January 1994, Page 22

Issues in the News

Compiled by Greg Noakes 

From the Israeli and U.S. Jewish Press:

Leftist Israelis Support Settlements:

A group of prominent Israeli leftist writers and scholars have issued a statement urging Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin to preserve Jewish settlements in the occupied territories, regardless of a final peace settlement. According to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, the statement's signatories include Amos Oz, Yirmiyahu Yovel and A. B. Yehoshua. While the group supports the recent Israeli-Palestinian peace accord, the signatories said the government must protect the security and prosperity of the settlements. ''Good neighborly relations between Israelis and Palestinians will help reach a permanent settlement,'' the document said.

Iraq Interested in Israel Ties:

The Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot reports that the Iraqi government, which swore to destroy Israel during the Gulf war, is now interested in opening official contacts with Tel Aviv. A senior Israeli official told the paper that Iraqi officials recently met with an Israeli representative in a European capital, and said Baghdad wanted Israeli help to improve its shattered relations with the United States. The paper noted that Washington is opposed to any official contacts between Israel and Baghdad, and Tourism Minister Uzi Baram told Israeli state radio, " Nothing would surprise me, but if there are contacts they should take place with U.S. backing.''

Intel Invests in Israel:

Intel Electronics Ltd., the Israeli subsidiary of the California-based Intel Corporation, is seeking approval from the Israeli Government Investment Center for a new plant in Jerusalem, according to the Jerusalem Post. The plant will require an investment of $700 million to $1 .5 billion, with construction set to begin at the end of 1994. The computer company's design center in Haifa is also expected to double in size in the near future.

Israel Collects on Apache Promise:

The United States delivered a gift of 24 AH-64 Apache assault helicopters to Israel the same day Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Yasser Arafat shook hands on the White House lawn, but Pentagon officials deny any connection between the two events. According to Ma'ariv, the Apaches were promised by former President George Bush shortly before the November 1992 presidential elections, and had been scheduled for delivery before the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30, 1993. The gift gives the Israeli air force two squadrons of Apaches, considered among the most advanced assault helicopters in the world.

Jordanian Prince Addresses UJA:

Jordanian Crown Prince Hassan bin Talal addressed some I, 100 United Jewish Appeal Women's Division delegates during their recent "Lion of Judah" conference in Washington, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reports. Prince Hassan, who was warmly received by the audience, stated, "The Middle East will never be the same. The clock cannot be turned back. Failure in the upcoming negotiations will aid political extremism in the area. It is vital to maintain momentum.'' He also stressed the need for human resource development in the region and called for "coordination between Jordan, Israel and the United States on issues dealing with day-to-day life. " Hassan's appearance marked the first address by an Arab leader to a UJA gathering.

Peace Baby Boom:

The Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot reports that some 150 Jewish babies were given the name "Shalom" (peace) in the month following the Sept. 13 Israeli-Palestinian autonomy agreement. The newspaper also said dozens of Palestinian newborns have been named ''Salaam'' during the same period, though it gave no exact figures.

Sarid Reassures Greenpeace:

Israeli Environment Minister Yossi Sarid has assured the Greenpeace environmental organization that the country will reduce its production of methyl bromide, a chemical pesticide, by 1995. According to the Detroit Jewish News, Greenpeace has identified methyl bromide as a threat to the ozone layer and expressed concern over Israel's methyl bromide production facility near the Dead Sea. The United States, which is the world's major producer of the chemical, has agreed to halt production by the year 2000. In a meeting with Greenpeace leaders aboard the group's Rainbow Warrior flagship in Haifa harbor, Sarid said he doubted Israel was a major cause of the ozone layer's destruction, but added, "We are as concerned for the world as anyone else. When the world decides to stop using methyl bromide, Israel won't be the last. "

Eitan Election Announcement Bad News for Netanyahu:

