Exclusive: “I never faked any antiquity”

Written by Matthew Kalman
The Media Line, Thursday, June 11, 2009

An Israeli antiquities collector accused of faking the burial box of Jesus’ brother and other priceless historical items says he is confident that new scientific evidence will prove that he is innocent.

Oded Golan, 58, has been on trial at the District Court in Jerusalem for the past four years, charged with forging an inscription on a Roman-era burial box or ossuary that says it contained the bones of “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus.”

The discovery caused a sensation when it was first announced in 2002 and displayed at the Royal Ontario Museum. But on its return to Israel, the ossuary was seized by Israeli police and Golan was arrested.

He was accused of faking the ossuary and other items in order to trap gullible collectors. In December 2004, he was indicted with four other defendants and accused of being at the center of an international antiquities forgery ring.

“They took original antiquities and added inscriptions and decorations, which turned the artifact into something valuable – and some of the antiquities we’re talking about are worth millions of dollars. One example is the ossuary of Jesus’ brother,” said Commander Shaul Naim of the Jerusalem police.

“We have the basis to believe that there are many more fake artifacts circulating, both in private collections and museums in Israel and abroad that we haven’t found yet,” Naim said.

“We know there are antiquity forgeries – it’s not a new thing. But the extent and the drama in attempting to fake history didn’t allow us as a government body not to become involved,” said Shuka Dorfman, head of the Israeli Antiquities Authority.

“I believe we have revealed only the tip of the iceberg. This industry encircles the world, involves millions of dollars,” said Dorfman.

Golan and his co-defendants went on trial in the summer of 2005, but after more than 70 prosecution witnesses and 8,000 pages of testimony, Judge Aharon Farkash warned the prosecution that he was not convinced they had proved their case and advised them to consider halting the trial.

"After all the evidence we have heard, including the testimony of the prime defendant, is the picture still the same as the one you had when he was charged?" Judge Farkash pointedly asked the prosecution in October 2008. "Not every case ends in the way you think it will when it starts. Maybe we can save ourselves the rest."

"Have you really proved beyond a reasonable doubt that these artifacts are fakes as charged in the indictment?” Judge Farkash said. “The experts disagreed among themselves. Where is the definitive proof needed to show that the accused faked the ossuary? You need to ask yourselves those questions very seriously.”

In an exclusive interview with The Media Line at his Tel Aviv home, Golan said he was confident that new scientific research undertaken by defense experts would finally exonerate him. Prosecution scientists had accused Golan of faking patina – a thin layer of biological material covering ancient items – in order to make the inscriptions on the artifacts seem old.

“No, I never faked any antiquity,” Golan told The Media Line. “During the last several years there were several tests and examinations of those items by prominent experts from different countries in different laboratories and I think we succeeded to prove that these inscriptions could not have been inscribed in the last century. There is a thin layer of patina – it’s a thin layer of crust made actually by a micro-organism that was developed inside the grooves of the inscription and this product made by the micro-organism could not have been developed in less than a hundred years.”

“It’s impossible to generate artificial patina, which takes a long, long time to be developed. It normally takes a hundred years in nature to be developed. Technology has not developed yet any technology to make it in a short time in a way that you will not be able to recognize it. You may do something similar, but this is not a forgery. This is like reconstruction of a building with similar materials,” said Golan.

“I am sure that most of the people who originally claimed that it’s a forgery recognized later on – just look at the articles and the researches that were done later on – that it should be ancient. I cannot guarantee that it belonged to the brother of Jesus Christ but it’s definitely ancient. I have no doubt about it,” he said.

The Israel Antiquities Authority and Justice Ministry refused to comment.

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Palestinian Students Who Are Barred From Entering Israel Can Appeal, Israeli Court Says

CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION
Daily News Blog, May 25, 2009

Jerusalem — In a hearing here today on military restrictions on Palestinian students who wish to study at Israeli universities, Israel’s Supreme Court invited students who are denied entry permits to appeal to the Israeli courts.

The hearing was held on a petition related to a case that was brought in 2006 by a Palestinian, Sawsan Salameh, and backed by the human-rights group Gisha. Ms. Salameh had been accepted as a doctoral student in chemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in January 2006 but had been unable to attend until late that year for lack of military permission to enter Israel.

In an earlier ruling in the case, the court had asked the state to replace the sweeping restrictions then in place with more specific criteria for allowing students to enter Israel. Instead of easing the restrictions, however, the state made them even harsher, Gisha contends. Among other conditions, the new restrictions introduced an arbitrary quota on the number of Palestinian students who could enter each year, Sari Bashi, director of Gisha, told The Chronicle.

Today’s hearing was held at Gisha’s request. While the court declined to take a stand on the restrictions themselves, it did emphasize that students who were denied entry had a right to appeal. The ruling also dismissed Ms. Salameh’s petition, since she has been allowed to continue her studies at the Hebrew University.

Alon Harel, a professor at the Hebrew University who asked to join the petition along with four other professors, said in a statement on Gisha’s Web site that Israeli universities “are being forcibly prevented from accepting students who can make a decidedly valuable contribution to higher education in Israel. I call upon the court and the defense establishment to respect academic freedom. The decision whether or not to accept a student needs to be the exclusive decision of the university, while the military should be limited to performing a security check.” —Matthew Kalman

Israel Detains 2 From Bethlehem U. Who Sought to Attend Meeting With Pope

CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION
Daily News Blog, May 13, 2009

Jerusalem — Two Bethlehem University faculty members were detained for questioning on Monday while on their way to participate in an interfaith conference here with Pope Benedict XVI, university officials told the Ma’an News Agency.

According to the officials, the two men were held after being denied entry to Jerusalem by Israeli authorities. Delegates to the conference included faculty members from the university, university alumni, and natives of the Bethlehem area of the West Bank.

Israeli authorities did not explain why the men had been barred, and the university said their experience was typical for its students and faculty and staff members, “many of whom navigate a maze of checkpoints, soldiers, and other structures of military occupation simply to be present on campus.”

Despite its diminished delegation at the conference, Bethlehem University received a special mention by the pope, who is visiting the Middle East. Praising local efforts at interfaith dialogue, Benedict noted the university’s “outstanding achievements” as examples of the “belief that our duty before God is expressed not only in our worship but also in our love and concern for society .. and for all who live in this land.” —Matthew Kalman

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POPE'S 'COMPLEX' MISSION

Visit: Pope Benedict is going to Israel

SUNDAY EXPRESS, May 10, 2009

By Matthew Kalman

POPE Benedict arrives in Israel tomorrow on a visit intended to mend fences with both Muslims and Jews amid efforts to reverse the plummeting numbers of Christians in the Holy Land.

Vatican spokesman Rev Frederico Lombardi described the Pope’s “very important and very complex” pilgrimage this week as “an act of hope and faith toward peace and reconciliation”.

Muslims have still not forgiven Pope Benedict for a speech he gave at Regensburg in 2006 in which he quoted a medieval pope who appeared to describe Islam as violent and irrational.

In Jordan, where he arrived on Friday, the Pope faced a chorus of disapproval from Islamic leaders, undermining the hopes of King Abdullah II that his visit would help rekindle Jordan’s tourism industry.

“The present Vatican Pope is the one who issued severe insults to Islam and did not offer any apology to the Muslims,” said Zaki Bani Rusheid, head of the Jordanian Islamic Action Front, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood.

“What is needed from the Pope is to have the courage to apologize,” Bani Rusheid said.

The Pope has expressed regret for misunderstandings over Regensburg but not for the speech itself.

Jordanian Islamists also condemned a planned visit to Yad Vashem, the Jerusalem memorial to Holocaust victims, even though Pope Benedict will also visit a refugee camp in Bethlehem.

Palestinian Christians, who feel caught between Jews and Muslims struggling for control of the Holy Land, have expressed delight that the Pope is coming.

But a study published this week shows the number of Christians in Jerusalem has fallen from 30,000 in 1946 to just 14,000.

Slumdog Stars Confirmed as a Couple

By Simon Perry and Matthew Kalman

People.com, Monday April 27, 2009

After much speculation about the nature of the relationship involving Slumdog Millionaire stars Dev Patel and Freida Pinto, Patel's mother Anita has confirmed to a British newspaper that the pair are very much a couple.

"First it was the film and now everything else seems to have slotted into place," Mrs. Patel is quoted as saying in Monday's Daily Mirror.

"Life can't get any better for him. Freida is really beautiful, and I am really happy for them."

Her comments come just days after Patel, 19, jetted to Israel to spend a whirlwind date with the Mumbai beauty, 24. "Yes, we knew he was flying to Israel to see her," said Patel's mother.

The pair rendezvoused in Tel Aviv as Pinto took time off from filming her latest movie in Jerusalem. The couple spent a few hours together in a hotel before emerging for a stroll around the harbor and an early champagne dinner at a seaside restaurant.

Onlookers said Pinto couldn't keep her hands off Patel. The couple spent their time at the table smooching and holding hands to the delight of a group of Japanese tourists who happened to pass by.

Shortly afterwards, Patel hopped a taxi to the airport to fly back to London, while Pinto returned to her base at the American Colony Hotel in East Jerusalem.

