To: arutz-7@ArutzSheva.org
From: Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@ArutzSheva.org>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Sunday, December 19, 1999
Arutz Sheva News Service
<www.ArutzSheva.org>
Sunday, December 19, 1999 / Tevet 10, 5760
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. GOV'T BRIEFED ON STATUS OF GOLAN TALKS
2. THE LEBANESE CONNECTION
3. RUSSIAN IMMIGRANTS SUPPORT GOLAN
4. COURTS TO RULE IN TEMPLE MOUNT ISSUES
5. MIXED SIGNALS FROM HIZBULLAH
6. IN YESHA
7. POPE TO VISIT
8. NRP ON ITS WAY OUT?
9. THE FAST OF TEVET
1. GOV'T BRIEFED ON STATUS OF GOLAN TALKS
Prime Minister Barak reported to his government today on last week's
Washington talks with Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk A-Shara. Barak
admitted last night that he and A-Shara had not shaken hands at any point
during the talks, but did not explain why his office had previously
announced that there had indeed been a private handshake. Barak said that
the next round of talks with the Syrians will deal with normalization of
relations between the countries, security, and Lebanon. Only at a later
stage will the issues of water and borders be discussed.
The struggle for the Golan continues:
Likud MK and former Defense Minister Moshe Arens and Labor party
Secretary-General MK Ra'anan Cohen toured the Golan Heights separately
today...
A group of Shas activists identified with Rabbi Yitzchak Kadouri have
established an anti-withdrawal headquarters. The director of the group,
Yossi Kadouri, said today that it is possible that Shas spiritual leader
Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef will support a withdrawal from the Golan, while Rabbi
Kadouri will oppose it. Six Shas MKs are members of the pro-Golan Knesset
lobby...
Betar activists continue to sign passersby on a petition against
withdrawal from the Golan at their protest tent opposite the Prime
Minister's residence in Jerusalem...
2. THE LEBANESE CONNECTION
Soldiers of the Southern Lebanese Army have filed suit in the Supreme
Court, requesting political asylum in Israel before the IDF withdraws from
southern Lebanon. The number of SLA soldiers and their family members
number some 17,000 people. They explain that a concrete danger to their
lives is foreseen there as a result of an Israeli withdrawal.
Families of the IDF soldiers missing since the 1982 battle at Sultan Yaaqub
say that Ehud Barak is not taking full responsibility for their sons.
Barak, who commanded the battle in question, hinted in a television
interview that he had not raised the MIA issue "because every Israeli
negotiating demand would be met with counter-demands by the Syrians."
Yonah Baumel, father of Zechariah, one of the missing soldiers, told
Arutz-7 today that a Prime Minister who sits down to make peace must first
of all take a good look at who his partners are: "If the Syrians are not
willing to make humanitarian gestures as a first step, then what type of
partners are we making peace with?" He said that he had sent faxes to
Barak, Foreign Minister David Levy, and Barak's chief security aide Danny
Yatom. "We received positive answers from the latter two, who said they
would raise the issue at the talks... I know that the Israelis attempted
to raise the issue, but not necessarily Barak. Clinton actually raised the
matter."
The Prime Minister of Lebanon said today that his country, too, has
territorial demands on Israel.
3. RUSSIAN IMMIGRANTS SUPPORT GOLAN
A crucial issue for both sides of the Golan-giveaway controversy is the
voting behavior of Israel's Russian immigrants in the national referendum.
A poll published last week in Israeli papers indicates that 74% of Russian
olim oppose a withdrawal from the Golan. Arutz-7 correspondent Effie Meir
reports that many Golan activists are optimistic that despite the late
surge of support for Barak in the previous elections, the current situation
will remain static. Katzrin Deputy Mayor Dimi Aparchev, who heads the
Golan Residents Committee's immigrant branch, explained that the immigrants
are greatly disappointed with Barak: "Barak promised before the elections
that he would solve the immigrants' problems, but we see that nothing has
been done. Someone who has lied once won't be trusted the second time
around."
