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Newsletter : 2fax0607.txt
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Israeli Forces Withdraw from Arafat's Compound
By Meredith Buel (VOA-Jerusalem)
Israeli military forces have withdrawn from Palestinian leader
Yasir Arafat's headquarters, after a brief raid that killed at
least one Palestinian and wounded six others. The incursion was a
response to a Palestinian suicide bomber who killed 17 Israelis
Wednesday.
Israeli tanks and troops stormed Arafat's headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Soldiers used explosives and armored bulldozers to destroy buildings in the compound, including the headquarters of the Palestinian intelligence services.
The Israeli army says Palestinian security personnel in the headquarters shot at approaching troops, who returned fire. A tank shell hit less than 6.5 feet from Arafat's bed, and in several rooms of his office windows were shot out, pictures were shattered and debris dangled from the ceiling.
After the soldiers pulled back to the outskirts of Ramallah, the Palestinian leader emerged from his office flashing a "V for victory" sign saying the Israeli raid will only increase the "steadfastness" of the Palestinian people.
"This aggression against the headquarters of the Palestinian people, what is the meaning of it? They are saying, or they try to say that they can defeat us," he said. "No one can defeat the Palestinian people who are defending the holy, sacred Christian and Muslim holy places."
In a statement the Israeli army says it raided Arafat's headquarters because it is the "center" of the Palestinian Authority, which the army says is "directly responsible" for terror attacks launched against Israelis.
"The target was the headquarters of the Palestinian Authority because we hold the Palestinian Authority responsible for the continuous terror attacks on our streets," said Gideon Meir, a spokesman for the Israeli foreign ministry. "We have to respond appropriately. I think that what we did was a minimum response to a vicious terror attack, continuous suicide bombers who are coming to explode themselves among innocent Israelis and the Israeli citizens expect from the government to protect them."
Foreign Ministry Calls on Israelis to Leave India
By Ellis Shuman
Due to escalating tension between India and Pakistan, Israel's Foreign Ministry issued a recommendation to Israelis to refrain from visiting India. Some 10,000 Israelis, mostly young backpackers, are currently in India, and have been called to report either to Israel's embassy in New Delhi or to the consulate in Bombay. "The foreign ministry advises Israeli citizens who are in India to cut short their stay," the ministry said in a statement.
Dozens of worried parents called the ministry's situation room asking for details. "It is only a recommendation; we don't want to cause panic," ministry official Orit Shani told Israel Radio. "In any case we are asking Israelis living in India to contact our embassy in New Delhi or our consulate in Bombay in case they need assistance."
India is a favorite destination of young Israelis after they complete their compulsory military service. Maariv reported that there are currently thousands of Israelis in northern India, near Kashmir and the Pakistani border. Many of the Israelis are waiting for the Himalayan snows to melt in order to continue their journeys north. The routes mainly traveled take the Israelis along India's border with China, and not near Pakistan, the paper said.
Holland Bans Shechitah - Jews Unconcerned
By IsraelNationalNews.com
The government of Holland has banned kosher slaughter, becoming the sixth European country to do so.
The Agriculture Ministry informed Jewish community leaders there that they would no longer be permitted to slaughter cows in a kosher manner [shechitah] because of its "cruelty" to the animals.
Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Rabbi Michael Melchior said he is not convinced that concern for the animals is the real motivation behind the new regulation: "They simply don't want foreigners and they don't want Jews. I won't say that this is the only motivation, but it's certainly no coincidence that one of the first things Nazi Germany forbade was kosher slaughter. I also know that during the original debate on this issue in Norway, where shechitah has been banned since 1930, one of the parliamentarians said straight out, 'if they don't like it, let them go live somewhere else.'"
Melchior also says the cruelty accusations against shechitah are simply untrue: "The Torah forbids cruelty to animals, and the shechitah process ensures that the animal loses consciousness immediately. We have been dealing with this issue for many years, and there are many scientific studies that back us up."
M.E., a religious Jew from Holland, does not appear worried: "The main concern is whether there is kosher meat in the store or not... Of course the principle of the matter worries me. But I have heard on the inside that it was not done as a matter of policy, but rather just a few individuals who were able to convince the government to make this decision..."
Melchior plans to organize a Foreign Ministry campaign to respond to the European lies being disseminated about the so-called cruelty involved in shechitah. He will also have to respond to such accusations in Israel.
Knesset member Avraham Poraz of the anti-religious Shinui party has congratulated Holland on its decision, saying that shechitah is cruel. Melchior replied, "It is certainly infuriating to see a respected Knesset member play into the hands of Jewish enemies and thus cause harm to the Jewish community in Europe. The lie that ritual slaughter is cruel simply shows a hatred for Jewish life."
