Politician Apologizes
BUFFALO — A possible contender for New York governor apologized for comparing an Orthodox Jewish lawmaker to Adolf Hitler and the Antichrist. Chris Collins, the Erie County executive, came under fire for saying in an Oct. 24 speech to fellow Republicans in Buffalo that he was “pretty sure” the third Antichrist is state assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, referring to Nostradamus’ prediction that three Antichrists will appear before the Apocalypse. Hitler and Napoleon are said to be the first two. The comment referred to Albany’s “three men in a room” budget process in which the governor, Senate majority leader and assembly speaker make deals in private. The remarks drew “polite, nervous laughter” one Buffalo Republican told the Buffalo News.
Maccabi Coach Sorry
NEW YORK — An Israeli basketball coach apologized for making a scene after being ejected from his team’s exhibition game against the New York Knicks. Pini Gershon, head coach of Maccabi Tel Aviv, delayed the Oct. 18 game in Madison Square Garden for about 10 minutes when he refused to leave the court after being ejected with two technical fouls. Gershon issued an apology last week to NBA commissioner David Stern and Knicks president Donnie Walsh. Maccabi team president Shimon Mizrahi also sent a letter of apology. The New York Times reported that Stern issued a statement in response: “The apology was unnecessary – and accepted. We have only the highest regard for Maccabi Tel Aviv, their ownership, coaches, players, and our longtime friend Shimon Mizrahi.”
Anti-Semitism Down
NEW YORK — The level of anti-Semitism in the United States has hit a historic low point, according to a new Anti-Defamation League poll. It found 12 per cent of Americans hold anti-Semitic views, down from 15 per cent in 2007 and matching the 12 per cent figure recorded in 1998. The highest number on record was 29 per cent in 1964. The poll of 1,200 men and women has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 per cent. It asks whether they agree with 11 statements about Jews – such as whether they are “more loyal to Israel than America” and whether they have “too much power in the U.S. today” – and are classified as holding anti-Semitic views if they agree with six of them. The poll also found that foreign-born Hispanics and African-Americans continue to hold anti-Semitic views at much greater levels than other Americans, with 35 per cent and 28 per cent of the two groups falling into that category, respectively.
Sect Leader Extradited To Israel
JERUSALEM — The spiritual leader of a religious sect accused of child abuse who once sought refuge in Canada has been extradited to Israel.
Rabbi Elior Chen, 29, was taken directly to a Jerusalem police station for interrogation last Wednesday after landing in Israel from Brazil. He allegedly urged his followers to abuse their children, including beatings, forcing them to eat feces and pouring household cleaners into open wounds to “correct their corrupt souls.”
His alleged abuse of one woman’s children led to two of them, then aged four and five, being hospitalized in March 2008 in critical condition and another, then three, remaining in a persistent vegetative state. Their mother, who accepted a plea bargain in exchange for her testimony, faces five years in jail.
Rabbi Chen, who was initially reported to have fled Israel for Canada, was arrested in June 2008 in Sao Paulo. He fought extradition all the way to Brazil’s Supreme Court, which rejected his appeal last May.