Rafael Eitan, former chief of staff of the Israel Defense Force and leader of the right-wing Tsomet Party, announced that he will run in Israel's first-ever direct elections for the post of prime minister. Previous Israeli governments have been elected through a system of proportional party strength, with the head of the largest party in the Knesset generally serving as prime minister, but widespread dissatisfaction with the system led to its replacement with direct balloting. New elections, which must be held by 1996, could produce a prime minister of one party and a Knesset majority for another group. "Raful" Eitan's entry into the race presents a challenge for fellow right-winger and Likud leader Binyamin Netanyahu, considered the right's frontrunner in the race for prime minister. According to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Eitan's announcement reflects widespread dissatisfaction among the Israeli right with Netanyahu's performance following the diplomatic breakthrough between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Desert Leopard Shot to Death:

Three Israeli soldiers shot and killed one of the five remaining leopards in the Judean desert, saying it was about to pounce on them. According to Israel's Nature Reserves Authority, however, the animals are harmless and unlikely to attack man. Environment Minister Yossi Sarid expressed "revulsion" over the incident, according to the National Jewish Post & Opinion, and urged that the soldiers be investigated and prosecuted. Only one of the four remaining desert leopards is female.

Ambassador Urges Slowdown on Arab-American Contacts:

Israeli Ambassador to the U. S. Itamar Rabinovich asked the members of the National Jewish Community Relations Advisory Council (NJCRAC) to slow down their contacts with Arab-American organizations, expressing concern that Jewish groups were entering into joint projects while asking too little in return from their new partners. The Queens (NY) Jewish Week reports that other Israeli officials have raised similar concerns with a number of American Jewish leaders.

AJC Group Traveling to Tunisia:

The first American Jewish tour group to visit Tunisia will travel to the North African country at the end of December, according to the Detroit Jewish News. The tour, organized by the American Jewish Congress and led by Dr. Jane Gerber of the City University of New York's Institute for Sephardic Studies, focuses on "Jewish Antiquity in the Mediterranean. " The tour members will visit the Ghariba Synagogue on the island of Djerba, site of an annual pilgrimage by Sephardic Jews with roots in Tunisia, and meet in Tunis with members of the country's 2,000-member Jewish community.

Technion Team in Mexico:

A team of technicians from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa has brought plumbing and electricity to a small village outside of Mexico City. The Jewish Telegraphic Agency says the village of San Antonio de Agua Benduta uses the wind, sun and local water resources to power its new services, installed by the Mexican Electric Company working under Israeli supervision. The project was first proposed by Max Shein, a Mexican Jewish industrialist and honorary president of the Mexican Technion Society.

McDonald's Opens in Ramat Gan:

The Middle East's first McDonald's franchise opened in Ramat Gan, Israel, with U. S. Ambassador William Brown in attendance, the National Jewish Post & Opinion reports. The $2 million restaurant seats 450 and is the first of five franchises planned for Israel. Because the outlet sells cheeseburgers and is open on the Sabbath, it does not have a kosher certification, though the hamburger chain is planning to open other franchises which will meet kashrut requirements. Israel will soon host Burger King and Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants, while McDonald's is set to open franchises in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt.

Jewish Leader Appointed to Moroccan Cabinet:

Serge Berdugo, who as president of the Jewish Communities Council is head of Morocco's 8,000-member Jewish community, is also the country's new minister of tourism. Berdugo is known to be close to King Hassan II, and becomes Morocco's first Jewish cabinet member in over 35 years. "My role is to make this country–the most beautiful country in the world–a country whose culture, landscape, traditions and very high-caliber people raise tourism to a privileged state, " Berdugo told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. He also said his appointment "sends a very strong signal that Morocco will always remain an open, tolerant country for all religions. " Rabat has recently been encouraging Moroccan Jews who emigrated to Israel to return for visits, while Berdugo himself has been active in encouraging Jewish tourism from Europe and North America.

