2006 May « YDA Jewish Caucus

American Jewish World Service responds to May 27 Indonesian earthquake

May 28, 2006 at 11:09 am | In Get Involved | Leave a Comment

(Reliefweb) A major earthquake of 6.2 magnitude struck the densely populated city of Yogyakarta at 5:45 am Saturday, May 27. Current death estimates are now at 4,600 and rising. An additional 20,000 people are injured and 200,000 people are now homeless. This is the first disaster to strike Indonesia since the 2004 tsnumai.

American Jewish World Service (AJWS) will be working in conjunction with our 14 local non-governmental partner organizations and with several larger international relief organizations to give immediate aid to the victims and then to help develop more long term planning to create sustainable mechanisms for survival and reconstruction. AJWS is currently asking for donations.

To donate go to https://donate.ajws.org/03/rapid_response?extra3=java_EQ

Palestinian Leader Plans a Vote on Accepting Israel

May 25, 2006 at 1:59 pm | In Israel | Leave a Comment

(NY Times) In a bold political gamble, President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority declared today that he wants a national referendum on a Palestinian state that would exist alongside Israel if Hamas and other factions do not accept such a coexistence plan within 10 days.

False Report Triggers Rush Of Iranian-Nazi Comparisons

May 25, 2006 at 1:30 pm | In Anti-discrimination, Civil Rights, Other | Leave a Comment

(Forward) It was not exactly up there with the failure to uncover weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, but the effort to discredit the Iranian regime took an embarrassing turn this week with a false media report claiming that Tehran had passed a law requiring Jews and other religious minorities to wear special badges.

The report and a related column by Iranian opposition pundit Amir Taheri ran in the May 19 edition of the National Post, a Canadian daily, promptly setting off a media feeding frenzy.

Importance of emotional Jewish life on campus pushed at Hillel conference

May 23, 2006 at 10:57 pm | In Identity | Leave a Comment

(JTA) Amid worries about fraying religious ties among Jewish college students and campus rifts over Israel, a conference held here this week probed the interplay between American academia and Jews.

YDAJC 2006 Spring Conference Meeting

May 22, 2006 at 9:38 pm | In Announcements, Announcements + Events, Events | Leave a Comment

The Young Democrats of America Spring Conference for 2006 will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada June 9-11 at The New Frontier Hotel and Casino.

On Friday, June 9th the Caucus will hold its meeting at 5:30 pm at Margarita’s Mexican Cantina inside the Frontier. Our guest speakers will be Bobby Feldman from the Jewish National Fund (JNF) of Las Vegas and Samuel Lieberman, a national board member of JNF and a former Young Democrat. They will be speaking about the activities that JNF has been working on and current events in Israel.

On Sunday, June 11th at 1:00 pm, the Caucus will be holding its Strategic Planning Retreat at Cafe Ba-Ba-Reba at the Fashion Show Mall.

For full conference details visit www.yda.org.

We hope to see you there!

~YDAJC Executive Board

State should stay out of religion, says Dover judge

May 22, 2006 at 8:55 pm | In Church and State | Leave a Comment

(Centre Daily Times, PA) A federal judge who outlawed the teaching of “intelligent design” in science class told graduates at Dickinson College that the nation’s founders saw religion as the result of personal inquiry, not church doctrine.

U.S. District Judge John E. Jones gave the commencement address Sunday to 500 graduates at Dickinson College, his alma mater.

Fresh Muslim-Jewish Discord on Campus

May 15, 2006 at 8:14 pm | In Anti-discrimination | Leave a Comment

(LA Times) Controversial events scheduled at UC Irvine next week with such provocative titles as “Holocaust in the Holy Land” and “Israel: The Fourth Reich” are sparking outrage among Jewish students who are asking administrators to denounce aspects of the event.