To: bprlist@egroups.com
Subject: Re: [bprlist] Israel, PA expected to agree on basis for talks
From: Manumuskin
Date: Tue, 26 Dec 2000 05:19:24 EST

would this by chance leave the northern part of the temple mount under
Israeli control?
Al

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

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To: bprlist@egroups.com
Subject: Re: [bprlist] Israel, PA expected to agree on basis for talks
From: Lambert Dolphin <lambert@ldolphin.org>
Date: Tue, 26 Dec 2000 08:08:57 -0800

No. The Northern end of the Temple Mount opens into the Muslim
Quarter of the Old City. The entire Temple Mount is considered a
"holy shrine" to Islam. They will even deny that there ever were any
Jewish or Christian buildings there anywhere. It is entirely
political.

Lambert Dolphin
http://ldolphin.org

>would this by chance leave the northern part of the temple mount under
>Israeli control?
>Al

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To: bprlist@egroups.com
Subject: [bprlist] Israel won't sign treaty on war crimes court
From: "research-bpr" <research-bpr@philologos.org>
Date: Mon, 25 Dec 2000 14:43:29 -0500

 Monday, December 25, 2000

Israel won't sign treaty on war crimes court

                  By Aluf Benn
                  Ha'aretz Diplomatic Correspondent

Israel will not sign a treaty this month to establish an international war
crimes court, Prime Minister Ehud Barak decided yesterday.

Barak will bring this decision to the cabinet for approval next week.

Israel will still be able to join the court any time during the next two years,
but it will now have to ratify as well as sign the treaty, and to amend its own
laws accordingly. Until the end of this month, countries were allowed to sign
without ratifying.

Barak has thus adopted the position of Attorney General Elyakim
Rubinstein. Rubinstein said that while Israel attaches great moral importance
to the establishment of the court, the treaty defines the settlements as a war
crime. Therefore, if Israel were to sign the treaty, it would effectively be
accepting this formulation, when its goal instead is to change it, Rubinstein
said.

Rubinstein, and the defense establishment, also fear that if Israel joins the
court, Arab countries will try to have IDF officers indicted for actions they
have taken during the current Intifada. The IDF therefore opposes signing as
long as Israel is in a state of war.

Justice Minister Yossi Beilin and Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami, in
contrast, both advocated signing. Beilin argued that signing without ratifying
would have no practical consequences; it would merely express Israel's
support in principle for such a court.

Barak acknowledged that there would be some advantages to signing from
the perspective of international relations, but warned that it would also have
moral and practical consequences.

Furthermore, he said, the issue is inextricably linked to the progress of the
peace process.

Barak noted that the United States has also refused to sign - like Israel, due
to fear of legal persecution of its officers and soldiers.

http://www3.haaretz.co.il/eng/scripts/article.asp?mador=14&datee=12/25/00&
id=104435

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To: bprlist@egroups.com
Subject: [bprlist] Saddam Meets Senior Official From China
From: "research-bpr" <research-bpr@philologos.org>
Date: Mon, 25 Dec 2000 14:48:14 -0500

Saddam Meets Senior Official From China

BAGHDAD, Dec 24, 2000 -- (Reuters) Iraqi President Saddam Hussein met
a senior official from China on Saturday for talks on improving relations, the
Iraqi News Agency INA reported.

Full Story:
http://www.insidechina.com/news.php3?id=235845

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To: bprlist@egroups.com
Subject: [bprlist] Saddam urges war on Israel in Christmas message
From: "research-bpr" <research-bpr@philologos.org>
Date: Mon, 25 Dec 2000 14:49:57 -0500

Saddam urges war on Israel in Christmas message

Reuters
Web-posted: 11:44 a.m. Dec. 24, 2000

BAGHDAD -- Iraqi President Saddam Hussein called in a Christmas
message on
Sunday for Arab Muslims and Christians to launch a holy war on Israel.
     Saddam accused Israel of defiling Muslim and Christian sanctuaries
     and
of wanting to exterminate Palestinians, with the backing of the United
States.
     "Principles of Islam and the teachings of Jesus Christ make it
imperative on us to take the road that satisfies God and our
conscience...that is the road of Jihad (holy war)," he said.
     "Without Jihad we will not realise what we are hoping for in
     achieving
peace and justice and saving humanity from the evils of the criminals, the
murderers," he added.
     Earlier, Saddam urged Palestinians to continue their uprising against
Israel and to ignore "short-sighted political solutions" sponsored by the
United States.
     At least 343 people, most of them Palestinians, have been killed in a
Palestinian uprising that began almost three months ago. Thirty-nine
Israelis and 13 Israeli Arabs also have been killed.
     Iraq has always taken a hard line towards Israel and fired Scud
missiles at the Jewish state during the Gulf War. It also opposes peace
agreements signed between Israel and the Palestinians and those signed
with neighbouring countries.

http://www.sun-
sentinel.com/news/daily/detail/0,1136,36000000000148880,00.html

via: Third_Watch@egroups.com

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To: bprlist@egroups.com
Subject: [bprlist] Arutz-7 News (12/25/00)
From: "research-bpr" <research-bpr@philologos.org>
Date: Mon, 25 Dec 2000 15:28:21 -0500

Arutz Sheva News Service
  <http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Monday, Dec. 25, 2000 / Kislev 28, 5761 - Chanukah

TODAY'S HEADLINES:
   1. RELAY-RACE OF GENERATIONS
   2. BURG AGAINST TEMPLE MOUNT GIVE-AWAY
   3. OLMERT VS. BARAK
   4. SHOOTINGS CONTINUE
   5. ISRAEL WILL NOT SIGN ICC CHARTER
   6. CREATING FACTS ON THE GROUND
   7. PRIZE-WINNING PRODUCER LAMBASTS PM
   8. THE ELON BILL
   9. JUDAIZING JERUSALEM
   10. IN BRIEF
***SPECIAL INSERT: Excerpts from previous comments by Ehud Barak on
Jerusalem

1. RELAY-RACE OF GENERATIONS
Israel's two Chief Rabbis - Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau and Rabbi Eliyahu
Bakshi-Doron - demand of Prime Minister Barak that he not give away the
Temple Mount. "No one has the right to give away the site of the Holy
Temple," they said in a statement, and added, "The Temple Mount is the
basis on which rests our right to the entire Land." Rabbi Lau explained
to Arutz-7 today, "We are in a relay-race of generations, and it cannot be
that in the middle of the race, one of the generations will simply give up
and not transfer the torch to the next in line." He said that Islam was
only founded hundreds of years after Judaism had already built two Holy
Temples on the site, "such that even if we cannot change the reality, we
must certainly not give it official legal status."

Rabbi Bakshi-Doron said this morning that the Chief Rabbinate's ruling
forbidding Jewish entry to the site should not be misinterpreted as a
surrender of the holy spot. Justice Minister Yossi Beilin said in
response that the question of sovereignty over the Temple Mount is not one
for rabbis or Halakhic [Jewish legal] decisors.

2. BURG AGAINST TEMPLE MOUNT GIVE-AWAY
Knesset Speaker Avraham Burg, a Labor party colleague of Prime Minister
Barak, is against giving away the Temple Mount. Burg, who plans to meet
with Barak today or tomorrow on the matter, said that he also objects to
giving away the Mt. of Olives and nearby areas. "It cannot be that for 30
years every government promises that Jerusalem will never be divided, and
then at the moment of truth, it goes and divides it," he said.

Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami, on the other hand, has officially=20
recommended that Israel accept the proposals suggested by U.S. President
Clinton. Clinton's proposals went just a bit further than Israel's last
offer, and call for a Palestinian state on 95% of Judea and Samaria and
all of Gaza; the transfer of all Arab-populated Jerusalem neighborhoods to
the Palestinians; and the re-settling of 150,000 Arabs from other
countries in the Negev. Yasser Arafat said today that he will continue to
review the Clinton proposals, but that they do not appear to meet the
Palestinians' minimum requirements.

3. OLMERT VS. BARAK
Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert commented emotionally last night on Barak's
willingness to divide Jerusalem:
 "Barak will ask Clinton to pressure him to give over even more - I have
 no=20
doubt about it... Arafat will not accept [Clinton's current=20
proposals]. He sees that across from him [at the negotiating table] are
sitting a bunch of rags, people who have lost their inner strength, so he
says, 'Why shouldn't we pressure them to give over even more?' ... I say
again, Barak is dismantling and selling the State of Israel. It has
nothing to do with peace or reconciliation with the Palestinians - it has
to do only with politics and with Barak's emotional and inner collapse...=20
I have no doubt that this decision [to divide Jerusalem] will wipe out any
legitimacy that Barak may have in history. Barak will symbolize the
darkest hour of Jewish history: the man who gave away, for the first time
ever, our holiest place to someone else - the place to which we prayed for
2,000 years, the most essential aspect of everything that the Jewish
people dreamt for and hoped to return to... Along comes someone who has
lost the public trust, who has resigned as Prime Minister, and gives away
the Temple Mount... He deceived the nation [see Special Insert below].=20
He lied to me personally, but that's my personal problem. He lied to the
nation, and the nation will banish him in shame. This nation will not
exist if its right in Jerusalem is not recognized - and Jerusalem is the
Temple Mount."

The Land of Israel Front in the Knesset is back in business, and will
convene tomorrow for an emergency meeting with extra-Parliamentary
right-wing activists. The group's chairman, MK Tzvi Hendel, says that the
Front will not allow Barak to carry out a "fast one" for which the entire
country will pay dearly: "If Barak caves in to the Palestinian demands on
Jerusalem and Yesha, he will encounter a determined public outcry that he
will not be able to ignore."

4. SHOOTINGS CONTINUE
Despite the heavy rains last night, Palestinian terrorists managed to pull
off a few shootings at Israeli targets throughout Gaza: Gush Katif,
Netzarim, and the Rafiah crossing on the Israeli-Egyptian border. No one
was hurt, and IDF soldiers returned fire.

Palestinians shot at an Angel's Bakery truck on its way to the Shomron
town of Itamar early this afternoon; the driver was hurt and taken for
treatment to Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikvah. An Egged bus traveling
along the Jenin bypass road in northern Shomron was attacked with gunfire,
and shots were fired at an IDF outpost near Kalkilye this evening; no one
was hurt.

5. ISRAEL WILL NOT SIGN ICC CHARTER
Israel will not sign the Rome Statute calling for an International
Criminal Court. In a meeting on the issue yesterday, Prime Minister Barak
accepted the position of Attorney-General Elyakim Rubenstein over that of
Justice Minister Beilin and Foreign Minister Ben-Ami.

6. CREATING FACTS ON THE GROUND
The army has begun erecting a fence along the old border between Jordan
and Israel - known as the Green Line. The fence will begin in the north
from Mt. Gilboa (near Beit She'an), down to Latrun just north of Jerusalem
in southwestern Binyamin. Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh, who
toured part of the area today, said that the fence will prevent terrorists
from entering the State of Israel and will cut down on car thefts. Prime
Minister Barak has earmarked 100 million shekels for the project.=20
Previous governments had refrained from erecting such a fence, lest it
demarcate the future border between Israel and the Palestinians.

7. PRIZE-WINNING PRODUCER LAMBASTS PM
World-renowned film producer Arthur Cohn, a strong supporter of many Yesha
causes, was awarded the Menachem Begin Prize at the Begin Heritage=20
Center
last night, for his prize-studded film career and specifically for his
recent film 'One Day in September.' The film depicts the events of the
Munich Olympics Massacre in 1972, in which Palestinian terrorists murdered
11 Israeli athletes. Other awardees of the prize - given in recognition
of a contribution or achievement on behalf of the State of Israel -
included Prof. Deborah Lipstadt, a leader in the struggle against
Holocaust denial; Huldah Gurevitz, a long-time volunteer on behalf of
wounded IDF soldiers and their families; and the Ohr MeOfir institute for
Ethiopian Jews in the Ohr Etzion campus, presided over by Rabbi Chaim
Drukman.

Cohn, the recipient of six Oscars and an ardent Zionist, made some strong
statements of contemporary relevance in his short acceptance speech last
night:
 "Though I have received several awards for this film, I am particularly
proud of this award, because I knew Menachem Begin personally=85 He was
noble and dignified in everything he did. In contrast to others, he did
not restrict himself to a promise before the elections to be a Prime
Minister of all Israelis - he *was* a Prime Minister to all=85 Menachem
Begin was above all a Jewish statesman - never ever would he even consider
thinking about negotiating about Jerusalem, because he was deeply rooted
in the Jewish tradition=85 Begin was a sincere democrat, not only formally=
,
but throughout his political life=85 On my flight here, I read that [durin=
g
this transition period] until the election of a new Prime Minister, [even]
a new ambassador to Korea cannot be named. And I wondered why on earth
during the same time period united Jerusalem can be put into question, and
a division of Jerusalem can be considered, without any Parliamentary
backing?=85 How is it possible that a Prime Minister who has resigned, and
who for months has not had a majority in the Knesset, can put into
question - in a frightfully undemocratic manner - everything that has to
do with Jewish tradition that was sacred not only to Israel but also to
Jews in the Diaspora? During this sad period that marks a terrible
decline in the democracy of Israel, I prefer to remember the times of
Menachem Begin, who always put the future of the country ahead of his
personal political goals, and always according to the Jewish tradition=85"

8. THE ELON BILL
Will left-wing Knesset Members succeed in preventing the implementation of
the will of the Knesset majority? Law Committee Chairman Amnon=20
Rubenstein
(Meretz) says he will not conduct a vote tomorrow on the bill by MK Benny
Elon (National Union). The bill stipulates that a transition government,
or one that does not enjoy the support of a majority of the Knesset, may
not negotiate international agreements. The bill has already passed a
preliminary reading in the Knesset, and its next stop is the Law Committee
- which will conduct a session tomorrow. Elon has gathered a total of 61
MKs who have signed a letter to Knesset Speaker Avraham Burg (Labor),
demanding that the bill be put to a final vote before the Knesset departs
for its pre-election recess next week.

9. JUDAIZING JERUSALEM
Mati Dan, head of the Ateret Cohanim association - involved for years in
reclaiming Jewish areas in the Old City of Jerusalem - said that the group
is increasing its efforts to acquire new properties there - as the
appropriate response to Barak's plans to divide the city. Speaking with
Arutz-7 today, Dan made an impassioned plea, asking for help in purchasing
a large building on the way to the Western Wall for $900,000. "This will
be the response of faith, the Zionist response, to those who wish to
weaken us," he said. "Part of the problem is that we are getting involved
in things that are not our job. It's our job now not to worry about what
they are talking about in Washington, but rather to see how we can double
the Jewish population in [the Moslem Quarter of] the Old City. We can do
it! We were always the minority, and it need not bother us. The public
is now called upon to act! [To paraphrase Mattathias of Chanukah,] Who is
for Jerusalem, to us!... Forget about Barak; we must all ask ourselves
how much time we have put into the cause of increasing the Jewish presence
in the Old City..." Ateret Cohanim's website can be accessed at
<"http://www.ateret.org.il/">.

