HHMI Newsgroup Archives
To:
arutz-7@ArutzSheva.org
From:
Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@ArutzSheva.org>
Subject: Arutz-7 News:
Thursday, February 24, 2000
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.arutzsheva.org>
Thursday, February 24, 2000 / Adar Aleph 18, 5760
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. PM'S OFFICE DENIES SECRET TALKS WITH SYRIA
2. LEVY STANDS BY STRONG WORDS
3. ONLY SETTLEMENT BLOCS
4. RABBIS ASK POPE FOR SHABBAT SENSITIVITY
5. EGYPT PREPARING LONG-RANGE MISSILES
1. PM'S OFFICE DENIES SECRET TALKS WITH SYRIA
Jerusalem and Damascus are conducting secret negotiations,
according to
foreign press reports. The Prime Minister's Office denies
that such talks
are underway, but Foreign Minister David Levy said, "The
diplomatic process
with Syria has not died." Prominent journalist Uri Dan
wrote in
yesterday's New York Post that President Clinton has secretly
orchestrated
a peace plan that gives Syria complete control of the Golan
Heights, rights
to the Sea of Galilee, and $15 billion in economic aid; Israel
will receive
$15 billion in arms and at least another $15 billion to help in
the
evacuation and re-location of the 18,000 Jews from the Golan
Heights.
Nothing has been signed, but Dan quotes sources to the effect
that Syrian
President Assad and Prime Minister Barak have given their
consent, and an
agreement could be signed by May. Still unresolved are
issues of
demilitarization of the Golan Heights and additional money
demands by
Syria. One Israeli Cabinet member, after hearing of the
agreement, was
quoted as saying, "Maybe Clinton will get that Nobel Peace
Prize he wants."
Uri Heitner of the Golan Residents Committee said that the denial
of the
Prime Minister's office of the above report was "weak,
unconvincing, and
does not sound accurate." He said that if the reports
are true, "this is a
total and shameful surrender to an anti-Semitic county.
Maybe this is
Barak's answer to Syrian anti-Semitism, or to Syrian
encouragement of
Hizbullah, or to [Syrian Foreign Minister] A-Shara's admission
that
receiving the Golan from Israel is only 'stage one' in their plan
to
destroy Israel totally."
The week-long quiet in southern Lebanon ended this morning, when
Hizbullah
terrorists fired mortar shells and other artillery towards IDF
and SLA
outposts in the western sector of the security zone. There
were no reports
of wounded.
2. LEVY STANDS BY STRONG WORDS
Foreign Minister Levy refuses to retract his strong speech about
Lebanon in
the Knesset yesterday, where he cried emotionally, "If
Kiryat Shmonah
burns, Lebanon will also burn... Blood for blood, child for
child!" Levy
explained this morning that "the quiet in the north is fake,
the danger is
close, and the Hizbullah terrorists have horrific weapons, with
no one to
restrain them." Ministers Beilin, Sarid, and Oron
criticized Levy's harsh
words, while MK Uzi Landau (Likud) said that the public criticism
should be
directed towards what he called "the band of Hizbullah
collaborators
sitting in the Knesset." MK Tzvi Hendel (National
Union) said that Levy's
tone was "too moderate." Analysts note that the
entire debate may be
academic in light of the secret talks with Syria.
Prime Minister Barak gave his full support to his Foreign
Minister,
although he said that he has no doubt that Levy did not mean to
imply that
Israel would harm Lebanese civilians: "The opposite is
true: All of
Israel's activities, even when we strike strongly at Hizbullah
infrastructures in southern Lebanon, are designed to prevent even
incidental harm to civilians."
The Iran-On-Line news service reports that "observers in
Palestine see no
surprise in Levy's statements, because killing Arab civilians has always been a consistent
Israeli policy
since the creation of the Zionist state more than fifty years
ago."
Official Syrian radio this afternoon likened Levy to
Hitler.
Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Lieberman was asked by Arutz-7
today to
relate to Levy's words. "I'm pleased to see that
sometimes, words can be
issued from the heart," he said, but added that the
condemnations of Levy's
words by his fellow government ministers are worrisome.
"Though David
Levy's message was very clear, it is also quite obvious that he
has no hope
of implementing such a policy with the present government.
As we have seen
more than once, there is a significant gap between the
declarations and
actions of someone in a government position."
News Editor Haggai Segal asked Lieberman how he interprets Levy's
apparent
"about-face" from his role as a political
"dove" in the Netanyahu coalition
to that of a "hawk" in the Barak government.
"First of all," Lieberman
explained, "David Levy grew up in the Likud, a nationalist
movement, and it
would be impossible for what he learned there to be completely
erased.
Secondly, not just David Levy, but any clear-thinking person can
see what
is now being written in the Egyptian and Syrian press, for
instance. It
still escapes me why our government has gotten so upset by
Haider's
statements, and not those of [Egyptian Foreign Minister] Amr
Mussa or
[Egyptian President] Mubarak; it is obvious that they are
much more
dangerous than Haider, as they are gearing themselves for the
destruction
of the State of Israel... When Mubarak issued a public
declaration in
support of the Hizbullah, we should have immediately recalled our
ambassador from Egypt, and we should have frozen all relations
with Cairo.
Instead, Barak sent Danny Yatom to Cairo to 'explain' his policy
in
Lebanon..."
3. ONLY SETTLEMENT BLOCS
Galei Tzahal Army Radio reported this morning that Israel has
proposed that
a permanent-status agreement with the Palestinians be based on
the June 4,
1967 borders, with only settlement-blocs to remain in Israeli
hands. The
Palestinians reportedly agree, but demand areas within pre-1967
Israel in
exchange. The Prime Minister's Office denied this report as
well.
4. RABBIS ASK POPE FOR SHABBAT SENSITIVITY
A delegation of municipal Chief Rabbis and hareidi Knesset
Members
presented a petition to the Vatican's Israel representative
today, in which
they ask that the Pope refrain from causing any Sabbath
desecration during
his visit here next month. The Pontiff is visiting Egypt
today.
The Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi of Haifa, Rabbi She'ar Yashuv Cohen,
told Arutz-7
today about the petition:
"I have just come from a meeting between a delegation of
rabbis, including
Rabbi Grossman of Migdal HaEmek, Rabbi Shlush of Netanya, and
others, in
the home of the Jerusalem papal diplomatic mission head, on the
Mt. of
Olives. It was a very respectful meeting, and he received
us hospitably.
Regarding Sabbath, our concern stems from the fact that the
Pope's schedule
includes a late Friday afternoon service near Tiberias, and
Saturday
morning services near Nazareth. This will lead to hundreds
or thousands of
Jews being forced to desecrate the Sabbath by having to protect
the route
along which he will be travelling. We asked that the Pope
change his plans
and not travel on the Sabbath - he could, for instance, depart
for Nazareth
late Friday afternoon, before the Sabbath begins... The
nuncio said that
the policy of the present Pope is to be sensitive to the feelings
of the
Jewish people, as evidenced by his declarations about the
Holocaust and
erasing the accusations against the Jews. He said that the
Pope will want
to do everything that he can, in consultation with the security
forces, to
avoid forcing so many Jews to desecrate the Sabbath... It
in fact appears
that the Friday afternoon service will be called off, and the
Sabbath
morning services may be pushed off to Saturday night, such that
it looks
like the security forces of the north will be able to commemorate
and
preserve the Sabbath at home, with their families [instead of on
the
streets protecting the Pope]." He explained that many
of them turned to
him on this matter, as Chief Rabbi of the northern city of Haifa,
and "this
is why I am involved."
