I just received an e-mail about a Sefer Torah (Torah scroll) that was rescued from Lithuania and is now being used aboard the USS Truman.

Truman Sailors listen to Sen. Carl Levin as he speaks during the Torah Dedication Ceremony in the hangar bay of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75). The United Jewish Federation of Tidewater presented the Jewish Torah to Truman to be displayed for 41 years. The Torah is one of the few holy scrolls from Lithuania to survive the Holocaust. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Arturo Chavez (RELEASED)

USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) Commanding Officer, Capt. Herman Shelanski, left, and Michigan Senator Carl Levin (D), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, bow their heads in prayer at the commencement of the Torah dedication ceremony in the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier’s hangar bay. The holy Jewish Torah in the background, one of the few scrolls from Lithuania to survive the Holocaust, was presented to Truman by the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, and will be on loan to Truman and displayed for 41 years, or the duration of the ship’s life. The smaller Torah in the foreground, known as the Truman Torah, was presented to President Harry S. Truman by Israel’s first President, Chaim Weizmann in gratitude for America’s diplomatic recognition of the state of Israel in 1948. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kristopher Wilson (RELEASED)

Aboard USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) Nov. 20, 2003 — Rabbi Michael A. Oppenheimer carries a 300-year-old Torah that was presented to the Navy’s newest nuclear powered aircraft carrier by the Oppenheimer family. The family heirloom is one of only 300 Torahs that survived the Holocaust during World War II. The ship will safeguard it during its 50-plus year life span, when it will then be returned to Oppenheimer’s grandchildren, who were in attendance and witnessed the ceremony. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate 2nd Class Anthony Walker. (RELEASED)

It’s not clear if these Torahs will be used or just displayed. (The 50 year lifespan mentioned in the above caption is the ship’s expected lifespan.)

The Truman Torah was rescued by Project Judaica.

It seems that Project Judaica is similar in focus to Rabbi Menachem Youlus who has devoted himself to rescuing Torahs, especially from Europe.

(h/t Cousin Steven)

MSNBC is reporting that the world’s oldest person is alive and living in Israel. Perhaps more surprising is that she’s an Israeli Arab.

Mariam Amash filled in the routine form with anything but routine information. Amash, who recently applied for a new Israeli identity card, said she was born 120 years ago — a claim, if confirmed, that would make her the oldest person in the world. The Guinness Book of Records currently lists 114-year-old Edna Parker of Shelbyville, Ind., as holding that title.Sabine Haddad, a spokeswoman for Israel’s Interior Ministry, confirmed that Amash, from the Israeli Arab village of Jisr a-Zarka, is listed in the population registry as having been born in 1888. “We’re just not sure it’s correct,” Haddad said.

The listing was based on a birth certificate issued by Turkish authorities who ruled the region at the time, she said. Ministry clerks in an Israeli city near Amash’s village found out about her claim this week when she came in to replace an identity card she lost.

Before Guinness will list her in its book of world records they will want more corroborating documents. Still it’s reasonable to assume that she’s probably more than 100.

If Israeli oppression were as bad as some of its critics claim, I doubt that there’d be many Palestinians living past their 70’s. Still people will decry Israeli oppression as if it’s so unique it deserves special mention. It may not be true, but it does pay well.

(I see via technorati that someone aged 116 recently died.)

Crossposted on Soccer Dad.