Subject: Arutz-7 News: March 18-24, 1998
Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 23:43:52 +0000
To: "Arutz-7 List"<heb_roots_chr@geocities.com>
From: Arutz-7 Editor <editor7@virtual.co.il>
To: arutz-7@ploni.virtual.co.il
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Wednesday, March 18, 1998
Arutz Sheva News Service
Wednesday, March 18, 1998 / Adar 20, 5758
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TODAY'S HEADLINE:
1. REACTIONS TO COOK VISIT
In an editorial entitled Diplomatic Disaster, the London Times sharply
criticized Great Britain's Foreign Secretary Robin Cook for his visit to
Har Homa yesterday. "[Cook's] handling of the Har Homa site ... has now
precipitated a major international incident that will severely embarrass
[Prime Minister] Tony Blair as he prepares to visit Israel next month...
The stated purpose of Mr. Cook's Middle East tour was the promotion of the
European Union's role in the peace process. It is difficult to see how
this could ever have been advanced by raising the profile of the most
contentious and explosive issue in the region... This trip has been an
unequivocal disaster. Mr. Cook has offered the distinct impression that
British policy towards the Middle East is made in Brussels, not London. The
European Union's prospects of becoming a substantial player in the peace
process have been retarded..."
Opposition head Labor MK Ehud Barak expressed support for Prime Minister
Netanyahu's decision to cancel his dinner appointment with Secretary Cook
last night. Barak said that Cook made an error in judgment and behaved
haughtily. He said, however, that the government should have planned such
a sensitive meeting more carefully. Labor MKs Yosi Beilin and Chaim Ramon
met with Cook this morning. The meeting was criticized by the Likud in a
statement declaring that this is just another in a chain of mistakes made
of late by the opposition.
Mayor Ron Nachman of Ariel, the largest city in the Shomron, has written a
letter inviting Secretary Cook to visit, "so that you may gain a clearer
perspective on the realities of life in this area."
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From: Arutz-7 Editor <editor7@virtual.co.il>
To: arutz-7@ploni.virtual.co.il
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Thursday, March 19, 1998
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.a7.org>
Thursday, March 19, 1998 / Adar 21, 5758
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TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. KLIMA AND NETANYAHU HIT IT OFF WELL
2. COOK VISIT LEAVES BAD AFTERTASTE
3. DIPLOMATIC PROCESS STALLED
4. PA HOSTS GREEKS; SHARON TALKS TUNNELS
5. PM TO REMAIN FM
1. KLIMA AND NETANYAHU HIT IT OFF WELL
By the end of today, the first day of his state visit to Israel,
Austrian Chancellor Viktor Klima will have met with Prime Minister
Netanyahu three times. In a surprise move, Mr. Netanyahu invited
Klima - whose country will take over the rotating presidency of the
European Union from Great Britain in the near future - to a private
meeting in his home. Klima said this afternoon, "British Foreign
Secretary Robin Cook is doing his best to advance the Oslo process.
The purpose of my visit, on the other hand, is chiefly to listen."
This morning, Chancellor Klima visited Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial,
as well as President Ezer Weizmann. The President emphasized that if
the Europeans don't understand the needs of both sides, they will not
be able to fulfill the role of a fair and true mediator.
2. COOK VISIT LEAVES BAD AFTERTASTE
Responses to the Cook visit at Har Homa continue to stream in. MK
Michael Kleiner (Gesher), head of the Land of Israel Knesset front,
said yesterday, "The message that we must transmit to the Europeans
and the entire world is that by hook or by Robin Cook, a Jewish
community will be established in Har Homa." He said that instead of
canceling his dinner engagement with Cook, Prime Minister Netanyahu
should have taken the indicated step of renewing construction at the
site.
Likud MK Uzi Landau, head of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense
Committee, praised opposition head MK Ehud Barak for his
"public-minded and responsible approach" in canceling his meeting with
Cook yesterday. Landau said in the Knesset yesterday, "If Cook had
remained another day in Israel and visited Hevron, I wouldn't have
been surprised to see him amongst the mob of tire-burners and
firebomb-throwers there."
