Wall in Ramallah covered with Arafat's portrait. (Jerusalem Post photo by Ariel Jerozolimski)

The Jerusalem Post reported today, "Bassam Abu Sharif, who for many years served as an adviser to Yasser Arafat, claimed on Saturday that the former Palestinian Authority chairman died after being poisoned by Israel." Similar claims have been made in the past.

Added the Post, "Abu Sharif said the poison that was injected into Arafat's body halted the production of red blood cells, leading to his death. He refused to provide further details, claiming that such a move might hamper efforts to capture those responsible in the future."

Former Georgia and Israeli basketball star LaVon Mercer

Basketball star LaVon Mercer, who played for the University of Georgia Bulldogs in the late 1970s, went on to play professionally in Israel, where he became well-known and widely admired.

LaVon, who has visited Birmingham as a guest of the Birmingham Jewish Federation, wound up living in Israel for 14 years. He served in the Israeli army and acquired Israeli citizenship in addition to his American citizenship.

Today, LaVon, an African-American Christian, lives in Atlanta and speaks on behalf of Israel to many groups.

LaVon, as a result of his visit to Birmingham, became an Update reader. This past week he read the column in Update by Canadian professor and author Dr. Paul Merkley on evangelical Christian support for Israel.

The column touched LaVon and prompted him to write the following to Dr. Merkley:

Dr. Merkley,

Thank you for your delightful piece on "Evangelical support" or lack of it from my view.

My name is LaVon Mercer and I have traveled most of this country in support of the State of Israel.

Yes, there are numerous concerns with who really has a belief in Israel and supports it. After living there for 14 years, I have a different view of the Jewish homeland than most of my sisters and brothers of the Christian faith.

I will say this to you, I have spoken in numerous locations. However, most churches feel that I am too pro-Israel -- strange to say but I am!

In those churches I attended that do have a belief in Israel I believe their support is for real -- no hidden agendas.

I am happy to do the work I do on behalf of Israel and thank you for writing the column.

LaVon Mercer lmercer@earthlink.net

Nursing students who participated in a learning program at the LJCC. Their instructor, Wendy Siegal, is on the far right.

The Levite Jewish Community Center prides itself on being a good community citizen.

An opportunity to act on that value presented itself when LJCC member, Sheri Lurie, who is the clinical coordinator of nursing at Herzing College, approached Betty Habshey, LJCC camp director, with an idea.

The idea was to work with the camp to provide some on-the-job training for the nursing students, which would also help them learn about children in their own environment. The idea was implemented and it has created a "win-win" for the LJCC and the nursing program.

The nursing students have learned about summer camping and have gotten to observe children in a fun, comfortable environment while the LJCC has gotten extra sets of eyes and hands at camp.

The eight nursing students participated with the camp program twice a week for six weeks.

"The students have truly enjoyed the campers and they have been overwhelmed by the warmth and hospitality of the camp staff and the LJCC preschool teachers," said Jewish community member, Wendy Siegal, Herzing College nursing instructor.

The LJCC is one of 22 agencies supported by the Birmingham Jewish Federation Campaign. When you contribute to the BJF Campaign you help ensure that we have a strong LJCC.

Rabbi Avraham Shmidman

There was a nice story in Friday's Birmingham News by reporter Greg Garrison about Rabbi Avraham Shmidman and Knesseth Israel Congregation. Both are headed in new directions.

The Rabbi and his family are headed to Philadelphia, Pa., where he has accepted a new job and the congregation will be moving into its new facility on Overton Road. (The News story mistakenly said Rabbi Shmidman is going to Pittsburgh.)

Time travel is a common theme in fiction, such as in the film depicted here; an Israeli researcher says time travel may be possible one day. (Poster from Wikipedia)

There was a fascinating story in the Jerusalem Post Friday on an Israeli physicist's work on time travel, which he believes may be possible.

His work suggests that while we could not go back to previous eras, under the right conditions those in the future could come back to the times in which we are living.

Pretty amazing, huh?

According to the Post, "Prof. Amos Ori, a physicist from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, has come up with what he says are practical solutions to overcome the hindrances that experts have long regarded as stopping us from traveling back in time."

Whether it's connecting people through Update; supporting the LJCC's efforts to partner with the broader community; promoting Birmingham's other Jewish institutions, such as Knesseth Israel; or monitoring the media for interesting stories about Israel, the Birmingham Jewish Federation is there. Working for you. Everyday in so many ways.