Correction: the general elections in Israel
were scheduled for Nov 2003, Labor primaries are this Nov. 17th but
the WP article notes that snap elections may be called in wake of the
resignation today.
Excerpt: “Throughout Wednesday, there were
efforts to avert the breakup of the coalition. Sharon and Ben-Eliezer met for
three hours in a parliament conference room. Shouts were heard from the room, and at
one point, an angry Ben-Eliezer stormed out, only to return
later.
"We did everything possible to preserve the
government, but to my great regret there were those who believed that this was
the time to break up the government," said Finance Minister Silvan Shalom of
Sharon's Likud Party.
Labor legislator Haim Ramon, who is
challenging Ben-Eliezer for party leadership in Nov. 17 primaries, praised the
decision. "I'm happy that we will
not be partners in a government that is a failure in all aspects of life,"
Ramon said. "We need to leave the
government and present an alternative."
With the apparent breakup of the coalition,
Israel appeared headed for elections, possibly within 90 days. The scheduled
vote is in November 2003.”
Background on the developments in Israel
today. Two of these 6 from the
Jerusalem Post and 2 from the BBC, 1 OpEd from Ha’aretz:
I found it interesting that in my morning
edition of The Oregonian, the only mention about the near-collapse of Sharon’s
government was a one sentence paragraph half way through the front section of
the paper, 3rd paragraph into a longer piece about Arafat’s cabinet
reshuffle. And that was an
Associated Press piece. General
elections are Nov. 19th.
– Karen
ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER RESIGNS AS DEAL
FALLS APART @ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40282-2002Oct30.html
Excerpt: Sharon was expected to maintain a
narrow majority in parliament, meaning he would not be brought down by Labor's
departure. However, a narrow
coalition resting on small far-right factions is unstable, and Sharon's
coalition chairman said he expected the prime minister to call snap
elections.
The crisis, the most serious in Sharon's 20
months in office, could hurt U.S. efforts to win support for a three-phase
peace plan that envisions a provisional Palestinian state by 2003 and full
independence by 2005.
Israeli elections would delay
implementation and Sharon's far-right partners in a narrow coalition would
likely object to many of the provisions, such as a settlement freeze and a
significant Israeli troop pullback.”
PM STEPS IN TO END NATIONWIDE STRIKE @
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/A/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1035868705664
Excerpt: While Sharon has made headway with
local authority workers, no tangible progress has been made with government
workers, said Ofer Eini, head of the Histadrut's government workers unit.
Both Eini and Yitzhak Rochberger, head of
the local authorities division in the Histadrut's clerks union, said that if
serious progress is not made by Saturday night, the strike will be
intensified. They declined to say what steps would be taken.
Political pundits have said that Sharon's
successful intervention, while affirming his political clout, has undermined
Finance Minister Silvan Shalom's position as head negotiator for the
government. “
MUBAREK TO BUSH: DON’T ATTACK IRAQ @ http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/A/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1035868705397
Excerpt: “Egypt would like to see deeper US
engagement on the Israeli-Palestinian front before a US strike on Iraq. While the US does not need Egypt
militarily for the campaign, Cairo's support could serve to rally wider Arab
support.
Also Tuesday it became clear that Secretary
of State Colin Powell was once again preparing to make a long-delayed speech
on democratic reform in the Arab world.
The speech is tentatively set for next
week.”
Wednesday,
25
September, 2002,
13:55 GMT 14:55 UK
Excerpt:
Israel's economic problems are now well-established. The global slowdown hit its
export-oriented industries hard, particularly the cluster of high-tech firms
which sprung up thanks in part to support from the Israeli military in the
1990s. After breakneck 7% growth
in 2000, last year produced a 0.9% contraction, while inflation and
unemployment are both heading upwards.
Add the continuing heavy security spending triggered by the two-year
intifada in the occupied territories and the suicide attacks by Palestinian
extremists in Israel itself, and the fact that Israel's budget is heading for
a massive deficit is little surprise.
Loan guarantees might be conditional from
the US re: Iraq. -
KWC
Thursday,
24 October, 2002, 05:55 GMT 06:55 UK
Excerpt:
Israel is working
on a plan to ask the US for billions of dollars in loan guarantees in a bid to
revive its flagging economy. The
country's finance minister Silvan Shalom may ask the US government for the
guarantees as part of a larger aid program to be submitted at the beginning of
2003.
The reports came as Israel's finance
ministry submitted its 2003 budget to parliament. It showed a cut in government spending
as the country struggles to recover from a deep recession and rising defence
costs.”
OpEd:
THE ARMY MUST STOP OLIVE THIEVES @ http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=224957&contrassID=2&subContrassID=4&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y
Excerpt:
“To
prepare the groundwork for their plot, the robbers enlisted the former chief
rabbi Mordechai Eliahu, who explained that the fruit from the trees planted by
Gentiles on land inherited by the people of Israel, does not belong to the
Gentiles. At most, they can get a
tithe from it. This is rape of
the Jewish religion, the handiwork of idol worshippers, and a disgrace for the
people of Israel, whether from the right or left, secular or religious. A few days ago, Denmark, which holds
the rotating presidency of the European Union, managed to postpone for three
years the decision whether the EU should boycott goods produced by Israelis in
the settlements. If the olive
robberies are not ceased immediately, and the victims of the theft are not
compensated, Israel will have no moral right to ask the EU to prevent boycotts
of settlement products.
The harvest robbers show that Israelis are also contributing to the
destruction of the rule of law in the territories. If they were blocked
immediately, things would appear differently. But the depth of the change these
deeds are creating is apparent in the weakness the IDF is displaying. Many officers are ashamed of it. But statements by the chief of staff
during internal discussions that he condemns the phenomenon are meaningless,
if the army does not take determined action to prevent it. The settlers' private army - and it's
not only the hilltop gangs - has taken the law into its own hands, and is
spitting in the face of the army.
Outgoing Mail Scanned by NAV
2002
