NEWS: THE STATE OF ISRAEL - PT II

 

PEACE SUMMIT DRAWS TOP SPIRITUAL LEADERS

August 28, 2000 The Associated Press NEW YORK - More than 1,000 religious leaders meet today at the United Nations for a Millennium World Peace Summit to discuss solutions to conflicts, including some that threaten to divide the meeting.

Participants say they hope the summit, which runs through Thursday, will result in resolutions on peace, poverty and the environment, as well as the formation of a permanent council to advise the United Nations. At the Waldorf-Astoria hotel, barefoot monks mingled with white-robed swamis Sunday. Incas in wool tunics and tasseled caps gazed at the processions of veils, caps and turbans.

"We'll continue to look for solutions until the peace comes," said Eritrean Bishop Zekarias Yohannes, who plans to meet with Ethiopian leaders. Among the speakers: Cardinal Francis Arinze, president of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue; the Grand Mufti of Bosnia, Mustafa Ceric; Israeli Chief Rabbi Meir Lau; the Rev. Jesse Jackson; evangelist Anne Graham Lotz, the Rev. Billy Graham's daughter; and numerous indigenous leaders.

Those who declined include Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, who sent a videotaped message, and Jerusalem Mufti Ikrema Sabri, who has refused to meet with Rabbi Lau. Tibet's Dalai Lama was not invited in order not to offend China, a member of the U.N. Security Council. Protest demonstrations are planned. The United Nations is not an official sponsor of the event, largely being underwritten by Ted Turner's U.N. Foundation. Turner, who once said that Christianity was "for losers," will give the keynote address. (AP 8.28.00)
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ISRAEL

August 21, 2000 - Barak pledges 'secular revolution'
ABRAHAM RABINOVICH and AGENCIES in Jerusalem With his attempt to make peace with the Arabs at a cliff-edge stage, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak decided at the weekend to make war on the Jews - ultra-orthodox Jews - by declaring his intention to bring about within a year a secular revolution in Israel.
"We will raise the flag of a civil society," Mr Barak told the ministers of his One Israel faction he had invited to his home on Saturday night. The programmes he intends to push through include civil marriage in Israel (at present only the religious establishment has the right to perform marriage), the obligation to perform national service (ultra-orthodox youths are deferred from military service if they study in yeshivas, as - for other reasons - are members of Israel's million-strong Arab community), abolition of the Ministry for Religious Affairs, which channels large sums to religious institutions, new laws to anchor women's rights and the enactment of a constitution.
Mr Barak told his ministers he would oblige ultra-orthodox schools, which teach virtually nothing but Talmud, Bible and other Jewish studies, to add secular subjects to their curriculum if they wish to continue receiving government subsidies. The subjects he cited were mathematics, English and civics. Religious Jews often pay no taxes and enjoy state subsidies for their families. Many do not work, dedicating their lives to the study of the Torah.

Mr Barak said: "It is time to raise this banner, because we want a democratic society respecting our traditions. A constitution must be adopted within a year, because that is the basis of all modern states. "I am asking all political parties, particularly Likud, to set aside their partisan interests and support change, including civil marriages, equality for all, and educational reform which will give the same resources to all children."

Religious parties immediately denounced Mr Barak's declaration as a brazen attempt to divide Israeli society. Ariel Sharon, leader of the secular Likud, the largest opposition party, said it was a desperate attempt to gain secular support by Mr Barak, who has lost his coalition majority and sees elections approaching fast.
Mr Sharon's analysis may be correct but his public dismissal of Mr Barak's "secular revolution" is mitigated by his own ambiguous position. Mr Sharon has said Mr Barak's programmes must be undertaken "in a serious fashion" and not as an "election gimmick".

Most political pundits have predicted an election within the next year. Mr Barak's proposals alienate the religious parties, but they already oppose him, meaning he has little to lose. Moreover, waving the secular flag may win him a substantial segment of votes from people who might otherwise vote for Likud and other right-wing parties.
Former prime minister Shimon Peres reportedly objected to Mr Barak's strategy at the Saturday night meeting on the grounds that it would foreclose the possibility of the religious Shas Party returning to the coalition to give its backing to a possible peace agreement with the Palestinians. Mr Barak said he hoped to reach an agreement within the coming weeks.

