HHMI Newsgroup Archives
From: Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@israelnationalnews.com>
To: <arutz-7@israelnationalnews.com>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Thursday, January 18, 2001
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Thursday, Jan. 18, 2001 / Tevet 23, 5761
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. THE SHARON PLAN
2. SHARON MAINTAINS WIDE LEAD; BARAK PLANS "RELIGIOUS WAR"
3. FEAR IN PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY
1. THE SHARON PLAN
Likud Prime Ministerial candidate Ariel Sharon's diplomatic plan, as
publicized in Ha'aretz today, includes the following points: * A
long-term interim agreement in which a Palestinian state will be
established on the 42% of Judea and Samaria (Yesha) that is currently
under Palestinian control (even if currently only administrative
control); * no change in the status quo of the Jewish presence in
Yesha - no new towns, and all the existing ones will remain; * no more
closures or collective punishment on the Palestinian areas; * new
communities in the Halutza Sands, which the Barak government had
agreed to give to the Palestinian Authority; * massive Jewish
construction in the Galilee; * no negotiations with Syria.
Likud MK Ruby Rivlin, speaking with Arutz-7 today, confirmed that
Ha'aretz had, in general, accurately outlined Sharon's intentions.
Where did the reporter Aluf Benn get his information, Rivlin was
asked? "I can tell you that Sharon did not sit with Benn and divulge
his plans," Rivlin said. "What I think happened is that Benn heard
Sharon speak many times over the past years, and he simply took out
important excerpts and turned this into the 'Sharon Plan.' In truth,
I didn't see much here that was particularly sensational..." (When
asked what portfolio he would like to hold in a Sharon government,
Rivlin said, "It is a bit too soon to have suits made, although it's
not too early to find the addresses of some good tailors. Sharon will
decide what position to give me, but personally, I would very much
like to be Minister of Justice.")
The Barak campaign team's reaction to the Sharon plan was sharp:
"Full of contradictions, and an insult to the public intelligence,
just like the candidate himself." Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami said
this morning that Sharon's plan exists only in his imagination: "The
era of interim agreements is dead. The Palestinians have absolutely
no faith in interim agreements, and we are also opposed to them. They
have only led to terror and to a Bosnia-like situation." Shimon Peres
also, not surprisingly, was not enthusiastic about the plan. "I don't
believe it is possible to make peace without the Arabs," he said
mockingly.
Yesha Council head Benny Kashriel said that Sharon's willingness to
"part with 42% of Yesha - most of which is in already under
Palestinian control - doesn't scare me." Kashriel clarified that he
is against a Palestinian state, "because that means a foreign army in
Judea and Samaria, and this would be unacceptable. I have no
objections to a Palestinian autonomy on these territories, so that
they can run their own lives - but not a state. Furthermore, we must
not give away any more land..." Regarding Sharon's intention not to
build additional communities in Judea and Samaria, Kashriel said,
"What we need now is not necessarily more towns, but growth in the
existing ones. We have to get to a point where there are 500 families
in each Yesha community."
An official Yesha Council statement takes a stand against the plan,
asserting that after seven years of "failed Oslo," there is no
justification to give Arafat a prize in the form of a state in the
heartland of Eretz Yisrael.
Sharon presented his plan to National Religious Party members today.
NRP leader Rabbi Yitzchak Levy encouraged Sharon to fulfill his
commitment to establish a national-unity government; Prime Minister
Barak has not made clear his position on this subject. Regarding the
Education Ministry, which the NRP deeply covets, Sharon was unable to
totally reassure the party. He did not completely renege on his
declaration of a few days ago to allocate the Ministry to a Likud
member, but said, "It will remain within our 'bloc.' Don't worry, the
NRP will not be deprived."
2. SHARON MAINTAINS WIDE LEAD; BARAK PLANS "RELIGIOUS WAR"
Three different polls carried out over the past two days - by the
prestigious pollsters Hanoch Smith, Mina Tzemach, and Gallup - show
that Barak continues to trail Sharon by some 18-20%. Some in Barak's
staff attribute the wide gap to the public perception that Peres may
still replace Barak as Labor's Prime Ministerial candidate. Peres
refused to guarantee last night that he would ask his supporters to
cease working to replace Barak with Peres. In fact, as a result of
today's polls, Peres supporters have taken to the streets with large
placards reading, "Israel is Waiting for Peres." Labor party leaders
have said that, polls notwithstanding, the party simply does not have
enough money to create another campaign for a new candidate.