Rabbi Cohen noted that the atmosphere for the upcoming visit is
"different"
than that of a previous papal visit in the mid-1960's:
"At that time,
Chief Rabbi Nissim refused to greet the Pope in Megiddo [where
the Pope
entered Israel], saying that if the Pope is visiting Israel, he
should
trouble himself to come to the Chief Rabbis' offices. This
time, it has
already been agreed that the Pope will come to the Chief Rabbis,
apparently
in Heichal Shlomo [the recently-vacated long-time offices of the
Chief
Rabbinate in Jerusalem]. This is a radical change in the
Vatican's
approach to the Jewish religious status in Jerusalem."
The nuncio said
that the Chief Rabbis and Minister Chaim Ramon had already raised
the
Shabbat issue, and Rabbi Cohen noted that United Torah Judaism MK
Meir
Porush has gathered 2000 signatures on a petition on this matter.
5. EGYPT PREPARING LONG-RANGE MISSILES
Sources in the U.S. and Israel are very concerned with some
recent military
deals conducted by Egypt - specifically, the transfer by Cairo of
U.S.
missile technology to North Korea. So reports Steve Rodan
in the latest
edition of Janes Defence Weekly. The technologies in
question are
allegedly being sent by Egyptian government-owned companies to
Pyongyang,
where they are then adapted and returned to Egypt as advanced
components
for Egypt's medium-range ballistic missile program. The same
Israeli
sources add that although Egypt currently has Scud C missiles
with a range
of 500 kilometers, Cairo is now developing missiles with a range
of nearly
twice that. With chemical and biological warheads, Rodan
notes, these
missiles would pose a serious threat to Israel. Speaking
with Arutz-7
today, Rodan added that a 1,000 km range would permit such
missiles to be
fired from deep within Egypt, where its launchers would be
virtually
inaccessible to Israel Air Force bombers.
According to the Janes article, the Clinton administration has
not put a
stop to Egypt's technology transfers, "since Israeli and
U.S. officials
differ over the extent of Egypt's missile program and its threat
to the
region." A senior Israeli defense source told Rodan
that the U.S. does not
see Egypt in the same light as Israel, and is simply unwilling to
jeopardize its alliance with Egypt. Israel has even been
specifically
ordered by the U.S. administration not to go public with the
story, Rodan
told Arutz-7.
***********************************************************************
To:
arutz-7@ArutzSheva.org
From:
Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@ArutzSheva.org>
Subject: Arutz-7 News
Brief: Friday, February 25, 2000
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.ArutzSheva.org>
Friday, February 25, 2000 / Adar Aleph 19, 5760
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. HIZBULLAH WANTS PARTS OF GALILEE
2. ARAB UNITY AGAINST ISRAEL
1. HIZBULLAH WANTS PARTS OF GALILEE
Hizbullah will not be satisfied with an IDF withdrawal from the
southern Lebanon security zone, says the organization's
Secretary-General Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah. He declared
today that
when and if Israel signs a peace deal with Lebanon, Hizbullah
will
demand the "return" of seven Jewish
"settlements" in the Galilee
"situated on the lands of Palestinian villages."
One resident of
Kibbutz Manara, Rachel Yaakov - the sister of Yitzchak Rabin -
called
the Hizbullah claim "baseless." She
observed that the lands of
Kibbutz Manara, one of the settlements referred to by Nasrallah,
were
legally purchased in the 1940's from a resident of the Lebanese
village of Taibe. Another town mentioned specifically by
Nasrallah
was Margaliyot.
The terrorists fired mortar shells and rockets at IDF outposts in
southern Lebanon this morning. Israeli Air Force jets
responded with
the shelling of terrorist strongholds in Zebkin.
2. ARAB UNITY AGAINST ISRAEL
Syria's government-backed Tishrin newspaper continues its Nazi
imagery
rhetoric, this time with the help of Israeli MKs. In its
ongoing
response to Foreign Minister David Levy's Knesset speech, Tishrin
writes: "Whatever the cruel and crazy motives that may be
behind it,
Levy's threat against Lebanon was an unconscionable crime; of all
the
flood of questions and condemnations that it raises, the
fundamental
one is this: Isn't it a crime in itself that goes far beyond
Nazism?"