Russian-language journalist Sofia Ron of Vesti elaborated: "At the time,
Barak captured the anti-Shas spirit prevalent among the immigrants and
framed the main election issue not as a diplomatic one, but as a
social-ethnic one. They have been extremely disappointed with Barak on
this; he did not deliver the goods... and is not seen to be addressing
Israel's social problems."
Correspondent Meir adds that the immigrants' political leadership -
including Yisrael B'Aliyah leader Natan Sharansky and Knesset Golan lobby
leader Yuli Edelstein - are openly at odds with Barak regarding the Golan
giveaway, whereas they flirted with Barak on the eve of the national
elections. In the political arena, Barak's appointment of a native Israeli
(Prof. Yuli Tamir) to the post of Minister of Immigration and Absorption
did not earn the Prime Minister widespread adulation. Another factor in
the equation has been the tenacity of the competing immigrant party's
leader, MK Avigdor Leiberman of Yisrael Beiteinu. He has assigned all of
his party offices to the urgent task of saving the Golan, and, in a joint
effort with the Yesha Council, played a key role in bringing some 10,000
Russian olim to the Golan over the past month. Leiberman helped bring
3,000 olim to a pro-Golan event in Katzrin last week.
4. COURTS TO RULE IN TEMPLE MOUNT ISSUES
Chai V'Kayam leader Yehuda Etzion continues in his two-track struggle to
identify the Temple Mount artifacts dumped by the Moslem Waqf in the Kidron
Valley, and to hold the Antiquities Authority responsible for continued
Waqf violations on the Mount. "The Authority was to have delivered its
response [as to why it has not taken responsibility for the Waqf dumpings]
to the Supreme Court today, and must also deal with a similar petition in
the District Court," Etzion told Arutz-7 today. "So far, the Antiquities
Authority has been giving us evasive answers, to say the least. They even
sent inspectors last week to the Kidron Valley, while we were examining the
remnant of the dumps, and ordered us to stop, on the grounds that we were
robbing the country's antiquities! It's OK for the Waqf - under the
watchful eye of the police - to dispose of hundreds of trucks' worth of
ancient artifacts, but when we come to check what's in the dirt, we are
labeled robbers! If it wasn't tragic, I would laugh - but today, on the
tenth of Tevet, marking the beginning of the siege on Jerusalem and the
beginning of Temple's destruction, it is very hard to laugh."
Etzion then reviewed last week's dumping saga: "They disposed of the first
truckloads of Temple Mount materials in the Jerusalem city dump, which were
mixed in with all the trash of Jerusalem. These loads are now lost to us,
and can never be examined. Once we caught on to what was happening, we
successfully tracked down the loads of four more trucks at another site,
and we started sifting through them. When the Arabs realized that Jews
were checking up on them, they stopped unloading it there; after a one-day
break, they coordinated two large dumpings, one in the Kidron Valley and
one in [the eastern Jerusalem neighborhood of] Abu Dis."
Etzion added that he and his associates have been able to see from afar
that there is still another large pile remaining at the Mount, and that
"probably, on a night of their choosing - since there is nobody who will
say anything - they will dump it wherever they wish." He said that he is
insisting in his court petitions that the Antiquities Authority and the
city of Jerusalem supervise every truck that leaves the Mount and determine
where the load is headed so that its contents may be examined. "This too
has not been done yet," Etzion lamented, "and the Waqf continues to prepare
for a giant mosque under the Temple Mount."
The Waqf continued to dump more piles of remains at the Kidron Valley site
today. No police protection or Antiquities Authority supervision was
evident at the site.
5. MIXED SIGNALS FROM HIZBULLAH
Hizbullah seems to be unsure of its future direction. Senior leaders of
the Lebanese terrorist militia have issued opposing statements on whether
they will continue to attack Israel if an agreement with Syria is signed.
One said that the struggle against Zionism would be transferred to the
diplomatic and economic spheres, while another said that terrorist
activities would continue as usual. Yesterday afternoon, two powerful
roadside bombs exploded near an IDF brigade in southern Lebanon. No one
was injured, though damage was caused to one of the troops' vehicles.
