To:            arutz-7@IsraelNationalNews.com
From:          Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@IsraelNationalNews.com>
Subject:       Arutz-7 News: Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2000

Arutz Sheva News Service
   <http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2000 / Elul 13, 5760
------------------------------------------------

TODAY'S HEADLINES:
   1. POLITICAL STALEMATE
   2. CNN AND THE TEMPLE MOUNT
   3. SPURRING DIALOGUE
   4. NRP STANDS UP FOR RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

***SPECIAL OSLO ANNIVERSARY INSERT:
Interviews with Oslo architect Ron Pundak and Elyakim Ha'etzni

1. POLITICAL STALEMATE
With the dimming of the lights on the Palestinian-negotiations stage,
attention now turns to the domestic political front.  The Likud now admits
that it cannot find the 61st Knesset vote to topple the government; David
and Maxim Levy apparently refuse to support a no-confidence motion
sponsored by their former party, the Likud.  On the other hand, the
opposition feels it can garner support for the dissolution of the Knesset
and for new elections.  Likud Knesset faction head Ruby Rivlin expressed
confidence today:  "The government has until Jan. 1 to pass a budget, but
it will not be able to do so, because Barak has no majority in the
Knesset.  The previous year's budget is then allowed to run for three
months, but if by Mar. 31, Barak still does not have a budget, this
automatically means new elections."

Barak sees the situation a bit differently.  Admitting that he has no
Knesset majority for his concessions to the Palestinians, he now plans to
try to form a minority, secular government.  It would contain 50 MKs - One
Israel (24), Meretz (10), Shinui (6), Center (6), and two smaller parties -
and rely on the outside support of the 10 Arab MKs.  He may not enjoy as
wide left-wing support as he presumes, however, as leading left-wing
politicians have recently publicly criticized what they perceive as his
contradictory policies on religious-secular issues.  MK Ran Cohen (Meretz),
for instance, said today that "Barak promises a civil revolution on the one
hand, but enacts the Tal Committee recommendations [allowing military
exemptions for yeshiva students] on the other.  What is this?!"  His party
colleague MK Zahava Gal'on said that Meretz would have to consider
carefully whether to support Barak's "policy of zigzags."

Labor party officials are concerned on another front, as well: Internal
polls show that if elections were held today, the party would receive only
20 Knesset seats.  Labor, in its current format of One Israel, won 26 seats
in last year's election; it won 34 seats in the 1996 election, and between
39 and 47 seats in the previous four elections.  Meretz and Shinui stand to
gain the most from the drop in support for Labor.

2. CNN AND THE TEMPLE MOUNT
Does CNN have a hidden agenda - or is there another explanation for the
absence of the words "Temple Mount" when referring to the location of the
Holy Temple?  In its latest articles on the Israeli-Palestinian
negotiations, CNN.com has described the Jewish People's holiest site as "a
site in East Jerusalem sacred to Moslems and Jews" and "a sensitive mosque
compound in Jerusalem's walled Old City."  Both stories mentioned the
Moslem name of the site - al Haram al-Sharif - but "Temple Mount" appeared
nowhere.  The last mention of the Temple Mount that is currently accessible
on a CNN news story is from Sept. 8:  "Sites sacred to the world's
religions are located in the Old City of Jerusalem, including the area
called Temple Mount by the Israelis and al Haram al-Sharif, or Noble
Sanctuary, by Palestinians, Muslims and Arabs."

During last week's United Nations Millennium Conference, Prime Minister
Barak said, "When young Jesus walked in Jerusalem, he did not see any
mosques or churches - he saw only the Jewish Holy Temple."  Comments can be
addressed to the CNN news team at <http://www.cnn.com/feedback/>.

