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MOSCOW (JTA) — The former deputy governor of the Kursk region in central Russia was hospitalized after he was severely beaten at the governor's office. A local official called the victim, Sergei Maksatchov, "a Yid who should be finished off."

Former Gov. Alexander Rutskoy called on President Vladimir Putin to intervene after Monday's attack.

In related news, the newly elected governor of the region publicly retracted the anti-Semitic statements he made last week, when he lashed out at a "Russian-Jewish conspiracy."

Alexander Mikhailov apologized Nov. 15 after he met with Putin's regional representative.

The representative said he is "convinced Mikhailov is not going to repeat this mistake."

Meanwhile, according to Jewish sources in Kursk, local anti-Semites attempted Saturday to burst into the city's Jewish community center, where they shouted, "We are Mikhailov's supporters."

U.K. day schools get a surge in enrollment

LONDON (JTA) — The Board of Deputies of British Jews, Britain's central Jewish organization, just released a report that found the number of children attending Jewish day schools in Britain increased by more than 50 percent during the 1990s.

The researchers projected that the number of schools grew from 96 in 1992 to 134 in 2000. The board plans to publish a fuller analysis in the spring.

Meanwhile, Jo Wagerman, the first female president of the body, will highlight a U.S. conference next month on British Jewish women's leaders. Last Sunday marked the 240th birthday of Wagerman's organization that formed in 1760, the same year that King George III assumed the throne.

Biased candidate could drive a runoff

PRAGUE (JTA) — A Romanian nationalist whose two newspapers are vehicles for anti-Semitic attacks is gaining support and expected to place second in presidential elections scheduled for Sunday.

According to a new poll, Corneliu Vadim Tudor, who vows to punish "traitors of the nation," would gain 19 percent of the vote, second to ex-President Ion Iliescu.

If no candidate receives 50 percent of the vote, a runoff would be held Dec. 10.