6. IN YESHA
On the "other" diplomatic front, Ehud Barak cancelled a meeting scheduled
for today with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Barak's office said today
that the talk was postponed for security reasons, after the Palestinians
had leaked the fact that Barak was planning, for the first time, to meet
with Arafat in PA-controlled Jericho. The meeting will likely be
re-scheduled for later in the week.
A series of bad news greeted the leaders of Jewish communities in Judea and
Samaria when they met today with Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh.
Sneh told them that the government had decided to impose an almost total
freeze on construction in Yesha. He also told them that the Arab
construction on Palestinian farms in Gush Etzion will not be halted.
Finally, Yesha leaders learned that the government plans to withdraw from
significantly more than 1% of Yesha in the framework of the upcoming third
Oslo withdrawal. The Netanyahu government had always promised that the
third withdrawal would not exceed 1%.
All entries to the Kalandia refugee camp north of Jerusalem were re-opened
this morning, after having been closed last night following massive
rock-throwing at Israeli cars. Arutz-7 correspondent Haggai Huberman
reports that the camp entrances were re-opened despite the lack of a
Palestinian commitment to halt the attacks on Israeli vehicles.
7. POPE TO VISIT
An official announcement has been made in Jerusalem to the effect that Pope
John Paul II will arrive in Israel on March 25, 2000, for a five-day visit.
A senior Vatican official has already said that Israeli officials will not
accompany the Pope in eastern Jerusalem.
8. NRP ON ITS WAY OUT?
It's just a matter of time before the National Religious Party leaves the
government. So estimates party leader Rabbi Yitzchak Levy, who said today
that despite Prime Minister Barak's denials, it is clear to both Syria and
to the Israeli public that Barak is prepared to abandon the Golan Heights.
Nevertheless, Rabbi Levy says, the NRP will make a final decision only
after seeing how the negotiations with Syria develop. MK Zevulun Orlev
told Arutz-7 today that the budget cuts in religious education are liable
to prompt the party to leave the coalition, irrespective of the Golan
issue. Orlev said that the closing of religious schools or preschools are
as traumatic for him as the uprooting of a settlement. If the NRP's
demands are not met, Orlev said, the party will vote against the national
budget and thus automatically forfeit its place in the government.
Orlev related to the situation caused by Levy's resignation from the
Knesset. "He generously gave up his Knesset seat, while still retaining
his ministerial post, in favor of the party's next-in-line, Nachum
Langental. However, if the party resigns from the coalition, Rabbi Levy is
left with nothing. Langental cannot 'return' him the Knesset seat, since
the law says that any Knesset seat that is vacated is filled by the next in
line on the party list."
9. THE FAST OF TEVET
Today is a traditional fast day, known in the Prophets as the Fast of the
Tenth [Month]. This day marks the beginning of the siege on Jerusalem 2500
years ago by the Babylonians, leading to the destruction of the first
Temple. The sages subsequently proclaimed this day a fast day on which
Jews are instructed to focus on self-improvement and the spiritual and
other causes of the Temple's destruction. Furthermore, shortly after the
establishment of the State of Israel, the Israeli Chief Rabbinate declared
this day to be the day of mourning and Kaddish recitation for all those who
perished in the Holocaust but whose day of death (yahrzeit) is unknown. By
choosing this day, the rabbis indicated that the tragedy of the Holocaust
must be seen within the context of the catastrophes associated with the
destruction of the Temple.
************************************************************************
To: arutz-7@ArutzSheva.org
From: Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@ArutzSheva.org>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Monday, December 20, 1999
Arutz Sheva News Service
<www.ArutzSheva.org>
Monday, December 20, 1999 / Tevet 11, 5760
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. ARCHAEOLOGIST EXPLAINS TEMPLE MOUNT LOSSES
2. HOW WILL THE ARABS VOTE?
3. PRAYING FOR THE GOLAN
1. ARCHAEOLOGIST EXPLAINS TEMPLE MOUNT LOSSES
The Antiquities Authority claims that the Waqf, before trucking and
discarding remains from under the Temple Mount last week, removed
specially-engraved stones and additional findings. The claim is
included in the Authority's response to a Supreme Court petition
submitted by Chai VeKayam and the Temple Mount Faithful, demanding
official supervision over the Waqf's evacuation of the remains. The
groups also demand that the Waqf's illegal construction at the holy
site be halted immediately.
