September/October 1994, Pages 22-27

Issues in the News

Compiled by Greg Noakes

From the Israeli and U.S. Jewish Press:

Non-Jewish Immigration Jumps:

Israel's Interior Ministry announced that 29 percent of all 1993 immigrants to Israel were not Jewish, prompting ultra-Orthodox groups to demand the repeal of the Law of Return. The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reports Minister of Immigrant Absorption Yair Tsaban defended the current process by saying that most of the non-Jews were spouses of Jews and were admitted to Israel as a move against Diaspora assimilation and the breakup of families. Ultra-Orthodox rabbis, however, called for a change in the law's definition of a Jew to exclude non-Orthodox conversions and enforce the standards of the halacha, or Jewish religious law, which says only the offspring of a Jewish mother are considered Jewish. The Law of Return currently allows the grandchild of a Jew to be recognized as Jewish for the purpose of immigration and citizenship, and extends those privileges to non-Jewish spouses. Rabbi Avraham Ravitz of the Degel Hatorah Party demanded changes in the Law of Return, saying, "It is clearly being used to help those it was not intended for." Ravitz believes the figure of 29 percent for non-Jewish immigrants is low, and that "hundreds of thousands of non-Jews" are immigrating through "wholesale fraud." He argued, "They are exploiting...the only country the Jews have."

UNESCO Restoring Religious Sites:

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) will restore a number of Muslim religious sites in the Old City of Jerusalem in order to safeguard the cultural heritage of the area, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Restoration of the cupola of the Dome of the Rock, funded by King Hussein of Jordan, was recently completed, while structural work on the rest of the building continues under UNESCO guidelines. The U.N. organization has received contributions toward funding the Jerusalem restoration project, and Saudi Arabia's King Fahd has indicated he will provide any additional funding needed.

Israel-Italy Ties Turbulent:

Israel is taking a cautious approach to overtures from the Italian government of Milan media magnate Silvio Berlusconi because his rightist coalition includes the National Alliance grouping, headed by the neo-fascist Movimento Sociale Italiano. The Jerusalem Report says Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Martino told American Jewish leaders in May that Berlusconi's was the friendliest government to Israel in two decades and that he wished to end a "one-sided pro-Arab" tilt in Italian foreign policy. But Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Yossi Beilin told a closed meeting of Israeli officials that Tel Aviv should express its repugnance at the inclusion of neo-fascists in the Berlusconi government. Beilin's comments were leaked, prompting the Italian Corriere Dela Sera to claim that Israel was planning to "freeze" ties with Rome. In response, Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres denied there would be any cooling of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Peres aides noted that Italy will join the U.N. Security Council in September and said, "You can't just turn your back on the fourth-largest power in Europe."

Rabin Sees No New Markets:

Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin told the annual conference of the Israeli Manufacturers Association that the current peace process will not open Arab export markets to Israeli industries in the near future. The Detroit Jewish News reports Rabin pointed to the slow pace of Israel's economic relations with Egypt as an example of what Israeli businessmen could expect in the wake of a peace agreement. "The peace process has economic implications," Rabin said, "but I do not think peace will open Arab markets."

U.S.-Funded Edge Essential:

Israeli Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Herzl Bodinger opposes the immediate transfer of advanced U.S. military equipment to either Syria or Jordan within the framework of a peace agreement, telling journalists that "American weapons endanger us more than Russian weapons." The Jerusalem Post says Bodinger sees a stronger Syria on the horizon, noting that Damascus recently restructured its $11 billion military debt to Moscow to open the way for new shipments of Russian jets, tanks and surface-to-surface missiles. Bodinger also warned that Syria and Iran are planning to manufacture jointly surface-to-surface missiles with Chinese and North Korean aid. To maintain Israel's qualitative military edge, Bodinger said, Tel Aviv is working on a new anti-missile system called the Israeli Boost-Intercept System, or IBIS. The system, reportedly being funded by the U.S. Defense Department's Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, involves a sensor-equipped drone aircraft designed to detect and destroy enemy ballistic missiles as they are being prepared for launch. Bodinger also noted that Israel is currently taking receipt of "several dozen" F-16 A/B fighter jets as part of a "drawdown" from U.S. Air Force stocks. Another senior Israeli army source says Tel Aviv also will purchase more Multiple Launched Rocket System batteries from Loral-LTV of Dallas, adding to such equipment purchased after the Gulf war.

