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Wednesday November 21, 2007

Shorts: Mideast

Winograd report to blame Olmert

The Winograd Committe’s final report will blame Ehud Olmert for the Second Lebanon War’s final 60 hours.

London’s Sunday Times reported that the report, to be published in the next few weeks, will focus on Olmert’s decision to continue fighting after the United Nations brokered a cease-fire with Hezbollah in August 2006. The report will say Olmert caused the 33 deaths that occurred in the final 60 hours of the war.

The London Times quoted one source as saying, “Olmert, aware that a cease-fire agreement was under way, ordered the army to carry out an impossible operation to wind up a failed war against Hezbollah with a big showdown.” — jta

Fatah faces another rival

Hundreds of Palestinian business people and professionals, led by influential billionaire Munib al Masri, launched a new political movement last week, reflecting growing disillusionment with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party.

Al Masri inaugurated his “Palestine Forum” with meetings in Ramallah and Gaza, linked by video conference. Supporters said he would convert the new group into a political party and field candidates in the next Palestinian election.

The U.S.-educated al Masri runs an investment company that controls the telecommunications sector and has holdings in agriculture, tourism and banks. — ap

Poll: prime minister should be punished

A majority of Israelis believe Ehud Olmert should be suspended or removed, a recent poll found.

Some 55 percent of more than 1,000 people polled said the Knesset should remove the prime minister from office because of three criminal investigations against him. A majority of 53 percent said the reason Olmert is pursuing peace with the Palestinians is to further his political career. — jta

Abuse suspects face deportation

An ultra-Orthodox man who fled the United States for Israel two decades ago to avoid sexual abuse charges was brought to court in Jerusalem last week, a step toward his possible extradition.

Abraham Mondrowitz, 60, a member of the Gur sect, was arrested in Jerusalem for allegedly abusing dozens of children at his unlicensed private clinic at his Brooklyn, New York, home during the 1980s. He fled to Israel in 1985 as police were investigating charges against him.

Earlier in the week, Stefan Colmer became the first American slated to be extradited from Israel on sex abuse charges. Colmer, who was indicted on charges he abused two Orthodox boys in Brooklyn, will be sent back to the United States following a Jerusalem court ruling Nov. 11. Colmer, 30, was arrested in June after he fled to Israel to avoid arrest. — ap/jta

Revered rabbi hurt in brit accident

A top Israeli rabbi was injured in a circumcision accident.

Rabbi Yosef Shalom Eliashiv, leader of the Lithuanian religious movement, served as godfather at a Jerusalem brit this month but suffered a deep cut to his hand, apparently when the mohel slipped.

The 97-year-old sage received stitches and was declared well, and the baby was unharmed. Participants at the brit agreed not to publish the mohel’s name for fear of harming his business. He was widely assumed to have been nervous because of the eminent Eliashiv’s presence. — jta

Baseball league in disarray

Dan Kurtzer stepped down as commissioner of Israel’s fledgling professional baseball league, topping a flurry of resignations amid questions over the league’s operation.

The former U.S. Ambassador to Israel announced last week that he was resigning along with several league advisory board members.

They commended the league’s founder, Larry Baras, for having the vision to bring pro baseball to Israel, but expressed dismay with the way the league’s finances and business operations were handled. — ap

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