Wolfowitz to head World Bank?
washington (jta) | President Bush nominated Paul Wolfowitz to head the World Bank.
Wolfowitz, a former deputy secretary of defense, is Jewish. He would take over from current president, James Wolfensohn, who is stepping down effective June 1.
Bush said he canvassed other world leaders for support for his nomination. The nomination is not guaranteed, but the bank’s 24-member board traditionally supports the American nominee.
Lipstadt won’t let C-SPAN tape talk
washington (jta) | A leading Holocaust historian refused to let C-SPAN tape one of her talks because the U.S. cable network is airing a talk by a Holocaust denier.
Deborah Lipstadt told the network that it couldn’t tape her talk at Harvard this week because it is preparing to air a talk by David Irving, a Holocaust denier. “I am not going to be the enabler,” Lipstadt, a Jewish studies professor at Emory University in Atlanta, said.
In 2000, Irving lost his lawsuit against Lipstadt and her publisher, Penguin Books; Lipstadt had accused him of being a Holocaust denier. Connie Doebele, executive producer of Book TV, expressed disappointment at Lipstadt’s decision, and defended C-SPAN’s decision. “We always say to ourselves, ‘Where is another view of this? Is there another voice that needs to be heard?'”
Howard Dean backs Israel
washington (jta) | Howard Dean said strong support for Israel was critical to U.S foreign policy and that Iran was potentially the most dangerous place on earth.
Dean spoke this week to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s New Leadership Network, his first meeting with the pro-Israel community since his election as chairman of the Democratic National Committee last month .
He sought to assuage concerns arising from his bid for the presidency in 2004, when he called for a more “even-handed” approach to the Middle East. “A strong Israel is an essential part of the ability of the United States to build democracy everywhere in the world,” he said to applause. Iran’s bid to get the bomb makes it “potentially the most dangerous nation on the face of the earth.”
Also speaking at AIPAC was Dean’s Republican counterpart, Ken Mehlman, who is Jewish.