Subject: Arutz-7 News: April 24-26, 1998 Date: Mon, 27 Apr 1998 07:06:53 +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, arutz7-b@ploni.virtual.co.il Subject: Arutz-7 News Brief: Friday, April 24, 1998 Arutz Sheva News Service <http://www.a7.org> Friday, April 24, 1998 / Nisan 28, 5758 / 13 days to the Omer ------------------------------------------------ Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday --- See below for subscription instructions --- TODAY'S HEADLINES: 1. GOVERNMENT UPSET AT GORE'S JUBILEE VISIT WITH ARAFAT 2. GIANT RALLY PLANNED ON HAR HOMA 3. JEWISH FAITH AND PRIDE IN POLAND 4. RALLY PLANNED TO OPPOSE WITHDRAWAL 5. LONDON CATHEDRAL TO HOLD PRO-PALESTINIAN SERVICE 1. GOVERNMENT UPSET AT GORE'S JUBILEE VISIT WITH ARAFAT Arutz-7 has learned that senior Israeli government officials are angered over what they termed "the blatant insensitivity" of American Vice President Al Gore, who plans to meet with Yasser Arafat in Ramallah next Friday. The officials say that Gore has turned what was to be a diplomatic salute to Israel - his representation of the United States at Israel's jubilee celebrations - into an "insult." They emphasized that he has ignored Israeli government requests and protests, and will thus turn his visit into an American version of the recent Robin Cook fiasco. A large anti-Israel demonstration is planned in Ramallah during the meeting, intensifying the sensation of an American insult. 2. GIANT RALLY PLANNED ON HAR HOMA Close to 100,000 Israelis are planned to gather next Thursday in Har Homa, demanding that the long-promised construction begin there at once. Avi Schmidt, representing a group of 1200 families who plan to make their homes in a future Har Homa community, said that the intention is to place there a symbolic cornerstone for the neighborhood. Reuters News Agency has circulated reports of the upcoming rally across the world. Yaakov Katz (Ketzaleh), a Yesha leader and one of the event's organizers, said that the rally will also protest the planned visit of U.S. Vice President Al Gore to Yasser Arafat this coming Friday. Katz said, "Gore is coming as the guest of the State of Israel, for its 50th anniversary celebrations, and yet at the recommendation of his advisors who wish to humiliate the State of Israel, he plans to meet with Arafat in Ramallah. This is a slap in the face of the State of Israel," said Katz. 3. JEWISH FAITH AND PRIDE IN POLAND Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, enwrapped in a tallit (prayer shawl) yesterday at the site of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, read aloud the Shma Yisrael prayer, and declared, "With a trembling heart, I stand here on this accursed ground... With a trembling heart, but with an upright back - because in front of me I see the flag of Israel waving, and around me are thousands of youth of the Jewish people, the nation that has arisen from the dust." He said that our lesson from the Holocaust is "Jewish sovereignty and a Jewish army, relying on the strength of Jewish faith." Netanyahu, speaking at the conclusion of the March of the Living ceremonies in Poland, said that the reason the Allies did not bomb the railroad tracks leading to the camps was because the Jewish people had no state of their own, and therefore no one to champion their interests. Education Minister Rabbi Yitzchak Levy, speaking in Poland yesterday, said, "It appeared that the Jewish nation would not be able to recover from the blow of losing six million of its sons and daughters so brutally... It appeared that way - but it was not that way, because the spirit of Israel is eternal, and from it the nation of Israel drew the strength to arise from the dust and establish the State of Israel. From this valley of death," said the Education Minister, "we will return with the help of God to Israel next week and celebrate the jubilee anniversary of Israel's independence." The central Holocaust Day youth ceremony in Israel took place yesterday in Yad Vashem. Deputy Education Minister Moshe Peled said, "The entire Jewish nation salutes the 250,000 survivors of the Holocaust who arrived here after the war and enlisted in the effort to establish the State of Israel." 4. RALLY PLANNED TO OPPOSE WITHDRAWAL Jewish leaders in Judea and Samaria are greatly concerned after having seen the map of the proposed 11% withdrawal from Yesha. They say a withdrawal of this nature would leave at least 15 Jewish communities in the same position as Netzarim in Gaza - isolated islands within a Palestinian autonomous sea. Many of the by-pass roads will become narrow corridors within the autonomy, and Israel will not be able to prevent Arab construction alongside them. Clashes between Israelis and Palestinian policemen will become a common and unavoidable phenomenon. Yesha Council head Aharon Domb sent a telegram last night to the Prime Ministers and the government ministers, warning that the planned withdrawal would create a horrendous situation, and impose a grave sentence upon the residents of dozens of Jewish towns and their residents. A large rally is planned for this coming Sunday, opposite the Prime Minister's Office. 