Subject: Arutz-7 News: Wednesday, January 14, 1998
Date: Wed, 14 Jan 1998 23:44:47 +0000
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Subject: Arutz-7 News: Wednesday, January 14, 1998
Arutz Sheva News Service
Wednesday, January 14, 1998 / Tevet 16, 5758
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TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. GOVERNMENT OUTLINES VITAL INTERESTS
2. SECURITY WARNINGS STILL ON
3. RALLY TONIGHT
4. CHIEF RABBI MEETS WITH AMERICAN ORTHODOX LEADERS
5. MINISTER TO MEET WITH POPE
6. TWO MKs
***SPECIAL INSERT: Myths and Facts About the Conversion Law
1. GOVERNMENT OUTLINES VITAL INTERESTS
The second part of this week's three-part government meeting, held today,
produced the following decision:
a. The Government of Israel establishes that Israel's vital and national
interests in Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley, as presented in the
Cabinet meetings of 26 and 30 November, 1997, and on tours of the areas on
23 and 28 December, 1997, will constitute the basis of the interim
agreement and the final status agreement with the Palestinians.
b. These vital interests, which partly overlap, comprise the following
components:
* 1. The eastern security zone.
* 2. The western security zone.
* 3. The area surrounding the Jerusalem region.
* 4. The areas of the Israeli communities.
* 5. Infrastructure interest, including water, electricity and
transportation.
* 6. Military-security sites of strategic importance or pertinent to
Israel's deterrence capability.
* 7. The areas around longitudinal and lateral transportation routes vital
to general security and to the security of the Israeli communities.
* 8. Historic sites sacred to the Jewish people.
American mediator Dennis Ross proffered veiled criticism of yesterday's
Israeli government decision making another Yesha withdrawal contingent upon
Palestinian fulfillment of its obligations. In an interview with CNN, Ross
said that neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians are in a position to
present conditions to the other side. The Palestinians have also
formulated a document detailing what they see as Israeli violations of the
Oslo accords. The list includes quotes by government ministers and Knesset
Members condemning the Palestinian Authority that were broadcast on Arutz-7.
2. SECURITY WARNINGS STILL ON
The Hamas bomb factory found yesterday in Shechem is one of the biggest
ever discovered in the region. The 700 kilograms of materials found there
included chemicals used in bomb-making, including acetone, alcohol and
hydrogen peroxide, gas masks, batteries, sodium-based explosive powder, and
small buckets labeled "lemon and strawberry ice cream'' filled with a
liquid and explosives. Some of the explosives had already been assembled
as bombs, the officials said. The materials were the same as those used in
two suicide bombings in Jerusalem last summer. Three American officials
took notes and photographs, but did not speak to reporters. Although
Palestinian officials denied they received help from Israel, the IDF in
fact supplied them with an exact address of the laboratory.
Arutz-7 correspondent Haggai Huberman reports that Israel also supplied
other information to the Palestinians, including the whereabouts of Hamas
leader 'Aadal Awadallah. However, Awadallah managed to escape, either
because he was tipped off by a Palestinian Authority figure, or because the
PA purposely delayed their action against him, hoping that he would escape,
thus avoiding a direct clash between the PA and Hamas. Huberman says that
this is a prime example of the lack of real PA activity and initiative in
the war against terrorism. Forty Hamas terrorists, considered "small fry,"
have been arrested over the past few days, half by Israel and half by the
Palestinians. Their activities were masterminded by Awadallah, Muhi a-Din
Sharif, and Muhammad Dif, who remain at large.
O.C. Central Command Maj.-Gen. Uzi Dayan strongly criticized the PA over
the bomb factory. He said, "They could have invested a little more effort
to find the lab that was right under their nose." Israel security elements
criticized the Palestinian police for hurrying to release the news of the
bomb factory discovery so soon after it was uncovered, only in order to
gain points for Arafat before the meetings in Washington next week. It is
claimed that this cost the Palestinians the opportunity to apprehend other
terrorists connected with the laboratory. The detained terrorists revealed
some of the attacks they were planning for the near future, including car
bombs in the large cities and Yesha towns, bombs in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv,
and shootings and kidnappings in Yesha communities. The IDF continues to
remind the public that the dangers of terrorism attacks in the near future
are still in effect, and that extra caution must be employed.
3. RALLY TONIGHT
A mass demonstration will be held tonight in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv,
calling on Prime Minister Netanyahu not to give in to American pressure to
execute a second withdrawal. The Tel Aviv police are deployed in full
force. Many tens of buses have been hired to bring the participants to the
rally, including 45 from Jerusalem alone.
4. CHIEF RABBI MEETS WITH AMERICAN ORTHODOX LEADERS
Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau met today with a delegation of American
Orthodox Jewry, visiting in Israel for three days on the issues of
conversion and Orthodox/non-Orthodox relations in Israel. The 80-member
group's visit to Israel was initiated by the "Am Echad" (One People)
organization, whose position it is that the religious status quo in Israel
must be left intact, and that acceptance of non-Orthodox demands would
generate a schism between Israel and the majority of American Jews. "Am
Echad" claims that the Reform and Conservative movements wrongly claim that
they are the authentic voice of American Jewry. The organization says that
a single Jewish standard for personal status matters such as marriage,
divorce, and conversion is vital.