10. IN BRIEF
 An IDF officer was seriously wounded and two others were moderately
injured during a military accident in the north. A grenade exploded
inside a tank in the north; the precise circumstances of the accident are
being investigated...
 Some 150 12th-grade high school students have sent a letter to IDF Chief
of Staff Lt.-Gen. Sha'ul Mofaz, protesting the abandonment of wounded
Israelis at Joseph's Tomb and at Mt. Eval. The students - from religious
schools in Givat Shmuel, Ramat Gan, and Beit El - ask Mofaz to ensure that
such cases not repeat themselves. The students also protested the "policy
of restraint" that the government is dictating to the IDF in the face of
the Palestinian violence...
 Laws of Hanukkah: http://www.yeshiva.org.il/English/Eindex.htm...

***SPECIAL INSERT: Excerpts from previous comments by Ehud Barak on
Jerusalem

This past May, Prime Minister Barak spoke at a memorial ceremony at=20
Ammunition Hill in Jerusalem and said:
 "Only one who does not understand the depth of the total soul-connection
between the Jewish nation and Jerusalem, and only one who is totally
estranged from the legacy of Jewish history, and from the Jewish vision
and life-song, and to the faith and the hope of generations, could even
begin to consider an Israeli concession on any part of Jerusalem. Only
one who does not understand that Jerusalem is intertwined in the souls of
our ancestors for 3,000 years, the focus of our national yearning, the
secret of its strength and existence, could demand that we turn our backs
on it. It will never come about! For it is a matter of our national
existence, and we only have one Jerusalem."

Ehud Barak as head of the opposition, speaking in Ofrah in 1997:
 "We have red lines: A united Jerusalem, under our sovereignty, capital
 of=20
Israel forever, period."

After the Wye Agreement, in late 1998, Barak responded to accusations by
then-Prime Minister Netanyahu that Barak would give away 90% of Yesha;
Barak told Arutz-7at the time,
 "Netanyahu signed an agreement to give away 40% of Yesha to Arafat, and
the public now fears that he may even lead us to the =01'worst of all' and
give away everything=85 A government under my leadership will not give awa=
y
90%, and not 50%=85"

Hebrew News Editor: Haggai Segal
English News Editor: Hillel Fendel

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To: bprlist@egroups.com
Subject: [bprlist] BreakingNews-Israel 1,2,3 (12/25/00)
From: "research-bpr" <research-bpr@philologos.org>
Date: Mon, 25 Dec 2000 15:29:39 -0500

1. Truck driver lightly injured in shooting attack=09
2. Soldiers come under attack east of Nablus=09
3. Four soldiers injured in northern area training accident=09
4. Iran threatens Israel and the US=09

*****************************************************
25-DEC-00 =96 2:00pm - Monday morning recap
*****************************************************

1. Truck driver lightly injured in shooting attack
(BNI-DEC.25) An Israeli Arab truck driver was lightly injured on Sunday
afternoon in a shooting attack against his vehicle near Itamar in northern
Samaria. The driver sustained injuries from glass fragments and was
transported to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikvah.=09=09
    ++++
2. Soldiers come under attack east of Nablus
(BNI-DEC.25) IDF soldiers came under attack with gunfire from the PA
autonomous village of Salim on Monday afternoon. No injuries. Soldiers
were unable to pinpoint the origin of the gunfire; therefore, they did not
return fire.

      ++++

3. Four soldiers injured in northern area training accident
(BNI-DEC.25) An IDF officer and three soldiers were injured in northern
Israel in a training accident when a hand grenade exploded inside a tank.
The officer is reported in serious condition. All the injured were
transported to the Rambam Medical Center trauma unit in Haifa.=20=20

    ++++

4. Iran threatens Israel and the US
(BNI-DEC.25) In a Radio Monte Carlo interview, the commander of the
Iranian Revolutionary Guard stated that if at any time Iran feels its
security of interests are in danger, it would not hesitate to launch a
long-range ballistic missile attack against US or Israeli targets.

According to IDF officials, the Iranian long-range missiles are capable of
carrying non-conventional warheads.=20=20

-------------

1. No injuries in shooting attack against passenger bus=09
2. Pedestrian killed in Tel Aviv=09
3. Serious MVA near Mitzpei Ramon=09
4. PM Barak orders construction of =91border fence=92=09

*************************
25-DEC-00 =96 4:47pm
*************************

1. No injuries in shooting attack against passenger bus
(BNI-DEC.25) An Egged bus traveling on the Jenin bypass road was attacked
with gunfire a short time ago. No injuries or damages.=20=20

    ++++

2. Pedestrian killed in Tel Aviv
 (BNI-DEC.25) A pedestrian was killed on Tel Aviv=92s Beit El Street on
Monday afternoon. A taxi struck him. An EMS physician pronounced the
unnamed victim dead on the scene.=20

Police investigators explain that the victim was not crossing at a
crosswalk when struck by the taxicab.=20=20

    ++++

3. Serious MVA near Mitzpei Ramon
(BNI-DEC.25) One man was killed, two seriously injured and two others
injured light-to-moderately in a motor vehicle accident in Mitzpei Ramon
near the Officers=92 Training School.

A military helicopter was deployed to transport the injured to the trauma
unit of Beersheba=92s Soroka Medical Center.=20=20

    ++++

4. PM Barak orders construction of =91border fence=92
(BNI-DEC.25) Prime Minister/Defense Minister Ehud Barak ordered the
budgeting NIS 100 million for the immediate construction of a border fence
between Judea & Samaria and =93Israel proper.=94

Work has already begun to map out the route of the new border to stretch
Mount Gilboa in northern Israel to Latrun.=20

Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh explained the new border would=20
make
the perpetration of a terror attack by PA residents more difficult as well
as contributing towards a reduction in car thefts and other property
crimes.

---------------

1. IDF roadblock attacked with gunfire=09
2. IDF position on Mount Eval attacked by gunfire=09
3. Juwarish resident shot to death=09

*************************
25-DEC-00 =96 8:00pm
*************************

1. IDF roadblock attacked with gunfire
(BNI-DEC.25) An IDF position in Samaria, between the PA autonomous
municipalities of Tul Qarem and Qalkilya was attacked by gunfire on Monday
evening. No injuries.=20=20

    ++++
2. IDF position on Mount Eval attacked by gunfire
(BNI-DEC.25) The IDF position on Mount Eval in northern Samaria was
attacked by gunfire on Monday evening. No injuries.=09=20=20

The IDF position in the nearby Tel Aras area was also targeted. No
injuries.

    ++++
3. Juwarish resident shot to death
(BNI-DEC.25) An Israeli Arab resident of the Juwarish neighborhood of
Ramle was shot and killed in a drive by shooting attack on Monday evening.
The 40-year-old victim was inside a vehicle along with a second man when
gunfire was directed at them from a passing car. The second occupant of
the vehicle was seriously injured.

