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Friday March 23, 2007

Shorts: Mideast

Hooters opening in Tel Aviv

Hooters, the popular U.S. restaurant chain known for its attractive waitresses’ low-cut T-shirts, is set to open its first branch in Israel this summer, the company said in a press release this week.

Hooters of America, announced that it has entered into an exclusive franchise agreement with Ilana and Ofer Ahiraz to open in the greater Tel Aviv area.

“A location has not yet been found but we hope to be open towards the end of the summer,” Ofer Ahiraz said.

Asked why he thought Hooters would succeed when other gimmicky food establishments, such as the Hard Rock Café and Planet Hollywood had failed to last in Israel, Ahiraz said: “Those places came as single restaurants, we will operate like a chain.” He said he expected to open other branches in Eilat, Haifa and maybe even Jerusalem.

“I don’t think there will be a backlash against the restaurant,” Ahiraz said. — jps

Israel’s Eurovision entry can sing in contest

The organizers of the Eurovision Song Contest will allow Israel’s controversial entry.

The European Broadcasting Union, which oversees the annual songfest, announced last week that all the participating nations’ entries had been approved. That meant an implicit green light for “Push the Button,” a song by Israeli band Teapacks that is widely assumed to allude to the Iranian nuclear program.

Teapacks has denied that the lyrics refer to a specific country. The dispute prompted the EBU earlier this month to threaten to disqualify “Push the Button” because political songs are not permitted in the songfest. The first round of this year’s Eurovision will take place May 10 in Helsinki. — jta

Most Israeli Arabs would stay, poll finds

More than two in three Israeli Arabs would be content living in the Jewish state if there were a neighboring Palestinian state, a poll found.

According to a Haifa University survey released this week, 67.5 percent of Israeli Arabs would approve of the country being a democratic Jewish nation-state on condition that it existed in the pre-1967 borders alongside a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

However, 76 percent of Arab respondents also described Zionism as racist. The findings appeared to suggest that a slew of anti-Zionist manifestos by Israeli Arab organizations do not have sweeping popular backing. But the rhetoric of Arab leaders appears to have made an impact among Jews.

The poll found that 68.4 of Israeli Jews fear their Arab counterparts will wage a campaign of civil disobedience to challenge the country’s constitutional framework. Fear of a Jewish backlash is felt among Arabs. Sixty-two percent of Israeli Arabs are concerned that their main towns in central Israel will be ceded to a future Palestinian state, while 60 percent believe they could be deported. The poll had 1,423 Jewish and Arab respondents. — jta

A quarter of Israeli Arabs are Holocaust deniers

More than one in four Israeli Arabs are Holocaust deniers, a survey found.

According to the Haifa University poll released over the weekend, 28 percent of Israeli Arabs say they do not believe the Nazi genocide took place. Israeli commentators said the findings reflected growing resentment of the Zionist establishment by Israeli Arabs, especially in light of the diplomatic deadlock on the Palestinian front.

According to the poll, the incidence of Holocaust denial is especially high — 33 percent — among Israeli Arabs of school age even though the syllabus of Arab schools in Israel include mandatory classes on 20th century European history, including World War II. The poll had 721 Israeli Arab respondents and a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points. — jta

Peres calls Olmert one of the best PMs

Shimon Peres said Ehud Olmert is one of Israel’s best prime ministers. Peres, currently the vice premier, came out over the weekend against detractors of the embattled prime minister.

“I think he has had a difficult period in office,” Peres told Israel Radio. “I think he is one of the best prime ministers that there has been. I think he has been making great and praise-worthy efforts.”

Olmert’s popularity has plummeted following last year’s inconclusive Lebanon war and a slew of high-level political scandals in Israel. But Peres urged the public to await the findings of a war inquiry and the justice system. “They have given him a bad name before matters have been made clear.” — jta

Livni reportedly will challenge Olmert

Israel’s foreign minister reportedly is preparing to challenge Ehud Olmert for top office.

Ma’ariv reported last week that Tzipi Livni, a senior member of the prime minister’s Kadima Party, has hired a political campaign adviser. Livni’s office had no immediate comment on the report.

Olmert, whose national approval ratings are at an all-time low, suffered a further blow last week when a commission of inquiry into last year’s Lebanon war said it would discuss his responsibility for military failings in an interim report expected next month. Israeli media have quoted Kadima sources saying that a succession frenzy already has gripped the ruling party.

Arab Cabinet member won’t sing ‘Hatikvah’

The only Arab member of Israel’s Cabinet said he refuses to sing the national anthem.

Galeb Majadle says that he feels alienated by the Zionist sentiment of “Hatikvah,” which includes a line about the “Jewish soul” yearning for Jerusalem. “The anthem was written for Zionist Jews,” Majadle told Israel Radio over the weekend.

“I am neither Zionist nor a Jew. I am a proud Arab and Muslim.” But he said that he does allow Israel’s flag to be hung on the wall of his office, albeit alongside a plaque with Koranic verses.

Majadle’s statement came amid mounting tensions between the Jewish majority and Arab minority in Israel over demands by representatives of the latter for the country’s Zionist framework to be abandoned. — jta

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