Is US Iraq Study Group anti-Israel?
Group receives praise from Israel's enemies, contains member who 'cursed out' Jews, newspaper reports; Diaspora press roundup
According to Israeli and Jewish officials, however, such concerns are unfounded, JTA added. The sources said that the Group was aware of the interests of the Bush administration in the region, and its strong relationship with Olmert's government.
Meanwhile, the Jewish Week of New York reported that Minister Avigdor Lieberman has received a "pass" from US-Jewish leaders ahead of his visit to America, including from ADL leader Abraham Foxman, who only recently denounced Lieberman.
Speaking to the Jewish Week, Foxman said: "I don't see anything extremist since he became part of the government."
Other Jewish leaders said they planned to ask Lieberman "tough questions" when he arrives over his stance on Israel's Arab minority.
In New Zealand this week, Jewish community leaders praised their government for "promptly and correctly" quashing an arrest warrant taken out by a New Zealand citizen against former IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Yaalon, the Australian Jewish News said.
Stephen Goodman, President of the New Zealand Jewish Council, was reported by the Jewish News as saying that he was "embarrassed as a New Zealander" over the incident.
In Manchester, northern England, the Jewish Telegraph reported that almost half of all religious hate crimes in the Manchester area were committed against religious Jews.
The figure, revealed in a Manchester police report, was a result of a "higher level of reporting" among the Jewish community, a Manchester police source told the Jewish Telegraph.
