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Newsletter : 0fax0308.txt
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>JN March 8, 2000, Vol. 8, No. 44
Elderly Men Want Fertility Treatments
By IsraelWire
More and more men in their 60s and 70s are undergoing fertility treatments in order to father children. Dr. Yigal Major, head of the male fertility clinic and sperm bank of the Sheba Medical Center in Tel HaShomer, stated that in recent years there is a worldwide increase in the number of men seeking fertility treatments in order to have children. Major said that he had operated on a 72-year-old man who wanted to be a father again.
Arafat Threatens Israelis with Statehood
By Meredith Buel (VOA-Jerusalem)
Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat says he will declare an independent state this year whether or not he reaches a permanent peace agreement with Israel. In a fiery speech to the Palestinian Parliament in the West Bank town of Ramallah, Arafat said in Arabic that there is no turning back on his decision to declare an independent state this year.
"I am saying that our decision to have a Palestinian state is a final decision. There is no way to turn back on this decision according to the agreements signed between us and the Israelis. From here, in front of you, I declare the year 2000 is the year of the independent Palestinian state. From this podium, I am calling on the Israeli side to stop the maneuvering and playing games with the talks. This is the moment of truth in the negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians."
Arafat says he remains committed to peace negotiations and accused Israel of procrastinating. He called on the government of Israel to stop dictating terms of the negotiations and wasting time. Talks between Israel and the Palestinians are currently stalled over the latest transfer of 6.1 percent of the West Bank.
Israel is refusing to meet a Palestinian demand to include territory near Jerusalem in the handover. Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat says the Israelis should take action to implement interim peace agreements both sides have already signed.
"All it takes is a decision from the government of Mr. Barak to precisely and accurately implement the outstanding commitments of the interim agreement. It is not about gestures, it is not about goodwill, it is about compliance with the signed agreements."
Minister Accused of Sexual Attack
By IsraelWire
Minister of Transportation Yitzhak Mordehai, in a live televised television appearance on Tuesday evening, announced that he would be taking a leave from his office to permit a police investigation with a minimal of political involvement.
The minister denied the allegations being leveled against him by a 23-year-old female employee of the ministry, who has charged him with making sexual advances over the past months, including allegedly touching her in intimate areas of her body. The alleged victim told police that on one occasion, the minister forced her to the ground and began attempting to remove her clothing but stopped after she burst into tears. The results of a polygraph indicated that the alleged victim was telling the truth.
Mordehai said, "I am a man of faith and believe in the creator. I will tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth," promising to cooperate in the fullest with the ongoing police investigation against him.
Magen David Adom Removes Jewish Star from Papal Ambulance
By Arutz-7
The Magen David Adom, Israel's equivalent of the Red Cross, has removed its symbol, a Jewish star, from the ambulance that will accompany the pope on his visit to Israel - apparently by mistake.
Journalist David Bedein reports that the MDA received a phone call, purportedly from the Vatican, demanding the removal of the symbol, "so that the 'symbol of Christianity' should not have to rely on the 'symbol of Judaism.'
Ma'ariv and other news agencies reported the removal of the Jewish star, as well as the "fact" that the Vatican plans to send along two priests who have the same blood type as the pope, to ensure that, in case of emergency, "he should not have to avail himself of the Israeli blood bank."
Contrary to what has been reported by various official Catholic and Jewish press agencies, the itinerary for Friday and Saturday of the pope's visit to Israel later this month has not yet been finalized. Israel's Chief Rabbis and other officials have strongly urged the Pope to change two details of his visit, so as to reduce to a minimum Sabbath desecration by Jews.
They have asked that the pope's Friday afternoon meeting with Prime Minister Ehud Barak in Nazareth be moved up by 15 minutes, to 3:45 p.m., in order to enable Barak to return home before the onset of the Sabbath. More significantly, they have proposed that the pope sleep overnight in Nazareth, instead of flying to Jerusalem Friday night and returning to Nazareth the next morning.
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