Middle East briefs
By JTA
Russia to host Annapolis follow-up
NEW YORK (JTA)—Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Nov. 28 that after the Bush administration hosted the conference including Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Annapolis, Md., Moscow would handle the follow-up meeting.
Lavrov said that Russia would try to promote Palestinian statehood and broker peace talks between Israel and its northern neighbors.
Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas miffied over Annapolis
JERUSALEM (JTA)—Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas described the Annapolis peace conference as a betrayal of Palestinian demands. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came out Nov. 25 against the decision by the Arab League—including Tehran’s ally Syria—to attend the Israeli-Palestinian peace conference in the Maryland capital. “Those attending the meeting and giving concessions to the Zionist occupiers will not be remembered in history with good reputation,” the official Iranian news agency quoted Ahmadinejad as saying. He added that Annapolis would harm Palestinian “rights.”
Rightists in Israel rally against Annapolis
JERUSALEM (JTA)—Thousands of rightist Israelis rallied in Jerusalem against the Annapolis peace conference. As many as 15,000 demonstrators, answering a call by the Yesha settler council, converged on the Western Wall Nov. 26, the day before the conference, to pray for the failure of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s U.S.-hosted talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
Palestinians rally against Annapolis
JERUSALEM (JTA)—Tens of thousands of Palestinians rallied against the Annapolis peace conference. Chanting “Death to Israel, Death to the United States,” thousands of Hamas supporters held demonstrations in the Gaza Strip on Nov. 27 as Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas attended the U.S.-hosted peace talks in Maryland. Rally organizers denounced Abbas as a “traitor” for seeking coexistence with the Jewish state. While the rallies in Hamas-ruled Gaza went ahead, Hamas sympathizers in the West Bank, which is still under Abbas’ control, tried to hold similar demonstrations, only to clash with P.A. security forces.
Olmert: Israel can talk about Jerusalem
JERUSALEM (JTA)—Ehud Olmert rejected any attempt by Diaspora Jews to dictate Israeli positions on Jerusalem. The Israeli prime minister said his nation has the right to negotiate over the city, though he told reporters prior to the launch of U.S.-convened Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in Annapolis, Md., that Jerusalem was not on the table right now. Asked about U.S. Jewish groups, including the Orthodox Union, that question whether Israel can bring up Jerusalem in talks, Olmert said, “Does any Jewish organization have a right to confer upon Israel what it negotiates or not? This question was decided a long time ago. The government of Israel has a sovereign right to negotiate anything on behalf of Israel.”
Israel seen ‘surviving’ nuclear war with Iran
JERUSALEM (JTA)—A nuclear war between Israel and Iran would be mutually devastating but Israel might survive a study found. Anthony Cordesman of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies published a paper last month analyzing how the sides would fare in a nuclear war in the next decade. According to “Iran, Israel and Nuclear War,” the superiority of Israel’s assumed atomic arsenal would offset the disadvantages of its tiny territory. Iran’s nuclear strikes would likely target the greater Tel Aviv area and Haifa, killing 200,000 to 800,000 people outright, Cordesman wrote. But he added that for Israel, recovery would be “theoretically possible in population and economic terms.” By contrast, Israeli nuclear attacks on Iran would kill between 16 million and 28 million, making recovery “not possible in the normal sense of the term.”
Israel unveils big flag
JERUSALEM (JTA)—Israel displayed a giant, record-breaking national flag in the Negev Desert. An Israeli flag the size of two football fields was unveiled near Masada Nov. 26 as part of a campaign by the Ministry of Tourism ahead of next year’s 60th Independence Day. The flag was donated by Sister Grace Galindez-Gupana, a pro-Zionist businesswoman from the Philippines. The tourism ministry said it was recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest flag. The flag measures 2,200-by-300 feet and weighs 5.2 tons.
Iran unveils new missile
JERUSALEM (JTA)—Iran unveiled a new strategic missile.The Defense Ministry in Tehran announced Nov. 27 it had developed a new missile, called Ashura, which has a range of 1,250 miles —enough to hit Israel, U.S. targets in the Persian Gulf, and parts of eastern and southern Europe.The announcement appeared timed to overshadow the Israeli-Palestinian peace conference in Annapolis, Md. .The Ashura’s reach is not significantly greater than that of the Shihab-3, until now Iran’s most menacing ballistic missile. But Israeli experts said that unlike the Shihab series, the Ashura uses a multi-stage, solid-fuel engine that would make it especially effective for long-range strategic use.
Israeli forces kill three in Gaza
JERUSALEM (JTA)—Israeli forces killed three Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces operating in the Gaza City suburb of Jabalya early Tuesday killed two Hamas gunmen who apparently were about to carry out a mortar attack. In southern Gaza, troops spotted a Palestinian as he approached the Sufa border crossing in a suspicious manner. He was shot dead. It was unclear whether he had terrorist affiliations. Israel is on high alert for any attempts by Hamas or other Palestinian terrorist groups to carry out attacks in a bid to scuttle the U.S.-convened peace conference in Annapolis, Md.
Expat Israeli admits killing wife
JERUSALEM (JTA)—An expatriate Israeli confessed to killing his wife. Rafael Robb, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, said he beat his wife, Ellen, to death during an argument over the couple’s daughter on Dec. 22, 2006. He pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, a heat-of-passion killing, on Monday, the day his trial was scheduled to begin. Robb apologized to his 12-year-old daughter, who was not in court and who he has not seen since his arrest in January. He faces a prison term of four to seven years when he is sentenced in a few months. The University of Pennsylvania has asked for the tenured economics professor’s immediate resignation. Robb is a naturalized U.S. citizen and thus cannot be deported.
