Arutz-7 News: April 2-8, 1999 / Israel in the News

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Subject: Arutz-7 News: April 2-8, 1999 / Israel in the News
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Subject: Arutz-7 News Brief: Friday, April 2, 1999

Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.a7.org>
Friday, April 2, 1999 / Nisan 16, 5759, 1 B'omer
------------------------------------------------

Happy Passover to all of our subscribers.

TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. NETANYAHU: NO YESHA TOWNSHIPS WILL BE UPROOTED
2. SYRIAN ECONOMIC WOES
3. BIG YEAR FOR SEDERS

1. NETANYAHU: NO YESHA TOWNSHIPS WILL BE UPROOTED
In an exclusive interview with Arutz-7 today, Prime Minister Binyamin
Netanyahu stated unambiguously that he will not evacuate or transfer to
foreign rule any residents or communities in Yesha (Judea, Samaria, and
Gaza) in the framework of a peace agreement with the Palestinians: "We will
not evacuate anyone; we will not transfer anyone to Palestinian
sovereignty, and we will not uproot settlements."

In a previous interview with Arutz-7, in early November of last year,
Netanyahu was similarly asked if he could guarantee that no Jewish
settlements would be evacuated or moved under the permanent status.
Netanyahu answered somewhat more evasively then, "This is the intention,
this is the goal, and this is the policy." More details of today's
interview with the Prime Minister will appear in Sunday's news report.

2. SYRIAN ECONOMIC WOES
Syria is suffering a heavy economic crisis, according to official American
reports. The gross national product is less than $900 per capital - about
1/15 of Israel's. Ha'aretz newspaper reports today that the problems are
affecting all walks of society, including the army. One of the Americans
involved in preparing the report said that when he crossed the border from
Syria into Jordan, he felt as if he had left Nigeria and arrived in
Switzerland.

3. BIG YEAR FOR SEDERS
A big year - probably the biggest - for Passover Seders (ritual meals on
the first night [first two nights outside of Israel] of Passover). Elli
Wohlgelernter of the Jerusalem Post reports that Lubavitch conducted 8,000
Seders in 23 out of the 24 time zones this year, and the Jewish Agency
hosted Seders for 17,000 people in the former Soviet Union alone. "It's a
phenomenon," said Amos Hermon, head of the Agency's education department.
"We can feel it in the air. According to our reports, we know that more and
more Jews... are interested in their heritage, their tradition, and they
are looking for material, looking for knowledge." The largest Seder took
place in Katmandu, Nepal, where more than 1,000 young Jewish hikers took
time off from their backpacking and participated in what has become an
annual event. Other Seder sites included Tajikistan, Siberia, Chile,
Estonia, Bangkok, Peru, Havana, and many others.

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To: arutz-7@a7.org
From: Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@a7.org>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Sunday, April 4, 1999

Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.a7.org>
Sunday, April 4, 1999 / Nisan 18, 5759 - Day 3 of the Omer
------------------------------------------------

TODAY'S HEADLINES:

1. ARAFAT ENLISTS FOR BARAK
2. YESHA COUNCIL AND GOLAN COMMITTEE RESPOND

1. ARAFAT ENLISTS FOR BARAK
Labor party leader MK Ehud Barak has asked Yasser Arafat to instruct
the 20,000 eligible-to-vote Arab residents of eastern Jerusalem to
support Barak for Prime Minister in the May elections. Arutz-7
correspondent Haggai Huberman reports, based on Palestinian sources,
that Arafat has recently told his close aides several times that
Barak's candidacy must be bolstered. Arafat said that the
Palestinians must not do anything to hurt Barak's chances. He said
that the candidacy of Arab MK Azmi Bishara for Prime Minister is "a
bad move - it will hurt Barak." Huberman add, however, that Arafat's
opponents claim he is playing "both sides," as he has approved the
running of his close aide Ahmed Tibi on the same Knesset list as
Bishara.

