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Newsletter : 9fax0115.txt
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>PD
>Israel Faxx
>JN Jan. 15, 1999, Vol. 7, No. 10
Wallenberg Inquiry to Conclude in 1999
Israel Faxx Staff Report
A joint Swedish-Russian historical commission into the fate of
Raoul Wallenberg will delay releasing hits conclusions until 1999.
The governments of Sweden and the Russian Federation agreed last
year to undertake the thorough probe of the disappearance and
death of the Swedish diplomat, long the subject of considerable
uncertainty.
Anne Frank Anti-Bigotry Declaration Signed at U.N.
By Larry Freund (VOA-New York)
In New York Thursday, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan
became the first world leader to sign a document calling for a
world free from bigotry in the next century.
The international declaration signed by the secretary-general bears
the name of Anne Frank who died in a Nazi concentration camp in
1945. In the years before her death -- hidden in an Amsterdam attic
room -- the Jewish teenager had written a diary. After World War 2,
the diary was discovered by her father and published as a testament
to her spirit and her enduring words: "In spite of everything, I
still believe that people are really good at heart."
Before signing the declaration, Annan, who is related by marriage
to the Swedish family of Raoul Wallenberg, who saved thousands of
Jews during the war, recalled Anne Frank as an icon of hope. "If
Anne Frank, in her living hell, could summon the power to imagine
a better world, a peaceful world, a future free of suffering and
persecution, then surely we can summon the will to make that day
come to pass."
The Anne Frank declaration is sponsored by the Anne Frank
Educational Trust, established in London to keep alive the aim of
Anne Frank's father that her diary be used to counter bigotry.
The declaration pledges world leaders to remember the millions of
children killed this century in wars and conflict...and to inspire
people to work together toward a better world, free of bigotry, in
the next millennium.
Arafat Receives Ultimatum to Release Hamas Prisoners
By David Gollust (VOA-Jerusalem)
Palestinian legislators have given Yasir Arafat's Palestinian
Authority two weeks to free 450 political prisoners being held
without trial or charges against them. Most are members of the
militant Islamic movement "Hamas."
In an action welcomed by human rights activists, the Palestinian
Legislative Council, the PLC, has given Arafat's administration
two-weeks to release the political detainees or face a
no-confidence vote.
The move -- which came at a stormy meeting of the PLC Wednesday
in Ramallah -- is a rare act of defiance of Arafat by the
legislators, and reflects growing apprehension in the West Bank
and Gaza over the conduct of his security apparatus.
Some of the prisoners have been held for as long as two-years
without trial or charges. And, in some cases, detainees have
remained in jail despite release orders from the Palestinian high
court.
Most of the detainees belong to the militant Islamic group
"Hamas" or other radical factions opposed to Arafat and his
1993 Oslo peace agreement with Israel.
The director of the Palestinian Society for the Protection of
Human Rights, Khader Shkirat, told VOA the arbitrary detentions
are, in part, a result of Israeli and US pressure on Arafat,
following the Wye River agreement, to curb Hamas.
Shkirat said if the Palestinian Authority has evidence, linking
those under detention to terrorist attacks or other illegal acts,
it should charge and try them -- but if not, they should go free.
He said of the 1,100 prisoners in Palestinian jails, 700 in all
have not been charged or tried for any offense.
The PLC approved a measure calling for the prohibition of political
detention and the immediate release of those held only for
political reasons. It set up a special committee to monitor
the Arafat administration's compliance, and threatened a
no-confidence move to dismiss the cabinet if there is no action
within two weeks.
Arafat aides have promised that some detainees will be released by
the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan early next week.
New Euro Called 'Arrow' in Hebrew
By IsraelWire
After much debate, Israel's chief lexicographers have emerged with
a ruling: Europe's new currency, as it is officially spelled in
Hebrew, is pronounced "arrow."
The academy is responsible for developing Hebrew, Israel's official
language. Dead for more than 1,000 years, the language was revived
at the turn of the century by a Jewish lexicographer who settled in
Palestine in the 1880s and coined hundreds of Hebrew words for
modern life, often going back to the biblical roots.
In keeping with its efforts to create new words in Hebrew rather
than borrow foreign imports, the academy unanimously agreed that
the pronunciation of the currency should match the pronunciation of
"Europe" in Hebrew: "Aeropa."
The academy called on Israeli journalists to start using the new
pronunciation and spelling. And the Bank of Israel said it would
change the currency's registration.
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