Police believe the shooting was related to area gang wars.=20=20

    ++++

    ++++

News items published by BNI (BreakingNews-Israel) may be distributed,
copied, posted providing the websites and other forums carrying the
stories display the footer below in plain view on the same page with the
news.=20=20

    ++++

 To subscribe to the BreakingNews-Israel list, send a blank email message
to 44828-subscribe@listbot.com=20=20=20

To contact the list owner, send an email to BNI1@netvision.net.il=20

    ++++=20=20=20

If you feature BreakingNews-Israel reports in your newsletter or on your
website, please let us know so we may add your name to the list below.=20=20

    ++++

BNI reports are now featured by:
1. The USA Jewish website - http://www.usajewish.com/=20=20=20
2. Israel News - http://www.morashanetwork.com/=20
3. United Jerusalem.com http://www.unitedjerusalem.com/=20
4. Efrat - http://www.efrat.org/=20
5. Shosh's Gleanings Daily - Suwomyn26@aol.com=20
6. Breaking News - http://www.folksites.com/waisobiken/=20
7. Dateline Israel - http://www.datelineisrael.com/=20
8. "In Depth News-2000!" - inhislove@triad.rr.com-
http://www.thedepot.com/groups-inhislove=20=20=20
9. Truth and Peace-NEWS=20=20=20
http://www.egroups.com/members_add/atp_us_news
10. The Matzav - sherer@actcom.co.il 11. Virtual Holyland =96
http://www.virtualholyland.com/channels/israel_n/index.htm

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========
To: bprlist@egroups.com
Subject: [bprlist] Daily World Affairs Report (12/24/00)
From: "research-bpr" <research-bpr@philologos.org>
Date: Mon, 25 Dec 2000 15:39:29 -0500

3 FAITHS' CELEBRATE HOLIDAYS AT SAME TIME

The 3 major faiths are celebrating common values through different
holidays. Monday, the day when most Christians celebrate the birth of
Jesus, is one of the last days of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. That
night, Jews will light the 5th candle of the eight days of Hanukkah. This
confluence of holy days may happen just once in a lifetime. The Muslim
lunar calendar shifts back 10 days a year on a 33-year dance through the
solar year. The Jewish calendar is also lunar, with a leap month thrown in
every few years in a 19-year cycle that keeps festivals synchronized with
seasons. The 3 holidays won't overlap again until the year 2065 (5826 in the
Jewish calendar and 1488 for Muslims).

Just as the calendars are different, so are these holidays. Ramadan is the
most sacred month of the Muslim calendar, a time that tradition says Satan
is kept in chains to help the faithful more closely approach the ideals of their
belief. Hanukkah, a holiday not found in Jewish Scripture, is, at its roots, a
happy celebration of an ancient military victory over assimilation and
persecution. And Christmas, with its sometimes overwhelming
commercialism, celebrates God's gift of his Son.

But all 3 holy [?] times share a theme of renewal. Christmas honors the
birth of the most important figure in the Christian faith. Ramadan is a time
when Muslims are told to revitalize their commitment to their religion. And
the word Hanukkah means "rededication." . . . (The Dallas Morning News)

APPEALS COURT SAVES CHRISTMAS... AS FEDERAL HOLIDAY

A federal appeals court ruled on Wednesday the Christmas may remain a
federal holiday and does not violate the Supreme Court-mandated
separation of church and state. Ohio attorney Richard Ganulin had filed the
lawsuit in 1998, asking that Christmas be removed from a list of federal
holidays because it constitutes a government sanction of a particular
religion. Last December, federal district Judge Susan Dlott dismissed
Ganulin's suit and the 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed that court's
decision. In a decision issued on December 6, 1999, Dlott said, "The
government can establish legal public holidays for secular reasons and its
citizens can choose to celebrate the holidays in a religious manner without
contradiction." (Catholic World News)

WHO'S AFRAID OF FATHER CHRISTMAS? THE GERMANS

As Father Christmas heads off on his rounds, spare a thought for children in
Germany. Many of them associate the visit of the Weihnachtsman, literally
"the Christmas Man", as much with fear as with fun and presents. One
young Berlin father said: "My 3-year-old daughter told me that if she didn't
clean her shoes, Father Christmas would use his stick on her. Many little
children believe the stories they are told and do not look forward to him
coming at all."

The birch-bearing Father Christmas, common in much of middle Europe, is
particularly alarming to German children who, for the rest of the year, enjoy
school and home lives in which any hint of stern discipline is viewed as a
slippery slope back to dictatorship. On Christmas Eve, however, the
German child's liberal world is replaced for a few chilling minutes by the
arrival of the Weihnachtsman on the doorstep. (Father Christmas, dressed
just like a British one, can be a parent, friend or a student hired for the
night.)

He bangs loudly before being admitted and then in gruff tones recites a 19th
century poem telling the children what they can already see: that he has a
bag of presents in one hand and a birch stick in the other."The birch is here
but only for the bad children," he announces. "Now speak, child that I find
here. Have you been a good or evil child?"

This Father Christmas, with his semi-disciplinarian role, has his origins in
early Catholicism. The birch, a traditional symbol of fertility, has evolved
down the years into an essential prop representing authority. Dr Annelie
Dott, a child psychologist from Cologne, said: "Today, what we have is
something similar to a confession in church. I think this has been overdone
in Germany. Small children take Father Christmas very seriously and can
be frightened."

It is the last hangover of an authoritarian approach to children that
otherwise no longer exists. Apart from the Weihnachtsman almost all
traditional methods of discipline disappeared in Germany after 1945. Any
traces that were left were washed away in the student protests of the late
'60s. Nowadays, even lining up children in the school playground is frowned
upon as too militaristic, and school uniforms are unheard of for the same
reason. One is far more likely to see a parent or teacher painstakingly
explaining for the umpteenth time why it is wrong for a naughty child to bite
a playmate rather than to stick the offender in a corner. Even for a teacher
to raise his voice is anathema.

Dr Dott said: "The post-war situation played a major role here because the
values of the Third Reich were no longer acceptable any more. Parents
were confused and simply watched how their children developed. They
became soft and just let discipline go." Not surprisingly, in this atmosphere
of post-war anti-authoritarian political correctness, there are complaints
about the Weihnachtsman and his birch.

An organisation recruiting Father Christmases in Berlin this year has
expressly forbidden its 700 employees from using the traditional stick. Frank
Knorre, the group's organiser, said: "Carrying a birch is grounds for being
sacked. None of the Father Christmases are allowed them. No child should
be embarrassed or made afraid." In a country so concerned about repeating
the mistakes of history, it says much for the resilience of the traditional
Father Christmas that his birch did not disappear several decades ago. (The
London Telegraph)

THE HEAVENS DECLARE

One of the most persistent and charming of Christmas legends is that the
Magi followed a bright star across the desert to find the location of where
the King of Kings was born. A typical translation of the Christian Bible has
the Magi say: "Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have
seen His star in the east, and are come to worship him." This story is a
favorite of planetarium shows every December; usually the shows consist
of possible explanations for this unusual apparition. The list of suspects
includes a comet, a supernova, or a conjunction (the near passing of 2 or
more planets).

I have long contested this idea: Matthew's gospel says the star was seen in
the east. But stars rise and set, so no star would appear in the east all night
long. At best, the Magi could follow it for a few hours before they would be
heading in some other direction. The only star to always appear in one part
of the sky over the course of a night is Polaris, the Pole Star. This is a fairly
dim star, one not likely to be mistaken for the Star of Bethlehem.

I have also heard an explanation that the star was seen rising shortly before
sunrise, so that it was only seen in the east. It therefore would not be visible
during most of the night, and of course would not be seen during the day. It
would only be seen in the east. Rather thin an explanation, if you ask me:
Could the Magi follow a star they could only see for a few minutes each
day? And shouldn't the star heralding the birth of Jesus be more obvious?
Most scientific explanations fall short of the actual Bible passage. In the
end, it appears that the star is either to be interpreted as a symbol, and is
not real, or is a bona fide miracle of God, and not subject to physical laws.
Either way, there is no scientific process behind it.

Yet the connection between astronomy and Christmas is strong; even the
time we celebrate Christmas depends on the Sun. If you trace the position
of the sun during the day, it reaches its maximum height above the horizon
around noon each day. However, the actual height depends on the time of
year. In the summer, the Sun is high overhead at noon, but in the winter is
much lower to the horizon, even at noon. This simple fact is due to the tilt of
the Earth.

