Students Suspended

NAPLES, Fla. — Ten Florida middle school students were suspended for taking part in a “Kick a Jew” day. Administrators of the North Naples Middle School told UPI they’ll work on cultural sensitivity training after the Nov. 19 incident, including 20 minutes at the start of the day to focus on character traits, starting with respect and kindness, the Naples Daily News reported. Some local Jewish leaders decried the fact that the perpetrators only served an in-school suspension, as mandated by the school’s bullying and harassment policy.

Teachers’ Strike Ends

PHILADELPHIA — A strike at Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy near Philadelphia ended last week when its teachers ratified a five-year contract. The strike, which centred on pension contributions, shut down the school for a week.

Welsh Shul Converted

LONDON — The oldest synagogue in Wales will be converted into eight apartments. The renovation of the shul in Merthyr Tydfil, a town of 30,000, is pending permission from city council, the Jewish Chronicle reported. Built in the 1870s, the shul is empty and the target of vandals. It had been used as a Christian centre and a gym after it closed in 1983.

Assassination Foiled

SANA’A —  Two men who reportedly planned to assassinate Yemen’s Chief Rabbi Yahya Yusuf Musa, head of the country’s small Jewish community, were arrested Nov. 19 in Yemen, Reuters reported. In a TV interview, the rabbi had criticized Shiite rebels currently fighting in Yemen. Between 200 and 300 Jews live in Yemen, mostly in the north, where they have been subjected to increasing harassment and violence.