To: arutz-7@a7.org
From: Arutz-7 Net Editor <neteditor@a7.org>
Subject: Arutz-7 News Brief: Friday, September
17, 1999
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.a7.org>
Friday, September 17, 1999 / Tishrei 7, 5760
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. KLEINER TERMS TAMIR ADVICE TO P.A. "TRAITOROUS"
2. SECRET BARAK-ARAFAT MEETING
3. ARAB BOYCOTT ENTERS ISRAELI POLITICS
1. KLEINER TERMS TAMIR ADVICE TO P.A. "TRAITOROUS"
By order of Minister of Immigrant Absorption Yuli Tamir, officials in the
Ministry are engaged in advising the Palestinian Authority how to absorb
refugees in its territories. Both Tamir and Deputy Minister Marina
Solodkin have met with the director of the PA's welfare offices on this
matter. The PA demands the return of millions of refugees under the
final-status accords. Tamir said in her defense today that the PA
understands that the refugees will not return to pre-1967 Israel, but only
to Judea and Samaria.
Reactions from various quarters have been fast and furious. "Professors
for a Strong Israel" has demanded that Prime Minister Barak put a stop to
the new initiative. MK Michael Kleiner (National Union) called on Barak to
fire Tamir. "Her [Minister Tamir's] job is to ensure a Jewish majority in
Eretz Yisrael," Kleiner said, "and instead she is providing professional
advice to the PA as to how to absorb Arabs. Her actions are traitorous -
akin to the Defense Minister giving away military secrets, and to the
Health Minister injecting poisonous germs into hospital patients."
2. SECRET BARAK-ARAFAT MEETING
Prime Minister Ehud Barak met with Yasser Arafat secretly early this
morning at the former's home in Kokhav Ya'ir. Barak later phoned Foreign
Minister David Levy, and apologized for not having informed Levy of the
meeting before the fact.
3. ARAB BOYCOTT ENTERS ISRAELI POLITICS
The Likud's call for a special Knesset session on the renewed Arab boycott
weapon has drawn at least one reaction: from Prime Minister Barak. Barak
announced today that he "views with gravity the attempt to boycott the
Jerusalem exhibit in the Israeli pavilion at Disney Millennium Village in
Florida." The Prime Minister said that the attempts to hurt the status of
united Jerusalem as Israel's capital have failed in the past and will fail
in the future. The Likud blamed the present government's lack of response
to the renewed Arab boycott initiatives, as well as Barak's actions against
the transfer of the American Embassy to Jerusalem, for "inviting heavy Arab
pressure regarding Jerusalem."
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To: arutz-7@a7.org
From: Arutz-7 Net Editor <neteditor@a7.org>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Sunday, Sept. 19, 1999
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.a7.org>
Sunday, September 19, 1999 / Tishrei 9, 5760 - Yom Kippur Eve
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. BARAK WAIVES OSLO REQUIREMENT
2. ISRAELI-ARABS MAKE THEMSELVES HEARD
3. EDELSTEIN BLASTS TAMIR
4. GUSH ETZION HEAD APPOINTED BARAK AIDE
1. BARAK WAIVES OSLO REQUIREMENT
The Barak government has waived its demand to reduce the Palestinian
para-military police force, which had been one of the original
conditions of the Wye Accords. Prime Minister Barak has decided that
the list of the 30,000 Palestinian fighters - which he received last
week - will suffice, and he has no plans to demand the names of 10,000
who were supposed to have been removed. Government officials told
Arutz-7 correspondent Haggai Huberman that the Barak government
believes that an abundance of para-military policemen is actually a
welcome development, since it reduces unemployment in the Palestinian
autonomy.
2. ISRAELI-ARABS MAKE THEMSELVES HEARD
"With blood and fire we will redeem El Aksa [on the Temple Mount]!"
So screamed out 35,000 Israeli-Arabs from Um el Fahm in a rally on
Friday organized by the Islamic Movement. A leader of the group,
Sheikh Kamal Hatib, said, "Whoever fooled himself into thinking that
the Islamic Movement will show fear of the Israeli establishment
because of the accusations against Israeli-Arabs [related to recent
terrorist murders and attempted car-bombs] is greatly mistaken."