Political affairs journalist Yossi Elituv, of the religious Mishpacha
magazine, told Arutz-7 today that the Barak campaign is likely to
shift its emphasis away from the pursuit of an agreement with the
Palestinians, and focus instead on religious issues. "The television
ads on Sunday or Monday will already reflect this change," Elituv
said, "assuming that no dramatic developments occur on the diplomatic
front. The Barak campaign will begin a full-fledged propaganda war
against the hareidi public. The reason for this is that Barak needs
to bring back some 10% of the left-wing vote, as well as much of the
new-immigrants vote, and this can happen only if he begins to use
scare tactics. He will tell the new immigrants that the hareidim want
to control what the immigrants will eat, how they will spend their
Sabbath, etc. He will use this method even at the expense of strife
and discord amongst the various population sectors."
3. FEAR IN PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY
The reign of terror in the Palestinian Authority continues. The
bodies of two dead Palestinians have been discovered in the past few
days - one not far from Psagot, and one near Netzarim. They are
assumed to have been killed as part of the campaign against
"collaborating" with Israel. Other bodies of suspected informants
have been found during the week, all near PA autonomous areas. The PA
has declared a period of clemency during which collaborators may turn
themselves in, but Hamas leaders in Gaza have condemned the offer.
The terrorist organization demands that all informants be treated with
an "iron fist." Preliminary reports have been received this
afternoon of yet another suspected collaborator who was shot today in
Palestinian Authority territory in Hevron.
In addition, Palestinian security service agents last night arrested
the photographer who filmed one of the two PA executions of informants
five days ago. The photographer, Majadi el-Arabid, works with foreign
and Israeli news agencies, and his photos of the execution were
screened in Israel and internationally.
**************************************************************
From: Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@israelnationalnews.com>
To: <arutz-7@israelnationalnews.com>
Subject: Arutz-7 News Brief: Friday, January 19, 2001
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Friday, Jan. 19, 2001 / Tevet 24, 5761
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. SHARON LEADS BOTH BARAK AND PERES
2. ARAFAT OFFERS MARATHON TALKS
3. ROSS' PARTING WORDS
4.. LOVE FOR JERUSALEM UNDER FIRE
***SPECIAL INSERT: Avital Sharansky's speech at the "Jerusalem - I
Pledge!" rally
1. SHARON LEADS BOTH BARAK AND PERES
The polls: Today's weekly public-opinion polls - which themselves are
attracting more interest as the election nears and as the Peres-Barak
tensions intensify - show that the gap between Sharon and Barak
remains wide, while Peres' small lead over Sharon has turned
upside-down into a small lead for Sharon. Potential voters said they
would choose Sharon over Barak by a margin of between 18 and 20%. If,
however, Peres replaces Barak in the race - which he may do up until
Feb. 2, four days before the election - he, too, would lose to Sharon,
but only by 1%, according to the surveys published today. Peres, to
the consternation of Barak and his staffers, continues to keep his
virtual candidacy alive by not stating in absolute terms that he will
not run.
In other poll news, a survey by the Degani Survey Institute finds that
more than half of the population feels that there is no point in
continuing peace efforts given the current circumstances.
2. ARAFAT OFFERS MARATHON TALKS
It was decided this morning that Prime Minister Barak's "peace
cabinet" will not convene today. The cabinet was to have convened to
decide on the government's response to Yasser Arafat's invitation to begin marathon talks next week. Barak is against such talks, while
most of his colleagues - Ministers Ben-Ami, Beilin, Shachak, and MK
Sarid - are pressing for a "yes" answer. The cabinet may convene
tomorrow night. Barak admitted publicly for the first time last
night, on his nightly television political commercial, that the peace
agreement he hopes to conclude will involve the "painful concessions"
of dividing Jerusalem and giving away "more than 90%" of Judea and
Samaria.