From the Middle East Press:

Yemeni Crisis Critical:

The ongoing political crisis in Yemen is deepening as Vice President Ali Salim AlBeidh refuses to participate in government activities, bringing the country's political life to a virtual halt. Al-Beidh, who served as the leader of South Yemen before it was unified with the North in 1989, has charged the unified government in San'a with ignoring the needs and aspirations of southern Yemenis and has called for a series of reforms including greater decentralization of power. Al-Beidh and Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was North Yemen's president before unification, previously governed in an uneasy power sharing arrangement, but the vice president's Yemeni Socialist Party fared badly in this year's parliamentary elections and was replaced by the Islamist/tribal Al-lslah party as the country's second largest political force, helping to precipitate the current schism. In addition, a wave of political assassinations directed against YSP leaders recently claimed the vice president's nephew as a victim. AlBeidh has taken refuge in the former South Yemeni capital of Aden, telling the Yemeni daily SawtAI Ummal, "I am not able to take up my responsibilities in the current situation, which has prevented me from achieving anything since the first day of unity. I don't want to be inaugurated once more to lie to the people. "

Arafat Calls for Confederation:

Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Yasser Arafat cabled Jordanian King Hussein on the monarch's birthday, saying, "Our goal . . . is to reach a confederation with Jordan according to the free choice of our two brotherly peoples, " according to the Palestinian WAFA news agency. Arafat added, however, that such a confederation is only possible after Palestinians "regain their national rights and set up their independent national state. " Arafat's remarks may help alleviate Israeli fears, though Hussein has been cautious about PLO proposals for confederation in the past.

GCC Presses for Open Borders:

Senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman met in Abu Dhabi in preparation for late December's Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit meeting, the Arab News reports. High on the officials' list of priorities was the free movement of GCC nationals between the member countries. At present, GCC nationals do not need visas in advance to travel from one council member-state to another, but still must carry their passports. GCC officials are proposing a council-wide agreement similar to the pact reached a year ago between the UAE and Oman, whose nationals are allowed to cross one another's border with only an identity card. There were no plans to extend the "open borders" to non-GCC nationals resident in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf

Curfew Cut in Khartoum:

Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir ended a four-year-old curfew in Khartoum, imposed after the June 1989 coup that brought him to power, telling parliament that the Sudanese capital is now one of the world's safest cities. According to the country's SUNA news agency, Bashir also told the parliament that he was hopeful about ongoing efforts by East African leaders to broker a peace agreement between the Sudanese government and the various wings of the rebel Sudanese People's Liberation Army (SPLA), which is fighting for greater autonomy for the southern part of the country.

Skippers Say Iran's Mines More Serious Than Subs:

Western experts and naval officers say Iran's growing stockpile of marine mines poses a greater threat to Gulf shipping than the country's new Kilo-class submarines. Iranians are purchasing "as many mines and types as they can get," including seabed, sound and floating mines from Russia, North Korea, the former Yugoslavia and Italy, according to one analyst quoted in the Saudi Gazette. "With those kinds of mines, " noted Captain Philippe D'Autume of the French navy, "they could block the Strait of Hormuz, " which connects the Gulf with the Sea of Oman. Some 60 percent of the world's annual oil production is exported through the Straits of Hormuz.

Morocco Launches Family Planning Program:

Morocco is launching a family planning campaign designed to slow population growth in a country where 90 babies are born every hour and the population of 26 million will nearly double in the next three decades, the Trmisia News reports. Health Minister Abderrahim Harouchi told a family planning seminar in Rabat that at least six percent of the country's gross domestic product must be invested simply to absorb the present annual population growth of 800,000. "This will require the construction every year until 2007 of 8,500 classrooms, 9 hospitals, 150,000 housing units and the creation of 280,000 jobs, " Harouchi said. Islamic Affairs Minister Alaoui M'Daghri announced that Muslim scholars would campaign throughout Morocco to inform the populace that Islam permits family planning and birth control, prohibiting only sterilization and abortion under most circumstances. Morocco first began family planning campaigns in 1964, but current official statistics show that only 41.5 percent of married women use some form of birth control, while the average number of children per family is five.

Religious Parties Permitted in Bangladesh:

The government of Prime Minister Khaleda Zia ruled out any ban on religion-based parties in Bangladesh, saying there is no fundamentalism in the country. The statements came amid reports that the opposition Awami League is preparing a bill to ban militant religious parties. A senior minister and close adviser to the prime minister told the Saudi Gazette the Awami League's bill was being drafted at the behest of "its foreign master, " referring to India. The Awami League said the bill would ban communal parties and Islamist groups like the Jamaat-e-Islami party.

