Israel

Every Friday for the last seven years they’ve been there, protesting what they consider an unjust war in Iraq. But this Friday, they took on a different conflict — Israel’s shelling of the Gaza Strip, an offensive the government said it launched to stop rocket attacks from the Palestinian militant group Hamas. “We’re protesting in support of the people of Gaza who are being unjustly invaded by Israel, and Israel is a surrogate of the United States,” said protest organizer Chuck Anderson.

Young Chang NEWPORT BEACH -- Carolyn Alexander doesn't have relatives in Israel, but she considers the country her homeland and its people her kin. The Newport Beach resident will show her support tonight at Temple Bat Yahm's special Sabbath service, which will be dedicated to peace and solidarity in Israel, where extreme violence has erupted in recent weeks. The service will feature prayers for peace offered by Alexander and other congregation members.

The Muslim Student Union at UC Irvine has announced the schedule for "Israel: Apartheid Resurrected," a week of seminars dealing with Israel, its treatment of Palestine and the Zionist movement. The seminar is scheduled to begin Monday at noon under the flagpoles by the administration building, with Imam Mohammad al-Asi, the leader of the Islamic Center in Washington, D.C., giving a speech titled "Why Palestine?" Al-Asi also plans to speak on Hamas, the controversial Palestinian political group, at 6 p.m. in the campus' Crystal Cove Auditorium.

The rebirth of Israel has resurrected a state that the world had declared to be dead. In the year 70, the Romans destroyed the temple in Jerusalem and commemorated the event when Titus erected his arch next to the Coliseum in Rome. According to the rabbis, it was not the Jews who were driven out of Exile, but God. The world was out of joint. The Destruction of Jerusalem symbolized it, much like 9/11 in New York. Then, like today’s talk of worldwide terrorism, Jews in every land spoke of the day when they would return to Israel.

Forty-two members of the Jewish Federation of Orange County, including a number of Newport-Mesa residents, flew out of Israel this week just a day after violence erupted at the Lebanon border. Others from the center stayed behind as trouble escalated in both the north and south regions of the country. On Thursday, the group from the federation, consisting of both adults and children, boarded a plane at the end of a 12-day mission through Israel. The day before, the Hezbollah terrorist group had launched a major offensive in the north, firing missiles at towns and military targets, while a separate conflict with Palestinian militants continued south in Gaza.

I would like to write this week?s D?Var Torah in response to the episode of ?60 Minutes? two weeks ago. Israel looked stupid on that show. This week is Tu B?Shvat, and it celebrates Israel?s beautification of Israel. Militant Muslims and Hamas want to destroy Israel. Twenty-eight years ago ? like today ? the U.S. watched a new administration come to power. Perhaps Ronald Reagan?s most controversial appointee was his designated secretary of state, Alexander Haig, who, as a retired general, was feared to have the same militaristic instincts as his new boss.

Newport Beach Assemblyman Chuck DeVore planned to present resolutions supporting the parents of two kidnapped Israeli soldiers during an overseas trip, he said this week. DeVore left Wednesday for a 10-day trip to Israel with other legislators, a couple of media types and members of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles. Politicians on the trip included Cathedral City Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia and Bakersfield Assemblywoman Jean Fuller. DeVore said the point of the trip is "to improve our understanding of Israel and the region, and the Israelis are interested in having us for the purpose of having us better understand their point of view."

In late June, Jason Katz flew to Israel for five weeks to learn about the history of the Jewish people. As it turned out, he witnessed part of it firsthand. Jason, who attends Temple Bat Yahm in Newport Beach, was with 25 other California high school students on July 12 when violence broke out on the Israel-Lebanon border. At the time of the first attacks, the group was barely a mile from the border — and while viewers around the world sat captivated by the bombings shown on CNN, Jason and his companions simply felt a tremor in the ground.

Deirdre Newman NEWPORT-MESA -- Area leaders of Jewish and Muslim congregations are divided over assigning blame in the current Mideast fighting, but they say they share the same sadness over the lives lost there during the past week. "Whoever we are -- whether it be Muslim, Christian, Jewish -- I remind our congregation to focus on the issue," said Sadullah Khan, imam of the Islamic Center of Irvine. "How just and fair are we? What do we believe the god of humanity would be pleased with?"

IRVINE — Pro-Palestine Israeli filmmaker Udi Aloni gave a speech Wednesday evening at UC Irvine that advocated bi-nationalism. Aloni addressed a group of about 30 concerning his recent book, "What Does a Jew Want?," and about putting on a production of "Waiting for Godot" with people in a refugee camp in Jenin in the West Bank. Event organizers said Jewish groups on campus boycotted the event because Aloni supports a Palestinian state. Aloni had harsh words for groups who did not attend.

