WASHINGTON
(JTA) — Meretz USA’s bid to join the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations was rejected Tuesday.
The vote came during a meeting of the umbrella group of American Jewry after the conference’s membership committee recommended rejecting the peace and civil rights group, saying it has too small a budget and scope of impact.
However, some conference members say the 17-14 vote was political. The conference leadership “really doesn’t want us on board,” said Charney Bromberg, executive director of Meretz USA, which is associated with the left-wing Israeli political party.
The Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, which applied for adjunct membership and was recommended for admission by the conference’s membership committee, also was rejected.
Woman says Austria stole Klimt paintings
LOS ANGELES (JTA) — A Los Angeles woman can go forward with a suit against the Austrian government to recover art, a U.S. court ruled.
Maria Altmann claims that six Gustav Klimt paintings were stolen by the Nazis from her uncle in 1938.
The court ruled that if her claims are true, the paintings were taken in violation of international law.
The Austrian government has claimed that U.S. courts do not have jurisdiction in the case.
New statue honors ‘Japanese Schindler’
LOS ANGELES (JTA) — A statue was unveiled honoring a late Japanese diplomat serving in wartime Lithuania who saved thousands of Jews from the Holocaust.
The statue of Chiune Sugihara was dedicated last Friday in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo district.
Jewish, Japanese and Lithuanian officials were among those attending the ceremony.