Israeli analysts speculated that Mr Barak's change of gears could just as easily be meant to signal to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat that time is running out on their plans to forge a final peace by September 13. US Middle East envoy Dennis Ross was in the region during the weekend to examine peace prospects after the collapse of the 15-day Camp David summit last month. The talks collapsed primarily over the fate of Jerusalem, which each side claims for its capital. [Source: http://philologos.org ]
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PALESTINIAN OFFICIAL SAYS ISRAELIS COULD BECOME "HOSTAGES" AFTER STATEHOOD.

JERUSALEM, Aug 20 (AFP) - A Palestinian official warned on Sunday that Jews living in the occupied territories could become "hostages" if Israel took any action in the event of a unilateral declaration of Palestinian statehood.
"Israel has a presence inside the Palestinian territories and they will become hostages in the hands of the Palestinians," cabinet secretary Ahmed Abdel Rahman told Voice of Palestine radio, asked about Israeli "threats" in the event of such a declaration.

"Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories will be isolated and subject to real danger," he said. "Palestinians who are under siege have the right to do whatever they can to destroy this siege." Israel has warned that a unilateral declaration of statehood could sink the peace process and Prime Minister Ehud Barak has hinted that Israel could respond by annexing parts of the occupied West Bank. The Palestinian Central Council is set to meet early next month to decide whether to declare a state on September 13, the deadline for a final peace accord with Israel.
Barak has said that in the event of a peace accord around one-fifth of the some 200,000 settlers would be evacuated or live under Palestinian control. Palestinian minister of parliamentary affairs Nabil Amr also said that the declaration of the state was not connected to the negotiations.

"The issue of declaring the state is not the subject of negotiations. It is a Palestinian decision of sovereignty and not a bargaining issue," he told the radio... He said the Palestinians had agreed to establish a state on only 20 percent of the former Palestine. "It is clear that the world wishes to see the declaration (of statehood) as an outcome of negotiations. Some countries of the world believe Barak is serious in the peace process. But I believe he is not," Abdel Rahman added. [Copyright 2000 by Agence France-Presse - from: moza@butterfly.mv.com ]
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DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM CALLS JERUSALEM ISRAEL'S CAPITAL

With Vice President Al Gore cutting deeply into Republican candidateGeorge W. Bush's lead, Democrats kicked off their national conventionin Los Angeles yesterday, following the release of a party platformthat recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's capital and calls for it toremain an undivided city. [ http://www.jpost.com/Editions/2000/08/15/News/News.10916.html ]

BUSH ADVISER: WE'LL STAND BY ISRAEL

The senior foreign policy adviser to Republican presidentialcandidate George W. Bush, Professor Condoleezza Rice, said Monday theUnited States should be with Israel even if the peace talks fail, anda Bush administration would upgrade security ties with it especiallyin the field of ballistic missile defense. [ http://www.vny.com/cf/News/upidetail.cfm?QID=109493 ]

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CHINA PUTS 700,000 TROOPS ON ALERT IN SUDAN

NewsMax.com
Sunday, Aug. 27, 2000 - NewsMax - In a stunning revelation, London's Sunday Telegraph is reporting in today's
editions that China has as many as 700,000 troops in the Sudan and is preparing to enter that country's civil war.
According to the British paper, for the past three years China has been bringing Chinese nationals into the Sudan by cargo jets and boats. [More at http://newsmax.com/ ]
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BARAK'S MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR GIFT TO ARAFAT

Aug. 22, 2000 - Three oil companies demand that Israel actualize its legal rights and allow them to drill for oil off the Gaza coast. Their Supreme Court suit of yesterday maintains that the government is refusing to take advantage of its Oslo-mandated oil rights there, in areas that contain billions of dollars worth of gas and oil.

The three companies requested a permit to drill there as early as a year ago, and attached a legal opinion stating that according to international law, Israel - not the Palestinian Authority - is sovereign over the area and is authorized to grant drilling permits. Then-Infrastructures Minister Eli Suissa (Shas) agreed that Israel is sovereign, but in light of the diplomatic sensitivity of the issue, transferred the final decision to Prime Minister Barak. Suissa told Arutz-7 this morning, "I proposed to the Prime Minister, in writing, that we explore the waters jointly with the Palestinian Authority… I received no answer from him, despite further queries on the issue, and only later found out that Barak had given in and granted exclusive drilling rights to the PA. This was a clear surrender for no reason, and with nothing in exchange, of something that belongs to us - not to mention the loss of billions of dollars for the State. Barak simply made a decision by himself, without consulting me, or anyone else, exactly as he usually does..."