3. ROSS' PARTING WORDS
American mediator Dennis Ross, whose job will cease tomorrow with the
inauguration of George W. Bush as President of the U.S., says that the
Palestinian leadership misled its public about what would be
achievable through negotiations and has missed a historic opportunity
for a peace settlement with Israel. He told The Jerusalem Post, "The
Palestinians have to do more to tell the truth to their own public
about what's possible and what isn't possible." Regarding the current
violence, he diplomatically blamed the Palestinians: "It is difficult
to see what possible stake Israel has in violence, and there are
clearly some on the Palestinian side who seem to think violence serves
their cause." Ross said that what he most regretted was not having
more effectively ensured that there was no incitement.
4. LOVE FOR JERUSALEM UNDER FIRE
The Barak campaign accused Avital Sharansky of calling for a "war" for
Jerusalem - and drew the ire of her husband Yisrael B'Aliyah party
leader MK Natan Sharansky. Referring to her speech last week at the
giant rally for Jerusalem, the Knesset Member said, "My wife described
the Jewish people's love for Jerusalem wonderfully in the rally, and I
was very proud. It is a revelation to me that her words of love for
Jerusalem can be interpreted as a call for war." The Jerusalem Post
reported that Sharansky said that his wife's speech had been praised
all across the political spectrum, and that hundreds of requests for
copies of the speech, from individuals and schools, had been received.
A complete translation of her speech appears below.
***SPECIAL INSERT:
The following is the text of the speech delivered by Avital Sharansky
at the giant "Jerusalem - I Pledge!" rally on Jan. 8th. Mrs.
Sharansky led a years-long international struggle for the release of
her husband - former refusenik Natan (Anatoly) Sharansky, currently a
Knesset Member and leader of the Yisrael B'Aliyah party - from Soviet
prison for his Zionist activities.
Jerusalem - together with the Temple Mount and the Western Wall - was
not all that was liberated during the Six Day War. Also liberated was
the spirit of that part of the People of Israel that was caught behind
the Iron Wall of the Soviet Union. During the Six Day War, this
spirit was revived and came to life, like a sleeping giant awakening
from his slumber. For the first time, we - millions of Jews who had
been distanced from their land and their legacy - felt our Jewish
identity. We felt Jewish brotherhood, we felt Jewish pride. We
dreamt of a return to Zion, of our return home.
This dream drew tens of thousands and millions back to Eretz Yisrael,
out of a feeling of great uplifting faith. This belief is that which,
in the end, knocked the Iron Wall to the ground, and broke an
international superpower into tiny pieces.
Sylva Zalmanson, during her trial in Soviet Russia, read aloud to the
judges the verse, "If I forget thee O Jerusalem, let my right hand
wither." My husband Natan, at the end of his trial there, when he was
in genuine danger to his life, declared in unforgettable words, "Next
year in Jerusalem." We always knew that the liberty of Israel and
that of Jerusalem are one and the same.
What is the connection between Jerusalem and world Jewry? What power
does this city have to arouse the entire House of Israel to new life?
Jerusalem has forever been the heart of the nation. When the heart is
healthy and strong, it streams life to the entire body, even to the
distant organs. "G-d is the builder of Jerusalem, He will gather all
the dispersed of Israel," is written in Psalms. When Israel liberated
Jerusalem with G-d's help, vitality was restored to every corner of
the Jewish nation; the flow of Jewish oxygen was renewed to Jewish
communities in the Diaspora, to Jews in Moscow and Siberia, in New
York and Melbourne. The Jews of America, of Russia, of the entire
world now live more complete Jewish lives, and their Jewish awareness
is much stronger. All this in the merit of Jerusalem - the heart of
the nation, the heart that after 2,000 years of exile is now beating
strongly once again.
As we declared a generation ago, let us announce once again all of us
together here today: "Am Yisrael Chai" - the People of Israel lives!
A live nation does not allow anyone to harm his heart!
Jerusalem: Thirty years ago, you restored to us our national Jewish
identity and awareness. You gave us a gift. Today, thirty years
later, we, appreciative of this kindness, gather in the shadow of your
walls to assure you: "We have not forgotten, you have not abandoned
us and we will not abandon you."
