no room for them in our schools.”

“In the acts they committed as described above, the defendants published something meant to incite to racism,” the Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office wrote in the indictment, which was filed in Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court.

Attorney Einat Horowitz, who represents The Israel Religious Action Center, which filed the original complaint against Yitzhak and David Batzri and several other rabbis, including Beersheba Chief Rabbi Yehuda Deri, said she was pleased with the decision.

“In the past few years we have been witness to a worrisome increase in racist expressions by rabbis and Jewish religious leaders, who make distorted use of Jewish tradition,” she said in a statement. “This phenomenon obliges the law enforcement authorities to make use of all legal tools at their disposal to eradicate it. The prosecution’s decision, although belated, is a step in the right direction and we hope that it is the harbinger of an increasing severity in the law enforcement policy against racist manifestations.”  The Jerusalem Post

Bush sees Mideast peace treaty in a year

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AFP) — US President George W. Bush on Thursday predicted the signing of a Middle East peace treaty within a year and called for an end to Israel’s four-decade occupation of Palestinian land.

Giving an assessment of his talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders over the previous two days, he said it was time for both to make “difficult choices” for peace to become a reality and allow the creation of a Palestinian state.

“There should be an end to the occupation that began in 1967,” he said on his return to Jerusalem from his first trip to the West Bank, where he held talks with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.

He said a peace deal should establish a state for the Palestinians “just like Israel is a homeland for the Jewish people.”

And as he prepared to leave Friday for a tour of Washington’s Gulf allies, he called on “Arab countries to reach out to Israel, a step that is long overdue.”

Bush is in the Middle East hoping to clinch a major foreign policy victory before leaving office in January 2009 after the repeated failure of previous US administrations to broker peace.

He is seeking to advance peace talks that have been dogged since their revival in November last year by discord over Jewish settlement expansion and continuing Israeli Palestinian violence.

“I believe it’s going to happen, that there’s going to be a signed peace treaty by the time I leave office,” he said in Ramallah.

“The establishment of a state of Palestine is long overdue. The Palestinian people deserve it, and it will enhance the stability of the region, and it will contribute to the security of the people of Israel.

And he said a Palestinian state had to be contiguous. “Swiss cheese isn’t going to work when it comes to the territory of a state.”

But he warned: “Security is fundamental. No agreement and no Palestinian state will be born of terror. I reaffirm America’s steadfast commitment to Israel’s security.”

He took aim at the Islamist movement Hamas, whose bloody takeover of the Gaza Strip seven months ago split the Palestinians into two separately-ruled entities and has complicated peacemaking.

Since peace talks resumed in November, about 100 people, mostly gunmen, have been killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza aimed at halting militant rocket fire.

Bush’s comments were the first hint of the tough talking he says needs to be done if his aim of having a peace deal signed by the end of his term, in January 2009, is realised.

“Achieving an agreement will require painful political concessions by both sides,” he cautioned.

He has previously called on Israel to end its occupation in June 2002, but his words Thursday carried particular resonance, given the time and place.

A senior Israeli official welcomed Bush’s comments.

“Bush’s statement reflects a solution which Israel would be happy to live with,” he said on condition of anonymity.

Bush, on his first visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories since assuming office in 2001, will return at least once more before his term ends in January 2009, national security adviser Stephen Hadley said.

Ahead of Bush’s latest statement, a US official said the president has named General William Fraser, a former B-52 bomber pilot, to supervise Israeli and Palestinian compliance with a 2003 roadmap blueprint for Middle East peace.

Although both Abbas and Olmert agreed on the eve of the Bush visit to start tackling the thorniest issues of the decades-old conflict — borders, Jerusalem and refugees — talks have stumbled.

The US president said he understood the frustrations of Palestinians who have to live with Israeli checkpoints and barricades and said Israel should “help not hinder” development of the Palestinian security forces.

He caught a glimpse of the problems facing Palestinians at Ramallah checkpoints after travelling by road from Jerusalem when fog grounded his Marine One helicopter, although Bush’s convoy swept through the barrier.

In his statement he said that as part of efforts to establish the Palestinian state, new mechanisms to resolve the issue of the Palestinian refugees should be created.

