ISRA EL DIGEST

Specially compiled by The Jerusalem Post

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Price Of Autonomy

Honda, Coca-Cola, Proctor & Gamble, Pepsi Cola are among the many companies that participated in the Arab Boycott.

Israel and the Palestinian
autonomous authority and
agreed on a basic framework
of free trade with relatively
open borders.
Neither government has
yet developed a position.
In further developments,
the Jerusalem Post reported
that the Arab League foreign
ministers met last week,
apparently to recommend
phasing out the 45-year-old
economic boycott of Israel.
Arab League Assistant
Secretary-General Yousef

Nimatallah said a growing
demand exists by Arab states
to close down branches of
their chambers of commerce,
established abroad to moni-
tor compliance with the boy-
cott.
Mr. Nimatallah, who is
responsible for economic
affairs, told the Saudi daily
Asharq al-Aswat that the
ministers would consider
whether to disband the offices
or reassign their function.
But Ehud Kaufman, direc-
tor of the Israel treasury

division, which oversees anti-
boycott activities, said there
is a gap between the positive
declarations and actual
behavioral changes.
"We assess that it will take
some time until the large cor-
porations, which found every
way possible to adhere to the
boycott, change their policy.
It will be very slow and very
gradual," Mr. Kaufman said.
Behind the Arab boycott
stands a large bureaucracy
whose goal is to maintain it,
Mr. Kaufman said.

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In Jaffa: Make
Money, Not War

REPORT FROM
THE JERUSALEM POST

J

affa is a bustling, busi-
ness-oriented place
where Arabs and Jews
work side by side.
They sell fresh fish and
hawk shoes to bargain
hunters. They entertain a
steady stream of tourists in
their cafes and restaurants.
Pragmatism characterizes
the attitude of Jaffa Arabs
toward the prospect of an
Israeli-PLO autonomy agree-
ment. They are anticipating a
business boom, not an
internecine bombshell.
Jaffa resident Rogette
Hinawi predicted ringing
cash registers on both sides
of the Jordan River.
"Business is going to flour-
ish both with people from the
territories, and hopefully,
with the Arab states. There
have already been business-
men here from Amman
exploring the possibilities,"
Ms. Hinawi said.
Jaffa's Arab residents say

the resolution of the Arab-
Israeli conflict will bring
prosperity and will solidify
their status as full-fledged
citizens of Israel.

"Business is going
to flourish both
with people from
the territories, and
hopefully, with the
Arab states."

Rogette Hinawi

"A peace agreement will
definitely help Israeli Arabs
move ahead," said Nassim
Shacar, chairman of the
Committee for Jaffa Arabs
and cochairman of the Jaffa-
based Jewish-Arab list in the
Tel Aviv municipal elections.
"It will mean no longer

feeling that some Jews see us
only as potential terrorists,"
he said. "It will help us to feel
less inner conflict, and it will
definitely help us feel more
identification with the State
of Israel and ability to con-
tribute to it."
Mr. Shacar's assessment of
the atmosphere on the
streets of Jaffa is "optimistic
about the peace prospects,
and a majority agree with the
Gaza/Jericho first plan.
There is virtually no opposi-
tion to it here."
Some Jaffa residents are
positively ecstatic.
Abed Kaboub, 62, the for-
mer head of the Jaffa Waqf,
the organization that over-
sees Muslim religious proper-
ty, said the sight of Israel
Television correspondent
Yoni Ben-Menachem shaking
hands with Yassir Arafat
was "very exciting."
"This is a big dream we've

JAFFA page 37

Gaza will immediately
require $50 to $75 million
in resources to improve its
economic infrastructure and
broaden support for the
peace agreement, said Bank
of Israel Governor Jacob
Frenkel.
Mr. Frenkel downplayed
the level of economic assis-
tance necessary for the ter-
ritories. He said the territo-
ries' economy, whose Gross
Domestic Product is rough-
ly $2 billion, can initially
absorb at most only $300
million a year. This is twice
the current level of foreign
aid and UNRWA assis-
tance, he added.

Based on a World Bank
study on the economic
development of the territo-
ries, investments of $2.5 bil-
lion during the next 10
years will be required to
create the economic infra-
structure necessary to
develop the territories.
In the first five years, $1
billion will be invested pri-
marily in water and water
purification projects, trans-
portation, electric power,
health, sewage and telecom-
munications infrastructure
development. The program
projects an investment of
$1.5 billion in the subse-
quent five years.

More Israeli Flights

The airfare from Tel Aviv to
Amman will be $100 to
$110, said Yisrael Borowitz,
director-general of Arkia.
He said the airline has
made plans to fly, not only
to the Jordanian capital,
but also to Akaba,
Damascus, and Beirut in
preparation for a peace
agreement. In related
developments, El Al is
preparing to increase its
passenger payload by 25
percent.
Mr. Borowitz said that
Transport Minister Yisrael
Kessar had asked the com-
pany to make the prepara-
tions for flights to the Arab
countries. He said that
Arida could begin flights to
neighboring countries on
two hours' notice.
However, El Al Director-
General Rafi Har-Lev said

an airline could not make
definite flight plans to any
destination before actually
visiting it and talking to
authorities there. Mr. Har-
Lev said El Al's immediate
plans primarily are geared
toward the pos4ility of fly-
ing over hitherto forbidden
airspace, especially Jordan
and Saudi Arabia.
Mr. Har-Lev said that El
Al is preparing a marketing
campaign in Europe, the
United States, and the Far
East, aimed at encouraging
tourism in connection with
the peace process. Although
it was difficult to predict
exactly how a peace agree-
ment would affect tourism,
it might be compared to the
period following the Six
Day, War, when tourism
rose by 50 percent in two
years.

Treating Gum Disease

A Jerusalem company has
developed a tiny, biodegrad-
able chip which releases a
drug that treats, even pre-
vents, periodontitis, or gum
disease. Some 80 percent of
all middle-aged persons suf-
fer from some degree of
periodontal disease.
The Perio Chip -- which
has been tested on patients
in Israel, the United States
and Europe — is currently
undergoing final trinls and
should be available in Israel
sometime next year.
Stanley Fass, president
of the company, said the
chip is made of a polymer
that dissolves completely
under the gums within
seven to 10 days. The den-
tist inserts it in half a

minute without surgery.
Fass said that the 45 mil-
limeter chip releases
chlorhexidine, a drug used
to treat gingivitis, a less
serious inflamation of the
gums that can lead to peri-
odontitis. Its gradual
release inside the gum
pockets, he said, effectively
shrinks them and kills
germs, re-establishing con-
tact between the gums and
the teeth. He said the drug
is at least as effective as
scaling teeth or gum
surgery.
The chip was developed
at the Hebrew University-
Hadassah School of
Medicine and the Hebrew
University School of Dental
Medicine.

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