Israeli Graduates of U.S. Business Schools Are Stuck With Loan Debts and No Jobs

CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION
Daily News Blog, April 21, 2009

Jerusalem — Hundreds of Israeli business-school graduates are stuck in the United States with no jobs but huge student loans to repay, the Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz reported today.

According to participants at a gathering of 100 Israeli M.B.A. students and alumni in New York on Sunday, the prospects of getting a job in the dismal economic climate are slim. Meir Stein, a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, said many American finance and technology companies, particularly those receiving government money from the economic-stimulus package, will not hire foreigners.

Such support can be contingent on providing local jobs, and handling immigration issues can be a huge hassle for the employer, Haaretz said.

According to today’s Wall Street Journal, many American M.B.A. graduates who had planned to start a new career are being forced to return to their old jobs in order to find work.

The New York Times reported last week that this year’s Wharton graduates were changing direction abruptly as job offers from traditional companies dried up.

The global economic crisis has spared no one, including the Israeli M.B.A.’s, said Aharon Shenrech, who so far has no job and faces debts of $100,000 from his Wharton M.B.A. “I estimate that roughly 60 percent of my acquaintances who finished their M.B.A. studies are getting job offers, but the rest aren’t,” he said.

About 100 Israelis are accepted by M.B.A. programs at American universities each year, but their success depends on finding a good job afterward, even if the student ultimately plans to return to Israel. The whole concept of studying in the United States on a student loan is based on getting a good job, said Haaretz. And today, even if a job can be found, it may not pay well. —Matthew Kalman

Peres warns of a ‘strike’ against Iran

Daily Mail
14 Apr 2009

ISRAELI president Shimon Peres warned last night that military action against Iran would still be needed if Barack Obama’s new diplomatic initiative fails to stop its nuclear programme.

He said he hoped Mr Obama’s call for dialogue with Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad would be heeded. But he warned that if talks do not soften Mr Ahmadinejad’s approach, ‘we’ll strike him’.

The Obama administration announced last week that it would take part in talks between a group of countries and Iran over its nuclear programme.

It was a significant shift from President Bush’s policy toward a nation he labelled part of an ‘axis of evil’.

Iran insists the programme is a civilian one, but many countries fear it wants to produce weapons.

An aide to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last week that ‘ Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons could quite possibly be the single most serious issue that faces the international community’.

Mr Peres admitted, however, that Israel could not take action without U.S. support, adding: ‘We definitely can’t go against the U.S.’

SHAKY START FOR NETANYAHU

SUNDAY EXPRESS
Sunday April 5,2009

By Matthew Kalman

ISRAELI premier Benjamin Netanyahu’s new government got off to a bad start last week.

Prime Minister Netanyahu has returned to power, 10 years after he was ousted, with a 30-member cabinet so big that carpenters had to construct a new table for it in the Knesset.

But critics say his broad coalition, which includes members of the centre-left Labour party, the religious United Torah Judaism and Shas, and the secularist Israel Is Our Home, cannot last. The new government’s peace policies are opaque and its economic policies are likely to be a fudged compromise between Netanyahu’s free-market That­cherism and the socialist paternalism of Labour.

Outside Israel, Netanyahu was denounced as a warmonger for failing to include a clear commitment to a two-state solution with the Palestinians in his government policy guidelines. But he was overshadowed by his Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, leader of the Israel Is Our Home Party.

Lieberman, who grabbed attention by declaring that Israel was no longer bound by the Annapolis peace process, is under investigation on a string of corruption allegations and spent his first full day as foreign minister being questioned under caution by fraud police. If charged, he will have to resign.

American Universities Plan Their Own Study-Abroad Programs in Israel

CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION
Daily News Blog, April 3, 2009

Jerusalem — For decades, hundreds of American students have spent their junior year abroad at special programs on Israeli university campuses, but in a new trend, American universities are opening their own study-abroad programs in Israel, staffed by their own faculty members.

About 500 students from American universities are now enrolled in study-abroad programs in Israel lasting one semester or longer. That number is expected to double over the next year, said Ayelet Margolin, an official at MASA Israel Journey, an organization that helps coordinate the programs on behalf of the Israeli government and the Jewish Agency for Israel.

Among the American institutions with such programs in Israel are Boston University, Columbia University, the University of Miami, and the University of Pennsylvania. Other universities that have already announced plans to open such programs include Harvard University, New York University, the University of Illinois, the University of Maryland, and Washington University in St. Louis.

“One reason Israel is so attractive is that there is such a broad range of choice,” said Ms. Margolin.

Some programs that were halted over security concerns after the outbreak of the Palestinian intifada uprising, in 2000, have now resumed. One of them is the University of California system’s partnership with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. “It is in the best interest of our students to once again provide educational opportunities in Israel,” Michael Cowan, acting director of the education-abroad program at the University of California, said in a written statement. —Matthew Kalman

'Jesus ossuary trial' stalled after more than three years

THE JERUSALEM POST

Mar. 31, 2009

MATTHEW KALMAN

One of Israel's best-known antiquities dealers said this week he was the innocent victim of a "witch-hunt" initiated by the Antiquities Authority aimed at destroying his career and reputation.

Robert Deutsch, 58, has been on trial at the Jerusalem District Court since September 2005 on six charges of faking and selling priceless antiquities. He is the owner of the Archeological Center, with shops in Tel Aviv and Jaffa, and runs twice-yearly antiquities auctions that attract the world's top collectors of ancient Judaica.

Deutsch's co-defendant, leading antiquities collector Oded Golan, is charged with faking the burial box of Jesus's brother and an inscribed stone attributed to King Jehoash that once adorned the First Temple, plus dozens of smaller items.

As Deutsch took the stand this week for the first time after more than three years in court, 120 witnesses and 8,000 pages of testimony, he said the charges against him were "lies and hallucinations."

Golan, Deutsch and three others were indicted in December 2004 on a total of 18 counts of forgery and fraud. The indictments were announced amid great fanfare, with the police and Antiquities Authority officials claiming they had uncovered a grand conspiracy on an international scale in which fake items had been unwittingly bought by museums around the world. They said the five accused were just the beginning.

Shuka Dorfman, director of the Antiquities Authority, described the charges against Golan as "the tip of the iceberg."

"These forgeries have worldwide repercussions," Dorfman said when the indictments were filed. "They were an attempt to change the history of the Jewish and Christian people."

"This was fraud of a sophistication and expertise which was previously unknown," said the Israel Police's Cmdr. Shaul Naim, who headed a two-year investigation. "They took authentic items and added inscriptions to make them worth millions."

But more than four years later, no one else has been charged and no one has been prosecuted over a single fake item from any museum. Charges against two of the five original defendants were dropped, and one man was found guilty on a minor charge.

"They fabricated this entire indictment, the whole thing, from A to Z," said Deutsch, who tried to dismiss his lawyer earlier this year because of spiralling trial costs.

Deutsch is one of the world's leading experts on deciphering ancient Hebrew and other semitic inscriptions. Of the 1,000 known seal impressions from ancient Israel, he has published about half.

According to the Antiquities Authority, Deutsch and Golan conspired to forge an ancient decanter, several inscribed pieces of pottery and dozens of seal impressions - known as bulae - some bearing the names of Israelite kings mentioned in the Bible. They are accused of publishing scholarly papers on the items to enhance their value, and then selling them for thousands of dollars to unsuspecting collectors.

After Deutsch was indicted, he was fired from a teaching post at the University of Haifa and dismissed as a supervisor at the Megiddo excavations.

"I have never faked anything in my life," said Deutsch. "I'm the first person to call something a fake, because it pollutes the profession that I have made my expertise."

On the witness stand, Deutsch said he knew Golan, his alleged co-conspirator, only through business. He said the Antiquities Authority and police had failed to find a single e-mail between the two men, or any evidence linking him to forgery despite repeated raids on his home and shops.

Deutsch said the trial was an attempt to shut down the licensed trade in antiquities in Israel, even though it is legal and he has held a license from the authority for the past 30 years.

"The Antiquities Authority thinks we are no better than antiquities thieves," he said. "They believe that our legal trade is worse than theft because we are encouraging the robbers."

"They went to the Knesset and tried to pass legislation banning trade in antiquities and they failed. Now they are using this trial to destroy our business," he said.

"I don't know how much lower they can get, the people who cooked up this trial," he said. "They misled the prosecution, they misled the press and they came up with all sorts of stories with no basis in reality."

One charge against Deutsch and Golan is that in 1995 they conspired to inscribe an ancient decanter with a text linking it to the Temple service and sell it to billionaire collector Shlomo Moussaieff.

"To increase the significance of the decanter and enhance its price," the indictment charges, "Defendant No. 2 published the decanter in a volume of archeology which he authored on the subject of Hebraic inscriptions from the First Temple period."

But Deutsch produced the book in court - exhibit No. 4 - and showed that it was already at the printer in 1994, by which time the decanter was already in the Moussaieff collection. The book cannot have been used to enhance the sale price.

In addition, Deutsch and Golan have both produced compelling evidence to show that the decanter, like the rest of the items, is authentic.

