Shalom Portland presents excerpts from a talk last Sunday at Congregation Beth Israel by Israeli Consul General for the Pacific Northwest Akiva Tor, and an interview recorded by Ed Kraus afterwards.

Topics include the current political situation between Israel and Palestine, the nuclear threat from Iran, the blockade of Gaza, and perspectives on the peace process.

Because of time limitations for broadcast, only excerpts of Akiva Tor's remarks, selected questions from the audience at Beth Israel, and the interview is included.  If you would like to hear a complete, unedited tape of the public part of the event you can visit the Beth Israel website at www.bethisrael-pdx.org , their audio player is near the bottom of their home page.

Shalom Portland brings you a talk by Federal Judge Myron Thompson, "Judging in Difficult Times:  Berlin 1933 to Birmingham 1963".  In this talk recorded at Congregation Beth Israel Judge Thompson speaks of the parallels between discrimination against Jews in Germany in the 1930's, and his personal experiences with Jim Crow laws as a youth. Judge Thompson also talks about the need for empathy from the judicial system.

We'll also hear a segment of a show on Jewish food produced by Liz Schwartz.  Rabbi Arthur Waskow is interviewed on the subject of ecokashrut, a concept where the intersection of ethics and kosher food production is explored.

The full version of Liz's program can be found at http://kboo.fm/PortlandYiddishHour ... scroll down through the audio files and look for pictures of Jewish Food.

The Ban Prohibiting Public School Teachers from Wearing Religious Dress:

A Denial of Religious Freedom or Preservation of the Separation of Church and State?

ACLU attorney Charles F. Hinkle and Willamette University law professor Steven K. Green

Tension between the Free Exercise of Religion, and seperation of Church and State is explored in the context of Oregon legislation and court rulings.  This topic is relevant to observant Jews who wish to wear Yarmulkes, Muslim women who wish to wear head scarves, and any other persons whose religious practices require clothing that identifies their faith, but who still wish to be able to work in Oregon as a public school teacher.
 

Joel Glick and Yehuda Winter, from Brit Tzedek and J Street.

J Street is the Pro-Israel, Pro-Peace lobby newly established in Washington DC.  The first ever J Street conference was held this fall, we'll talk about the goals of J Street, the conference itself, meetings with Oregon Senators and Representatives, and opportunities for dialogue re Israel within the local Jewish community.

International Water Law professor Gabriel Eckstein, who serves as a neutral advisor to the Mideast peace process through the Geneva Accords discusses the accute water shortage in Israel/Palestine, the legal basis for claims on the water made by the parties, and the political process underway to find agreement through the Geneva process.

Houston based artist Alice Lok Cahana tells a story about the inspiration for the ceramic Torah scroll sculptures that were on display in Portland as part of the recent Yom Hashoah commemoration.

Portland's Rabbi Aryeh Hirshfield died last winter while vacationing in Mexico.  Imam Toure from Bilal Mosque spoke at a memorial service, his words and thoughts about Rabbi Aryeh's life are shared in the final segment of this show.

International Water Law Project   www.internationalwaterlaw.org

Geneva Accord   www.geneva-accord.org

Hand to Hand - October 18^th in Portland Oregon   http://jewishportland.org/page.aspx?id=202862

Rabbi Aryeh Website   www.rebaryeh.com