Minister for Jerusalem Affairs Chaim Ramon met in Jerusalem this
morning with Feisal Husseini. On the agenda: the PA's recent
diplomatic activity in the Orient House that took place in violation
of an agreement reached several weeks ago between Husseini and Public
Security Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami. The meeting took place in the Prime
Minister's Office in Jerusalem.
3. EDELSTEIN BLASTS TAMIR
Knesset Member Yuli Edelstein, who served as Immigration Minister in
the previous government, said today that the talks conducted by his
successor - Yuli Tamir - with the Palestinian Authority regarding the
settlement of Arab refugees in the autonomous areas is "akin to
recognition of the Arab right of 'return.'" Tamir, reacting to the
strong criticism from the right against the advice she has tendered to
the PA on this matter, said that she is against the settling of Arab
refugees in pre-1967 Israel.
4. GUSH ETZION HEAD APPOINTED BARAK AIDE
Former Gush Etzion Regional Head Shilo Gal has been formally appointed
by Prime Minister Ehud Barak as his Advisor on Settlement Affairs.
Gal, 51, served in his recent post for 20 years, was a member of the
Yesha Council, and served in other public positions. Sources close to
Barak said that they hoped the appointment "at this sensitive period"
would strengthen the bonds between Barak and the Yesha residents.
************************************************************************
To: arutz-7@a7.org
From: Arutz-7 Net Editor <neteditor@a7.org>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Tuesday, September 21, 1999
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.a7.org>
Tuesday, September 21, 1999 / Tishrei 11, 5760
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. BARAK TRIP TO GERMANY DRAWS FIRE
2. YOM KIPPUR SERVICE ON TEMPLE MOUNT
3. PALESTINIAN SHOW HOST ARRESTED BY P.A.
4. YESHA COUNCIL SAYS NO TO REMAINING UNDER FOREIGN RULE
5. HIGH IMMIGRATION LEVELS NOT WELCOMED BY ALL
6. ISRAELI ADVICE TO P.A.?
1. BARAK TRIP TO GERMANY DRAWS FIRE
Prime Minister Ehud Barak departs today for an official two-day visit
to Germany and France. He will be the first world leader to visit
Berlin since its becoming the capital of united Germany - a status it
has not held since World War II. Barak, who will be accompanied on
his trip by six Holocaust survivors, canceled plans to visit the
Reichstag, but he will stay at a hotel that served as Gestapo
headquarters. Barak deflected criticism of this choice by saying that
almost every building in Berlin is somehow related to Nazi history.
Although President Ezer Weizman visited the German parliament in Bonn
over three years ago - where he delivered an impassioned and
highly-praised speech on the Jewish significance of his trip - he was
not criticized at the time, whereas Barak's trip has drawn public
fire. In a pre-Yom Kippur editorial, Ha'aretz journalist Ya'ir Sheleg
wrote, "The implications of Germany's return to the capital of the
Third Reich worry historians and cultural researchers throughout the
western world. What could be more fitting [from Germany's standpoint]
than having the Prime Minister of Israel provide symbolic
legitimization for this symbolic step?"
Speaking to Arutz-7 today, Sheleg noted that "Israel is far from being
Germany's most important ally - but does play a crucial role in terms
of removing the cloud of history that hangs over Germany since World
War II..." Advocating the need for symbolic gestures by Israel to
subtly reprove the German nation, Sheleg said, "I am not saying that
Israel should refuse to recognize Berlin as the reunited capital, but
Barak didn't have to be the first leader to do so with a state visit -
he could just as well have been the seventh or eighth to do so."
2. YOM KIPPUR SERVICE ON TEMPLE MOUNT
As in previous years, a special Yom Kippur prayer service was held
yesterday on the Temple Mount, at the Temple Mount police station atop
the Western Wall. Yehuda Etzion, one of the regular worshipers at the
annual service, said that one of the rooms of the police station juts
out onto the Mount. "Although Jewish Law [halakhah] forbids entry to
the area of the Holy Temple," explained Etzion, "because we are
'defiled by contact with dead bodies,' this is in an area in which we
are permitted to enter, after proper immersion beforehand in a mikveh
[ritual bath]."