BBC Insiders Suspicious of Saudi Slant:

The Jerusalem Report says some employees at Bush House, home of the British Broadcasting Corporation's World Service, fear the organization's new Arabic-language pay-TV broadcasts will be subject to Saudi censorship. The new network, which is currently broadcasting two hours daily but will expand to a 24-hour schedule by year's end, is the first foreign language version of the BBC's World Service television and is beamed to the Arab world via Orbit, a Rome-based TV network partially owned by the Mawarid family of Saudi Arabia. BBC insiders allege that news items critical of the Kingdom have been pulled from the BBC's Arabic-language radio programs, and that the television service's 10-year contract with Orbit could mean greater censorship. The Report says its Bush House sources believe pro-Saudi Orbit personnel could use "time delay mechanisms to eliminate 'unsuitable' news items" from the TV broadcasts, which the BBC says will provide "a high-quality impartial news service."

Israel Must Boost Arrow Backing:

Michael Holtcamp, head of the Arrow missile project at the Pentagon, told Aviation Week and Space Technology that Israel must contribute more than its current 28 percent toward the cost of the next phase of the Arrow-2, the deployable version of the Israeli surface-to-air missile, according to the Jerusalem Post. The missile project thus far has been funded largely by the United States, though Defense Department planners say U.S. forces have no need for the weapons system. Israeli Defense Ministry Director-General David Irvi, responding to Holtcamp's comments, said Israel will have difficulty funding the project until its successful completion.

Meretz Member Menaces Protesters:

A leftist politician has angered ultra-Orthodox Israeli leaders by suggesting that motorists intimidated by demonstrators protesting driving on the Sabbath should run over them, according to the Jerusalem Post. Secular drivers trapped by "haredi [ultra-Orthodox] mobs...should put their foot on the gas and flee, even if people are standing in front of them," said Jerusalem city councilor Ornan Yekutieli of the leftist Meretz bloc. Yekutieli's remarks came in the wake of an incident where religious protestors in Jerusalem surrounded a woman's car, shook it and broke a window with stones before allowing the sobbing woman to drive away. Yekutieli said self-defense laws allow a person to escape a threatening situation, and noted that a decade ago there were a dozen incidents where ultra-Orthodox protesters injured motorists driving on the Sabbath. Knesset Member Rabbi Avraham Ravitz of Degel Hatorah called Yekutieli's statement an "incitement to murder" and urged his arrest. "What makes it all the more despicable is that it is coming from a person who waves the banner of free speech and civil rights," Ravitz declared.

Weizman, Beilin Controversy at Zionist Congress:

Israeli President Ezer Weizman opened the Jerusalem congress of the Zionist General Council by urging the foreign delegates to make aliya, or emigrate, to Israel. According to Israel radio, Weizman told the group, "You are the World Zionist Organization, so organize the Zionists and bring them to live in Israel...We need families from New York, Johannesburg and Paris as well as Tashkent." Deputy Foreign Minister Yossi Beilin went a step further by calling for the dissolution of the Jewish Agency and the World Zionist Organization and their replacement with a new, more democratic international institution called Beit Yisrael. Beilin said the most important project for Beit Yisrael would be to bring every 17-year-old Jew in the world to Israel for a month as a way to strengthen ties between the Diaspora and the Jewish state and to encourage aliya. Beilin put the price tag for the project at $200 million. Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin later disavowed Beilin's remarks and reaffirmed Israeli support for the Jewish Agency and World Zionist Organization.

Civilian Shift Needed:

Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin said Israel must convert its military industries into commercial enterprises to avoid higher unemployment as defense spending drops around the world, according to the Detroit Jewish News. Rabin told the board of governors of the Technion, Israel's most prestigious research university, to shift "to entirely different fields of research and development" and to lead the way for the diversification of the Israeli economy. Meanwhile, the Israeli defense sector is thriving. Ha'aretz reports that Israel exported $1.8 billion worth of arms in 1993, a 20 percent increase from the 1992 total, with Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe as key growth markets. Israeli defense companies also are doing well at the Pentagon. The U.S. Defense Department's list of its top 500 contractors for fiscal year 1993 includes four Israeli firms, nearly a third of the 13 foreign contractors included on the list. The state-owned Israel Aircraft Industries took the 55th spot with $71 million in contracts, the only foreign contractor among the top 100 defense companies.

