DRAKE
National briefs
By JTA
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Drake stays mum on UC Irvine anti-Semitism
WASHINGTON (JTA)—The University of California, Irvine’s chancellor again refused to speak out against acts of anti-Semitism on his campus. Michael Drake, confronted over his position at the opening plenary of Hillel’s summit March 24 in Washington, issued a blanket condemnation of hate speech, including anti-Semitism, saying it had no place in society.
“It’s deplorable. It’s deplorable,” Drake said. “And we reject it absolutely.” Drake declined to comment, however, when asked by JTA after the summit how he feels about some of the anti-Israel activity that has taken place at UC Irvine. He said the university wished to remain “content neutral.” UC Irvine students have charged that they have been physically and verbally harassed by Muslim students, and that speakers are routinely invited to campus who compare Israel to Nazi Germany.
Clinton, Obama tied among Jewish Dems
WASHINGTON (JTA)—Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama are in a statistical dead heat in a poll of Jewish Democrats. In the mid-March Gallup Poll of the rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination, Clinton received 48 percent of the Jewish Democrat vote and Obama 43 percent. That’s within the 6 percentage point margin of error of the sample of 368 Jewish Democrats. The U.S. senators—Clinton of New York and Obama of Illinois—are also tied among Protestants. Clinton owns a substantial edge among Roman Catholics, while Obama leads among those with no religious affiliation and those affiliating with non-Christian and non-Jewish religions.
Scarlett IDs self as Jew
JERUSALEM (JTA)—Scarlett Johansson said she identifies as Jewish. The actress said in an Israeli television interview broadcast March 22 that her mother is of Ashkenazi Jewish descent and brought her up with a basic observance of Shabbat and holidays such as Hanukkah. Johansson, 23, was speaking to Israel’s Channel 2 from the set of “The Other Boleyn Girl” along with her Israeli-born co-star Natalie Portman. Unlike Portman, Johansson does not speak Hebrew and claims to know only a smattering of Yiddish. According to Channel 2, Johansson’s father is of Danish descent and is not Jewish.
Hillel receiving its biggest grant
WASHINGTON (JTA)—Hillel will receive a $10.7 million grant, which the organization says is the largest in its history. The grant from the Jim Joseph Foundation will be formally announced March 24 at the organization’s summit in Washington. It will be disbursed over five years and enable Hillel to engage an additional 30,000 students, according to a news release. Hillel intends to use the funds to place Jewish educators on 10 new campuses as part of its Experiential Educator Exemplar program. The grant also will go to support the Campus Entrepreneurs Initiative, which employs college students to engage their peers in Jewish life.