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Newsletter : 0fax0531.txt
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>Israel Faxx
>JN May 31, 2000, Vol. 8, No. 98
Editor's Note
Israel Faxx is taking a vacation. The next issue will be dated Monday, June 12, 2000.
Lebanese Evacuation Causes Economic Hardship
By Ross Dunn (VOA-Metulla)
Israel's northern frontier is suffering new economic problems, following the closure of the border with Lebanon. Many communities are being forced to look elsewhere for foreign labor because Lebanese workers are being denied entry to the Jewish State.
Israel's border with Lebanon was once considered the most open international crossing point in the Middle East. Lebanese workers traveled daily into Israel and returned to their homes each night. But this has all changed following Israel's recent withdrawal of its troops from southern Lebanon. In the wake of the troop pullback, the crossing points have been sealed and employment in Israel is no longer an option for Lebanese.
Rubin Weinberg, the owner of the Alaska Inn Hotel in Metulla along the Lebanese border, says this has also had other unexpected - and for his hotel - tragic consequences. Weinberg says that when the border was sealed he lost 19 of his 20 Lebanese workers.
But perhaps even more distressing, says Weinberg, is the fact that the other staff member, a Lebanese women, remains trapped on the Israeli side, cut off from her family.
"She can not get back. Now she has two children at home, her children need her very much because the children were born crippled, no hands and no legs. So the children are at home, with no one to take care of them and she is crying, and she is crying."
Weinberg says he is currently attempting to negotiate the woman's return to Lebanon through the International Red Cross. In the meantime, he has also begun hiring Asian workers to keep his hotel operating.
Orchards, restaurants, and factories have also been affected. But so, too, have the Lebanese workers. About 3,000 Lebanese worked in northern Israel. They earned up to three-times more than in their economically depressed home towns. Many want to continue their employment in Israel, but for the immediate future this seems highly unlikely.
The militant Islamic group, Hizbullah, which has taken over much of southern Lebanon, is showing no willingness to maintain economic ties with the Jewish State.
Barak Will Meet With Clinton
By Meredith Buel (VOA-Jerusalem)
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak will discuss the Middle East peace process with President Clinton this week in Europe. Clinton and Barak are scheduled to meet Thursday in Germany.
Barak's office released a statement saying the leaders are expected to discuss the Middle East peace process, the implications of Israel's rapid withdrawal from southern Lebanon, and ways to advance the Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.
Barak and Clinton had planned to meet earlier this month in Washington, but the prime minister called off the trip because of violence in the Palestinian territories and fighting in south Lebanon.
Meanwhile, the United States released $50 million in military aid to allow Israel to strengthen security along its tense border with Lebanon. UN cartographers are currently marking the border to verify that Israel's withdrawal last week from southern Lebanon is complete.
US Ambassador to Israel, Martin Indyk, toured the border area saying the new situation is leading Hizbullah guerrillas and Arab countries in the region to reassess their policies. Barak has said any attack on Israel after the withdrawal will be considered an - act of war.
Israel High Court: A Child May Have Two Mothers
By IsraelWire
In a landmark ruling Monday, the High Court of Justice announced that a child may have two mothers in the eyes of the law.
Ruth Brenner-Kadish gave both to Matan, her son, 4 years ago in the United States. Her partner, Nichole, legally adopted the youth in California. Since their arrival in Israel, the two have been trying to register Matan as their son.
In a 2-1 decision, the High Court ruled that a child may have only one biological mother but for legal purposes, both women may have the child registered as their son. The court ordered the state to register the child as the son of both females, a lesbian couple living together for the past six years, in accordance with their request. The Ministry of the Interior was also ordered to pay the two women NIS 10,000 to cover court expenses.
The two stated the court's verdict was even better than they had hoped for and they are most pleased as well as anxious to get to the ministry office and have Matan registered as their son.
National Religious Party MK Rabbi Haim Druckman was extremely critical of the landmark decision which he stated would result in the breakdown of the family. The party is considering legislation intended to bypass the court's ruling.
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