“I believe we need to look to the establishment of a Palestinian state and new international mechanisms including compensation to resolve the refugee issue.”

Only the second US head of state to visit the Palestinian territories, Bush faces a difficult task to win over the hearts and minds of Palestinians, who are deeply sceptical about his ability to be an even-handed peace broker as Israel’s closest ally.

“I don’t believe he will do anything for the Palestinians,” said Mohammad Khaldi, a 64-year-old Ramallah resident.

Ramallah was under virtual curfew for the visit by the leader of the world’s biggest superpower, with about 4,000 law enforcement officers ensuring the president’s security as Abbas gave him a red carpet welcome.

Security forces used tear gas and batons to break up a protest, charging about 200 demonstrators who were chanting “Bush, war criminal!”, “Bush out!”

The Bush-Abbas talks were held in the Muqata government compound which was once virtually destroyed during an Israeli siege of then Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, long boycotted by Bush as an obstacle to peace.

In a break with protocol, pointedly Bush did not stop at Arafat’s tomb.

4 teens arrested in cemetery vandalism

Four teenagers have been arrested in connection with the damage done to nearly 500 headstones at a Jewish cemetery in New Brunswick, a rabbi from one of the two synagogues that uses the cemetery said today.Rabbi David Bassous of Congregation Etz Ahaim in Highland Park said he met with officials from Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan’s office today and was told the juveniles, ages 15 to 17, had been arrested for causing the damage at Poile Zedek cemetery.

Bassous, however, said he does not know if investigators determined the motive behind the incident, which authorities are treating as a bias crime. The prosecutor’s office is expected to issue a statement later today.

Jewish Votes Will Matter

Iowa and New Hampshire have spoken and shaken up the presidential races in both political parties. The contest between Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will likely be decided in the 20 states in which primaries will be held on February 5. The Republican nomination contest may be more muddled with Huckabee, Giuliani, McCain and Romney all still in the mix – but it too will likely be resolved on February 5. What does this mean? Jewish votes will matter. Among the (too) many states holding primaries on Feb. 5: New York, New Jersey, California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Arizona and Tennessee all with substantial Jewish populations; most of whom are registered Democrats, but there are plenty of Republicans and Independents, and are known to turn out disproportionately to our percentage of the overall population.

While Senator Clinton has had more than a six year senate term to cultivate her relationships with American Jews and become the community “favorite,” Senator Obama has done his share of outreach to the community since he has burst on the scene as well. Thanks to his mayoralty in NYC, Rudy Giuliani certainly  in the community, but McCain can come on strong with a long record of support for Israel and Joe Lieberman in his corner (and potentially on his ticket?)

Bottom line: We expect a lot of phone calling, direct mailing, ads in your local Jewish papers, meetings with rabbis and showing up for bagels & lox in the coming weeks – and yes, this is good for the Jews. ou.org

Bush trip today aims to push Mideast peace

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President George W. Bush headed to the Middle East on Tuesday, aiming to nurture Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts in the face of deep skepticism while trying to rally Arab opposition to Iran.

Once wary of hands-on Middle East diplomacy, Bush will make his first presidential visit to Israel and the West Bank in a bid to shore up fragile negotiations aimed at forging a peace treaty by the end of the year.

The chances of a deal before Bush leaves office in January 2009 appear slim, and no breakthroughs are expected during three days of talks following up on an international conference he hosted in Annapolis, Maryland, in November.

But in Israel and Arab countries that Bush will visit during his weeklong tour, Iran and its growing regional influence will also loom large.

Bush hopes to enlist Arab support to help contain Iran, a goal underscored by a confrontation between American and Iranian vessels in the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend.

On the first leg of his trip, Bush will nudge Israelis and Palestinians to move forward in talks already bogged down in recriminations since their leaders pledged at Annapolis to try to reach a two-state deal in 2008.

“What has to happen in order for there to be a peaceful settlement of a long-standing dispute is … outlines of a state clearly defined,” Bush said at the White House. “So that at some point in time, the Palestinians who agree that Israel ought to exist and agree that the state ought to live side-by-side with Israel in peace have something to be for.”

But doubts remain about the seriousness of Bush’s commitment, his ability to act as an even-handed broker and his chance of succeeding where so many predecessors have failed.