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Newsletter : 9fax0209.txt
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>Israel Faxx
>JN Feb. 9, 1999, Vol. 7, No. 227
Naharayim Victims Name Newborn "Jordan"
By IsraelWire
The daughter born Saturday to Ruhama and Shimon Cohen will be known as "Jordan." Karen Cohen, a high school daughter of the couple, was killed March 13, 1997, when a Jordanian soldier opened fire at the Jewish schoolgirls visiting NaHarayim, AKA "The Island of Peace." Seven girls died in the attack. King Hussein flew to Israel to visit the grieving families, making a condolence call to the parents to personally apologize for the killing of the seven girls.
World Leaders Attend King Hussein's Funeral
By Deborah Tate (VOA-Amman)
President Clinton has expressed steadfast support for Jordan's new
King Abdullah, after attending funeral services in Amman for his
father, King Hussein. Clinton met with king Abdullah to underscore
unwavering US support for the new government.
In a speech to Embassy personnel at the end of his day-long visit
to Amman, the president expressed his full confidence in the new
king, as he sought to ease the concerns of some Jordanians that
the 18-year-old eldest son of the late monarch is politically
inexperienced.
"He clearly understands his mission. He said in the most moving
way, 'I and all of my brothers and sisters have absorbed my
father's teachings. We know what we are supposed to do, and I
intend to do it.' And he said it in a way that exuded the quiet,
humble, confidence that I saw so often in his father."
Clinton is pledging $300 million in new aid to Jordan, in addition
to the $225 million already approved by Congress this year.
Earlier, the president attended funeral services for King Hussein
at Raghavan Palace, accompanied by three of his predecessors --
George Bush, Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford. The four men joined
other dignitaries as they filed past the king's flag-draped coffin,
stopping to bow their heads in silence.
In his speech to Embassy personnel, Clinton paid tribute to King
Hussein's key role in Middle East peace-making, and his ability to
bring people together, even in death -- a reference to the fact
that Syrians and Israelis were both present to pay their respects
to the late monarch.
Clinton took the opportunity to comment on the make-up of the
Israeli delegation, and suggested half-jokingly that King Hussein's
influence was again at work. "I looked at the Israeli delegation
today, [and] I could hardly believe my eyes. All the candidates
for prime minister were there [laughter]. They were all walking
together. I don't know if they talk at home, but they were all
talking here. I thought, it was as if Hussein was hugging them
all, you know?"
Clinton met briefly with a number of other world leaders after the
funeral service -- including Syrian President Hafez al-Assad and
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu -- urging them to support
the new government in Amman.
Terrorist Meets with President Weizman
By David Gollust (VOA-Jerusalem)
King Hussein's funeral, which attracted leaders around the world,
was a venue for at least one unprecedented diplomatic encounter --
involving Israel's president and a radical Palestinian leader.
Officials say President Ezer Weizman had a handshake and brief
conversation with Nayef Hawatmeh, a radical Palestinian leader
whose group carried out terror attacks against Israelis in past
years and which opposes the Oslo peace process.
Hawatmeh, head of the Damascus-based Democratic Front for the
Liberation of Palestine, was said to have approached Weizman with
an outstretched hand as they waited for the funeral to begin
outside the royal palace in Amman.
Weizman is a former Israeli air force chief who has changed from a
hardliner on the peace process into a relative dove over the years
and has been frustrated over the slowdown of peace efforts in
recent months.
Weizman, whose post is largely ceremonial, told Hawatmeh that he
hoped Syria and Lebanon -- which are still officially at war with
Israel -- will eventually join in peace talks.
The Democratic Front is one of several radical factions that objects to Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat's peace deal with Israel. But it has softened its position on dealing with Israel in recent years and says it supports a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict.
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