The prosecution, which took nearly three years to present its case, has had difficulty proving the alleged conspiracy. When Oded Golan took the stand last year, he produced plausible explanations for the all the apparent evidence of forgery found in repeated raids on his home, business premises and storage facilities.

Expectations that the prosecution would produce an Egyptian craftsman it alleges actually faked most of the items were dashed when he refused to come to Israel to give evidence.

The star prosecution witness, Tel Aviv University's Prof. Yuval Goren, was forced to recant some of his testimony based on scientific tests that showed the patina - the encrustation that adheres to ancient objects - to be a modern concoction. Further scientific evidence based on isotopic analysis of the patina looked increasingly unconvincing after other scientists tested the same items and came to the opposite conclusion.

Last October, the trial appeared close to collapse after Judge Aharon Farkash advised the prosecution to consider dropping the proceedings.

"After all the evidence we have heard, including the testimony of the prime defendant, is the picture still the same as the one you had when he was charged?" the judge pointedly asked the prosecutor. "Maybe we can save ourselves the rest."

"Have you really proved beyond a reasonable doubt that these artifacts are fakes as charged in the indictment? The experts disagreed among themselves" Farkash said.

The trial continues.

Matthew Kalman is the Jerusalem correspondent of the San Francisco Chronicle. His stories on the forgery trial can be found at jamesossuarytrial.blogspot.com.

Secular mayor brings business sense to Jerusalem

SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
Sunday, March 29, 2009

Matthew Kalman, Chronicle Foreign Service

Jerusalem -- Nir Barkat, Jerusalem's newly elected mayor, is on a mission: to drag this ancient city into the 21st century.

Behind the iconic image of the Old City dominated by the Western Wall of Herod's Temple and the shimmering golden Dome of the Rock, is a near-bankrupt modern metropolis that is slipping deeper into poverty.

Since local taxes are low in contrast to other Israeli metropolitan areas, city services are limited and 56 percent of children and 33 percent of families live in poverty, according to the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies.

Barkat, 49, is a former paratrooper turned high-tech millionaire whose BRM Technologies is a pioneer in anti-virus software. A secular Jew born and raised in a city where 40 percent of its 750,000 inhabitants are ultra-Orthodox, his electoral victory in November reversed a rising religious hold on power.

"He was boosted by internal divisions inside the ultra-Orthodox camp," said David Horovitz, editor in chief of the Jerusalem Post.

In S.F. today

Barkat, who refuses to take a salary, will visit San Francisco today to promote investment and tourism. Assisting that effort is Isaac Applbaum, a founding general partner of Opus Capital in Menlo Park, who has reportedly invested millions in Israeli high-tech startups.

"I'm trying to put into practice the mayor's vision to ... rebuild Jerusalem from one of the poorest cities in Israel to one of the greatest," said Applbaum.

As mayor, Barkat has promised to preserve the fragile religious "status quo" whereby shopping malls and buses do not operate on the Sabbath, but movie theaters and non-kosher restaurants are allowed to remain open in secular neighborhoods.

He has also vowed to bring business sense to a city riven by political and religious factions. Mapam, a left-wing Israeli minority party, represents the interests of Palestinian residents who regularly boycott municipal elections. Secular Jews are irate over ultra-Orthodox residents, many of whom are on welfare or receive student stipends and are not obligated to pay taxes.

Problems, not politics

As a businessman and right-leaning independent who only entered politics five years ago, Barkat says he will focus more on solving problems than winning political debates.

"I've brought something that's called 'no surprises' to the way I manage Jerusalem," Barkat told The Chronicle in a recent interview. "When there are problems, let's put them on the table and solve them together. That gains a lot of trust rather than arm-wrestling to see who wins every round."

Years of underinvestment and poor planning have resulted in severe problems in transportation, education and housing, economists say. The city's annual budget of $800 million is less than Tel Aviv's, even though Jerusalem has twice the population. Barkat says only 45 percent of residents over 15 are employed, or 1 taxpayer for every 3 residents, in contrast to Tel Aviv, where 64 percent over 15 are employed and where there are 3 workers for every 3 residents.

One of Barkat's first acts has been to reassess a light-rail project that has snarled city traffic for five years, soared over budget and is three years behind schedule. He has proposed canceling future lines and replacing them with a flexible Bus Rapid Transport system.

More importantly, the new mayor is fixed firmly on creating jobs, building more housing and improving city services. Last year, 17,000 youths left the city to look for work elsewhere, according to city records.

In the absence of tax revenue, Barkat hopes to attract foreign investment in outsourcing of office services such as call centers and health-life sciences centered around the city's renowned Hadassah Hospital and Teva Pharmaceuticals, the latter a world leader in generic drugs.

"As mayor, I intend to focus on those areas where Jerusalem has competitive advantages and build them into business clusters," he said.

Barkat also plans to increase the number of tourists from 2 million to 10 million within a decade in order to create 150,000 new jobs with more tourist events and biblical theme parks.

Christians, Muslims, Jews

"No other city in the world can provide an opportunity to see Christians, Muslims and Jews at their best, with all their differences, and leverage their differences," Barkat said.

Perhaps his toughest challenge will be defusing simmering tension between Israeli and Palestinian residents, the latter who consider themselves living under occupation and comprise one-third of the city's population. Barkat says he can advance relations by improving city services to East Jerusalem, where most Palestinians live. The area was annexed from Jordan after the 1967 Six-Day War.

According to the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, 160,000 Palestinians have no running water; East Jerusalem lacks 40 miles of sewage lines, and the government has built more than 50,000 housing units on expropriated Arab lands and none for Palestinians.

"Definitely there are gaps," Barkat conceded. "My goal is to improve the quality of life of the people, of the residents of East Jerusalem. We will do that. It's my duty."

At the same time, he dismissed criticism leveled this month by visiting U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton of plans to demolish 88 Palestinian houses illegally constructed in East Jerusalem. He called her comments "unhelpful" to the peace process.

But Fakhri Abu Diyab, whose house in the Silwan neighborhood has been targeted for demolition, said he had no choice but to build without city permits.

"The municipality refused to let me build on a piece of land that I received from my father and my grandfather," Diyab said. "I was forced to build without a permit. ... What they want is to evict us."

Meanwhile, some analysts say Barkat must soon show results to win over skeptics who regard him as an ingenue rich-kid dabbling in politics.

"He will have to prove himself in office if he is to achieve the second and third terms he has already announced he will seek," said the Jerusalem Post's Horovitz.

E-mail Matthew Kalman at foreign@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page A - 7 of the San Francisco Chronicle

Matthew Kalman had fun making Brit movie — and hopes he can cut it in Britain

From The Jewish Chronicle
Candice Krieger
March 26, 2009

‘Circumcise Me’. That’s the name of the debut movie by Jerusalem-based news reporter and film director Matthew Kalman.

Mr Kalman, 48, teamed up with photographer David Blumenfeld to co-direct the hit comedy. Circumcise Me: The Comedy of Yisrael Campbell traces the life of Catholic boy-turned-Jewish comedian Yisrael Campbell, whose story turns out to be one of wild self-discovery.

Mr Campbell — formerly known as Chris Campbell — undergoes three conversions: from Catholicism to Reform Judaism, to Conservative Judaism and then to Orthodox Judaism.

The film, which has been generating a lot of interest at film festivals across Canada and the US, has now arrived in the UK.

Mr Kalman, who made aliyah ten years ago, tells People: “During the intifada, I spent a lot of time reporting on and filming people getting blown up. People were generally interested in blood and guts and it was all very depressing. David and I decided we wanted to do something more fun. I went to see Yisrael perform and knew we had our subject.”

They started working on the film in 2005. It took three years to complete. “It was a really long process,” says Mr Kalman, who reports for Channel 4 in the UK, among other media. “I am a news reporter but have always been interested in comedy. I thought making a film would be easy. I was wrong.”

Nonetheless, Mr Kalman is pleased with the outcome. “There is a Life of Brian-type feel to the film,” he says. “It is a really funny, feelgood creation. It’s about the intifada but it’s also about how life is lived in Israel. As journalists here, we often have to cover deaths — but we wanted to capture that absurdist humour.”

Blistering Audit Blames Israeli Universities for Hiding Multibillion-Dollar Deficits

CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION
Daily News Blog: March 23, 2009

Jerusalem — Israel’s universities have been accused of hiding huge budget deficits and of fiscal mismanagement in a scathing report by the country’s state comptroller, who oversees public institutions.

The official, Micha Lindenstrauss, said the country’s publicly financed universities ran up a deficit of 17.9 billion shekels (nearly $4.5-billion) last year but reported a deficit of only 1.59 billion shekels (about $400-million).

“These institutions go to great lengths in order to intercept any attempts made by the supervisor to enforce efficient supervision,” Mr. Lindenstrauss said in a report issued last week. “Academic freedom does not justify a lack of fiscal restraint or gross deficits.”

He said the major causes of the deficits were generous employment terms and pension plans for senior academic staff members.

After the universities paid their employees the unauthorized additional salary benefits, they were left with less money for their primary purpose, academic instruction and research, he noted. “You cannot cite academic freedom broadly to justify improper management when it has nothing to do with academic issues,” Mr. Lindenstrauss was reported as saying in Haaretz, a daily newspaper.