Orthodox Monopoly Broken:

Israel's High Court of Justice ruled the Ministry of Religious Affairs must allocate funds for non-Orthodox religious groups in what one Reform rabbi said was an important step toward full recognition of the Conservative and Reform Judaism movements in Israel. According to the Jerusalem Post, the funding decision was the result of a petition filed by the Hebrew Union College, which had been denied ministry funds on the grounds that it was not a yeshiva since it accepted women and included secular studies. The ministry now will add another category to its list of institutions eligible for funding, to be labeled "other Jewish religious institutions."

Proposal on Palestinian Trade Status:

Israeli Industry and Trade Minister Micha Harish says U.S. Commerce Secretary Ron Brown and U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor told him the Clinton administration is considering granting special trade status to the Palestinian autonomous areas to encourage economic development. Harish told the Jerusalem Post that legislation is being put forth in Washington to give the self-rule areas General System of Preferences trade status, which provides developing nations with lower tariffs and other preferential trade terms, even though the autonomous zones are not an independent state. The U.S. Congress is considering linking preferential Palestinian trade status to non-compliance with the Arab League boycott of Israel, the report noted.

Collaborator Conundrum:

The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reports Freih Abu Medein, justice minister of the new Palestinian autonomous authority, announced that Palestinians whose collaboration with Israel's Shin Bet intelligence agency led to the deaths of other Palestinians may be subject to the death penalty. Abu Medein added that those collaborators who turn themselves in and pledge to sever their ties to Israeli intelligence may be pardoned. Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin threatened to delay the release of Palestinian prisoners if the autonomous authorities decide to prosecute suspected Palestinian collaborators. Two collaborators recently told the Knesset that Shin Bet had failed to honor its promises of financial assistance, plunging a number of collaborators into desperate economic straits. They claimed some 7,000 collaborators hold official Israeli papers attesting to their status, and said they were afraid for their safety since under the Cairo agreement with the PLO, Israel is releasing Palestinians imprisoned for hunting down suspected collaborators.

El Al Headed for Air War:

Israel's flag carrier, El Al, faces cancellation by the Federal Aviation Authority of three of its 20 weekly flights to New York in retaliation for Israel's denial of landing rights for Washington-based World Airways. Israeli Transport Minister Yisrael Kessar defended his decision to deny World Airways permission to make three flights weekly from New York to Israel, saying, "It is my job to defend El Al." Three U.S. airlines, Tower, Delta and TWA, already fly the direct New York-Tel Aviv route, and European carriers offer competitive connecting flights. El Al spokesman Nachman Kleiman said, "Competition is tremendous and it's going to get worse." Kessar asked U.S. Transportation Secretary Federico Pena for a one-month delay before the cancellation of El Al's permits, and Israeli officials said Kessar could ask for a further 90-day postponement. The Queens (NY) Jewish Week reports Israel will seek to "update" its civil aviation agreement with the U.S. to limit the number of American carriers permitted to service Tel Aviv. Kessar told reporters he wants to ensure "that El Al doesn't lose more money as privatization [of the Israeli airline] approaches."

Mossad Murders a Diplomatic Mess:

The Jewish Telegraphic Agency says allegations the Mossad was involved in several murders in South Africa have appeared in Johannesburg newspapers. The Weekend Star reports that agents of the Israeli secret service have been blamed by South African police for two brutal murders linked to weapons programs in the Middle East, with two apparent suicides and a separate execution-style double slaying still under investigation. The police also are investigating the possible involvement of the former South African government, which cooperated closely with Israel on weapons development. The dismembered body of chemist and businessman Alan Kidger was found in the trunk of his car in November 1991, while chemical engineer Wynand van Wyk was bludgeoned to death in a Cape Town hotel in April 1993. Both victims reportedly received mysterious phone calls immediately before their deaths. South African Police Colonel Charles Landman told the Star that the murder of Kidger, who was furnishing Iraq and other countries with chemicals used in the manufacture of nuclear weapons, was a "hit" designed to send "a clear message" to other suppliers. "The disclosures are known to have caused a diplomatic furor between South African and Israeli officials," according to the Johannesburg paper. Israel's ambassador to South Africa, Alon Liel, strongly denied the reports of Mossad involvement, adding that South African police made their allegations without contacting his embassy. "It happens all over the world," Liel told reporters. "Mysterious murder cases with international connotations are also attributed to Mossad. Unfortunately, we are getting used to it."