Roni Reich, an Antiquities Authority archaeologist, spoke with Arutz-7
today: "True, there are archaeologists who claim that no damage was
done [by the Waqf under the Temple Mount], because a bulldozer worked
carefully, under supervision, and didn't touch the walls or arches.
But [I and others claim that] the actual removal of dirt from under
the Temple Mount, with heavy equipment, and in such great quantities -
50 to 100 tons - is a terrible blow in itself... "
When asked whether the Waqf's actions may have been a blessing in
disguise, in that Temple Mount remnants are, for the first time, now
accessible to archaeologists, Reich replied, "You're being cynical,
I'm sure. I don't need anyone to take out dirt with a bulldozer,
throw it in a rubbish dump, and then tell me to go sift it out. No,
archaeology is not simply cleaning out a site from its dirt. The dirt
is an intrinsic part of the archaeological site. I wanted to see this
dirt while it was being excavated, and to document where each gram
comes from and from which historical period... Archaeology is a
science that is carried out and documented on the spot, not
afterwards. It is the only field of science, by the way, in addition
to that of experimenting on humans, that requires a license from the
government; in other disciplines, everyone has freedom to do what they
like. This is because archaeology must be done carefully and
systematically, and can only be done once."
2. HOW WILL THE ARABS VOTE?
Golan supporters are not assuming that the Arabs will vote
monolithically in favor of a withdrawal in the referendum on the
Golan. Uri Heitner, a spokesman for the Golan Residents Committee,
appeared on Arab-language television programming recently, and warned
that lost IDF firing-range areas in the Golan will likely be replaced
by Galilee lands expropriated from the Israeli-Arab community. This
issue is well-known to be a "red flag' for the Israeli-Arab
population, which still commemorates the land-expropriations of 1976
with near-violent annual marches on what has become known as Earth
Day. Arab MKs vow, however, that any further expropriations of
Arab-owned lands will be fought, and say that there are other areas in
the country, such as Kibbutzim, that can be used for this purpose.
Another point used to sway the Arab vote is that an evacuation of the
Jews from the Golan may set a precedent for the transferral of
minorities. This point too is dismissed by Israeli-Arab leaders:
"Israel captured Syrian land that is not theirs [Israel's], and knew
the whole time that it would have to be returned to Syria - while we
are not settlers, we are on our own land."
3. PRAYING FOR THE GOLAN
The traditional Tenth of Tevet fast-day prayers yesterday turned into
large prayer services for the welfare of the communities and against a
withdrawal. Hundreds gathered in the synagogue at Nov, and recited
even more penitential prayers than those usually recited on days of
fasting. A special prayer was composed for the occasion as well.
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To: arutz-7@ArutzSheva.org
From: Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@ArutzSheva.org>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Tuesday, Dec. 21, 1999
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.arutzsheva.org>
Tuesday, December 21, 1999 / Tevet 12, 5760
------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. ARAB TERRORISTS AND ISRAELI MIA'S
2. WEIZMAN URGED TO STOP POLITICKING
3. BARAK EXPECTED TO SATISFY SHAS
4. THE REFERENDUM: NEW OPPOSITION BILL, PUBLIC OPINION
5. HYDROLOGIST: WATER STORAGE CRITICAL
6. JANES ON PULL-OUT COSTS
7. ASSIMILATION ON THE RISE
1. ARAB TERRORISTS AND ISRAELI MIA'S
The Barak government will deliberate next Sunday on the release of
Arab terrorists from eastern Jerusalem as a good-faith gesture on the
occasion of the Moslem festive month of Ramadan. Likud MK Danny Naveh
responded to the announcement by saying that such a move is tantamount
to recognition of Palestinian Authority sovereignty over the Arab
neighborhoods of Jerusalem.