Mr. Lindenstrauss also said that funds earmarked for building international scientific relations, money that is supposed to be for research, were instead used for other purposes, including to pay retired academics, the families of deceased professors, and senior administrators, The Jerusalem Post reported.

Israeli universities have demanded and been granted hundreds of millions of dollars in extra funds to make up for budget cuts carried out under the previous government.

The comptroller also accused the bodies entrusted with overseeing higher education — the Planning and Budgeting Committee of the Council of Higher Education and the Finance Ministry — of not doing enough to supervise state-backed educational institutions.

The Council of Higher Education acknowledged the importance of the comptroller’s report and said in a statement that its findings would lead to change in work arrangements and increased efficiency in higher education.

Mr. Lindenstrauss also said the Committee of University Presidents bore specific responsibility for the problems outlined in his report. He said the committee had refused to allow his researchers access to its budgets and had yielded requested information only after being warned that continued foot-dragging would be considered as an attempt to thwart the investigation. He said the size of the deficit was known to the committee for years, but it neglected its responsibility to report the situation to the public.

The Committee of University Presidents denied any wrongdoing but said it was closely examining the report. “We shall act promptly and determinedly to make corrections,” the committee said in a statement. “The universities’ presidents cooperated with the comptroller and gave him all the information to carry out the audit, which is why [the presidents] were so surprised by his comments and rejects his claim that there was a lack of cooperation.” —Matthew Kalman

Israeli troops 'admit they killed innocent civilians in Gaza war'

DAILY MAIL 20th March 2009

By Matthew Kalman

Israeli army chiefs began a criminal investigation last night into claims that soldiers killed innocent Palestinian civilians during the recent war in Gaza.

The troops are said to have believed they would not be held to account under relaxed rules of engagement.

The claims were reported in newspapers yesterday, based on a transcript of a discussion at a recruits’ training course.
Gaza attack

Damage: Israeli army chiefs are investigating claims troops killed innocent people

Soldiers who fought in the war, which lasted from December to January, allegedly said: ‘Israeli forces killed civilians under permissive rules of engagement and intentionally destroyed their property.’

In one incident, a Palestinian family whose house had been commandeered, were told they could leave.

As they did, they were killed by a sniper in a ‘breakdown in communication’.

A soldier told students: ‘The commander let the family go and told them to go right. The mother and her two children didn’t understand and went to the left, but they (the soldiers) forgot to tell the sharpshooter on the roof that it was okay and he should hold his fire.

‘And he did what he was supposed to, following his orders.’

Another added: ‘The sharpshooter saw a woman and children approaching, closer than the lines he was told no one should pass. He shot them straight away. He killed them.
Gaza attack

‘We fired a lot of rounds and killed a lot of people in order not to be injured or shot at.’

A third soldier said: ‘When we entered a house, we were supposed to bust down the door and start shooting inside and just go up storey by storey – I call that murder. If we identify a person, we shoot them. How is this reasonable?’

He also told of an old woman who was crossing a road when she was shot by soldiers.

‘I don’t know whether she was suspicious or not. I do know that my officer sent people to the roof to take her out. It was cold-blooded murder.’

The level of civilian casualties during the three-week operation caused an international outcry against Israel.

Palestinians say more than half of the more than 1,300 Gazans who were killed were civilians, a figure disputed by Israel.

The soldiers also told of large-scale destruction of Palestinian property. One said: ‘We would throw everything of the windows - refrigerators, furniture. The order was to throw all the contents out.’

Yaakov Amidror, former chief of Israel’s military academies, said: ‘If you see a woman and two children in the crosshairs, it’s pretty clear, there is almost no case in the world that would justify pulling the trigger.’

Israeli officers said they had encountered countless Palestinian suicide bombers who tried to approach the troops and then blow themselves up. They said they had to put the lives of their own soldiers first.

But Danny Mazir, head of the Rabin Academy where the training course was held, said: ‘We expected to hold a discussion about the war. We did not expect the testimonies we heard. We were in total shock.’

Army chief advocate general Brigadier-General Avichai Mandelblit said the accounts ‘paint a picture of unacceptable behaviour, if true’.

Israel's Interdisciplinary Center Draws Praise for Its International Outlook

The private college attracts donors and scholars from around the world
CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION
From the issue dated March 20, 2009
By MATTHEW KALMAN

Herzliya

Tal Ben-Shahar was once a successful psychology professor at Harvard University. His classes on positive psychology attracted audiences of more than 850 students, making it the most popular course on the campus. But the best-selling author of Heaven Can Wait and Happier left America in 2006 to return to his native Israel and teach at a little-known institution of higher education called the Interdisciplinary Center at Herzliya, here in this seaside resort.

Mr. Ben-Shahar was drawn to the university, he says, because its founders believe it "can make a difference in society, in schools, in politics, in the daily lives of people in Israel and around the world, which I think is the right spirit of academia."

Established in 1994, the center began life as Israel's first private college. Today it offers serious competition to the country's seven publicly financed major universities, attracting faculty members from some of the world's top universities.

In a short time, the Interdisciplinary Center has grown to more than 5,000 students and developed a burgeoning reputation among students and scholars for its commitment to interdisciplinary work and community involvement.

Two years after arriving, the happiness professor is more than happy with his decision to leave the Ivy League behind.

"This place really is about bridging the ivory tower and main street," Mr. Ben-Shahar says.

"There's a real sense of combining between deep reflection and meaningful action."

The center's founder and president is Uriel Reichman, former dean of law at Tel Aviv University. One of his main aims in creating the college, he says, was to attract many of the brilliant Israeli college graduates who had gone abroad, partly to escape the limited academic career prospects in Israel.

With a student body about one-fifth the size of some of the larger Israeli universities, the Interdisciplinary Center offers undergraduate degrees in law, business, government, psychology, communications, and computer science. It offers master's degrees in law, computer science, business, and government.

And as Israel's seven state-funded universities head into another year of conflict over government budget cuts and faculty pay, the center's independence from public financing has given its students and faculty a rare sense of security — and challenge.

"As a private, not-for-profit institution, we have the ability to say to someone, 'Come here and be the champion of something,'" says Jonathan Davis, the center's vice president for external relations.

The center charges $9,000 annually for tuition, compared with $2,000 at most public universities, although it offers scholarships to needy students.

"If our courses are not creative, why should a student come and spend three times the tuition of a subsidized university?" asks Mr. Davis.

Bernard Fisher, a first-year undergraduate business student from Rio de Janeiro, transferred here after a frustrating year at Bar-Ilan University, near Tel Aviv. A months-long faculty strike wreaked havoc on his schedule, he says.

"Then there was talk of another strike this year. I just didn't have the patience," he says, adding that the quality of teaching at the center is also much better.

"Here, the teachers know you. At Bar-Ilan they had no idea if you even came to class," he says. "The teachers at IDC are very good, and the people here are much more flexible. And you feel they are willing to help so much more. Even though it's the most expensive school in the country, I feel it's worth the money."

Looking Outward

Both professors and students are encouraged to do community service and to work across disciplines.

Mr. Ben-Shahar is developing a course on positive psychology, which looks at traits that enable people and communities to succeed, in cooperation with 160 Israeli high schools. He is developing workshops for teachers, counselors, and students.

Next door to Mr. Ben-Shahar is Yair Amichai-Hamburger, an Oxford-educated Internet researcher and director of the Research Center for Internet Psychology, which studies the effects of the Internet on human relations. He said that colleagues at his previous university laughed when he suggested the establishment of such a center 10 years ago.

"They asked me: 'What does psychology have to do with the Internet?' They didn't realize that the Internet is not just about technology but about the interaction between millions of people," he recalls.

The Interdisciplinary Center's interest in his ideas are what drew him in, he says, and he began working there in 2006.

Today, Mr. Amichai-Hamburger's book, The Social Net: Understanding Human Behavior in Cyberspace, one of the first to focus on the impact of the Internet on social behavior, is a basic textbook for courses in the emerging field of cyberpsychology. His introductory course is compulsory for communications and psychology students at the Interdisciplinary Center and is gradually being duplicated at other Israeli universities.

Across campus, Israel's former ambassador to the European Union, Avi Primor, is developing another first for an Israeli college: a European-studies master's degree, in English, taught jointly by Jordanian, Palestinian, and German professors to students from those regions, and from Israel. It is being offered jointly with the University of Düsseldorf and Al-Quds University, a Palestinian college in the West Bank.

Mr. Primor said he originally approached Tel Aviv University with the idea, but officials weren't interested. In addition, he says, "If this center was at Tel Aviv, I can just imagine the administrative and political complications I would have in order to bring about the trilateral cooperation."

"IDC is flexible, it's open to new ideas, to innovations, and to international cooperation. It's much easier. I'm not sure I would have done it at all somewhere else," he says.

Students say they appreciate the faculty's interdisciplinary approach.

"The professors have a lot of really interesting real-world experience and are teaching in a field they are involved in professionally, where they can bring in their own experience," says Ronit Ledani, who grew up in Boston and is studying government. She transferred after two years at Bar-Ilan University. "I also find the students at IDC are much more motivated. They are really there to learn. They are much more driven."