3. DIPLOMATIC PROCESS STALLED
The Financial Times of London wrote that Secretary Cook "managed to
anger both the Israelis and the Palestinians equally." The paper was
apparently referring to the meeting between Cook and Yasser Arafat, in
which Cook told him that the time was not yet ripe for the new
European initiative awaited by the Palestinians. Along the same
lines, U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright will apparently not
meet with Netanyahu and Arafat next week, as had been proposed.
Finance Minister Yaakov Ne'eman, departing today for the United States
to visit with Jonathan Pollard, had also expected to meet with
Administration officials regarding ways to reduce American aid to
Israel, but those meetings have been canceled. Minister of Industry
and Trade Natan Sharansky met this week with U.S. Vice President Gore,
but may not meet with Albright, as he had requested.
4. PA HOSTS GREEKS; SHARON TALKS TUNNELS
Haggai Huberman reports in HaTzofeh that the Cook-Husseini visit would
not have been the first state visit to Jerusalem hosted by Palestinian
Authority officials. Two weeks ago, an official Greek delegation was
quietly and officially hosted and shown around the city by leading PA
officials, including stops at Jaffa Gate and the Temple Mount.
Huberman also reports that Ariel Sharon is considering again an old
plan to construct special safe-passage routes, including underground
tunnels, between different sections of a future Palestinian entity.
Sharon reportedly offered such a proposal to Abu Mazen, who did not
turn it down.
5. PM TO REMAIN FM
Prime Minister Netanyahu denied reports today that he had offered MK
Dan Meridor the option of returning to the government as Foreign
Minister. Meridor resigned from his post as Finance Minister last year
because of differences with Netanyahu. The Prime Minister said that
he had offered the Foreign Ministry only to himself so far, thus
strengthening speculation that he plans to remain in the position for
a while. MK David Levy resigned from the post almost three months
ago.
***********************************************************************
From: Arutz-7 Editor <editor7@virtual.co.il>
To: arutz-7@ploni.virtual.co.il
Subject: Arutz-7 News Brief: Friday, March 20, 1998
Arutz Sheva News Service
Friday, March 20, 1998 / Adar 22, 5758
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TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. KLIMA ENDS FRIENDLY VISIT
2. BRITISH PRESS VS. COOK
1. KLIMA ENDS FRIENDLY VISIT
Austrian Chancellor Viktor Klima will conclude his visit to Israel
today with a meeting with Labor Party leader Ehud Barak at 5:15 PM.
Klima delivered a very friendly speech towards Israel following last
night's dinner with Prime Minister Netanyahu, and offered more words
of apology for his country's role in the Holocaust. Austria will take
over the rotating presidency of the European Union from Great Britain
in a few months.
2. BRITISH PRESS VS. COOK
The British newspapers continue to attack their country's Foreign
Secretary, Robin Cook. The Daily Telegraph asks, "Does Cook seriously
believe that he can visit Har Homa and still be considered a fair
mediator in the peace process?" The Daily Mail described Cook this
week as one who turns every friend into an enemy. The paper says that
Prime Minister Netanyahu is constantly attempting to improve
British-Israeli relations, and that therefore he should be the last
person with whom Cook should quarrel. The London Times and the
Financial Times had earlier written editorials critical of Secretary
Cook.
