Middle East Briefs

By JTA

article created on: 2009-01-01T00:00:00

Kassams hit after brief truce

JERUSALEM (JTA)—At least five Kassam rockets fired from the Gaza Strip struck the western Negev following a one-day cease-fire. Even as the rockets fell Dec. 30, a senior Hamas official, Mahmoud Al-Zahar, told the Egyptian daily al-Ahram that Hamas would renew its truce with Israel if Israel agrees to stop military operations in the coastal strip and open its border crossings. On the same day, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas told Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak during a meeting in Cairo that he would not support an Israeli invasion of Hamas-led Gaza or continued bombing of the area by Israeli warplanes. Meanwhile, senior Israeli defense officials told the Jerusalem Post that Israel will launch an operation against Hamas in Gaza even if there is a lull in rocket attacks. An Islamic Jihad official was quoted on Israel Radio as saying his terrorist organization had agreed to the Dec. 29 cease-fire only to allow an Egyptian convoy of humanitarian aid into Gaza and would step up its attacks after the aid was delivered.

Aliyah down 16 percent

JERUSALEM (JTA)—Some 16,500 Jews from around the world have made aliyah in 2008, a 16 percent drop from the previous year. The 6,100 immigrants from the former Soviet Union account for 35 percent of the olim. Some 3,250 of the immigrants came from Western Europe, or 20 percent, with 3,150 from the United States and Canada, or 19 percent. The number of Ethiopian immigrants fell to 1,700 from 3,600 because of Israel’s decision to halt the immigration of Falash Mura. French aliyah dropped as well because of the Jewish community’s comfort with President Nicolas Sarkozy. Immigration from South Africa nearly doubled to 350 from the previous year. Eli Cohen, the director of the aliyah department of the Jewish Agency, predicts a “serious increase” in aliyah from around the world in 2009. Some reasons he cites are the new programs instituted by the Jewish Agency and Israel’s Ministry of Absorption to help immigrants, as well as the influence of the world economic crisis. “The stability of the state of Israel could encourage potential olim to settle in Israel, so they can secure their children’s future and make their homes here,” Cohen said. There have been 3,041,714 immigrants to Israel since the founding of the state in 1948.

Ancient coins discovered

JERUSALEM (JTA)—A cache of ancient gold coins was discovered at a Jerusalem archeological site. More than 250 coins, thought to be 1,300 years old, were found Dec. 28 in the excavations at the Givati car park in the City of David. Archeological excavations under the auspices of the Israel Antiquities Authority began in the area two years ago. The coins were discovered on the site of a large seventh century C.E. building that is being uncovered. Since no other pottery vessels were discovered near the hoard, it is suspected that the coins were hidden inside a niche in the building’s wall, according to Dr. Doron Ben-Ami and Yana Tchekhanovets, the directors of the excavation at the site on behalf of the Antiquities Authority. “This is one of the largest and most impressive coin hoards ever discovered in Jerusalem—certainly the largest and most important of its period,” the directors said in a news release.

Sick Holtzberg son, 4, dies

(JTA)—The son of a Chabad couple killed last month in Mumbai has died. Dov Holtzberg, the 4-year-old son of Chabad emissaries Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg, died of a genetic disease and was buried Dec. 29 morning next to his parents and older brother. His brother died of the same disease two years ago. Dov had been living in a long-term care facility in Jerusalem. Jan. 1 marks the end of the 30-day mourning period for Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg, killed during terrorist attacks by Islamic gunmen on Mumbai, including the Chabad House. A ceremony to unveil their tombstones is scheduled for Thursday morning.

Lawmakers waive pay raise

JERUSALEM (JTA)—Due to the difficult economic times, Israel’s Knesset members will waive a 2009 pay raise. The Knesset House committee decided that lawmakers would give up an automatic 3 percent pay raise this month, according to reports. Knesset members earn about $8,300 a month and receive raises tied to the retail price index four times a year. They also get the use of a car.

