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Newsletter : 9fax0517.txt
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>Israel Faxx
>JN May 17, 1999, Vol. 7, No. 92,
440 lbs of Lox and 88 lbs of Red Caviar
By IsraelWire
Whoever complains of a slump in the Israeli economy was not present
at the opening of the David Intercontinental Hotel in Tel-Aviv.
Anyone present would be impressed with the 440 lbs of smoked
salmon, 88 lbs of red caviar, and 880 lbs of filet of beef that was
served. Eighty chefs from six continents prepared the food that was
devoured by 3,500 guests. A bonfire in the middle of the pool
facing the sea, lit up tens of barbecues. There were fireworks on
video screens, folk-dancers, violin ensembles and Ladino singers.
Netanyahu vs. Barak
By David Gollust (VOA-Jerusalem)
Israelis go to the polls Monday to choose a new prime minister and
parliament in an election crucial to the future of the Middle East
peace process. The prime minister's race is down to just two
candidates.
The election-eve withdrawals of Centrist candidate Yitzhak
Mordechai and right wing contender Benny Begin reduced the
once-crowded prime minister's race to a one-on-one contest pitting
incumbent Binyamin Netanyahu against Labor party leader Ehud Barak.
Barak held a solid lead in the opinion polls and stood to gain
further from the Mordechai withdrawal, and also that of Israeli
Arab candidate Azmi Bishara who quit the race Saturday night.
At a final rally near Tel Aviv, Barak -- a former army chief and
political moderate -- pledged a better future for Israelis and an
end to the divisive politics of the Netanyahu era.
"We now have a real chance of unifying the people. We have a real
chance of switching from divisiveness and dissension to unity and
hope for the future."
Netanyahu, however, insisted he would defy the polls and win. He
framed the election as a battle between his hardline camp and a
left winger who would make easy concessions in negotiations with
Syria and the Palestinians. He said voters now realize this and
are returning to his party's fold.
"We're seeing the return to our ranks of many, many voters who
understand that they want the country to be led by a leadership
that takes care of Israel interests and doesn't cave in to
Palestinian and Syrian interests."
Netanyahu halted implementation of the US brokered Wye River
agreement late last year. Whatever government is formed after the
elections will face diplomatic pressure to move on a final-status
accord with the Palestinians.
Before the next Israeli leader can deal with the peace process he
will have to confront the task of building a working coalition in
the next Knesset, which is certain to be more fragmented with minor
parties than ever before.
Political analysts here do not rule out the prospect that Barak and
Netanyahu -- whomever wins -- might have the losing candidate in
his Cabinet as part of a national unity government of Labor and
Likud.
Yasir Arafat's Palestinian Cabinet -- in its last meeting before
the elections -- urged the Israeli people to choose peace. While
not mentioning Netanyahu by name, the Cabinet says the current
Israeli government has chosen a path of settlement-building rather
than peace.
It says every delay and freeze by Israel in implementing agreements
is destroying chances for a peace. However, it says opportunities
presented by the Oslo and Wye River accords are still there and
must not be missed.
Hier Opposes Sainthood for Pope Pius XII
By Alisha Ryu (VOA-Los Angeles)
Comments by a prominent American rabbi on the pending sainthood of
Pope Pius XII are drawing severe criticisms from Catholic leaders
in the United States. The rabbi's remarks are revealing sharp
differences within the Jewish community about how best to approach
interfaith disagreements.
Rabbi Marvin Hier denounced the Vatican's decision to move toward
making Pius a saint. Hier said the pope -- whose papacy overlapped
World War 2 -- "Sat on the throne of St. Peter in stony silence,
without ever lifting a finger, as each day thousands of Jews from
all over Europe were sent to the gas chambers, with his full
knowledge."
Hier's charges -- by far the strongest criticism of Vatican by a
Jewish leader in recent months -- drew an immediate angry response
from the associate director of the US Catholic church's
Secretariat on Interfaith Relations, Eugene Fisher.
"Rabbi Hier obviously does not seem to understand how the
heightened rhetoric he uses so naturally is heard by Catholics. It
is heard not simply as a historical statement but as a real attack
on the institution of the papacy which we consider really a sacred
institution."
But Hier -- who heads the influential Jewish and Holocaust
research institution Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles --
says he will not apologize for his views. So far, the Vatican has
not responded to Hier's statement.
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