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SCHWARTZ APPOINTED
CHAIR OF AMERICAN COMMITTEE FOR WEIZMANN INSTITUTE

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John L. Schwartz, M.D. of Pacific
Palisades |
Cont'd from Home Page
In his new philanthropic leadership
role, Schwartz will head efforts to enlist new supporters and
raise awareness of the Weizmann Institute of Science -- one of
the world’s foremost centers of science and technology
research, located in Rehovot, Israel.
Schwartz will promote the important
work of the Weizmann Institute. He seeks to further engage the
vibrant Southern California area, one of the American
Committee’s most active and key regions in the United States
He succeeds Lon Morton of Calabasas.
Schwartz is a board-certified physician
and "serial" entrepreneur. He was founder and CEO of
Continuing Medical Education (CME) Inc., and it was under his
stewardship that the company became the largest proprietary
provider of clinical information for U.S. healthcare
providers. In 2004, five years after selling CME, he
co-founded the Value Investing Congress, which provides
high-quality, practical information on investing to hedge fund
managers and ultra high-net-worth investors.
"We are delighted to have Dr. Schwartz
at the helm of one of the most important regional areas for
the American Committee," National Chair Larry Blumberg said.
"Working closely with the Southern California volunteer
leadership and with Janis Rabin, Executive Director of the
region, we know that his passionate commitment to the Weizmann
Institute will help us reach even greater heights of success
in Los Angeles and beyond."
Schwartz’s appointment to the
chairmanship follows years of support of the Weizmann
Institute of Science: a member of the American Committee Board
of Directors, executive committee, and the Weizmann
Institute’s International Board of Governors, he served as
Chair of the Global Gathering Gala -- the highlight of the
American Committee’s annual national event. He and his wife, Vera, are also members of the
president’s circle. Schwartz is a devoted husband, father, and
grandfather.
RABBI LEAH LEWIS
JOINS FAST FOR DARFUR

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Rabbi Leah Lewis, Leo
Baeck Temple |
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Page
Jewish activists joined together recently in a fasting
chain Ruth Messinger, president of American Jewish World
Service, joined a fast by lay leaders and activists across the
country who have volunteered to join her. Rabbi David
Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform
Judaism, took over for Messinger and begin a three-day
recently.
After inviting rabbis of all major streams of American
Judaism to join him for the final day of his fast, Saperstein
was joined by more than 55 rabbis from the United States,
Canada, Israel and Mexico, including: Rabbi Avi Weiss of the
Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, New York (Orthodox); Rabbi
Shawn Zevit of the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation; Rabbi
Charles Feinberg of Congregation Adas Israel in Washington,
D.C. (Conservative); and Rabbi Emerita Rosalind Gold of
Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation (Reform).
Messinger and Saperstein join a long line of politicians,
celebrities and activists in carrying on a water only fast
begun April 27 by actress Mia Farrow to call for the
restoration of humanitarian aid to the people of Darfur. On
April 27, Rabbi Saperstein was arrested in his third act of
civil disobedience calling attention to the situation in
Darfur, this time with long-time civil rights activist Rep.
John Lewis and other members of Congress and leaders of Darfur
advocacy groups.
Speaking to the importance of being a voice for Darfur,
Rabbi Saperstein said, "As rabbis, our moral voices can
influence activists and leaders to respond to the urgent
threats to livelihood in Sudan. Together, we can inspire and
even push our elected leaders to use their positions of
leadership to influence the international community to ensure
humanitarian access in Sudan and for a just and lasting
resolution to this crisis."
It has been more than three months since Sudanese President
Omar al-Bashir expelled humanitarian aid groups from the
country. Despite assurances that Sudan will allow
international NGOs into the country and close the existing
humanitarian gaps, the situation has apparently worsened.
Aid groups report that their efforts to get aid to those
who need it are unsustainable and insufficient. The onset of
the rainy season will likely lead to mass migration and
water-borne disease epidemics in internally displaced persons
camps, putting, as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon predicted,
more than 1 million people at life-threatening risk.
Negotiations about returning aid groups have not yet
achieved real results. Messinger says she is fasting so she
can try to appreciate how it feels to be hungry and how
difficult it is to function under such circumstances.
"Each day in Darfur, mothers and fathers look into the
suffering eyes of their children knowing, like all parents,
that they would sacrifice anything for their children not to
suffer, but also knowing that there is nothing they can do as
long as they remain in limbo," Messinger said. "A person can
suffer no greater indignity than not being able to feed his or
her children or prevent dehydration that is often deadly.
"As difficult as it may be for us to function at a high
level during our fasts, this type of hunger is an everyday
reality for hundreds of millions of people worldwide; it
prevents children from learning and adults from working
productively to sustain economies; but just as importantly, it
undermines the very kind of belief in a better future that is
the lifeline for the world's most vulnerable," Messinger
said. |
CITY HALL FELLOWS RECEIVE 2009 ECHOING
GREEN FELLOWSHIP

