To: arutz-7@a7.org
From: Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@a7.org>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Monday, July 19, 1999
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.a7.org>
Monday, July 19, 1999 / Av 6, 5759
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. LIKUD CALLS FOR KNESSET SESSION ON BARAK'S TALKS
2. BEN-AMI: NEW GOV'T ALSO AGAINST ORIENT HOUSE
3. GOLAN PREPARATIONS
4. IDF PREPARING FOR WYE
1. LIKUD CALLS FOR KNESSET SESSION ON BARAK'S TALKS
The Likud has successfully demanded that the Knesset conduct a session on
the issue of Prime Minister Barak's talks in Washington. Barak will be
present, and will be asked to submit to the Knesset all the understandings
that he reached with U.S. President Clinton. The Likud is particularly
irked by Barak's stated plans to conclude peace agreements with the
Palestinians and Syrians within 15 months. Likud MK Danny Naveh said,
"There appears to be a tendency to make far-reaching concessions. Setting
a deadline of 15 months is a mistake that will invite pressure upon Israel
and puts us in a worse position. We also didn't hear one word from Barak
about the Palestinians fulfilling their own commitments."
Regarding the Arab refugees, Barak told an American television interviewer
yesterday, "I don't think that the refugees will be able to return to
Israel under any circumstances. A better solution should be found for them
in the countries in which they are currently living." (See Special Insert
following this report)
2. BEN-AMI: NEW GOV'T ALSO AGAINST ORIENT HOUSE
Shlomo Ben-Ami, Minister of Public Security, said today that the new
government's policy regarding the Orient House is no different than that of
the previous government. "The Orient House cannot be a center of
Palestinian diplomatic activity," he said, and plans to tell this to Feisal
Husseini of the Palestinian Authority when the two meet this week. Ben-Ami
said that a decision will soon be made whether to execute the closure
orders on the building, but Ministry sources said that diplomatic activity
there has already been greatly reduced of late.
The Knesset committees began work today, two months and two days after the
elections. The Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee choose Dan
Meridor of the Centrist party as its chairman. The legal counsel of the
Knesset Law Committee, Hon. Shlomo Shoham, is against the proposal to
enlarge the government from 18 ministers to 24. He said that Basic Laws
must never be changed via "temporary orders." The Law Committee will
discuss the bill tomorrow.
3. GOLAN PREPARATIONS
The Al-Baath newspaper, an organ of Syria's ruling party, has expressed
disappointment with Foreign Minister David Levy's statement yesterday to
the effect that Israel will never return to the pre-Six Day War borders in
the Golan. "These statements causes pessimism and raise suspicions that
the Israeli side is returning to a policy of buying time," writes the
paper, and adds, "If Israel does not accept the pre-conditions for peace,
then comprehensive peace will not be able to be achieved."
In the Cultural Center of the Golan community of Chispin, the latest stage
of the campaign to save the Golan will get underway tonight. Although
Golan Residents Committee head Avi Ze'ira said yesterday that, "We are used
to living with threats," he admitted that the situation at present is not
promising. Prime Minister Ehud Barak said again in Washington yesterday
that he would be willing to "compromise in the Golan in exchange for full
peace with Syria." The activists are aware that their public campaign of
five years ago, when then-Prime Minister Rabin began talks with Syria, was
quite successful, and are attempting to duplicate this now. The famous
motto "The Nation is With the Golan" may be changed, however, to "I am With
the Golan." Ze'ira said, "We are in a state of re-organization.
Stickers
and posters are being printed at this very minute... It takes time to get
the ball going, but it will soon turn into a snowball of activity, in the
Golan and throughout the country."
Ze'ira said that he met yesterday in the Golan with Knesset Members of
Tommy Lapid's Knesset faction. "They were open to listening. We don't
expect people to change their minds overnight, but as Lapid himself said,
those who agree with us will become encouraged when they see with their own
eyes, and those who are against will begin to have doubts." The Golan
Residents Committee are also scheduled to meet with Shas, to set a date for
their visit to the Golan. Zei'ra predicted, "Ehud Barak will soon
understand that the decision is not in his hands, but in the hands of the
people - and the people don't agree to leave the Golan."
