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Newsletter : 9fax0416.txt
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>JN April 16, 1999, Vol. 7, No. 73
Remembering the Yamit Evacuation
By IsraelWire
The Yamit Yeshiva located in the Gush Katif area of Gaza conducted special programs to mark Thursday's 17th anniversary of the government's ordered evacuation of the Jewish community of Yamit, the Sinai town which wasy given to Egypt in the Camp David accord. Approximately 5,000 residents of Yamit and other Sinai communities were forced to abandon their homes after Menachem Begin concluded a peace treaty with Egypt.
Deri Sentenced to Four Years
By Ross Dunn (VOA-Jerusalem)
In Israel, a key political ally of Prime Minister Binyamin
Netanyahu has been sentenced to four years in jail for
corruption. A Jerusalem court Thursday ordered Areyh Deri, leader
of Israel's Shas Jewish Ultra-Orthodox party, to spend four years
behind bars and to pay the equivalent of $62,000 in fines.
Deri is a key ally of Netanyahu, who courts Shas voters -- mainly
Sephardic jews from Middle Eastern and North African nations.
Under Israel
i law, the conviction will not prevent Deri from running for
parliament after his release. But it will bar him
from ever serving again as a cabinet minister.
The Jerusalem district court found Deri guilty of bribe-taking,
fraud and breach of trust while he was at the Interior Ministry in
the 1980s, first as director-general and then as interior minister.
The presiding judge quoted passages from the Bible when pronouncing
sentence, saying bribery had become part of Deri's way of life,
that he was guilty of breaching the integrity required of a public
servant and therefore deserved to go to jail.
It is unclear how Shas, the third largest party in the 120 seat
Israeli parliament, will fare in next month's elections following
the court's decision. Under Deri, the party gained a reputation for
using his party's 10 seats to make or break coalition governments.
Some analysts believe the court's ruling may spur Shas supporters
to turn out in even greater numbers at the polls, but others
believe that the decision over Deri could be detrimental.
Moroccan-born Deri paints himself as a victim of discrimination by
Ashkenazim -- the Jews of European descent who have held Israeli
government positions since the state was founded in 1948. Deri has
also vowed to fight his conviction and sentence with an appeal to
Israel's Supreme Court.
Survey: 70% Support Public Transportation on Sabbath
By IsraelWire
According to a survey last month among 540 citizens, 59% support
separation of religion and state, and 37% are against separation.
85% of respondents defined the relations between secular and
religious as "definitely not good" or "somewhat not good."
Fifty percent said that they would choose a religious marriage
ceremony, even if civil marriage was recognized by the state. 97%
of the religious citizens surveyed said that they would only marry
in a religious ceremony, compared with 71% of the traditional and
26% of the secular. When asked about funerals, 58% said they would
prefer a religious ceremony, even if the state would allow secular
burial ceremonies.
Seventy percent of those polled supported public transportation on
the Sabbath. Surprisingly, 20% of the religious and 60% of the
traditional were among the supporters. Among the supporters of
public transportation on the Sabbath 76% are from the high-income
bracket that does not use public transportation.
"Special Delivery" -- Baby Born in Post Office
By IsraelWire
An unusual "special delivery" was made in a Tel-Aviv post office Tuesday when a 24-year-old woman gave birth in the restroom to a baby girl. The woman arrived at the post office to mail a package abroad, and while waiting in line, felt contractions begin that were so strong that she could only lie on the floor and cry for help. Responding to the news of the birth, Postal Service officials have announced the newborn will receive free stamps for her entire life.
Woman Sues Husband for NIS 26 Million for Bigamy
By IsraelWire
A Haifa woman whose policeman husband married a second wife without
divorcing her, has petitioned the Haifa rabbinical court to order
her husband to pay her NIS 26 million, in accordance with her
ketubah, the marriage contract. The husband's lawyer responded, "We
are in rabbinical court, not the national lottery."
The Haifa man, in his 30s, recently married a second wife without
divorcing his first wife. He is suspected of bigamy, but criminal
charges have not yet been brought against him. The man explained
that his second marriage is because his first wife mistreated him
during the nine years since they married, and the second wife
treats him with warmth and love. The man and his first wife have
two children.
The husband's lawyer has asked that the first wife be declared as
a "rebellious wife" because life with her was unbearable and caused
the husband to marry a second woman. The first wife's lawyer claims
that the husband has no reason or right to ask for a divorce.
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