Dozens of worshipers took part in yesterday's service, including Rabbi
Yisrael Ariel, Meir Indor, and Rami Goren (son of Rabbi Shlomo Goren,
who originated the annual service after the Six-Day War). Former IDF
Chief of Staff Moshe Levy also took part in the prayers. Meir Indor
told Arutz-7 that there is an "amazingly elevating sensation in taking
part in a Yom Kippur service so close to the holy spot where the High
Priest used to perform the atonement service for all of Israel."
3. PALESTINIAN SHOW HOST ARRESTED BY P.A.
Ha'aretz reports today that the host of a popular Palestinian
television show was arrested last week by the Palestinian Security
Service, after he allowed the mother of a prisoner held by the
Palestinian Authority to speak against the PA and its chairman Arafat
on the air. Maher al Dousouki, 38, was arrested in Ramallah, and
reportedly began a hunger strike upon his arrest. PA security
officials said that Dousouki was suspected of serious offenses against
the Authority, and that his show had nothing to do with it. Ha'aretz
reports that many viewers call in to Dousouki's show to express their
opinion on various social issues, "something they cannot do anywhere
else on Palestinian radio or television." A delegation of the Council
of Palestinian Human Rights Organizations went to visit Dousouki in
jail, but was not permitted to see him.
4. YESHA COUNCIL SAYS NO TO REMAINING UNDER FOREIGN RULE
Position papers circulating in the Prime Minister's Office recommend
that residents of isolated settlements in Judea and Samaria remain in
their homes - under Palestinian sovereignty. Yediot Acharonot reports
that several settlements are mentioned by name, including Otniel, Beit
Haggai, and Karmei Tzur south of Hevron, and Ganim, Yitzhar, Brachah,
and others in Shomron. Bentzy Lieberman, head of the Shomron Regional
Council, said that he knows no details of the above recommendations,
but "we object to any form of this proposal. We did not return to our
Land after 2,000 years of exile in order to live under foreign rule,
but rather to be an independent nation in our Land."
Regarding the apparent lack of response to the recent developments by
the Yesha Council, of which he is a member, Lieberman said, "The Yesha
Council is preparing a comprehensive program, including informational
and protest efforts where appropriate. These must begin at once, in
order to attempt to convince the public and the government that these
agreements are a catastrophe for us. The end-goal is of course the
referendum that Barak promised, but we know that we will only be able
to succeed in the referendum if we begin now."
5. HIGH IMMIGRATION LEVELS NOT WELCOMED BY ALL
Michael Bavel, who immigrated to Israel from the Soviet Union in the
early 1970's, has begun what is almost a one-man campaign against the
high rate of non-Jewish immigration to Israel from Russia. Once a
week he and several friends stand at Paris Square in Jerusalem with a
petition on the matter, and they have called a demonstration tonight
outside the Prime Minister's Office. Deputy Minister of Immigration
Marina Solodkin told Arutz-7 today that current immigration levels
from the former Soviet Union stand at approximately 60,000 annually,
"but given the terrorist attacks in Russia, and the current and future
warfare there, this number could grow to 70 or 80,000, and I have
heard even 100,000."
"The number of non-Jews arriving in Israel is not just a problem,"
Bavel told Arutz-7's Ariel Kahane today, "it is a downright danger to
the State. A concrete threat to Israel's Jewish majority and character
is being introduced into the country in the form of new immigrants.
When I came here, the rate of non-Jews among the immigrants was 50% -
it's about 85% now. Many of them don't even hide their anti-Semitism.
The word Zhid [a derogatory term for 'Jew'] is frequently heard, as
well as 'too bad Hitler didn't finish you off...'" Bavel said that he
knows that decisions on this matter are not made by the public, "but
we are trying to wake up the government."