A rally of over 500 people was held in Tsfat last night, as the beginning
of a public campaign to "wake up the nation to the dangers it faces," in
the words of leading rabbis who spoke there. A running theme of the
evening was the need to realize that the danger is not only in Hevron and
in the Golan, but everywhere in Israel. Baruch Marzel of Hevron said that
the government is not as strong as many might think, while Michael
Ben-Chorin of the Golan told the audience that no one has the authority to
give the Golan away.
4. IDF PREPARING FOR WYE
The IDF has already begun preparing for the next Wye withdrawal in Judea
and Samaria. Surveying work was carried out today for construction of a
new army base near the Palestinian Authority town of Jenin, adjacent to the
Jewish community Shaked in northern Shomron. One of the regional army
divisions currently stationed in Jenin will move to the new location, while
other units will be redirected to the Salam roadblock, just east of Shaked.
This split of forces is aimed at "providing maximum protection to the
local Yesha communities," according to army sources.
The Wye agreement establishes that future withdrawals will take place near
Shechem and Ramallah, followed by the area near the Adorayim army base west
of Hevron. Yesha Council Security Coordinator Ron Shechner said today that
when security officials studied maps during previous deliberations, they
insisted that Adorayim remain in place for security reasons. He said that
army officials were surprised to hear that Adorayim is being slated for
possible evacuation, and said that they have received no orders to this
effect.
********************************************************************
To: arutz-7@a7.org
From: Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@a7.org>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Tuesday, July 20, 1999
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.a7.org>
Tuesday, July 20, 1999 / Av 7, 5759
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. CLINTON RECYCLES PROMISES
2. JEWS AND THE DIASPORA
1. CLINTON RECYCLES PROMISES
Prime Minister Ehud Barak will end his visit in Washington today,
after meeting with Vice President Al Gore and Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright. He will fly from Washington to London, where he
will meet with Prime Minister Tony Blair. American National Security
Advisor Sandy Berger said today that Barak had raised the issue of
Jonathan Pollard's release from prison during the talks. Berger said
that this will not be part of the peace process.
During his meetings with U.S. President Clinton, Prime Minister Barak
requested that the U.S. compensate Israel for Wye-related damages, to
the tune of billions of dollars. These sums are to cover funding for
new settlements for those who will have to leave their homes in the
Golan and in Yesha, advanced military equipment, and desalination
plants. Clinton reportedly did not agree to give more than what he
promised Netanyahu and Peres in the past, such as money for Arrow
missile batteries and $1.2 billion for implementing Wye.
The Palestinians, for their part, also claim to be unhappy with the
Barak-Clinton meetings. They say that no timetable was set for
Israeli withdrawals, and that Barak gave no iron-clad guarantee to
cease Jewish construction in Judea and Samaria.
2. JEWS AND THE DIASPORA
Most former Israelis living around the world do not take part in
Jewish communal life. Findings submitted at the World Congress of
Jewish School Principals in Jerusalem show that about a half-million
people have left the country since its establishment. Some 300
principals from 32 countries and an additional 100 from within Israel
are taking part in the two-week long convention. Among the former
Israelis, essentially only those who live in small communities act on
behalf of closer ties between Israel and the Diaspora. Dr. Avi Becker
of the Israeli office of the World Jewish Congress, said that some
70-80% of the former Israelis live in the U.S., while 6-8% reside in
each of Canada, France, and Great Britain. Other findings include:
The world Jewish population is currently estimated at slightly over 13
million; the number of hareidi Jews in the world is 850,000, including
500,000 in Israel; less than 20% of the Jews in the former Soviet
Union are involved in any form of Jewish communal activity. Perhaps
most significantly, outside of Israel, no Jewish populace in any
country has a positive growth rate.
The Rishon Letzion Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron held a modest ceremony
in his office last week for 20 young rabbis and teachers headed for
new posts in Jewish communities in the Diaspora. The rabbis recently
completed a year-long training course in the Amiel Institute, headed
by Rabbi Eliyahu Birnbaum. They will serve in Oslo, Sao Paulo,
Munich, cities in Russia, and elsewhere around the globe.
