News at a Glance

Arabs Blast Emanuel's Dad

WASHINGTON (JTA) -- An Arab-American group wants Barack Obama and Rahm Emanuel to repudiate remarks made by Emanuel's father.

President-elect Obama last week named Emanuel, an Illinois congressman whose father is Israeli, as his White House chief of staff. In an interview with the Israeli daily Ma'ariv, Benjamin Emanuel said, "Obviously, he'll influence the president to be pro-Israel. Why wouldn't he? What is he, an Arab? He's not going to be mopping floors at the White House."

Rahm Emanuel

In an e-mail blast, the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee urged its members to protest the "detestable" comments by fax or through e-mail.

The ADC also wrote a letter to Emanuel asking him to repudiate his father's comments, saying it "views this characterization of an Arab as an unacceptable smear."

"One can readily imagine the justifiable outcry if someone made a similar remark about African-Americans, Jews or Hispanics concerning cleaning the floors of the White House," the letter said. "Do the normal standards of decency and civility not apply when talking about Arabs?"

Mormons Denounced for 'Baptism' of Camp Victims
NEW YORK (JTA) -- A coalition of Jews is denouncing the Mormon church for posthumously baptizing victims of Nazi concentration camps.

Jews have sparred with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints over the baptism practice for more than a decade. Ernest Michel, the honorary chairman of the American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors, said in a statement that 14 years of negotiations with the Mormon church have failed, the Associated Press reported.

Posthumous baptism is a rite practiced in Mormon temples to offer church membership to the deceased.

Travel Increases Between Israel and Russia
MOSCOW (JTA) -- Air travel between Moscow and Tel Aviv increased more than threefold since the two countries began a visa-free regime, Russia's ambassador to Israel said.

The visa-free flow of Russians to Israel has caused few problems since it began in September. The Israeli government expects the number of Russian visitors to increase fivefold next year.

Publisher Apologizes for Zionism Entry
NEW YORK (JTA) -- The publisher of an encyclopedia of racism apologized to Jewish groups that criticized its entry on Zionism.

Gale, whose Macmillan Reference USA imprint is the publisher of the Encyclopedia of Race and Racism, apologized on its Web site this month to groups that believe it failed to adhere to standards of fairness and balance in its entry on Zionism. The entry asserts that because Zionism defines Jew by descent, it is "an ideology of race."

The Zionist Organization of America and the American Jewish Committee both complained about the article to Gale, which also happens to publish an updated edition of the classic Encyclopaedia Judaica.

In its message, Gale directs readers to the Web sites of both those organizations, while promising to supplement the online version of the encyclopedia with articles describing alternative perspectives on Zionism.