HHMI Newsgroup Archives
To: arutz-7@ArutzSheva.org
From: Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@ArutzSheva.org>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Tuesday, May 2, 2000
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.ArutzSheva.org>
Tuesday, May 2, 2000 / Nissan 27, 5760 - 12th day of the Omer
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. THE ABU DIS DEBATE
2. POLITICAL AND SECURITY OBJECTIONS TO GIVING AWAY ABU DIS
3. JEWISH LAND IN ABU DIS
1. THE ABU DIS DEBATE
Opposition is spreading within government ranks to Prime Minister Ehud
Barak's planned "advance payment" of Abu Dis to the Palestinians.
Both Foreign Minister David Levy and Tourism Minister Amnon
Lipkin-Shachak said yesterday that there is no reason to give away Abu
Dis before the implementation of a final-status arrangement.
It now appears that Yisrael B'Aliyah leader and Interior Minister
Natan Sharansky may follow in the path of the National Religious
Party, which yesterday decided to leave the government if it decides
to give away Abu Dis. Sharansky: "If Abu Dis is the 'advance'
payment, then it is clear what the final payment will be - Jerusalem
itself. That's why it's so dangerous to even discuss this possibility
at this time, and I very much hope that the government will not deal
with this proposal, and if it does, we will do everything to ensure
that it does not pass." Shas, however, is leaning towards either
supporting or abstaining in a government vote on the transfer of Abu
Dis. Shas leader Minister Eli Yeshai yesterday hinted at his party's
lack of opposition to the move when he declared that Abu Dis is "not
part of Jerusalem."
In anticipation of the Shas Torah Sages Council session on the issue
this week, former Chief Rabbis Shapira and Eliyahu publicized a call
to the "Rabbis of Israel" to stand firmly against any attempt to
strike a blow at the integrity of Jerusalem. Leading Kabbalist Rabbi
Yitzchak Kaduri released a strong statement today against the transfer
of Abu Dis, located at the foot of the Mt. of Olives, to the
Palestinian Authority.
2. POLITICAL AND SECURITY OBJECTIONS TO GIVING AWAY ABU DIS
MK Mordechai Zandberg - of the anti-religious but somewhat right-wing
Shinui party - was asked by Arutz-7 today about Abu Dis. "In my
opinion," Zandberg said, "if Barak gives away Abu Dis or one of the
other villages around Jerusalem to the Palestinians at this stage, he
is making a terrible error. Abu Dis is a negotiating card, even for
those of us who don't see it under Israeli control in the final-status
arrangement. If we give it away now, without receiving anything in
exchange, this is simply a net loss for Israel, in that we will not be
able to play this card later. The Palestinians will continue to
demand still more concessions, and we will have lost this card."
"This is all part of the tragically-flawed Oslo process of staged
withdrawals," Zandberg continued. "In each of these withdrawals, we
gave away territory without receiving anything in exchange. I can
understand why we made the original agreement, including giving away
parts of the Land of Israel and why we agreed to have them conduct
internal elections - these were concessions that showed our serious
intentions. But to keep on giving away land in the phased
withdrawals, without getting anything at all in return, and the
serious problems remain unsolved - I can't understand how Barak and
all his advisors don't understand how this weakens Israel's
negotiating position and leads to the division of Jerusalem."
Israel Resource News Agency announces a briefing on "What threat would
a Palestinian Liberation Army pose from Abu Dis?" by MK Dr. Yuval
Shteinitz (Likud) tomorrow afternoon at Beit Agron. Shteinitz argued,
in a December 1999 article
<www.commentarymagazine.com/9912/steinitz.html>
in Commentary, that
the Palestinian Authority's para-military police force is sufficiently
militarized and well-equipped to present a dangerous military threat
to Israel. He is expected to show tomorrow how the PA would be able
to actualize its military capabilities in an attack on Jerusalem from
Abu Dis, which is only hundreds of meters away from the Temple Mount.
Another press conference will be held earlier in the afternoon at the
same location, by representatives of the M'kimi Center for the
Advancement of Jewish Policy, together with Lebanese Christian Front
leader Abu Arz. They will discuss what they see as "Israel's planned
abandonment of its allies in southern Lebanon to certain death."
3. JEWISH LAND IN ABU DIS
Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert has commissioned architect Sa'adia Mendel
to prepare a blueprint for a new Jewish neighborhood in Abu Dis. Some
800 dunams (200 acres) of Abu Dis land is owned by Jews; most of these
were purchased in the 1930's by residents of Meah Shearim, and some
were subsequently sold to the Ateret Cohanim Association and U.S.
businessman Dr. Irving Moskowitz. Some 70 of the 800 dunams in
question are situated within Jerusalem's municipal borders.
