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Newsletter : 8fax1006.txt
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>Israel Faxx
>JN Oct. 6, 1998, Vol. 6, No. 177
VJTV Broadcasts Jewish Television Online
By IsraelWire
Extraordinary interactive entertainment has come to Virtual Jerusalem. In its latest release, VJ writes, "We are proud to present you with the very latest from JTN, the Jewish community's only national television network. From news & public affairs, to arts & entertainment programs, a cooking show, a unique talk show blending psychology and Judaism, it's all online. Plus -- a special kids zone, with award-winning video shows starring the intrepid time-traveling Jewish explorer, Mitzvah Mouse. Check out this site at: http://www.jewishtvnetwork.com/ "
Palestinian Kills 4 in Baghdad Synagogue
Israel Faxx Staff Report
A Palestinian living in Iraq stormed into a synagogue in Baghdad
Sunday and shot dead four people, an Iraqi cabinet statement said.
It was issued after a cabinet meeting chaired by President Saddam
Hussein. The cabinet condemned the action and said "such behavior
raises surprise, queries and question marks." The statement named
the killer as "Mehdi Mohammed-ali al-Sharqawi, who was born in
Kuwait and has been living in Iraq since 1991 and carries an
Egyptian passport." It said Sharqawi was arrested and would be put
on trial.
25th Anniversary of Yom Kippur War
By Richard Engel (VOA-Cairo)
In the Arab world, many are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the
start of 1973 Arab-Israel war. Egyptians consider the war ended in
a major victory for them, and consequently, it has become a source
of great pride.
Egyptians are not only singing the praises of their country these
days. The government has also organized mass weddings and announced
the release of 2,300 prisoners -- all to commemorate the 25th
anniversary of country's 1973 war with Israel.
President Hosni Mubarak has given numerous media interviews and
speeches lauding the bravery of Egypt's solders who crossed the
Suez Canal Oct. 6, 1973, and recaptured some of the Sinai land
taken by Israel in the 1967 war. For Egyptians, the sixth of
October -- remembered now as the "Day of the Crossing" -- proved
that Israel was not invincible.
Israeli forces, marking Yom Kippur -- the most holy day on the
Jewish calendar -- were caught off guard, but still managed to
counterattack. Mubarak said the October war should be, "a guiding
light for those still living under Israeli occupation in south
Lebanon and the Golan Heights."
The head of Cairo University's political science department, Hassan
Nefaa, says the war also helped Egyptians recover psychologically
from what was considered a humiliating military defeat to Israel in
the 1967 war. "I think what the army did was a source of pride
because, as you know, all the country was living under the bad
feeling of the defeat of 1967."
Nefaa points out Egypt's late President Anwar Sadat began peace
negotiations with Israel soon after the war ended. He says many
Egyptians and fellow Arabs were angry with Sadat for signing what
they felt was a separate peace while the Arab World at large
remained at war. After Egypt and Israel entered negotiations
leading to peace agreements in 1979, Egypt was expelled from the
Arab League and suffered from boycotts by many Arab states.
This year, Egypt had announced it would hold an extensive military
parade to celebrate the October War's 25th anniversary. But Mubarak
said the military celebrations would be scaled down. Egypt has
not held a military parade since October 1981. That's when Sadat
was shot dead by an assassin while viewing a military parade.
Nazareth Expects Flood of Christian Pilgrims
By Mark Lavie (VOA-Jerusalem)
The Israeli city of Nazareth is undergoing a facelift, to prepare
for an expected flood of Christian pilgrims and tourists during the
year 2000.
The two churches marking the home of Jesus of Nazareth
stand at opposite ends of the city's ancient quarter -- ancient
and rundown, too, reflecting the poverty of its Israeli Arab
residents and decades of Israeli government neglect. By the time
the tourists arrive, it will look much better, promises Nazareth
Mayor Ramess Jereiseh. Reconstruction of the old city of Nazareth
is about three-quarters completed, with most of the funding by the
Israeli government.
For decades, Nazareth languished quietly in a valley of the Galilee area, an Arab city in a mostly Jewish state. Nazareth's leaders always complained that they did not get the same funding from the Israeli government as Jewish cities nearby. Preparing for the celebration of the 2000th birthday of Jesus changed that, says Jereiseh.
Though Nazareth is getting ready to mark an event that took place
20 centuries ago, Jereiseh says present-day Middle East politics
play a part in the renovation project. Middle East tension would
reduce the number of tourists to the Holy Land in the year 2000.
But Israeli officials believe that whatever the political
situation, at least 4 million people will visit during the year.
And whether tourists arrive or not, the people who live in
Nazareth will get a new, improved old city.