The paper also quotes Arab MK Azmi B'shara as "asserting
Israel's
responsibility for putting obstacles in the way of peace
negotiations
on the Syrian track." Speaking to Sawt
al-Arab Radio, B'shara said
that any freeze on the negotiations "stems from Israel's
refusal to
carry out UN Resolution 242 that calls for Israel's withdrawal
from
Golan to the June 4th, 1967 lines."
In related news, Tishrin calls for "Arab unity to deter
Israeli
aggression... Egyptian Mufti Dr. Farid Wasel [who called
for
international sanctions against Israel] has asserted the need for
providing all forms of support to Lebanon in its confrontation
with
the brutal Israeli aggression..." The Arab League will
in fact hold
its next convention in Lebanon next month, instead of in Cairo,
as a
sign of solidarity with Lebanon against Israel.
"Israeli aggression
in Lebanon will be the main point discussed there," said an
Arab
League senior official.
************************************************************************
To:
arutz-7@ArutzSheva.org
From:
Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@ArutzSheva.org>
Subject: Arutz-7 News:
Sunday, February 27, 2000
Arutz Sheva News Service
<www.ArutzSheva.org>
Sunday, February 27, 2000 / Adar Aleph 21, 5760
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINE:
BARAK REASSURES FOUR MOTHERS
The two-week old protest tent erected by the Four Mothers
movement
outside the Prime Minister's home has been dismantled. The
Four
Mothers, who have been leading a campaign for a withdrawal from
Lebanon, had originally pledged to retain the protest tent until
the
last Israeli soldier had left Lebanon. Following a meeting with
Barak
on Friday, however, representatives of the group said that they
were
convinced that Israel will be out of Lebanon by July 7.
They also
intimated that they understood from Barak that secret talks with
Syria
were showing "results."
Chai Orna of the Four Mothers, the force behind the protest tent
and
who decided on its dismantling, told Arutz-7 today that she wrote
a
letter to Barak asking him, 'How many soldiers have to die in
Lebanon
merely so that you can win the [Golan] referendum?'
"It was a very
harsh thing to say, I know," Orna said today.
Regarding Friday's
meeting with Barak, Orna explained that "he did not try to
evade any
question, and succeeded in leading me to doubt something that I
had
been totally sure of until then: He convinced me that he is
concerned
not only with the losses that we may suffer in the future, but
also
those of the present. He made it clear that no matter what,
there
will be a withdrawal by July 7 - but he said that until then he
is
doing everything he possibly can to see if the withdrawal can be
implemented by agreement with Syria."
Hizbullah threats, such as their recent demand for seven Jewish
towns
in northern Israel, do not appear to faze the Four Mothers
activist.
"This is just an example of their cynical, cruel approach -
they claim
that we are conquerors, and then they go and warn us against a
unilateral withdrawal! They simply want us to remain there as
hostages
for the Golan!" Regarding the possibility that
Hizbullah will attack
northern Israel even after an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon,
Orna
said, "No one of course can know what will be in the future,
but I
assume that if Hizbullah attacks Israel even after we withdraw,
the
IDF will know how to respond."
The government held a comprehensive session today on the planned
withdrawal from Lebanon, although no decisions were made during
the
marathon meeting. Ha'aretz reports today that Iran has recently
transferred to Lebanon long-range katyusha missiles that can
reach as
far as Haifa.
