October 2, 2000 Vol. 2, No. 33

This Week in New York…

For more information, contact Benita Gayle-Almeleh, Senior Community Consultant at bga@thejcpa.org

Barak Aide to Discuss Recent Developments in Israel and Palestinian Territories: At the request of Prime Minister Barak, JCPA and the UJC are jointly convening a special "share-the-cost" conference call tomorrow with Dr. Zvi Shtauber, the Prime Minister’s senior foreign policy advisor. The call is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. Eastern time on Tuesday, October 3^rd. Contact amstoute@thejcpa.org for more information and to confirm your participation.

Argentina Update: The JCPA Committee on Argentina will meet on October 3, 2000 at 12 noon at the JCPA offices in New York. Alfredo Neuburger, former director of the DAIA and B’nai B’rith in Argentina, and currently coordinating the community’s response to the upcoming trials of local policemen believed to have been involved with the 1994 AMIA bombing, will update the committee on the status of the investigations into the 1992 and 1994 terrorist bombings and will also discuss the general situation of the Argentine Jewish community. Conference call participation (individually billed) will be available for those who are unable to be in New York but would like to participate in the meeting. The dial in number is 877-797-1770, topic code: "Argentina." Contact amstoute@thejcpa.org for more information.

This Week in Washington...

For more information, contact Reva Price, Washington Representative at rprice@thejcpa.org

Focus on Domestic Violence: October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and an important means of calling attention to the issue is to urge Senators to pass the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Bill before adjourning. (See JCPA Action Alert, April 12, 2000) The House passed its version of the VAWA last week, but the Senate has yet to take action. Numerous events are scheduled across the country aimed at raising awareness about domestic violence. New York Walks to End Domestic Violence will be held on October 29^th, and an event sponsored by the National Task Force to End Sexual Domestic Violence Against Women will be held in Washington DC on October 11^th to call attention to the devastating impact of domestic violence on children. Of particular interest: NCSJ: Advocates on Behalf of Jews in Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic States, and Eurasia and Jewish Women International will hold a press conference tomorrow to announce a new initiative in collaboration with Project Kesher and the Russian Jewish Congress to engage ethnic and religious communities in addressing the serious issue of domestic violence in Russia. Contact rprice@thejcpa.org for more information.

First Monday in October: The Supreme Court opens its fall term today. Of particular interest is "Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook Co vs. Army Corps of Engineers" which will test the power of Congress to pass laws regulating interstate commerce. The JCPA has been involved with several issues in recent years, including the religious freedom legislation, which draw on the use of interstate commerce to justify federal involvement. The ADL together with other coalition partners have filed an amicus curiae brief in this case. Court activists will use this week to highlight the impact the November 2000 election will have on the Supreme Court. Amid speculation that several justices will retire over the next few years, the next President will have an enormous impact on the direction of the court. Court junkies, take note: check out www.supremecourtus.gov, which now includes a searchable database of the court’s docket; www.oyez.northwestern.edu, with information about the current docket as well as links to lower court opinions and briefs and an archive of more than 1500 hours of Supreme Court arguments.

Here and There in DC: Last week the Congress passed a "continuing resolution" to keep the government running in lieu of completion of the appropriations process. A second "CR" will be introduced this week to extend government operations through the week of October 9^th. The Congress is also expected to consider the long-stalled conference committee report on the Department of Defense Authorization bill, but it is still unclear whether the initiative will include hate crimes legislation. The White House has scheduled a "Debt Relief Summit" for tomorrow. The event will highlight debt relief initiatives currently part of the Foreign Operations Appropriations bill. Last week, following a conference call convened by the JCPA Committee on World Jewry and International Human Rights, a decision was made to endorse efforts to forgive debt owed by developing countries around the world. A resolution brought to the Israel and Other International Concerns Taskforce by the San Francisco JCRC and endorsed by the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism urged the JCPA to support this effort. (See JCPA memo, October 2, 2000)