March 1990, Page 37

Issues in the News

Compiled by Parker L. Payson

From the Jewish Press:

Too Much News:

A majority of Israelis believe that their country's press has too much freedom, even in the face of existing military censorship, and more than 60 percent believe that an expansion of press freedoms would be harmful to Israel's security, according to a January Tel Aviv University poll. The media's future role as a critical observer has been brought into question by the recent buyout of two of Israel's liberal newspapers, Ha'olam Ha'zeh and the Jerusalem Post, by conservative foreigners. Ariel Genger, a close friend of Ariel Sharon, bought Ha'olam Ha'zehthe newspaper that once described the former defense minister as public enemy number one. "It was as though a business and political partner of Senator Jesse Helms or Pat Robertson were to purchase a half interest in The Nation, say, or Mother Jones," analyst Leon Hadar told the Columbia Journalism Review.

American Jewry Needs To Double Aid:

The Israeli government is predicting immigration of up to 750,000 Soviet Jews within the next five to six years and has called on the American Jewish community to "at least double" donations to Israel over the next five years to provide over $1 billion for resettlement, according to government sources quoted in the Jerusalem Post.

Jewish Terrorist Organization Targets Jews:

An extreme right-wing Jewish terrorist group, Sicarii, linked with the fatal shooting of one Arab and the wounding of two others, claimed responsibility for placing a bomb outside the editorial offices of the Israeli daily Ma'ariv and also for attaching a grenade to the bottom of the car driven by the wife of Israeli Labor Party leader Shimon Peres. Justifying the acts, the group charged that "Peace Now is funded by Shimon Peres and functioning under his direct instructions ... We have the means to get to every single traitor," reported the National Jewish Post Observer.

EC Calls For Sanctions:

Israel's largest trading partner, the European Common Market, has called for the imposition of economic sanctions against Israel and for the cessation of all EC involvement in Israeli scientific and industrial research. In a nearly unanimous vote, the 518 deputies who represent the 12 nations of the European Economic Community called on member countries to adopt punitive measures against Israel for the first time in its 33-year history because of Israel's "contempt" for human rights in the occupied territories, reported the Cleveland Jewish News.

Policeman Gets Hand Slapped:

An unidentified Israeli policeman was suspended from duties that involve public contact following charges that he used "unnecessary force" during a peace rally organized by Peace Now near the Old City walls in Jerusalem Dec. 30. Several demonstrators were injured, according to Israeli Police Inspector General David Kraus. Video tapes showed police firing rubber bullets at fleeing demonstrators.

Greece Will Not Upgrade Relations:

Greece's new coalition government announced that it will not consider establishing full relations with Israel, following reports by Socialist Party leader Andreas Papandreou that in retaliation several Arab nations might recognize Turkish-controlled northern Cyprus, according to reports in the NY Jewish Week.

Israelis Foresee a Future PLO Role:

A majority of Israelis believe their country will eventually have to negotiate with the Palestine Liberation Organization, according to a December poll conducted by Hebrew University. Of the 1000 people who were asked whether the government would have to negotiate with the PLO, 15 percent said "definitely yes," 35 percent said "yes," and 12 percent said "perhaps." Only 22 percent answered "no" and 15 percent "definitely no." Meanwhile, Tel Aviv Likud Mayor Shlomo Lahat received a stern rebuke from party leaders after announcing in January that he would be willing to meet with PLO leader Yasser Arafat, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

Fist Fight Reflects Growing Polarization of Views:

Students at Hebrew University in Jerusalem called each other "Nazis," "fascists," and "murderers" in a scuffle between rightwing demonstrators and fellow students when several Jews and Arabs attempted to light candles "in memory of the intifada dead" in January, according to reports in the Detroit Jewish News.

Tough Economic Questions Ahead:

Israel's economy is worsening, according to figures released by Israel's Finance Ministry in January. Inflation grew to 21.7 percent in 1989, 25 percent higher than in 1988, and unemployment increased 6.3 percent in December, affecting some 51,300 people.

Meanwhile government revenues fell over 5 percent in December, straining public resources, according to a Bank Hopoalim report. Close to $1 billion has been spent on attempts to suppress the two-year-old intifada.

