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Newsletter : 8fax1210.txt
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>PD
>Israel Faxx
>JN Dec. 10, 1998, Vol. 6, No. 223
The next issue of Israel Faxx will be dated Thursday, Dec. 17,
1998. The staff of Israel Faxx wishes you a happy Chanukah
Clinton Plans Visit to Masada Where Jews Vowed "Never Again"
By Deborah Tate (VOA-White House)
President Clinton will go forward with his trip to the Middle East
Saturday -- despite heightened tensions in the region and a pending
vote in the House Judiciary Committee on articles of impeachment
against him.
Despite the likelihood the committee will approve at least one
article of impeachment against him at the end of the week --
followed by an expected vote on the matter by the full House next
week -- Clinton has no plans to cancel his three-day trip to Israel
and Palestinian-controlled areas.
Some outside advisers have urged the president to stay home and
focus on the impeachment proceedings. But, at a White House event
Wednesday, Clinton indicated he has no such plans. "So often today
America faces a challenge of helping prevent conflicts overseas,
fueled by divisions of race and ethnicity and religious
differences. On Saturday I am going on a mission of peace to the
Middle East, still embroiled in such conflicts."
The trip comes amid an increasingly hostile atmosphere in the
region -- with recent violence between Israelis and Palestinians,
unrest on Palestinian streets, and even calls to Clinton from
ranking Israeli officials to stay home. A growing number of
Israeli political leaders view his planned visit to
Palestinian-ruled areas as an endorsement of Palestinian
sovereignty.
But White House spokesman Joe Lockhart says the trip is part of
the Wye River agreement the president brokered between the parties
in October. And that Clinton believes it is important to complete
it.
During his trip, Clinton is to visit Gaza to observe a meeting of
the Palestine National Council, which will formally delete language
from the Palestinian charter calling for the destruction of Israel.
He will also make a brief stop in a Palestinian-controlled area of
the West Bank.
In an effort to appear neutral in the peace process, Clinton is to
divide his time equally between his Israeli and Palestinian hosts.
While in Israel, he plans a stop at Masada, a fortified plateau
on the Dead Sea that is a symbol of the Jewish people's struggle
for freedom and independence.
Intifada Part 2 Spreads Through the West Bank
By David Gollust (VOA-Jerusalem)
A Palestinian teenager has been killed and 70 others injured in a
day of widespread clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security
forces in the West Bank. The continued unrest came as final plans
were being made for President Clinton's visit to Israel and the
Palestinian areas.
There were violent clashes in several West Bank towns, despite an
appeal from Middle East envoy Dennis Ross for Palestinians to deal
with their grievances against Israel at the bargaining table and
not in the streets.
The most serious trouble was in Ramallah -- north of Jerusalem --
where Israel troops fired tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets,
and, according to Palestinians, some live ammunition in a
confrontation with stone throwers.
Palestinians staged marches and a general strike to press for the
release of security prisoners held by Israel, and to mark the 11th
anniversary of the start of the Palestinian uprising -- the
intifada.
The disturbances came as Ross completed meetings with Israeli and
Palestinian leaders on Clinton's visit, which begins late Saturday
and includes an unprecedented stop in Palestinian-controlled Gaza.
Worldwide Chanukah Menorah Lighting to be Linked
By Lubavitcher News Service
Millions will celebrate Chanukah simultaneously this year on the Internet at http://www.chanukah98.com and http://www.chabadOH.org.
Utilizing Real-Video streaming technology and state-of-the-art design values, the Chanukah supersite will bring people together from every continent to celebrate the holiday.
At 3:15 p.m. Sunday preceding the first night of Chanukah, live
simultaneous Menorah lightings will be shown in Jerusalem, Moscow,
New York and Paris -- streamed to millions of computers, and
"officially" kicking off the Chanukah holiday.
Extensive video and audio clips, as well as still pictures, of
Menorah lightings and Chanukah events around the globe are also
available on the supersite. With only a click of a button, users
can observe Jews lighting Menorahs in places as varied as Moscow,
Melbourne, Madrid, Milwaukee and Cincinnati will also be watching
a Menorah on a gondola in Venice, as well as one lit near the
original Modi'in village from which the Maccabees launched
their successful revolt.
"Virtual Chanukah 98" is a project of the American Friends of
Lubavitch and designed with the entire family in mind. The site's
features run the gamut from games for small children to in-depth
study, from how-to guides to daily meditations. If technical
internet configuring allows, an alternative address for the site
will be: chanukah.chabad.org.