5. LONDON CATHEDRAL TO HOLD PRO-PALESTINIAN SERVICE The British Chronicle reports that the prominent Westminster Cathedral in London will be used for a pro-Palestinian church service next month. British-based Palestinians will mark "50 years of the Palestinian tragedy" with an inter-faith service at the church, organized by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and other groups. The main speaker will be Canon Naim Ateek, pastor of the Anglican St. George's Cathedral in Jerusalem and an outspoken proponent of a Palestinian state. Invitations to the event feature a map of Palestine on Israeli territory, overprinted with the words: "Palestine 50 - Time for Justice." A spokesman for the Council for the Advancement of Arab-British Understanding admitted that securing the cathedral had been "something of a coup." The director of the Council of Christians and Jews, Paul Mendel, said that he regretted the cathedral's use for a "one-sided" service. "It does not reflect the pain on both sides of the conflict," he said. ********************************************************************** From: Arutz-7 Editor <editor7@virtual.co.il> To: arutz-7@ploni.virtual.co.il,arutz7-b@ploni.virtual.co.il Subject: Arutz-7 News: Sunday, April 26, 1998 Arutz Sheva News Service <http://www.a7.org> Sunday, April 26, 1998 / Rosh Chodesh Iyar, 5758 / 15 days to the Omer TODAY'S HEADLINES: 1. ROSS/INDYK PUSHING FOR 13% 2. YESHA RALLY TONIGHT 3. MOLEDET STILL CONSIDERING JOINING GOVERNMENT 4. THREAT TO ARUTZ-7 DEALT WITH BY MINISTERS 1. ROSS/INDYK PUSHING FOR 13% Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will convene the security mini-cabinet this afternoon for yet another session on the proposed withdrawal from Judea and Samaria. Netanyahu met last night with American mediators Dennis Ross and Martin Indyk, in another unsuccessful attempt to find an agreed-upon formula for the withdrawal. Ross and Indyk met today with Defense Minister Mordechai, and will meet also with Ministers Sharon and Ne'eman. The Americans demand a 13% withdrawal, but the mini-cabinet is not willing to surpass 11%. 2. YESHA RALLY TONIGHT The Yesha Council has called a large rally for tonight, outside the Prime Minister's Office, demanding that the Prime Minister stand firm against American pressure for further concessions. Speakers will raise the fact that according to the maps being worked on in the Central Command, many Jewish towns will become small enclaves amidst the Palestinian autonomy. Pinchas Wallerstein, head of the Binyamin Regional Council, told Arutz-7 today: "Residents of many towns in Yesha will return home every night via a narrow strip of territory passing through the Palestinian autonomy, enabling our enemies to threaten an Israeli population. I don't know how anyone has the gall to do this. There was no one who told me that the maps [depicting a proposed 11% withdrawal] don't harm national security interests, whether they be water sources, military-strategic interests, etc. I have not found one IDF officer who said that the maps don't harm these interests..." Regarding the possible joining of Moledet to the coalition, Wallerstein said, "I cannot explain such a move. From Netanyahu's standpoint, it is a brilliant move, since there will then be no one to submit a no-confidence motion in case of a withdrawal; only a Knesset faction can do so, while individual Knesset Members can only join in after it has been submitted. This means that if Moledet joins the government, Netanyahu need not fear a no-confidence motion on this issue." 3. MOLEDET STILL CONSIDERING JOINING GOVERNMENT MK Rehavam Ze'evi, speaking with Arutz-7 today, said that his threat until now to bring down the government if it executes a further withdrawal is "meaningless." "Everybody knows that the alternative to Netanyahu is [Arab Democratic Party MK Abdul Wahab] Darawshe, [Hadash MK Tamar] Guzansky, and [Labor party leader MK Ehud] Barak," said the Moledet leader, explaining why he is now considering joining the Netanyahu government in an attempt to influence from within. "All my life I have fought for the Land of Israel," he said. He added, though, that a decision to close down Arutz-7 would be enough of a justification not to join the government. The other Moledet MK, Rabbi Benny Elon, told Arutz-7 last week that he still stands behind the letter he (and Ze'evi) signed last month threatening to bring down the government if it decides to withdraw from further territories. In response, MK Chanan Porat (NRP) said that the threat to bring down the government is not at all meaningless, but a real course of action in the case that the government decides on another withdrawal. "If we bring down the government, there will be new elections, and the right wing may even receive more Knesset mandates than it has now," said Porat. He said that it would be "political folly" to transfer additional territories to Arafat even as he announces that he plans to turn them into a Palestinian state next year. 4. THREAT TO ARUTZ-7 DEALT WITH BY MINISTERS Yediot Acharonot reports that Attorney-General Elyakim Rubenstein has decided that there is no choice but to close down Arutz-7. According to the newspaper, Rubenstein came to this conclusion during a secret session of police, GSS, and legal elements. The meeting was called to discuss Labor MK Eitan Kabel's petition to the Supreme Court to close the station. A special ministerial committee, headed by Communications Minister Limor Livnat, convened today for an emergency session to find a way to keep the station from being shut down. Responding to the report, the Arutz-7 management announced that it has been broadcasting for ten years from outside Israel's territorial waters, involving millions of dollars in expenses for its ship "Eretz HaTzvi." The station expressed its confidence that the State Attorney's Office would not act to close Arutz-7, just as Abie Nathan's Voice of Peace was permitted to broadcast from the sea for over 20 years. It stated that Arutz-7 is a mouthpiece for over half the country's population who wish to hear views other than those broadcast over government-owned radio. The station's statement predicted that MK Kabel's petition would be rejected because is stands in opposition to the Basic Law of Human Dignity and Freedom, and the Basic Law of Freedom of Occupation. ************************************************************************ US AIMS TO CLOSE PEACE PROCESS IN 10 DAYS (Jerusalem Post) Friday, April 24, 1998 28 Nisan 5758 By HILLEL KUTTLER and MARGOT DUDKEVITCH WASHINGTON (April 24) - The US believes that diplomatic moves over the next 10 days will determine whether the peace process will emerge from its year-long freeze, a senior administration official said in Washington yesterday. US special envoy Dennis Ross and Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs