News at a Glance

Cynthia and Alex Rodriguez

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- A former trainer for Alex Rodriguez said the star ballplayer's interest in Kabbalah caused the break-up of his marriage.

Cynthia Rodriguez filed for divorce last week in Miami saying the New York Yankee "emotionally abandoned" her.

Trainer Dodd Romero told the ABC television show "Good Morning America" last week that the pop singer Madonna "brainwashed" Rodriguez by interesting him in Kabbalah.

Celebrity divorce attorney Raoul Felder says Cynthia Rodriguez will challenge her husband's credibility by bringing up his growing interest in Kabbalah and claiming it is a cult.

Madonna, who is married to film director Guy Ritchie, has denied there are problems in her marriage and that Rodriguez made late-night visits to her New York apartment.

Dachau Seeks Sister City Ties With Israel

BERLIN (JTA) -- The German city of Dachau is seeking a new image -- through a sister city in Israel.

Dachau Mayor Peter Bürgel told the Welt am Sonntag weekly newspaper on Sunday, "Of course, the city of Dachau would like to have a partner city in Israel. But it must be organized with great sensitivity."

Dachau is the site of one of the first concentration camps created under Adolf Hitler's orders.

Originally intended for political prisoners, the camp opened on March 22, 1933.

By the time it was liberated by U.S. troops a little more than 12 years later, more than 43,000 of about 200,000 prisoners had died there.

Bürgel, a member of Bavaria's conservative Christian Social Union Party who was elected mayor in March, said that he wants to improve international contacts, particularly with Israel.

Meanwhile, Dachau already has two sister cities -- Ort Fondi near Naples in Italy, and Klagenfurt, capital of the Austrian state of Carinthia, whose governor is the far-right politician Jörg Haider.

Chair in Yiddish Culture Set for UCLA

NEW YORK (JTA) -- Comedy writer/producer Michael Ross donated $4 million to endow an academic chair in Yiddish language and culture at UCLA.

The gift from Ross and his wife, Irene, will provide support for an "outstanding scholar of Yiddish culture," the university's Center for Jewish Studies announced.

Born Isidore Rovinsky, Ross grew up in a Yiddish-speaking home that he said was permeated by "the essence of Yiddishkeit."

In the 1970s, he was an Emmy Award-winning writer and executive producer for the groundbreaking and highly successful sitcoms "All in the Family," "The Jeffersons" and "Three's Company."

Israeli Lifeguard Finds Ancient Discus

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- An Israeli lifeguard found a rare 2,500-year-old marble discus meant to protect ancient ships.

The lifeguard, who was diving in the antiquities site of Yavne-Yam, relinquished the discus, which dates from the fifth-century BCE, to the Israel Antiquities Authority.

The white discus -- flat on one side and convex on the other -- measures about 8 inches in diameter.

The remains of two circles are painted around its center.

The Israel Antiquities Authority said that the symbols on the discus were very common on the bows of ships in this era.