Israel-Jordan Pact Leaked:

Yediot Ahronot reports Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Jordan's King Hussein signed a document during a secret meeting last fall that forms the basis for a future formal peace treaty between the two countries. The document, said to have been signed last Nov. 4 at the royal palace in Amman, details an exchange of territory, with some four square miles of Jordanian territory currently occupied by Israel and cultivated by Israeli farmers to be leased by Amman to Tel Aviv in exchange for an equal amount of Israeli land in the Wadi Araba south of the Dead Sea. In addition, once the Israel-Jordan peace treaty is signed, full diplomatic relations are to be established; economic, defense and agricultural cooperation will be instituted; a joint international airport serving Eilat, Israel and Aqaba, Jordan will be built; quotas for water-well drilling are to be set; and arrangements for the visitation of holy places will be concluded. Peres declined a request by Yediot Ahronot for clarification of the document, saying, "It was agreed not to talk about it. Since we will soon be able to talk about this, we will refrain a little longer."

Holst's Widow Takes UNRWA Post:

Marianne Heiberg, widow of the late Norwegian Foreign Minister Johan Jörgen Holst, told Israel Radio that she will take her children in August to Jerusalem, where she will assume the position of deputy director of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA. Heiberg's comments came during a trip to Jerusalem to accept the Hebrew University's Truman Prize on behalf of her late husband, who played a central role in the negotiations leading to the Oslo Accord between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization. Heiberg is a researcher in Middle East issues.

"Muslims Most Underprivileged Community":

Yisrael Lippel, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's personal representative at the Ministry of Religious Affairs, told a Jerusalem rabbinical conference focusing on relations between Jews and Arabs that of all Israel's religious communities, Muslims are the most underprivileged. The Jerusalem Post reports Lippel noted that while Muslims represent 14 percent of Israel's population, Muslim religious institutions receive only 1.5 percent of the religious affairs budget. In contrast, Lippel said, Christian institutions are the most privileged and enjoy special rights laid down before the creation of the State of Israel, including exemption from customs payments and near-total autonomy in their holy places. When Religious Affairs Director-General Ze'ev Rosenberg bemoaned the lack of contact between Jewish and Muslim religious leaders and one rabbi spoke of his dialogue efforts with the Muslim community, most of the rabbis in attendance said such contacts were forbidden by the Jewish sages.

International Plan for Holy Places?:

The daily Ma'ariv reports that Israel is considering turning over control of Jerusalem's holy sites, among them the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa Mosque, to an international commission which would include Arab states, the Vatican and Palestinian authorities. The sites would be considered non-Israeli territory under the plan, which the paper says has been discussed with Jordan's King Hussein, Morocco's King Hassan and officials from the Vatican. Officials at the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem have expressed concern that the future of Christian sites in the city may be determined without their participation. The first secretary to the Patriarch said some 70 percent of Jerusalem's Christians are Greek Orthodox, adding, "The Vatican does not represent us." Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres acknowledged that Israel is ready to discuss the fate of the holy places, but added there will be no compromise on the issue of Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem itself.

Anti-Arab Attitudes by Age Three:

Tel Aviv University Professor Daniel Bar-Tal says that most Jewish Israeli children have negative stereotypes of Arabs by the age of three, often visualizing them as people who kill or steal children. The images are a result of current events, children's stories, television and textbooks and "are cultural stereotypes, derived from the consensus of society," according to Bar-Tal, who added that these stereotypes peak around age five or six. When children are between 9 and 12, Bar-Tal noted, they tend to differentiate between "good" Arabs and "bad" Arabs. The Jerusalem Post reports Bar-Tal said lower-class and religious children hold more strongly negative stereotypes than do middle- or upper-class and non-religious children. Of the children Bar-Tal surveyed, only 10 to 15 percent held images of Arabs that were either positive or neutral.