Anti-Semitism on Rise:

The number of anti-Semitic acts committed in the US in 1989 increased 12 percent over 1988, according to the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith. The incidents, ranging from desecration to murder, reached their highest level since the group began recording anti-Semitic acts in 1978.

Government Harassed Over Release of Political Prisoner:

The Israeli decision to free Palestinian activist Faisal Husseini after a three-day incarceration in January provoked political protest from right-wing Jews, who attempted to assault Husseini and his supporters following his release. Members of Rabbi Meir Kahane's extremist Kach movement have accused the government of surrendering to political pressure from the US, which strongly opposed the arrest of the Palestinian leader, who is well known in the territories for supporting nonviolence.

Criminal Charges Facing Weizman:

The Israeli police have begun investigating criminal charges brought against Cabinet Minister Ezer Weizman, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Israel's Attorney General Yosef Harish seeks to strip Weizman of his parliamentary immunity and prosecute him following his forced resignation from the inner cabinet in December for allegedly meeting with the PLO.

Arab Houses Not First Priority:

Jerusalem municipal leaders outlined a plan in December to build 7,600 dwelling units in the Arab neighborhoods of Beit Hanina and Shuafat, a drastic reduction from earlier plans which had called for up to 18,000 new homes for Arabs. Mayor Teddy Kollek's adviser on East Jerusalem, Amir Cheshin, described the plan as "not nearly sufficient to meet the needs of the Arab population within the city limits," the Jerusalem Post reported. Government officials estimate that as many as 20,000 Arabs have entered the already overcrowded city from Gaza and the West Bank in search of housing. Municipal planners have insisted that they have been doing their best to balance development in the Jewish West and Arab East sections of the city, but according to city council member Sara Kaminker, almost all the approved development projects have been in the West, including a new shopping mail, zoo, sport stadium, railway terminal, municipal garage and industrial zone.

From the Arab Press:

Splitting the Nile:

Increased demand for the Nile's water is having a disastrous effect on the nine nations dependent on the river, according to Egyptian Foreign Minister Boutros Ghali. "Under present circumstances, a water resources deficit of 5 billion cubic meters a year can be forecast for the year 2010 for Egypt and the Sudan," he said. Ghali warned that the 52 million Egyptians who live on the 3 percent of arable land supported by the Nile are likely to face grave problems in the quality and quantity of water, as are people in the Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi, if the situation does not improve.

Lebanese Student Asylum:

The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees, and International Law agreed in January to open hearings on legislation granting temporary asylum to Lebanese students currently studying in the US. "The vast majority of Lebanese nationals want to return to their homeland but the extremely violent situation in Lebanon bars them from returning safely," Congresswoman Mary Rose Oakar (D-OH), who sponsored the bill, told the Palestinian newspaper Al-Fajr.

Jordan Tightens Beit:

Jordan's finance minister, Basel Jardaneh, announced new austerity plans in December which would raise taxes 15 percent and cut public spending, in order to improve the country's balance of payments and narrow its budget deficit from 25 percent of the gross domestic product in 1988 to 6 percent in 1993. Jardaneh anticipates a 12 to 13 percent inflation rate in 1990, following a 26 percent increase in the cost of living in 1989, when the Jordanian dinar was devalued 40 percent to meet international obligations. The devaluation helped cut Jordan's trade deficit by one third to $1.15 billion in 1989 but did little to improve the economy, which saw little growth following a 3.5 percent reduction in 1988, according to reports in the Jordanian daily Sawt Al Shaab.

Ataturk Dam Raises Tempers:

Turkish plans to fill up the newly completed Ataturk Dam and convert acres of arid land in southeastern Anatolia into farmland are upsetting Syria and Iraq, both of whom rely on the waters of the Euphrates for irrigation and hydroelectricity. Turkey, which had planned to cut the river's flow for at least four weeks, has sent envoys to Baghdad and Damascus. Kuwait announced in February it would begin negotiations to end the dispute. Turkish officials told theMiddle East Times they "acted in good faith" by notifying Syria and Iraq of the plan in November 1988 and doubling the water flow into the two countries at the time to make up for the deficit.

