Page 4-THE NEWS-April 1991
World Beat
El Al StMFts Flights to Pngue
TEL AVIV (JTA) — El Al
inaugurated weekly flights be
tween Tel Aviv and Prague on
March 23. The service is being
conducted jointly with CS A, the
Czech national airline,
El Al now has regular flights
to Budapest, Warsaw and Ber
lin, in addition to its long-
established services to Western
Europe and North America.
Weekly flights to Moscow
were begun on Jan. 23, but the
Soviet authorities limit them to
business travel. Jews immigrat
ing to Israel from the Soviet
Union cannot fly directly from
Moscow but must change planes
at an Eastern European capital.
The Ministry of Tourism
disclosed, meanwhile, that tour
ist hotel bookings were down 75
percent in January 1991 com
pared to January 1990, a falloff
attributed to the Persian Gulf
war.
By the same token, hotel
bookings by Israelis soared 60
percent in Jerusalem and Eilat,
where residents of the Greater
Tel Aviv area fled to escape Iraqi
Scud missile attacks in January.
High Influx of Soviet Immigrants
Could Drain
Agriculture Production
JERUSALEM (JTA) — The
mass influx of immigrants from
the Soviet Union will generate
a demand for agricultural pro
ducts two and a half times above
the level it would have reached
in five years without the immi
gration.
But there is a negative side to
the rapid population increase,
according to Immanuel Dlaya-
hu, director of planning in the
Ministry’s Joint Agricultural
Planning and Development Au
thority, who spoke at a recent
conference of Hebrew Universi
ty agronomists. He referred to
the extra demands on Israel’s
already overtaxed water resour
ces, which could work to the
detriment of agriculture as a
whole. Dlayahu said that if the
problem of insufficient water
resources could be solved, there
could be a great flourishing of
agricultural production and
profits.
The conference was opened by
former Prime Minister Shimon
Peres, chairman of the Labor
Party, who said that if war were
to break out between Israel and
its Arab neighbors, it would be
over water, not territory.
Neo-Nazi Group Proposes that
AT&T Stop Providing
Products to Israel
NEW YORK (JTA) — The
National Alliance, a neo-Nazi
group that owns 100 shares of
stock in the American Tele
phone & Telegraph Co., has
called on AT&T to stop provid
ing products and sen^ices to
Israel.
In a shareholder proposal put
forward in a proxy statement,
the National Alliance calls upon
the phone company to “phase
out all sales of AT&T products
and services to the State of Israel
and to Israeli businesses’* be
cause “sales of AT&T products
and services to the State of Israel
and to Israeli businesses may
contribute toward violations of
the human rights of Palestini
ans.”
The AT&T proxy statement
was made public in advance of
the company’s annual share
holders meeting, scheduled to be
held April 17 in Chicago.
The National Alliance’s sup
porting statement in the proxy
cites a report enumerating Israeli
abuses of Palestinian human
rights, published by the Swedish
Save the Children organization.
The author of that report,
Anne Nixon, objected to the
National Alliance’s use of her
figures in the proxy statement.
AT&T’s directors recommend
against the proposal and noted
that the National alliance’s
“professed concern for human
rights lacks credibility and is
even misleading, given the con
sistent anti-Semitic bias in the
proponent’s literature and pub
lic statements.
“Clearly, the proponent is
using the proxy process not to
attempt to advance human
rights, but to achieve anti-
Semitic goals.”
Melvin Salberg, national
chairman of the Anti-Defama
tion League of B’nai B’rith,
praised AT&T’s recommenda
tion in a letter to Robert Allen,
chairman of AT&T’s Board of
Directors.
Israel Now has World’s Largest
Military Force Per Capita
LOS ANGELES (JTA) —
Israel, whose defense spending
per capita is the highest in the
world, may now also have the
largest military force in propor
tion to its population.
Until recently, Iraq had 53
soldiers on active duty for every
1,000 residents, the highest
proportion in the world, fol
lowed by Israel with 42.6, ac
cording to a chart published by
the Los Angeles Times.
With the destruction of much
of Iraq’s armed forces, Israel
now appears to top the list,
followed by North Korea, Syria
and Cuba. The United States
ranks 20th, with 9.3 troops on
active duty per 1,000 population.
As for military spending,
Israel ranks No. 1, laying out
$1,373.91 per inhabitant in 1990-
91. Second is the United States,
with $1,165.13 per capita. Other
high spenders include Saudi
Arabia in third place, the United
Kingdom in fifth ($589.24 per
capita), Syria in 12th, and Egypt
in 15th place ($116.42 per cap
ita).
The Times based its figures on
data from the International
Institute for Strategic Studies
and the 1990 World Almanac.
