JustASC

Desperate for good news going into Shabbat and Adar II, I Googled “Jewish” in search of the first item that did not have to do with terrorism, slain soldiers, or rocket attacks. Here’s what I found, a press release at the Dallas Morning News’ Religion Blog:

Jewish vegetarians weigh in against “animal-based agriculture”

A Jewish vegetarians’ group is making the case that reducing meat consumption can help combat global warming.

The Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) announced today that it strongly commends the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) for initiating a “Scientists and Economists’ Call to Action,” which urges U.S.-based scientists and economists to sign a letter which calls for “policies that will ensure swift and deep reductions in U.S. emissions of heat-trapping gases.”

“Since climate change is today’s greatest challenge,” stated JVNA president Richard H. Schwartz, “we applaud UCS for their important initiative. But they, like most scientific groups, are overlooking ‘an inconvenient truth’ that even Al Gore has not sufficiently addressed.”

Schwartz cites a UN Food and Agriculture Organization study showing that animal-based agriculture emits more greenhouse gases than all forms of transportation worldwide combined (18% vs. 13.5%).

Don’t worry — Toyota is on it.

Aljazeera.net either thinks “shootout” and “massacre” are synonymous, or preferred to suggest that the boys were gunned down in a mutual exchange of fire:

At least seven people have been killed and 35 more wounded in a shootout at a Jewish school in west Jerusalem.

We first got word of the obscene Jerusalem attack via a mass email from Eli Beer of United Hatzalah of Israel (Ichud Haatsalah), one of Israel’s ambulance corps: 

2:22 PM EST — A terror attack in Merkaz Harav Yeshiva in Jerusalem.

United Hatzalah on the scene informing of dozens hurt, and killed.

Evacuation is in process.

Most likely two terrorists are still at the scene.

Subsequent emails filled in details:

2:58 PM EST — Yerach Toker-United Hatzalah coordinator on the scene is reporting 8 dead as of now and many wounded.
The police are still in pursuit of one more terrorist who is still inside the building with explosives.

According to the police two terrorist walked into the Yedshiva building and started shooting all over at the young boys.

A “Final update”:

4:16 PM EST — One terrorist on scene (dead)

Seven young Yeshiva boys murdered.

12 injured - 5 serious and 8 minor.

Many who were in the Yeshiva are now just starting to come out and are being taken to the hospital for shock treatment.

Volunteers of United Hatzalah said it looked like a massacre.

Only volunteers who were protected with bullet proof gear were able to enter the building.

Yossi Refaeli a United Hatzalah medic volunteer entered the building while the terrorist was still shooting; he clung to the wall and witnessed another Yeshiva boy shoot the terrorist in the head.

The terrorist went from floor to floor and directly shot and killed these boys.

Some of the boys tried escaping but the terrorist ran after them.

Many of the boys ran into hiding and wouldn’t come out even after the police assured them all was ok.

According to some of the volunteers the terrorist was wearing a “Kippah” on his head.

Hope we do not hear from this terrible news again.

American Jewish Congress announced that The Nation agreed to carry the ad about Israeli women turned down by Ms. magazine in November. From the press release:

 ”We applaud The Nation for having the courage to do what Ms. magazine feared to do: share with their readers our message about how Israel has empowered women,” said Harriet Kurlander, Director of AJCongress’ Commission for Women’s Empowerment. “We now challenge Ms. magazine to let their readers see the ad and decide for themselves what readers of the The Nation can see, and what the publishers of Ms. magazine want to hide.”

This week in the New Jersey Jewish News:

• Jordan’s King Abdullah II in Princeton: “Time is running out”
• A West Orange man who lost his brother in a terrorist attack gets a green light to sue the Palestinian Authority.
• Synagogues are buzzing over the sale of Ugandan coffee (it’s all for a good cause).
• Grandma is a clown — really. An interview with Big Apple Circus star (and NJ resident) Barry Lubin.
• My column: What Jews want to hear on Farrakhan:

When it comes to anti-Semitism - especially of the consistent, baiting brand practiced by Farrakhan - many Jews don’t want to hear “despite….” They don’t want to hear about extenuating circumstances, or group loyalty, or anti-Semitic acts or deeds that need to be judged against the purveyors’ complete public record. And they have little patience for political calculations that weigh the number of votes a candidate will win or lose depending on how he or she couches the answer to the Farrakhan question.

Being short, female and Ashkenazi could lead to a long life, according to Bloomberg. A study of 384 Ashkenazi Jews who lived to at least 95, conducted by Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, identified two genes that appear to help confer long life in certain forms. 

Carriers of the variant genes have two things in common: they seem more likely to live to 100 and more likely to be short, a trait they share with their daughters.