6. ISRAELI ADVICE TO P.A.?
The story of the Immigration Ministry's advice to the Palestinian
Authority on how to house and settle new arrivals has basically been
dropped by Israel's media, after it was originally revealed on Army
Radio the morning before Yom Kippur. Arutz-7's Haggai Segal
interviewed Deputy Minister of Immigration Marina Solodkin on the
matter, and asked if the story had occurred as reported. Solodkin
said, "Actually, my meeting with the PA's welfare minister was mostly
political, as opposed to dealing with practical matters of how to
settle new people. I made it very clear to him that the Yisrael
B'Aliyah party and the community of new immigrants from the former
Soviet Union are opposed to the return of Arab refugees to the State
of Israel."
When asked her party's position on the settling of Arab refugees to
Judea and Samaria, Solodkin said, "This is a matter for the
final-status agreements. If there is to be a return of refugees,
there must be tight Israeli supervision... I saw that he himself, as
representative of the PA, was not too anxious to absorb the refugees
in the autonomous areas."
**********************************************************************
To: arutz-7@a7.org
From: Arutz-7 Net Editor <neteditor@a7.org>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Wednesday, September 22, 1999
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.a7.org>
Wednesday, Sept. 22, 1999 / Tishrei 12, 5759
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. GSS HEAD: TERRORISM ON THE RISE
2. RED-LETTER DAY FOR GOLAN
3. TIDBITS
1. GSS HEAD: TERRORISM ON THE RISE
General Security Services head Ami Ayalon told the Knesset Foreign
Affairs and Defense Committee yesterday that there were twenty
terrorist attempts against Israelis over the past month. This
represents an increase of 250% over the months before. Ayalon said
that Hamas' ability to carry out large attacks is growing. Other
points made by Ayalon: Hamas abroad controls the military arm of
Hamas in Judea and Samaria, and its leaders feel that the attacks must
continue... The terrorists in Judea and Samaria receive orders -
including orders to kidnap Israeli soldiers - from their leaders still
imprisoned in Israeli prisons... Members of the Islamic Movement in
Israel do not recognize the existence of Israel.
2. RED-LETTER DAY FOR GOLAN
Today is a big day for several Golan Heights communities. The
240-family community of Bnei Yehuda in the southern Golan is today
laying the cornerstone of a new 52-home housing project - the first
phase of a 1,500-unit program. Housing Minister Rabbi Yitzchak Levy
(NRP) officially dedicated the new neighborhood, the construction of
which will begin immediately after next week's Succot holiday. Rabbi
Levy will also officially dedicate 24 housing/agricultural units at
Moshav Kanaf, near the Sea of Galilee. Capping off the various
ceremonies will be a special gathering in the Golan Heights "capital"
of Katzrin this evening, under the motto "Together we will preserve
the Golan," with several government ministers and MKs from the Shas,
Shinui, United Torah Judaism and Yisrael B'Aliyah parties in
attendance.
Chairman of the Golan Heights Regional Council Yehuda Volman told
Arutz-7 today, "These events certainly present a reason to celebrate,
but there is still much work ahead for those concerned with the
Golan's future... The recent budget cuts to the settlement enterprise
in the Golan are an attempt to further weaken us, in addition to the
diplomatic contacts. But we have no intention of giving up; most
Israelis still believe that the Golan is an inseparable part of the
State of Israel and essential to the country's security."
Volman said that the policy of "trying to 'dry us up' is difficult to
comprehend. I proposed a plan to Prime Minister Barak by which the
government could give a voice to the Golan's development and
expansion, and provide itself with a much stronger bargaining position
if and when negotiations with Syria begin." He added that coalition
parties that support a strong Golan, such as the NRP and Yisrael
B'Aliyah, "cannot simply sit by and vote against the 150 million
shekels in planned budget cuts, and think that they have thereby
fulfilled their obligations. This government could be toppled in a
day, if there was only the will to do so."
3. TIDBITS
The "Free Passage" route from Gaza to Judea/Samaria will cost some 800
million shekels. The expenses stem mainly from the paving of quality
roads and ensuring proper security arrangements for Jewish communities
along the route...