*************************************************************************
From: Arutz-7 Editor <editor7@virtual.co.il>
To: arutz-7@ploni.virtual.co.il
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Sunday, March 22, 1998
Arutz Sheva News Service
<<http://www.a7.org/>http://www.a7.org>
Sunday, March 22, 1998 / Adar 19, 5758
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TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. "SPECIAL" TREATMENT FOR YESHA CITIZENS
2. AMERICANS WANT WITHDRAWAL FROM 13% OF YESHA
3. GOLAN LAW IN COMMITTEE
4. WITHDRAWAL FROM LEBANON: PRO AND CON
5. ARABS WON'T PLAY WITH JEWS
6. ARAB MKs SHOW TRUE COLORS
1. "SPECIAL" TREATMENT FOR YESHA CITIZENS
Attorney-General Elyakim Rubenstein admitted at today's government
meeting that special guidelines have been in effect for law
enforcement on Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria. They were drawn
up by the previous Attorney-General, Michael Ben Ya'ir, in
consultation with senior members of the GSS, the police, and the State
Attorney's Office. A pamphlet published today by the Hevron Jewish
Community and the B'Tzedek legal organization documents the policy and
its consequences. Noam Arnon, spokesman for the Hevron Jewish
Community, told Arutz-7 today, "We felt this discriminatory policy
very clearly. Every argument that one of us would have with a
policeman would turn into a criminal file being opened on charges of
insulting a police officer or disturbing a policeman in the line of
duty. We were always being arrested, and if the arrestee -whether it
be a minor or anyone else - would make an extra gesture, they would
immediately charge him with attacking a police officer, etc.
Afterwards, if the case reached court, they would always ask for the
stiffest sentences. If the court would recommend that the case be
closed, they would always say that they have a strict policy not to
close cases of this sort." As an extreme example of the police
discrimination against Hevron Jews, Arnon said that several boys, 12
to 15 years old, who made a traditional bonfire on the holiday of Lag
BaOmer in an empty lot - as children all over the country do on that
day - were actually arrested and charged with trespassing.
Arutz-7's Yehoshua Mor-Yosef asked Arnon, "You claim that 100 out of
the 500 residents (excluding Kiryat Arba) have been arrested and
charged with various crimes. People might say that it's not the fault
of the police if your community is particularly problematic." Arnon
responded, "When looking at the files opened against us, it can easily
be seen that these are almost all police-initiated charges, where the
police systematically press charges against us for things like
insulting a police officer. For instance, when the Peace Now group
was here, they broke through an IDF checkpoint, held an illegal
demonstration, attacked IDF soldiers, and beat Jewish children - and
all these files were closed. It is clear that their policy against us
is being done in a purposeful manner." The pamphlet is based on
protocols of the meetings held by then-Attorney-General Ben Ya'ir, as
well as a secret document written by Ben Ya'ir to then-Prime Minister
Rabin, detailing the intentions to deal more forcefully with the Yesha
residents.
Transportation Minister Shaul Yahalom told Arutz-7 today that
Rubenstein told the government ministers that the policy towards Yesha
residents was not significantly different than towards others.
However, Yahalom said that one example provided by the
Attorney-General was that only the State Attorney's Office could
decide to close a case against a Yesha resident, whereas in the rest
of the country, the police may make such a decision. Yahalom said
that he and other ministers demanded that there must not be police
policies that discriminate against one sector of the population.
2. AMERICANS WANT WITHDRAWAL FROM 13% OF YESHA
The newly-formulated American plan for a resolution of the dispute
over Judea and Samaria (Yesha) calls for an Israeli withdrawal from
yet another 13.1% of the area within the next 12 weeks, together with
Palestinian Authority fulfillment of its obligations. Prime Minister
Binyamin Netanyahu phoned U.S. President Bill Clinton several times
over the past few days, in an attempt to dissuade him from publicizing
the plan for the continuation of the Oslo process. Netanyahu told
Clinton that a withdrawal from more than 9% of Yesha endangers Israeli
security, and that the Palestinians have refrained from serious
negotiation until now because they are simply waiting for the
Americans to come with their plan. All of the government ministers,
including those of Shas and the Third Way, expressed support for
Netanyahu's stand on the issue at today's government meeting.
American mediator Dennis Ross is scheduled to arrive in Israel in a
few days to explain the new American plan.
