TOP STORIES MINNESOTA SENATE WIN FOR FRANKEN Mr Franken could help the Democrats stop Republican delaying tactics BBCi Democrat Al Franken has won the disputed 2008 Minnesota Senate race, after his Republican opponent Norm Coleman conceded victory. On election night last November, voting machines gave Mr Coleman a narrow 215-vote lead, triggering a recount  MORE>. ISRAEL APPROVES 50 SETTLER HOMES   Adam, also known as Geva Binyamin, is already home to about 3,500 settlers BBCi Israel has approved the construction of 50 new housing units in a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank. Officials said the homes would house settlers being moved from a nearby unauthorized outpost and were only the first part of an expansion plan. MORE>  BAGHDAD PARTIES AS US PULLS BACK Iraqis have held a giant party in a Baghdad park as US troops approach their deadline for withdrawing from cities and towns to their bases. Thousands flocked to the capital's Zawra Park to be entertained by musicians and poets, as police patrol cars were festooned with flowers. MORE> ISRAELI COURT JAILS EX-MINISTER Mr Hirchson was finance minister in the government of Ehud Olmert, BBCi Former Israeli Finance Minister Avraham Hirchson has been sentenced to five years in jail for theft. Hirchson, an ally of former PM Ehud Olmert, was found guilty of stealing half a million dollars from the trade union he led.  MORE> ADL WELCOMES INDICTMENT OF WHITE SUPREMACISTS IN ARIZONA MAIL BOMBING; SAYS CASE HAS 'THE HALLMARKS OF A HATE CRIME' The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) on last week welcomed the federal indictment and arrests of two white supremacists in a mail bomb attack that seriously injured three City of Scottsdale employees in February 2004. Among those injured was Don Logan, the city's director of diversity and dialogue, who was apparently singled out because he is an African-American whose work in community relations was well known. MORE>  BGU CONFERS HONORARY DEGREE ON PHILANTHROPIST ZUCKERBERG BEER-SHEVA, Israel -- Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has awarded a prestigious honorary doctoral degree to philanthropist and business executive Roy J. Zuckerberg. Zuckerberg, who is currently a senior director of the Philanthropist Roy J. Zuckerberg, BBCi Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., previously vice chairman, is a member of its executive committee and head of the equities division. MORE> SUMMIT ADDRESSES NAZI-LOOTED ART Much of the art stolen by Nazis has already been returned to its owners, BBCi Jewish groups and representatives of 49 countries are gathering in Prague for talks on returning art and possessions stolen by the Nazis. The five-day conference in the Czech capital will also aim to increase Holocaust awareness and education.  MORE>

LEGAL PETITION CIRCULATOR PLEADS GUILTY TO VOTER REGISTRATION FRAUD LOS ANGELES – A 26-year-old owner of a voter registration company pleaded guilty today to voter registration fraud and agreed to legally register at his correct address, the District Attorney’s office announced. MORE> EL AL’S DIRECTOR OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS RESIGNS Ishay Buch, director of international affairs at El Al will end his service with the company at the end of June, after 3.5 years with the company. His areas of responsibility included cooperation with foreign airlines and on El Al’s code share agreements. Buch refused to comment on his decision. MORE> COMMUNITY CITY HALL FELLOWS RECEIVE 2009 ECHOING GREEN FELLOWSHIP Bethany Rubin Henderson was 1 of 14 worldwide entrepreneurs selected PASADENA -- Echoing Green, an angel investor in social change, announced last week that City Hall Fellows is among the fourteen new initiatives to be fueled by the 2009 Echoing Green Fellowships. Founded by Bethany Rubin Henderson, of Pasadena, City Hall Fellows was recognized for empowering America’s best and brightest young people to drive social change from within local government .MORE> RABBI LEAH LEWIS JOINS FAST FOR DARFUR Rabbi Leah Lewis, Leo Baeck Temple LOS ANGELES -- Rabbi Leah Lewis joined several local and surrounding area rabbis who recently participated in a fast for Darfur to call attention to victims of the genocide in Darfur. Local rabbis participating in the fast were from Los Angeles, Encino, Pacific Palisades, Temple City, Northridge, Pomona, Fullerton and Tarzana. They represented synagogues, JCCs and hillels across Southern California. MORE> CHILDREN OF JEWISH HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS CO HOST MISSILE CRISIS BRIEFING LOS ANGELES -- Children of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and the David Horowitz Freedom Center will co-host Missile Crisis Briefing 2009 From Israel and Washington D.C. The EMP Catastrophe Proliferating nuclear threats to the U.S., Israel and other allies on Monday, June 29, at 7 p.m. at Luxe Hotel Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles. MORE>  _________________    _________________  ADVERTISERS NEEDED -- Commission (818) 996-1220

NEWSMAKERS JACKSON'S EX-WIFE IN CUSTODY VOW Debbie Rowe was married to Jackson for three years, BBCi Debbie Rowe, the ex-wife of Michael Jackson, says she will fight for custody of the two children she had with the late pop icon. MORE> WHY HAS ROWE WAITED UNTIL AFTER JACKSON'S NET WORTH WAS REPORTED TO STEP FORWARD? MADOFF SENTENCED TO 150 YEARS Madoff apologised for his crimes after hearing from his victims, BBCi Bernard Madoff has been given the maximum prison sentence of 150 years for masterminding a massive fraud that robbed investors of $65bn. The sentencing was greeted with cheers and applause in the courtroom, while US District Judge Denny Chin described the crime as "staggering". MORE> HAROLD GRINSPOON FOUNDATION LEVERAGES $50M FOR JEWISH CAMPING Harold Grinspoon,an award winning Jewish social entrepreneur SPRINGFIELD, Mass -- The Grinspoon Institute for Jewish Philanthropy, a program of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, invested more than $8.5 million in matching grants to 54 non-profit Jewish overnight camps throughout North America. MORE> SCHWARTZ APPOINTED CHAIR OF AMERICAN COMMITTEE FOR WEIZMANN INSTITUTE John L. Schwartz, M.D. of Pacific Palisades PACIFIC PALISADES -- Dedicated advocate of the American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science, John L. Schwartz, M.D. of Pacific Palisades was recently appointed chair of the Southern California Region’s American Committee for Weizmann Institute of Science.  MORE> _________________ OP EDS By ARIEH ELDAD:  DEMILITARIZED PALESTINIAN STATE? By MOSHE PHILLIPS:  THE LAND OF ISRAEL: IS THERE AN ALTERNATIVE By NANCY RATZAN: NCJW DEPLORES LATEST HATE VIOLENCE  _________________ LOCAL ADL: DISAPPOINTED PANEL DID NOT TO DISCIPLINE PROFESSOR FOR ANTI-ISRAEL MESSAGE SANTA BARBARA -- The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) expressed strong disappointment at the decision by the University of California Santa Barbara Charges Committee that did not find probable cause to undertake disciplinary action in the matter of Professor William Robinson  MORE> POIZNER ANNOUNCES TERRORISM FINANCING PROBE Directs California Insurers to Divest Iranian Government Holdings California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner on Monday announced that he will launch an effort to probe insurance company investments for ties to Iran and immediately direct California-based insurance companies to divest any direct holdings in the Iranian government.  MORE>