(Tonight!)
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Last weekend, we saw two of the three singers of the new group Sababa perform at our shul in a pre-Hanukkah concert. Good, upbeat music and just good people. I wish them tons of success.

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I've been trying to keep up with this story even though it's been out of the news.

SEATTLE - A judge has given King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng another week to decide whether to seek the death penalty against a man accused of shooting up the Jewish Federation office in Seattle.

Naveed Haq is charged with aggravated murder plus attempted murder and other charges in the July 28 shooting. One woman was killed and five others were wounded.

Prosecutors say Haq identified himself as a Muslim and said he blamed Jews for U.S. policy in the Mideast.

Maleng's new deadline for deciding whether to seek the death penalty against Haq is Dec. 22.

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Natan Sharansky, center, shakes hands with President Bush, right, after receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Americas highest civil award, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington.

Today the Soviet Union is history, but the world still knows the name Sharansky. As a free man, he's become a political leader in Israel, winning four elections to the Knesset and serving more than eight years in the Cabinet. He remains, above all, an eloquent champion for liberty and democracy. Natan reminds us that every soul carries the desire to live in freedom, and that freedom has a unique power to lift up nations, transform regions, and secure a future for peace. Natan Sharansky is a witness to that power, and his testimony brings hope to those who still live under oppression.