********************************************************************
To: arutz-7@a7.org
From: Arutz-7 Net Editor <neteditor@a7.org>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Thursday, September 23, 1999
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.a7.org>
Thursday, Sep. 23, 1999 / Elul 13, 5760
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. BARAK RETURNS FROM EUROPE
2. CONFUSION IN DISNEYWORLD
3. TEMPLE MOUNT FAITHFUL FAITHFULLY LAUNCH PETITION
1. BARAK RETURNS FROM EUROPE
Prime Minister Ehud Barak wrapped up his trip to Germany and France
today, and returned to Israel early this evening in time for the
Sukkot holiday. French President Jacques Chirac reportedly told Barak
yesterday that Syrian President Assad is not currently interested in
resuming diplomatic negotiations with Israel. Meeting with Jewish
communal leaders in Paris, Barak had high praise for Assad, saying he
is a "strong, trustworthy leader, who has proven that his word can be
relied upon."
Barak repeated today that all IDF forces will have withdrawn from
southern Lebanon by the end of next summer. "I wouldn't advise anyone
to start with us when we withdraw back to the border," he said. In an
interview that will be printed in tomorrow's Jerusalem Post, Barak
admitted - for the first time - that Hizbullah terrorism could derail
future talks with Syria.
Reflecting on Barak's trip to Germany, Atty. Aharon Papo took issue
with those who pressured Ehud Barak not to visit the Reichstag. "I
think that Barak should have visited there," Papo told Arutz-7 today.
"This was the building from which Hitler extolled his 'Final Solution'
for the destruction of Judaism and the Jewish nation... What would
have been more beautiful and proud for the Jewish nation than for its
representative - the Prime Minister of Israel - to have spoken from
that very podium. Hitler would have committed suicide a second time if
he would have known that no less than the Prime Minister of the
independent Jewish state was speaking from there! Barak could have
demanded that the Germans not only take responsibility for what they
did, but that they support Israel in the face of the new Arab
imperialism. I think that this would have won accolades! It would
have turned into a historic speech, and would have been reported in
detail in the world media. I think that this was a missed opportunity
for the State of Israel."
2. CONFUSION IN DISNEYWORLD
As the Oct. 1 opening date of Israel's exhibit at Disney's Epcot
Center nears, confusion continues to reign over the exact contents of
the exhibit, and to what extent it does or does not depict Jerusalem
as Israel's capital. American-Arab groups protested several weeks ago
against the title given the pavilion - "Jerusalem - Israel's Eternal
Capital." At the time, a Disneyworld spokesman refused to say whether
the exhibit would in fact feature Jerusalem as Israel's capital, and
claimed that revealing information about the pavilion's contents prior
to its official opening "would violate an agreement with the
exhibitor" - namely, Israel.
An Israeli Foreign Ministry announcement on Sept. 19 did not do much
more to clarify the situation; its ambiguity may indicate that Israel
had begun considering "toning down" its message. The announcement
stated that the exhibit focuses on "the history of Jerusalem since the
days of the patriarchs, through the establishment of the city as the
capital of Israel by King David and onto Prime Minister David Ben
Gurion's declaration of Jerusalem as State of Israel's capital in
1949." It falls short of stating whether the pavilion explicitly
features Jerusalem as the eternal capital of Israel, and notes that
"the position of Jerusalem as the key component of the Israeli
pavilion . speaks for itself without a clearer or stronger statement
being necessary."
Adding to the confusion were the events of yesterday. A senior
Foreign Ministry figure declared that Israel would consent to a "minor
change" in the film about Jerusalem. Despite this, American Muslim
groups issued an international call to boycott all Disney products.
An American-Muslim press release explained, "This decision comes after
Disney has failed to seriously address American Muslim and Arab
American concerns about the upcoming Israeli exhibit that portrays
occupied Jerusalem as Israel's united capital." The true contents of
the exhibit will apparently have to await its first official visitors,
eight days from now.
