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Newsletter : 0fax0221.txt
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>Israel Faxx
>JN Feb. 21, 2000, Vol. 8, No. 32
Mongolian Tourists Discovered to be Foreign Laborers
By IsraelWire
A new Israeli phenomenon: workers in the Ben-Gurion International Airport were surprised lately by the number of tourists arriving from Mongolia, but an investigation made by the Ministry of the Interior made clear that the "tourists" are illegal foreign laborers, who enter without permits, and who have disappeared without a trace. Therefore, the Ministry of the Interior has issued new instructions to passport control to be very circumspect when Mongolian "tourists" present their papers for inspection.
U.S. Tries to Break Israeli-Palestinian Deadlock
By Jenny Badner (VOA-Jerusalem)
U.S. Envoy Dennis Ross is making another attempt to break the deadlock in peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. The diplomat is returning Monday to the Middle East.
Palestinian officials say they are waiting to see what Ross suggests, but so far no date has been set for the resumption of talks. A deadline had been set for Feb. 13 to reach a framework agreement on a permanent peace treaty between Israel and the Palestinians.
That date passed without a deal when negotiations broke off earlier this month after Palestinian Chairman Yasir Arafat refused to accept a map of the latest scheduled handover of West Bank land. Arafat had hoped the land would include Arab villages just outside of Jerusalem.
Israel is scheduled to transfer an additional 6.1 percent of the West Bank land it occupies to the Palestinians. Israel has occupied the territory since the 1967 Middle East War.
A spokesman for Prime Minister Ehud Barak says Israel is willing to consider minor changes to the maps, which brought the peace talks to a halt. Meanwhile, Israel sent a delegation (Sunday) to Cairo, apparently to try to ease the criticism Israel has received after bombing civilian infrastructure earlier this month in Lebanon.
A spokesperson for Barak told VOA that Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa met with Barak's security advisor, Danny Yatom and an official from Israel's foreign ministry for three-hours to clarify Israel's policy in Lebanon. The trip follows a surprise visit by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to Lebanon.
In the first visit of an Egyptian president to Lebanon in more than 50-years, Mubarak gave his support to Lebanon's opposition of the Israeli occupied zone in southern Lebanon.
Israel has occupied its self-styled security strip since 1985 to protect residents along its Northern border from Iranian-backed Hizbullah rocket attacks.
Israel's Foreign Minister David Levy called Mubarak's statements "worrisome." Egypt has been one of the loudest critics of the latest Israeli air raids on Lebanese civilian infrastructure. Israel says the bombing was in retaliation for the killing of seven Israeli soldiers in south Lebanon this year by Hizbullah militants. Barak has promised to withdraw from Lebanon by July, but prefers to do so with signed peace agreements with both Lebanon and Syria.
Israelis Argue Over Daylight Time
Israel Faxx Staff Report
In Israel, religious and secular Jews are at such odds that they even argue over the daylight. Orthodox Jewish lawmakers insisted last week that they will block plans by Interior Minister Natan Sharansky to extend daylight-saving time by several weeks.
Reversing a decision by his Orthodox predecessor, Sharansky, who is observant but not Orthodox, said that daylight-saving time will be extended by 37 days this year. The decision was immediately applauded by secular Israelis. However, observant Jews, who make up about 30 percent of Israel's Jewish population, say daylight-saving time discourages people from observing religious ritual, such as morning prayers which would have to be held an hour earlier than usual.
Israel Lottery to Pay Chaplin Heirs
Israel Faxx Staff Report
The Israeli Supreme Court has ruled that the nation's lottery must pay damages after violating the copyright of Charlie Chaplin's heirs in a series of television ads. The judges upheld a Tel Aviv District Court ruling that the use of scenes from the Chaplin movies Modern Times, The Kid and Gold Rush was a breach of copyright. The National Lottery had appealed the lower court ruling.
In submitting the suit last March, Chaplin's daughter, Josephine, said the National Lottery did not request permission to use her father's image. Had it done so, the request would have been refused because her father did not approve of gambling, Chaplin said. The Supreme Court ordered the National Lottery to pay $25,000 in legal costs incurred by the Chaplin family in contesting the appeal.
The advertising campaign began in 1991 and lasted four years, with an Israeli actor portraying the Little Tramp. The family is seeking $1 million in damages, but the District Court is still deliberating how much to award.
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