South African Slams Israeli Policies:

Israeli officials say they expect to maintain good relations with Johannesburg despite blunt criticism by South African Defense Minister Joe Modise, who compared Israel's policies to apartheid and noted that Israel had been an embargo-busting supplier of arms to the former white-supremacist regime in South Africa. Modise went on to signal a possible end to the "special relationship" between the two countries, but South African Foreign Minister Alfred Nzo said Modise's remarks were limited "to matters relating to arms sales and arms contracts." Another South African Defense Ministry official added that one minister would not determine the course of relations between the two countries. Uri Savir, director-general of Israel's Foreign Ministry, told Israeli television that Modise's statement "was an unpleasant announcement. I hope it was an exception." Savir said he hoped "there will be good relations between South Africa, whose leadership by the African National Congress we welcomed, and the Israeli government."

From the Middle East Press:

Iran, Iraq and Libya Funding Nuclear Research:

The Saudi Gazette reports that Iran, Iraq and Libya are funding research projects related to nuclear weapons development at British universities. The story was first reported in London's Sunday Times, which found the three countries were funding 100 out of 58,000 research projects the paper investigated. The British intelligence agency MI5 reportedly is investigating the alleged foreign funding. One Iraqi project at Sheffield University dealt with nuclear fusion reactors, while a Manchester Institute of Science and Technology atomic research project was funded by Iraq and Libya. Both universities denied the research had any military value but, according to the Times, "government security experts say knowledge and expertise gained in these projects could be invaluable to both countries in their attempt to build a nuclear bomb."

Syrian-Slovak Tank Trade:

Beirut's As Safir reports Syria has agreed with Slovakia to purchase 250 advanced battle tanks. The agreement caps a series of arms deals Damascus has made with Russia, China, North Korea and India, which Western sources say were motivated by Syrian President Hafez Al-Assad's belief that Israel is stalling in regional peace talks and strengthening its military. As Safir quoted one Damascus-based source as saying, "Israel is arming with conventional and nuclear weapons to the teeth."

Former Albanian President Jailed:

Ramiz Alia, the last of Albania's hard-line Communist leaders, was sentenced to nine years in prison for abuse of power and violations of citizens' rights and ordered to pay $10,000 in compensation for embezzlement of public funds, according to the Saudi Gazette. Alia, who succeeded Albanian dictator Enver Hoxha in 1985, said the case was "a political trial camouflaged as a regular trial" and maintained his innocence. The charges stemmed from murders of Albanians trying to flee to the West, deportations, summary executions and financial fraud. Nine other former Communist officials also were sentenced to prison.

Palestinian Airline Taking Off:

Fayez Zaydan, head of Palestinian civil aviation, told Bahrain's Akhbar al-Khalij the Palestinian Airlines Company soon will begin service linking Gaza and Jericho with Cairo and Cyprus. Several 50-passenger helicopters will be used for this initial route, though the airline later will purchase fixed-wing aircraft designed for longer routes to Gulf Arab capitals, Athens and Rome. "Kalandia will be the main Palestinian airport," said Zaydan, referring to the Mandate-era airfield north of Jerusalem. He added there will be regional Palestinian airports as well. Zaydan told the paper that Palestinian authorities were negotiating with "donors in many countries who will finance the airports and airplanes, such as the European Airbus."

Paris-Baghdad Ties Warming:

France has agreed to lobby for the lifting of United Nations sanctions against Iraq in return for privileged access to future Iraqi defense and oil contracts, according to the CAABU Bulletin. France's Elf Aquitaine and Total oil concerns have been particularly active in discussions with Baghdad, as both seek access to southern Iraq's giant Majnoun oil field. The field, reputedly the largest in the world, is totally undeveloped since it was the scene of fierce fighting during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war. Another major player in the burgeoning Paris-Baghdad entente is leading conservative politican and former French Prime Minister Jacques Chirac, who reportedly expects the lifting of sanctions to lead to an increase in contributions to his planned presidential campaign. To weaken international support for the sanctions, French officials have been pushing their Iraqi counterparts to release an estimated 600 Kuwaitis the Kuwaiti government charges are still being held prisoner from the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait during the Gulf war.