2. YESHA COUNCIL AND GOLAN COMMITTEE RESPOND
"Arafat won't be allowed to dictate." This is the motto of the Yesha
Council ad campaign - which begins today - which will warn of the
dangers of a Palestinian state. The slogan will be featured in
newspapers and on 400 billboards throughout the country, and will
address three issues: "Arafat won't dictate the future of the Yesha
communities," "Arafat won't dictate Israel's security," and "Arafat
won't dictate the final borders."

Beit El Mayor and Knesset-hopeful Uri Ariel, running on the National
Union ticket, has praised Prime Minister Netanyahu's pledge this past
Friday not to evacuate or transfer to foreign rule any residents or
communities in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza within the framework of a
peace agreement with the Palestinians: Ariel said that Netanyahu's
remarks, which he made in an exclusive interview with Arutz-7,
highlight the need to guarantee a strong political force to the right
of the Prime Minister to enable him to resist the combined pressure of
U.S. President Bill Clinton, Yasser Arafat and the Israeli opposition
parties. Netanyahu also discussed with Arutz-7 the continued
implementation of the Wye Agreement, and said that the Wye-mandated
withdrawals will only be continued if Arafat fulfills the Palestinian
commitments: "If they give, they will receive; if they don't give,
they won't receive." He sharply attacked Labor and Ehud Barak,
mentioning the "great dangers" facing Israel if Barak is elected.

The four leaders of the Centrist Movement party - Mordechai, Shachak,
Meridor, and Milo - toured the Golan Heights this morning. Chairman
of the Golan Residents Committee Avi Ze'ira expressed "surprise" at
the visit, since the party's platform includes a clause in favor of
territorial compromise in the Golan. Golan leaders met last night
with former Finance Minister Ya'akov Ne'eman, and said afterwards that
Prime Minister Netanyahu's stance on the future of the area remains
clouded in ambiguity.

MK Tzvi Hendel - formerly of the National Religious Party and now of
the new National Union party - called on residents of the Golan
yesterday not to support parties that have only a slim chance of
receiving the minimal number of votes necessary to obtain a Knesset
seat. Hendel was referring to the Third Way, which continues to
emphasize the preservation of the Golan but is not certain to win even
one Knesset seat. He said that it is preferable to support parties
and MKs who have proven that they have the required tenacity to block
scheduled withdrawals from the Land of Israel. "Those who prevented
the withdrawal from Judea and Samaria will be the ones who will halt
the same process in the Golan," Hendel stated.

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To: arutz-7@a7.org
From: Arutz-7 Editor <netnews@a7.org>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Monday, April 5, 1999

Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.a7.org>
Monday, April 5, 1999 / Nisan 19, 5759 / 4 B'omer
------------------------------------------------

TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. RUSSIAN JEWS TO FIND HOUSING SOLUTIONS IN YESHA
2. MERETZ MK CALLS UPON MORDECHAI TO BACK OUT OF RACE

1. RUSSIAN JEWS TO FIND HOUSING SOLUTIONS IN YESHA
The Yisrael B'aliyah party is establishing its own settlement
movement. So declared Trade Minister and party head Natan Sharansky
yesterday in the Samarian township Karnei Shomron. The purpose of the
movement will be to provide housing for Jewish Russian immigrants
throughout Yesha (Judea, Samaria, and Gaza). Party Spokesman Arik
Helman said that the first stage will be to populate existing
communities in Yesha, while a second stage will be the establishment
of new settlement locations for groups of Jewish Russian immigrants
organized for that purpose. Minister Sharansky said that this move
coincides with the party's "clear and unambiguous affirmative answer
to the question of the rights of the Jewish People to Yesha."

According to recent polls, only 22% of Russian immigrants support
Labor's Ehud Barak while some 59% back the incumbent Binyamin
Netanyahu. In an attempt to improve his standing amidst the party's
voters, Ehud Barak has recently initiated contacts with senior party
members. Yisrael B'aliyah activists explained that the establishment
of the settlement arm of the party is a signal to the Russian Jewish
sector that the party's natural place is amidst Israel's political
right. Yisrael B'aliyah has announced that in the first round of the
Prime Ministerial election, it will not officially endorse any
candidate. An Arutz Sheva correspondent noted that Minister Sharansky
negotiated and voted in favor of the Wye withdrawal agreement. The
party's second minister - Yuli Edelstein - is a resident of Gush
Etzion in Yesha.