***********************************************************************
To: arutz-7@ArutzSheva.org
From: Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@ArutzSheva.org>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Wednesday, May 3, 2000
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.ArutzSheva.org>
Wednesday, May 3, 2000 / Nissan 28, 5760 - 13th day of the Omer
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. ABU DIS ON HOLD
2. RELIGION-BASHING AT TEL AVIV U
1. ABU DIS ON HOLD
The Cabinet did not consider a proposal to transfer Abu Dis to the
Palestinian Authority at its session this morning - because Prime
Minister Barak does not currently have a majority to support it.
Barak is still waiting for an answer from Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef of the
Shas party, who has indicated that he would accept the consensus of
the Ashkenazic Council of Torah Sages. A poll conducted this week by
Bar Ilan University's Dr. Yaakov Katz shows that 69% of Shas
supporters will continue to object to the transfer of Abu Dis even if
Rabbi Yosef supports it.
Late this afternoon, three prominent members of the directorate of
UTJ's Council of Torah Sages issued a public call against an Israeli
retreat from Abu Dis. The Grand Rabbis of Sadigorah, Boston, and
Erloi wrote: "The transfer [to the PA] of Abu Dis constitutes a great
danger to the residents of the Jewish neighborhoods of Jerusalem as
well as for those attending funeral processions to the Mt. of Olives."
The rabbis also called on the government not to transfer more than 1%
of the Eretz Yisrael to the Palestinians in a third withdrawal.
Rabbi Menachem Porush, head of the World Agudat Yisrael movement
(aligned with UTJ), is finalizing plans for a massive rally against
the intention to give away areas near Jerusalem to the PLO. Porush
promises that the rally will be even larger than the vigil protesting
the "long arm" of the Supreme Court, which drew close to 400,000
people last year.s
In related news, David Shapira, whose family owns a plot of land in
Abu Dis, told Arutz-7 today that he would be delighted to join
Jerusalem Mayor Olmert's initiative of a new Jewish neighborhood
there. Shapira said that his grandparents acquired the plot in the
1920's in a group purchase by the national teachers' association.
"Over the years, we have had many offers by Arabs to buy the land, but
my mother refused. We expressed interest, however, in plans by Jewish
groups that proposed building. If we don't build with a group in the
near future, we are prepared to do so independently..."
2. RELIGION-BASHING AT TEL AVIV U
Tel Aviv University announced that the editor of the Student Council
newspaper apologizes for what many consider to be "one of the most
bitter attacks on the Jewish religion to have appeared in Israel in
recent years."
Yesterday's edition of the paper carried an unsigned article that
read, in part, as follows: "Citizen, religion is your enemy, and it is the
obligation of every Israeli to fight it. Every person whose heart is
not stone must go to the religious people and secularize them... When
a person chooses to believe these lies [of religion], he throws the
essence of his humanity into the garbage... Some will say that it
makes people feel good; many of those who joined the Nazi movement
also felt uplifted and joyous..."
University Student Union head Guy Kellner also apologized on air today
and told Arutz-7 that he had not read the article prior to its
publication, but was taken aback by its extremism, and especially its
equating religious with Nazi fervor. "If I had read it, I would have
removed that reference," Kellner said. He added that the paper does
not represent the view of the Student Union: "It is a purely
autonomous publication that permits students to air their views on a
variety of current topics."
MK Zevulun Orlev (National Religious Party), Chairman of the Knesset
Education Committee, expressed revulsion at the article, and said that
he will take "legal and other measures to totally uproot phenomena of
this sort." The NRP has called upon the President of Tel Aviv
University to expel the article's author, Adam Hofri and to fire the
editor of the Student Union newspaper in which the article was
featured.
Hatzofeh editor Gonen Ginat - whose paper broke the story this morning
- welcomed the apologies but added: "It is important to note that the
article was not written in a vacuum. The atmosphere of late at Tel
Aviv University - with its clear anti-religious sentiments - provided
fertile ground for the publishing of this kind of piece. I can
remember the slanderous responses and uproar not long ago when it was
announced that a synagogue would be built on the campus! The
university is proud of its theatre company, which is presenting a
drama on 'religious people who leave the fold.' Who can ignore the
university's outcry against the conclusions of the Tal Commission that
sought a compromise on the issue of yeshiva students and military
service? Many at the university declared that the committee came to
the conclusions it did because 'it was made up mostly of religious
people.' This is simply incorrect, but ignorance has always been an
inseparable part of prejudice..." Ginat concluded: "The section that
bothered me most was not that which equated religious observance with
Nazism, but rather the declaration that one who adopts religious
belief has 'thrown the essence of his humanity into the garbage, or
forfeited his identity as a human being. This comment can have very
far-reaching implications...'"
