Another Brit Ban?

LOS ANGELES — An anti-circumcision group will circulate a petition in Santa Monica, Calif., to put a measure banning male circumcision on an upcoming ballot. A notice proposing a ballot initiative banning “genital cutting of male minors” for the November ballot in Santa Monica, was filed with the city. The filing comes on the heels of an identical one approved for the November ballot in San Francisco. It makes it a misdemeanour crime to circumcise a boy under 18. Maximum penalty is a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. Circumcisions would only be legal for medical reasons, with no religious exemptions.

Agencies Help Jewish Tornado Victims

JOPLIN, Mo. — Two Jewish brothers who were reported missing in the wake of the deadly May 22 tornado in Joplin, Mo., are safe.
All the members of the small Jewish community in Joplin were accounted for last week, but many lost their homes and possessions in the tornado and were in need of basic supplies.
The Jewish Federation of St. Louis said at least four families lost everything and are living in shelters. The federation is collecting donations to help the victims, and the city’s Jewish Community Relations Council was gathering supplies such as blankets, T-shirts, water, baby supplies and toiletries to drive into Joplin.
Some 50 Jews live in Joplin, according to the federation, amid a population of some 50,000.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City’s board of directors voted May 24 to allocate $5,000 in emergency funds to the relief efforts in Joplin.
Rabbi Yehuda Weg, the Tulsa-based director of Chabad-Lubavitch of Oklahoma, told Chabad.org that several Jewish-owned homes were “totally flattened.” He had driven to Joplin May 23 with a list of Jews in need and a car full of supplies. Rabbi Weg travels to Joplin twice a month to supervise kosher production at several food manufacturers and to meet with 15 to 20 Jews affiliated with Chabad living there.
The United Hebrew Congregation of Joplin, a Reform synagogue, reportedly wasn’t damaged. It has existed in the city since at least 1919.