2. MERETZ MK CALLS UPON MORDECHAI TO BACK OUT OF RACE
MK Amnon Rubinstein (Meretz) issued a call today to Prime
Ministerial-hopeful Yitzhak Mordechai to remove his candidacy for
Prime Minister. Rubinstein told Mordechai in his public announcement
that it is necessary to unite all of opposition elements in order to
triumph against Netanyahu in the first round of the May elections.
Also today, Meretz MK Yossi Sarid told the party's youth movement that
Ehud Barak is the preferred candidate for Prime Minister. The two
announcements came as a surprise since the Meretz party decided
yesterday not to recommend a preferred candidate, between Ehud Barak
and Yitzhak Mordechai, to its voters.

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To: arutz-7@a7.org
From: Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@a7.org>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Thursday, April 8, 1999

Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.a7.org>
Thursday, April 8, 1999 / Nisan 22, 5759
------------------------------------------------

TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. WHOM DOES ARAFAT SUPPORT?
2. LAST-GASP RAINS
3. ISRAEL TO ACCEPT ALBANIAN MOSLEM REFUGEES
4. ARAB AMBIVALENCE
5. YESHA COUNCIL BILLBOARDS ATTRACT ATTENTION

1. WHOM DOES ARAFAT SUPPORT?
Middle East expert and journalist Pinchas Inbari does not agree with
Prime Minister Netanyahu's view that Yasser Arafat is supportive of
Ehud Barak's candidacy for Prime Minister. "It could be that the PLO
leadership is in favor of Barak," Inbari noted, "but I am not sure
that Arafat has 'bought' this approach... To understand what Arafat is
really doing, we have to look at some facts on the ground: The
candidacy of Arab MK Azmi Bishara for Prime Minister clearly does not
help Barak, since Bishara will capture Arab votes that would otherwise
go to Barak - and yet Ahmed Tibi, who is very close to Arafat, is
supporting Bishara. I don't think that Tibi would have made such a
move had he known that it was very much against the wishes of Yasser
Arafat." Inbari added that, contrary to recent rumors, Arafat has not
called for the withdrawal of the Bishara candidacy.

Who then does Arafat hope will be Israel's next Prime Minister?
Inbari says, "I can only tell you that senior advisors of Fatah, the
leading branch of the PLO, are advising Arafat to ensure the
re-election of Netanyahu. They say that a Barak victory would work
against Palestinian interests, in that it would improve the status of
Israel in both the U.S. and Europe, at the expense of the Palestinian
Authority. Secondly, Fatah senses that Israel and Syria are working
towards an agreement that will become public only after the May
elections. If such a deal is struck, relations between Syria and
Israel will significantly improve. Jordan, which is very pro-Likud,
and has strong reservations about the Labor party, will also influence
Syria in this regard. Although Egypt will find itself out of the
picture, the PA will want to join this 'line.' For this reason,
leading PA figures support Netanyahu." Inbari added that Netanyahu's
record in the Oslo process has also been relatively positive for the
Palestinians: "I think that Netanyahu has given much more to the PLO
than Labor, both in terms of total area and international status,"
Inbari said.

2. LAST-GASP RAINS
Post-rainy season downpours have flooded areas in the Dead Sea and the
Negev, and have caused the cancellation of some Mimouna celebrations.
The Ein Gedi-Massada highway is currently closed to traffic, after the
Hever Brook overran its banks. Ovdat in the Aravah is also flooded.
Rains are expected until this afternoon, making way for sharav (dry
heat-wave) conditions forecast for Sunday. Yesterday's rains added
three centimeters to the level of the Kineret (Sea of Galilee), or
some five million cubic meters to the national reservoir. The year
5759 will be declared an official drought year next week, enabling
farmers to receive reparations and permitting the authorities to limit
water quotas for the coming summer.