Ms. Ledani will soon begin working with the children of Sudanese refugees as part of the center's community-outreach program. Students who do community service receive tuition reductions in return.

Global Ambitions

Faculty members at other Israeli colleges say they are impressed with the quality of the Interdisciplinary Center's academic programs but note that it is tailored to a narrow audience, both because of its limited offerings and its high price tag.

"It's good for limited, pinpoint types of activities," says Gerald Steinberg, professor of political science at Bar-Ilan University. "It's an alternative and competition — exactly what the Israeli higher-education system needs. The system generally is inflexible. It hasn't adjusted to the times. Universities in Israel are extremely bureaucratic, and you have to go through multiple layers of committees, so it's difficult to change things. IDC has a reputation for being able to do things quickly, maybe because it's so small."

Foreign students have also flocked to the institution. Twenty percent of the student body is international, and 25 percent of the incoming class will study in English. The Interdisciplinary Center is the only university in Israel, in fact, to offer degrees entirely in English. Unlike other public universities here, it has no Hebrew-language requirement and does not require applicants to take the Israeli psychometric exam, which is similar to the SAT. "Part of our mission is to fight Israeli bureaucracy," says Mr. Davis. "They have lost thousands of kids who would otherwise have come here."

The center, whose operating budget is supported by tuition revenue, has also been successful in raising money from Israeli philanthropists. Donors have financed the building of the campus as well as the infrastructure. Seventy percent of its annual $12-million development budget, which pays for buildings and facilities, comes from Israelis. The center also has Israel's only alumni fund-raising campaign, says Mr. Davis.

Among the donors to the institution are Ronald S. Lauder, an American businessman and philanthropist; Shari Arison, Israeli's wealthiest citizen; and the Asper family, owners of CanWest Global Communications Corporation.

Mr. Reichman said future plans include a new school of economics, a scientific research institute dedicated to issues of sustainability, alternative energy, water scarcity, and climate change, and a special program for Israeli high-school principals designed to help improve the country's declining high-school system.

And, he says, the center will expand its student-exchange programs. Current partners include the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and Syracuse University.

Mr. Reichman notes that the center draws students from 60 countries. He hopes that eventually 35 percent of the student body, or more, will be drawn from abroad. "We have to continue to emphasize the global aspect of our education because the future of Israel lies in our ability to operate and make the foreign markets our own, and to prepare a new generation of leaders who will do business globally while living in Israel."

http://chronicle.com
Section: International
Volume 55, Issue 28, Page A27

Clinton Announces Million-Dollar Scholarship Program for Palestinian Students

CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION
NEWS BLOG: March 9, 2009

Ramallah, West Bank — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has announced a new million-dollar scholarship program to help Palestinian students enroll at Palestinian and American universities.

Mrs. Clinton announced the Middle East Partnership Initiative during a visit to this Palestinian town last week. The four-year program will support about 10 scholarships each year for disadvantaged students to attend four-year courses at Palestinian universities. The program will also offer 25 “opportunity grants” to enable promising but disadvantaged young Palestinians to apply to American-accredited institutions in the United States or the Middle East, a State Department official told The Chronicle.

Once funds are approved by Congress, Mrs. Clinton hopes to begin the program in the 2010-11 academic year. The money is in addition to $900-million in aid to the Palestinian Authority announced by the secretary last week at the donors’ conference, in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt.

During her visit to an American-sponsored English-language teaching program in Ramallah, Mrs. Clinton said the opportunity grants would create “a larger pool of capable young men and women from places like the West Bank and Gaza” who can “compete along with students in other countries for the opportunity to further their academic training in America.” The secretary spoke on a youth program aired by Palestinian Authority TV.

Last year several Palestinian students from Gaza who were awarded Fulbright scholarships ran into difficulty entering Israel to complete the application process, and two of them were subsequently denied entry visas to the United States on security grounds.

Micaela Schweitzer-Bluhm, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem, said efforts were being made to enable Gazans to participate in American-sponsored projects despite the security challenges.

“We’ve had several dozen Gazans participate in our programs over the last few months, both educational and professional,” said Ms. Schweitzer-Bluhm.

“It is difficult,” she said. “It’s a challenge to bring Gazans to participate in these programs, but we go through great lengths to try and facilitate their participation, and we have advance coordination with the Israelis to get them the necessary permits.” —Matthew Kalman

Hillary Clinton and Mahmoud Abbas both tell Iran: Butt out!

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Wednesday, March 4th 2009

By Matthew Kalman
SPECIAL TO THE NEWS

RAMALLAH, WEST BANK - Hillary Clinton teamed up with embattled West Bank Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday in telling Iran to butt out of the region.

In wrapping up her first Mideast trip as secretary of state, Clinton joined with the Palestinian Authority president in denouncing the call of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for all Muslims to join the "resistance" to Israel."We are sending a message to the Iranians and others: Stop interfering in our affairs," said Abbas, who is locked in a power struggle in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.

On a brief stop in Ramallah, Clinton charged that the Iranians "are interfering only to deepen the rift between Palestinians." The Iranians were seeking to "intimidate as far as they think their voice can reach," Clinton said.

In Tehran, Khamenei said in a statement that "support and help to Palestinians is a mandatory duty of all Muslims. I now tell all Muslim brothers and sisters to join forces and break the immunity of the Zionist criminals."

The hugs and kisses that marked Clinton's earlier visit to Jerusalem were markedly absent from her more formal meetings with Abbas and his prime minister, Salam Fayyad.In response to a reporter's question, Clinton voiced her only negative note about Israeli policy, branding a decision to evict 1,400 Palestinians in East Jerusalem and destroy 88 homes there as "unhelpful."

Clinton also visited a U.S.-supported school providing English-language instruction for high school students and announced a series of scholarships and exchange programs to bring more Palestinians to U.S. universities.

Abbas' presidency, which officially expired in January, is to be shored up by $600 million in U.S. aid and training for his security forces, whose main objective has been to prevent his regime from being overthrown by Hamas.

In Gaza, Hamas officials dismissed Clinton's repeated declarations of support for Israel as "a slap in the face of those who were expecting changes in America foreign policy."

With Richard Sisk in Washington

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wooing Syria to nix Iran nukes

Kahana/Getty Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with Israeli President Shimon Peres, who presented her with a bouquet.

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Wednesday, March 4th 2009

BY Matthew Kalman In Jerusalem and David Saltonstall In New York
DAILY NEWS WRITERS

Hillary Clinton made her Jerusalem debut as secretary of state Tuesday - and immediately signaled a new diplomatic push to reopen relations with Syria.

Clinton said two American envoys would soon hit the road to Damascus, marking the first direct, high-level talks between the U.S. and Syria since 2005, when relations broke down over Syria's support of terrorist groups.

"We have no way to predict what the future of our relations with Syria might be," Clinton said. "I think it is a worthwhile effort to go and begin these preliminary conversations."

Officials later said that National Security Council official Dan Shapiro and Acting Assistant Secretary of State Jeff Feltman would head to Syria to get the diplomatic ball rolling.

Syria has long harbored Palestinian terror groups, including Hamas, which Clinton sharply criticized for endangering the lives of innocent Israelis and Palestinians and undermining the well-being of the people of Gaza.

But Syria is also viewed as a potential ally against Iran's nuclear ambitions - a top diplomatic priority for the Obama administration.

"Iran's pursuit of the nuclear weapon is deeply troubling to not only the U.S. but many people throughout the world," Clinton later told ABC News.

Throughout her day, Clinton unequivocally expressed the administration's plans to pursue peace in the Middle East - a peace, she suggested, that hinged on the creation of an independent Palestinian state.

"The inevitability of working towards a two-state solution seems inescapable," Clinton told reporters in Jerusalem.

That could put the White House at odds with incoming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who opposed the creation of a Palestinian state in his recent election campaign.

But Netanyahu said after an hour-long sitdown with Clinton that the two had found "common ground" and pledged continued cooperation.

The former First Lady later visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, where she laid a wreath in the memorial hall honoring the memory of the six million Jews killed by the Nazis.

"My visit," Clinton said, "was a powerful reminder of why we are working so hard to advance the security of the State of Israel."

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Without peace, Gaza aid is useless, admits Blair

DAILY MAIL
March 2, 2009

TONY Blair yesterday made his first visit to the Gaza Strip since he was appointed an international envoy to the Middle East.

The former Prime Minister warned that aid to the devastated Palestinian territory would be pointless without a renewed drive for peace.

Mr Blair did not meet officials from Hamas, the region’s ruling party, during his lightning stopover, but the visit was coordinated with Hamas security, his aides said.

He toured the Israeli town of Sderot, the target of more than 5,000 Hamas rocket attacks in recent years.

Mr Blair said: ‘ I wanted to come to hear for myself firsthand from people in Gaza, whose lives have been so badly impacted by the recent conflict.

‘ These are the people who need to be the focus of all our efforts for peace and progress from now on.’

Mr Blair is today heading for a conference in Egypt, where it is expected that international donors will pledge millions of pounds to rebuild Gaza.