Participating in the rabbis' training and in the ceremony were Rabbi
Shlomo Riskin of Efrat, Eliezer Sheffer of the Jewish Agency, and
Rabbi Yirmiyahu Abramov of the Ner La'Elef outreach organization.
***********************************************************************
To: arutz-7@a7.org
From: Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@a7.org>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Wednesday, July 21, 1999
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.a7.org>
Wednesday, July 21, 1999 / Av 8, 5759
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. BARAK RETURNS TONIGHT
2. SECULAR JEWS FOR THE TEMPLE
3. NRP CONTINUES FROM WITHIN
1. BARAK RETURNS TONIGHT
Prime Minister Ehud Barak met this morning in Great Britain with his
counterpart Tony Blair, and will return to Israel late in the
afternoon. Prime Ministerial security aide Danny Yatom, formerly head
of the Mossad, met with Arafat's deputy Abu Mazen last night, and the
two discussed the timetable for implementing the Wye accords. They
did not reach an agreement.
Syria expressed satisfaction with the positions Barak expressed in
Washington, but is "waiting for concrete actions from Israel."
Barak's advisors, too, are very happy with his meetings with U.S.
President Clinton. Officials in the Prime Minister's Office in
Jerusalem are concerned, however, with the tone emanating from Cairo.
"Barak has driven a knife into the peace process," said Egyptian
Foreign Minister Amr Mussa yesterday. "A 15-month delay in
implementing Wye will endanger the process," declared Yasser Arafat
after talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
"Barak is attempting to link the implementation of the Wye withdrawals
and the final status talks," Arutz-7 correspondent Haggai Huberman
reported today, "but Mubarak is making life tough for him. Barak
would like to carry out certain aspects of Wye, such as the
passage-route [through Israel] from Gaza to Judea and Samaria, and the
freeing of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails, but he will try
to push off the withdrawals, because of the security problems they
present." Huberman says that Barak may, if he feels he has to,
suggest dropping certain demands from the Palestinians, such as their
commitment to collect illegal weapons, in order to delay the
withdrawals. "What is infuriating the Prime Minister's office is that
Hosni Mubarak is inciting Arafat to harden his postures, just as he
did during the Netanyahu years," said Huberman. He noted that any
planned withdrawals in Judea and Samaria would have to be re-mapped,
as the previous Netanyahu-government maps were never totally agreed
upon, nor were they presented to the Palestinians.
The Likud warned today against a decision to free Hamas terrorists or
others "with blood on their hands." Likud MK Danny Naveh says that a
departure from the Wye Agreement - according to which each implemented
stage would be accompanied by the release of a maximum of 250
prisoners - would be "awarding a prize to acts of terror." Israeli
negotiators at Wye said at the time that they had received an oral
commitment that the 250 prisoners to be released would not include
terrorists "with blood on their hands."
2. SECULAR JEWS FOR THE TEMPLE
"With Causeless Love We Will be Rebuilt." So reads a new bumper
sticker being distributed by an organization named "Secular Jews for
the Temple," whose goal it is to promote Jewish awareness of the
Temple and the Temple Mount. Arutz-7 spoke with one of its members,
Ahuvyah Tabenkin of left-wing Kibbutz Ein Harod. "It's true that we
don't exactly represent a majority of secular Kibbutz members," he
said, "as most of them are busy building themselves materialistically,
but the pioneers have always been a minority - the Zionists were a
minority among the Jews, those who came to the Land were a minority
among the Zionists, those who worked the land were also a minority,
and now this group is a minority as well. But I hope that soon we
will be the leaders."
"Why concentrate on the Temple Mount?" Arutz-7's Ariel Kahane asked.
Tabenkin's reply:
"The fact that the Arabs pray from there to Mecca, but at the same
time don't let us up there [at will], makes the Temple Mount into a
symbol of our Exile and humiliation. Similarly, instead of ordering
the police to enforce Jewish fundamental rights to pray there, our
Supreme Court leaves the decision to the police, according to whether
it's 'convenient' or not... Historically, too, the Mount was not only
a place of sacrifices, but also a place of prayer and a symbol of our
nationhood. The Arabs, too, feel that as long as they control the
Temple Mount, they have a chance to banish us totally from the Land."