Coup Attempt In Kabul:

Over 300 Afghan Army officers, including four or five generals, were arrested in December for plotting to overthrow the Soviet-backed Najibullah government. The government-sponsored Bakhtiar News Agency reported that the majority of those arrested were members of the ruling Peoples' Democratic Party of Afghanistan who allegedly had ties to Mojahedeen resistance leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.

Japanese Envoys Push For More Influence:

Japanese ambassadors, meeting in Tokyo in December, encouraged their government to increase technological aid and ministerial trips to the Middle East. A high-level Japanese diplomat stationed in the Middle East told the Saudi Gazette that "the understanding at the meeting was that Japan should not pursue an oil only policy in the Middle East."

Sahara Peace Plan Upheld:

Despite repeated attacks by Polisario guerrillas in Western Sahara, Morocco announced in January that it will continue to abide by a UN-sponsored plan to hold a referendum in the Sahara on future hegemony, according to official reports printed in Morocco Today. In December, Moroccans voted to postpone national elections until 1991 to facilitate the Sahara referendum.

Continued Sanctions Against Libya:

US President George Bush in January renewed wide sanctions against Libya, first imposed by Ronald Reagan in 1985. Bush, quoted in the Saudi Gazette, said: "The government of Libya continues to use and support international terrorism, in violation of international law and the minimum standards of human behavior." Yamani Predicts Shortages: Former Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani, fearful of a pending oil crisis, has set up an organization to help oil producing countries restore their output capacity to meet rising demands, according to the Middle East Times. Yamani has estimated that Saudi Arabia, for example, would need $30 billion to restore its output capacity to 10 million barrels a day, following a hiatus of peak production during the oil glut of the mid- 1980s.

US and France to Arm Hrawi:

The US and France agreed in January to equip Lebanese President Elias Hrawi with weapons needed to prepare Lebanese troops to replace Syrian soldiers in West Beirut, although the two countries still remain opposed to any attacks on Christian rival General Michel Aoun.

Kuwait Considers Democratic Reforms:

Following public demonstrations and petitions that included 30,000 signatures calling for a return to democracy, Kuwaiti Information Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al Sabah announced in January that the government would not reconstitute the old parliament, which was first dissolved in 1976 and again in 1986 following alleged acts of pro-Iranian sabotage during the Gulf War. He indicated that the government was considering other ways to re-introduce democracy into the country, saying, "If there is a new concept, we have no objection," according to the Middle East Times.

Bhutto Has Baby:

Pakistan's Prime Minster Benazir Bhutto gave birth to a seven -and-a-half-pound girl in Karachi in February. Government sources told the Saudi Gazette that Bhutto would be back on the job within 10 days to tackle the problems facing her government.

Soviet Scale Down in Syria:

The Soviet Union has withdrawn hundreds of military advisers from Syria and is cutting weapons shipments to the country, according to an unidentified Soviet diplomat quoted in the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Rai Al A'am in January. The diplomat said that "The Soviet Union had taken the step in accordance with a change in its policy towards Syria and the Middle East." Syria has denied the report.

Al-Mahdi Released:

Former Sudanese Prime Minister Sadeq al-Mahdi was released from prison but kept under house arrest, according to government news reports in January. Sudanese Information Minister Ali Shummo told the Middle East News Agency that Mahdi was released because prosecutors found no proof of official corruption.

Iraq Builds Satellite:

Iraq has developed a satellite which "is ready for launch," reported Iraq's undersecretary of industry and military industrialization, Amer Saadi, in the United Arab Emirates' Air Forcemagazine in February. Iraq successfully tested a rocket capable of deploying satellites in December. Israel is the only country in the region that has currently deployed a satellite.

Iran Seeks Financing:

Iranian officials visited Japan in February to secure financing for a five-year, $27 billion development plan, which would include expansion of Iran's oil production and refinery equipment. Iran has been encouraging Japan to increase the number of oil bills it prepays under a 1989 agreement. The Iranian news agency IRNA announced in January that West Germany had agreed to a similar $270 million credit deal.