Shalit topic for Carter, Hamas

WASHINGTON (JTA)—Jimmy Carter discussed the possible release of kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit with Hamas leaders. In a report on his Dec. 5-16 trip to Paris, Lebanon and Syria posted on the Carter Center Web site, the former president wrote that he met with Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal “and his fellow Hamas politburo members.” Among the topics they discussed, he wrote, was “formulas for prisoner exchange to obtain the release of Corporal Shalit.” Shalit, an IDF corporal at the time who has since been promoted to staff sergeant, has been held hostage by Hamas since June 25, 2006, when he was captured in a cross-border raid. Carter said he also spoke to Meshaal and other Hamas leaders about the Arab peace initiative and “life under the Israeli sanctions,” among other subjects. “Like the Syrians, they are patient, relatively satisfied with the status quo, and putting all their eggs in Obama’s basket,” wrote Carter. “We had to caution them about expecting too much of an immediate change in U.S. Middle East policy.”

Paris: Iran nuke plans military

PARIS (JTA)—Iran’s nuclear goals are military, and the country could have a nuclear bomb in two to three years, a French Foreign Affairs Commission said. After the report was published Dec. 24, the Socialist Party lawmaker who led the commission, Jean-Louis Bianco, told the French daily Le Figaro he was “certain” Iran’s nuclear goals were military. “Tehran possesses nuclear bomb plans, which were without a doubt obtained thanks to Pakistani channels,” he said. The report showed Iran has “a bomb miniaturization program,” he said. The commission gathered evidence over the course of a year from military, political and intelligence officials from France, Israel and Iran, among others. Earlier this month, French president Nicolas Sarkozy said he would not sit beside an Iranian leader who “dares say Israel should be wiped from the map.” On Dec. 25, Likud Party leader Benjamin Netanyahu met with Sarkozy to insist on the dire global threat of a nuclear-armed Iran and to discuss plans for Israeli-Palestinian peace. Later in the day, Netanyahu told an audience hosted by the French Jewish community umbrella group CRIF that he believed Sarkozy was clear on the risks at stake. Netanyahu also said France and the United States are in an unprecedented position to pressure Iran because of those countries’ strength and Iran’s weaknesses due to the global drop in oil prices. “We are at a historic crossroads,” Netanyahu said.

Shoe thrower offered bride

WASHINGTON (JTA)—A Palestinian patriarch offered a bride to the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at President Bush. Ahmad Salim Judeh, whose clan is based in the West Bank town of Nablus, said Muntadar al-Zeidi could have one of the clan’s daughters as his bride if he so wished, the Associated Press reported. Judeh, 75, also offered $30,000 toward al-Zeidi’s defense. His clan numbers 500. Al-Zeidi has been detained since he threw his shoes at Bush during a press conference.

Tour bus driver arrested

JERUSALEM (JTA)—The driver of a bus that crashed near Eilat killing 24 Russian tourists was released from the hospital and then arrested. Edward Gelfond, 39, was ordered by a Kfar Saba court to be placed under house arrest for 30 days after paying bail of about $2,700. He was arrested on charges of suspicion of negligent homicide, reckless driving and overtaking another vehicle with a limited field of vision. Police discovered during its initial questioning of Gelfond that he did not activate the vehicle’s black box, which would have recorded the bus speed and systems before and during the accident. The tour bus was filled with a group of Russian tour guides who had just arrived on a flight from St. Petersburg for an organized tour. The bus plunged down a 45-foot embankment as it attempted to pass another bus on a narrow, steep road near Eilat. Israel’s Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz said the crash was “the result of aggressive behavior on the part of drivers,” citing reports that the two bus drivers had an argument before crossing an army checkpoint shortly before the accident.

DNA test points to infidelity

JERUSALEM (JTA)—An Israeli woman plans to prove to a rabbinical court that her husband is cheating on her by using DNA testing. The woman, in her 50s, took her husband’s underwear to a lab for testing after he took them off upon his return home, Ynet reported. The lab found DNA traces on the garment that did not belong to the husband or wife. Rabbinical judges are reviewing the lab report. Ynet reported that “a considerable sum of money is at stake in this divorce procedure.”

Israeli voters to query candidates via YouTube

JERUSALEM (JTA)—Israeli voters will be able to ask candidates for national elections questions via YouTube. The initiative, spearheaded by Israel’s Channel 2, is similar to interactive initiatives from the U.S. presidential campaign. Internet users can upload a 25-second video with a question for a candidate, the Israeli daily Ha’aretz reported. The most popular entries will appear on Channel 2 and be answered live by the candidate. Some entrants will be invited to participate in Channel 2’s live interview with the candidates for prime minister.

