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Newsletter : 9fax0114.txt
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>Israel Faxx
>JN Jan. 14, 1999, Vol. 7, No. 9
Soldiers Freezing -- Claim they are Barred from Wearing Coats
By IsraelWire
Soldiers serving in the Shomron Battalion in Samaria are
complaining that they are "freezing" since they have been
forbidden from wearing the "Chermonit" insulated one-piece
jumpsuit, to permit them to run quickly after stone-throwers. The
order was given after one warm soldier, who was attacked by
stone-throwing Arabs, was unable to run after them due to the
cumbersome outer apparel.
High Court Investigates "Torture" Tactics
By David Gollust (VOA-Jerusalem)
Israel's High Court of Justice Wednesday began a review of
interrogation tactics by Israeli security services -- mainly
applied to Palestinians -- that have widely been condemned by
human rights groups.
The high court's review of tactics by Israel's Shin Bet security
service began a day after a scathing "Amnesty International"
statement said Israel is the only country in the world to allow
what amounts to "legalized torture" by its police. Israel does not
contest reports that Shin Bet agents have used tactics such as
violent shaking, sleep deprivation, confinement in tiny spaces, and
exposure to heat and cold in their interrogations of
mainly-Palestinian security suspects.
But it denies that the use of physical pressure on prisoners
is systemic, and says it is only applied in so-called "ticking
bomb" cases in which it is imperative to extract information to
avoid loss of life.
Israeli government spokesman Moshe Fogel insists the use of what
is termed "moderate pressure" in interviewing terror suspects does
not amount to torture: "Torture is illegal in Israel. There is no
excuse and there is no way that anyone can employ torture or
tactics which involve torture in interrogations, even with wanted
terrorists. What is allowed, in certain unique, extreme
circumstances -- what we call 'ticking bomb' situations -- is
moderate pressure. And even then, only in unique circumstances."
Three Israeli human rights groups have brought the issue of Shin Bet interrogations to the high court, which had previously said the Israeli Knesset should handle the matter.
Israeli human rights advocates are expected to make their case to
the high court in the next few weeks, but it is unclear when or if
the judges will make a ruling.
Report: Balfour Declaration Author Was a Jew
By IsraelWire
The British author of a key international document that paved the
way for the foundation of Israel covered up his own Jewish
ancestry, a historian says.
Leopold Amery, a British lawmaker who drafted the Balfour Declaration, changed his middle name from Moritz to Maurice in an apparent effort to hide the fact his mother was a Jew, Prof. William Rubinstein of the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, writes in the current issue of History Today magazine.
As assistant secretary to the war cabinet in 1917, Amery drafted a
letter for Lord Balfour, the foreign secretary, expressing
Britain's support for "the establishment in Palestine of a national
home for the Jewish people."
The Balfour Declaration was endorsed by the Allied powers and
included in the British mandate over Palestine, which was approved by
the League of Nations in 1922.
In his autobiography "My Political Life," published shortly before
his death in 1955, Amery said only that his mother had fled Hungary
after 1848. He said his father came from an old English family.
Rubinstein said Amery's mother was Elizabeth Johanna Saphir and was
of Jewish descent. "It is an extraordinary secret, possibly the
most remarkable example of concealment of identity in 20th-century
British political history," Rubinstein said.
One of Amery's sons, John, was a fascist who was hanged for treason
in London during World War 2. Another son, Julian, was a longtime
Conservative member of Parliament who died in 1996.
Rubinstein speculated that Amery may have covered up his Jewish
ancestry to avoid harassment at school, or to avoid being pressured by
Jewish interests as a member of Parliament.
11-Year-Old Hangs Self Over Difficulty Fitting Into Israel
By IsraelWire
An 11-year-old Beersheva boy was found hanged to death by his
6-year-old sister earlier this week in the family home. Police were
made aware of the fact that the child was having social problems
with certain children in his school and was despondent over the
family's difficult financial situation.
The family arrived in Israel about one-year ago, and have had
significant difficulty making a living since their arrival. Upon
notification of the death to his classmates, many burst out into
tears and they spent a good part of the day drawing pictures of him
and speaking of their friend. Tens of family members and school
officials were present at the funeral service.
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