When we worked for the freedom of our imprisoned brothers in the
Soviet Union, we felt that we were the mouthpiece of hundreds of
thousands who could not, or who were afraid to, speak out. Today,
too, there were people who wanted to speak out - but were afraid.
Jerusalem was defined by some as a "political" issue. To our great
disappointment, there were those who surrendered and retreated.
But, "For Zion I will not be mute, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not
be silent." Just like thirty years ago, today too we are willing to
be a voice for the Jewry of Silence - for all those who wished to be
here but were not allowed to, or who did not find within themselves
the courage to come. We speak for them, and through us their voices,
too, will be heard.
************************************************************
From: Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@israelnationalnews.com>
To: <arutz-7@israelnationalnews.com>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Sunday, January 21, 2001
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Sunday, Jan. 21, 2001 / Tevet 26, 5761
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. BARAK, TRAILING IN POLLS, AGREES TO MARATHON TALKS WITH ARAFAT
2. SHIFTING LINES
3. TEMPLE MOUNT DESECRATION REACHES NEW LOWS
4. SHAS LASHES OUT AT BARAK
1. BARAK, TRAILING IN POLLS, AGREES TO MARATHON TALKS WITH ARAFAT A
marathon series of Israeli-Palestinian talks begins tonight in Taba,
16 days before the Prime Ministerial election. Ministers Peres,
Ben-Ami, and others of the "Peace Cabinet" convinced Prime Minister
Ehud Barak to respond affirmatively to Arafat's invitation to hold
such contacts, despite strong reservations by the Prime Minister. The
goal is to reach a "framework agreement" before the election. The
talks are scheduled to run consecutively for the next week to ten
days, with four committees dealing with the following cardinal issues:
Jerusalem, borders, refugees, and settlements.
Labor party Minister Chaim Ramon said today that he objects to the
Taba talks, calling them, "not appropriate, not ethical, not proper."
Likud members in Eilat invite fellow residents to a demonstration
tonight near the Taba border crossing against the talks.
Arutz-7 correspondent Haggai Huberman reported that the make-up of the
delegations - Ben Ami, Beilin, and Shachak for Israel, and the PA's
Abu Ala, Erekat, and Dahlan who is responsible for many murderous
attacks against Israel over the past months - shows that the talks
will deal with the "most fundamental" issues. "There is no chance for
a detailed agreement," Huberman said, "but they're hoping for a
framework agreement." The delegation will return to Israel in three
days for "updating." Huberman explained how Taba was chosen for the
site of the talks: "First of all, an anonymous Palestinian source
said yesterday that there were new Israeli concessions on the Temple
Mount, and he called them 'practically a breakthrough.' Although this
was denied by the Prime Minister's Bureau, it is borne out by the fact
of the intense talks. In any event, Mubarak got angry at Arafat for
not telling him of the 'breakthrough,' and Arafat, wishing to pacify
him, suggested that the talks be renewed at Taba, in Egyptian
territory. Mubarak agreed."
Huberman reported that Israel proposed that the Palestinians be
granted sovereignty over the mosques on the Temple Mount, but not on
the area in between; the Palestinians refused.
Likud Prime Ministerial candidate Ariel Sharon had strong words of
criticism for the holding of the Taba talks: "There is no doubt that
the renewal of talks tonight is an attempted 'grab' for electoral
purposes, by a government that does not exist." Sharon reiterated
today that he would honor any agreement that is accepted by the
Knesset.
2. SHIFTING LINES
Prime Minister Barak emphasized to his Cabinet this morning the three
"red lines" on which his negotiators would insist at the Taba talks.
The exact wording of the three points were released by the Government
Press Office as follows: * Israel will never allow the right of
Palestinian refugees to return to inside the State of Israel. * Prime
Minister Barak will not sign any document which transfers sovereignty
over the Temple Mount to the Palestinians. * Israel insists that in
any settlement, 80% of the Jewish residents of Judea, Samaria and Gaza
will be in settlement blocs under Israeli sovereignty.
The Barak government's self-declared "red lines," as enumerated by
Foreign Minister David Levy in November 1999, were as follows: "United
Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty, settlement blocs with most of
Yesha's Jews under Israeli sovereignty, no return to the 1967 borders,
and no foreign army west of the Jordan River."