**********************************************************************
To: arutz-7@ArutzSheva.org
From: Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@ArutzSheva.org>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Thursday, May 4, 2000
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.arutzsheva.org>
Thursday, May 4, 2000 / Nissan 29, 5760
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. WAITING FOR SHAS
2. ARABS SET SIGHTS ON WEST JERUSALEM
3. EILAT CRISIS
*** SPECIAL INSERT: Letter from Rabbi Porush to Rabbi Yosef re: Abu
Dis
1. WAITING FOR SHAS
The position of Shas leader Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef on Abu Dis is still
unclear, following his late-night meeting with Likud chief Ariel
Sharon. Shas sources stated that Rabbi Yosef is anxious to hear the
final decision of the Ashkenazic Torah sages on the transfer of Abu
Dis to the Palestinian Authority. Sharon said that he does not
believe that Shas' decision will be influenced by monetary matters.
Shas political leader Minister Eli Yeshai was subjected to a rare
degree of high pressure today, when he met with American mediator
Dennis Ross, Ambassador Martin Indyk, and other American diplomats.
See below for a copy of the letter to Rabbi Yosef from Rabbi Menachem
Porush, head of the World Agudat Yisrael movement, asking him not to
agree to a transfer of Abu Dis to foreign control.
Arutz-7 has learned that the Yesha Council categorically rejected this
week an offer from a senior government minister to receive extra
benefits for Yesha towns, at the cost of not pressuring the NRP to
leave the coalition in the event of an Abu Dis transfer.
2. ARABS SET SIGHTS ON WEST JERUSALEM
A new PLO database program has been developed to help residents of
Arab refugee camps identify their pre-1948 homes within Israel. This
should help the public realize the extent of the Palestinian demands,
says Israel Resource journalist David Bedein, who broke the news of a
new Palestinian "right of return" program. "If this becomes known to
the Israeli public, a national crisis of confidence in the peace
process would ensue," according to Bedein.
The Palestine Liberation Organization released yesterday a
multi-colored 40-page "Palestinian Refugee" brochure, in which is
delineated the organization's demands for the "right of return" for
Arabs who, before 1948, lived in what is now the State of Israel.
Bedein told Arutz-7's Ron Meir of his visit this week to the Orient
House in Jerusalem: "Their new computers help locate homes owned by
Arabs before 1948, and make a connection between those homes and the
Arabs in refugee camps... These neighborhoods, such as Katamon, Baka,
and Talbieh, are in Jerusalem-proper - so proper that many of my
friends and colleagues active in the Peace Now movement live there."
The entire interview with Bedein can be heard on Arutz-7's website at
<http://www.a7.org/engclips/040500/bedein-refug.ram>.
3. EILAT CRISIS
A crisis has developed in the Eilat talks. The Palestinian delegation
left the room this afternoon after the Israeli team showed the maps of
Israel's view of a final-status arrangement. Likud MK Silvan Shalom,
visiting Arutz-7 studios today, said that Abu Dis is a very important
issue, but "why aren't there 1,000 people protesting in Eilat right
now, where critical decisions are being made for the future of Judea
and Samaria!?" Yedidya Atlas' entire interview with Shalom can be
heard on "Now Until Midnight" tonight, or, starting tomorrow, at
<http://www.a7.org/English/radio/ram/midnight.ram>
SPECIAL INSERT:
A letter written this week by Rabbi Menachem Porush, head of the World
Agudat Yisrael movement, to Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef
Honorable Gaon of Israel
The Great Rishon LeTzion Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef, Shlita [may he live a
long and good life] HaKablan St. 45, Jerusalem
Shalom and Blessings,
"I was a young man and I have now grown old." I was born at a time
when the Turks controlled this country. I lived through the period of
the British Mandate, and followed the events since the establishment
of the State of Israel. The difficulties we endured are engraved in
my memory, as I was personally involved in the developments.
I am writing this letter with a feeling that I don't recall ever
experiencing before -- a feeling of fear and great worry resulting
from the persistent and firm rumors that the government is planning to
change the status of the neighborhoods on the outskirts of Jerusalem,
Abu Dis and Azariya, by handing them over to complete Palestinian
civil and military control.