SANTA ANA — Jury selection began Monday in the case against 10 students charged with misdemeanors for allegedly taking part in a protest against Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren at UC Irvine last year. Prospective jurors were asked a variety of questions in an eight-page questionnaire, including whether they studied at UC Irvine, if their association with the school would affect their ability to be fair and impartial, and if they are familiar with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Joseph Farah, an Arab author, wrote: "As an Arab-American journalist who has spent a good deal of time covering the region, I can tell you there is more freedom for Arabs in Israel than in any Arab state. " Salma Abedallah, an Israeli Arab-Muslim, echoed: "We are very happy being Israeli Arabs. Israel has so much freedom of speech, even more so than in America. Israeli Arabs are the only Arabs that have any rights anywhere in the Middle East. " While the Lebanese cannot freely condemn the Syrian occupation of their country; while Saudi Arabian women are threatened with beatings for attempting to drive a car; while Libyans are indiscriminately fired upon by their own government and the Syrian civilian death toll mounts daily; while Yemenis languish in a virtual state prison; while the Egyptian military subjected female protesters in Tahrir Square to "virginity tests;" while Arab Morocco keeps the Saharawi Arabs in refugee camps in the most inhospitable desert as probably the poorest people on Earth, the 1.4 million Arabs of Israel enjoy life in a democracy that prizes life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

The Jewish Federation and Family Services of Orange County is inviting you to celebrate Israel's 63 r d birthday Sunday in Irvine. From 1 to 6 p.m., thousands are expected to attend the 2011 Israel Expo on the Samueli Jewish Campus, One Federation Way in Irvine. This year's theme is building a caring community and the expo will feature more than 80 vendor booths, food, rides and games. There will also be planners on hand for Jewish weddings and other ceremonies. For more information, go to http://www.jewishorangecounty.org . Parking and attendance are free.

I would like to write this week?s D?Var Torah in response to the episode of ?60 Minutes? two weeks ago. Israel looked stupid on that show. This week is Tu B?Shvat, and it celebrates Israel?s beautification of Israel. Militant Muslims and Hamas want to destroy Israel. Twenty-eight years ago ? like today ? the U.S. watched a new administration come to power. Perhaps Ronald Reagan?s most controversial appointee was his designated secretary of state, Alexander Haig, who, as a retired general, was feared to have the same militaristic instincts as his new boss.

As bombs, shells and rockets continue to fly in Gaza Strip, Newport-Mesa’s congressmen are coming out in support of Israel, saying the country has a right to defend itself. “If the United States were attacked by one of its neighbors, or any other foreign power for that matter, we would respond accordingly, citing our national self interest and the right to defend our citizens and sovereignty,” Rep. John Campbell said in a statement released to the media. “Israel is conducting its actions much the same as the United States would.

Every Friday for the last seven years they’ve been there, protesting what they consider an unjust war in Iraq. But this Friday, they took on a different conflict — Israel’s shelling of the Gaza Strip, an offensive the government said it launched to stop rocket attacks from the Palestinian militant group Hamas. “We’re protesting in support of the people of Gaza who are being unjustly invaded by Israel, and Israel is a surrogate of the United States,” said protest organizer Chuck Anderson.

Isaac Yerushalmi wasn’t quite sure what he would find on his trip to Israel and Palestine, but the moment that burned its way into the president of Anteaters for Israel’s brain was an encounter with a soldier who went to Lebanon in war and wished it had been in peace. “His job was to find where Hezbollah was shooting missiles from,” he said. “He talked about how Lebanon, in those hills, it was such a beautiful country. He wished he was there not to be fighting this war but to see the country and appreciate its beauty.

UC Irvine student leaders from Islamic, Jewish, Christian, Druze and unaffiliated religious backgrounds took a joint trip to Israel and Palestine this September, after 18 months of planning and $60,000 of fundraising. At 7 p.m. Thursday, the students will present “Beyond Stereotypes: Faces and Voices of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict,” a program sharing their insights gathered during the two-week trip. The 14 students included members of the Muslim Student Union, Society of Arab Students, Anteaters for Israel, UCI chapter of Hillel, Middle East Studies Initiative and Model U.N. The free program will be at the UCI Student Center, Crystal Cove Auditorium.

Even when the evidence put a Compton man at the scene of the murder and witnesses testified he did it during the trial, the victim’s family had their doubts he’d be convicted. “They don’t know much about the laws here in the United States, but I kept telling them, ‘No, no, look at the evidence. He will pay,’” Bernice Contreras remembered assuring her cousin Israel Maciel’s parents during the trial. Maciel, 23, was killed in a drive-by shooting Aug. 2, 2006.