Rabbi Lau eagerly welcomed the group, called on them to do what they could
to increase aliyah to Israel, and said, "The question is not 'Who is a
Jew?' but rather 'Who is a Rabbi?' How can the Reform as us to recognize
their rabbis, considering that the term "rabbi" appears only in the Oral
Law, which they do not recognize?" Rabbi Lau said that he now understands
that the findings of the Ne'eman commission, charged with finding a
solution to the problem, will be delayed for "two weeks or a month."
5. MINISTER TO MEET WITH POPE
Deputy Prime Minister Moshe Katzav, acting in his capacity as Minister of
Tourism, will meet with Pope John Paul II this coming Friday in the
Vatican. The chief topic of their discussion will be the Israel's
preparations to greet the expected million or more pilgrims who will visit
in the year 2000, and cooperation with the Vatican in this matter. Katzav
will also brief the Pope on the political situation and the Oslo process.
Katzav will re-issue an Israeli government invitation to the Pope to visit
Israel in 2000. Earlier this week, Tourism Ministry Director-General David
Litvak and Senior Deputy Director-General Shabtai Shai presented Christian
church leaders in Israel with a report on preparations for the Israel 2000
events.
6. TWO MKs
Two groups of Knesset Members met last night with the Prime Minister,
regarding the scheduled withdrawal from Yesha. Arutz-7 spoke with members
of both delegations today, beginning with MK Roman Bronfman (Yisrael
B'Aliyah). Bronfman said that he and his colleagues, who are known as
supporters of a withdrawal, told Mr. Netanyahu that most of the Israeli
public wants peace, but not at any price, and that he must proceed with
wisdom and with caution in the process. He said that yesterday's
government decision making the withdrawal conditional upon Palestinian
fulfillment of its obligations is acceptable to him, as long as it is not
an "excuse" to push off the implementation of the Oslo accords.
Arutz-7 next spoke with MK Tzvi Hendel (NRP), who met with the Prime
Minister together with other Land of Israel Knesset front members. They
told Mr. Netanyahu that the conversations in the U.S. next week should
concentrate on the extradition of terrorists to Israel. He said, "Even
according to their interpretation, that they should try the terrorists
there and need not transfer them to us, the fact is that they have not done
so for four years. Therefore, their interpretation has proven itself to be
ineffectual, and they must therefore transfer the murderers to us. In any
event, the conversations there need not revolve around other side issues,
such as how much land to withdraw from, as these are irrelevant so long as
the Palestinians have not fulfilled their basic commitments."
SPECIAL INSERT
Myths and Facts About the Conversion Law
(communicated by the Israel Government Press Office)
Myth: The Israeli Government is not taking the conversion issue seriously.
Fact: In an unprecedented step, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu brought
together Reform, Conservative and Orthodox leaders to form a committee
headed by Finance Minister Yaakov Ne'eman. The Ne'eman committee, which
began its work in June 1997, has held over 50 meetings and heard testimony
from numerous religious and communal leaders and experts in an attempt to
find a recommendation that would avert the need for the Conversion Law.
The Ne'eman committee is continuing its work for an acceptable
solution on
the issue of conversions performed in Israel. A second committee was
established to address the issue of the conversion of infants adopted
abroad. This committee has succeeded in formulating recommendations which
were agreed upon by all parties concerned. It is hoped that the success of
the second committee will serve as a harbinger of unity and consensus.
As Prime Minister Netanyahu said in a speech to the General Assembly
of
the Council of Jewish Federations (CJF) on November 16, 1997, "I do not
believe that this issue can be resolved through litigation or legislation.
We would rather have neither. What we need is an agreement among the
religious leaders of all the parties involved. We are determined to reach a
consensus."
Myth: Passage of the Conversion Law would mean that people who undergo
Reform and Conservative conversions abroad would from now on be considered
second-class Jews in Israel.
Fact: Reform and Conservative conversions performed in communities
outside Israel are currently recognized by the Israeli Government and would
continue to be recognized even if the bill were to become law. The proposed
law relates only to conversions performed in Israel, and not to those
carried out elsewhere. If the Conversion Law is passed, it will not alter
the recognition that is granted to conversions performed outside of Israel.
Myth: The Conversion Law would disenfranchise Reform and Conservative Jews
outside of Israel.
Fact: The sole objective of the proposed law is to preserve the status
quo in Israel, which has been accepted by every Israeli Prime Minister
since David Ben-Gurion after the founding of the State in 1948. Cases
pending before the Israeli Supreme Court could alter the status quo with
regard to conversions performed in Israel. The proposed Conversion Law
would codify existing practice. It does not question or cast aspersions
upon anyone's Jewishness or commitment to Israel, nor is it intended to do
so. Israel remains the homeland of the entire Jewish people, regardless of
their religious affiliation. As Prime Minister Netanyahu said in his
November 1997 speech to the CJF, "No one, nobody, can deprive a Jew of his
Jewishness. There can be no such thing as a second-class Jew. Every Jew is
a legitimate Jew. Period."
****************************
Hebrew News Editor: Ariel Kahane
English News Editor: Hillel Fendel
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