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Newsletter : 8fax0909.txt
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>Israel Faxx
>JN Sept. 9, 1998, Vol. 6, No. 161
Gaza and Tel-Aviv - Twin Cities
By IsraelWire
During a meeting in Ramallah, it was decided between Tel-Aviv Mayor
Roni Milo and PLO Authority Chief Yasir Arafat, that a twin-city
agreement would be signed at the month's end between Gaza and
Tel-Aviv. According to Milo, who has already announced his
candidacy for prime minister in the 2000 elections, the signing
ceremony will be held in Barcelona.
Did Chicago Rents Generate Hamas Weapons?
By Michael Leland (VOA-Chicago)
Federal officials in Chicago are investigating possible links
between several suburban housing developments and the Islamic
militant group Hamas. Officials say the developments are a piece
of the puzzle in their nationwide investigation of funding for
Middle Eastern terrorist groups.
Federal authorities say four suburban Chicago residential
developments are owned or financed by two non-profit Islamic
organizations, and officials are investigating whether money
generated by the residential properties made its way to Hamas to
buy weapons.
A story in Tuesday's Chicago Tribune says the investigation
initially focused on the Chicago-based "Quranic Literacy
Institute," which translates the Koran into English. Federal
authorities allege money generated by residential properties the
institute owned, until 1994, was used in 1992 to buy guns for a
terrorist attack in the Israeli city of Hebron.
In June, the US government seized $1.4 million in cash from
institute volunteer Mohammed Salah, saying he used the Quranic
Institute as a cover to send money to Hamas. Salah denies any such
involvement.
The paper says the investigation now includes three suburban
chicago developments financed by an Islamic organization in
Indiana. "The North American Islamic Trust" was founded in 1973 to
build mosques and schools in the United States, but it also has
financial interests in three residential developments built near
Chicago between 1988 and 1990.
Those three projects are being investigated because they, along
with the development previously owned by the Quranic Institute,
were all built by Chicago surgeon and real estate developer Tamer
al-Rafai. They want to determine whether any money from those
developments made its way into the hands of Middle Eastern
terrorists.
The investigation has infuriated Chicago-area Muslims, who say it
is aimed at tarnishing them and the Quranic Literacy Institute.
A federal judge has asked the institute to respond to allegations
of financing terrorism by Sept. 18.
Zwick's Controversial "Siege"
By IsraelWire
The show-business community is keeping a close watch on the
negative buzz generated by the Arab-American community toward the
forthcoming 20th Century Fox flick, Siege, produced by Ed Zwick and
Lynda Obst.
The movie's theme centers on several Middle East terror groups
planting bombs in key areas of New York City which kill, maim and
wreak havoc on the population. The U.S. strikes back in several
ways, including declaring martial law and herding Arab-Americans
into detention camps.
Zwick has tried to allay the fears of the Arab-American community by
having them look at the script, offer advice for changes, and
screen the completed product which headlines non-Jewish stars Bruce
Willis and Denzel Washington.
Zwick claims that Siege is more of an examination of the human
condition - where a government may or may not go too far in
stigmatizing an entire ethnic/religious group in the course of
fighting terror on its home turf. But Arab-American groups, several
of which have come under scrutiny themselves by the FBI for alleged
ties to terror organizations, are furious with Zwick, Fox, and the
Hollywood community for making this film.
Needless to say, it will be interesting to see how the
Arab-American and Jewish-American communities will react to Siege's
"final cut," which should be ready for screening in a few weeks.
Iranian Spy Satellite
By IsraelWire
Israeli television reports that Israeli intelligence officials
believe Iran is developing its own spy satellite as part of its
ballistic missile program.
The unidentified officials said they came to their conclusion after
analyzing Iranian television video shots of Iran's supreme leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei visiting the missile development plant. The
news reports said the analysts spotted a satellite launcher and
what could be the basis for a spy satellite that could cover the
entire Middle East, including Israel, in the video shots.
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