Martin Indyk are to arrive in the Middle East this weekend to prepare for the May 4 London meetings with US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. She is to meet separately with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat. In what might be a new development, West Bank settlement leaders said yesterday they were told by senior officers in the Central Command that maps were being drawn for an 11 percent redeployment. Council of Jewish Communities in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza spokeswoman Yehudit Tayar said council members were given details of the plans. She would not identify the officers who divulged them. She said that council members drafted letters last night to cabinet ministers to protest that the plans would isolate about 20 settlements, which would be surrounded by Palestinian territory and have only a single access road. The Central Command spokesman had no comment. Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai's spokesman said he had no information about such plans, and that any such decisions are made by the cabinet. The council heads' letters appealed to ministers' "sense of responsibility" after learning that the issue would be raised in Sunday's cabinet meeting, Tayar said. She warned that if indeed the details are true, the settlers would seek to topple the government. "Even when a 9% withdrawal was being discussed, we were warned by defense officials that national security would be forfeit," she said. Settlers plan to hold a demonstration on Sunday outside the Prime Minister's Office to urge the government to stand firm and not give in to pressures, for which Tayar said the settlers would pay a high price. "We hope that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu fulfills his responsibilities and remains in power, but we will withdraw our support if he goes ahead with an 11% withdrawal," she said. Council member Elyakim Haetzni warned that an 11% withdrawal would bring destruction on the entire settlement enterprise in the West Bank and Gaza. He noted that Arafat has already announced intentions to declare Palestinian statehood in May 1999. "He expects us to provide him with an airport, seaport, safe passage, and territorial contiguity. Without these things he can't declare a state," Haetzni said. While the US has often called on the parties to make the "hard decisions" necessary to spur the talks, this time Washington believes that the two sides understand the gravity of the situation and the US's desire to resolve the stalemate, the senior administration official said. "This really is the process now of bringing this to an agreement," he said. The official said that the Ross and Albright trips were being viewed as "the end game". "We've been at this a long time. We do believe this process needs to reach a resolution." "We want to see closure. As long as we see the sides engaged, we'll be there," the official said. "This is a time of decisions. We are concerned about the process spinning on. The string for diplomatic decisions has run out." "This isn't being arbitrary or forcing or compelling, but recognizing we have taken this as far as it can go. This is not a surprise. The parties know our thinking. It's the time to bring it to closure," the official said. "We've made our views clear at the highest levels. We're not interested in a rhetorical statement. We want an agreement." The official refused to discuss what consequences might follow continued disagreement over fulfilling the US's four-part agenda: progressing to final-status talks; ceasing provocative acts; resolving Palestinian demands for a larger Israeli redeployment, and improving the PA's level of security cooperation with Israel. He would not comment, for example, on speculation that the US is weighing the possibility of removing itself as a mediator. "If we're not successful in moving ahead, we'll have to look at what we can do," he acknowledged, adding that the US is hoping that the next 10 days yield dramatic changes in the year-long freeze. He added that the US is encouraged by Arafat's crackdown on Hamas and wishes that Israel were more encouraging toward Arafat for the progress he has made in fighting terrorism. "They're in a full-blown campaign against Hamas as an institution. That's very important," the official said. "It needs to be sustained... Arafat is doing the right thing. I can add - 'at last' - but he's doing the right thing." Indyk is to remain in the region to link up with Vice President Al Gore, who is to fly to Israel late next week to participate in the 50th anniversary celebrations. In Gaza, Arafat met last night with cabinet members to discuss the Ross visit. A senior PA official warned Israel against trying to stop the declaration of Palestinian statehood. Also discussed were the visit of British Prime Minister Tony Blair and the London meeting with Albright. Arafat plans to fly to Germany today for a two-day visit, during which he will meet with Chancellor Helmut Kohl and Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel. PA Secretary-General Tayeb Abdul Rahim said neither peace nor stability would come to the region unless the Palestinians obtain statehood with Jerusalem as their capital. Addressing a graduation ceremony of security officers in Gaza, Abdul Rahim reiterated that statehood would be declared in another year. He warned Israel against trying to stop the Palestinians. "If they enter our lands, they will not leave alive," he said. "This is our decision. The Israeli side should understand that we are determined to bring about our stage next year on all our Palestinian lands according to the international laws." Arafat aide Nabil Abu Rudeineh warned that if the London summits fail, the Arab countries would convene a summit and take a united position against Israel. (Jay Bushinsky, Steve Rodan, and Mohammed Najib contributed to this report.) ***********************************************************************