Arutz-7 asked, "Do you also have religious considerations?" Tabenkin,
a bit surprised by the question, responded, "Well, the word
'religious' can be the subject of long discussions. Look, there's the
well-known 'vurt' [Yiddish for 'word' or 'thought'] by the Gerrer
Rebbe, who said, 'When the Haskalah [Enlightenment] came to the world,
with science, physics, etc., we [the religious] left it for the
secular Jews, and when Zionism came to the world, we gave that too to
the secular, and now we have also left the Repentance Movement for the
secular.' Accordingly," concluded Tabenkin, "it looks like we [the
secular] will also have to build the Beit HaMikdash."
Asked whether he calls for the actual construction of the Temple, he
said, "There are many religious authorities, including Maimonides, who
say that the Temple must be rebuilt, and so I think it should be
done... As a first step, we must show that we control the Temple
Mount. Tomorrow is the fast of Tisha B'av and the [anniversary] of
the destruction of the Holy Temples, and I call upon all of Israel to
come to the Mount on this day and show that it belongs to the Jewish
nation." [Ed. note: Prominent rabbis permit the ascent to parts of
the Temple Mount after certain Halakhic precautions have been taken.]
3. NRP CONTINUES FROM WITHIN
Housing Minister Rabbi Yitzchak Levy (National Religious Party) said
that he hopes and expects to be included in the mini-security Cabinet
when it begins its regular sessions in the near future. Explaining,
again, his party's membership in the government, he said, "There are
definitely elements in the coalition that represent and express
opinions very opposed to our own. We decided to join the government,
even though we knew it would be a very difficult one, in order to try
to defend the Yesha settlement enterprise and the Land of Israel as
much as possible." He said that he had just met yesterday with
Industry Minister Ran Cohen of Meretz and had achieved the
cancellation of a decision that would have harmed Yesha interests.
Rabbi Levy said, "Barak is now talking about an evacuation of the
Golan, although he hasn't said to what extent, nor have we heard that
Syria has agreed, nor have we heard a word about the future of the
Jewish towns there. This will of course be one of our main missions -
working to prevent the dismantling of Jewish communities there." He
refused to delineate the party's red lines, saying only, "We will
remain in the government as long as we feel that we can [influence].
At this point, we are at the beginning of a long process - 15 months,
Barak said - and we are happy that we are in the government helping
influence the important decisions that will be made.
**********************************************************************
To: arutz-7@a7.org
From: Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@a7.org>
Subject: Arutz-7 News Brief: Friday, July 23,
1999
Reply-to: netnews@a7.org
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.a7.org>
Friday, July 23, 1999 / Av 10, 5759
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINE:
1. BARAK TO OFFER QUALITY IN PLACE OF QUANTITY
Prime Minister Barak will meet tomorrow night with Yasser Arafat at
the Erez Crossing at the edge of the Gaza Strip. Arutz-7's Haggai
Huberman reports that Barak will propose a smaller withdrawal from
Judea and Samaria than called for by the Wye Agreement, but one that
will give the Palestinian enclaves a measure of contiguity. The
remainder of the withdrawals will be carried out, according to this
plan, in the framework of the final-status arrangement. If Arafat
rejects the proposal, Barak plans to be more insistent on the
Palestinians' compliance with their own Wye commitments. This
morning, Barak briefed the representatives of the coalition factions
on the results of his talks in Washington.