A petition <http://www.onejerusalem.org> by One Jerusalem calls on the
world community to recognize a united Jerusalem under Israeli
sovereignty.  The petition was initiated to "bring together Jews and
non-Jews, Israelis, Americans, Europeans, and even Middle Easterners who
urgently feel that a new international effort on behalf of Jerusalem must
begin."  One Jerusalem was founded by a diverse group, including MK Natan
Sharansky, Rabbi Chaskel Besser, Douglas Feith, Yechiel Leiter, Prof. Eli
Pollak, Ambassador Dore Gold, and others.

The petition states that Jerusalem under the sovereignty of the State of
Israel is free and open, and that the government has guarded the holy sites
and respected the rights and access of all religious groups.  It further
declares that this situation stands in sharp contrast to that which was in
effect between 1948-1967 under Jordanian rule, when Jews and Israeli Arabs
were denied access to holy sites, and when religious persecution led to
desecration and destruction.  The petition concludes,

"We believe that Israel has upheld its moral and ethical obligations to
the people of the world and has earned the right to retain sovereignty over
all of Jerusalem, according to the present boundaries.  Moreover, we
believe that Israel's decision, as a free and democratic nation, to
designate a united and undivided Jerusalem as its capital, should be
respected and recognized by the entire international community."

3. SPURRING DIALOGUE
The "civil revolution" promised by Prime Minister Barak has had some
immediate positive results:  Diaspora Affairs Minister Rabbi Michael
Melchior has announced a "Quality of Society" Month.  Dialogue tents will
be established between religious and secular citizens in various cities,
including Afula, Yerucham, Nazareth, and others.  The purpose of the
month's events, which will begin today in Beit Shemesh, is to "a first
effort by the government to seriously deal with the multi-culturality and
estrangement between various sectors."

According to the present version of the government's proposed budget for
2001, the Ministry of Religious Affairs will be dismantled this coming
year, and will be joined with the Justice Ministry.  Its budget will be cut
by 110 million shekels in the process.  The budget must pass several levels
of government and Knesset approval before becoming law.

4. NRP STANDS UP FOR RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
The National Religious Party has begun a public campaign against the
closure of the Ministry of Religious Affairs.  Party leader Rabbi Yitzchak
Levy told Arutz-7 yesterday that he will head a task force to publicize the
dangers presented to religious education by such a move.  "Everyone agrees
that we must be as efficient as possible," he said, "but the question is
whether we are throwing the baby out with the bathwater.  It's not that we
need the Ministry per se - it itself is just a tool.  But it is imminently
clear that if the Ministry's allocations to religious high schools are cut,
this will be their death blow.  As it is now, parents can barely pay the
tuition.  And if we are told that the allocations will simply be re-routed
via the Education Ministry, we know that this will not happen, and it will
be the end of the religious high schools."

The NRP also decided that MK Yigal Bibi will coordinate the gathering of
signatures of 61 MKs against the closure of the Ministry of Religious
Affairs before solutions have been found for the religious schools.  MKs
Zevulun Orlev and Nachum Langental will lead the struggle in the Knesset
Education and Finance Committees.   MK Rabbi Chaim Druckman said that it is
clear that "efficient government" is not the only motivation behind the
drive to close the Ministry, "and the unnecessary government ministries
that have recently been added are proof."


SPECIAL OSLO ANNIVERSARY INSERT:
Interviews with Oslo architect Ron Pundak and Elyakim Ha'etzni, in honor of
today's 7th anniversary of the signing of the Oslo Accords on the White
House lawn.

Ron Pundak, often called one of the architects of Oslo and a partner to the
secret Oslo negotiations, was asked by Arutz-7's Ariel Kahane today what he
felt are Israel's practical gains from these seven years of Oslo.  Pundak
responded, "First of all, Israel is currently at the pinnacle of the
process that I hope will lead to a final agreement between Israel and a
Palestinian state.  But in addition, from a historical view, we must keep
in mind that our peace agreement with Jordan, and the openness we enjoy
from the Arab world, and from the entire world, and the warm international
receptions accorded to Barak, and even to Netanyahu, and of course to Peres
and Rabin - all of these are a result of Oslo.