3. ISRAEL TO ACCEPT ALBANIAN MOSLEM REFUGEES
Israel has agreed to absorb 100 Albanian refugees, and the Jewish
Agency and the Foreign Ministry have begun making the necessary
preparations. The refugees will receive the usual new-immigrant grant
of approximately 30,000 shekels, plus another special grant of 4,000
shekels (some $8,500 in total). After six months in Israel, the
refugees will decide whether to remain or to depart for another
destination. Prime Minister Netanyahu said last night, "The Jewish
nation is obligated to take this humanitarian gesture, in painful
memory of how no nation offered us similar aid when we were persecuted
50 years ago." The Israeli field hospital, manned by 60 medical
personnel, has begun to operate near Kosovo. It can treat hundreds of
patients at once.

Another planeload of emergency aid to the Albanian refugees from
Kosovo was sent from Israel today. Included in the 17 tons of supplies
were 2000 blankets donated by Israeli citizens, 1200 sleeping bags, 5
tons of baby formula, and 1600 mattresses courtesy of Kibbutz Ein
HaNetziv. Some politicians have graduated from declarations to
actions: The top eight candidates on the National Union's Knesset
list will each donate 1000 shekels on behalf of the refugees. Beit El
Mayor Uri Ariel, number seven on the list, has called upon members of
the other Israeli parties to do the same.

4. ARAB AMBIVALENCE
The Jerusalem Post reports that not all Arabs in Israel are
particularly appreciative of the NATO attack on Yugoslavia on behalf
of the Albanian Moslems. Palestinian Authority senior figure Sa'eb
Erekat has said, "I don't think we have taken a position on [the NATO
bombing] yet, but we are against this [Serbian] policy of ethnic
cleansing." A Palestinian construction worker named Khaled Zeghari
was quoted as saying, "America isn't helping the Moslems, it is
helping its own interests... America is bombing Yugoslavia because it
does not want the Serbs to have military might, just like it does not
want Iraq to have military might." Another Palestinian said,
"America has no right to bomb Yugoslavia, there are other means to
solve this problem. It is doing the same thing that it does to Iraq...
We admire the Serbs standing against America, but at the same time
they are slaughtering the Moslems. We don't like it and we hope the
Serbs and Moslems stand together against this aggression."

5. YESHA COUNCIL BILLBOARDS ATTRACT ATTENTION
The Meretz party has appealed to the Central Election Committee with a
request to bar the Yesha Council from posting its "Arafat won't set
the terms." signs across the country. The large signs are posted in
central locations throughout Israel. Meretz leader Yossi Sarid claims
that the billboards constitute a violation of campaign rules, as
"everyone understands that the signs are directed against the
left-wing parties," and that they must therefore conform to campaign
rules governing location, size, and the like. Secretary-General of
the Yesha Council Aharon Domb retorts that the signs are merely part
of an "information campaign" against Arafat's anticipated May 4th
declaration of a Palestinian state. Domb added, "Is Yossi Sarid
actually in favor of Arafat setting the terms for Israel?"

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

From: Eddie Chumney
To: heb_roots_chr@geocities.com
Subject: Israel in the News

ISRAEL IN THE NEWS

TEMPLE MOUNT

TEMPLE MOUNT SUPPORTERS BRING SACRIFICIAL GOAT
IsraelWire - 4/2

Members of the Temple Mount Faithful organization on Wednesday
morning brought a kid to the Abu Tor section of Jerusalem, where
it was slaughtered in place of the Passover Sacrifice that is
brought to the Temple on the eve of the holiday. The sacrifice
was brought on a hilltop overlooking the Temple Mount of
Jerusalem's Old City, the site of the First and Second Temples
and the future site of the Third Temple.

Temple Mount Faithful leader Gershon Solomon said that the
sacrifice was symbolic one, explaining that since the Temple was
destroyed, we may not bring the Pascal Sacrifice. He added that
despite repeated annual requests, police have barred him and his
supporters from brining the sacrifice on the Mount itself. He
explained that the roasted meat was eaten by those who
participated in the sacrifice, at their Seder tables Wednesday
night.

