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Newsletter : 9fax0111.txt
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>JN Jan. 11, 1999, Vol. 7, No. 6
Swiss President Speaks out on Relations with Israel
By IsraelWire
Ruth Dreiffuss, recently-elected president of Switzerland, said
that the Swiss attitude toward Jewish victims of the Holocaust
will be a priority of her tenure, with a focus on why Swiss borders
were closed to Jewish refugees during World War 2. With regard to
the Swiss bank accounts of Holocaust victims, Dreiffuss said,
"Switzerland must return every penny belonging to former refugees,
whether to the victims themselves or to charitable causes."
Netanyahu Warns Arafat About Statehood
By David Gollust (VOA-Jerusalem)
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has again warned Yasir
Arafat's Palestinian Authority against a unilateral declaration of
statehood. The issue is looming large in Israel's election
campaign.
In a statement aimed as much at Israeli voters as the Palestinians,
Netanyahu said his government could order the effective annexation
of parts of the West Bank if the Palestinians declare statehood
unilaterally.
Arafat has said he reserves the right to declare statehood May 4 --
the deadline for expiration of the Oslo peace process -- if the
issue is not resolved through negotiations by then.
That is only two weeks before the Israeli election. And Netanyahu,
who has been trailing other contenders for prime minister in the
opinion polls, was quoted as telling his cabinet Sunday a statehood
move by Arafat will elicit a firm Israeli response.
This, he said could include the extension of Israeli law to areas
of the West Bank and Gaza it controls -- action tantamount to
annexation.
Chareidi IDF Company is Being Formed
By IsraelWire
According to military officials, in about three weeks -- for the
first time since the 1973 Yom Kippur War -- a Chareidi
(ultra-Orthodox) company will be formed in the IDF.
Thirty-five persons who identify with the Chareidi community have
enlisted into the IDF to form the new Nachal unit to be known as
"Netzach Yehuda," which will be the nucleus of the new combat
infantry company. The arrangement of the until now secretive unit
was the result of behind the scenes talks with senior military and
defense establishment officials and rabbinical leaders identified
with the Lithuanian camp of the Eida Chareidit.
The new recruits will undergo a Nachal training program, but will
not be officially included in the Nachal Brigade. They will be
certified for combat, equal to members of the combat engineering
corps.
The recruits are former yeshiva students from around the country,
all of whom opting to enlist at this time in place of continuing in
the study halls.
In a move to reduce friction in Chareidi communities and to cater
to the requests of the rabbis, the new recruits will be granted
special permission to leave their bases on leave in civilian
clothing, without their weapons. This, to prevent their being
placed in a compromising social position upon returning to their
communities.
The unit, being regarded as a prototype, will be segregated in many
ways from "regular" IDF units. The soldiers will not have contact
with female soldiers, officers or instructors. They will also be
permitted adequate times for prayer services three times daily and
a Talmud lesson in the morning hours. They will also be given
"Mehadrin" kosher food as per the rabbinical request and not the
food supervised by the IDF Chief Rabbinate, which is given to the
other soldiers.
It was also agreed upon from the onset that in a case where there
may be a contradiction between the orders of an officer and the
instructions of a rabbinical leader, the soldiers, without
hesitation, are to comply with their officer's orders. In addition,
the officer will be compelled to discuss the problem with one of
the agreed upon rabbis who are involved in the pilot program.
If the rabbis are satisfied with the IDF's implementation of the agreement in the first months of the program, then a second group will receive the green light for induction.
Two of the inductees calling themselves Yoel and Ephraim, stated
they hope to make history -- permitting the IDF to offer an
alternative to members of the Chareidi community not wishing to sit
in the study halls, permitting them to serve in the military
without being banished from the community.
The two felt it prudent not to use their real names at this time
since the program is still in a test phase and too new and unknown
to many community leaders.
IDF commanders report that only hours after they received their
uniforms and weapons, the group took part in a 5 mile hike,
culminating with the singing of the national anthem -- followed by
a move to the shooting range where many began to qualify with their
weapons.
Most of the inductees admitted they are in poor physical condition
and the basic training is most difficult. The unit will be serving
a full combat service in the IDF, the first in many years.
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