UAE Demands Documentation:

The United Arab Emirates' foreign affairs minister, Sheikh Hamdan bin Zeid Al Nahayyan, told Al Wasat that Iran must document its claim to the disputed islands of Abu Musa and Greater and Lesser Tunb. Responding to the Iranian foreign ministry's claim that it possessed "historical documents" supporting its ownership of the islands, Sheikh Hamdan said, "Let them bring them to the International Court of Justice, and we will bring our documents...We will accept any verdict the court issues, whether for or against us. If [the Iranians] refuse arbitration, it means they do not possess sovereignty." The late Shah of Iran seized the Tunbs and Abu Musa in 1971, and the current Islamic republic has continued to occupy and claim the islands.

Papers for a Price:

Saudi Arabia's Al Madina newspaper has uncovered a booming trade in university research papers in Jeddah bookstores. An undercover reporter spent $135 for a research paper on "The Characteristics of Pre-Islamic Poetry" and received the typed presentation copy a week later. Students said purchasing fraudulent research papers through bookstores near the King Abdul Aziz University is a common practice, with standard prices of $125 to $250. Several students said university professors did not read the papers anyway. "The professor's only concern is that the research paper should be submitted on time to get full marks," one pupil told Al Madina. "I don't think he goes through it and maybe he does not care who has written it," the student added.

Morocco Objects to OAU Observers:

Morocco rejected a United Nations proposal for the participation of observers from the Organization of African Unity in the upcoming U.N. referendum in the Western Sahara. The MAP news agency reports Prime Minister Abdellatif Filali told the Moroccan parliament Rabat "cannot have any contacts with [the OAU], which cannot take part in the process insofar as it has accepted the mercenaries in its bosom." Morocco walked out of the OAU in 1984 after the organization admitted the Polisario Front's government-in-exile, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, into its ranks as the legitimate government of the Western Sahara, which Morocco claims as sovereign territory. The referendum on the future of the disputed territory is scheduled to take place by the end of the year, but has been delayed repeatedly by disputes between the Moroccans and the Polisario over the list of eligible voters.

Egypt Says Economy Strong:

Egyptian Minister of State Youssef Boutros-Ghali told reporters three years of economic reforms have put the Egyptian economy on a strong footing, according to the Saudi Gazette. The IMF-World Bank reform program has resulted in a balance-of-payments surplus of $1 billion, foreign reserves of $16.6 billion and a drop in inflation to 6.9 percent. "Reserves have not hit this level since the late 1940s; balance of payments since the early 1950s," according to Boutros-Ghali. Economists place Egypt's foreign debt at some $35 billion, but Boutros-Ghali said it was the lowest debt in some 40 years "in terms of income and our capacity to pay it." Some $4 billion in debt to Western lenders is due to be forgiven under the terms of a 1991 agreement between Cairo and the Paris Club of creditors. Western donors already have forgiven some $6 billion of Egyptian debt.

Nawaz Sharif's Wealth Up 3,600 Percent:

According to the official Pakistani news agency, the Associated Press of Pakistan, an investigation into the finances of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif indicates his immediate family's wealth has increased 3,600 percent over the last eight years, from $494,000 in 1985 to $17.8 million in 1993. Charges of tax evasion are expected to be filed shortly against the ex-prime minister and other family members. APP reports investigators found widespread financial irregularities, including tax evasion and fraudulent loans, in the business dealings of the Ittefaq Group, which is owned by Nawaz Sharif and a group of uncles and cousins.

Emirates Mend Fences:

Ras al-Khaimah and Umm al-Quwain, both members of the United Arab Emirates, have signed an agreement demarcating their disputed border, according to the WAM news agency. The agreement between the two emirates, which ended a long-standing but non-confrontational dispute, was mediated by UAE President Sheikh Zeid bin Sultan Al Nahayyan and Vice President Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the report said. Ras al-Khaimah and Umm al-Quwain together comprise some five percent of the UAE's land area, and accounted for about three percent of the UAE's $35.6 billion gross domestic product last year.

