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Arutz Sheva News Service
 <www.ArutzSheva.org>
Sunday, March 12, 2000 / Adar Bet 5, 5760
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Let your loved ones living or studying in Israel know
that you are thinking of them this Purim.
Send them delicious, beautifully packaged, MISHLOACH MANOT
of Yesha products -- (Badatz Hechsherim)
<a href="http://www.ComeToYesha.com/MANOT">
http://www.ComeToYesha.com/MANOT </a>
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TODAY'S HEADLINES:
  1. ARAB LEAGUE ABSURDITY
  2. IDF AGAINST UNILATERAL WITHDRAWAL
  3. SENTENCED TO 35 DAYS FOR SPEAKING
  4. POPE APOLOGIZES
  5. TERRORIST VICTIMS' CHILDREN SUE
  6. ILLEGAL JERUSALEM HOMES WAIT FOR REFUGEES
  7. ON STRIKE
  8. PA TO RELEASE PRISONERS
  9. NEW BILL WOULD EXEMPT NEWLYWEDS

1. ARAB LEAGUE ABSURDITY
The Arab League concluded its meeting last night of 120 delegates from 20
Arab countries with a harsh declaration calling for a "re-evaluation of
relations with Israel in light of its recent attacks on Lebanon."  Lebanese
President Emile Lahoud warned Israel against a unilateral withdrawal from
his country, saying that it could lead to war.  Lebanon's Prime Minister
Salim Hoss similarly called for a suspension of Arab ties with Israel if
attacks against Lebanon continue, and warned that an Israeli withdrawal
without an agreement may lead to violence.  Foreign Minister David Levy
said in response, "The anti-Israeli decisions made in Beirut today prove
that the extremists, who object to the peace process, are still in control
at the Arab League."

Yediot Acharonot editorialized today that the United Arab League meeting in
Beirut was "a theater of the absurd."  Referring to the Arab threats made
against Israel in the event that it withdraws unilaterally from Lebanon,
the editors comment that there have been few cases in history in which a
state has threatened an occupying foreign army for declaring its intention
to withdraw and return the areas it occupies to its proper sovereignty.
"But Lebanon is not sovereign," writes the  paper.  "It is entirely subject
to the selfish interests of the Syrian regime in Damascus." 

The week's end saw heavy fighting in southern Lebanon.  Hizbullah
terrorists fired towards IDF and SLA outposts all along the security zone,
while Israeli jets bombed terrorist targets north of the zone three times
on Friday.  An SLA force discovered and safety detonated a
Hizbullah-planted roadside bomb yesterday.

Prime Minister Barak said today that it will be known within six weeks
whether the talks with Syria will resume or not.  He gave an extra two
weeks - two months from now - for it to be known whether there will be an
agreement on a withdrawal from southern Lebanon.  Syrian Foreign Minister
Farouk A-Shara told a prominent Lebanese paper today, "I don't know of any
proposal to resume [Israeli-Syrian] talks.  The topic is not even on our
agenda."

2. IDF AGAINST UNILATERAL WITHDRAWAL
IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Sha'ul Mofaz and other leading generals object
to a unilateral withdrawal from southern Lebanon.  During a meeting with
Prime Minister Barak, they not only expressed their displeasure at his
tendency not to consult with them, but they also stated that a unilateral
withdrawal is likely to lead to escalated violence in the north, would make
it difficult to defend the northern communities, and would lead to the
abandonment of the soldiers of the SLA.  Barak presented his withdrawal
plan to the government today, including continued ground and air attacks in
Lebanon even after a withdrawal, in light of expected continued Hizbullah
offensives.  The plan also calls for the paving of new roads to the
northern towns, such that the residents will be able to reach their homes
out of sight of Lebanese terrorist-snipers. 

Maj.-Gen. Rafi Noy (res.) told Arutz-7 today that the IDF's opposition to
the unilateral withdrawal is based on the feeling that the southern Lebanon
security zone provides the best method of defense for the northern
communities.  "The army would agree to a unilateral withdrawal," Noy said,
"if it could feel that it has the government's go-ahead to freely and
harshly respond to any subsequent terrorist attacks on Israeli communities.
 This is the only way that the Syrian and Lebanese governments would get
the message that they must rein in the Hizbullah."  Maj.-Gen. Noy is
against, however, criticism by the army establishment against the
government for not accepting its views on the situation:  "The government
may the army and other departments for advice on how to handle a particular
issue, but is not obligated to follow their advice."

