News Brief

A museum devoted exclusively to kabbalah will open in Jerusalem.

The Jerusalem Kabbalah Museum — the only musem devoted exclusively to Judaism’s mystical tradition, according to its founder — is scheduled to open June 25.

It will display artifacts such as amulets, garments and historical manuscripts; provide education, including personal kabbalah training; and offer tours of Israel focusing on sites of kabbalistic interest. Founding director Rabbi Chaim Dalfin, the author of “Soul Journeys” — a book about kabbalah — says the museum is targeted both to Jews and non-Jews. While “kabbalah ma’asit,” or practical kabbalah involving incantations, is esoteric knowledge that Dalfin says institutions “should stay away from,” he says the new museum will present “teachings that are open to anyone.”

A senior Australian Liberal Party official resigned after slurring a candidate from her own party.

Susan Chandler, the campaign manager for the Victorian branch of the Liberal Party, apologized to Adam Held, a Jewish candidate who ran unsuccessfully in last November’s federal election in the seat of Melbourne Ports. Chandler had sent an e-mail to Liberal staffer John Osborn last October referring to Held as a “greedy f—ing Jew” after he had requested more campaign material to distribute in his electorate, which has a large Jewish population.

The e-mail emerged in the fallout from a blogging scandal involving Osborn and another party insider, Simon Morgan, from within Liberal headquarters, according to the Herald Sun newspaper. Both were fired for their blog attacking state Liberal leader Ted Baillieu. The party’s president, David Kemp, said at a news conference Monday that Chandler would have been fired for her “completely inappropriate” comments had she not resigned. Chandler, who did not attend the news conference, said in an e-mail statement that she had “many Jewish friends and am in no way anti-Semitic.”

Baillieu said anti-Semitism was “totally unacceptable.” “The Liberal Party in Victoria, and across Australia, rejects any form of anti-Semitism or racial vilification and will not tolerate either within its ranks,” he said. B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation Commission chairman John Searle said he was shocked by the comment.

“There is no place for such behavior anywhere in our society,” he said, “let alone amongst the senior figures of one of our major political parties.” Held, who lost to Labor’s Michael Danby, told the Australian Jewish News, “Given the staff member’s resignation today and the acknowledgement by her of the seriousness of this matter, I have accepted her apology and now consider the matter closed.”