Israel seen ‘surviving’ Iran nuke war
JERUSALEM (JTA)—A nuclear war between Israel and Iran would be mutually devastating but Israel might survive as a state, a study found. Anthony Cordesman of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies published a paper last month analyzing how the sides would fare in a theoretical nuclear war in the next decade. According to “Iran, Israel and Nuclear War,” the superiority of Israel’s assumed atomic arsenal would offset the disadvantages of its tiny territory. Iran’s nuclear strikes would likely target the greater Tel Aviv area and Haifa, killing 200,000 to 800,000 people outright, Cordesman wrote. But he added that for Israel, recovery would be “theoretically possible in population and economic terms.” By contrast, Israeli nuclear attacks on Iran would kill between 16 million and 28 million, making recovery “not possible in the normal sense of the term.”
Agudah adopts united Jerusalem stance
JERUSALEM (JTA)—Agudath Israel of America adopted a resolution opposing any relinquishing of Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem. The decision, adopted No0v. 25 at the organization’s 85th national convention in Stamford, Conn., followed a plenary session at which Agudath’s Council of Torah Sages expressed its opposition to dividing the city. Rabbi Yaakov Perlow, the Novominsker rebbe and the head of the council, described a meeting in Jerusalem with two leading rabbinic authorities, Rabbis Yoseph Sholom Elyashiv and Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteinman, in which both expressed their opposition to any change in the status quo. Perlow noted that it is Agudah policy on matters relating to Israel to refer to rabbinic authorities based in Israel. “Agudath Israel will find appropriate ways to express itself on this matter,” he said.
Palestinian jailed in Beersheba bombing
JERUSALEM (JTA)—A Palestinian who abetted a double suicide bombing in Israel was jailed for life. An Israeli security court sentenced a Hamas member from Hebron to 18 consecutive life prison sentences in connection with the 2004 attacks in Beesheba that killed 16 and wounded scores of others. The defendant, who did not contest the charges, was found guilty of building the bomb belts used in Beersheba and in a Jerusalem attack that was thwarted. Separately, the Jerusalem District Court sentenced two Palestinians to five- and seven-year prison sentences for plotting to kidnap and murder an Israeli. The two cousins were found guilty of accepting a mission assigned to them by a Gaza-based terrorist group in which they would seize and kill an Orthodox Jew, then use the body to barter for the release of Palestinians jailed by Israel. They aborted the plot after failing to find an appropriate victim and weapons.
Israeli Chabad leaders arrested
JERUSALEM (JTA)—Israeli police arrested the leader of the Young Chabad movement. Yosef Aharonov and three others are accused of embezzlement, tax evasion and money laundering. The arrests and a Nov. 13 raid on the community of Kfar Chabad follow an eight-month investigation by the Israel Tax Authority and the Central District Fraud Squad.
Arkady Gaydamak, an Israeli-Russian billionaire and a potential Jerusalem mayoral candidate, is accused of donating $256,000 to the money-laundering facilities allegedly run out of Kfar Chabad, according to Israel’s Channel 10. He and other prominent businessmen are currently under investigation. Young Chabad, also known as Lubavitch Youth, is a nonprofit organization and one of the more prominent Chabad institutions in Israel. It has a budget of about $7.7 million a year, including allocations from the Israeli government.
Yosef George Segal, a Chabad employee who was accused more than a year ago by Young Chabad officials of embezzling $4.5 million from the organization, also was arrested. “ Like Chabad-Lubavitch offices everywhere, the Chabad Youth Organization in Israel is fiscally independent. However, its noble social service programs and educational outreach are legendary and a source of pride to the Jewish people everywhere,” read a statement from the umbrella organization of the worldwide Chabad Lubavitch movement. “Clearly, every individual is instructed by the Torah to uphold the laws of his/her land, and this is, of course, a basic principle of Chabad Lubavitch operations.We are confident, therefore, that the authorities will receive full cooperation in their efforts and that, ultimately, the results will be satisfactory.
Israeli troops kill 6 gunmen
JERUSALEM (JTA)—Israeli forces killed six Palestinian gunmen in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. Israeli troops raided Maghazi village in central Gaza early on Nov. 25, coming under fire from local militiamen. The soldiers shot back, killing two gunmen and wounding three other Palestinians. The dead men were identified as members of Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance Committees. Hours later, three armed Palestinians were shot dead while approaching the northern Gaza border fence. Their affiliations were not immediately known. In the West Bank city of Tulkarm, a Palestinian wanted for terrorist ties was killed by Israeli security forces while resisting arrest. Another Palestinian was taken into custody. There were no reports of Israeli casualties.
Israeli doctor turns spy
JERUSALEM (JTA)—An Israeli army psychiatrist was charged with offering to sell state secrets to Iran and Hamas. David Shamir, a reserve major in the military’s medical corps, was indicted for espionage in Tel Aviv District Court on Friday. According to prosecutors, Shamir, 45, sent letters by email and fax to Iran’s Foreign Ministry and a Hamas institution in the Gaza Strip, offering them information on Israel’s wartime deployment plans. He is also accused of making a similar approach to Russia’s intelligence services. Shamir’s overtures apparently were not answered. Prosecutors said that under interrogation Shamir had confessed to the charges, which carry hefty prison terms. But he did not immediately enter a plea in court, and was remanded for further investigation.
Seinfeld visits Israel
JERUSALEM (JTA)—Jerry Seinfeld is visiting Israel. The Jewish American comedian kicked off an Israeli tour to promote his new “Bee Movie” with an hour-long chat with President Shimon Peres on Nov. 23. According to media reports, Peres complimented Seinfeld on his eponymous television show, which has a huge following in Israel, while the funny man quizzed the elder statesman about how he preserves his health. During his four-day visit, Seinfeld was expected to drop in at Kibbutz Saar, where he volunteered as a teenager in the early 1970s.