"That which we feared has come." Beyond doubt, the consequences of
transferring Abu Dis and Azariya to Palestinian military control are a
security danger to Jerusalem.
Intense and thorough analysis has led to the conclusion that the
consequences will be the suffocation of Jerusalem with a Palestinian
chain.
Surely what we are dealing with is "pikuach nefesh" on a massive
scale, and even when one person's life may be in danger we are
required to take extraordinary measures.
Military personnel who are familiar with the situation view this
decision very gravely. It may result in endangering the borders of
Jerusalem. Shivers shoot up my spine when I realize that the situation
may deteriorate and become similar to that of 1929 and 1936-38,
periods when the Arabs were not controlled by a governing force. They
rioted and endangered lives.
There is no doubt that Shas can prevent this by objecting clearly and
loudly.
During the last few days, my phone has not stopped ringing. I have
received numerous phone calls from people representing all circles of
the population, expressing their apprehension and worry. Aware of my
acquaintance with and admiration for your Honor, they encouraged me to
write this letter.
I repeatedly ask myself the inevitable question: How can we imagine
Shas sitting tranquilly as the government, with the aid of Shas, will
Heaven forbid return the neighborhoods surrounding Jerusalem?
Since the government will be discussing this issue this coming Sunday,
it is imperative that the Shas ministers state their position clearly,
that they object to any changes in the status of Jerusalem at this
stage.
Please, please, we request from his Honor shlita, please do not let
anyone endanger Jerusalem. Do not let anyone endanger the hundreds of
thousands of residents of Jerusalem.
Sincerely yours,
Menachem Porush
----------------------------
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To: arutz-7@ArutzSheva.org
From: Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@ArutzSheva.org>
Subject: Arutz-7 News Brief: Friday, May 5, 2000
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.ArutzSheva.org>
Friday, May 5, 2000 / Rosh Chodesh Iyar 5760 - 15th day of the Omer
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. ISRAEL RETALIATES FOR ONE ATTACK, HOLDS OFF ON ANOTHER
2. SEEKING THE PEACE OF JERUSALEM
3. YESHA RALLY
1. ISRAEL RETALIATES FOR ONE ATTACK, HOLDS OFF ON ANOTHER
Northern Israel and Lebanon have turned into a battlefield. The
hostilities began late yesterday afternoon when the Hizbullah
terrorists fired several volleys of katyusha rockets into Israel and
Israeli outposts in southern Lebanon. An IDF soldier - Wt. Officer
Shaked Ozeri, of Elyachin (a town just south of Hadera) - was killed
when his jeep was hit directly by a katyusha; he was buried in
Elyachin this afternoon. Over 25 Israelis were injured in the
katyusha attacks, and five of them were treated in the hospital.
Israel responded last night with air strikes on Lebanese power
stations in Beirut and north of Tripoli, which left large parts of the
country without electricity. The main Beirut-Damascus highway was
also bombed in one spot, cutting off traffic. IAF planes also struck
Hizbullah targets, including an ammunition dump in the Bekaa Valley,
where katyusha rockets were said to have been stored.
The terrorists then retaliated with additional katyushas on Israel, in
the western and eastern Galilee, injuring another five people. Heavy
property damage to cars and buildings was suffered. One rocket scored
a direct hit on a building which was about to host a meeting of the
leaders of the northern towns. Ma'alot Mayor Shlomo Buchbut said, "We
all have to say HaGomel [a blessing of thanks for being saved]."
Hadas Ochayon, 21, of Shlomi, said that one katyusha rocket fell only
a few yards away from her home as she was about to leave the building:
"Miracle is too small of a word to describe what happened. I was
almost killed - but thank G-d nothing happened." She recounted how
her mother dragged her into the security room and lay on top of her to
protect her from the bombs.
The IDF has returned fire, but a larger-scale Israeli response tonight
has been ruled out by the security mini-Cabinet, which convened this
afternoon.
2. SEEKING THE PEACE OF JERUSALEM
Likud chief Ariel Sharon met late this morning with Knesset Members of
the United Torah Judaism party. Sharon asked MKs Gafni and Porush for
their support against Prime Minister Barak's plan to transfer villages
adjacent to Jerusalem to the Palestinian Authority. Sharon met with
Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef on Wednesday for the same purpose. Both UTJ and
Shas have not yet made their official opinion on the matter known,
although most of their Knesset Members are strongly against. "The
diplomatic process must be advanced, but wisely," said Gafni. A copy
of a letter written by Rabbi Menachem Porush to Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef on
this matter is included below.
