News Brief

A congressional committee will vote on whether to recognize the World War I massacres of Armenians as a genocide.

The U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee will vote Wednesday on bipartisan legislation recognizing the genocide, a move fiercely opposed by Turkey and major Jewish organizations. The groups are concerned about its impact on Turkish ties with the United States and Israel, as well as its potential impact on Turkish Jews.

“The United States has a compelling historical and moral reason to recognize the Armenian genocide,” said Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “But we also have a powerful contemporary reason as well — how can we take effective action against the genocide in Darfur if we lack the will to condemn genocide whenever and wherever it occurs?”

The Armenia issue has roiled the Jewish community since Watertown, Mass., a Boston surburb, moved this summer to end its partnership with an anti-bigotry program sponsored by the Anti-Defamation League. The ADL had refused to recognize the killings as genocide, but was forced to reverse itself amid the uproar, acknowledging the massacres were “tantamount to genocide.”

One of Australian Jewry’s major philanthropists has admitted his involvement in a price-fixing scandal.

Richard Pratt’s recycling company, Visy Industries, is expected to be fined a record $26.8 million to $35.8 million for price fixing with his firm’s chief competitor, Amcor, between 2000 and 2004.

The admission of guilt by Australia’s third-richest man was revealed Saturday in an Australian newspaper.

“I’ve had to wrestle with the choice of going to court to explain myself and try to clear my name or seeking a negotiated settlement which will necessarily involve admissions of breaking the law,” Pratt was quoted as saying. “On balance, the appropriate and pragmatic thing to do is settle. ”

Pratt said although he was not personally involved in authorizing the cartel, he would publicly apologize for breaching the Trade Practices Act.

Pratt, of Melbourne, donates $10.7 million each year through The Pratt Foundation that he and his wife, Jeanne, established more than 25 years ago. Many of the funds go to Australian Jewish causes and charities in Israel.

Pratt’s company is one of the world’s largest privately owned paper recycling companies, with more than 8,000 employees in Australia, New Zealand and the United States.

The case, which was due to go to court Oct. 16, is likely to be settled in the next few days.