Most participants were of the view that this was a practice and
symbolic gesture and the sacrifice could not be brought until the
Temple is rebuilt although some are of the opinion that it may be
brought, even today, if permitted to ascend to the Mount.

TEMPLE MOUNT FAITHFUL CONDUCT Pesach 'SACRIFICE'
By Haim Shapiro Jerusalem Post Jerusalem (April 2)

The "only kid," about whom most Jews only sing during their
Pesach Seder, was a reality for members of the Temple Mount
Faithful, who on Wednesday morning used a young goat for their
"Pesach sacrifice" on a hilltop overlooking the Temple Mount in
Jerusalem. About a dozen members of the group, together with
about twice that number of small children, gathered in the
courtyard of a former monastery belonging to the Greek Orthodox
Church in the Abu Tor quarter of Jerusalem, where they
slaughtered the kid and roasted it over a wood fire in a large
outdoor metal oven.

Temple Mount Faithful leader Gershon Salomon said that the
sacrifice was a symbolic one, since it did not take place on the
Temple Mount itself. He said the group, which regularly makes
unsuccessful attempts to ascend the Temple Mount to conduct
Jewish prayers on holidays, had asked the police for permission
to carry out the rite on the Temple Mount itself, but had been
turned down. "Of course we asked for permission, but we were
refused," said Salomon. He added, however, that the group was
preparing for the time when Jews would be able to ascend the
Temple Mount to carry out such sacrifices.

"The Seder we have now is only a remembrance of the sacrifice,"
he said. Those who slaughtered the kid and roasted it on
Wednesday would eat the meat during their own Seder meals, he
added. According to Salomon, it is possible for Jews to perform
the rite on the Temple Mount even if the Temple is not rebuilt.
After all, he argued, the Pesach sacrifice had been offered long
before the time of the First Temple.

Others in the group disagreed. One participant, wearing the
black garb of the haredi community and identifying himself only
as Nehemia, insisted that until the Temple is rebuilt, no
sacrifices could take place. He added, however, that by carrying out
the ritual, he and his friends were preparing themselves for that
time. "We have to be ready all the time," Nehemia said.

RELIGIOUS MINISTRY MOVES AHEAD WITH NEW RITUAL BATHS
IsraelWire - 4/2

Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs Rabbi Aryeh Gamliel signed
an agreement with the Mifal HaPayis Lottery Commission for the
construction of additional ritual baths (mikvaot) at the cost of
NIS 12 million. Gamliel added that he was acting as a messenger
for the spiritual leader of the ultra-Orthodox Sephardic Shas
Party, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, who has instructed him to place an
emphasis on building new ritual baths to promote more adherence
to Jewish laws dealing with family purity. The first ritual
baths will be constructed in moshavim and kibbutzim which to date to
not have any. An agreement was signed committing to the construction
of 25 bathhouses by year's end.

JERUSALEM

NETANYAHU ORDERS THREE PALESTINIAN OFFICES IN JERUSALEM CLOSED
March 29, 1999 By Dina Kraft, Associated Press Jerusalem (AP)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered police Monday to shut
down three Palestinian Authority institutions that had been
operating in disputed east Jerusalem a move that enraged
Palestinians. Netanyahu said he would also take legal measures
against Palestinian officials who continue to use the Orient
House, the PLO's headquarters in Jerusalem, as a de facto foreign
ministry. "We can't tolerate such infringements on our sovereignty in
Jerusalem,'' Netanyahu said before meeting with a delegation of U.S.
congressmen. Netanyahu said his government had given the order to
shut down the WAFA news agency, a Christian affairs office, and a
prisoner advocacy group.

ISRAEL

DROUGHT TO BE DECLARED NEXT MONTH
By Amiram Cohen, Ha'aretz 3/28/99

Finance Minister Meir Sheetrit and Agriculture Minister Rafael
Eitan will officially declare a drought on April 15, enabling the
government to compensate farmers for their financial losses. The
Property Tax Law "drought regulations" guarantee farmers in afflicted
areas compensation from the state for their expenses, but only for
one-year crops intended to be irrigated entirely by rainwater, such as
barley, wheat, corn, sunflowers, legumes and melons.