His trip came only hours before Hillary Clinton arrived in the region for her first visit as U. S. Secretary of State. International Development Minister Douglas Alexander is also currently in Gaza City, where he pledged £ 30million in UK aid.

In Jerusalem, outgoing Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert threatened Hamas with a ‘ painful, sharp, strong and uncompromising response’ after 11 rockets were fired across the border.

One scored a direct hit on an empty school.

Israel turns right to Netanyahu

DAILY MAIL
21 Feb 2009

RIGHT-WINGER Benjamin Netanyahu is to form the next Israeli government and become Prime Minister, it emerged yesterday.

Even though his Likud Party lost last week’s general election by one seat to the centrist Kadima Party, President Shimon Peres has decided that Netanyahu has a better chance of forming a coalition than Kadima leader Tzipi Livni.

In a move that will put Israel on a collision course with the Obama administration, Peres confirmed that he had asked the Likud leader to build a coalition.

Netanyahu, who opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state, now has six weeks to form a government amid strong pressure from the Israeli public for one of national unity.

Livni offered to rotate the premiership with Netanyahu but he refused.

Netanyahu acknowledged ‘ the need for unity’ yesterday, adding: ‘ Not for decades have we stood before such a mass of such enormous and severe challenges at one time.’

Bibi poised to be chief with boost from right

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Friday, February 20th 2009

BY Matthew Kalman
DAILY NEWS WRITER

JERUSALEM - Hard-liner Benjamin Netanyahu was poised to return as Israel's prime minister after a maverick right-winger endorsed him Thursday in the wake of the country's indecisive elections.

Israel Is Our Home, the party headed by Avigdor Lieberman, a former nightclub bouncer from Moldova, won 15 of 120 Knesset parliament seats in last week's election, catapulting him into third place. With Netanyahu and centrist candidate Tzipi Livni in a dead heat, Lieberman's support for Netanyahu would tip the balance of power to Netanyahu.

Lieberman's rise has aroused concern in the U.S., where the Obama administration is trying to kick-start the peace process.

Livni's centrist Kadima Party won with 28 seats while Netanyahu came in second with 27. Livni offered a rotating premiership with Netanyahu in a broad unity coalition, but Netanyahu demanded leadership.

Both need Lieberman's support to form a coalition with a working majority. Lieberman's support for Netanyahu came with strings attached.

"We recommend Benjamin Netanyahu only in the framework of a broad government," Lieberman said.

Livni signaled that she would not join a coalition government, but President Shimon Peres summoned Netanyahu and Livni to his official residence today to urge them to set aside differences and work together.

Market Meltdown and Madoff Scandal Cost Israeli Higher Education Some $250-Million

CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION
DAILY NEWS BLOG: February 16, 2009

Jerusalem — Israeli universities have lost annual income of at least $250-million — more than 10 percent of their total yearly operating budgets — because of the effect of the world economic crisis and, in particular, the investment scandal allegedly perpetrated by Bernard L. Madoff.

The Israel Council for Higher Education, the government-appointed body that oversees Israeli colleges and their budgets, has appointed a special committee headed by a former Bank of Israel governor, Moshe Mandelbaum, to assess the extent of the crisis and recommend steps to stem the losses.

Yuval Lidor, a spokesman for the Council for Higher Education, told The Chronicle that an initial assessment by Mr. Mandelbaum and his colleagues suggests that Israeli universities have lost at least $250-million from budgets that in 2007 totaled $2-billion. Mr. Lidor said that in 2007 foreign donors gave at least $175-million, of which some 70 percent was now feared lost.

“Currently, the state finances some 65 percent of the universities’ budgets, and tuition covers another 18 percent. The remainder comes from donations,” the Israeli daily Haaretz reported today.

Israeli universities’ endowment portfolios have been hit by the worldwide slump in the capital markets, reducing investment income. Funds from wealthy foreign donors also struggling with the economic downturn have dwindled to a trickle.

The Madoff scandal hit Israeli universities particularly hard because many of Mr. Madoff’s clients were Jewish and many of them regularly donated large amounts to Israeli education. Some Israeli institutions and their American fund-raising arms also invested directly with Mr. Madoff.

Hadassah, the American Women’s Zionist Organization, which supports the Hadassah-Hebrew University Hospital in Jerusalem, lost $90-million in Madoff investments. The American Technion Society, which raises funds for the Haifa Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, lost $25-million.

Mr. Lidor said the area hardest hit was university research and development, much of which is financed with foreign donations. The Chais Family Foundation, a California-based charity that gave away more than $12-million every year and was believed to be the single largest donor to Israeli universities’ R&D, was forced to close in December, after it emerged that its entire investment portfolio had been handled by Mr. Madoff and had simply disappeared. The pattern echoes events in the United States.

“No university will collapse,” said Mr. Lidor, “but we are really afraid that all R&D will be frozen.” —Matthew Kalman

Tzipi Livni's party wins Israel's cliffhanger election by one seat but faces battle to form coalition government

DAILY MAIL
February 13th, 2009

By Matthew Kalman

Israel was in political deadlock last night after the final votes counted from Tuesday's general election failed to change the preliminary results.

Officials confirmed that Tzipi Livni's centreist Kadima had finished as the largest party with 28 seats in parliament, but put Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing Likud in pole position to become prime minister, even though he won only 27 seats.

Despite her being leader of the party which took most seats, Livni faces an uphill battle to form a coalition government under Israel's proportional representation system in which she must cobble together at least 61 votes in Israel's 120-seat Knesset parliament. At the moment, Livni's centre-left-Arab bloc has only 55 seats, while Netanyahu believes he has the support of at least 65 right-religious party seats.

Livni is hoping that Avigdor Lieberman, leader of the third-placed Israel Is Our Home Party, will choose her over Netanyahu.

Lieberman, a former Russian nightclub bouncer and one-time Netanyahu aide, was confirmed with 15 seats and effectively holds the balance of power.

Lieberman is committed to introducing civil marriage and divorce – a policy that Netanyahu's religious allies reject outright. He could yet upset Netanyahu's calculations and throw his lot in with Livni.

All 12 party leaders who won Knesset seats will be consulted by President Shimon Peres beginning next Wednesday, when the results are officially published. The president will take soundings and then ask whoever he thinks most likely to be able to form a government to do so.

Lieberman said yesterday he had decided who to recommend as prime minister to Peres, but would not reveal his choice.

Netanyahu, who grabbed the initiative with a tub-thumping victory speech only three hours after the polls closed on Tuesday, continued to pile the pressure on Livni to join a unity government under his leadership. He offered her two of the three top spots in a coalition, which means she would stay on in the key post of foreign minister.

'I plan to create a wide coalition and I will tell the other parties, "if you're worried about national interest, lay aside your political interests and join a government under my leadership",' he told the Haaretz newspaper.

Israeli commentators said Netanyahu hoped that Livni would provide an acceptable international façade for what would effectively be a right-wing government implacably opposed to creating a Palestinian state and unable to find common voice with the new peace-seeking Obama administration in Washington.

But a senior Kadima minister said Livni might prefer to stay out of government than become Netanyahu's junior partner or fig leaf.

'We will join a Netanyahu government only if it is not an extreme right-wing government,' said Kadima's Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit. 'We are not afraid to sit in the opposition.'

The party positions remained unchanged after tallying the last few thousand votes of soldiers, the disabled, prisoners, diplomats and people in hospital. They voted at 2,361 special ballot boxes in double-sealed envelopes to prevent tampering.

Observers had expected the soldiers' votes to gain another seat for Netanyahu and his allies, but many soldiers spoiled their ballot papers by writing in the name of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier kidnapped in 2006 by Hamas.

Close election has Israel in a political stall

SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
Thursday, February 12th, 2009

Matthew Kalman, Chronicle Foreign Service

Jerusalem - Israel appears headed for another period of political uncertainty bordering on paralysis after a close-fought general election failed to produce a clear winner.

With only a few thousands soldiers' and diplomats' absentee ballots left to be counted today, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's center-right Kadima Party won the most seats in parliament, but former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing Likud appeared to have the best chance of forming a governing coalition.

"Tzipi Livni has a very weak, if not negligible chance to form a government under her leadership," said Avi Diskin, professor of political science at the Hebrew University. "The chances are that a government will be formed led by the Likud, and Kadima may join it. The sooner Tzipi Livni makes that decision, the greater the returns for her and for Kadima."

But both Livni and Netanyahu have claimed victory, beginning talks with possible coalition partners.

"The people chose me in droves," Livni said Tuesday. "I feel a great responsibility to translate the power that has been given to me into action, to advance the country and to unify the people."

"The Israeli people have spoken sharp and clear. The nationalist camp, headed by Likud has won a clear majority," said Netanyahu. "With God's help, I will stand at the head of the next government."
It could take weeks

Once the official results are published on Wednesday, President Shimon Peres will begin consultations with party leaders before choosing either Livni or Netanyahu to form a government. Peres has indicated that he will announce his selection by Feb. 20. According to Israeli law, the president selects as prime minister the parliamentary member with the best chance of forming a viable coalition government. His choice then has up to six weeks to win a parliamentary vote of confidence.