3. GOLAN LAW IN COMMITTEE
The Knesset Law Committee will discuss the Golan Law in its meeting
tomorrow, and prepare it for its final readings in the Knesset. The
law, which seeks to preserve Israeli sovereignty over the Golan,
requires a majority of at least 70 MKs to vote on any change in the
status of the Golan Heights. Law Committee Chairman Chanan Porat said
that he had decided to raise the issue at this time because of the
recent clamor for an Israeli withdrawal from the Golan. There have
been reports that IDF Intelligence sources claim that no arrangement
in Lebanon will be possible without such a withdrawal. Sources in the
Prime Minister's Office deny reports that Israel has secretly told
Syria that it would be willing to resume negotiations with Syria from
the point that Yitzchak Rabin left off. It will be recalled that the
Rabin government had expressed a willingness to cede the entire Golan
to Syria in exchange for a peace treaty.
4. WITHDRAWAL FROM LEBANON: PRO AND CON
Concerning the talk of a withdrawal from Lebanon, MK Rehavam Ze'evi
told Arutz-7 today that there is no way to preserve the security of
the northern towns other than by remaining in Lebanon. "If we
withdraw, Hizbullah will move in, and shoot katyushas and small arms
fire on our towns. This will lead to a mass exodus of northern
residents, and the border will effectively have moved to the
Acre-Safed highway," said Ze'evi, a former Commanding Officer of the
Central Command. "We can't simply say, 'Oh, it didn't work,' and then
go back in there, as if we were taking a walk to the grocery store."
Third Way MK Yehudah Harel, however, told Arutz-7 that he is in favor
of a unilateral withdrawal from Lebanon, "while at the same time
making it quite clear that if we are attacked from within Lebanon, we
will regard this as an act of war. Thus we will achieve the same
situation that we have in the Golan - not a peace treaty, but
deterrence."
5. ARABS WON'T PLAY WITH JEWS
Morocco refused to allow the participation of Israeli athletes in a
sports competition being held in the country. The Israelis waited
several days in France for entry visas to Morocco, and were forced to
turn back when their request was refused. In a related item, Jordanian
students canceled their appearance at a volleyball tournament in Eilat
last week. This led to the cancellation of the volleyball games.
6. ARAB MKs SHOW TRUE COLORS
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, the semi-official Palestinian Authority newspaper,
reported last week that Arab MKs refuse to take part in the 50th
anniversary celebrations for the establishment of the State of Israel.
MK AbdelMalek Dahamsha (United Arab List) said (translation by MEMRI's
Media Review): "For us, the year of 1948 is a year of 'catastrophe'
and not a year of independence.
It is neither a holiday nor a celebration. It is unthinkable that
someone should demand that we [celebrate it]." MK Hashim Mahmeed (who
recently quit the Hadash party and intends to start a new one) said
that 300,000 Arab Israeli citizens are still refugees within their
"own homeland." MK Taleb El-Sana (Democratic Arab Party) said, "'It is
impossible to make peace between the Arab citizens and the state [of
Israel] without correcting historical errors."
**********************************************************************
From: Arutz-7 Editor <editor7@virtual.co.il>
To: arutz-7@ploni.virtual.co.il
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Monday, March 23, 1998
Arutz Sheva News Service
Monday, March 23, 1998 / Adar 25, 5758
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TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. NETANYAHU DIGS IN; AMERICANS MAY GIVE WAY
2. GOLAN LAW BURIED AGAIN IN COMMITTEE
3. RABBIS MEET WITH CHURCH LEADERS
4. ANAN TO ARRIVE
1. NETANYAHU DIGS IN; AMERICANS MAY GIVE WAY
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, appearing at the Knesset Foreign
Affairs and Defense Committee this morning, explained the government's
objections to the new American plan for a large Israeli withdrawal
from Judea and Samaria. His aides reiterated that the plan stands in
opposition to the letter written by U.S. Secretary of State
Christopher at the time of the signing of the Hevron Protocol, which
stipulates that only Israel may decide on the exact extent of
withdrawals from Yesha. They also emphasized that the Palestinians
must fulfill their obligations under the Oslo accords. Press advisor
Shai Bazak said that the Prime Minister will attempt to convince the
American public that a withdrawal from 13% of Yesha is a danger to
Israel's security. He said that every percentage point represents an
area of some 55 square kilometers (approx. 20 square miles), roughly
the size of Tel Aviv.