Referring to yesterday's Arab League warning against a unilateral Israeli
withdrawal, Noy asked rhetorically:  "Have you ever heard of a situation
when an 'occupied country' object to an announcement by the 'occupier' that
it intends to withdraw?  It could very well be that behind the Lebanese and
Syrian warnings is the fear of a new civil war in Lebanon, or that Syria's
occupying forces will be a new target of Lebanese anger..."  

Middle Eastern affairs expert Dan Shiftan painted a grim picture of
Israel's deterrence capabilities as viewed by the Arab states.  Speaking
with Arutz-7 today, Shiftan said, "Relative to this region's Arab states,
Israel has basically lost it deterrence capability.  The Arab leaders
believe that Israel is basically ready to accept pretty much any Arab
dictate.  The Arabs assume that the Israeli public is not ready to fight,
and is prepared for diplomatic deals with its Arab neighbors pretty much at
any price..  The question for the Arabs is no longer where lies Israel's
red line, but does it have such a line?"  He said that the atmosphere in
Israeli-Syrian talks of the past few years is as if "Israel was the one
that had been defeated in the Six Day War." 

3. SENTENCED TO 35 DAYS FOR SPEAKING
Moshe, a resident of a community in Binyamin, told Arutz-7's Haggai Seri
today about the quick military trial and sentencing of his son to 35 days
in army prison today:
"My son is a medic, who was recently called to serve in Yeshivat Od
Yosef
Chai at Joseph's Tomb in Shechem.  The commanding officer immediately told
him that he was not allowed to spend time in the yeshiva, aside from taking
part in the prayers.  He told my son, 'You're one of the pray-ers, so you
can't be with the yeshiva students during your free time.'  My son, who
grew up here in Yesha, is very attuned to the importance of the Land to the
Jews, and particularly the holy sites, such as Joseph's Tomb.  He saw how
the army reacted to the yeshiva students' putting in a new floor, and it
bothered him very much.  In private conversation with some of the other
soldiers, my son expressed his opinion that the commander was acting with
political motives, and seemed to want to placate the Palestinians more than
to protect the Jews living there.  These remarks somehow made their way
back to the commander, who called him in, tried him and sentenced him on
the spot to five weeks.  I ask you:  If a young soldier can't express his
deeply-held views in private conversation, then what is left for him?  Is
it a crime to speak?!"

4. POPE APOLOGIZES
Pope John Paul II apologized today for the sins of Roman Catholics over the
last 2000 years, including their treatment of Jews, heretics, women and
native peoples.  "We ask forgiveness for... the use of violence that some
Christians used in the service of the truth and for the behavior of
diffidence and hostility sometimes used toward followers of other
religions," the Pope said in the unprecedented service.  The apology met
with mixed reactions among Church leaders, with some leading cardinals
criticizing the move, while others offered their own versions of the
apology.   The prayer for forgiveness for sins against Jews, which was read
by a cardinal, said, "Let us pray that, in recalling the sufferings endured
by the people of Israel throughout history, Christians will acknowledge the
sins committed by not a few of their number against the people of the
Covenant...."  The Pope then added, "We are deeply saddened by the behavior
of those who in the course of history have caused these children of yours
[the Jews] to suffer, and asking your forgiveness we wish to commit
ourselves to genuine brotherhood with the people of the Covenant." 

Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau said later that he was very disappointed that
the Pope had not mentioned the silence of Pope Paul XII during the
Holocaust. 

