JTA: The Global News Service of the Jewish People

Controversy, crime and color

By Uriel Heilman · November 16, 2009

Controversy, crime and color from from around these Jewish United States:

Controversy

• Within the span of a little more than a week, the Hillel of Greater Philadelphia first declined to host a speech by a staunch critic of Israeli policy, then featured a lecture by a controversial politician from the ranks of the Jewish state's pro-settlement movement. That pair of decisions -- and the minor flap they created -- highlights a conundrum that Hillel chapters consistently face nationwide. (Philadelphia Jewish Exponent)
• Is Chicago’s Columbia College targeting Prof. Zafra Lerman because she’s Israeli, because she’s Jewish or because she’s too independent for the increasingly conservative institution? (Chicago Jewish News)
• Did anti-Semitism play a role in the University of Central Missouri’s decision to let its president go? (Kansas City Jewish Chronicle)
• A pathway used by many Jewish institutions to bring foreign religious and educational workers into the United States is tightening due to increased scrutiny from immigration authorities, leading to a shortage of religious staffers. One Jewish educational official cites tension. (Forward)

Crime

• Authorities are still looking for answers in the murder of a 23-year-old Jewish student in Centennial, Colo. (Intermountain Jewish News)
• Arnold Zaler, the former Denver kosher meat entrepreneur, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison on a long list of fraud charges. (Intermountain Jewish News)

Color

• The Jewish dating scene is tough in Cleveland. (Cleveland Jewish News)
• One San Francisco Bay Area family sent its three sons to serve in the IDF. (J)
• Transplanted Manhattanite, now 103, attributes her longevity to walking a lot. (Florida Jewish Journal)