 |
 |
|
|
||
Newsletter : 9fax0930.txt
Directory | Previous file | Next file
>PD
>Israel Faxx
>JN Sept. 30, 1999, Vol. 7, No. 181
Albright: Iran Won't Execute Jews
Arutz-7 News Service
Secretary of State Madeline Albright told American Jewish leaders that Iran is not planning to execute 13 Jews who were arrested on charges of espionage.
The report comes on the heels of a similar signal by Tehran last month, when a visiting Japanese foreign ministry delegation to Iran was told, "In time of peace, Iran does not apply capital punishment."
Sources said that Albright was continuing her campaign of "quiet diplomacy" to secure the release of the 13 Shirazi Jews, who were arrested and jailed last spring on charges of spying for Israel.
Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice-president of the Conference of Presidents, sounded a cautionary note, saying while Albright's comments were encouraging, they were "not a guarantee."
Iran views the situation as an internal matter, and views international efforts at securing their release as meddling in its domestic affairs.
Israel Calls for Resumption of Stalled Syrian Peace Talks
By Max Ruston (VOA-United Nations)
Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy is calling for an immediate resumption of stalled peace talks with Syria. But he says Israel will not accept any pre-conditions to such talks. Levy made the remarks Wednesday in an address to the United Nations General Assembly.
Levy told the U-N that the leaders of Israel and Syria must be able to address their children with a clear conscience and tell them that they tried everything to achieve peace. Peace talks, he said, speaking through an interpreter, are not a choice, but a necessity.
"I call upon the leaders of Syria: enough hesitation. It is time to talk. Meetings and discussions are not political sacrifices. They are basic necessities."
Levy's remarks come amid efforts by the United States to re-start talks between the two countries that were suspended three years ago. The talks broke down because of a deadlock over the terms for an Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights.
U-S officials have been trying to persuade Israel to leave the Golan Heights - a move that would likely bring Syria back into negotiations. Levy, in his address to the United Nations, did not rule out such a move, but said his country will not accept any pre- conditions for the resumption of talks.
While Levy spoke to the United Nations, Syria's foreign minister,
Farouk al-Shara, was in Washington holding talks on the same issue
with President Bill Clinton. The Syrian foreign minister spent
about an hour with the President and National Security Adviser
Sandy Berger.
A White House spokesman said the meeting was part of on-going efforts by the Administration to promote a resumption of Syrian-Israeli peace talks, which broke off in 1996 and have not resumed despite recent strides in the Israeli-Palestinian track of the peace process.
The spokesman said Clinton believes the current situation, following the change of government in Israel, offers an opportunity that cannot be missed for advancing regional peace, and that Clinton is prepared to do everything he can to be helpful.
Israel's Bedouin (Part Two)
By Susan Sappir (VOA-Lakiya, Israel)
Until recently, Bedouin women knew only one lifestyle. As girls, they stayed home with their mothers and helped tend the house and the flocks. When they themselves became mothers, their daughters did the same. But as the Bedouin community adjusts to the modern world, the role of its women is changing too.
Aziza, a mother of five, is finally doing something she never had an opportunity to do before. She is learning how to read. She is one of several middle-aged Bedouin women who meet in a cinderblock shanty in Israel's Negev desert and learn how to read and write from a teacher half their age.
This literacy class is part of a quiet revolution taking place in the Negev's huts, tents, and shacks. The Bedouin -- forced by circumstances to abandon many of their ancient traditions -- are learning new ways. The idea of educating their daughters as well as their sons is slowly taking root.
Until Israel was created in 1948, the Bedouins were hardly touched by the outside world. They lived in tents and the Negev offered ample grazing grounds for their sheep and camels. The Israeli government has closed most of the land to grazing and is pressing this nomadic people to settle in towns. The move has had devastating effects on the community.
Only 16 Bedouin women in Israel have earned university degrees so far, compared with more than 200 men. But change is under way. Sixty-two Bedouin women are enrolled in universities today.
Officials say the trend toward women's education is slow but irreversible. As the Bedouins' contact with the outside world increases, the community is making room for the growth and development of each member of the family.
| Home My Account Search Contact Us |
by Electronic World Communications, Inc.)
