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Newsletter : 9fax0413.txt
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>PD
>Israel Faxx
>JN April 13, Vol. 7, No. 70
Expensive Ambulance Ride
By IsraelWire
According to the Beersheva "Seva" newspaper, Israel's Magen David
Adom Emergency Medical Service charges NIS 2,724 to transport a
patient from Beersheva to a Jerusalem hospital. The fee, which
amounts to more than a roundtrip ticket from Tel-Aviv to New
York City, is the official fee, which was confirmed by officials in
the Ministry of Health. (The amount is also about one-month's wages
for a person being paid minimum wage).
Kosovar Muslims Arrive in Israel
By Deborah Tate (Ben Gurion Airport)
About 100 ethnic Albanian refugees from Kosovo arrived in Israel
Monday in what was seen by many as a highly symbolic ceremony. The
Kosovar Albanian men, women and children, wearing white T-shirts
and caps bearing the Star of David, disembarked the Israeli
passenger plane after the flight from Skopje, Macedonia. They were
met by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
Some cried softly as they spoke of family members they left behind.
Others, like this man who identified himself as Haslan, expressed
appreciation to Israel for coming to the refugees' aid. He spoke
through a translator. "In these tragic days, Israel helped us to
come here. From the camps in Macedonia, everything was organized so
well."
None of the Kosovar Albanians saw any irony in the fact that the
Jewish state was welcoming Muslim refugees, and Israeli officials
--like Minister of Transport Shaul Yaholom, also played it down.
"It is nonsense when people say 100 Muslims is a problem for
Israel."
The arrival ceremony, coming on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance
Day in Israel, was marked by much symbolism. Netanyahu noted that
among the refugees was a woman whose parents saved many Jews in
Albania during the Holocaust. He said Israel is closing the
historical circle by giving refuge to those who protected the Jews.
The prime minister suggested the refugees' stay in Israel is
open-ended. "We are giving this group six months to decide if they
want to stay or leave. If they want to stay they are perfectly
welcome."
While welcoming the offer, Albanian Ambassador to Israel, Dashnor
Dervishi, said if the refugees stay, they would be giving in to
Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's campaign of ethnic
cleansing. He spoke through a translator: "We know their stay in
Israel will be a temporary one, then of course they must turn back
to their homeland. If they remain in a different country, this is
the policy of Milosevic for ethnic cleansing of Kosovo."
The refugees will be housed at a kibbutz near Haifa -- the same
Kibbutz took care of 84 Bosnian Muslim refugees six years ago.
Thirty of those people remain in Israel.
Mubarak, Obuchi Say Arafat Should Delay Statehood
By Chris Simkins (VOA-Hong Kong)
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak says Palestinian leader Yasir
Arafat should postpone his plans to declare Palestinian statehood
next month. His comments were made after a meeting with Japanese
Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi in Tokyo.
In a joint statement, Mubarak and Obuchi urged Arafat to postpone
a declaration of Palestinian statehood until after the Israeli
elections May 17. Both leaders said they would do what they could
to restart Middle East peace talks between Israel and the
Palestinians. Last week, Obuchi asked Arafat to postpone his plans
to declare an independent Palestinian state.
Despite pressure from the international community, Arafat has
repeatedly said he would unilaterally declare statehood May 4. That
is the date when an interim period of autonomy under the 1993 Oslo
Accords expires. But Netanyahu has threatened to annex parts of
the West Bank and Gaza Strip if the Palestinians make the move.
"March of the Living" Flight
By IsraelWire
El Al Israel Airlines will fly 2,000 youth from Israel and North
America to Poland. The participants will be part of the
annual "March of the Living," marking Holocaust Remembrance Day,
Tuesday, in Israel.
The flights are scheduled for Tuesday, (April 20th), at which time eight jumbo jets will carry this year's participants of the program from the United States, Canada and Israel to Poland, where they will visit the Auschwitz Death Camp, where 12,000 Jews were methodically killed every day. A total of 4,000 teenagers will be participating in this year's program.
The participants of the program will then fly from Poland to
Israel, where they will take part in Memorial and Independence Day
celebrations and observances.
Holocaust Memorial Day Begins in Israel
By IsraelWire
At 8:00 p.m. Monday, at a ceremony at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem, Holocaust Memorial Day services began in the presence of President Ezer Weizman, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and other public officials. On Tuesday morning, a siren will sound at 10, bringing the country to a halt for a moment of memory and reflection on the 6 Million Jews killed in the Holocaust.
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