 |
 |
|
|
||
Newsletter : 0fax0228.txt
Directory | Previous file | Next file
>PD
>Israel Faxx
>JN Feb. 28, 2000, Vol. 8, No. 37
Pope's Jubilee Pilgrimage Has Web Site
Israel Faxx Staff Report
The Israeli Government Press Office has opened the official web site for the jubilee pilgrimage of Pope John Paul II to Israel. <http://www.papalvisit.gov.il>. The website will contain information regarding the pilgrimage, messages of welcome, press releases, schedules and press arrangements and registration forms for journalists covering the visit.
Barak Denies U.S. Story Concerning Secret Syrian Deal
By IsraelWire
Prime Minister Ehud Barak has issued a statement denying the accuracy of a report appearing in the New York Post, indicating the U.S. has negotiated a secret deal between Israel and Syria. According to the Post report, the prime minister and Syrian President Hafez al-Assad have already agreed verbally to the deal and must still affix their signatures. The deal would provide Syria with the entire Golan Heights as well Kinneret rights and a $15 billion in economic aid from the U.S.
Premier Pelted by Palestinians
By Susan Sappir (VOA-Jerusalem)
French Premier Lionel Jospin returns home to Paris after being pelted with stones by Palestinian students, only to be rebuked by his president.
Comments by Jospin condemning Lebanese guerrilla attacks on Israeli troops in South Lebanon caused unrest in the West Bank but perhaps even greater furor at home. The French premier was pelted with stones and slightly injured by Palestinian students at Bir Zeit University who were angry after Jospin called Hizbullah guerrillas terrorists, and expressed understanding for Israeli counter-attacks in Lebanon.
An embarrassed Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat later apologized to the French premier, who cut his visit short and headed home.
But even greater criticism awaited Jospin at the hands of his political rival President Jacques Chirac, and an outraged French public. Chirac phoned Jospin upon his return to France Saturday, and reminded him of France's "balanced" foreign policy in the Middle East, a presidential spokeswoman said.
Commentators noted Jospin's apparent departure from his country's traditional pro-Arab policy could be seen as a preamble to the 2002 presidential elections in which the conservative Chirac and the socialist Jospin are expected to face off.
Arab countries strongly condemned Jospin's comments and accused the French leader of giving legitimacy to Israeli aggression in Lebanon. However an Israeli diplomat said the Palestinian attack on Jospin could cause the French public to re-examine its support of the Arab side in the conflict.
Observers noted Jospin's remarks could weaken France's position as a player in the Middle East peace process. France becomes chair of the European Union in the second half of this year.
Israeli troops have been occupying a south Lebanon border strip since 1982. Barak has decided to pull out of Lebanon by July of this year.
Husseini Calls for Arab Boycott of Burger King
By IsraelWire
Seeking to pressure the international Burger King chain into shutting the doors of its Maale Adumim store, Faisal Husseini, who holds the PLO Authority Jerusalem portfolio, called upon the international Arab community to boycott Burger King unless it shuts the Maale Adumim store.
Husseini stated that the burger conglomerate failed to keep its promise to close the store, which he said was located in the "West Bank."
A spokesman for the Israeli franchise stated that the city of Maale Adumim was located inside Israel and not in disputed territory as stated by Husseini. A spokesperson for Burger King in its corporate headquarters in Miami stated it still wants the Maale Adumim branch shut down.
Pope Visits Mount Sinai
By Lisa Bryant (VOA-Sinai)
Pope John Paul II completed a three-day visit to Egypt with a trip to St. Catherine's monastery at the foot of Mount Sinai, the place where Moses is said to have received the Ten Commandments. At the monastery, the pope met with Greek Orthodox monks and spoke again about uniting the different Christian faiths.
The trip to the Sinai was the spiritual highlight of the pope's visit to Egypt -- the first ever by a leader of the Roman Catholic Church. Pope John Paul has long wanted to visit the traditional site of the burning bush, where God spoke to Moses, and to retrace the prophet's journey to the summit of nearby Mount Sinai.
On Saturday he did, flying over the craggy mountain before touching down at an airport near St. Catherine's monastery. The pope toured the monastery with its head, Archbishop Demianos.
At the chapel of the burning bush, the Vatican spokesman said, the pope fell to his knees and said simply, quote, "I am who I am." According to the Bible, these were the words with which God revealed himself to Moses.
| Home My Account Search Contact Us |
by Electronic World Communications, Inc.)