Palestinian Teachers May Regain Jobs in Kuwait:

Kuwait's Arab Times reports that 400 Palestinians holding Egyptian, Syrian and Lebanese travel documents may regain the teaching positions they lost following the Gulf war. The Palestinians, who have stayed in the emirate, applied to the Ministry of Education for reinstatement and confirmed that they had remained loyal to Kuwait during the Iraqi occupation and had extended "the necessary help" to Kuwaitis during that period. Ahmad Al-Houli, chairman of the Kuwait Teachers' Society, said, "Kuwait will not ignore those who supported its cause. "

Pakistan Halts Bustard Hunting, Falcon Export:

An absolute ban on hunting of the Houbara bustard will come into effect next February in Pakistan, according to the Saudi Gazette. Bustard hunting has long been outlawed, but special permits have regularly been granted to ruling families in the Gulf. "This will be the last season for the visitors from brotherly Muslim countries, " a Pakistani government spokesman said. The Houbara bustard is an endangered bird the size of a turkey which migrates from Central Asia to winter in the deserts of Pakistan. Islamabad also announced that it was banning the export of falcons, which are popular among Arab hunters.

Scarf Strike in France:

Teachers at the Xavier Bichat junior high school in the French town of Nantua went on strike to protest the wearing of headscarves by four female Muslim students. The walk-out strike, which was widely reported in the Arab press, involved 36 of the school's 48 teachers and left most of the 760 students free to roam the halls or go home. Two of the girls involved are Turkish, while the others are the sisters of a Moroccan girl expelled three years ago for wearing a headscarf, or hijab. When asked by school authorities to restrain their daughters from wearing the scarves, the families protested that hijab is an integral part of religious expression, not fashion. The hijab debate first flared in France four years ago, when a principal refused to allow a Muslim girl to attend classes in a scarf, citing a turn-of-the-century law prohibiting students from wearing religious symbols in school.

Baghdad Accused of Chemical Attacks:

Refugees fleeing from the marshes of southern Iraq to Iran say that Iraqi forces are using chemical weapons to clear the last strongholds of Shi'i resistance. The allegations, reported by Iran's IRNA news agency, were made by refugees from the Ammar region who say they were attacked by troops wearing gas masks. When they returned to their homes the next day they found a number of dead soldiers without masks, killed when the wind changed direction unexpectedly. Other "Marsh Arab" refugees say they were cleared from their homes by troops threatening to use chemical weapons. In London, Conservative Member of Parliament Emma Nicholson, who has launched an "Ammar Appeal" program, said doctors in the region were treating two men for the effects of a chemical attack, while a third had died of asphyxiation. "This was not phosphorous, not tear gas, not napalm, " Nicholson said.

Beauty Queen Criticized for Posing With Israeli:

Miss Lebanon may face criminal charges for meeting and being photographed with Miss Israel during the recent Miss World Pageant in Johannesburg, South Africa, according to Lebanon's tourism minister. A photograph of 22-year-old Ghada Turk standing next to Tamara Porat of Israel was published in most Beirut dailies. Ash-Sharq called the meeting "a scandal, " while the conservative Nida Al Watan said, "It looks like Lebanon has inadvertently begun a normalization process" with Israel. Tourism Minister Nicola Fattoush told Al Anwar that Turk " is liable for legal proceedings" since, despite ongoing peace negotiations, Lebanon and Israel are technically at war with one another and Israeli troops continue to occupy part of south Lebanon.

Libyans Demonstrate for U.N. Withdrawal:

Crowds in Tajura demonstrated during a visit by Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, urging him to withdraw the country from the United Nations, according to Tripoli Radio. "The masses demanded that the [Libyan] Jamahariyya should withdraw from the United Nations now that the U. N. has become a tool in the hands of the Western states, which hate the Arabs and Islam, " the radio station reported. "They also called for the closure of Libyan markets to Western products, no more contracts with Western companies and governments, and the cancellation of existing contracts with them.''