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Bethany Rubin Henderson was 1
of 14 worldwide entrepreneurs
selected |
Cont'd from
Home Page
Echoing Green, which granted its first
funds for social entrepreneurship in 1987, will provide up to
$90,000 over two years to Henderson, plus comprehensive
technical assistance, consulting support, and other
administrative benefits. The fourteen recipients of the 2009
Echoing Green Fellowship work in a variety of spheres
including civil and human rights, community and economic
development, the environment, health, and
education.
City Hall Fellows is a Teach For
America-style national service corps program that works to
incentivize and empower America’s best and brightest to use
local government institutions to drive social change. City
Hall Fellows offers top recent college graduates an
unparalleled opportunity to experience – and improve – local
government from the inside. City Hall Fellows’ post-college
Fellowship program combines hands-on work experience inside
city agencies with intensive training in public sector
leadership. Currently, Houston and San Francisco host City
Hall Fellows. The Echoing Green Fellowship will fuel City Hall
Fellows’ growth and success as City Hall Fellows expands to
more sites across the country.
"With the backdrop of a new U.S.
President launching an Office of Social Innovation, and
increasing numbers of social enterprises around the globe
tackling societal problems through innovative solutions, we
are thrilled to introduce City Hall Fellows as one our newest
Echoing Green Fellows," said Dr. Cheryl Dorsey, president of
Echoing Green. "We proudly offer them our early stage funding,
buoyed by our vast network of social entrepreneurs, to help
them secure sustainability and more quickly achieve impact."
Echoing Green received nearly 1,000
applications, with City Hall Fellows earning one of only
fourteen spots. With the 2009 class, Echoing Green has now
invested over $28 million in 471 fellows since 1987. While
Echoing Green supported only domestic Fellows as recently as
1999, half the 2009 Fellows are based outside the United
States and non-U.S. applications have trended upwards in
recent years.
"I am thrilled to receive this
recognition and financial support from Echoing Green," said
Henderson. "America’s metropolitan areas, home to more than
80% of us, are on the frontlines of every major social issue
in this country. Today, a leadership vacuum threatens cities’
ability to successfully handle those challenges, not to
mention cities’ ability to provide critical daily services.
City Hall Fellows gives America’s cities the key to the future
by giving the key to the city to the next generation. By
recognizing me as one of the 14 most innovative social
entrepreneurs in the world in 2009, Echoing Green is
acknowledging that what our cities do is critical to the
health of our nation, that the time is right to engage recent
college graduates in cities’ work, and that City Hall Fellows
has designed the blueprint for change."
Among the organizations which Echoing
Green funded at their early stages and are today
internationally-recognized: Teach For America, Working Today,
Genocide Intervention Network, Citizen Schools, JumpStart for
Children, Peace Games, the Global Fund for Children, and City
Year.
CHILDREN OF
JEWISH HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS CO HOST MISSILE CRISIS
BRIEFING

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Center for Security Policy Founder Frank
Gaffney |
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Page
As terrorist regimes acquire nuclear
capability, fears of the devastation wrought by a nuclear
attack are on the rise. However, a seldom discussed, yet more
insidious threat looms on the horizon -- the risk of an
Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) attack -- a catastrophe that could
instantly transform America from a superpower to a
pre-industrial society.
Such an attack would destroy the U.S.
electrical grid and lead to infrastructure failure that would
result in food shortages, starvation, disease, and civil
unrest. Of course, Israel, Europe, Japan and other
countries are equally vulnerable and could suffer severe
disruptions to their economic, healthcare and security
systems.
The Congressional EMP Commission
recently released their final report -- verifying both the
danger and the fact that Israel and the United States have not
taken adequate steps to protect themselves from the effects of
a nuclear EMP Strike. Further, both countries are priority
targets for destruction.
Among the panelists, who will examine
today's nuclear threats, are Center for Security Policy
founder Frank Gaffney, EMPACT, Israel Missile Defense
Association director Avi Schnurr, and former Commanding
General of the United States Army Intelligence Center, Major
General James (Spider) Marks. Writer and activist Janet Levy
will moderate the panel for this critical topic.
Gaffney was assistant secretary of
defense for international security policy under President
Reagan. He is the founder and president of the Center for
Security Policy in Washington, D.C. and has been warning about
the EMP threat for several years.
Schnurr is a 25 year veteran of
Northrop-Grumman and is the executive direction of the Israeli
Missile Defense Association and president of an international
coalition - EMPACT - whose mission is to raise awareness and
plan for the possibility of an EMP attack
Major Gen. James Marks retired from
active duty in October 2004 after more than 30 years of
service to our country. A graduate of the United States
Military Academy, Marks has more than three decades of
experience in the intelligence field.. Moderator Levy is
a writer. She has been active in the fight against threats to
the security of the U.S. and Israel for nearly 10
years. |