**********************************************************************
To: arutz-7@a7.org
From: Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@a7.org>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Sunday, July 25, 1999
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.a7.org>
Sunday, July 25, 1999 / Av 12, 5759
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES
1. BARAK AND OTHERS AT HASSAN'S FUNERAL
2. THE WYE PLAN
3. BEILIN OPEN TO RELEASING MURDERERS
1. BARAK, PERES, OTHERS AT HASSAN'S FUNERAL
Israel is well represented at King Hassan's funeral in Morocco, with
Prime Minister Ehud Barak, President Ezer Weizman, Foreign Minister
David Levy, Minister of Regional Development Shimon Peres, and others
in attendance. Though PA Chairman Yasser Arafat, Jordan's King
Abdullah and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak are on hand, Syrian
President Hafez Assad did not attend. Foreign Minister Levy
originally announced that Barak would meet with Assad during the
funeral. Barak's meetings with Arafat and Mubarak will be postponed
by two days because of the funeral.
King Hassan II of Morocco died on Friday night at the age of 70. King
for 38 years, he was the world's longest-reigning leader. Shimon
Peres revealed yesterday that he met Hassan secretly ten times,
beginning in 1978, and that in one of the meetings the King introduced
him to PLO leader Yasser Arafat. Israeli law forbade meeting PLO
officials before 1993, and Peres had always denied doing so. The late
King will be succeeded by his son, 38-year-old Muhammad VI.
2. THE WYE PLAN
Prime Minister Barak continues his efforts to postpone the last stage
of the Wye withdrawals, and will present his plan to Yasser Arafat
when the two meet on Tuesday. After the entire first stage of Oslo
withdrawals was executed from 1994-97, under the Rabin, Peres, and
Netanyahu governments, the second withdrawal was re-arranged in the
Wye Accords, which divided it into three stages. Israel completed the
first stage last November, when it shifted:
*7% of Judea and Samaria from the status of "Area B" (Palestinian
civilian and Israeli military control) to "Area A" (complete Palestinian
military and civilian control), and
*2% of Yesha from "Area C" (complete Israeli control) to the status
of "Area B."
The second stage of Wye is now up for implementation, including
further Israeli withdrawals and terrorist-releases, as well as
Palestinian reduction of its para-military police force, collection of
illegal weapons, and more. In his Tuesday meeting with Arafat, Barak
will reportedly:
* pledge to immediately continue the second stage of Wye
withdrawals by transferring another 5% of Area C to Palestinian
civilian control;
* propose that the third and final Wye withdrawal - changing
another 5% from C to B, 1% from C to A, and 7% from B to A - be
delayed until a joint draft of principles for the final-status
arrangements is prepared. Barak sees this process as lasting 3-6
months. He will apparently promise that if such an agreement fails to
materialize by that deadline, Israel will still carry out the third
stage of Wye. In total, the Wye agreement calls for the transfer of
15% of Yesha to full Palestinian control.
At the same meeting, Barak will demand that the Palestinian Authority:
* finally arrest and incarcerate the terrorists according to its
commitments at Wye Plantation,
* submit a complete list of PA para-military policemen, since it
is clear that the current numbers greatly exceed the number permitted
by Oslo,
*collect the illegal ammunition that has been distributed within its
autonomous areas, and
*cooperate in the resumption of the joint anti-incitement
committee aimed at monitoring anti-Israel propaganda in the
Palestinian media and educational system.
Prime Minister Barak will reportedly tell
Arafat that Israel cannot
presently construct the special route from Gaza to Judea and Samaria,
"because of the accompanying security problems, "but that Israel is
prepared to consider the issue." He will also advise the PA Chairman
that the 3rd Oslo withdrawal - which Binyamin Netanyahu had promised
Israelis would not exceed 1% - is not being considered at this point
in time.
3. BEILIN OPEN TO RELEASING MURDERERS
Israel may be more open to releasing Palestinian terrorists "with
blood on their hands," if a statement by Justice Minister Yosi Beilin
last Thursday can be believed. He said that since Israel has chosen
not to prosecute the Palestinian leadership for its pre-Oslo terrorist
activities, those who carried out the actual terrorist acts must also
not be incarcerated. "It is inconceivable that while we shake hands
with Arafat, we continue to incarcerate those whom he sent to commit
[the murders of Jews]. The agent cannot be more guilty than the one
who sent him," said Beilin, in clear contrast with the Jewish legal
principle, "There is no [such thing as an] agent for a crime."
