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Newsletter : 0fax0131.txt
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>JN Jan. 31, 2000, Vol. 8, No. 18
Neo-Nazis Protest German Holocaust Memorial
By IsraelWire
Hundreds of neo-Nazis demonstrated Saturday at the site of Germany's planned memorial to Holocaust victims after a court cleared the way for the right-wing extremists to march, overruling a decision by police to ban the demonstration. A large police force was on hand to maintain order. The demonstrators carried signs calling to "Stop the memorial." Police moved in when they group began singing the SS song which is illegal in Germany as well as arresting two persons who reportedly were displaying outlawed symbols.
Chief Rabbis Remain Uncertain Regarding Papal Meeting
By IsraelWire
Israel Radio reported that Vatican officials have responded positively to a request by Israel and Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, acknowledging that Pope John Paul II has agreed to meet with the Chief Rabbis at the Western Wall.
Lau told Israel Radio, "This is an acknowledgement of the State of Israel's sovereignty, not only over the western portion of the capital but also the Old City. I do not personally require one's acknowledgement but there are one billion Catholics and many more persons of other faiths, who for them, a visit by the pope with Israel's chief rabbis, representatives in their eyes of the Jewish religion, particularly in Jerusalem, in the Old City, at the Western Wall, has significant symbolism."
Chief Sephardic Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi Doron however does not share in Lau's enthusiasm, explaining that the pope should meet at the office of the Chief Rabbinate in Jerusalem. In addition, Doron has barred Minster of Jerusalem Affairs Haim Ramon from participating at a Western Wall meeting with the pope.
It is likely that the pope would meet with the Chief Rabbis at the Western Wall following a visit to the Temple Mount as a guest of the Muslim Wakf Authority.
Barak Races Toward a Feb. 13 Deadline
By Susan Sappir (VOA-Jerusalem)
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak has stepped up negotiations with the Palestinians in a flurry of activity to meet a tight peacemaking schedule.
Barak went to Egypt to exchange views with President Hosni Mubarak on peace moves with both the Palestinians and Syria. During his brief absence, negotiators at home discussed outstanding conflicts between Israel and the Palestinians, while violence in south Lebanon signaled tension with Syria.
Barak said Israel would be ready to go to the negotiating table when the Syrians are. "We respect that they will need to take some time. And we hope that the obstacles - those that we understand and those that we cannot see - will be removed and that in due time negotiations will be resumed."
Shortly after his election last May, Barak promised to achieve peace with the Palestinians and Syrians within a year. But progress in both areas has been lagging in recent weeks.
Iranian-backed Hizbullah terrorists in Lebanon killed the second in command of an Israeli-backed militia that patrols the border area. After his meeting with the Egyptian leader, Barak said the perpetrators of the Lebanon attack would not go unpunished. Israeli civilians near the Lebanese border went to sleep in air shelters in anticipation of a night of cross-border shelling.
Israel's Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh accused Syria of abetting the attack on the South Lebanon Army's Akl Hashem to bring pressure on Israel after negotiations between them broke down earlier this month. Syria demanded an Israeli commitment to cede the Golan Heights it captured in 1967. Barak said in Cairo he would promise the Syrians nothing before the negotiations.
"The two partners who negotiate should negotiate without any preconditions. We respect the Syrians, their dignity, their needs. We expect them to [respect] ours and it is only the will on both sides that will make the breakthrough and will bring us to peace."
At the end of the first of 10-days of intensive talks with Israel towards a Feb. 13 deadline for an outline peace accord, a Palestinian negotiator said there had been little progress. Yasser Abed Rabbo said the parties' positions were too far apart to conclude an outline in the next two-weeks. The outstanding issues are the status of Jerusalem, Palestinian refugees, borders, and Israeli settlements.
Israeli and Palestinian officials flew to Moscow for the resumption of multi-lateral Middle-East peace talks Tuesday, after a three-year break. Presiding over the meeting will be Russia and the United States. It will be attended by representatives of several Middle East countries as well as countries that support the peace process, such as Japan and the European Union.
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