Japan Makes a Gesture to Israel
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Ja
pan has sent a message of sym
pathy to Israeli victims of Iraqi
missile attacks and has promised
to improve its relations with
Israel now that the war in the
Persian Gulf has ended.
The message was delivered by
Japanese Deputy Foreign Min
ister Hisashi Owada, who was
on a brief official visit to Jer
usalem, a rare occurrence given
the cool relations between the
two countries.
The visit came at a time when
officials here feel slighted by
Tokyo’s failure to include Israel
on a list of countries affected by
the war to which it plans to offer
substantial financi^ aid.
The Japanese official ex
plained the aid was for develop
ing countries and that Israel is
regarded as a developed country
.and therefore not entitled to it.
Foreign Minister David Levy
told his guest that Israel expects
an end to Japanese compliance,
on both the governmental and
private levels, with the Arab
economic boycott against Israel.
In part because of Japan’s
heavy dependence on Arab oil,
Tokyo has been reluctant to
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challenge the Arab boycott. As
a result, several leading Japanese
corporations, including major
car manufacturers, refuse to sell
their products to Israel.
A Schwarzkopf by Another Name
TEL AVIV (JTA) — The
Schwarzkopf residence in Israel
was severely damaged by a Scud
missile, and the family is tem
porarily being housed in a local
hotel.
But it was not the by now
world-famous Gen. H. Norman
Schwarzkopf, commander of the
coalition forces in the Persian
Gulf, who was bombed out.
Meir and Hannah Schwarz
kopf, of the Orthodox township
of Bnei Brak near Tel Aviv, had
been spending a four-day break
in Eilat to rest from the missile
attacks on the Greater Tel Aviv
area when they were informed
by neighbors by phone that their
apartment had been hit and
badly damaged.
They have since been housed
in a local hotel.
Meir Schwarzkopf arrived in
Israel in 1944 from Poland,
where his entire family had been
wiped out by the Nazis.
“As far as I know, we are not
related in any manner. But I
would feel honored if we were,”
he said.
Religious Minister Says Pope’s Visit
Should Include
Recognition of Israel
JERUSALEM (JTA) — A
possible visit by Pope Paul to
Jerusalem should be accompan
ied by the Vatican’s recognition
of Israel, said Avner Shaki,
minister of religious affairs, in
reaction to the announcement
that the Pope wishes to visit
Jerusalem.
Shaki, of the National Reli
gious Party, emphasized the
Pope’s intention to “pray in the
holy city” could only take place
“in united Jerusalem.”The Pope
made his comment in an address
to the Vatican.
Shaki said that a visit by the
Pope, accompanied by a recog
nition of the State of Israel,
could contribute to peace efforts
and serve as a “message to all
the Arab states.”
Tlie Pope should rccoghize
that Jerusalem is indivisible,
Shaki said. While it would
always serve as a center for three
religions, it should be recognized
as Israel’s soverign capital, he
said.
Catholic sources in Jerusalem
said that the Vatican has recog
nized Israel de facto for years,
but has refrained from establish
ing formal relations so as not to
alienate the Arab countries.
Recent Vatican statements
about Israel have seemed
warmer than previous remarks
but emphasize, nonetheless, that
Vatican recognition of Israel is
tied to resolution of the Pales
tinian problem.
E.C. to Aid Israel/Palestinians
BRUSSELS (JTA) — The
European Community has
agreed to a $300 million package
to compensate Israel and the
Palestinians in the West Bank
and Gaza Strip for their eco
nomic losses arising from the
Persian Gulf war.
The 12 E.C. foreign ministers
approved a $210 million loan to
Israel and a $90 million grant
to the Palestinians.
Lord Jakobovits is First Jew
To be Awarded Templeton Prize
NEW YORK (JTA) — Imma
nuel Jakobovits, chief rabbi of
Great Britain and the Common
wealth, has been awarded the
1991 Templeton Prize for Pro
gress in Religion, marking the
Hrst time that the prize has been
given to a Jew in the award’s 19-
year history.
Great Britain’s Prince Philip
will present the prize to the
outgoing chief rabbi at a private
ceremony at Buckingham Palace
on May 7. Public ceremonies
honoring Jakobovits will take
place in Toronto on May 27 and
in Vancouver, Canada, on May
29.
The award, announced at the
United Nations Church Center,
is being granted as Lord Jakob
ovits retires from his post after
a career that spanned five de
cades. It carries with it a stipend
of 410,000 pounds sterling, the
equivalent of about $800,0()0.
F.Y.I.
“Jerusalem On Line,” the only weekly TV show produced
in Israel for Americans, may be seen on the following outlet
in the Charlotte area: ATC (NJT), Channel 32 on Sundays
at 1 p.m.
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