 |
 |
|
|
||
Newsletter : 0fax0518.txt
Directory | Previous file | Next file
>PD
>Israel Faxx
>JN May 18, 2000, Vol. 8, No. 90
Iranian Jews Won't Face Death Sentence
By IsraelWire
A French lawyer monitoring the trial of 13 Iranian Jews being charged with espionage, reports that none of the defendants will face the death penalty. According to the attorney, officials in the Iranian closed court assured him that none of the 13 faces a death sentence.
Jewish Spy Trial Winds Down
By Lisa Bryant (VOA-Cairo)
The last of 10 key Jewish defendants in a spy trial in southern Iran appeared in court Wednesday. So far, eight of the 13 Jews on trial have admitted to charges of spying for Israel.
Defense lawyer Esmail Nasseri said Javid Bent-Yacoub has admitted to collecting photographs of Iranian military and industrial facilities for Israel. But, his lawyer said, Bent-Yacoub said he was unaware that doing so amounted to espionage.
Nasseri also said his client had denied charges that he was a member of a spy ring, or had carried out propaganda against the Iranian government. Instead, Bent-Yacoub reportedly said he had shared the material with a group that met only for religious worship.
But Iran's official news agency said Bent-Yacoub had admitted to spying, in an interview Wednesday afternoon. It said the man told the news agency he had begun spying for Israel in 1981, and that he had met with Israeli intelligence agents on one or two occasions. The agency also reported Bent-Yacoub said religious sentiment drove him to send information to Israel through an espionage network.
The conflicting reports about Bent-Yacoub's confessions mirror the larger confusion surrounding the spy trial, which began last month in the southern Iranian city of Shiraz. At least eight of the 10 Jews who have appeared in court so far have pleaded guilty. One has pleaded innocent. Three other Jewish suspects, along with nine Muslims have not yet appeared in court.
International Jewish and human rights groups, along with foreign governments, have expressed concern about the closed-door proceedings. Defense lawyers argue that apart from the guilty pleas, the court has no evidence to support charges that the Iranian Jews spied for Israel. For its part, the Israeli government says the charges are unfounded.
International groups also fear those found guilty could be sentenced to death. But court officials say none of the defendants so far has been charged with a crime that could carry the death penalty.
U.S. Deports Rabbi
By IsraelWire
In a surprising move, the United States has deported to Israel Rabbi Shlomo Halbernes, who in 1994 was found guilty of kidnapping the child Shai Pima.
The High Court of New York State in Brooklyn had then sentenced Halbernes to five years in prison. After two years in prison, Halbernes was released into the supervision of a parole office.
Halbernes, who was born Erez Halbernes, is a penitent Jew who had a group of followers in Jerusalem. Prior to the Gulf War, he and his followers left Israel for the US, where they became affiliated with the Satmar Hassidic sect.
In 1992, Chana Pima brought Halbernes her son, Shai, to be prepared for his bar mitzvah. Halbernes convinced the mother to leave her son "for a few days." Four days later, the mother was astonished to find her son in Hassidic dress, answering to the name Yishai instead of Shai. When she demanded the return of her son, he disappeared.
In 1994 a special federal investigator investigated the case, leading to a trial. During the trial it became known that the boy had been taken to Europe under an assumed name on a forged passport. The FBI found him in France.
Hate Music on the Rise
By Michael Leland (VOA-Chicago)
U.S. human rights organizations say music is increasingly being used by white supremacists to spread the language of hate. The number of so-called "white power" bands has increased from a handful in the 1980s to more than 100 today. They provide what some call the soundtrack to the white revolution.
The British band "Skrewdriver" is considered to be one of the most influential bands of the white power movement. Its popularity has spawned the birth of groups in the United States, with names like "Plunder and Pillage," "Bound for Glory," and " Blue-Eyed Devils."
Eric Ward of the Seattle-based organization, Northwest Coalition for Human Dignity, says the music is becoming more accepted among young people in the United States. He says many young people are attracted to the rebellious message of white power music but not all adopt white supremacist beliefs.
White power music producer George Birdi calls the music a far better way to spread his message than leaving pamphlets on car windshields.
"If you hear the slogan 'White people awake, save our great race,' twice per chorus, eight times in total through an entire song. If they play that tape only five times a week, listening to that one song, they are listening to 'White people awake, save our great race,' 40 times in that one week. That means 160 times in one month."
| Home My Account Search Contact Us |
by Electronic World Communications, Inc.)
