LANTOS

National briefs

By JTA

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Lantos’ Auschwitz comparison riles Dutch

WASHINGTON (JTA)—A comment by a U.S. lawmaker over Guantanamo Bay has angered Dutch officials. Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.), the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told Dutch officials that Europe is reacting far more harshly to the detention facility in Guantanamo Bay than it did to Auschwitz, disrupting diplomatic talks, according to The Associated Press.

Lantos, a Holocaust survivor, made the remarks shortly after Dutch officials toured the facility. The Dutch believed the physical conditions in the prison were acceptable, but said their concern was for the prisoners' legal rights. Most advocated shutting it down. Lantos reportedly told the officials that “Europe was not as outraged by Auschwitz as by Guantanamo Bay,” and added that “you have to help us because if it was not for us you would now be a province of Nazi Germany.”

NCJW slams Southwick

WASHINGTON (JTA)—The National Council of Jewish Women slammed the U.S. Senate for confirming a controversial judge to a federal appellate court. Democrats and liberal groups had opposed the appointment of Leslie Southwick to the 5th Circuit court in New Orleans, partly because of two decisions he joined as a state judge, one upholding the reinstatement of a worker who used racial epithets against colleagues, the other upholding the use of sexual orientation in deciding custody. In jury selections, he also has a pattern of overturning objections to white jurors and upholding objections to black jurors, according to NCJW.

Berry blows nose joke

WASHINGTON (JTA)—Halle Berry apologized for a remark she made about Jewish noses. During a taping last month of the “Tonight Show,” Berry made a joke about digitally altered pictures of herself with a big nose that she said made her look like her “Jewish cousin.” No one in the audience laughed. Host Jay Leno squirmed in his chair and said, “I’m glad you said that and not me.” Berry then said, “Oh my God, have I just, like, ruined my whole career? On Berry’s request, “Jewish” was deleted from her comments when the broadcast aired Oct. 22. Berry reportedly was in tears as she called on media outlets to apologize for the remarks, saying that one of her three Jewish assistants had told her before the taping that the picture looked like Berry’s Jewish cousin and that the comment was fresh on her mind. The Oscar-winning actress said she wanted to make sure people understood that she didn’t mean to offend anyone.

‘Tribe’ No. 1 on iTunes

SAN FRANCISCO (JTA)—A documentary about Jewish identity is in the No. 1 spot of most downloaded short films on iTunes. Tiffany Shlain, director of “The Tribe,” a humorous look at American Jewish identity through the lens of Barbie, says she launched her film on iTunes Oct. 2, hoping to crack the top-10 list. It is now the first independent documentary to hit No. 1, Shlain notes. “This says there’s an audience that wants to watch documentaries about American Jewish identity,” says Shlain, who lives in Mill Valley, Calif. “This opens the doors for other filmmakers and expands the options of what is available to download.”