Rabbi Eliyahu Zini of the Technion University in Haifa and Rabbi Shubert
Spero, Professor of Jewish Though at Bar Ilan University, expressed
opposing views today on the significance of the Pope's apology for the
Jewish people.  Rabbi Zini, speaking with Arutz-7 today, said that the
apology is not sincere, "since an apology to the Jewish people would clash
with the entire system of Catholic theology....  It is merely a ruse..."
Rabbi Spero, on the other hand, told Arutz-7's Yosef Zalmanson, that the
apology should be accepted in a "respectful but wary" manner:  "The Church
conjures up immediate negative emotions for the Jewish people, both because
of the violence and death that it has brought upon us, and because of the
theological clash that it presents.  A Catholic apology should definitely
be accepted, however, in a positive light, and it is not our responsibility
- nor is it within our power - to check its exact sincerity.  This does not
mean that we must drop our safeguards against the Church, nor are we
required to do anything in return - we need not 'meet them half-way' or
anything of that nature."

5. TERRORIST VICTIMS' CHILDREN SUE
The children and family of Yaron Ungar, an American citizen who was
murdered - together with his wife - by Palestinian terrorists in June 1996,
will file suit this week in a United States federal court against the
Palestinian Authority, the PLO and Yasser Arafat.  The Ungars are survived
by their two sons, Dvir, 5, and Yeshai, 4, who are being cared for by their
maternal grandparents, Rabbi Uri and Yehudit Dasberg of Alon Shvut.  The
suit alleges that Arafat and the other defendants are liable for the deaths
of the Ungars because they provide Hamas with shelter, safe haven and a
base of operations from which to carry out terrorist attacks.  The suit is
based on a U.S. federal law passed by Congress almost ten year ago to
enable the family of Leon Klinghoffer and others to file civil suits
against the PLO for hijacking the Achille Lauro ship.  The amount of
damages sought by the Ungar children - $250 million - is based on the
damages awarded by the U.S. District Court to the family of Alisa Flatow,
an American Jewish student who was killed by Palestinian terrorists
sponsored by Iran.  

Atty. Avi Leitner explained to Arutz-7's Yosef Zalmanson today that the
difficulties encountered by the Flatow family in collecting its judgment
against Iran are not expected to pose a problem for the Ungars:  "In the
case of Alisa Flatow, the State Department stepped in, as is its right, to
prevent the seizure of another country's assets.  The Palestinian
Authority, however, is not a country, and the State Department has
therefore no say in the matter.  In addition, the PA also has assets in
Israel, and Israeli courts will be able to enforce an American ruling and
relay to the Ungar children whatever sums will be determined by the
American court."

6. ILLEGAL JERUSALEM HOMES WAIT FOR REFUGEES
Hundreds of houses built by the Palestinians in the vicinity of Jerusalem
over the past two years are empty, and are merely waiting for "the stream
of refugees who will return to Israel following the signing of a
final-status agreement" - in the words of Palestinian sources quoted today
in Ha'aretz.  The Israeli authorities have meanwhile decided no to raze the
illegally-built buildings.  The Fatah representative in Jerusalem told
Ha'aretz that the construction is "merely another step in the struggle
against the conquest."

7. ON STRIKE
Some 260 local municipal authorities were on strike today, in solidarity
with local welfare offices around the country that have been striking since
Thursday.  The workers of the Beit She'an municipality protested their own
difficulties in front of the Prime Minister's Office this morning, carrying
signs that read, "No Bread, No Peace." 

8. PA TO RELEASE PRISONERS
The Palestinian Authority has ordered the release of 18 members of the
Hamas terror organization imprisoned in Shechem, in honor of the Moslem
holiday Id el-Idha.  A PA official told the French news agency that the
Authority is contemplating the release of 34 additional Hamas members as
well.

9. NEW BILL WOULD EXEMPT NEWLYWEDS
MK Rabbi Chaim Druckman (National Religious Party) has submitted a proposal
for a new law forbidding the army to call newly-weds for reserves service.
Basing his bill on a Biblical commandment, Rabbi Druckman explained in his
proposal that reserve duty, "especially if it is lengthy, detaches a young
husband from his home and his new wife" and makes the transition from
single to married life even more difficult.  The new bill would prevent a
man from being called up for service in his first year of married life.

Hebrew News Editor: Ariel Kahane and Haggai Seri
English News Editor: Hillel Fendel and Ron Meir

To our readers: Friday's news report did not reach all of our subscribers.
To receive a copy, send a blank email to <friday@a7.org>.

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