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>Israel Faxx
>JN Nov. 25, 1998, Vol. 6, No. 213
Palestinian Airport Opens
By David Gollust (VOA-Gaza)
After more than two years of delays, the Palestinian International
Airport in Gaza has been officially opened. The airport is an
important symbol of sovereignty for the Palestinians, who aspire
to full statehood.
Several thousand people crowded the tarmac to greet arriving
aircraft from Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and western Europe. But the
biggest cheers were for a turboprop from the Palestinian airline,
whose pilot waved a Palestinian flag from the window as he pulled
up to the terminal.
The Palestinian Authority's Finance Minister, Mohamed Nashishibi
said it was a moment of both symbolic and practical importance: "It
is a symbol of sovereignty, to facilitate our foreign trade with
the world. Besides, here, the Palestinian traveler, the citizen,
will feel the full dignity of traveling from his own airport, not
as it happens, somewhere else."
The opening was long-delayed by negotiations over Israel's security
role at the airport, which will be considerable. Planes from
countries hostile to Israel such as Syria and Iraq will not be
allowed to land.
Poll: Anti-Semitic Attitudes Dropping
Courtesy of United Press International
A new national survey has found the number of Americans holding
strongly anti-Semitic views dropped from 20 percent in 1992 to 12
percent.
The Anti-Defamation League says the poll found that 20-25 million
Americans "embrace a wide range of stereotypes about Jews,"
including that "Jews have too much power" and "Jews are more loyal
to Israel than America."
The poll of 999 American adults found that those who are the most
anti-Semitic are older -- over 65 years old and have a high school
education or less.
The survey also found that 35 percent fall into the middle category of not being completely "prejudice-free" in their attitude toward Jews.
ADL Regional Director David Lehrer said, "Overall, we are heartened by
these findings. It is a real sign that Americans are becoming
more tolerant and accepting of others."
But he said he's deeply troubled by the survey's finding that the
percentage of black Americans who fall into the most anti-Semitic
category (34 percent) is now almost four times that of whites (9
percent).
Lehrer said, "We do not pretend to fully understand why the
discrepancy between white and black attitudes exists, but it
clearly underscores a problem that we as a society cannot afford to
ignore."
The ADL says anti-Semitic beliefs are least likely to be held by
Americans who are under 40 and college-educated.
Christian Cultists May Kill Themselves at Millennium End
By IsraelWire
The New York Times reports that members of a U.S. Christian cult,
who believe the world will come to an end at the end of the
millennium in the year 2000, have arrived recently in Israel, and
it is suspected that they are planning mass suicide in Jerusalem at
the end of 1999.
According to the Times, a list of some 10 members of the "Concerned
Christians" cult who have entered Israel in recent weeks, was given
to the Israel police by the police in Denver, the cult's home base.
The "Concerned Christians" cultists are thought to be extreme and
unpredictable because of their blind following of their leader, a
former businessman named Monta Kim Miller. Miller has convinced the
cult members that they must die in Jerusalem on the last day of
December 1999. He promised his believers that after their deaths
they would find eternal life, while the rest of the world's
population would suffer dire consequences.
Some two months ago cult members sold their belongings, quit their
jobs, and disappeared from Denver. Two weeks ago the Denver police
gave the Israeli police a list of names including men, women, and
children. A check of incoming flights revealed that some on the
list have entered Israel with US passports and tourist visas.
Police liaison in the US, Chezi Ledder, stated that the police are
very wary of people who suffer end-of-millennium-phobia, and who
arrive in Israel to do extreme things. He went on to say that if
proof is found that the cult plans to commit a crime, they will be
forbidden entry to Israel.
However, the police so far have no evidence of a planned mass
suicide, and that a suspicion is not enough to forbid entry into
the country. The cult leader, Miller, has not entered Israel. The
finding of some of the cult members in Israel is their first
appearance since they disappeared from Denver without warning.
