Jewish groups honor Aussie leader

Three Jewish organizations honored Australian Prime Minister John Howard for his friendship to Israel.At a dinner Sunday in Melbourne, the State Zionist Council of Victoria, the Zionist Federation of Australia and the Israel-based World Zionist Organisation jointly awarded Howard the Jerusalem Prize, according to a report in The Age. A forest will be named in Howard’s honor.Howard said he received the award as a “mark of the bonds that exist between our two nations,” adding that it has “been a longstanding policy of my government to see a two-state solution to the challenges of Israel’s relationship with its Arab neighbors.”