Many people suppose the Earth's axis is aligned straight up and down to the
plane in which it orbits the Sun. In fact, it is tilted by about 23 degrees
(which is why a globe of the Earth is tilted). This tilt is what controls the
apparent height of the Sun during the day. During the northern hemisphere
summer, the Earth's north axis is pointed more or less toward the Sun.
Someone in the northern hemisphere sees the Sun rise very high during the
day. However, 6 months later, the axis points away from the Sun, and the
Sun never gets as high. The time where the Sun reaches the highest
maximum elevation above the horizon is called the summer solstice, and the
time of lowest elevation is the winter solstice.

Imagine what that must have been like for an ancient people. Tied to the
agriculture, they may well have been concerned that the Sun was getting
lower in the sky every day as the winter solstice approached. In the days
that follow, their relief at the rising Sun must have been palpable. It is
certainly no surprise that the actual day of the winter solstice, December 21
or so, would be a day of great celebration. Indeed, around the time of
Christ's birth, the pagans celebrated that day in a holiday they called the
"Unconquered Sun". It represented the fact that the Sun would win its fight
to rise higher every day. This holiday was a time of a great feast and was
arguably the most important holiday of the year.

The Bible is unclear about the exact timing of Christ's birth.It was first
celebrated in early January. The early Christians were certainly unhappy
that the pagans were celebrating such a big holiday a week or 2 before
theirs, but were unable to stop them. In what can be considered to be an
effort to save face, the Christians moved their own holiday to December
21. Many of the traditions of the pagan holiday were co-opted by the
Christians of the time as well, such as the Yule log and the lighting of trees,
both originally meant to honor the Sun.

You may note that this is still not when we celebrate Christmas today.
However, the calendar at that time was based on a year of 365.25 days.
The actual year length is somewhat shorter than that, about 365.23 days.
Over the centuries, this out-of-phase cycle has moved the date of
Christmas about 4 days, to when we celebrate it now. Thomastag is still
celebrated on the solstice, though, maintaining the tie between the holidays
and the actual date of the solstice.

So not only is Christmas celebrated at a time linked to an astronomically-
based date, but the migration of the date to the 25th of December is also
based on an astronomical concept: the length of time it takes the Earth to
orbit the Sun. Astronomy is literally everywhere. Whether or not the Star
of Bethlehem was a legend, a real event or a miracle from God, take a
moment on the 25th and think about the impact of our place in the Universe
on our daily -- and yearly -- lives. (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung)

WAS THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM A U.F.O.?

The mystery of the Star of Bethlehem has long baffled astronomers and
laymen alike. It is simply stated in St Matthew's Gospel: "Behold, there
came wise men from the east to Jerusalem. Saying, Where is He that is
born king of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come
to worship Him." Until about 50 years ago, most people did not publicly
question the accuracy of this text, for fear of sounding irreligious. But now
we can speculate freely about this mysterious star, especially since St
Matthew says later that: "Lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went
before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was".

This is an extraordinary way for a star to behave. Certainly, we have learnt
that stars can do some strange things. They can collapse and become
invisible. A star can explode and become, for a few weeks, the fourth
brightest object in the sky (barring the Sun, the Moon and Venus). Stars
can suddenly become much brighter and then fade back to dimness. They
can spin around thousands of times per second - becoming clocks so
accurate that they will not gain or lose a second in 5mn years.

But no star can visibly rush across the heavens and stop over one spot - like
a cosmic racing car whose brakes have been slammed on. According to
Newton, an object in space can change its course or speed only if "acted on
by a force". And according to Einstein, nothing can exceed the speed of
light which, if St Matthew is to be believed, the Star of Bethlehem would
have had to do. His account just doesn't convince.

I once saw a cartoon in the New Yorker that showed the star as an alien
spaceship. Inside it, 2 little green men with spiky heads were looking down
at the Wise Men and saying: "Who are those guys and why are they
following us?" This scenario would fit the facts, but in the absence of
evidence we must look elsewhere. A common suggestion is that the star
was Jupiter emerging from behind the Moon after an eclipse - Jupiter
symbolising royalty because it is the "king" of planets.

Michael R. Molnar, in his book "The Star of Bethlehem: The Legacy of the
Magi", gets very excited about this idea. He claims that "sophisticated
computer calculations" show that the Moon eclipsed Jupiter on the night of
April 17, 6 BC , the estimated year of Christ's birth. But there is some
mistake here. My own computer - in the form of some astronomical
software called Starry Night Deluxe - does not show anything of the kind.
It was a moonless night in Jerusalem. Another idea is that a conjunction of
Jupiter and Saturn took place. This happens at intervals of about 20 years,
and makes a spectacular sight when - as this year - the 2 brilliant planets
are joined by the bright star Aldebaran, making a tight little blazing triangle
of light.

But could not the star of Bethlehem have been a comet? Comets are utterly
unlike other celestial objects. Their vast tails seem to stretch across the sky,
as if pointing at some place on the ground. Many comets did appear around
this time. They were believed to herald the births and deaths of princes.
One appeared at Caesar's death in 44 BC, and another just before
Claudius's death in 54 AD - although how this comet "knew" that Claudius's
wife was planning to poison him must remain a mystery. Halley's Comet
appeared in 12 BC - somewhat early to be the Star of Bethlehem - and
Chinese astronomers recorded one in 5 BC, an apparent year after Christ's
birth.

But comets, eclipses, conjunctions, a massive stellar brightening . . . they all,
as an explanation of the star, suffer from one fatal flaw: Matthew's is the
only gospel that mentions its appearance. Mark, Luke and John have
nothing to say on the subject. This circumstance is highly suspicious. If, in a
court case, 3 out of 4 witnesses have no recollection of an incident, then the
jury would surely have to assume that the incident did not take place.
 
And what of other witnesses? If any extraordinary object appeared in the
skies in 6 BC, then surely someone in Arabia or Judaea or elsewhere would
have recorded the fact. Rome was full of astrologerswho peered at the
night sky and drew weird conclusions from presumablyaccurate data. We
are forced to the conclusion that there was no Star of Bethlehem, and that
either the Wise Men or St Matthew invented the story.

Why would anyone invent such a tale? While being scientific and historical
nonsense, it is ingenious fiction. It refers to the prophecy of Balaam in
Numbers, that "there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall
rise out of Israel". And, as any good politician knows, if you promise a
portent, you had better produce one. But what makes the Star story really
ingenious is the effect it has had on academics. For half a century, they
have been rushing about, probing this clue and that, producing ever more
ingenious theories, while all the time there was nothing there. The solution
to the Star of Bethlehem mystery is that there is no mystery. (The London
Telegraph - Opinion)

THE NATIVITY IS NOT A MYTH

The manger, the guiding star, the 3 Wise Men - many of us take it all with a
pinch of salt. But, says the leading biblical scholar Carsten Peter Thiede,
the Christmas story is no fairytale

'But my dear Sebastian, you can't seriously believe it all." So says Charles
Ryder in Brideshead Revisited, astonished that his friend does not share his
scorn for the tradition of "Christmas and the star and the 3 kings and the ox
and the ass". Most modern scholars take Charles Ryder's side in the debate
about the historical reality of the Nativity story told in the Gospels. "I do not
see these stories as historical reports but as literary creations," wrote the
theologian Marcus Borg, Professor of Religion and Culture at Oregon State
University, last year.

"As the latter, they are not history remembered but rather metaphorical
narratives using ancient religious imagery to express central truths about
Jesus's significance." Certainly, most people's enthusiasm for Christmas is
matched by an assumption that the story we celebrate at this time of year is
essentially a fairytale, a pleasant brew of early Christian apocrypha,
Renaissance iconography and Victorian Christmas card imagery. But is this
right?