With all civilian votes counted, Kadima won 28 parliamentary seats, followed by Likud with 27 and the right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel is Our Home) with 15. In fourth place, the liberal Labor Party - for decades Israel's ruling party - recorded its worst ever result with just 13 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, Israel's parliament. Labor's traditional left-wing partner, Meretz, eked out just three seats.

On the other hand, right-wing and religious parties did well, winning 65 seats in contrast to 55 seats for Kadima, and center-left and Arab parties. The absentee ballots yet to be counted are expected to strengthen the rightist parties by one or two seats.

The uncertain result of Tuesday's election has revived calls for an overhaul of Israel's proportional representation system, which typically fails to produce stable governments. David Horovitz, editor of the Jerusalem Post, has called it "unworkable" and in need of "urgent electoral reform."

Livni, 50, who hopes to become Israel's first female prime minister since Golda Meir (1969-1974), called on Netanyahu to join a unity government under her leadership and hurried to meet with Avigdor Lieberman, the tough-talking leader of Yisrael Beiteinu who has emerged as a kingmaker and is expected to support Netanyahu.
'A clear majority'

"We want a nationalist government. We want a right-wing government," Lieberman told delighted supporters Wednesday. "The nationalist camp has won a clear majority. The rightist bloc has won a clear majority. I am pleased that we hold the key. And this key also brings with it a responsibility. And this decision will not be at all easy," he said, referring to deep divisions over religious policy with the ultraorthodox Shas party, which supports Netanyahu.

Lieberman has been accused of racism over his controversial proposals to redraw Israel's borders to push out heavily Arab areas and mandate Israel's 1.1 million Arab residents to swear loyalty to the state and perform national service or lose their right to vote and hold office. But his largely Russian constituency appears to be most concerned about ending the religious monopoly on marriage and divorce - Israel does not recognize civil marriage or divorce - a policy that Livni endorses but would be an anathema to Netanyahu and his Shas supporters.

Netanyahu's former chief of staff, Lieberman has whittled way at Likud's share of the conservative vote and now threatens to replace his ex-boss as undisputed leader of the right if he throws in with Livni's Kadima Party.
'The fact is, we won'

Knesset member Meir Shetreet, who left the Likud to help form Kadima three years ago, said his party would not join a Netanyahu-led government that would refuse to advance the peace process. Netanyahu is opposed to the creation of an independent Palestinian state, and wants to maintain Israeli control over the Jordan Valley and expand Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

"The fact is, we won. The last thing the country needs is a right-wing government that will bring about a freeze in the entire peace process and social, economic and diplomatic deterioration," said Shetreet.

Meanwhile, Palestinian reaction has been one of alarm at Israel's rightward shift.

In Gaza, Hamas officials accused Israel of electing "a troika of terrorists."

In the West Bank, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said "the Israeli public has voted for paralysis. I don't see how any coalition established after these elections will be able to fulfill the necessary conditions for peace."

Until a new government is in place, however, Ehud Olmert remains prime minister.

Before he leaves office, Olmert is expected to push through an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire deal with Hamas and broker a controversial exchange of 400 Hamas prisoners in exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who was captured in 2006.

Israel deadlocked in election drama

DAILY MAIL
12 Feb 2009

From Matthew Kalman in Jerusalem

ISRAEL was politically gridlocked yesterday after its general election left the two prospective leaders both claiming victory

With only a few thousand soldiers’ and diplomats’ absentee ballots left to be counted, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni’s centrist Kadima Party had the most seats in the Knesset parliament.

But right-wing former premier Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud still had the best chance of forming a stable coalition.

Both Livni and Netanyahu claimed victory and began talks with possible coalition partners.

‘ The Obama administration is going to inherit the worst of both worlds,’ said former U. S. mediator Aaron David Miller. ‘ It has already inherited a dysfunctional Palestinian house, made worse by Gaza, and now what it is inheriting is a dysfunctional Israeli house.’

President Shimon Peres will begin consultations with party leaders next week then give either Livni or Netanyahu a month to form a government.

With all the civilian votes counted, it looks as though Kadima has won 28 seats, Likud 27 and the ultra rightwing Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel is Our Home) 15.

Labour, for decades Israel’s ruling party, collapsed to its worst ever result with just 13 seats in the 120-seat Knesset.

The absentee ballots are expected to strengthen the right-wing and religious parties and leave them with a total of 65 seats, compared to 55 for centre-left and Arab parties.

Livni called on Netanyahu to join a unity government under her leadership. She hurried to meet Avigdor Lieberman, the leader of Yisrael Beitenu who has emerged as the kingmaker. He told his supporters: ‘ I am pleased we hold the key. And this key also brings with it a responsibility.

‘And this decision will not be at all easy,’ he said, referring to deep divisions over religious policy with the ultra-orthodox Shas Party, who are also supporting Netanyahu. Meanwhile, Ehud Olmert remains prime minister. He is expected to push through an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire with Hamas and an exchange of 400 Hamas prisoners for kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

Israel ready to bring back Benjamin Netanyahu in general election

DAILY MAIL
9th February 2009

By Matthew Kalman

Benjamin Netanyahu is poised to return to power in Israel, a decade after his last controversial term.

Voters are expected to lurch to the Right in tomorrow's general election.

Tough-talking Mr Netanyahu, leader of the Right-wing Likud Party, is firmly opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state.

Weekend polls showed the Likud leading with about 26 seats in the 120-seat Knesset parliament and a wafer-thin advantage over foreign minister Tzipi Livni of the ruling Kadima Party.

Whoever wins in Israel's system of proportional representation must form a coalition with other parties, leaving Mr Netanyahu, 59, with the choice of a narrow Right-wing government or a broad national unity government with Kadima and Labour.

Mr Netanyahu was elected in 1996 as Israel's youngest prime minister after a wave of Hamas suicide bombings ended the election hopes of Shimon Peres, now Israel's ceremonial president.

The former commando is credited with playing a key role in opening up Israel's economy to the free market, boosting a period of strong economic growth.

But his administration was overshadowed by disputes - with the Palestinians, with the Americans, with Europe and finally with his own Right-wing coalition partners, who brought about his downfall in 1999.

Mr Netanyahu says he has 'learned from my mistakes' and has promised to do better this time round.

The only party showing a significant rise in the polls apart from Likud is Yisrael Beitenu - Israel is Our Home - led by Avigdor Lieberman, a pugnacious Russian-born former aide to Netanyahu who has been under police investigation for corruption for most of the past ten years.

The run-up to the general election has been dominated by Israel's war in Gaza, which has claimed 1,300 lives.

Two more Hamas rockets landed in Israel on Sunday despite a supposed ceasefire between Hamas and the Israelis. But it emerged last night that Israel and Hamas are on the verge of agreeing a new ceasefire. Egypt has been mediating between opposing sides, according to Egypt's foreign ministry.

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Bard College and Al-Quds University to Open Joint College

CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION
February 8, 2009

JERUSALEM — Bard College in New York and Al-Quds University in East Jerusalem will open a joint college in September 2009, modeled on the college Bard opened in Russia with St. Petersburg University a decade ago.

The Al-Quds Bard Honors College for Liberal Arts and Sciences — as it will be known — will eventually accept 100 new students each year for the four-year course. The first 60 students are expected to enroll this fall and will be awarded joint degrees from Al-Quds and Bard. The self-standing autonomous college is recruiting an entire new faculty and will occupy a building on the Al-Quds campus originally built to house the Palestinian Parliament and Yasser Arafat’s office. Applications for the founding dean of the new college, who is expected to speak both English and Arabic, have been requested by the end of February 2009.

Bard and Al-Quds are also planning a joint master of arts in teaching (MAT) program and a model high school. “The honors college and MAT programs are to be launched in summer 2009 and will be located on the Abu Dis Campus of Al-Quds University. The model school is scheduled to open in fall 2010,” according to a job vacancy for a project coordinator advertised on the Bard College website.

“Al-Quds and Bard College are initiating partnerships with public schools in the West Bank and Jerusalem representing different models of student learning. Teachers in the pioneer schools will be the first cadre of students in the MAT Program and will serve as mentor teachers for future apprentice teachers,” Bard announced in its search for a director of the MAT program.

Plans for the new college were finalized in a joint memorandum signed by Bard College President Leon Botstein and Al-Quds University President Sari Nusseibeh during a visit to Bard by Mr. Nusseibeh and his senior colleagues in August 2008. Half of the $3-million budget for the first two years is being donated by the George Soros Foundation, with the balance coming from Bard fundraising programs. — Matthew Kalman

Israeli elections tightening, polls show

SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
Saturday, February 7, 2009

Matthew Kalman, Chronicle Foreign Service

Jerusalem - The identity of Israel's next prime minister and the future of the Middle East peace process will be decided in a neck-and-neck election Tuesday that most pollsters say is too close to call.

Nearly 30 percent of Israel's estimated 5 million voters remain undecided among the two leading candidates: right-wing former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who rejects the idea of a Palestinian state, and centrist Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who says she is committed to peace talks and withdrawing Jewish settlements from the West Bank.