***********************************************************************
To:
arutz-7@ArutzSheva.org
From:
Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@ArutzSheva.org>
Subject: Arutz-7 News:
Monday, February 28, 2000
Arutz Sheva News Service
<www.ArutzSheva.org>
Monday, February 28, 2000 / Adar Aleph 22, 5760
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. BARAK POSTURES FOR GOLAN WITHDRAWAL
2. NETANYAHU, SHAMIR, AND PERES RESPOND
3. GOLAN CAMPAIGN STARTING UP AGAIN
4. ONE TEMPLE, ONE ORGANIZATION
5. POLITICAL BRIEFS
1. BARAK POSTURES FOR GOLAN WITHDRAWAL
Prime Minister Ehud Barak has begun providing
"background" on his
willingness to cede the entire Golan Heights to the
Syrians. At a
nearly eight-hour-long Cabinet meeting yesterday, Barak said that
four
of his predecessors had agreed to forfeit all of the Golan:
"Both the
U.S. and Syria understand that this is our position, and I'm not
planning to erase the past."
Ha'aretz reported that Barak told the Cabinet that Shamir, who
began
the talks with the Syrians at the Madrid Conference in 1991,
accepted
UN Resolution 242 calling for an Israeli withdrawal "from
territories," which the Syrians understood to mean an
Israeli
withdrawal from the entire Golan.
After Shamir, Rabin gave the Americans a commitment, which they
in
turn passed on to the Syrians, that Israel would be ready to
return the
entire Golan if certain demands are met. Next was Peres,
who
confirmed Rabin's commitment, and then Netanyahu, who, according
to
Barak, conducted negotiations based on the June 4th lines,
"seeking
control two miles east of the line at one point along the border,
and
along the rest of the line at a significantly lesser distance
eastward."
"Clinton's political clock is ticking," Barak said
yesterday, "and he
needs an agreement by May. We have to conclude an agreement
with
Syria by then so that a wave of Islamic extremism does not take
over
the region." Ministers Peres and Ramon said they doubted
that it would
be possible to reach an agreement with Syria within the current
timetable. They and Minister Ben-Ami said that progress on
the
Palestinian track should take precedence over the talks with the
Syrians. The Cabinet discussion will continue next Sunday.
Meanwhile, on the Palestinian track, Dennis Ross is on his way
back to
the U.S. today - empty-handed. Following a meeting with
Arafat in
Gaza this morning, Ross announced that he is flying back to
Washington
for consultations with U.S. President Clinton. In response
to the
Palestinians' refusal to accept the upcoming withdrawal from 6.1%
of
Yesha as set forth by Israel, the government announced yesterday
that
it would be willing to offer the Palestinian Authority
alternative
territories near Hevron and Ramallah. Israeli sources said,
however,
that the Palestinians had recently hardened their positions.
2. NETANYAHU, SHAMIR, AND PERES RESPOND
In a surprising move, Shimon Peres registered his protest of
Barak's
Golan position by saying that the Syrians must not be allowed to
share
the Kinneret with Israel. Peres said that in any event the
Israeli
public would not approve such a deal in a referendum.
Shamir issued a
strong denial today that he had ever implied that he would agree
to
withdraw from the Golan. Netanyahu, too, denied Barak's
claims in an
interview with Arutz-7 today. "There was no agreement
between Assad
and myself on any border, and this is why the negotiations were
halted," he said. "Assad demanded a withdrawal to
the June, 1967
border - he didn't get it." The former Prime Minister,
visiting in
Los Angeles today, said that he was prepared to accept a border
east
of the Kinneret - "but only on top of the Golan Heights, and
not below
them." Netanyahu said that if Barak wishes to give in
to the Syrian
demands, "it is his right to do so - but he doesn't have to
offer
misinformation about previous leaders' actions. Let him
just say it
straight - that he has agreed to Assad's demands."