3. TEMPLE MOUNT FAITHFUL FAITHFULLY LAUNCH PETITION
Once again, the Temple Mount Faithful has turned to the Supreme Court
with a request to be allowed to pray on the Temple Mount during the
upcoming holiday. The organization claims that the police refusal to
grant a prayer permit is in violation of a previous Supreme Court
ruling, and that the police are not acting in good faith and are
"surrendering to threats of violence by the Moslem Waqf."
***Quote of the Day:
"Israel is taking many dangers upon itself by implementing the Sharm
a-Sheikh agreement, and it expects to receive in return that which it
deserves."
- Foreign Minister David Levy, speaking with the presidium of
European Union Foreign Ministers in New York today.
**********************************************************************
To: arutz-7@a7.org
From: Arutz-7 Net Editor <neteditor@a7.org>
Subject: Arutz-7 News Brief: Friday, September
24, 1999
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.a7.org>
Friday, Sep. 24, 1999 / Tishrei 14, 5760
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. PALESTINIAN SENIOR THREATENS VIOLENCE
2. TEMPLE MOUNT ACTIVITY
3. LIEBERMAN: CONFIDENT IN THE OPPOSITION
1. PALESTINIAN SENIOR THREATENS VIOLENCE
Palestinian Parliament Chairman Abu Ala threatens the renewal of
warfare against Israel. Abu Ala, visiting in China, said today that
if an agreement on the establishment of a Palestinian state with its
capital in Jerusalem is not reached, "the Palestinians will return to
armed struggle against Israel, in all its forms." He also said that
the Palestinians will insist on the implementation of the right of
return from all Arabs who left Israel during the War of Independence.
2. TEMPLE MOUNT ACTIVITY
Attorney-General Elyakim Rubenstein has requested that the Supreme
Court reject the petition brought by the Temple Mount Faithful against
the Moslem Waqf's construction works on the Temple Mount. The
petitioners demand that the government act to put a halt to the Arabs'
extensive works under the Al-Aksa mosque in preparations for another
mosque there. Rubenstein claims that the extreme sensitivity of the
site must be taken into account, as well as the fact that the works
are almost completed.
The Temple Institute has completed the construction of a Menorah,
similar to the one used in the Holy Temple. Institute Head Rabbi
Yisrael Ariel told Arutz-7's Yosef Zalmanson today that the Menorah
was constructed not for profane or for personal use, but rather "for
the sake of the commandment." On the other hand, the Menorah was not
officially consecrated for Temple use, so as to avoid the Halakhic
(Jewish-legal) prohibition of deriving benefit from Temple property.
"It, or other Menorahs, will be consecrated when the Temple is
rebuilt," Rabbi Ariel said. The Menorah is two meters high, and is
made of 42 kilograms of pure gold.
3. LIEBERMAN: CONFIDENT IN THE OPPOSITION
Yisrael Beiteinu party leader MK Avigdor Lieberman continues his
efforts to unify the opposition. He met last month with political
competitor Minister Natan Sharansky, leader of the Yisrael B'Aliyah
party, to discuss cooperation between the two immigrant parties, and
yesterday Lieberman met with Likud leader Ariel Sharon at Likud
headquarters in Metzudat Ze'ev. Speaking later with Arutz-7, Lieberman
said that the discussions centered around the struggle over the Golan
Heights and the Barak's government's attempt to 'dry up' settlement
activity in the Golan and Jordan Valley. "We decided to coordinate our
parties' parliamentary efforts, with the goal of eventual mobilizing
the entire opposition," Lieberman explained. Sharon, for his part, is
also interested in canvassing the support of certain "wavering"
coalition MKs on issues such as the Golan.
He also voiced some confidence that the present government's term
would end early. "United Torah Judaism has already left, and yesterday
we saw three government ministers join celebrations in the Golan
Heights - this, at a time when the Prime Minister was hoping to hear
from President Chirac that Assad is prepared to strike a deal on the
Golan. There are cracks in the coalition that could soon widen. It's
not clear how long the National Religious Party can stay in a
coalition that is both drying up the settlement enterprise and
discourage industrial investment in Yesha. The whole coalition is
really an unnatural mix, a type of political Shatnez (mixed breeds)."
**********************************************************************