A-7:  Many people feel that these things are not the result of Oslo, but of
totally different factors...  Aside from that, however, when Oslo was
signed, we were promised peaceful relations with the Moslem countries, but
the fact is that there is no peace agreement with any other country aside
from Jordan.

Pundak:  Israel has representations in Qatar, and Oman, and Tunisia -

A-7:  Yes, but no ambassadors, and this is how international relations are
measured.

Pundak:  I'm not sure if that's true, but if you check the Foreign Ministry
figures even regarding ambassadors, you will see amazing things, in Africa
and Asia.  But anyway I don't think that this is how we should measure it -
we don't have to take an inventory of ambassadors. Nor do I think that we
should argue about other results of Oslo: I'll say that over the past years
there were less terror attacks, and then you'll say that there were more
victims, so I'll say that in general we have had hardly any terrorism over
the past two years, and you'll say that it's because Israel has succeeded
in containing it, and I'll say no, it's because of our cooperation with the
Palestinian Authority - I think that instead of talking about what I think
is the amazing inventory of quiet and international openness, etc., we
should concentrate more on the historic point of view, as
follows:  Historically, the Oslo process is primarily a Zionist act, in
that we are headed for a clear definition of a Jewish and Israeli state,
without the conquest of another people.  I must say that this is at a great
price, one that I personally feel - we will have to detach ourselves from
areas of Eretz Yisrael that I am historically more attached to than Tel
Aviv.  But in order to reach a state that is not bi-national, and to ensure
the survival of the Jewish community here, we must do this:  Oslo is a
re-division of this land into two clear states.

A-7:  According to this, you will soon want to come to a similar agreement
with the Israeli Arabs, as we see that they are also headed for terrorism,
and they want land, so you will want the same arrangement and division with
them?

Pundak:  First of all, I don't see the same level of terrorism coming from
Israeli Arabs -

A-7:  Because our Israeli police are still in charge there, thank G-d.
Pundak:  I do see a problem with the relations between Arabs and Israelis,
but again the greatness of Oslo is that it will clearly define
nationalities, and the way will be clear so that an Israeli-Arab can choose
to cross the border and live there [in the PA] if he wishes to...  But at
the same time, I want to define every person in the State of Israel -
whether Jew or Arab, or even a new immigrant whose mother was born
non-Jewish in Russia - I want to define every man as a man, and that the
State has a clear character, namely, that which it is today.  Whoever wants
to live in total equality, even if with the rights or the character of a
recognized minority, we will help him to do so, but only through peace,
only through historic compromise...    Otherwise, what will happen is what
you said, but with violence...

A-7:  ...You know that even left-wing speakers don't speak about peace
anymore, but at most the "end of conflict..."

Pundak - I don't agree:  There are demonstrations for peace, and peace
stickers all over the place, but the truth is that none of this matters,
because it's just talk.  What's important is what happens in the field.  We
are in the midst of a major process that will take time...  I am not in
favor of an overnight change to a New Middle East; no matter what agreement
we sign, it will take a generation for both sides to educate themselves as
to how it works...

A-7:  But it may bring a very severe and violent conflict first, as Prime
Minister Barak has warned...

Pundak:  True, and at the end, we will sign the same agreement that we
could have signed now

A-7:  So what will we have gained [by the Oslo process], if there is
violence and clashes all along the way?

Pundak:  This is why I call upon both sides to avoid the need for war in
order to get to peace, because it will be the same peace in any event...

Kahane then spoke with long-time anti-Oslo activist Elyakim Ha'etzni of
Kiryat Arba.  Ha'etzni was up in arms:  "How is he [Pundak] not ashamed to
continue to talk about a process for which he is responsible that has
brought catastrophe upon Israel, as everyone sees...  If he were on the
last helicopter out of here, as in Vietnam, he would still have something
to say to defend the process!  His position is, 'don't confuse me with the
facts, I've already made up my mind.'  This process leads not to peace, as
he says, but to the dismantling of the State of Israel!  Who doesn't see
this!?"