3. YESHA RALLY
The Yesha Council, together with other nationalist-camp organizations,
has planned a mass rally in Zion Square in downtown Jerusalem, for
Monday, May 15, at 7 PM. The themes will be two: the refrain seen on
billboards, posters, and bumper stickers all over the country -
"Uprooting settlements tears the nation apart!" as well as, "No More
Free Withdrawals!" Buses have been chartered from all over the
country.
Council Secretary-General Shlomo Filber told HaTzofeh today, "We
didn't waste our time [during the period of 'dialogue' with Ehud
Barak, which has now been declared ended]. Over the past four months,
we waged a massive nation-wide campaign that has proven itself.
Public opinion, which was at first split down the middle as to whether
uprooting settlements would lead to a split in the nation, is now at
65% who think or are sure that this would lead to such a split...
Barak, too, knows these results, such that he knows that he will have
a serious problem if he decides to uproot settlements."
Filber also related to the future of the Jewish towns in Judea and
Samaria:
"Within a year, a map will be drawn up that will become the status
quo for the next generation. We will be entering a period in which the Yesha
towns will have to deal with a new security situation... The subject
of establishing new settlements, and the concept of settlement
altogether, will be less significant than our social strength and
cohesion... The Council should deal with the ability of the
settlement enterprise to meet the challenges of the new realities in
the next five and ten years."
************************************************************************
To: neteditor@ArutzSheva.org
From: Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@ArutzSheva.org>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Sunday, May 7, 2000
Arutz Sheva News Service
<www.ArutzSheva.org>
Sunday, May 7, 2000 / Iyar 2, 5760
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINE:
ABU DIS STILL ISRAELI
The Abu Dis status quo continues. Prime Minister Barak still does not
have the required ministerial support for his intention to transfer
Abu Dis and two other Jerusalem-area villages to the Palestinian
Authority. "Difficulties" are reported in the Israeli-Palestinian
talks in Eilat.
Arafat refused to meet with Barak last night, but the meeting may take
place today. The Prime Minister is likely to report to the PA leader
that a transfer of Abu Dis is not on the immediate horizon. Arutz-7's
Haggai Huberman explains: "Opposition to such a move in the
government is significant. Barak knows that he has no hope of
influencing the National Religious Party and Yisrael B'Aliyah, and
Shas still hasn't solved its internal problems with Meretz. I have
even heard from some of my sources that not only will Barak not raise
the issue with his cabinet today, but he may drop it altogether, given
the strong opposition, and especially given the fact that he knows
that Israel will gain nothing in exchange..."
Huberman also reports that the next leg of the final-status framework
talks between Israel and the PA are likely to be held in Israel, but
in an even more "out-of-the-way" location than Eilat, so that
reporters will be prevented from interviewing the members of the
delegations.
It was reported last week that a "crisis" had developed in the talks,
and that the Palestinians had angrily walked out when presented with
Israel's tentative proposal for a final-status map. Huberman: "Barak
was apparently engaging in some kind of clever diplomatic exercise,
the subtleties of which were a bit hard to grasp. It was quite clear
that the Palestinians would not accept a final-status arrangement for
a Palestinian state on 40% of Judea and Samaria, plus Gaza, in light
of their demand that the next withdrawal alone should be from 40% of
Yesha. At any rate, it wasn't actually meant to be a map, but a broad
sketch of a Palestinian state divided into three large cantons:
Shomron/Binyamin, Judea/Har Hevron, and Gaza. Neither were details
provided regarding a land link between Shomron to Gaza. Within each
canton, Israel proposed all sorts of 'free passage'-type roads akin to
the Halhoul bridge in South Har Hevron, with an Arab bridge on top of
a Jewish road below... The plan showed that pains were taken not to
impinge on Yesha communities or their roads. As expected, the PA
delegation completely refused to entertain such a plan - they walked
out, called it a 'crisis,' etc."
The map issue is far from the only sore spot in the negotiations,
according to Huberman. "Nothing near an acceptable formula for the
status of Jerusalem has been reached, nor has the so-called
Palestinian "right of return" been touched. It's significant to note
that on Yom Ha'atzma'ut [Israel's Independence Day, this coming
Wednesday], the Palestinians are sponsoring a three-day conference in
Sweden to discuss the return of displaced Arabs to within the present
borders of the State of Israel. In addition, just last week,
officials from France, South Africa, Italy, and others assembled in
Paris for a UNESCO-sponsored convention, and concluded that the 'right
of return' for the Palestinians is an absolute right without which no
final status deal will be signed by the PA. We often scoff at this
demand, but we should know that the Palestinians are very clearly
insistent on it."
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