Take the story of the star which St Matthew tells led the Wise Men to
Bethlehem "till it came and stood over where the young child was"
(Matthew 2:9). As long ago as 1603, the German astronomer Johannes
Kepler calculated that a great conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter must have
occurred in 7 BC (the likely year of Jesus's birth, as opposed to the
incorrect dating of 1 AD calculated by the 6th-century Scythian monk
Dionysius Exiguus and inherited in the modern calendar). But the star is still
generally assumed to be the stuff of Advent calendars rather historical
reality.

Last year, however, Professor Konradin Ferrari d'Occhieppo, a former
director of the Austrian State Observatory, published new research which
suggests that there was indeed a real astral event corresponding to St
Matthew's account. Analysing the ancient Egyptian, Roman and Assyrian
calendar systems, as well as the actual position of stars as seen from
Babylon, Jerusalem and Bethlehem, Professor Ferrari has established that
Jupiter alone came to a standstill in a small area between Pisces and Aries
in July. This, in Babylonian astronomy, would have been an epochal event
heralding a world-changing occurrence.

A simultaneous evening rise of Jupiter and Saturn took place in September,
doubtless raising the expectations of Eastern stargazers even further.
Finally, between November 12 and 23 in 7 BC, Jupiter and Saturn stood still
together in the western sky and would have been clearly visible above
Bethlehem - as Matthew says. Crucially, Professor Ferrari has shown that
Jupiter (the Star of Marduk or "Kakkabu") was the most sacred star in the
Babylonian astral system, and that the magoi - the word used by Matthew
meaning "astronomers", rather than simply "wise men" - would have
attached enormous significance to these events as a sign of an imminent
messianic event.

Most strikingly, a clay tablet found at the ancient Babylonian observatory of
Sippar on the Euphrates in 1925 has been shown to prophesy the birth of a
new Saviour under a great conjunction of the 2 planets in the winter of 7
BC. One can only imagine the urgency with which these Eastern
astronomers, spurred on by what they had seen and calculated, would have
undertaken their wintry pilgrimage to the little town in Judea.

"Now at the time," St Luke tells us, "Caesar Augustus issued a census of all
the world to be taken" (Luke 2: 1-3), which drove Joseph and Mary from
their home in Nazareth to Bethlehem. Independent corroboration for this
particular census survives in a contemporary inscription known as the
"Lapis Venetus", which was uncovered in Venice in 1674. It reads: "On
orders of Quirinius I carried out the Census in Apamea, a city state of
117,000 citizens".

The Quirinius referred to in the Venetian inscription, and also mentioned in
passing by St Luke, is Publicius Sulpicius Quirinius, who was the governor
of Syria from 6-9 AD - that is, at least a decade after Christ's birth around
7 BC. Some scholars have argued that this undermines the historic
credibility of the Nativity story completely. But we know, from evidence
elsewhere, that censuses took years to complete: one in Gaul spread over 4
decades. The probability is that Augustus decreed the census in 7 BC when
Sentius Saturninus was governor of Syria, but that Quirinius completed it
some years later.

Our knowledge of the census journey taken by Mary and Joseph in Luke's
account has been marvellously enriched by an ancient document unearthed
among the Dead Sea Scrolls, in the so-called Cave of Letters. The letter,
which was not published until 1989, describes the long, arduous winter
journey of a Jewish woman of the late 1st or early 2nd century AD. The
woman, Babata, and her husband had to leave their town of residence,
Makhoza, south of the Dead Sea, and go to Rabbat in the north-east -
probably modern Amman - where she had original landed property legally
shared with her spouse. He, Judah Ben Eleazar, owned further plantations
and estates at En Gedi, his own home town.

For the census registration itself, Babata's scribe uses exactly the same
word as Luke, apografestai, "to be registered". He also employs an identical
formulation to the Gospel writer to describe the imperial authority for the
census. Luke's account of the journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem, in
other words, begins to look less like a myth and more like an accurate
account of a burdensome administrative duty.

Similarly, archaeological work in Bethlehem since 1951 has done more to
confirm the accuracy of the scenery described in Luke's account than to
undermine it. The earliest excavated buildings and cisterns for water supply
date back to the time of Jesus's birth and were unearthed on the high
eastern hill of the 3 peaks now covered by modern Bethlehem. In the
modern suburb of Beit Sahur, the remnants of 1st century shepherds'
buildings have been excavated, a site where, as in St Luke, men would have
been found "abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night"
(2:8).

Luke also tells us that "she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him
in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room
for them in the inn" (2:7). Today, the Church of the Nativity is said to mark
the grotto of the birth of Jesus and has performed this function since 326
AD when the Empress Helena, Constantine's mother, tore down the temple
to Adonis built by the Emperor Hadrian on the site in 135 AD. Again, there
are good grounds to regard the site as plausible. Remnants of buildings and
pottery from the Roman era have been found nearby, and a Roman period
tomb with 3 ossuaries: since Jewish law decreed that tombs had to be
outside human habitation but near it, these excavations suggest that the
church which stands today is on an ancient plateau inside old Bethlehem's
perimeter, as it was in Christ's day.

Modern historians have also tended to dismiss the story of the slaughter of
the innocents on the (dubious) grounds that it is only mentioned in St
Matthew's Gospel. Herod, the Gospel tells us, "slew all the children that
were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from 2 years and under,
according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men"
(2:16). It has been argued that Matthew was simply echoing the account of
the Egyptian murder of small children by Pharoah (Exodus 1:15), rather
than recording a historical event.

In fact, the Gospel writer is much more precise than Exodus. Herod's
instruction was grimly specific: applied to the hamlet of Bethlehem, it would
have involved a dozen or so infants at most. It is mysterious, indeed, that
historians should find St Matthew's claim implausible.For there is ample
evidence of Herod's capacity for savage and impulsive cruelty.

Josephus, the 1st Century Roman-Jewish historian tells us: "He died on the
5th day after having his son Antipater killed. . . He was a man who was
cruel to all alike and one who easily gave in to anger and was contemptuous
of justice." An even earlier Jewish text, written at the end of the 1st century
BC, not long after Herod's death, and known as the Assumption of Moses,
records that he was one "who kills the princes by the sword, who kills them
in secret places so that no one knows where to find the bodies, who kills the
old and young ones, without mercy". This may even be an allusion to the
Bethlehem atrocity.

In February this year, a preliminary archaeological report was made on a
chilling and astonishing archaeological find at Ashkelon, not far from
Bethlehem. Here, excavations have revealed a mass grave of 100 infants in
a sewage channel underneath a Roman period bath and villa. Some of the
children were only a few days old when they died, others a little older.
More than 2/3 were male. Tantalisingly, the burial took place during
Herod's reign.

What terrible story do these remains have to tell? Although work on the
Ashkelon dig is still in its early stages, we shall probably never know. At the
very least, however, this find shows that the story told in St Matthew of
Herod's rage and its murderous consequences is perfectly plausible. Like so
many other elements in the Christmas story, it deserves to be taken more
seriously than our modern, sceptical instincts suggest to us.