Until this week, Netanyahu, the leader of the right-wing Likud party, who has also pledged to remove "Hamastan" from Gaza and prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons by any means necessary, seemed to be heading for a narrow victory and a possible coalition with a band of smaller, hawkish and religious parties or with Livni's ruling center-right Kadima Party and the center-left Labor Party led by Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

But seven polls published Thursday and Friday projected Likud and Kadima would each win 25 seats in the Knesset, Israel's parliament. The job of prime minister is assigned by the president - mainly a figurehead position - to the Knesset member with the best chance of forming a viable coalition government in light of election results.

During the campaign, doubt over the peace process with the Palestinians has been a major factor. Many Israelis fear the Palestinians are hopelessly divided between Hamas, which controls Gaza, and their political rival Fatah, which controls the West Bank. Moreover, the recent 23-day war in Gaza not only revealed Hamas' huge arsenal of weapons aimed at Israel but also left Hamas still in control - dashing hopes that Israel's 2005 withdrawal from Gaza would prompt Palestinians to create a model for their future state that could live in peace with its neighbor.

"The complexity of the situation after the Gaza war leads most Israeli Jews to favor a grand coalition bringing together Netanyahu, Barak and Livni," said Shlomo Avineri, professor of political science at Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Last September, Netanyahu looked like a certain winner after Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced he would resign over corruption allegations, and Livni, his replacement as Kadima Party leader, proved unable to form a new coalition.

But five months is a long time in Israeli politics.

Olmert's alleged financial dealings have faded from public debate and been replaced by worries over Gaza and a deepening economic crisis. And Netanyahu's position as the unassailable leader of the Israeli right has been overshadowed by the sudden popularity of the Russian-dominated Yisrael Beiteinu party, or Israel Is Our Home Party, led by the pugnacious Knesset member - Avigdor Lieberman, Netanyahu's former chief of staff.

Since Russian speakers make up more than 10 percent of the Israeli electorate and lean heavily toward the right, polls suggest his party could replace Labor as Israel's third-largest party.

Lieberman, a former bar bouncer who immigrated to Israel from Moldova in 1978, still speaks Hebrew with a strong Russian accent. His campaign slogan is a direct challenge to Israel's 1.7 million Arab citizens, many of whom identify with the Palestinian cause: "Without loyalty, there is no citizenship."

Lieberman has proposed initiatives demanding every citizen swear loyalty to the state or lose the right to vote or run for office, and pushing areas with heavy concentrations of Arabs outside Israel and under Palestinian jurisdiction in return for annexation of West Bank Jewish settlements.

"Israel is under a dual terrorist attack, from within and from without," Lieberman said this week. "And terrorism from within is always more dangerous than terrorism from without."

Israeli Arab leaders have angrily charged Lieberman with racism - an accusation given weight by comments made by some of his party colleagues who publicly advocate the emigration of Israeli Arabs.

"This is the backlash of some Israeli Jews against what they saw during the Gaza war as the support of many Israeli Arabs for the Hamas side," said Avineri.

Not surprisingly, Netanyahu has redirected his campaign in past weeks at keeping Likud supporters from migrating to Lieberman's party, while projecting an image of fiscal and diplomatic expertise to attract moderates concerned about the nation's economic crisis and maintaining cordial relations with the new Obama administration.

Livni, who says she is confident of victory, has presented herself as the new face of Israeli politics, the first female candidate for prime minister since the legendary Golda Meir and the leader most likely to work closely with President Obama.

"Livni is seeking to demonstrate that a woman can be a tough leader in tough times," said David Makovsky, head of the Project on the Middle East Peace Process at the Washington Institute.
Israel's electoral system

Since Israel's multiparty system has never produced a majority for a single party, parties that receive the most votes must form coalition governments.

On Tuesday, 30 parties will compete for 120 seats in the Knesset, Israel's parliament. The Israeli electorate votes for a party, rather than for individuals, with a minimum requirement of 2 percent of the vote to take a seat.
Currently, the center-right Kadima Party leads with 29 seats, followed by the center-left Labor Party with 19 and the right-wing Likud party with 12.

In recent years, centrist parties aiming to break the Likud-right, Labor-left grip on power have been one-shot wonders.

But if Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu wins Tuesday's election, he has expressed a preference to form a unity government with Kadima and Labor, which are expected to control more than 70 seats. That would blunt the power of smaller parties that typically make budgetary and policy demands that have torpedoed previous Israeli coalitions, including Netanyahu's first administration in 1999.

A Likud-Kadima-Labor hold on power also could alter the traditional shape of Israeli politics and reduce the power of fringe parties.

- Matthew Kalman

This article appeared on page A - 3 of the San Francisco Chronicle

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Colleges in Gaza Reopen but Face More than $20-Million in Repairs

CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION
Friday, February 6, 2009

By MATTHEW KALMAN

Jerusalem

Palestinian colleges in Gaza have resumed examinations and started repairing more than $20-million in damage to buildings, equipment, and infrastructure caused by Israeli bombing raids during the recent invasion of the tiny coastal territory.

The colleges in the Gaza Strip were preparing for first-semester examinations when Israel launched its assault on December 27, following the collapse of a fragile six-month truce. "Operation Cast Lead," as it was called by Israel, ended on January 18 after thousands of aerial bombing raids and a ground invasion in which many educational facilities were damaged.

The Palestinian university hit hardest was the Islamic University of Gaza, which, with 20,000 students, is also the largest higher-education institution in Gaza. The university, which was founded by Hamas and maintains close ties with that group, was specifically targeted in Israeli airstrikes that destroyed two blocks containing 50 science and engineering laboratories and caused widespread destruction throughout the campus. University officials deny Israeli assertions that the laboratories were used as research facilities to develop Hamas weapons.

Six members of the university's teaching staff were killed during the Israeli campaign, including one who was targeted as a leading figure in the Hamas military wing, the Qassam Brigades (The Chronicle, January 7).

The university resumed exams on a limited schedule this week and plans to hold a full exam timetable for the first semester beginning on Saturday. The delayed spring semester will begin on February 28.

Lost Tuition

Kamalain Sha'ath, president of the Islamic University, told The Chronicle that damage to buildings, equipment, and infrastructure was expected to cost $14-million in repairs. He said the university had started a fund-raising campaign to cover that amount and an additional $10-million in lost tuition, which averages $500 per student per semester.

"The students in Gaza are poor, so we allow them to register for the first semester and then try to collect the tuition afterward," said Mr. Sha'ath. "Now we have reached the end of the first semester, we find that 40 percent of tuition hasn't been paid and we cannot ask the students because they don't have it.

"In normal times, we don't allow them to register for the next semester unless the fees owing are paid. This time, we will allow them to register without paying. Also, we expect that even for next semester, only 20 to 30 percent of students will be able to pay the fees."

Another institution, Al-Azhar University, was not specifically targeted by Israel, but repairs to damage there will still cost more than $6-million, the university's president, Jawad Wadi, told The Chronicle.

"We had a farm and our faculty of agriculture in Beit Hanoun, which Israel completely destroyed. The cost of rebuilding the farm and the faculty will be about $5.8-million," said Mr. Wadi. "At the main building in Gaza City, there was extensive damage to doors, windows, aluminum, and computers, which will cost about $450,000 to repair."

The university resumed its laboratory examinations this week and plans to start final exams for the first semester on February 7. Full classes will resume on March 8.

Mr. Wadi said that nearly half of the 12,000 students were unable to pay their tuition on time, leaving the university with a $5.6-million deficit from unpaid fees.

Widespread Damage

Al-Aqsa University, a public institution sponsored by the Palestinian Authority government in Ramallah, suffered about $1.4-million worth of damage to five of its buildings in Khan Yunis and Gaza City. A new building in Khan Yunis intended to serve as a community college was destroyed, as were seven staff apartments. The library on the main campus in Gaza City was badly damaged by Israeli tank fire.

Ali Abu Zuhri, president of the university, told The Chronicle that 14 Al-Aqsa students and one member of the staff had been killed. Exams will resume on Saturday, and the second semester will begin on March 7. Mr. Abu Zuhri said that more than 50 percent of the 14,000 students enrolled for the first semester had been unable to pay tuition.

The university has appealed to the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees to help repair the damage, said Mr. Abu Zuhri. "We are also asking our friends to help students who are unable to pay tuition," he said. "So far, we have received sponsorship for about 100 students from friends in the Gulf, but there are 7,000 more who need assistance."

Damage to buildings and equipment at the University College of Applied Sciences totaled $690,000. Although the campus escaped the worst of the bombardment in comparison to other colleges, most of the windows were shattered, and there were large holes punched in the walls by Israeli shells, which also damaged furniture and equipment. In an interview with The Chronicle, Dean Yahya R. Sarraj described the Israeli assault as "barbaric." He said that exams would resume this weekend and the second semester would begin on February 21.

Al-Quds Open University appears to have suffered collateral damage from Israeli missiles. Nedal Tayeh, a spokesman for the university, said 85 percent of the university's windows were broken, and its administration offices were badly damaged. He said breakage occurred to air-conditioning units, fans, computers, and communications and multimedia equipment, and he estimated the total cost of repairs at about $211,000.