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THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Israeli Government Cited for Contempt
by Supreme Court in Bedouin Land Grab
I
JERUSALEM (JTA) —
The Cabinet postponed dis-
cussion Sunday of last
week's Supreme Court con-
tempt citation against the
government for un-
authorized construction
work on Bedouin lands in
the Negev because the issue
is still under investigation
by the Attorney General.
Premier Menahem Begin,
confined to bed with flu, did
not attend the weekly
Cabinet session Sunday
which was chaired by De-
puty Premier Yigael Yadin.
The Supreme Court is-
sued its citation last Thurs-
day when it ordered a halt to
road-building work on dis-
puted land near the
Beersheba-Arad road. The
court acted on behalf of a
local Bedouin, Sulieman
Abu Garen, who com-
plained that the work was
started by a government
agency without obtaining
the required permit from
the Beersheba district
court.
The arrival of bulldoz-
ers and workers on the
site touched off clashes in
which several policemen
were injured and 11 Be-
douins arrested, includ-
ing Sulieman.
The work is on a road to
give access to a planned new
Bedouin township in the
Negev. Government policy
is to concentrate the various
tribes in towns, thereby
ending their nomadic exist-
ence, a policy to which many
Bedouins object.
Government officials said
Friday that the land for the
road was requisitioned in a
legal manner long before
last week's protest and that
they were under the im-
pression that the court per-
mit was required for work at
the proposed township site,
not the road leading to it.
The high court's action
stunned government offi-
cials and Attorney General
Itzhak Zamir ordered an
immediate investigation
Friday. The law allows 21
days to reply to the con-
tempt ruling. Zamir said
that he would submit "a
frank, thorough and reli-
able report."
The current dispute
brought to light an ear-
lier decision by the Sup-
reme Court in which a
different panel of judges
criticized the Israeli
army for beginning work
on the site of a new air
base near Beersheba
nearly two months before
it obtained the necessary
court permit. That matter
was.also the subject of an
appeal by Bedouin
tribesmen.
The court ruled that the
government failed to ob-
serve orderly administra-
tive procedures and ordered
it to pay the Bedouins IL
5000 ($250) in legal ex-
penses.
A Defense Ministry
spokesman said that the
work done in the area with-
out permit was preliminary
and of limited scope. He said
the area was closed by the
army last December in
preparation for building the
air base. A permit was re-
--
quested from the Finance
Minister early last month
and was issued on March 21,
he said. This was some time
after the Bedouins' appeal
to the Supreme Court.
Friday, April 13, 1979 23
Israeli Draught Is Feared
JERUSALEM (ZINS)
Israeli officials are worried
about a shortage of rainfall
this winter. The Sea of
Galilee, which serves as the
national reservoir, is a foot
below normal, and Israel is
drawing heavily on ground
water sources.
Officials say there is
enough water for the sum-
mer, but fear a drought in
1980 if the rains are again
sparse next winter.
Sinai Hospital of Detroit
celebrated its 25th anniver-
sary in 1978.
USSR Claims Yiddish Play
Was Revived Last Season
Soviet Russia's Novosti
Press Agency has issued a
release maintaining that
the legend of Hershele Os-
tropoler is retaining its
interest in the USSR thea-
ter.
The Novosti release
states that Gershele —
there is no "H" in Russian
and the name therefore is
spelled with a "G" — was
performed in a new verison
last year by the Moscow
Jewish Drama Company.
The comedy features the
adventures of a happy-go-
lucky Jewish vagabond in
pre-revolutionary Russia.
Novosti said the role was
brilliantly performed by the
theater's leading actor,
Zinovi Kaminsky. Gershele
never loses his sunny dis-
position, no matter what
crises he experiences, and
knows how to turn every
evil act against those who
perpetrate it.
Iosif Ryklin, chief stage
director and producer of the
play, stressed that he
wanted to highlight the
hero's ability to break out of
his narrow national envi-
ronment and see qualities
worth emulating in the
people of other
nationalities, according to
Novosti. The agency said,
"Jews in the audience were
thrilled to hear the colorful
Yiddish spoken from the
stage, and laughed heartily
with Ostropoler throughout
the play."
Novosti says the theater
"concluded the last season
with a tour of several cities
of the Soviet Union, includ-
ing Tashkent, Vilnius and
Riga. In years before, it has
played for audiences of the
Ukraine, Moldavia,
Byelorussia, the Urals,
Siberia, the Volga area and
the Far East.
"Various cities in the
Soviet Union, such as
Birobidzhan, Vilnius and
Kaunas, have their own
Jewish drama companies,"
Novosti claimed.
these are only a few of the
features you'll find weekly
in The Jewish News
Book Fair
Will Display
Peace Treaty
JERUSALEM (JTA)
The Israeli-Egyptian peace
treaty document will serve
as the main attraction of the
Jerusalem International
Book Fair, slated to open
next Thursday. The treaty
will be encased in a
burglar-proof glass case,
courtesy of the Israel
Museum, and will be
guarded throughout the
fair.
The idea was initiated by
Mayor Teddy Kollek, who
requested from Foreign
Minister Moshe Dayan that
the treaty be put on display.
Dayan forwarded the re-
quest to the Premier's office,
which approved.
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