Ha'etzni continued, "...He [Pundak] says that for the past two years there
has been no terrorism.  Do you know what Oslo has done?  It has turned
terrorism from a tactical threat into a strategic threat.  Today, those who
are responsible for Oslo keep threatening us that if we don't continue, the
Palestinians will use terrorism against us!  Originally they said there was
no threat of terrorism, because we were only giving them a certain amount
of guns, and each one was registered, and in any event we could always
reverse the process, etc., etc.... But now, after it's too late, they
threaten us with the opposite:  We can't reverse the process, because there
will be a war!...  Arafat in fact now has three armies:  He did not
dismantle Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, in violation of the agreements, and
he has his special Tanzim force of the Fatah, and behind them is a regular
army.  This triple threat can put all of Israel's cities through pure
hell!  If today Barak threatens us with cemeteries, it's a result of those
who gave Arafat the weapons with which to do this!"

A-7:  The fact is that we are no longer in control of practically all of
the Palestinians - is this not a consolation?

Ha'etzni:  Look, after you throw out the baby with the bathwater and the
baby is dead, you say at least we got rid of the dirty water.  Thanks a
lot!  There weren't other ways of doing this, such as autonomy?  And even
to create autonomy, why did they have to bring these terrorists from
Tunisia?  If we give them the Jordan Valley, then they will control the
entire land mass from Teheran all the way to Petach Tikva.  We will be - we
already are - living on the edge of an abyss!"

**************************************************************

To:            arutz-7@IsraelNationalNews.com
From:          Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@IsraelNationalNews.com>
Subject:       Arutz-7 News: Thursday, Sept. 14, 2000

Arutz Sheva News Service
   <http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Thursday, Sept. 14, 2000 / Elul 14, 5760
------------------------------------------------

TODAY'S HEADLINES:
   1. BARAK TO SETTLE FOR UNDER-THE-TEMPLE MOUNT?
   2. THE CHIEF RABBI AND THE PRIME MINISTER
   3. THE BUDGET STANDS ALONE
   4. ZOA FOR JERUSALEM
   5. ICEJ PETITION FOR ISRAELI JERUSALEM

1. BARAK TO SETTLE FOR UNDER-THE-TEMPLE MOUNT?
Israeli-Palestinian talks will continue today in Washington, involving
Acting Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami, Attorney Gilad Sher, their
Palestinian counterparts, and American mediators.  Ha'aretz  reports
that Israel is prepared to forego sovereignty over the Temple Mount,
and will be satisfied with control of the underground caverns below
the Mount.  The Prime Minister's office has called this report
speculation, yet refrained from actually denying it.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Abu Ala rejected the idea today, but said
that Arafat is "seriously considering" a proposal to receive "guardian
status" over the Temple Mount; sovereignty would be had by the
Jerusalem Committee of the Islamic Council.

2. THE CHIEF RABBI AND THE PRIME MINISTER
Prime Minister Barak and Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau met this
afternoon, and discussed Barak's desire to institute changes in the
country's religious-social status quo.  The Prime Minister promised
that all changes would be carried out by consensus, and that the
Jewish character of the State of Israel would not be compromised.

3. THE BUDGET STANDS ALONE
The government has presented a lonely budget indeed.  The National
Religious Party, Shas, and Meretz have so far expressed strong
objections to the plan, claiming that it "represents the secular
revolution," "cuts brutally at social services," and "contains social
distortions [and] miserably low additions to the education budget,"
respectively.  Finance Minister Avraham Shochat says that he is
considering not presenting it to the Knesset for its first reading on
Oct. 31, as required by law, but rather allowing the current budget to
continue for the first three months of 2001.

