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Newsletter : 0fax0104.txt
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>JN Jan. 4, 2000, Vol. 8, No. 2
Arafat's Daughter Hospitalized with High Fever
By IsraelWire
Zahva Arafat, the 4-year-old daughter of PLO Authority Chairman Yasir Arafat was hospitalized with a high fever in a Cairo Hospital. The young Arafat complained of stomach pains and began vomiting on Friday and was taken to a Gaza hospital. When doctors began to suspect something more serious, the child's mother Suha Arafat, made the decision to have her flown to Cairo. She was taken in Yasir Arafat's plane. A French news agency reported that hospital officials in Cairo report the girl was released when her condition was attributed to a minor lymphatic infection, which had physicians concerned since many of the symptoms mimicked lymphatic cancer.
Israeli-Syrian Talks: Round 2
By Nick Simeone (VOA-Shepherdstowm, W. Va.)
Israel and Syria are beginning a second round of high-level peace talks in the United States. The negotiations include Syria's demand for a return of the Golan Heights in exchange for peace with the Jewish state. U.S. officials mediating the talks at a secluded site in West Virginia are not expecting any early breakthroughs.
President Clinton helicoptered to the site of the peace talks in Shepherdstown and began meeting separately with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Syria's Foreign Minister Farouq Al-Shara.
All of the issues dividing Israel and Syria are on the agenda for these talks, which opened last month at the White House and are the highest level contacts between both countries in more than 50 years of conflict. Talks between Israeli and Syrian officials have been held at a lower level but broke off in 1996.
Syria is demanding a return of the Golan Heights -- which Israel seized during the 1967 Arab/Israeli war -- in exchange for normal relations. Barak has said he is willing to withdraw troops from the Golan, but just how much territory Israel is willing to give back has a lot to do with its concerns over security and water rights.
No one is saying how long these talks will last, but Secretary of State Madeleine Albright will remain here in West Virginia for the duration. Officials are lowering expectations about an early agreement.
Syria Says It's Too Soon to Discuss Remains of Eli Cohen
By IsraelWire
Senior sources in Jerusalem are reporting that Syria over the past days has indicated it was too soon to discuss Syria's returning the remains of Israeli spy Eli Cohen, who was interred in Damascus after being hanged by the Syrian government. Sources in the government explained that the Cohen spy affair is still an "open wound" for the Syrian regime and it was too early in the talks to raise the issue.
Rabbi Yossef Blesses Induction of Hareidi Youth
By IsraelWire
According to Brig. Gen (res) Yehuda Duvdevani, the spiritual leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas Party has given his blessing for the induction of Hareidi (ultra-Orthodox) youth who are not studying in yeshivot into the Hareidi Nahal unit.
According to Duvdevani, who was present at a meeting along with rabbinical officials working with the Nahal unit, the rabbi told them he supported the induction of the youth who were not studying fulltime, explaining that the program was a viable alternative for those members of the Hareidi community living on the "periphery."
Duvdevani told the Shas spiritual leader that the Hareidi Nahal has maintained the standard set forth by the rabbis and the religious needs of the soldiers are being met.
Poll: Israelis Welcome Christian Pilgrims
By ICEJ News Service
In an attempt to calibrate the delicate intangibles of Christian-Jewish relations, a recent Gallup poll has found that Israeli Jews, while generally unfamiliar with Christians, are nonetheless positive about them visiting the Holy Land.
The nationwide survey of 479 adults, commissioned by Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein of the Chicago-based International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, also found that only one in 10 Israeli Jews have ever encountered a Christian missionary attempt - a number that runs counter to common perceptions of widespread missionary activity in Israel today.
While noting large disparities in attitudes between secular and ultra-Orthodox Jews, and younger and older generations, other key findings include: three out of four Israeli Jews cannot identify the date of Christmas, but are enthusiastic about U.S. Christians visiting the Holy Land.
Israelis welcome the planned March visit of the pope to their country by a ratio of 5 to 1. Two out of three Israelis don't have a single Christian friend and 62 percent are not even personally acquainted with one Christian.
More than nine out of 10 Israelis do not personally know a single Jew who has converted to Christianity and say they feel personally closer to assimilated American Jews than to active US Christian supporters of Israel.
In contrast to other Christian communities, many millions of evangelical Christians worldwide tend to be very supportive of the modern state of Israel and contribute 10s of millions of dollars annually to assist Jewish immigration and absorption in Israel. In most years, they also make up the largest percentage of Christian pilgrims to the land of Israel.
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