News Brief

(IsraelNN.com) The Orthodox Union (OU), Agudat Israel of America and the National Council of Jewish Communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza (Yesha) Young Israel have joined the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) in opposing a call on Jews to boycott the Summer Olympics in Beijing. Nearly 200 Jewish leaders, including two orthodox rabbis, last week urged Jews not to visit the games but shied away from calling on Jewish athletes and Israel to join the boycott.

Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice-chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, told the New York Sun Monday that proponents of the boycott misstated claims about a connection between China and the Hamas terrorist organization and should not have injected the Nazi era into the campaign. The leaders of the boycott accused China of being like Nazi Germany in using the Olympics as a vehicle to improve its public image, damaged by human rights violations.

The Foreign Ministry previously has protested to China that its welcome to visiting Hamas leaders gave the terrorist organization a sense of legitimacy.