Volume 50, Issue 15

JERUSALEM (JTA)—With U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney in Israel at the end of March talking about Iran, the big question was whether President Bush would be willing to use military force in the waning days of his presidency to stop Iran’s nuclear weapons program.

The answer from most Israeli intelligence analysts: not likely.

Portlander Sarah Liebman has won the prestigious 2008 Charlie Award for her outstanding service to the Portland Jewish community.

NEW YORK (JTA)—Facing a $20 million budget deficit for 2008, the Jewish Agency for Israel is considering some major organizational changes that could lead to a revamping of its aliyah operations.

Did they go to school on Yom Kippur or the Feast of Immaculate Conception? When Mary Jo Tully grew up in a Jewish Neighborhood of Chicago, this question rather than religion separated her playmates.

Portland-area Jews and others can join in the celebration of Israel’s 60th birthday this year with a series of four events co-sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland and the Mittleman Jewish Community Center. Three of the four events are free.

Drake stays mum on UC Irvine anti-Semitism

Rachel Corrie memorialized in Nablus

BBC sorry for errors in Israel reports

JERUSALEM (JTA)—The BBC apologized for major inaccuracies in two recent reports about Israel. On March 7, the British broadcaster reported that Israel had bulldozed the home of the Mercaz HaRav yeshiva attacker while showing footage of a home being demolished.

NEW YORK (JTA)—According to a new survey conducted by the Forward, a disproportionately large share of the Democratic Party’s super-delegates are Jewish. Many of them have declared their support for Hillary Clinton, accounting for more than 15 percent of her current backers.

Philanthropic giving ordinarily dips in the first months of a new year after donors have completed year-end arrangements in preparation for filing their tax returns.

Portland Jewish Academy preschoolers and Shirlee Lenske check out the new playground during a Shabbat celebration and playground re-opening ceremony March 14.

The topic will be the future and the message will be that the future is now when the Oregon Jewish Community Youth Foundation hosts its annual dinner April 17 at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center.

Warm, supportive, caring and exciting are words one hears a lot when asking about the Aleph Bet Preschool, part of Maimonides Jewish Day School.

When Rabbi Joshua Stampfer, emeritus rabbi at Congregation Neveh Shalom, was a very young man studying in his native Jerusalem, he attended a conference of rabbis on the occasion when David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s then retired first prime minister, was the featured speaker.

Most of the candidates in four key state-wide races that will be on Oregon’s May 29 primary election ballot already have confirmed that they will take part in a candidate forum set for April 14 at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center.

The flag of Israel flies alongside the American flag at the entrance to New Beginnings Christian Center, where Christians United for Israel held an event called “Standing with Israel” on March 18.

The Third Annual Gus and Libby Solomon Lecture presents Alan Mintz speaking on “Owning Our Culture: How Jews Can Thrive in 21st-Century America” at 7 p.m., April 10.

Gazing out on the placid Galilee from the roof of her apartment building, the forty-something Aviva appears content with her life.

April 3, Thur, 7 p.m.
FUGITIVE PIECES
Canada, 2007

It was in the summer of 1977. I had received an invitation by Dr. Ziony of Los Angeles to undertake a mission to the Soviet Union to meet with and deliver material to Refusniks. Refusniks were individuals in the Soviet Union whose applications for exit visas to go to Israel had been denied by the Soviets.

Francine Rafton and Wendy Westerwelle are familiar names in Portland—Rafton for her long tenure as a broadcast personality and Westerwelle for her frequent appearances in Portland theater productions.

Gala planners at the Oregon Jewish Museum want everyone to save the date of Sunday, May 4, for the museum’s annual Gala and art auction at the Governor Hotel.

A few years ago Sarah Liebman worked for the Jewish Review when she wasn’t in school.

If there’s one question I’ve heard a thousand times from Jews all over, it is this: Why is Israel so bad at PR? I know that when Jews ask me that question, they’re also saying, “Suissa, you’re in the business, can’t you do something?”

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (JTA)—Three dozen rabbis and cantors are sitting in silent meditation in a sun-filled room at the Brandeis-Bardin Campus at American Jewish University in this southern California town.

