Points of Interest – August, 2009

Date: August 9, 2009

• Holocaust denier David Irving stopped in Omaha during his speaking tour through the United States last month, but thanks to thinning public interest and Irving's restrictions on admission, it's assumed that his presentation failed to draw a crowd. About 12 people showed up at Irving's previous speech in Kansas City at an airport hotel.
• The issue of illegal immigration continues to dominate public debate in Fremont, Nebraska. A year ago, an ordinance was introduced to prohibit the harboring, hiring of and renting to undocumented immigrants. After the proposal was defeated, three Fremont residents initiated a petition drive to place the measure on a ballot. The Fremont City Council is appealing the decision by a district court to allow citizens to vote on the controversial ordinance.
• Recently, the playground at Omaha's Beth Israel Synagogue was burned down and much of the equipment was damaged. Investigators are looking into whether the fire was a hate crime. While the Synagogue had not received threats, the disturbing incident took place on Tisha B'Av – a sorrowful day commemorating the destruction of the First and Second Temples.
• Last month, Jeffree Lee and Wendie Groen were sentenced to prison for their involvement in a 2007 racially-motivated attack on two African American men at a bar in Muscatine, Iowa.