Accused confesses to killing Yemeni Jew

JERUSALEM (JTA)—A former Yemeni Air Force officer confessed to killing a Jewish citizen. Abdul Aziz Yahya Hamoud Al-Abdi, 39, confessed Dec. 18 in a Yemen court to the Sept. 11 murder of Masha Ya’ish Al-Nahari, according to the Yemen Times. The judge in the case ordered Al-Abdi to go for a medical checkup to determine if he is competent to stand trial. His lawyers argued that he was mentally unfit. Al-Abdi justified his actions by saying that he “enabled [the victim] to choose between embracing Islam, leaving the country or being killed,” the paper said. He also sent a threatening letter to the Jewish community of Yemen telling them to embrace Islam or leave the country. A few hundred Jews still live in Yemen.

Abbas lauds Bush on peace

WASHINGTON (JTA)—Mahmoud Abbas praised President Bush for laying the foundations for Israeli-Palestinian peace. “Together we put the fundamental, basic things needed for the peace process,” the Palestinian Authority president said Dec. 19, addressing Bush at a White House meeting, their last before Bush leaves office this month. “There is no doubt that we will continue these efforts and the peace negotiations. But everything will be based on the foundation, and that foundation was laid by you during your time in office.” Talks between Israel and the Palestinians were renewed a year ago in Annapolis, Md., under U.S. auspices. Bush’s administration last month shepherded the codification of the Annapolis pledge of Palestinian statehood through the U.N. Security Council, essentially underpinning the goal with international law. “I was pleased to note that the U.N. Secretary Council passed a resolution which confirms that the bilateral negotiation process is irreversible, and it’s a path to a Palestinian state and a path to peace in the Middle East,” Bush told Abbas.

Gaydamak leaves Israel

WASHINGTON (JTA)—The Israeli-Russian multimillionaire who finished a distant third in Jerusalem’s mayoral elections has left Israel. Arcadi Gaydamak, who scored just 3.5 percent in November’s elections won by businessman Nir Barkat, departed on his private jet, the Ha’aretz newspaper reported in its online edition Dec. 27. Gaydamak had been unable to leave Israel until he paid a $2.5 million bond in a money-laundering investigation. He paid the bond and, according to Ha’aretz, is unlikely to return.

Jaffa mosque defaced

JERUSALEM (JTA)—A mosque near Israel’s Jaffa Port was defaced with graffiti including “Muhammad is a pig” and “Death to Arabs.” Muslim worshipers discovered the graffiti Dec. 28 when they arrived that morning for services. Jaffa is a mixed Jewish and Arab city. Sheik Ahmed Abu Ajweh, the head of the Islamic Movement in Jaffa, blamed settlers for the graffiti, according to the Israeli daily Ha’aretz. Other graffiti included “Kahane was right,” a reference to the late Rabbi Meir Kahane, who called for the transfer of Arabs out of the Jewish state, and “No peace without the House of Peace,” a reference to the building in Hebron evacuated two weeks ago by Israeli soldiers. The Islamic Movement filed a police report on the attack. Other Jaffa mosques have been attacked in the past. In 2005, a severed pig head was thrown into the courtyard of a Jaffa mosque on the border with Tel Aviv following the disengagement from Gush Katif.

Migron ‘seller’ dead since 1961

WASHINGTON (JTA)—The alleged seller in a controversial West Bank land deal has been dead nearly 50 years, according to an investigation by the Associated Press. The AP probe into the illegal outpost at Migron, published in December, shows that the sale of the land to the settlers was based largely on forgeries. The Palestinian farmer whose name is on the 2004 sales document for the land near Ramallah has been dead since 1961. The signature of the California notary on the document is forged and FBI agents are looking into the affair. Settlers in Migron, numbering 45 families, insist the sale is legitimate.

Woman seeks divorce using DNA testing

JERUSALEM (JTA)—An Israeli woman plans to prove to a rabbinical court that her husband is cheating on her by using DNA testing. The woman, in her 50s, took her husband’s underpants to a lab for testing after he took them off upon his return home, Ynet reported. The lab found DNA traces on the garment that did not belong to the husband or wife. Rabbinical judges are reviewing the lab report. Ynet reported that “a considerable sum of money is at stake in this divorce procedure.”