House Letter Presses Cuba on Alan Gross

March 25, 2010

Washington
JTA Wire Service

Forty members of the U.S. House of Representatives signed a letter warning Cuba that improved relations are contingent on the release of a jailed Jewish American.

Alan Gross, 60, has been held since Dec. 3; he was arrested while reportedly assisting the Cuban Jewish community to connect to the Internet. His congressman, U.S. Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), initiated the letter.

“It is our understanding that at the time of his arrest, Mr. Gross was in Cuba to help the Jewish community improve their ability to communicate with Jews, both in Cuba and overseas,” said the letter sent Tuesday.  “He was working pursuant to a U.S. government contract.  Mr. Gross’s work in Cuba emanated from his desire to make a positive impact for others of his faith on the island.”

The Cuban government has banned such U.S. Agency for International Development projects.

“The arrest and imprisonment of Mr. Gross is viewed with great consternation by the government of the United States, including both Democrat and Republican Members of the United States Congress, whether liberal or conservative,” the letter said.  “It has caused many to doubt your government’s expressed desire to improve relations with the United States.  We cannot assist in that regard while Mr. Gross is detained in a Cuban prison.  We urge you in the strongest possible terms to immediately and unconditionally release Mr. Gross and allow him to return to his family in the United States.”

Indian Official: Chabad House Targeted

Chabad House was the target of last month’s bomb attack on a bakery in India, a government official said.

The Indian state of Maharashtra’s Chief Minister Ashok Chavan told the Indian Legislative Assembly Monday that the target of the attackers was the Pune Chabad House, located several yards from the German Bakery.

Chavan said the bakery was targeted after the attackers discovered that Chabad was well protected by state police, according to the Press Trust of India.

“There was adequate security near the Chabad House,” he told the Assembly. “Since the attackers could not break the security, they targeted the German Bakery.

“We have increased our police force and also purchased sophisticated weapons to deal with such attacks. We are taking all the necessary security measures based on intelligence reports.”

Seventeen people were killed and others injured in the bomb attack in Pune on Feb. 13.
Following the attack, the Pune police asked the Chabad House to update its security system at a cost of $20,000.

Original Schindler’s List for Sale

The only privately held original copy of Oskar Schindler’s list of Jews is on sale for $2.2 million.

Gary Zimet, a historic document sales specialist in upstate New York, told news outlets that he is selling the document on behalf of an anonymous seller. It will not be auctioned but be offered on a “first come, first serve” basis on his Web site, MomentsInTime.com, he said.

The list, dated April 18, 1945, is 13 pages and contains 801 names. It was compiled by Schindler and his accountant, Itzak Stern, and made famous decades later in the Oscar-winning film “Schindler’s List.”

Several copies of the list were written; the four surviving original lists are in the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, the German federal archives in Koblenz and two at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem.

This story reprinted courtesy of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.