PA negotiator Saeb Erekat will meet tomorrow with Israeli negotiator
Oded Eran to discuss the planned release of terrorists. Also on the agenda
is the Arafat-initiated "map crisis" which has held up the scheduled
withdrawal from another 5% of Judea and Samaria. A Barak-Arafat
meeting is scheduled to take place within a day. Foreign Minister
David Levy said today that Israel does not intend to "unnecessarily
drag out the talks with the Palestinians."
Parents of two of the Israeli MIA's from the 1982 Sultan Yaqub Battle
say that they have received information that their sons are still
alive. Penina Feldman, mother of Tzvi, and Yonah Baumel, father of
Zechariah, held a press conference this afternoon in the Knesset with
Likud MK Danny Naveh.
MK Naveh has tabled a new bill that would forbid the government to sign
any deal with Syria or the Palestinians until Syrian President Assad
and PA Chairman Arafat release all of the information they have as to
the whereabouts of the MIA's. Should Naveh's bill pass, any deal
signed prior to the release of such details - would be null and void.
On Arutz-7's "In Focus" newsmagazine earlier this week, Yonah Baumel
said that U.S. sources recently informed him that his son and Tzvi
Feldman are being held by a "moderate" faction in Lebanon, but that
Syria's Assad continues to block their release.
2. WEIZMAN URGED TO STOP POLITICKING
Representatives of the Golan Residents Committee and President Weizman
convened for a "tense" one-and-half-hour meeting at the President's
residence this morning. Arutz-7 correspondent Kobi Sela reports that
Golan representatives tried in vain to convince the President to stop
his active personal campaign in favor of a "Golan giveaway." Prior to
the talk, Golan spokesman Eli Malka said that he did not intend "to
convince the President, at his advanced age, to support or not support
the government's peace initiatives. The proper role of the President
at this point, is to do everything in his power to ensure that the
public debate on the issue be conducted in a democratic and legal
fashion. He should run from city to city and from town to town to
prevent ... a national rift. To my chagrin, he is currently doing
the exact opposite," Malka observed.
In response to the residents' demand that he begin acting as the
"President of the entire nation," Weizman responded: "To be the
President of the entire nation is almost impossible - to do so, you
have to be deaf, dumb and blind."
In related news, the Central Committee of the National Religious Party
gathered this afternoon in the Golan town of Katzrin, as an act of
solidarity with the Golan. The committee passed motions aimed at
establishing a policy on how NRP MKs will vote on the Golan issue both
in the government and in the Knesset. Party leader Rabbi Yitzhak Levy
said today that the NRP will leave the coalition if Barak uproots
communities in the Golan. Early this afternoon, a cornerstone was
laid at a new public religious school in Katzrin.
3. BARAK EXPECTED TO SATISFY SHAS
Prime Minister Ehud Barak will not take disciplinary actions against
Shas, despite the party's abstention in yesterday's no-confidence
vote. Sources in the Prime Minister's office say that - despite
Barak's November declaration that the budget would only be increased
by a maximum of 0.2 to 0.3 percent - he will likely respond favorably
to the majority of Shas budget demands, including hundreds of millions
of shekels in adjustments. Shas ministers warned this morning that
should their budget demands not be met, they will vote against the
government in future no-confidence motions.
Speaking with Arutz-7 today, Shas MK Yitzchak Gagula reiterated his
party's dissatisfaction with the Barak government. "It's hard to
remember the last time we voted with the coalition," Gagula said, "But
in light of recent developments, we don't see the partnership we had
anticipated from this coalition. So as an act of protest again
yesterday, we abstained." Gagula rebuffed the suggestion that the
party would embrace an IDF pull-out from the Golan, in exchange for a
bail-out of the Shas educational system: "The issues are totally
unconnected. The Council of Torah Sages, at the necessary time, will
make its decision about a deal with Syria. Our position on the Golan,
whatever it turns out to be, will not be affected by even millions of
shekels... I am personally against a Golan withdrawal, even if the two
sides agree on security arrangements. We know that the majority of
our voters are also against such a pull-out. The Council of Torah
Sages, and Rabbi Ovadia Yosef know this as well."