Netanyahu rebuffed Barak's statements regarding former Prime
Minister
Shamir, as well. "As someone who was intimately involved in
the 1991
Madrid peace conference [Netanyahu gained world-fame there as
Israel's
spokesman], I know that Mr. Shamir was not prepared to withdraw
from
the Golan," he said. The former Director-General of
Prime Minister
Shamir's office, Yossi Ben-Aharon, agrees. Speaking with
Arutz-7's
Ron Meir last night, Ben-Aharon said that the Israeli negotiating
team, which he headed, "didn't even mention the word
'withdrawal' in
the six months of intensive negotiations with the
Syrians... I
refused [to do so] because I said that we first have to get the
Syrians to accept Israel's existence... This went on and on
for
months." When asked if he was suggesting that
territorial compromise
would have been considered if Syria had recognized Israel,
Ben-Aharon
responded: "Oh no, we had a number of pre-negotiating
demands...
they were holding hostage the remnants of the Jewish community.
[We insisted] that every Jew who wants to leave Syria must be
given the
right to do so; we also demanded that any agreement with
the Syrians
include a removal of their army from Lebanon, and we rejected UN
Resolution 242 regarding the Golan."
3. GOLAN CAMPAIGN STARTING UP AGAIN
The Golan Residents Committee and the Yesha Council are planning
to
renew the public campaign against a withdrawal from the Golan
Heights.
Hundreds of protest vigils will be held at various
intersections
throughout the country. The Golan forces are attempting to
enlist the
support of hareidi rabbis in their efforts.
The VAT Organization (Victims of Arab Terror) has launched a
nationwide campaign to demand that the Barak government follow
through
on Foreign Minister David Levy's pledge to retaliate against
Hizbullah
"measure for measure." Stickers calling on the
Prime Minister to
"Untie [the soldiers'] Hands to Defend our Land" will
be distributed
at various locations in Jerusalem, and petitions are being
prepared.
4. ONE TEMPLE, ONE ORGANIZATION
An umbrella organization has been formed to unify the efforts of
various organizations working on behalf of increasing Holy Temple
awareness among Jews in Israel and worldwide. The following
groups
are represented in the new group: The Temple Institute, The
Movement
for Establishing the Temple, Chai Vekayam, El Har HaMor, Zo
Artzeinu,
and Women for the Holy Temple. The new organization, headed by
Prof.
Hillel Weiss, is predicated on the importance of Jewish unity;
the
movement stated that such unity "is the secret both of the
destruction
and the rebuilding of the Holy Temple." For more
information, send
e-mail to <temple@temple.org.il>.
5. POLITICAL BRIEFS
Likud MK Silvan Shalom will submit a bill this Wednesday calling
for a
special majority in a referendum on the Golan. The bill
stipulates
that in order for a withdrawal from the Golan to be approved,
over 50%
of the electorate would have to vote for it, which in practical
terms
is equal to about 60% of those voting. "My bill has
definitely put
Barak under heavy pressure," Shalom said today.
"Witness his comments
yesterday about the four Prime Ministers... We have the
support of 56
MKs, and probably the 5 MKs of United Torah Judaism, plus others
who
have not finalized with us." Shalom said that he would not
submit the
bill if a majority for its passage was not guaranteed...
The merger of the Yisrael Beiteinu and the National Union
factions
into the National Home faction has gained it seats in the
following
Knesset committees: Foreign Affairs and Defense, Finance,
Interior,
and Law. Until now, the small size of each faction separately
rendered
them ineligible for such seats...
The Knesset Absorption Committee held a session today on Interior
Minister Sharansky's decision to allow consular marriages.
Arutz-7
correspondent Haggai Seri explained that Sharansky's intention is
to
avoid public pressure for the legalization of civil marriages, by
allowing those who are unable to marry to do so in foreign
countries'
Israeli consulates. MK Moshe Gafni of United Torah Judaism,
however,
claims that this decision itself is a form of legalization of
civil
marriages, and that such a decision must be legislated by the
Knesset
- "and we know that they will not succeed in doing
so..."