As the distinguished classical scholar George Kennedy has written, "ancient
writers sometimes meant what they said, and occasionally even knew what
they were talking about". The Nativity story has doubtless been embellished
by the accretions of 2,000 years; but it is very far from a fairytale. (The
London Telegraph)

MICHAEL TURNER 
(mykelturner@airmail.net)

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To: bprlist@egroups.com
Subject: [bprlist] (Fwd) Ha'aretz (IMRA): Olmert blasts Barak for selling Israel
From: "research-bpr" <research-bpr@philologos.org>
Date: Mon, 25 Dec 2000 15:41:32 -0500

------- Forwarded message follows -------
Date sent: Mon, 25 Dec 2000 02:30:41 -0500
From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: Ha'aretz (IMRA): Olmert blasts Barak for selling Israel out
           (Minister Milo will bolt if give Palestinians sovereignty on Temple

Mount)
Sender: owner-imra@imra.org.il
Precedence: bulk

Ha'aretz (IMRA): Olmert blasts Barak for selling Israel out (Minister Milo
will bolt if give Palestinians sovereignty on Temple Mount)

By Dvorit Peles, Ha'aretz Correspondent Ha'aretz bulletin 24 December 2000

[IMRA: Olmert appeared on many programs explaining his comments today.
Israel Government Television Channel One also covered it and have been
particularly aggressive on repeating the line that there is no problem since
the public will have the final say. They repeated this line even moments
after it was pointed out by opposition leaders that Barak is creating a
situation that rather than offering the voters the opportunity to choose
between accepting or rejecting the agreement on its merits, Barak is
creating a situation in which he threatens the voters that the consequences
of rejecting the deal means certain war with the world against Israel for
rejecting peace.

Minister of Health Roni Milo said on Israel Television today that he
officially announced at the cabinet meeting that he would resign his
position if the government agreed to give up Israeli sovereignty on the
Temple Mount. Milo explained that the Jewish People's claim to a right to
Israel is linked to its relationship to the Temple Mount and that forfeiting
sovereignty would undermine the Jewish People's link to Zion. Milo is not
the only person identified with the left who has recently drawn the line on
the Temple Mount. Last week former ambassador Itamar Rabinowitz explained
on Israel Radio that the Temple Mount embodied the whole reason that the
Jewish People returned to Zion. He warned that the consequences of giving
sovereignty over the Temple Mount to the Palestinians would be the loss of
any meaning for there being a Jewish State in Israel.

Channel Two's 5 PM show featured one of the most eloquent presentations on
the issue. A Shas activist living in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City
described the impossible security situation that handing over parts of the
Old City to Palestinian sovereignty would create both for the Jewish Quarter
and the Western Wall as well as western Jerusalem and the importance of
Jewish ties to the Old City. He concluded he interview by noting that local
politicians are prohibited from making any significant financial or
personnel decision for three months before an election while Barak is
sacrificing the Jewish People's very future within weeks of an election to
serve his own political needs.

It is noteworthy that Minister Beilin and others who appeared on television
to defend the division of Jerusalem continue to use slogans that were
relevant to the period when it was expected that peripheral Arab
neighborhoods would be given to the Palestinians. Beilin and others
continue to refer to those neighborhoods rather than the Old City quarters
within the heart of Jerusalem that would become Palestinian territory under
the proposed deal.

Finally, IMRA made an error in a comment about Prime Minister Barak's
statement today. Barak did not warn that failure to making a deal with
Arafat today would mean that previous agreements with Arafat would no longer
be honored. Barak instead threatened that all the agreements Israel has
made with the Arab states may not be honored. This is a very serious
admission of a fundamental problem with "land for peace": Here is a man who
actively pushed a "Syria first" approach that would have meant trading the
Golan for a photo-opportunity/peace agreement with Assad who is now telling
us that if we had left the Golan the agreement would not be honored if
Israel later failed to meet Arafat's demands. By the same token, Barak's
statement serves to take away the edge from the argument of those who point
to the withdrawal from Sinai and agreement with Egypt as proof that "land
for peace" is possible since Barak today sees Egypt ignoring that agreement
if Israel fails to meet Arafat's demands.

The attack against Olmert for Har Homa - now a real estate success and the
completion of the opening of the Western Wall Tunnel - a major tourist
attraction, exposes the Labor Party for failing to have either the stamina
or the wisdom to look beyond the immediate present.]

Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert attacked Prime Minister Ehud Barak and the
Israeli delegation Sunday, for the way they are conducting negotiations with
the Palestinians in Washington.

Olmert said that Barak "is liquidating and selling the state of Israel.
Barak is collapsing internally and emotionally." Olmert made the comments in
an interview on Radio 103 on Sunday.

Olmert blamed the prime minister for dividing Jerusalem of his own will,
without the Americans pressuring him to do so. "In the first time in Jewish
history a Jewish leader delivered of his own will the Temple Mount to some
one else." Olmert said.

A Labor party spokesman responded: "Olmert and the Likud are the ones who
divided Jerusalem in practice. Olmert's futile words will not make the
public forget the [Western Wall] tunnel riots and the reckless Jerusalem
policy they introduced."

In the 1999 elections in which Barak ran against Benjamin Netanyahu, Olmert
claimed that Barak would not divide Jerusalem and the Israel One campaign
headquarters used Olmert's statement in their campaign. The Likud claimed
that Olmert's statement helped Barak win the elections and topple Netanyahu.

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To: bprlist@egroups.com
Subject: [bprlist] Genetics Discrimination: Pink Slip in Your Genes
From: "research-bpr" <research-bpr@philologos.org>
Date: Mon, 25 Dec 2000 15:46:53 -0500

GENETICS_DISCRIMINATION: Pink Slip in Your Genes

Evidence builds that employers hire and fire based on genetic tests;
meanwhile protective legislation languishes

In April 1999 Terri Seargent went to her doctor with slight breathing
difficulties. A simple genetic test confirmed her worst nightmare: she had
alpha-1 deficiency, meaning that she might one day succumb to the same
respiratory disease that killed her brother. The test probably saved
Seargent's life--the condition is treatable if detected early--but when
her employer learned of her costly condition, she was fired and lost her
health insurance.

Seargent's case could have been a shining success story for genetic
science. Instead it exemplifies what many feared would happen: genetic
discrimination. A recent survey of more than 1,500 genetic counselors and
physicians conducted by social scientist Dorothy C. Wertz at the
University of Massachusetts Medical Center found that 785 patients
reported having lost their jobs or insurance because of their genes.
"There is more discrimination than I uncovered in my survey," says Wertz,
who presented her findings at the American Public Health Association
meeting in Boston in November. Wertz's results buttress an earlier
Georgetown University study in which 13 percent of patients surveyed said
they had been denied or let go from a job because of a genetic condition.

Such worries have already deterred many people from having beneficial
predictive tests, says Barbara Fuller, a senior policy adviser at the
National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), where geneticists
unveiled the human blueprint last June. For example, one third of women
contacted for possible inclusion in a recent breast cancer study refused
to participate because they feared losing their insurance or jobs if a
genetic defect was discovered. A 1998 study by the National Center for
Genome Resources found that 63 percent of people would not take genetic
tests if employers could access the results and that 85 percent believe
employers should be barred from accessing genetic information. So far
genetic testing has not had much effect on health insurance. Richard
Coorsh, a spokesperson for the Health Insurance Association of America,
notes that health insurers are not interested in genetic tests, for two
reasons. First, they already ask for a person's family history--for many
conditions, a less accurate form of genetic testing. Second, genetic tests
cannot--except for a few rare conditions such as Huntington's
disease--predict if someone with a disease gene will definitely get sick.

Public health scientist Mark Hall of Wake Forest University
interviewed insurers and used fictitious scenarios to test the market
directly. He found that a presymptomatic person with a genetic
predisposition to a serious condition faces little or no difficulty in
obtaining health insurance. "It's a nonissue in the insurance market," he
concludes. Moreover, there is some legislation against it. Four years ago
the federal government passed the Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act (HIPAA) to prevent group insurers from denying coverage
based on genetic results. A patchwork of state laws also prohibit insurers
from doing so.

