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Newsletter : 0fax0110.txt
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>JN Jan. 10, 2000, Vol. 8, No. 6
18 Drug Dealers Arrested by Beersheva Police
By IsraelWire
A large raid led based on information provided by Beersheva narcotics undercover police led to the arrest of 18 large scale drug dealers and the shutting down of 22 drug drop-off centers in the southern Israel city. Police say the raid was the result of four months of undercover work and an intensive investigation.
The Internet is a No-No for Jews
By Susan Sappir (VOA-Jerusalem) and IsraelWire
Israel's leading orthodox rabbis have issued a ruling banning the use of the Internet, saying it introduces corruption into Jewish homes. Leading Israeli rabbis say they consider the Internet a threat to the very survival of the Jewish people. The rabbis say they are alarmed by the ease by which the new technology breaks down barriers and brings the outside world into the home.
The Council of Torah Sages affiliated with the ultra-Orthodox Degel HaTorah Party of the United Torah Judaism faction issued an edict in which the rabbis warn of using the Internet, CD players and going to movie theaters.
Most Israelis are secular and will therefore ignore the ruling. But thousands of orthodox Jews will be torn between their loyalty to the rabbis and their dependence on the computer and the Internet.
The rabbis' ban on the Internet is not total. They say those who depend on computer technology for their livelihood may continue to use it, provided they do so at the workplace, but not at home.
The Jerusalem-based Eida Hareidit Rabbinical Court has published its version of the Internet ban, not making provisions for those who earn a livelihood and explaining the "poisonous Internet" must be removed from Jewish life.
But the technology has brought a social revolution to Israeli life that will be hard to reverse. Thousands of orthodox women, who have an average of more than six children, have found in the computer a new way to work at home. In the process, their increased contact with the outside world has introduced new ideas that have slowly changed their way of thinking.
The rabbis' edict is a response to the power of the computer to
change society. The new ruling cites a rabbinical ban on
television 30-years ago, and calls the Internet -- 1,000 times more
dangerous.
Ironically, one of the applications of the newly-forbidden tool is
the enhancement of Jewish religious study. Dozens of websites are
devoted to Torah study and raising Jewish consciousness.
Barak Leaves Syrian Peace Summit for Israel:
Large Golan Rally Scheduled for Tonight
By Susan Sappir (VOA-Jerusalem)
Israeli cabinet ministers say negotiators in the United States are moving towards a peace agreement with Syria.
Israeli cabinet ministers, who were briefed by Prime Minister Ehud Barak, said the prime minister is pleased with the progress being made in peace negotiations with Syria. Barak is due to leave the Shepherdstown, West Va., town where the talks are taking place and return to Israel today.
Minister of Jerusalem Affairs Haim Ramon praised the American role in presenting negotiators with a "working document" delineating the points of agreement and differences between the sides. Ramon said this was the first time the parties' positions were spelled out in a realistic manner that enabled them to focus on issues under dispute. He pointed out, however, that there were more differences than agreements.
Syria's key demand is an Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights which it captured in the 1967 Mideast war. Israel has indicated it would relinquish the strategic plateau in return for peace and security measures, including an early warning system at the border and the establishment of a demilitarized zone.
Israeli opposition parties oppose the emerging deal, arguing Israel's control of the Golan is essential to its security. A withdrawal from the area would entail uprooting 17,000 Israelis who have settled there. The leader of the National Religious Party said on Sunday, "It would be a historic mistake to relinquish the Golan Heights and uproot the settlements."
Barak has promised to bring any peace deal with Syria to a national referendum for final approval. Although he has expressed his confidence the public would back such an agreement, opinion polls indicate it would be a close call.
Tens of thousands of persons from around the country are expected to take part tonight in a rally organized in opposition of Israeli land concessions on the Golan Heights. The demonstration will take place in Tel Aviv's Rabin Square. Participants explain they expect over 100,000 persons to attend and transportation is being made available from around the country.
Dayan Calls for Civil Weddings in Jericho
By IsraelWire
Labor Party Knesset member Yael Dayan (Moshe's daughter) is
proposing civil marriage ceremonies in the PLO Authority autonomous
city of Jericho for those couples wishing to bypass the Chief
Rabbinate. Dayan is also working to arrange for the ceremonies in
Ramallah, another PA autonomous city.
Dayan, who heads the committee for the advancement of women, explained that her committee must act since there are currently hundreds of thousands of women from the former Soviet Union who are unable to wed due to restrictions imposed by the Chief Rabbinate.
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