Arutz-7's Haggai Segal spoke today with Yoram Ettinger, a former
senior official in the Israeli Embassy in Washington. Ettinger said
that current domestic politics in the United States dictate that
American pressure on Israel in this matter will not be tremendously
great. Many members of Congress are against such pressure; Ettinger
specifically noted recent statements by Sen. Brownback of Kansas and
Sen. Kyl of Arizona to the effect that it would be a terrible mistake
to pressure Israel to carry out actions it considers dangerous. "The
Clinton administration is facing what could be the most important
national [Congressional] elections of the next decade [in November],
which are more important to it than the exact extent of the Israeli
withdrawal," said Ettinger. The Yesha Council was to meet today to
discuss the latest developments, but the meeting has been postponed.
2. GOLAN LAW BURIED AGAIN IN COMMITTEE
The Knesset Law Committee did not vote today on the Golan Law, after
it became clear to Committee Chairman Chanan Porat that there would
not be the necessary majority required to pass it. MK Yehudah Harel
(Third Way) criticized coalition MKs who were opposed to the law, even
though they had unanimously supported it when they were in the
opposition. The law would require 70 MKs to agree to any change in
the status of the Golan Heights. The Prime Minister's Office released
a cryptic statement saying that this was not the proper time to
propose the bill.
3. RABBIS MEET WITH CHURCH LEADERS
The two Chief Rabbis of Israel - Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau and the Rishon
Letzion, Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron - hosted senior representatives of
the Catholic Church today. They discussed the document publicized by
the Vatican last week relating to the Church's attitude towards the
Nazis during the Holocaust. Rabbi Lau said that he was disappointed
that the Church had not seen fit to apologize for and condemn the
Pope's silence during the Holocaust. "If the Church had spoken out
during the Holocaust, there would have been tens of thousands of
Righteous Gentiles today," he said. Rabbi Bakshi-Doron said that he
was happy for the opportunity conduct a dialogue between religious
leaders.
4. ANAN TO ARRIVE
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Anan arrived in Gaza this afternoon, where
he met with Yasser Arafat and families of terrorists imprisoned in
Israel. He will meet in Jerusalem tomorrow with President Weizmann,
Prime Minister Netanyahu, Labor party leader Ehud Barak, and families
of the missing-in-action soldiers. Anan declined, however, a request
by Nadia Cohen, the widow of Eli Cohen, to meet with him. Nadia Cohen
wished to ask Anan to intervene with Syrian President Assad to allow
the remains of her husband - who was hanged as an Israeli spy in
Damascus in 1965 - to be brought to Israel for burial.
************************************************************************
From: "Arutz-7 Editor" <editor7@virtual.co.il>
To: <arutz-7@ploni.virtual.co.il>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Tuesday, March 24, 1998
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.a7.org>
Tuesday, March 24, 1998 / Adar 26, 5758
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TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. NETANYAHU SEEN AGREEING TO LARGE WITHDRAWAL
Members of the Council of Jewish Communities in Judea and Samaria tend
to believe recent reports that Prime Minister Netanyahu is willing to
carry out a larger-than-planned withdrawal from Yesha. The Prime
Minister denied these reports today, but Ze'ev (Zambish) Chever, one
of the leaders of the Yesha Council, expressed skepticism of such
denials. "I think we are seeing a repeat of the Har Homa syndrome,"
he said, "where we were left with the sweetness of the victory, but
for all practical purposes, Har Homa has been frozen. Here too, we
were happy with out success when the government refused to agree to
large withdrawal, but in actuality it looks like there will be large
withdrawal."