Genetic privacy for employees, however, has been another
matter. Federal workers are protected to some degree; last February,
President Bill Clinton signed an executive order forbidding the use of
genetic testing in the hiring of federal employees. But this guarantee
doesn't extend to the private sector. Currently an employer can ask for,
and discriminate on the basis of, medical information, including genetic
test results, between the time an offer is made and when the employee
begins work. A 1999 survey by the American Management Association found
that 30 percent of large and midsize companies sought some form of genetic
information about their employees, and 7 percent used that information in
awarding promotions and hiring. As the cost of DNA testing goes down, the
number of businesses testing their workers is expected to skyrocket.

Concerned scientists, including Francis S. Collins, director of the
NHGRI and the driving force behind the Human Genome Project, have
called on the Senate to pass laws that ban employers from using DNA
testing to blacklist job applicants suspected of having "flawed"
genes. Despite their efforts, more than 100 federal and state
congressional bills addressing the issue have been repeatedly shelved in
the past two years. "There is no federal law on the books to protect
[private-sector] employees, because members of Congress have their heads
in the sand," contends Joanne Hustead, a policy director at the National
Partnership for Women and Families, a nonprofit group urging support of
federal legislation. "Your video rental records are more protected," she
claims.

Wertz also believes that more laws are simply Band-Aids on the
problem: "We need a public health system to fix this one." And she may be
right. In nations such as Canada and the U.K., where a national health
service is in place, the thorny issue of genetic discrimination is not
much of a concern.

While policymakers play catch-up with genetic science, Seargent and
others are hoping that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
(EEOC) will help. The EEOC considers discrimination based on genetic
traits to be illegal under the Americans with Disabilities Act of
1990Seargent, who now works at home for Alpha Net, a Web-based support
group for people with alpha-1 deficiency, doubts she'll be victorious,
because all but 4.3 percent of ADA cases are won by the employer. She
does
not regret, however, having taken the genetic test. "In the end," she
says, "my life is more important than a job." Ideally, it would be better
not to have to choose.

--Diane Martindale

http://www.sciam.com/2001/0101issue/0101scicit2.html

via: transhumantech@egroups.com

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To: bprlist@egroups.com
Subject: [bprlist] TV: Who is this Jesus?
From: "research-bpr" <research-bpr@philologos.org>
Date: Tue, 26 Dec 2000 08:58:58 -0500

 TV SPECIAL ANSWERS CRUCIAL QUESTIONS ABOUT THE=20
 IDENTITY OF THE WORLD'S MOST CONTROVERSIAL FIGURE=20

 WHAT: WHO IS THIS JESUS EXAMINES JESUS' LIFE AND TEACHINGS
 THROUGH INTERVIEWS WITH SCHOLARS AND SKEPTICS=20=20

 WHEN: DEC. 25, NATIONWIDE ON PAX TV (8 P.M. EST/7 CST)
 DEC. 26 & 28, ON SELECT CBS/ABC/FOX STATIONS NATIONWIDE=20

 WHERE: NATIONWIDE=97See the Broadcast=20
[http://whoisthisjesus.tv/broadcast.htm] page for details.

As the rush of shopping ends and families draw together for the holidays, T=
V=20
viewers will receive the gift of answers this Christmas season.=20=20

With questions abounding about Jesus=97Was he a liar or the son of God? Is=
=20
the Bible reliable? Could he have risen from the dead?=97the new one-hour,=
=20
prime-time special Who Is This Jesus offers an in-depth exploration of=20
ancient texts, archaeology, prophecies, as well as Jesus' death and reporte=
d=20
resurrection.=20=20

A $2 million production of Coral Ridge Ministries, based in Ft. Lauderdale,=
=20
Fla., the program is co-hosted by film star Dean Jones and respected=20
scholar/theologian Dr. D. James Kennedy, who together will examine=20
evidence about the life of Jesus from a variety of perspectives and faiths.=
=20=20

"Of the many questions Jesus asked his followers during his ministry, one o=
f=20
the most important was about who they believed he was," said Kennedy, a=20
Ph.D. in world religion. "Here we are 2,000 years later and the question is=
=20
equally relevant. For one person, he is their savior, and for another, just=
 a=20
good man, perhaps a false prophet. Who Is This Jesus helps answer this=20
age-old debate."=20=20

Who Is This Jesus comes as a response to a number of recent TV programs=20
about the carpenter and teacher who said he was God. Specials such as=20
ABC's The Search For Jesus, hosted by Peter Jennings, included "extremely=20
questionable and controversial information presented as fact," according to=
=20
Kennedy. Who Is This Jesus seeks to provide balance by featuring interviews=
=20
with historians, theologians, and noted scholars from differing faiths and=
=20
institutions, including Harvard, Princeton, the Jesus Seminar, the John Pau=
l=20
II Institute, and Westminster Abbey.=20=20

Who Is This Jesus will air nationwide Christmas Day on PAX TV stations (8=20
p.m. EST/7 CST) and on select CBS/ABC/FOX affiliates Dec. 26 (Dec. 28 in=20
Washington, D.C.). For local airtimes and additional information, visit=20
www.WhoisthisJesus.tv, which offers a list of featured guests, a streaming=
=20
video preview, and an extensive multimedia=20=20
newsroom.

http://whoisthisjesus.tv/advisory122000.htm

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To: bprlist@egroups.com
Subject: [bprlist] Chinese Exports to Iraq Amount to Two Billion Dollars in Four Years
From: "research-bpr" <research-bpr@philologos.org>
Date: Tue, 26 Dec 2000 09:12:24 -0500

Chinese Exports to Iraq Amount to Two Billion Dollars in Four Years

BAGHDAD, Dec 25, 2000 -- (Agence France Presse) China has exported
more than two billion dollars worth of goods to sanctions-hit Iraq since a
UN humanitarian program was launched four years ago, Iraqi Commerce
Minister Mohammad Mehdi Saleh said Monday.

The minister, quoted by the official news agency INA, said China was
ranked in third place among countries supplying Iraq, after France and
Egypt, under the program launched in December 1996.

Following a visit by a Chinese government delegation which flew in to
Baghdad last Friday, Saleh stressed that Iraq wanted to further "boost
commercial and economic relations" with Beijing.

China became the third permanent member of the UN Security Council,
following Russia and France, to send a plane to Baghdad in defiance of the
UN's decade-long air embargo on Iraq.

Iraq, which has been under sweeping sanctions since its 1990 invasion of
Kuwait, is authorized to export crude under UN control to finance imports
of food, medicine and other essential goods for its 22 million population.
((c) 2000 Agence France Presse)

http://www.insidechina.com/news.php3?id=236200

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========
To: bprlist@egroups.com
Subject: [bprlist] Russia Today items (12/26/00)
From: "research-bpr" <research-bpr@philologos.org>
Date: Tue, 26 Dec 2000 09:14:30 -0500

CLOSER IRANO-RUSSIAN MILITARY COOPERATION "INEVITABLE"
TEHRAN -- Closer military cooperation between Iran and Russia is
"inevitable," Tehran's Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani said on Sunday ahead
of an historic visit by his Moscow counterpart Igor Sergeyev.
http://www.russiatoday.com/news.php3?id=236084&text

NEW YEAR'S CELEBRATIONS IN MOSCOW UNDER HIGH SECURITY
MOSCOW -- Security has been stepped up in Moscow ahead of New Year's
celebrations due to increased fear of attacks, particularly by Chechen
rebels, police said Sunday, cited by the Interfax news agency.
http://www.russiatoday.com/news.php3?id=236086&text

Putin Meets Yeltsin "Once Or Twice a Month" (25Dec.00)
 http://www.russiatoday.com/news.php3?id=236092

Brushing off Washington, Russian Defense Chief Holds Talks in Iran
(25Dec.00)
 http://www.russiatoday.com/news.php3?id=236085

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