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Newsletter : 0fax0502.txt
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>JN May 2, 2000, Vol. 8, No. 70
Holocaust Martyrs and Heroes' Remembrance Day Starts
Israel Faxx Staff Report
Prime Minister Ehud Barak and President Ezer Weizman marked the start of Holocaust Martyrs and Heroes' Remembrance Day Monday evening at the Warsaw Ghetto Square at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum, Many Holocaust survivors will mark the day around the country with official state and private memorial ceremonies.
Spy Trial of 13 Jews Under Way in Iran
By Lisa Bryant (VOA-Cairo)
One of 13 Iranian Jews on trial for espionage has told Iran's state-run television that he did spy for Israel. Defendant Hamid Tefilin (also known as Dani) told the interviewer he was trained for espionage during a visit to Israel in 1994 and that he had betrayed his nation. State-run television broadcast the interview after the accused testified in court on the second day of the closed door trial. Tefilin later recanted that "confession." A lawyer for the defendants had previously denied such allegations.
A spokesman for the Shiraz revolutionary court told news agencies that the main defendant in the spying trial had confessed to delivering sensitive information to the Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency. The spokesman said the defendant asked the court for clemency. He said Tefilin's case is, as he put it, finished.
The spokesman added that two other defendants had admitted to certain facts linked to charges against them. The judge in the case, Sadeq Nourani, was expected to question a fourth defendant. Nourani is acting as investigator and prosecutor - as well as judge - in the trial. But lawyers for the Iranian Jews have denied the spying charges. The lead defense attorney, Esmail Nasseri, told the New York Times that any statements made under questioning did not amount to proof. Beyond possible statements, he said, no concrete evidence exists of actual espionage. Nasseri also said he had been able to see his clients only once.
One of the defendants told reporters (Monday) that the spying charges against him were unfounded. He added that all those accused have been well treated. The defendants' families, members of Iran's Jewish community, Western diplomats and foreign journalists milled outside the courthouse in Shiraz, 550 miles south of the capital, Tehran. Two of the defendants, Navid Balazadeh and Omid Tefilin, who have been out on bail since February, also stood outside as they waited to be called in.
According to an Associated Press report, Balazadeh stated, "The charges of espionage against me are completely false. We have been treated well, and I trust the judge to be fair."
Haroun Yashayaii, head of Iran's Jewish Society, said the foreign media "have magnified the trial," noting that the suspects weren't arrested because of religion and no actions were taken against their relatives.
The trial of the Iranian Jews has raised alarm with foreign governments and international Jewish and human-rights groups expressing concern. Critics want international observers to attend the trial, a request Iran has denied.
The trial has also traumatized Iran's roughly 30,000 Jews. The Jewish community is one of the oldest and largest in the Middle East. Those arrested include merchants, teachers, civil servants, and an 11-year-old boy. Their supporters say it is impossible they could have had access to classified information.
Iran's President, Mohammed Khatami, has promised a fair trial for the Jews. Shortly before the Passover celebrations, Shiraz trial judge Nourani reportedly visited 10 of the defendants to wish them a happy holiday.
Peace Talks Continue in Eilat
By Meredith Buel (VOA-Jerusalem)
Israeli and Palestinian negotiators met for a second day of talks at a resort on the Red Sea in an effort to agree on the framework of a final peace treaty. Israeli and Palestinian negotiators are focusing on trying to meet a deadline later this month on the framework of a permanent peace treaty, as well as the next redeployment of Israeli soldiers from the West Bank.
The meeting is being held in the Israeli Red Sea resort town of Eilat, and has been overshadowed by Palestinian anger about an Israeli plan to expand a large Jewish settlement in the West Bank.
The Palestinians are protesting plans to build nearly 175 new housing units in Maale Adumim - a settlement near Jerusalem. The Palestinians hope to establish a state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. They see the building of settlements in the area as a dangerous obstacle to peace.
The borders of a possible Palestinian state are one of the major issues to be negotiated. Israeli Cabinet Minister, Haim Ramon, says, unofficially, a Palestinian state already exists.
"To be frank, de facto, a Palestinian state exists and that happened during the time of the previous government. Now what we are negotiating mostly - what will be the limitation over a Palestinian state as an outcome of a negotiation? A limitation, for example, on the right of such a state to sign military treaties with other countries or, what is very important for us, what will be the security limitations of such a state."
Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat says he will declare a state later this year with or without a peace treaty.
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