***********************************************************************
To:
arutz-7@ArutzSheva.org
From:
Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@ArutzSheva.org>
Subject: Arutz-7 News:
Tuesday, February 29, 2000
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.ArutzSheva.org>
Tuesday, February 29, 2000 / Adar Aleph 23, 5760
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. GOLAN FATE HANGS IN BALANCE
2. REDUCED HELP TO YESHA
3. MORE SIGNS
1. GOLAN FATE HANGS IN BALANCE
Will Israeli-Arabs determine whether the Golan is to remain
Israeli?
It may depend on the Shas and United Torah Judaism parties.
Likud MK
Silvan Shalom has proposed a bill stipulating that a majority of
registered voters - or approximately 60% of those who are
actually
expected to vote - must approve a Golan giveaway in order for it
to
happen. The extra 10% margin is designed to offset the
Israeli-Arab
vote, which is all but certain to favor giving the Golan to
Syria, and
also to emphasize the cardinal importance of the issue. MKs
of Shas
and UTJ have informally agreed to vote for Shalom's bill, but
their
actual support depends on their respective rabbinical councils'
decisions, which are expected tomorrow. Several coalition party
members, including the NRP, Yisrael B'Aliyah, Chaim Katz of Am
Echad,
and Maxime Levy of One Israel, plan to vote in favor, despite
heavy
pressures by Prime Minister Barak not to do so.
Knesset members of all parties spent the afternoon scurrying
around in
last-minute maneuverings and dealings on the matter. Shalom
said
yesterday that if the bill is not guaranteed a majority, he will
not
present it for a vote (as it would then not be able to be
re-proposed
for six months). Arutz-7 correspondent Haggai Seri reports that,
at
present, this looks like the most likely scenario.
Left-wing
parliamentarians held an emergency gathering against the bill,
calling
it anti-democratic; President Ezer Weizman agreed.
Shas leader Eli Yeshai said that the rabbis are leaning towards
supporting the bill, and Shas MK Yitzchak Gagula told Arutz-7
today
that he personally hopes that this is what will indeed
occur. "The
decision will be made at the last second, before the vote,"
he said.
"We are very aware that our voters support the Golan... but
ultimately, it will come down to what our Torah sages say.
They are
weighing very heavy factors, and we will know how they tell us to
vote
only tomorrow."
MK Moshe Gafni (UTJ), speaking with Arutz-7 today, explained that
his
party is against the entire idea of popular referenda.
"We think that
the elected representatives, after learning the material and
consulting with their rabbis, should make the
decisions. If it was
up to us, there would never be a referendum at all, on any
issue. But
now that there is a referendum on the Golan, our rabbis will
decide
what to do." Gafni admitted to fearing that a
referendum may one day
be called on the issue of inducting yeshiva students into the
army,
"but this is only a secondary consideration in our
position. We feel
in general that holding a referendum is a populistic thing to
do...
it is very grave in that the MKs are in a sense running away from
their responsibility and allowing the public, which is not
sufficiently appraised of the issues, to make critical
decisions."
2. REDUCED HELP TO YESHA
Defense Ministry representatives confirmed this morning that out
of
190 million shekels promised to the Yesha communities for extra
protection and reinforcement, only 80 million will be
forthcoming. In
addition, another 100 million shekels for by-pass roads in Yesha
have
still not arrived. Knesset Audit Committee Chairman Uzi Landau
(Likud)
questioned Ministry aide Yossi Vardi intensively during today's
session, but did not receive solid answers regarding the reduced
and
delayed sums. A representative of the Yesha Council at the
session
said that the Council would be willing to participate in the
initial
costs of mapping out the planned by-pass roads.
3. MORE SIGNS
Signs of a resumption of talks between Israel and Syria continue
to
surface. Journalist Patrick Seale, a close confidante of
Syrian
President Assad, writes from London today that the talks between
Jerusalem and Damascus will resume in March - i.e., any time
between
tomorrow and one month from now. The resumption comes,
Seale claims,
because of Prime Minister Barak's announcement that he is willing
to
retreat to the June 4, 1967 borders. A Saudi newspaper
carried a
similar report yesterday.
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