An editorial in today's Ha'aretz newspaper agreed with Beilin's
analysis, and asserted that Israel must "re-examine some of the policy
axioms which guided [previous governments]." The paper added that
Beilin's comments "offer a concrete policy aimed at extracting the
wagon of negotiations from the mud." HaTzofeh editors, on the other
hand, opposed Beilin's position, writing that after effectively
equating Arab murderers with "freedom fighters," and implying that
Oslo offers "some form of retroactive forgiveness of their actions,"
the next logical step is "legitimizing despicable acts of murder."
HaTzofeh calls upon Prime Minister Barak not to adopt Beilin's view,
since various "deviant and/or extreme" statements made by Beilin in
the past have been known "to become, over time, Labor policy."
********************************************************************
To: arutz-7@a7.org
From: Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@a7.org>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Monday, July 26, 1999
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.a7.org>
Monday, July 26, 1999 / Av 13, 5759
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. ABU ALA ACCEPTS INVITATION TO KNESSET
2. LESS LAND FOR LESS COMPLIANCE
1. ABU ALA ACCEPTS INVITATION TO KNESSET
Ahmed Qurie, better known as Abu Ala, the Chairman of the Palestinian
Legislative Council, visited the Knesset today, at the invitation of
Knesset Speaker Avraham Burg. The two will hold a joint press
conference afterwards. The visit sparked controversy amongst some
opposition Knesset Members, because of anti-Israel statements and
actions by Abu Ala in the past. In July 1997, he participated in a
demonstration in Ramallah in which an Israeli flag was burnt.
Then-Chairman of the Labor Party Ehud Barak condemned Abu Ala's
participation in the rally at the time. The Labor Party similarly
threatened, two months later, to cancel Barak's speech at a Peace Now
demonstration after its organizers invited Abu Ala to participate in
it as well.
Speaker Burg (who can be reached by e-mail at yor@knesset.gov.il)
told
Arutz-7 today that the invitation to Abu Ala is not outside the
national consensus, "given the recent remarks on the issue by MK
Michael Eitan, Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert, and former Defense
Minister Moshe Arens." Regarding the flag-burning episode, Burg said
that the issue was raised during the preparations for the invitation,
"and the explanation that I received was that Abu Ala said that he was
at the demonstration, but did not know what was going on in other
parts of the rally. This answer is acceptable to me." Arutz-7's
Haggai Segal asked him if the invitation is not a recognition of a
Palestinian state that has "not yet arisen?" Burg answered, "I
believe that recognition of such a state will happen in one or two
ways: By the official bodies, as I believe that this will be the
natural outcome of our final-status talks, and by the situation on the
ground - when [Israeli] families go out to do shopping in Tulkarm and
Kalkilye, and when Israeli gamblers fill the casino in Jericho, and
when joint patrols operate in the field..."
2. LESS LAND FOR LESS COMPLIANCE
Arutz-7 correspondent Haggai Huberman reports further details on Prime
Minister Ehud Barak's negotiation plans. In his meeting with Yasser
Arafat tomorrow, Barak will apparently offer to forego the
implementation of several Palestinian obligations, in exchange for a
smaller Israeli withdrawal than previously agreed upon in the Wye
Agreement. The Prime Minister's Office is apparently willing to
overlook the large size of the Palestinian police and the uncollected
illegal weapons, as well as to release prisoners with "blood on their
hands" and allow a passage from Gaza to Judea/Samaria - all so that
most of the withdrawals be delayed until after the final-status
agreement.
The Yesha Council fears that government officials will utilize the
momentum created yesterday in Shvut Rachel VI, and evacuate more
outposts. As reported here yesterday, the army evacuated five
caravans (mobile homes without wheels) after the residents brought
them to the hilltop three days ahead of schedule. The
inter-ministerial committee on settlement must convene, however, in
order to decide on the evacuation of additional outposts. The
composition of the committee has not yet been determined. Housing
Minister Rabbi Levy will be a member, according to the coalition
agreement, as is likely to be Yisrael B'Aliyah's Interior Minister
Natan Sharansky. Representing the opposing political viewpoint will
likely be a minister or two from Meretz.
************************************************************************