Ralbag, a US-born rabbi who was made chief rabbi of Amsterdam in 2005, was temporarily relieved of his duties by the board of the NIHS after signing the “Declaration On The Torah Approach To Homosexuality” which called on “authority figures” to “guide same-sex strugglers towards a path of healing and overcoming their inclinations.”

The online document was signed by 180 other US rabbis. Ralbag signed the online petition as “Av Beth Din Agudas Harabonim (Union of Orthodox Rabbis) Rav of Congregation Ahavath Israel, the Young Israel of Avenue K. Brooklyn, NY.” He travels back and forth from Amsterdam to the US.

Contacted by The Jerusalem Post after his reinstatement, Ralbag sent a declaration saying: “I do not believe that I have to apologize to anyone for my Torah-based beliefs; nevertheless, I sincerely regret and apologize to anyone pained by the inaccurate portrayal of my views.”

He added: If a person wishes to live a Torah lifestyle, then that person must refrain from this form of sexual conduct. I am not here to excommunicate anyone from the community of Torah believers. Nor did I ever say that homosexuality is a disease or a sickness…when I use the word ‘healing,’ I am referring to a ‘healing-of-the-soul,’ a ‘spiritual-healing’…. My message was one of inclusion not rejection.”

In its declaration, the NIHS board spoke about the need to reexamine the current long-distance system, in which Amsterdam’s chief rabbi does not live there.

According to one person from the Jewish community involved in reconciliation talks between the parties, who spoke on condition of anonymity, “the message was that Rabbi Ralbag won’t be Amsterdam’s chief rabbi for long.”

The person added: “What happened is that both parties found a formulation that allowed them to climb down from their positions.”

Rabbi Aryeh Ralbag told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday that he found it “scandalous that a chief rabbi cannot state the Torah viewpoint for his community without being penalized.”

ING, which received 10 billion euros of Dutch state aid in the 2008 crisis, said it would not resume dividends until the remaining 3 billion was paid back and capital rules met.

The group is splitting its bank and insurance operations, a condition of European Commission approval of the state aid, and wants to raise the profile of its banking unit with investors as a separate entity.

At an investor day presentation on Friday ING lowered its return on equity ratio target and pushed back the deadline to reach a lower cost-income ratio, partly due to Basel III capital and liquidity requirements, which are stricter than previous rules.

“We know Basel III is increasing requirements on capital and funding, all of which are putting pressure on margins,” ING Chief Executive Jan Hommen said at the event in Amsterdam, which was broadcast live on ING’s website.

Hommen also said a new Dutch deposit guarantee scheme would cost 230 million euros annually, and he estimated spending 120 million euros annually for pending bank taxes in the Netherlands and Belgium.

ING said it aimed to partly or fully repay 3 billion euros of remaining state aid plus a 50 percent penalty this year but warned full repayment may take longer.

“Ideally we would like to complete the state repayment this year, however given the ongoing crisis in the euro zone and increasing regulatory capital requirements, we need to take a cautious approach and maintain strong capital ratios in the Bank as we build towards Basel III,” ING said.

In May last year, ING said it aimed to repay the state by May this year but Hommen said in November the final settlement could be postponed because of market uncertainty and new capital requirements.

ING shares initially rose but were down 1.8 percent at 6.09 euros by 1014, compared with a 0.8 percent rise in the STOXX Europe Insurance index .SXIP.

SNS Securities Lemer Salah said he was disappointed about the lower and delayed targets.

ING said “a further review of non-core assets” may help to speed up state aid repayment.

ING said its bank aimed for a return on equity of 10 to 13 percent return by 2015, compared with a 13 to 15 percent target for 2013 last reiterated in November.

An ING spokesman said the target was lower because it raised its capital requirement to a minimum 10 percent core tier 1 ratio from 7.5 percent previously, meaning the profit target would rise on an absolute level.

It’s a model that needs to be adopted anywhere large numbers of people live together. If we are serious about transitioning to a truly sustainable world, a place where we can all live comfortably without destroying our ability to do so in the future, we’re going to need to shift our transportation network away from the current car-centric model to one that puts walking, bike riding, bus and train riding, and innovative car-share systems like Car2Go which allow you to pick up and drop off a car anywhere within a city, eliminating the last remaining need for many people to own their own car.

Cheese-heads arriving on flights to Amsterdam should be sure to check out:

De Kaaskamer: The name of this cheese shop translates to the cheese room, which is located in the trendy Jordaan district. Hundreds of cheese choices surround you; almost every square inch of the store is filled with cheese. This shop has high regard from travel guidebooks and locals. Looking for a new taste? Try the cumin cheese, made of young Gouda and herbed cumin for a refreshing taste.

De Kaasspecialist: We get it! You like cheese, can’t get enough of it. A visit to the cheese specialist is bound to introduce you to new choices. Luckily, if you travel outside of Amsterdam, you can visit its other remote locations in other cities in The Netherlands. What’s nice about this store is the variety of options for purchasing cheese. Whether you need a few slices, a party platter or as a gift, the service and presentation is simply excellent.

Alkmaar Cheese Market: Located very nearby Amsterdam is the town of Alkmaar, where Friday’s in the summertime means a special cheese market is around. You can observe a reenactment of giant wheels of cheese carried around. They are placed in the middle of the square for buyers and sellers to negotiate. Enjoy this tradition that has been happening for decades, especially with the atmosphere of an old medieval town with drawbridges and gondolas surround you.

