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Newsletter : 9fax0329.txt
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>Israel Faxx
>JN March 29, 1999, Vol. 7, No. 61
F-16 Crashes Near Ashkelon
By IsraelWire
The IDF reports an Air Force F-16 fighter jet crashed Sunday off
the coast of Ashkelon. The crew ejected to safety. The cause of the
crash is being reported at this time as "engine failure." The crew
ejected over the sea. Israel Air Force helicopter rescue teams were
immediately dispatched to rescue the crew. One crew member
sustained light injuries.
Travelers Concerned about Airport Strike
By IsraelWire
As the Histadrut National Labor Union continues with its nationwide
public section strike, thousands of travelers are trying to phone
airlines to inquire regarding flight takeoffs and landings.
For several hours Sunday, work sanctions were carried out in the
nation's only international airport, causing delays in takeoffs,
landings and the processing of luggage. Travelers interviewed on
Israel Radio expressed their concerns with their travel plans
coming days before the weeklong Passover holiday. Despite their
concerns, some of the persons interviewed expressed their support
for the strike.
One official of the Israel Airport Authority said the work
sanctions which closed Ben-Gurion International Airport were
"unjustified." The senior officials explained that the striking
airport employees have a work contract and they decided to walkout
in solidarity with striking labor union workers.
Many persons who were unaware of the impact of the strike made
their way to outpatient clinics and other medical facilities only
to be turned away at the door.
One senior doctor from northern Israel said a great deal of the
anguish caused by persons entering or leaving the country due to
airport delays is heard but we seem to have forgotten the sick who
are being affected by the strike.
The doctor pointed out that many persons who have been waiting
weeks for an appointment or treatment in a clinic, were sent home,
with many forced to endure an illness or pain until after the
Passover holiday. The senior physician also pointed out that many
persons who were hospitalized for elective surgeries are being sent
home.
Monday, the strike entered into day four (or five if one includes
Friday, an official strike hiatus day). The courts issued
back-to-work orders Sunday, but most sanitation workers were not
quick to return to work. Sanitation workers were ordered to
immediately begin clearing the mounds of garbage from sensitive
areas such as Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda marketplace.
Some residents could not wait for sanitation workers to resume work
and they set fire to trash receptacles and mountains of trash
during the day. Back-to-work orders were also issued to stevedores
with close to 50 ships being backed up in ports around the country.
It is estimated that some $200 million in goods are in warehouses
awaiting export.
Largest Seder in the World
By Lubavitch News Service
Following legions of "wandering Jews," Lubavitch emissaries have
been dispatched to the "rooftop of the world," a favorite
destination of Jewish trekkers -- particularly Israelis who have
finished their army service and are out to "see the world."
Lubavitch's annual "Seder On Top Of The World" for these young Jews
is the largest known seder in the world.
This year, four young rabbis were dispatched to make that trek and
arrived in the Himalayan kingdom outfitted with 450 pounds of
matza, lots of kosher fish, meat, wine and Haggadot, and energy
enough to galvanize an army of backpackers -- more than 1,000 young
Jews climbing the highest mountains in the world.
Dozens of enthusiastic seder-goers arrived in advance for voluntary
KP duty, peeling potatoes while trading favorite chicken-soup
recipes and discussing the Haggadah and its modern-day relevance
with the rabbis.
And throughout the high mountain passes, along the tortuous paths
of Nepal and Tibet, young Israeli, American, Australian and
European Jews are heard alerting each other to be back in time for
the Seder down below.
Pesach night, these Jews will stream into a huge army tent in front
of the Israeli Embassy lined end to end with long tables laden with
Haggadot, bottles of wine and Seder plates, and learn about
Passover like many of them have never learned before.
Of her seder in Nepal in years past, Irit Goren, 23, of Tel-Aviv,
who had come to the country to study Eastern religions, said,
"Pesach in Katmandu Lubavitch-style was a real eye-opener for me.
This [was] the first time Judaism had any meaning for me...I never
knew that Judaism was really so meaningful and spiritual."
Goren is one of some 25,000 Israelis who trek through the Himalayas
each year as a rite of passage following army service. "Many young
Jews travel to the Far East searching for meaning and spiritual
identity," said Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky of the Lubavitch World
Headquarters. "We hope that this positive Jewish experience and
observance will help them find their true spiritual heritage in
their own vineyard of Judaism."
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