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| With candidates vying for votes, Australian Jews win security pledge |
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Australian tax money
used to protect Jews -- As the Australian federal election nears
and this country'
major
political parties vie for the Jewish vote, the prime minister
and opposition leader have pledged significant support to help
offset the community's spiraling security costs.
Prime
Minister John Howard's government announced that
donations
related to Jewish security would be tax deductible.
The same day, Howard's opponent,
Kevin Rudd
(illustration) of the Labor Party, unveiled his own plan. It
features a $17 million fund over four years to help at-risk
schools counter terror threats that Rudd said would be largely
available for Jewish schools.
The
government's tax-deductibility plan includes the launching
of an organization called the Council for Jewish Security.
It will be run by Australian Jewry's main body, the
Executive Council of Australian Jewry.
Council President Grahame Leonard described the move as "a
major, major breakthrough" for the Australian Jewish
community. He estimated the annual cost of security for
its assets -- numerous schools, synagogues and community
centers -- at about
A$20
million.
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