Edam Cheese Market: Similar to the previous Edam market is the home of a just as famous cheese type of the same name. Built in 1778, this traditional market opens from July-August on Wednesday mornings. If you’re sick of cheese (who would be?), you can also find delicious chocolate desserts in the market square.

Albert Heijn: The simplest way to find delicious cheese on a budget is to sample the cheese selection at the local supermarket. Known all over the country, Albert Heijn has a fine selection of cheese; don’t be shy to ask for a free sample, they encourage it. This is perfect for the traveler on the run who can grab a fresh loaf of bread, cheese and olives before getting on the road again for yet another journey.

On Tuesday, the Amsterdam authorities told the Occupy activists that they had until Thursday morning to give 75 percent of the Beursplein back to ‘ordinary Amsterdammers’ and improve the fire safety, sanitary and hygiene measures throughout the rest of the protest camp.

Ernst van de Wetering of the Rembrandt Research Project said Friday that X-ray analysis of “Bearded Old Man” has revealed outlines of a self-portrait of Rembrandt as a young man underneath.

He also cited stylistic analysis and circumstantial evidence in support of the conclusion that the painting — showing a man with unkempt white hair, lost in thought with just a hint of sadness — is by the Dutch master.

Van de Wetering dates the small (15 x 20 cm, 6 x 8 inch) but emotive painting to 1630, when Rembrandt van Rijn would have been 24 years old. Rembrandt’s reputation as a portraitist was rapidly growing and he was preparing to leave Leiden for Amsterdam, which at that time was enjoying its golden age as a major naval power.

Van de Wetering said that the style and quality of the painting itself provide the strongest arguments for its authenticity, but the existence of the underlying portrait was important too.

“The light is typically Rembrandt in that it is so totally convincing: you perceive it as if you are looking at reality and not at a painting,” he said.

Bulk wine importing companies from 40 countries from all over the world will attend the event including the state- owned COFCO from China, NWT from Russia and Kataoka & Co from Japan. The buyers that have confirmed their attendance at the event include Angola, Nigeria, Thailand, Sierra Leone, the United States, Canada, almost all European countries and even India.

The pursuit of quality in bulk wine is claimed by the organisers to be raison d’être of the exhibition since the beginning. The World Bulk Wine Exhibition (WBWE) and the German publishing house Meininger have jointly launched a competition to promote and reward quality in bulk wines from all over the world.

Another fundamental focus of the WBWE is the need to promote discussion among professionals in the industry. A series of lectures have been planned during the conference. These are endorsed by the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV), and are dedicated to Good oenological practices and the improvement of bulk wine quality.

This lecture series will be inaugurated by Barbara Iasello, a member of the OIV’s Statistics Committee. She will talk about the recent changes in the international market with a focus on the bulk wines. A panel discussion on the evolution of bulk wines in various countries will include the British author and writer John Salvi MW who frequently contributes articles to delWine as well as his South African wife Petronella Salvi.

“New trends in grape juice markets”, will be presented by Manuel Civera, general secretary of Azumancha, Spain and will be of interest to the Indian manufacturers of wine or ‘Made Up’ wines as they are referred to sometimes. Rafael del Rey, director of the Spanish Wine Market Observatory will share his views on the “New trends in the bulk wine market: Current situation and outlook.” A speech on “Wine consumption in the Netherlands: Prospects for bulk wine”, will be delivered by Fernando Miranda, the agricultural attaché to the Spanish Embassy in The Hague,

WBWE is an important international event for bulk wine professionals and also a major focal point for business. It claims to have such influence in the world’s bulk wine markets that it has the ability to affect prices and trends. It is organised by the Spanish company Pomona Keepers and has been timed to take place after the harvesting is complete in the Northern hemisphere.

Though it often goes without saying, I love my job. I get paid to watch movies, interview filmmakers, promote a film festival and distribution business I take pride in, and share Tribeca’s riches with a community of film fans via social media. However, some weeks the pot gets sweetened even more, and I just have to pinch myself.

As part of their collaboration with Tribeca Film Festival, I spent last week in Amsterdam at the first ever Amsterdam Film Week (AFW). This festival is a showcase for prize-winning films from festivals around the world (including Tribeca), designed to bring these films to a film-loving Dutch audience that might not otherwise get to see them. (Independent films that win Cannes and Venice and Toronto and Sundance don’t always get distribution in a tiny market like Benelux—a nifty acronym for Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg.) I soon learned that Amsterdam (and Holland, more generally) is home to a friendly, passionate, intimate film industry; it seemed that everyone working the festival had worked on some project together before, and their fondness for one another was palpable, as was their commitment to connecting films with audiences.

So, of course, the movies were top-notch. I saw several films that I’d been looking forward to—Carnage, We Need to Talk About Kevin, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy)—and Tribeca made introductions that facilitated the addition of five TFF 2011 films to the lineup: Rid of Me, She Monkeys, The Journals of Musan, Black Butterflies, and Newlyweds. (Tribeca Film Festival has served as a kind of model for AFW, as the founders explain below, and we also guided them in getting several AFW films onto the local cable provider’s VOD platform, following TFF’s recent path. More about that later.)

The first-time I visited, I wanted to take in some of the most famous such as Rijksmuseum, Hermitage, Stedelijk and Van Gogh, but it was the simple, almost austere Anne Frank House that provided the most moving experience for me, given the heartbreaking circumstances of this young girl who died at 15 after writing her famous diary.