4. ZOA FOR JERUSALEM
The Zionist Organization of America sponsored a full-page
advertisement in the New York Times this past Sunday, reminding Prime
Minister Ehud Barak that any plan to divide Jerusalem would run
counter to the wishes of the overwhelming majority of the Israeli
public, the majority of Knesset Members, and his own campaign pledges
of last year.  The ad, written as an open letter to the Prime
Minister, reads in part:

"...numerous media reports and statements by your aides indicate that
you have offered to give Arafat control of parts of Jerusalem, the
holiest city in Judaism and the 3,000 year-old capital of the Jewish
people.  In fact, your Justice Minister, Yossi Beilin, admitted to
Israeli Army Radio on July 23, 2000 that your administration hid its
willingness to divide Jerusalem in order to mislead the voting public:
"We didn't speak about this in the election campaign, because we knew
that the public would not like it."  The latest polls have found 70%
of Israelis oppose surrendering any part of eastern Jerusalem to the
Palestinians..."

Mrs. Leah Rabin, the widow of former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzchak
Rabin, said last weekend that "Yitzchak is spinning in his grave"
because he "would never have offered Palestinians control over parts
of the Old City of Jerusalem, as Ehud Barak has done."  She said that
"Despite Barak's claims, he is not Yitzchak's spiritual successor...
[Yitzchak] would not have made concessions on the Temple Mount and the
Old City."

5. ICEJ PETITION FOR ISRAELI JERUSALEM
The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem has announced a drive to
demonstrate Christian support for Israel's claim to Jerusalem.  In a
letter to Christian leaders around the world, the ICEJ states that,
"Proposals have been made [in the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks] for
a division of Jerusalem that would place Christian Holy Places under
the rule of the Muslim Palestinian Authority."  The organization says
that it has already gathered 100,000 signatures from over 60 countries
on a petition in favor of Israeli control over Jerusalem.  The
petition will be presented to Israeli government officials during the
Christian celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem in
October 2000.  A copy of the petition for signing can be sent from
email <icejusa@mindspring.com>.

******************************************************

To:            arutz-7@IsraelNationalNews.com
From:          Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@IsraelNationalNews.com>
Subject:       Arutz-7 News Brief:  Friday, Sept. 15, 2000

Arutz Sheva News Service
  <http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Friday, Sept. 15, 2000 / Elul 15, 5760
------------------------------------------------

TODAY'S HEADLINE:

2. CHANCES FOR AGREEMENT - UP
American officials now say that the chances for a final-status
agreement between Israel and the Palestinians have slightly increased
over the past day.  This, despite a denial by Acting Foreign Minister
Shlomo Ben-Ami in New York last night that he had agreed to a plan
under which Israel would retain sovereignty only over the lower levels
of the Temple Mount.  "Israel insists that sovereignty over the Temple
Mount remain in our hands," Ben-Ami said.

Aaron Lerner of IMRA reported on Arutz-7 last night that a solution
has finally been formulated by Justice Minister Yossi Beilin to the
famous "null and void" contradiction.  "Since Camp David," Lerner
reported, "Prime Minister Ehud Barak has continued to repeat that the
offers put on the table there were 'null and void' once the talks
ended.  Yet at the very same time, Barak and his team continue to
negotiate - and offer additional concessions - based on those very
same 'null and void' offers."  The solution, according to Beilin, is
as follows:  "The offers on the table at Camp David remain on the
table [only] as long as the talks continue," but will have no standing
if the talks end.  "We thought Barak meant the Camp David talks,"
Lerner concluded.  "Now it turns out that any talks, apparently at any
level and via any conduit, constitute a continuation of the Camp David
talks.  What an encouraging message for Arafat..."

A large rally on behalf of a Jewish and Israeli Jerusalem will be held
this Sunday afternoon in southern Florida, by a new umbrella group
called Yerushalayim Shelanu - Our Jerusalem.  The group claims that
the rally is crucially prompted "by the alarming discussions aiming to
divide Jerusalem."  The rally will be held at the Synagogue of
Inverrary-Chabad in Lauderhill.

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