Read the Jewish Review's spring wedding coverage—seven new stories—by clicking here. Get useful tips for planning ahead, staying ahead and making the most of your day.

Rebecca Budner and Ben Darling—his right arm thrown affectionately around her shoulders—laughed together while ticking off all the “-isms” they’re incorporating into their July wedding.

Jennifer Greenberg and Donna Page offer these tips on choosing a wedding planner:

• The right fit is imperative. Make sure your personalities are a good match.

Choose flowers, find a videographer, hire musicians, buy blue and gold invitations; Auntie Miriam is angry—she wants a backyard reception but Grandma insists on a palace. While many couples enjoy handling the details and diplomacy involved in their wedding, others prefer the services of a professional planner who can carry them from soup to nuts.

Following is a description of traditions that are part of many Jewish weddings.

Twelve months before
    •Set wedding date with fiancée. Buy a wedding planner; discuss budget with parents.

Jewish couples can create their dream wedding at the elegantly appointed Mittleman Jewish Community Center, where kosher catering, decorating, planning and audio-visual services are all available under one roof, according to Jordana Levenick, rentals and special events coordinator.

You can’t talk about Jewish weddings in Portland without remembering Joan Liebreich. An active member of the National Council of Jewish Women and a dedicated volunteer for Vision Northwest, Liebreich facilitated countless weddings at Congregation Beth Israel during her tenure as program director. After leaving Beth Israel, Liebreich continued working privately as an event planner.

The Community Warehouse, Portland’s only furniture bank supplying household goods at no cost to those in need, will host their second annual fundraiser, The Chair Affair at the Art Institute of Portland on Thursday, April 17.

The MJCC gymnastics team placed third All Around at the Shamrock Meet on March 16.

On April 6 from 1 to 4 p.m., the Mittleman Jewish Community Center will host the MJCC Family Health and Fitness Fair.

What do pots and pans, ladles and salad spinners, apple corers and can openers have to do with the celebration of Purim? Well, nothing and everything.

Deadlines to apply for scholarships administered by The Oregon Jewish Community Foundation are coming up soon. Visit www.ojcf.org and select “Receive a Scholarship” for guidelines and application materials.

“The Rabbis’ Hermaphrodite: Gender Ambiguity and Legal Identity in Judaism” will be the topic when the Institute for Judaic Studies’ Writers and Scholars lecture series resumes April 6.

Holocaust survivor, author and poet Itka Zygmuntowicz will speak at the West Hills Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship 7 p.m. April 21.

Rabbi Joseph Telushkin returns to Congregation Shaarie Torah on April 6 for two lectures.

Immigration has emerged as a hot issue this election cycle, raising important questions about public policy and human rights, including how social justice for immigrants affects Oregon and the Jewish community.

What if everyone read the same book and then had the chance to discuss the issues it raises with others? That is the basis of Neveh Shalom Reads, a first in what organizers anticipate will become an annual event.

Portland Hadassah and Urban Jews PDX team up April 13 to present three short films directed by Israeli Film Students from Hadassah College Jerusalem.

The 230 people at Neveh Shalom’s Reach for the Stars auction (shown at right at silent auction tables) helped the congregation net in excess of $110,000, a record amount despite the congregation’s $9 million capital campaign.

The 16th Annual “Song of Miriam Award” Brunch for recognition of outstanding volunteers sponsored by the Jewish Women’s Round Table will be June 1 at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center.

TAMAR COX

Iris and Benjamin Cox of Vancouver, Wash., announce the birth of their daughter Tamar Miriam on Feb. 13. Tamar is also welcomed by her older brothers Avi, Sam and Rafi.

NEW YORK (JTA)—Can we talk about gender? Again? Or maybe not.

JERUSALEM (JTA)—For the first time since the Annapolis peace parley last November, the United States is leaning heavily on Israel to move ahead in peacemaking with the Pales

NEW YORK (JTA)—Pope Benedict XVI will make a historic visit to a New York synagogue the day before Passover.

NEW YORK (JTA)—Immigration restrictionists frequently charge that American Jewish attitudes about immigration are mired in a sepia-toned time warp where bubbes in babushkas and wide-eyed zayd

(JTA)—It’s impossible to augur the future of the Jewish people. It can only be summed up in two words: “I hope."