Kuwait Appoints Female Police:

Kuwait's Interior Ministry will begin appointing women to work in selected police departments, Interior Minister Sheikh Ali Sabah Salem Al Sabah told the Arab Times. "We have done this in the Ministry of Defense when I was there, and now we will do it at the Interior Ministry," Sheikh Ali said. The women would be hired in conformity with Islamic teachings and Kuwaiti customs, he added.

Qaddafi Critiques Peace Plan:

Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi attacked the ongoing Middle East peace process and said Israel is doomed, according to the JANA news agency. "Israel will disappear and America's fleets will not protect it from the ordinary [Arab] citizen," Qaddafi said in a speech in a Tripoli suburb. Qaddafi criticized the PLO and Jordan for concluding agreements with Israel, saying, "The Arab citizen will take revenge on governments that imposed on him humiliation, unconditional surrender and shame."

U.S. Blocks Tank Transfer:

American authorities have blocked a promised Jordanian donation of tanks and other weapons to Lebanon, according to Fakhri Abu Taleb, Jordan's ambassador in Beirut. The promise was made in 1990 following the end of the Lebanese civil war in a letter from King Hussein to President Elias Hrawi. "This donation was blocked by a third party, which is the original exporter of the weapons and whose agreement should be secured," Abu Taleb told Beirut's Al Anwar, which identified the "third party" as the United States.

Iraqi Flag Flim-Flam:

Iran lodged a formal protest with the United Nations over Iraq's practice of changing the flags of its ships in the Shatt al-Arab waterway in order to circumvent the U.N. embargo. The IRNA news agency reports a number of Iraqi ships have been seized flying Iranian flags, while others fraudulently declared Iranian ports as their final destination.

Egyptian Fired for "Immoral" Book:

Alaa Hamed, a 35-year employee with Egypt's state tax authority, has been dismissed from his job for writing an "immoral" book called Al Firash, or The Bed. An Egyptian state administrative court also recommended that Hamed serve a year in prison, according to Al Wafd. Liberal observers criticized the decision, saying it contributed to the influence of Islamists in public life. In 1991, Hamed was sentenced to eight years in prison for penning a novel critical of religion entitled A Distance in a Man's Mind, but has yet to begin serving his sentence.

USAID Closes in Pakistan:

The U.S. Agency for International Development has closed its offices in Pakistan as a result of Islamabad's ongoing nuclear weapons program, according to Dawn. In conformity with a congressional foreign aid appropriation bill, AID is rescinding $56 million in aid to Pakistan, though another $50 million will be delivered to complete ongoing projects. The closure of the AID offices ends nearly three decades of intensive economic cooperation between the U.S. and Pakistan.

Bangladeshi Betel Business Booming:

Bangladesh exported over $1.2 billion worth of betel leaves in 1993, according to Bangladeshi Commerce Minister Shamsul Islam, who added that Dhaka has made betel leaf cultivation a top economic priority. The betel leaf is chewed after meals for its digestive properties, can be used as an antibiotic and reportedly has other medicinal uses, according to the Saudi Gazette. The United Kingdom, home to several million South Asians, was the largest importer of leaves, purchasing $470,000 worth last year. Pakistan was a close second with $450,000 in betel leaf imports, while $179,500 in leaves were exported to the six Gulf Cooperation Council states. Betel leaf cultivation has fallen recently in Bangladesh due to recurring floods and tornadoes, but the government has invested $2 million in research designed to increase betel leaf harvests.

Iraqi Paper Warns Against Islamic "Trends":

Babel, a daily published by Saddam Hussain's eldest son, Uday, says a move toward conservative social legislation could result in a dangerous rise in Islamist activity in Iraq. The Baghdad government recently banned public drinking and dancing. "Such dealing with Islamic trends and thoughts in a country like Iraq has to be subject to delicate calculations," said a front-page editorial, since the imposition of Islamic law is "bound to cause calamities."

Lebanon Announces New Notes:

Lebanon's Central Bank has issued new 50,000-pound currency notes in a bid to reduce use of the dollar in the Lebanese economy, according to Al Hayat. The large-denomination note, worth roughly $30, follows the introduction earlier this year of 5,000- and 20,000-pound notes. The Lebanese pound traded at 2.5 to the dollar as recently as 1986, when the currency plummeted, bottoming out at 3,000 to the dollar in 1992. Lebanese turned to using dollars instead of carrying sacks of Lebanese currency for daily purchases, sparking a run on U.S. currency in the country.