Arafat wasted no time after receiving such a nice gift, and a British company immediately paid the PA millions of dollars for the privilege of preparing a seismological mapping of the area. The mapping has recently been concluded, and with the British company preparing to begin initial drilling, the companies could take it no longer, and turned to the courts. They demand that the government fulfill the Oslo agreement and jointly develop the potential oil fields, and prevent the PA-commissioned British company from drilling. 8.25.00 Barak's apparent "turn right" has enraged Knesset members of the Meretz party. Both former Industry Minister Ran Cohen and MK Zehava Galon said last night that they are now considering running party leader Yossi Sarid for Prime Minister in the upcoming elections. Political pundits have noted that such a move would mark a major setback for the Israeli left, as it would split the vote of Labor and Meretz supporters in any upcoming Prime Ministerial elections.

Meanwhile, acting Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami's meeting yesterday with Egyptian leaders in Alexandria produced what Ben-Ami declared were "some interesting ideas" for approaching the issue of Jerusalem. Although the minister did not fill in reporters on the exact content of the meeting, Israel television said last night that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was informed that Israel was willing to offer the Palestinians sovereignty over two buildings in the Moslem Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City, as well as an arrangement according to which the Temple Mount would heretofore come under "the sovereignty of God." The latter idea was floated by the Vatican several weeks ago during US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's meeting with Church officials. [http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com ]
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ISRAEL WILL DISAPPEAR IN A FEW DECADES

Athens, Aug. 22, IRNA-Hamas founder and spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yasin has predicted that the Zionist regime will cease to exist in a few decades, said a report from al-Qods. Speaking on Sharja satellite tv program Monday night, Sheik Yasin said the disappearance of Israel was a religious and historical eventuality...

The Quran says that very clearly... I have no doubt that this will happen in a few decades, certainly this century," said Yasin during a special program marking the passage of 31 years since the burning of al Aqsa Mosque by a Zionist arsonist. The Islamic leader pointed out that he was optimistic that Arabs and Muslims were increasingly aware of the grave dangers surrounding the Aqsa Mosque... The Jews want to destroy the mosque in order to build their temple... this should be clear to us all."

Yasin stressed that the path of resistance and Jihad was the only way to liberate Palestine, saying that this method proved its validity in south Lebanon. He also called on Arab regimes to wake up, because the Zionists don't aim to swallow only Palestine but the Arab world as well... There is going to be a larger confrontation and we'd better be prepared for it."

The Mufti of al-Qods, Ikrema Sabri spoke during the same program, saying that Zionist attacks on Haram al-Sharif increased in frequency in the last few years. He pointed out that the recent decision by the Zionist regime's high rabbinate to discuss the prospects of building a synagogue within the confines of the Haram al-Sharif signaled a serious development in their designs against Islam's third holiest shrine. [ Palestine-Yasin - http://www.irna.com/newshtm/eng/01160006.htm ]

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VATICAN POSITION

ZENIT - The Vatican statement discloses that "Archbishop Tauran was able to illustrate the Holy See's well-known position on the peace process: respect on the part of all for international law, especially for United Nations resolutions; equal rights and duties for all the peoples of the region." These are two "indispensable" conditions "to put an end to the unjust and insecure situation," the Vatican stated.

Jerusalem's Universal Value The Vatican spokesman also disclosed that "part of the discussion was about
safeguarding the holy places of the three great religions in the Holy Land, especially those of the city of Jerusalem, which is considered by the Vatican the sacred patrimony of all believers and of universal value."

Case of Nazareth Mosque Finally, Archbishop Tauran referred once again to Christians' concern "over the lamentable situation that exists in Nazareth, because of the plan to construct a mosque in front of the Basilica of the Annunciation." Muslim groups occupied the area by force and, on various occasions, caused threats to the physical safety of pilgrims (Cf. ZENIT.ZE99041106).

The Israeli government has granted Muslims permission to build the mosque, but it would seem that this construction is not motivated by need to extend Muslim places of worship, but by Islamic fundamentalists'
need to provoke. The government and Muslim fundamentalists agreed to begin construction of the mosque after the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000. However, the fundamentalists seem disposed to break the agreement. They have already attempted to unload construction material on the site (Cf. ZENIT, ZE00081002).