MK Michael Kleiner, head of the Land of Israel Knesset front, said, "I
suspect that Netanyahu has already made a decision to announce at the
end of this week that he will execute a withdrawal from approximately
10% of Judea and Samaria. This move has been coordinated with the
Americans, in my opinion, and was timed to coincide with the beginning
of the Knesset recess. This will enable Netanyahu to avoid a
no-confidence motion for at least six weeks." When asked how the
Eretz Yisrael front would deal with such a scenario, Kleiner said, "In
such an eventuality, I and others will vote against him in the next
no-confidence vote, even if takes place in another six weeks. And if
he thinks that he will be able to mollify us by renewing Har Homa
construction immediately before the vote, I can tell him that it will
not work, and I think that many of my colleagues in the Land of Israel
front will also vote against him.'
Kleiner further said, "Many of my NRP colleagues also now see that the
"reciprocity" option on which they were so counting has collapsed.
Nothing has changed in terms of the Palestinians' fight against terror
or any of their other commitments, and yet despite this, the
negotiations continue on various tracks: safe passage for the
Palestinians, an airport for them, large-scale withdrawals... all
this even though the Palestinian charter was not changed, and the
illegal ammunition was not confiscated, and they continue not to fight
terrorism, and incite against Israel... Netanyahu very cleverly acts
as if a withdrawal of "only" 9% will be a great achievement. I
therefore tell him that 9% is not a great achievement, but is very
dangerous - it hurts our water sources, and endangers the Ben Gurion
airport, and isolates Jewish communities. We must wake up and realize
what is happening here."
2. JERUSALEM TO EXPAND WESTWARDS
Shmuel Shkedi, Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem, spoke on Arutz-7 today about
a new Jerusalem initiative to expand its municipal borders towards the
west.
"This move will strengthen Jerusalem, which is the heart of the
country," he said, "and bring to a situation where 1,000,000 Jews live in the
metropolis of the capital." He responded to objections by neighboring
Local Council heads - such as Eli Mouyal of Mevaseret Zion - by saying
that having one overall planning body to deal with questions of
infrastructure, construction, development, and the like, would be in
everyone's best interest. Shkedi also emphasized the centrality of
Jerusalem in Judaism and Jewish culture. The Knesset is expected to
pass the legislation in the near future.
3. PALESTINIAN HATRED PERPETUATED
The Shalom Ledorot (Peace for Generations) movement has released a
video cassette containing samples of hate and incitement promulgated
by the Palestinian Authority. The video shows scenes from children's
programming shown on Palestinian Television, in one of which a little
girl cries out, "I will become a suicide fighter when I walk the
streets of Jerusalem, wearing the uniform of a fighter, and we will
march as fighters of jihad (holy war)." Another boy is filmed saying,
"Sing, my sister, of my life as a fighter, who wants to die for the
sake of his holy homeland... My desire is to go out to a jihad." A
woman next appears on the show, saying, "Oh, those who perform acts of
glory, and those who do shihada [kill themselves in terrorist
attacks], we bless you with the best blessing, for you are on the
highest level, together with the prophets and the righteous. Do we
say good-bye to you? No, we say, 'We will see you soon in Paradise,
the meeting-place for the loved and loyal ones.'"
Yasser Arafat is also featured on the video, in a speech he made in
Jericho only a few weeks ago. "The purpose of all of us is to go in
their ways [those who do shihada], we are all candidates for this, and
I say this in the memory of those great heroes Abu Iyyad, Abu Jihad,
and Yichye Ayash..."
This speech, too, was shown on the official Palestinian television.
In this connection, the Shalom Ledorot organization notes the seventh
article of the Palestinian National Covenant:
"It is a national duty to bring up individual Palestinians in an Arab
revolutionary manner. All means of information and education must be
adopted in order to acquaint the Palestinian with his country in the
most profound manner, both spiritual and material, that is possible.
He must be prepared for the armed struggle and ready to sacrifice his
wealth and his life in order to win back his homeland and bring about
its liberation."
***********************************************************************
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