Khamenei Rules Neckties Non-Islamic:

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamanei, has issued a fatwa, or religious opinion, against wearing neckties and bowties, though it was not clear if Iranian authorities would take any action against men in ties, found mostly in upper-class north Tehran and at weddings and other special occasions. "Wearing neckties and bows is not allowed because it propagates an offensive, non-Muslim culture," Khamenei wrote in his fatwa, which appeared in Resalat. Early in this century, neckties were condemned by Muslim scholars in Iran as "bridles of civilization," but had become standard menswear by the time of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Some Iranians continue to wear ties as a form of political protest, leading to incidents in the 1980s where men were accosted by crowds and had their neckties snipped off with scissors—a practice condemned at the time by several Iranian papers as counterproductive.

Blood Tests Proposed in Jordan:

Jordanian authorities, trying to curb the incidence of hereditary diseases and genetic defects, want to institute mandatory blood tests for couples before marriage, according to the Saudi Gazette. Some 32 percent of marriages in Jordan are between first cousins, 6.8 percent between second cousins and an additional 10.5 between other relatives. The results are high incidences of hemophilia and thalassemia, a potentially fatal defect in red blood cells, which consume $2.1 million of the health ministry's $13 million annual budget. Jordanian Grand Mufti Izzedine Al Tamimi ruled the blood tests would not violate

Islamic teachings, giving the government program a significant boost. Authorities say they are not seeking to block marriages, and that the decision to wed will reside with the couple regardless of their test results. Syria, Lebanon and Morocco currently are the only Arab countries to require pre-marital blood tests.

Prince's $6 Million Present for Princeton:

Prince Moulay Hicham Ben Abdallah, a nephew of King Hassan of Morocco, has given Princeton University $6 million to establish the Mohammed V Institute for the Transregional Study of the Contemporary Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia. The prince, who graduated from Princeton in 1985 with a bachelor's degree in political science, made the gift to honor his grandfather, the late King Mohammed V, and to endow positions for a visiting professorship, a visiting fellow and a permanent director. The institute will sponsor conferences and seminars and fund research into Islamic cultures and the challenges posed by Western democracies and global capitalism, according to Princeton officials. Harvard Law School's Center for Islamic Legal Studies received a $1 million grant from the McDonnell-Douglas Foundation, according to the Saudi Gazette. The grant, to be paid out over the next five years, establishes the King Fahd Chair for Islamic Studies. The Harvard center is intended to advance knowledge and understanding of Islamic law through objective and comparative study, and to provide resources to scholars and institutions pursuing research into Islamic law.

Arab Mujahideen Flee Pakistani Tribesmen:

Some 70 Arab mujahideen fled into eastern Afghanistan after losing a series of artillery battles with Afridi tribesmen in the Khyber region of Pakistan's Northwest Frontier Province. Dawn reports that tribal religious leaders declared war against the Arabs, who had come to the Choora Valley after a Pakistani government crackdown on Arab Islamists, saying the mujahideen were preaching a hard-line interpretation of Islam that clashed with the locals' moderate beliefs. Several Arab militants were killed and an Egyptian and Algerian captured. Pakistani authorities said the Afridi tribesmen were awaiting a verdict from a local Islamic school on whether the captives should be freed or executed.

Flag Promos Prompt Protests:

A series of promotional campaigns tied to the World Cup soccer tournament prompted protests by the Saudi government and a variety of Muslim organizations over the inclusion of the flag of Saudi Arabia, one of the Cup qualifiers, on various product containers. The problem arose because the Saudi flag contains the Muslim creed, "There is no god but God and Muhammad is His Messenger," which Muslim groups said should not be crumpled up and thrown away. For this reason Saudi Arabia does not allow its flag to be used for commercial purposes, and Saudi embassies lodged protests with the companies running the promos. The McDonald's restaurant chain agreed to withdraw two million Happy Meal hamburger bags imprinted with the flags of World Cup competitors from its 520 British outlets, while the Saudi embassy in the Netherlands received a formal apology from the Amstel brewery concern after it included the flag on beer packaging. Coca-Cola also ran afoul of Muslim groups after it used the Saudi flag on soda cans in Spain.