DiCaprio spurs fracas at the wall
The appearance of Leonardo DiCaprio at the Western Wall this week caused a disturbance.
Police tried to limit access to the Wall Plaza late Monday, March 12, when the Hollywood actor, on an Israel tour, paid his respects along with his Israeli girlfriend, the model Bar Refaeli.
Paparazzi surged forward and were rebuffed violently by DiCaprio’s bodyguards. Two of the guards were arrested for assault, police said. Earlier Monday, DiCaprio and Refaeli made an after-hours visit to Yad Vashem. The actor’s arrival in Israel sparked a media frenzy that has been stoked by the glitzy couple’s camera shyness. — jta
Ambassador fired; found drunk, bound
Israel fired its ambassador to El Salvador after police there reportedly found him outside drunk, bound and wearing only bondage paraphernalia a few weeks ago.
Tsuriel Raphaeli had been expected back in Israel due to family issues, political sources said. The Foreign Ministry had no immediate word on who will replace him. — jta
Arab woman anchors Hebrew news channel
An Arab woman is a new Hebrew-language anchor for an Israeli news channel.
Lucy Aharish, an Israeli Arab graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem who trained as a broadcaster in Germany, was hired recently by Channel 10 television as a news anchor.
Aharish, 25, told Ma’ariv that although she has experienced racism in Israel, she believes Arabs can overcome such challenges and succeed. Aharish barely survived an attack on her family car when she visited Gaza as a child. — jta
Poll sees Olmert election loss
Ehud Olmert would be crushed by his rivals if Israeli elections were held now, a television poll found.
Results of the Channel 10 survey broadcast last week showed that the Israeli prime minister would take only 3 percent of votes if early elections were called. Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the opposition leader, would win 30 percent.
Behind Netanyahu in popularity were likely Labor Party candidates Ami Ayalon and Ehud Barak, who scored 18 percent and 12 percent, respectively. Avigdor Lieberman, the strategic affairs minister from the right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party, was seen picking up 7 percent. The only potential rival found to be less popular than Olmert was Defense Minister Amir Peretz, who is widely perceived in Israel as having mishandled last year’s Lebanon war. Peretz, the Labor leader, was seen with 1 percent of votes. — jta
Muslims outbreeding Jewish majority
Israel’s Muslim minority has a far greater birth rate than the Jewish majority, a government study found.
According to Industry and Trade Ministry data released ahead of International Women’s Day, Jewish women in Israel on average have 2.69 children each and give birth to the first at age 30. By contrast, Muslim women on average have four children each and give birth to the first at age 27.
Arabs, the vast majority of them Muslims, constitute approximately 20 percent of the Jewish state’s population. According to the Industry and Trade Ministry, Israel’s dwindling Christian Arab community lags behind the Jews in terms of birth rate. The typical Israeli Christian woman has her first child at age 28 and an average total of 2.15 children. — jta
Killer bacterium threatens country
Israel is trying to contain a potential health epidemic emanating from a virulent bacterium.
The Health Ministry announced last week that the bacterium was suspected of causing the death of dozens of ailing Israelis in recent months, and that emergency measures had been ordered to contain it.
The main concern is that the bacterium might be resistant to available antibiotics. The crisis prompted calls for additional funding to deal with overcrowding and supply shortages in Israel’s hospitals. — jta
Rabin assassin’s wife reportedly pregnant
Larissa Trimbobler, wife of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s killer, Yigal Amir, is pregnant, a relative of Trimbobler told Army Radio.
Trimbobler has not responded to the reports. In October, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) permitted Amir conjugal visits for a period of six months. — jps
Katsav spared impeachment
An Israeli parliamentary panel voted against impeaching President Moshe Katsav. Only seven of 25 lawmakers on the Knesset House Committee backed the impeachment motion, far short of the 75 percent vote required for approval.
Katsav suspended himself after Israeli prosecutors drafted a rape indictment against him — charges he denies. In doing so, he preserved his presidential immunity from prosecution, which impeachment would remove. But Katsav, whose term in office ends in July, has vowed to resign if he is formally indicted. — jta
Russia’s envoy to Israel seeks more cooperative efforts
Russia’s new ambassador to Israel said he would aim to promote high-tech cooperation and increase Russian tourism to Israel. Igor Stegniy made these comments at a March 7 meeting with Berel Lazar, one of Russia’s two chief rabbis, at a Moscow Jewish community center.
Lazar called on Israel to develop a stronger partnership with Russia, whose leverage in the Arab world could benefit the Jewish state. “Israel should be taking the assistance that Russia may give in promoting a dialogue in the Middle East into account,” he said. — jta
CopyrightJ, the Jewish news weekly of Northern California