HIAS helping Russians to vote

new york (jta) | A new Russian-language voters’ guide is being distributed in the United States.

The “We Vote” handbook, published by the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, is part of the Civic and Voter Engagement initiative, which aims to help Russian-speaking Americans participate in the political process. The program is co-sponsored by the World Congress of Russian Jewry.

The guide gives basic voting information such as how to register and how to file an absentee ballot, along with a sample voter registration form.

The Russian-speaking Jewish community in the United States is estimated at more than half a million people, according to HIAS.

New twist in New Jersey affair

new york (jta) | A man who claimed to have had an affair with the Israeli at the center of a scandal that brought down New Jersey’s governor is under psychiatric evaluation.

Gov. James McGreevey resigned last week, citing an extramarital affair with a man his aides identified as Golan Cipel, the governor’s onetime adviser on homeland security and liaison to the Jewish community.

Cipel, who is reportedly considering a sexual harassment lawsuit against McGreevey, denied the affair, insisted he was not gay and returned to Israel.

Another man, Dr. Michael David Miller, said he also had an affair with Cipel.

Police arraigned Miller for impersonating law enforcement officers, charges unrelated to Cipel. Police say Miller is delusional.

Cipel had denied Miller’s claim and suggested that Charles Kushner — a major Jewish philanthropist and a onetime McGreevey backer — was behind it. “You have to remember who these people are,” Cipel said.

Kushner pleaded guilty this week to tax violations and using a prostitute to set up his brother-in-law.