Kuwaiti Economic Woes:

With petroleum accounting for 90 percent of the Kuwaiti state's income, Prime Minister Sheikh Saad Al-Sabah announced that his government would seek more non-oil sources of revenue to spark growth in the slumping private sector and cut the state's $4 billion budget deficit, equal to a fifth of gross domestic product. According to the KUNA news agency, Kuwait's non-petroleum economy has been hard hit by concerns over Iraq, a 40 percent drop in population since the outbreak of the Gulf war and $19 billion in bad debts at the nation's banks. The government is also considering cutting subsidies on public services and reducing public sector wages, which account for nearly a third of government spending. Members of Kuwait's parliament, however, promised to block any attempts to eliminate public jobs or subsidies on services like electricity and water.

Algerian Government Denies FIS Contacts:

Algeria's governmental National Commission for Dialogue denied a report in the daily Al Masaa that one of its members had met with Abdelkader Hachani, a leader of the outlawed Islamic Salvation Front, or FIS. The commission; composed of three generals and five civilian members, is charged with preparing the way for a new system of government when the mandate of the current High Council of State expires at the end of 1993. It has been meeting with a variety of political parties, including moderate Islamist groups, but denied it had opened contacts with Hachani or any other FIS leader. The report in the independent Al Masaa, which has been accurate in the past on political matters, and the subsequent denial by Algerian officials came while radical militants of the "Armed Islamic Group" have begun targeting foreign residents of Algeria for abduction or assassination.

Tehran Daily Criticizes Afghan Leaders:

The Tehran Times took Afghan leaders to task in an editorial on the eve of a visit by Afghan Foreign Minister Hedayat Amin Arsala, urging them to end "a futile and devastating civil war. " The paper added, "Don't you think your request for assistance in the rehabilitation of the Afghan economy appears rather absurd at a time when the principal political groups are busy planting mines all over Afghanistan in order to kill their Muslim brothers and gain more political power, instead of plowing the fields and growing wheat?" The editorial closed by saying Afghan leaders should "realize that no country in the world is prepared to extend financial assistance, out of taxes paid by its citizens, to another country whose leaders can think of nothing other than the destruction of their country and the massacre of their citizens. "

Tunis Takes Stock of Advantages, Disadvantages of PLO Stay:

The staff of the PLO's Tunis headquarters expect to set up new offices in Gaza and Jericho next spring, when a Palestinian interim government should be in place, but a number of Tunisians believe some of the 4,000 Palestinians in Tunisia may not be in such a hurry to leave. The Saudi Gazette reported that, taking stock of the PLO's presence, some Tunisians remember that rents rose sharply when the Palestinians first arrived in 1982 after fleeing Beirut. Others said Israel's 1985 bombing raid against the PLO headquarters was "a heavy blow to our tourism industry. " One Tunisian journalist, however, pointed out that Tunisair profited from the fact that "Palestinians travel a great deal and, for security reasons, in roundabout ways. " Also on the positive side of the economic ledger, one Tunisian analyst noted, was the fact that Palestinian exiles brought "hundreds of millions of dollars " to Tunisia's economy over the last decade.

Iranian Claims Religious Visions:

A 1 6-year-old girl in the western Iranian village of Jafarabad who claims to have been visited several times by the Prophet Muhammad's daughter, Zahra, has been moved from her home for her own safety, Jomhuri Islami reports. People had flocked to the village to meet the girl, leading officials to fear a repeat of an incident in July when an elderly woman's claim to have seen the Prophet's grandson, Hussein, drew crowds to a town near Isfahan and led to bloody clashes with police, who arrested 500 people. A senior ayatollah had rejected the elderly woman's claim as baseless.

Egyptians Race to Rescue Rare Treasures:

The North Sinai Agricultural Developmental Project, designed to irrigate land to house 300,000 Egyptians, will have a significant impact on archeological sites in the area, according to the Saudi Cazette. Engineers and archeologists are working together, however, to minimize the damage and preserve as many sites as possible. Planners are diverting canals from areas containing large numbers of archeological sites, while other artifacts are being excavated, recorded, cleared and moved to museums. The material dates from the Pharaonic, Greco-Roman, Byzantine and Islamic periods, and includes the largest Pharaonic fort ever discovered. Archeologists believe the fort marks the beginning of the "road of war" traveled by Pharaonic armies marching east toward the Levant.