3. TEMPLE MOUNT DESECRATION REACHES NEW LOWS
Desecration of the Temple Mount by the Moslem Waqf continues, with the
permission of Prime Minister Barak - although he maintains that he has
issued an order to stop it. Archaeologist Dr. Gabi Barkai, of the
Committee to Prevent Destruction on the Temple Mount, told Arutz-7
today that over the course of this past Sabbath, "We received reports
that a tractor worked throughout the Sabbath, and that a 50-meter long
trench was dug leading out of the southern entrance of the Dome of the
Rock. This is a tremendous violation of the status quo - the ancient
floor, which has not been touched for hundreds of years, has been dug
up. All the earthmoving works that the Waqf has carried out until now
were on the southern and southeastern areas of the Mount, which are a
bit lower down, but yesterday for the first time they started digging
up the upper level of the Temple Mount - where the Holy Temple itself
stood, according to all archaeologists and rabbis."
Left-wing thinkers such as Shlomo Lahat, Chaim Guri, A. B. Yehoshua,
S. Yizhar, and others have called upon Barak to stop the construction
activities, "which is causing irreversible damage to the most
important Jewish archaeological site in the world, and will be a cause
for 'weeping for generations.'" Dr. Barkai was not surprised at the
ideological make-up of the list of signatories to the above
declaration: "This is not a political issue at all, but rather a
cultural one - the Temple Mount is not only a national asset, but also
a universal asset, and the damage being done now is simply
irreversible." When asked what seemed to be the Waqf's goal, Barkai
said he did not know. It was reported, however, that Israel's General
Security Service believes that the Moslems hope to pave and turn the
entire area into one big mosque compound, thereby preventing Jews from
entering the Mount.
Last week, Prime Minister Barak issued permits for Waqf construction
on the Mount, against the recommendations of Attorney-General Elyakim
Rubenstein, the police, and the Antiquities Authority. Barak said
today that he had ordered Public Security Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami to
close off the entrance through which the Waqf equipment enters the
Mount. Dr. Barkai said, "This is simply not true - all the works have
been done, as far as we know, with his approval. Barak apparently
does not know what is going on there. Heavy equipment and trucks are
going in and out of the northern gates around the Mount, and 150 tons
of dirt have been removed in the past weeks."
Ha'aretz reported that the Waqf had announced that it would halt all
construction on the Mount on Sunday. The Mufti of Jerusalem, Sheikh
Ekrima Sabri, told Itim News Agency that there are no historical
artifacts belonging to the Jews on the Temple Mount, and that Moslem
construction and renovation work on all parts of the Mount is
legitimate and legal.
8. SHAS LASHES OUT AT BARAK
The Shas party attacked the Barak campaign for its television ads of
last night. The party says that last night's Labor campaign ads were
"extremist, anti-religious, anti-Sephardic, disrespectful, ugly, and
full of lies and incitement." In the ads, Barak continued enumerating
his mistakes of the past two years, and said that he should not have
included Shas in his coalition. He promised to pass legislation that
would essentially bypass the Chief Rabbinate in terms of marriage and
divorce, and would enable stores to open and public buses to run on
the Sabbath. A Shas statement warned today that, "Barak is liable to
outlaw religion altogether."
The left-wing religious Meimad party, which has gone hand-in-hand with
Barak's One Israel, is also angry with Barak for his
secular-revolution campaign; Meimad leader Rabbi Melchior met with him
today for "clarifications."
Kiryat Gat Mayor Lior Katzav - brother of Israel's President Moshe
Katzav - was shown on one Barak ad praising and thanking the Prime
Minister for his help for Kiryat Gat. Today, Katzav explained that he
supports Sharon, not Barak: "The Prime Minister helped Kiryat Gat,
but choosing a Prime Minister is a question of national, not local,
policies."
President Moshe Katzav and his wife Gila set off this morning for
Kiev, the first stop of their first Presidential trip abroad. They
will visit Ukraine, Russia, and Georgia. The Katzavs are accompanied
by a delegation of some 50 people, including Deputy Foreign Minister
Nawaf Masalha, army generals, and industrialists. In addition, two
soldiers from Russia and Ukraine have been included on the trip; they
will get to see their families for the first time in over a year.
*************************************************************
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