Eitan said yesterday that 1999 was set to be the worst year for
Israeli agriculture in 60 years, possibly leading to a complete
change in the makeup of local agriculture and its use of water.
"As of this year, farmers are expected to shift to using purified
sewage water, freeing more fresh water for home use," Eitan said.

KINNERET LEVEL NEAR 60-YEAR LOW
By Margot Dudkevitch Tiberias (March 29)

Lake Kinneret is less than a meter above the red line of 213
meters below sea level, with the current reading of 212.03m., one of
the lowest marks in the past 60 years, Mekorot spokeswoman Merav
Azulai said yesterday. The poor rainfall and subsequent drop in the
Kinneret's level prompted Water Commissioner Meir Ben-Meir recently to
order a 40 percent cut in water quotas for agricultural use. Next
month, Minister of Agriculture and Environment Rafael Eitan is to
officially declare a drought year. Ben-Meir said that after the Pesach
holiday there are plans to launch a huge public-awareness campaign
about the plight of the farmers and hopefully cause people to reduce
water consumption.

ISRAEL CONTENDS ARABS TOSSED 1947 U.N. RESOLUTION; it doesn't
apply to current talks

Israel asserted to the United Nations Wednesday a 1947 U.N.
resolution partitioning Palestine into Jewish and Arab states was
nullified by the Arab side and could not be invoked now by
Palestinians in their negotiations with Israel. The resolution
delineated borders for the Jewish state that did not include territory
captured by Israel in the first Arab-Israeli war, in 1948.

"U.N. General Assembly resolution 181 was made null and void by
the Arab states and the Palestinian leadership in the aftermath
of its adoption on Nov. 29, 1947," Israeli U.N. ambassador Dore Gold
said in a letter to Secretary-General Kofi Annan. "In statement after
statement on the floor of the General Assembly, representatives of
Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia not only refused to comply with
its recommendations but also subsequently admitted to the use of armed
force to overthrow its provisions," he said.

Gold was responding to a recent letter to Annan from Palestinian
U.N. observer Nasser al-Kidwa saying declarations by Israeli
officials that the partition resolution was "null and void" were
"pathetic statements involving illegal positions with
far-reaching and serious consequences."

Israeli Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon had particularly objected
to a provision of the partition resolution that said Jerusalem
should be a "corpus separatum," or separate entity, under a
special international regime. Israel considers all of Jerusalem,
including the eastern part captured in 1967, as its eternal and
undivided capital. Palestinians see East Jerusalem as the capital of
an eventual Palestinian state.

Gold said the "fundamental act of international illegality was
the invasion of the nascent State of Israel and the attempt to
overturn a resolution of the General Assembly with armed force."
The partition resolution was "made irrelevant by the actions of
the Arab states and the Palestinian leadership in 1948, whose
refusal to accept the resolution altered the circumstances in the
Middle East on which it was originally based," he added.

The armistice agreements that Israel concluded with Egypt,
Lebanon, Syria and Transjordan in 1949 made no reference to
resolution 181, which had been "overtaken by the events of
1947-49," Gold said. Nor had the resolution ever been part of
the agreed foundation for the peace process between Israel and
the Palestinians. "The resurrection of resolution 181 by the PLO
(Palestine Liberation Organization) is a transparent effort to
belatedly derive benefit from a resolution which the Palestinian
leadership itself violently rejected 50 years ago," he said.

"Repeated references to resolution 181 are, moreover, part of an
effort to completely alter the agreed terms of reference of the
Arab-Israeli peace agreements, and thereby put the entire peace
process at risk. "Finally, it seeks to broaden the parameters of the
discussion of Jerusalem far beyond what was ever conceived in the Oslo
Accords," Gold said, referring to the 1993 agreements on which the
peace process was based.

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