PLO Seeks Out Spies:

The Palestine Liberation Organization has uncovered two high-level officials who were also working as operatives for Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, according to Ash Sharq Al Awsat. First to be arrested was Adnan Hassan Yassin, a bodyguard for the PLO's chief representative to Tunisia, who confessed to spying on the PLO for Israel. His son Hani was also arrested on suspicion of espionage. Yassin is reportedly being questioned by a joint Palestinian-Tunisian team, though PLO officials denied reports that Yassin had been sent to Yemen for trial and execution. Several days later Mohammed Sadek, in charge of Yasser Arafat's radio service, surrendered to PLO authorities in Tunis and confessed to spying on behalf of the Mossad. Ash Sharq Al Awsat said PLO officials fear the two may have been part of a larger network of Israeli spies within the organization.

Hassan Condemns Opposition Impasse:

Moroccan King Hassan II told a nationwide television audience he was "bitter" about opposition parties' refusal to participate in a governing coalition and ease the country's political stalemate. Hassan held two days of talks with the leaders of various political parties in an attempt to overcome a standoff following inconclusive parliamentary elections which left no single group with sufficient seats to form a government. The Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP), the nationalist Istiqlal Party and the leftist Organization for Democratic and Popular Action (OADP) told the king they refuse to participate as junior partners in a coalition government and said the elections had been a "great disappointment" to those who wanted free and fair balloting. The three parties took a commanding lead after the initial round of direct elections, but were largely shut out during indirect balloting. The king said he was surprised that the opposition parties insisted on the portfolios of prime minister, foreign affairs, defense and justice as the price for joining a government, saying that none had sufficient parliamentary experience to merit the posts.

5,000 Algerians in Jail:

Algerian Justice Minister Mohammed Teguia Said told reporters that the government was holding 5,000 Algerians in jail for political violence, but said all of the Saharan internment camps opened in early 1992 have been closed. The APS news agency quoted Said as saying the number of imprisoned militants is "well below that put forward by certain parties . . . who estimate it at more than 10,000. "

New Oil Fields Pump Up Yemeni Production:

Yemen's oil output will rise to 370,000 barrels per day after production starts in three new oil fields, according to a report in the Yemeni dai ly An Naba. The increased production has caught the eye of Western oil companies. The London-based CAABU Bulletin reports that the growing Yemeni oil sector has prompted British Airways to begin twice-weekly nonstops from London to San'a and Aden. A British Airways official said "the market consists mainly of oil-related business. A number of Western oil companies are now heavily involved in exploration for oil and gas in Yemen and this has led to a surge in the demand for air travel."

Groundbreaking for New U.S. Embassy in Kuwait:

U.S. Ambassador Edward "Skip" Gnehm and Kuwaiti officials used a golden shovel to break ground for a new U. S. Embassy in Kuwait, the Saudi Gazette reports. Kuwait donated the land in the Mishrif-Bayan suburb of Kuwait City for the new $25 million embassy, which will be surrounded by a grove of trees planted as memorials to American soldiers who died during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. "This new American Embassy will stand as visible testimony to the strong friendship that exists between our two countries, " Gnehm said at the groundbreaking ceremony. The previous American Embassy in Kuwait had been heavily damaged by a car bombing carried out by Iran-backed religious militants early in the Iran-Iraq war.

Fahd Pledges Relief Aid, Medical Airlifts for Bosnia:

Saudi Arabia's King Fahd pledged $13.5 million of relief supplies, food and medicine for immediate distribution in Bosnia, according to the Arab News. Fahd also told the Council of Ministers that more injured Bosnians would be airlifted to the Kingdom for treatment, asked Saudis to donate to funds set up to furnish relief assistance to the war-torn area, and called on the United Nations Security Council to stop Serbian aggression against Bosnia-Herzegovina.