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Newsletter : 9fax1018.txt
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>JN Oct. 18, 1999, Vol. 7, No. 192
Smoking Prohibited On All Flights To and From Israel
By IsraelWire
It is now official: there will no longer be smoking sections on any flights to and from Israel. The Ministry of Transportation has written a document that will soon be presented to the High Court of Justice for approval that states that smoking on flights to and from Israel is prohibited. Four air stewards and the Israel Cancer Society wrote the document in response to a petition to the High Court three years ago. The petitioners asked the High Court to prohibit smoking on flights, citing, among others, a report that air stewards serving on flights with smoking sections have a 180% higher chance of developing lung cancer than stewards on non-smoking flights.
Safe-Passage Road Opening Delayed
By Ross Dunn (VOA-Jerusalem)
A border dispute is holding up the opening of a long-awaited safe-passage route for Palestinians between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Failure to resolve the issue has sent Israel and the Palestinians back to the negotiating table.
Israel and the Palestinians delayed opening the safe-passage route as planned Sunday because of what they referred to as -- technical problems. It is the second time in two-weeks unresolved differences have delayed opening the road for Palestinians wishing to travel between the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The Palestinian areas are physically separated by Israeli territory.
Palestinian Civil Affairs Minister Jamil al-Tarifi says the latest hitch concerns the location of a joint liaison office for the issuing of permits to Palestinians. He says Israel is insisting the office be established outside Gaza, while the Palestinians want it inside their territory.
The 44-km road runs between the Erez Crossing checkpoint on the edge of the Gaza Strip and a junction near the town of Hebron in the West Bank. The safe-passage route is meant to make it easier for Palestinians to travel between the two territories to meet with families and friends. But when it opens, not all Palestinians will be able to use it.
A spokesman for the Israeli Defense Forces, Shlomo Dror, says 531 Palestinians have applied for permits to travel on the route, and 81 of these requests have been rejected on -- security grounds.
Israel maintains the right to screen all applicants. It fears that some Palestinians will use the road to enter the Jewish State and launch terrorist attacks.
Synagogue in Bnei Brak Targeted in Attack
By IsraelWire
Vandals pulled two mezuzot off the doorpost of the Ner L'Maor HaHaim Synagogue in Bnei Brak Thursday night, smashed several windows and painted swastikas and satanic emblems on the walls. Congregants who came for morning services on Friday discovered the attack had taken place. According to synagogue officials, the anti-Semitic graffiti was painted in English and Russian.
Police report that two other synagogues in the Pardes Katz section of Bnei Brak were similarly damaged in attacks the same night although the one detailed earlier in the article was the worst. Israel Radio reports that the Kiryat Herzog home of a local rabbi was also targeted.
Expelled Doomsday Christians Travel to Greece
By IsraelWire
A group of 25 doomsday Christians who were thrown out of Israel after trying to enter the country via the Port of Haifa have traveled to Greece. They arrived at the mainland Greek port of Piraeus Thursday and were allowed to enter the country.
The group was turned away by Israel port police last Monday following intelligence information that members of the group were planning to commit suicide in Jerusalem during the millennium. Group members insisted the intelligence reports were untrue and they only were seeking to visit Israel and spend time in the holy cities during the millennium.
The group, which included 18 Irish, six Romanians and a Colombian, began their journey to Israel from Piraeus Oct. 7.
Irish officials told the London Guardian newspaper they were concerned over the treatment of the pilgrims by Israeli authorities. "We have been assured by church leaders that this group is not an extreme cult...They are a charitable church organization," the newspaper quoted an Irish foreign affairs spokesman in Dublin as saying.
New Super Thin Israeli Battery
By IsraelWire
Officials of the Israel-based Power-Page Ltd have announced their new breakthrough in microelectronics; a battery no thicker than a business or credit card.
The two-year-old company said the 0.5 mm (0.02 inch) thick battery can be manufactured in any shape and size and is environmentally friendly. In addition, company officials explain its cost is less than 50 percent of any alternative battery.
According to Baruch Levanon, the CEO of Power-Page, "It is as thin as a business card and can be fitted to any product." Levanon explained the battery is most suited for smart cards and electronic games and medical equipment and has a 2-year shelf life.
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