New Ascendancy This is the third high-level visit received by Archbishop Tauran in August in connection with peace in the Middle East, after the failure of the negotiations at Camp David brought to the fore the objectivity of the Vatican proposal to resolve the question of Jerusalem. In the midst of the Camp David negotiations, it became obvious to the parties involved that the question of the Holy City could not be resolved without hearing the Christian position, which up until then had been dismissed.

On August 1, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright informed the Vatican on the general state of the Middle East peace process after Camp David, wishing to hear first hand the Vatican's real position on the matter, which at times has been manipulated by the media (Cf. ZENIT, ZE00080901).

Nine days later, Nabil Shaath, Minister of International Co-operation of the National Palestinian Authority, arrived at the Vatican to discuss "the positive aspects of the dialogue between Palestinians and Israelis, as well as the obstacles that did not allow for a happy ending to the meeting," the Vatican Press Office stated. On August 9, a Vatican spokesman said: "For his part, Archbishop Tauran confirmed the Vatican's support of the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people" (Cf. ZENIT, ZE00080903). [Zenit, Rome http://www.zenit.org ]

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VATICAN: PALETSTINIANS ARE NOT J'LEM'S KEEPERS

August 15, 2000 - By Amnon Barzilai and Amira Hass Ha'aretz Correspondents. The Vatican disagrees with the Palestinians' belief that they are the keepers of Jerusalem's holy sites, Vatican Foreign Minister Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran yesterday told acting Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami, who was visiting the papal state.
Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid has meanwhile told Regional Cooperation Minister Shimon Peres that he is prepared to help the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians. Both Ben-Ami and Peres have been dispatched by Prime Minister Ehud Barak to explain Israel's positions at the recent failed Camp David summit to world leaders.

Sources in Jerusalem believe that the objection by European leaders to the Palestinian Authority's unilateral declaration of independence will cause the Palestinians to be more flexible in their positions. PA Chairman Yasser Arafat was yesterday advised by yet another world leader not to declare statehood on September 13. Chinese President Jiang Zemin told the Palestinian leader that China expects that the PA, "under the leadership of Yasser Arafat, will reflect and declare a Palestinian state at the right time, when the best results may be obtained," the French news agency AFP reported.

Arafat was in Beijing for 24 hours, after a lightning visit to Pakistan. From there he continued to Vietnam. Peres is expected in Beijing tomorrow. Zemin, who has supported the Palestinian position for many years, did however promise that any decision taken by the PA will gain China's support "as long as it serves the interests of the Palestinian people."

Arafat has now visited 20 countries in the last two weeks in an attempt to drum up support for the Palestinian position on a deal with Israel. Attorney Gilad Sher, Ben-Ami's partner to the peace talks with the Palestinians and a member of the Israeli team at last month's Thurmont summit, was very optimistic yesterday about the chances of finalizing a peace deal with the Palestinians within a short time during a briefing of foreign diplomats and ambassadors.

Barak, who today returns from his holiday in the North, will tomorrow meet with King Abdullah of Jordan. Barak and Ben-Ami are expected to formulate Israeli positions on key issues ahead of U.S. special envoy to the Middle East Dennis Ross at the end of this week. Ross was meant to spend his first days in the country holidaying, but at the request of Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, he has now postponed his vacation. Ben-Ami will return tonight from his tour of Europe. European leaders are transmitting three central messages, both to Israel and the Palestinians: Europe is behind U.S. President Bill Clinton and his efforts until a peace is signed between Israel and the PA, it is opposed to a unilateral declaration of independence by the PA, while it recognizes their right to
an independent state. [ Ha'aretz. All Rights Reserved ]

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NEW ASSIRYIAN COALITION CAN NUKE AMERICA

By Marshall Masters

YOWUSA.COM, August 23, 2000 If history repeats (as it may very well be doing this time) a New Assyrian Coalition (PLO, Syria, Egypt, and Iraq) already possesses ballistic missiles that can strike the continental United States, with nuclear warheads or biological agents. Using the demand for an independent PLO state as a political catalyst, this coalition may very well launch against Israel and it's greatest ally, the United States. Full Story at:
http://www.yowusa.com/authors/mmasters/3Q00/MiddleEast2/middleeast2.html - [ moza@butterfly.mv.com ]

 

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