Israel/West Bank peace concerts are canceled
A pair of peace concerts — one that was to be held this week in Tel Aviv, the other in the West Bank city of Jericho — has been canceled because of security concerns. Sponsored by the New York-based organization One Voice, the events were expected to draw up to a million Israelis and Palestinians.
One Voice founder Daniel Lubetzky called the situation a “sobering sincere setback,” and conceded that his organization’s plans had been “derailed by extremists’ agenda.” The decision to nix the Jericho concert came after terrorist groups threatened to “wipe out” the One Voice office in Ramallah, should the concert go on. “We plan to continue representing the voice of moderate Palestinian and Israeli citizens who desire an end to the conflict through a two-state solution,” Lubetzky said.
Israeli survivors get more money
Israeli government allowances for Holocaust survivors will rise to more than 10 times their current levels. Some survivors of ghettos and concentration camps will receive a monthly stipend of more than $250 by 2009, Israel Radio reported.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced an additional $371 million for needy senior citizens and Holocaust survivors at a news conference Monday, Oct. 15. The allocations will be based on age and need. Some of the money will also help survivors who escaped areas under Nazi rule and did not spend time in ghettos and concentration camps. Some 240,000 Holocaust survivors live in Israel. — jta
Yigal Amir asks to attend son’s brit
Yigal Amir, who assassinated former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995, filed a request with the Israeli Prison Service on Sunday, Oct. 14 demanding a vacation from his term ahead of the impending birth of his son.
The IPS said Amir’s request would be considered like any other request. But officials within the service said the request was not likely to be approved.
The Knesset adopted the “Yigal Amir law,” which prohibits the parole board from recommending that a prime minister’s murderer be pardoned or that his sentence be commuted. — ynetnews.com
Olmert signals openness on shared Jerusalem
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert raised questions about Israel’s control of Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem in a speech Monday, Oct. 15, the first time he has openly signaled readiness to share the city with the Palestinians.
On Monday, Olmert said Israel’s control of some Arab parts of Jerusalem might not be necessary. “Was it necessary to add the Shuafat refugee camp, Sawahra, Walajeh and other villages and define them as part of Jerusalem?” he asked, naming several of the city’s outlying Arab neighborhoods.
Until recently, talking openly of sharing Jerusalem was largely taboo in Israeli politics. Comments by Olmert and other top officials have indicated that this is changing, but the Israelis have still made clear that they oppose relinquishing control of areas housing sensitive holy sites and claimed by the Palestinians. — ap
Temple Mount digging contested
Israel’s decision to resume digging near the Temple Mount could spark riots, said the Israeli Cabinet’s only Arab member.
The archaeological excavations, which are required in order to construct a new pedestrian walkway to the holy site, were put on hold after a letter appealing the decision was filed with the Cabinet secretary by Science, Culture and Sport Minister Ghaleb Majadle, the Cabinet’s lone Arab member. Palestinians charged that Israel is using the work near the Mughrabi Gate to foil the November peace conference in Annapolis, Md. — jta
‘Progress’ in prisoner swap negotiations
Israel returned a prisoner and the bodies of two Hezbollah guerrillas Monday, Oct. 16 in exchange for the body of an Israeli who drowned at sea two years ago.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the exchange was part of a negotiation to obtain the release of Israeli soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, captured last summer near the Lebanese border, Israel Radio reported.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said on TV this week that the move represents “positive progress in the main negotiations over the two soldiers and the prisoners.”
Information on missing airman Ron Arad was reportedly part of the exchange. But Israeli officials would not confirm reports Tuesday by Lebanese television and the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar that notes written by Arad shortly after his capture were given to Israel when the exchange was made. — jta and ap
Israel due for major earthquake
Shmuel Marko of the Department of Environmental Sciences and Geophysics in Tel Aviv University and Oded Katz of the GII, have published a new study saying a major earthquake is heading Israel’s way.
Past data proves that such a quake is just a matter of time, they said. “We know that the area between the Kinneret and the Dead Sea was subject to several large quakes, in 31, 362 and 749 BCE and 1033. Another major one is coming soon.”
On Oct. 14, a 3.0 magnitude earthquake struck the Jordan Rift Valley area. The Geophysical Institute of Israel noted the seismic activity around 6 p.m. The Jordan Rift Valley is near the volatile Syrian-African Rift. — ynetnews.com
Egypt discovers smuggling tunnels
Egypt found new arms-smuggling tunnels linking it with the Gaza Strip. Three Palestinians found inside one of the smuggling tunnels connecting Rafah in Egypt with Rafah in Gaza were arrested when the tunnels were discovered Tuesday, Oct. 16. A tunnel uncovered Monday, Oct. 15 was found to contain a bomb, bullets and drugs. Egypt claims smuggling through the tunnels has decreased since Hamas took over Gaza, Reuters reported. — jta
CopyrightJ, the Jewish news weekly of Northern California