4. NEW OPPOSITION BILL ON REFERENDUM
The Likud Knesset faction unveiled a rough copy of its Golan
referendum bill yesterday. According to the proposal, at least 50% of
the country's eligible voters will be required to support the
withdrawal in order for it to be approved. Likud MKs claim that at
least 56 Knesset members support the bill. Speaking at a press
conference yesterday, Likud MK Silvan Shalom noted that support of the
bill by many coalition MKs is an indicator that cracks are forming in
the Barak coalition. Justice Minister Yossi Beilin said that the law
is racist in that it is aimed at neutralizing the Arab vote. The
Likud bill also demands party funding for referendum-related
advertising and a three-judge panel to formulate the referendum's
question.
Israeli public support for a complete withdrawal from the Golan
Heights has actually decreased since the start of Ehud Barak's talks
with the Syrians. According to a poll publicized on the Mishal Cham
program on Israel's Channel Two television last night, only 36% of
Israelis support a full withdrawal, while 50% oppose such a move.
Some 14% are undecided.
Commentators have remarked of late that the Golan issue transcends
traditional political lines. This theory seems to have gained support
today with the revelation of a personal letter dispatched by noted
left-wing Israeli journalist Amos Keinan to former Third Way MK and
Golan activist Yehuda Harel. "I know that we must make peace with
Syria," Keinan writes. "I also know that there will be no peace with
Syria unless we give back the Golan Heights. However, I am not
willing to vote in a referendum in favor of such a proposal. My hands,
heart, and mind are not willing to give the beautiful, thriving, and
prosperous Golan Heights to a wretched tyrant of a wretched and
backward country that apart from an army has nothing." Deflecting
recent comments by Ehud Barak on the chance of war if a Golan
withdrawal is not approved by Israelis, Keinan adds: "I am not afraid
of the Syrian army, just as I am not afraid of an unconditional
withdrawal from southern Lebanon. The Hizbullah wants us out of
southern Lebanon. I do not believe that the Hizbullah will pursue us
within Israeli borders, for should they do so, it is in our power to
paralyze Lebanon."
5. HYDROLOGIST: WATER STORAGE CRITICAL
Israel has, for all intents and purposes, no water reserves. So
declared hydrologist Chaim Gvirtzman in a deliberation in the Knesset
Audit Committee today. Gvirtzman said that the state must preserve
water from rainy years for use in drought years. He also warned that
a withdrawal from the Judea and Samaria mountain plateau would have
disastrous consequences for Israel's water economy.
Water Commissioner Meir Ben Meir was also invited to the meeting, as
was his predecessor Dan Zalefsky and former Finance Minister, Likud MK
Meir Shetreet. Shetreet told the committee that the government's
proposal to import water from Turkey is impractical, and that Israel
must immediately begin to desalinate ocean water on a massive scale.
Zalefsky opined that farmers' claims that they would not be able to
foot the bill for higher costs of desalinated water should not be
taken seriously, and that as businessmen, they would be compelled to
make certain adjustments in their choice of crops and production
techniques in response to the higher water prices.
6. JANES ON PULL-OUT COSTS
According to a report to appear in tomorrow's Jane's Defense Weekly,
Israel has asked the U.S. for $10 billion of financial aid to purchase
American arms in preparation for a withdrawal from the Golan. Janes
notes that this is above and beyond the $10 billion earmarked to cover
other military costs and another similar sum to compensate Golan
residents affected by a deal between Israel and Syria. Israeli
military sources admitted that they would face stiff opposition from
Washington for the latest demands, but that the goal is "to ensure
that [the Israeli] air force is good enough to stop a massive ground
and missile offensive even if we are taken by surprise."
7. ASSIMILATION ON THE RISE
The Jewish population of the United States is quickly shrinking, as a
result of a zero-growth rate and a 52% intermarriage rate. These are
just some of the figures discussed at the International Congress of
Orthodox Rabbis, being held in Jerusalem. At a convention of Jewish
Agency representatives to Russia in Minsk, it was announced that the
Bylorussian Jewish community faces an 80% intermarriage rate. In a
stop-gap effort, the Jewish Agency will initiate new Jewish identity
courses there and will promote greater Aliyah from the area.
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