5755 Joyful Grips Mordecai Gur, 65: Deputy defense minister, of a self-in- flicted gun- shot wound after suffer- ing from ter- minal cancer. In the 1967 Six-Day War, he headed paratroopers who first reached the Western Wall. His stunning words on Israeli radio at the time: "The Temple Mount is in our hands; The Temple Mount is in our hands. And now the en- tire Old City is in our hands, and we are very, very happy." Israel's most dramatic diplo- matic achievement came under the desert sun on Monday, Oct. 17. That afternoon, with President Clinton on hand, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Jor- dan's King Hussein did publicly what they had done secretly for years. They shook hands. More than one commentator contrasted the warm ceremony with Mr. Ra- bin's reluctant grasp of Yasser Arafat's palm on Sept. 13, 1993. Israel and Jordan immediately agreed to build dams on the Yarmuk and Jordan Rivers that will increase the supply of water that stays in the region. The peace treaty also opened the way for joint ventures in energy, tourism, sea- ports, airports, railroad systems and roads. By year's end, American Jewish and Israeli tourists seemed as com- mon in Jordan as Jews with kip- pot in Jerusalem. Jordanian students were studying Hebrew, Jordanian taxi cab drivers were saying "Shalom Aleichem" and Jewish tourists were eating in Am- man's kosher restaurant. Some 30,000 Jordanians have visited Is- rael to date, far exceeding the rate of Egyptian visitors. Syd Einfeld, 86: Named for his native city of Sydney, he was credited with changing Australia's immigration policy to provide a refuge for Holo- caust survivors. Served in both federal and state parlia- ments. Four-term past presi- dent of the Executive Council of Austi Lilian Jewry. Kay Feinberg, 73: Chairman of the Jewish com- munity of Oslo, of natural causes. Rabbi Baruch Korff; 81: Known as President Richard Nixon's rabbi He traced his rab- binical lineage to the 11th century scholar Rashi. Staunchly de- fended Nixon when Watergate scandal broke out in 1973 and founded the President Nixon Justice Fund. Yeshoshafat Harkabi, 72: Former intelligence chief of the IDF and specialist on the Arab-Israeli conflict. Well-known for his liberal attitudes and stream of academic writings. Yeshayahu Leibowitz, 91: Philosopher, scientist and re- ligious philosopher, in his sleep. Active until the last day of his life, the Orthodox Jew staunchly opposed mixing re- ligion and state. Vehemently condemned Israel's occupa- tion of the West Bank and Gaza Strip as demeaning to Jewish sensitivities. Mc d. General Meir Zorea, 72: Once head of operations of Israel Defense Forces. Career plunged in 1959 when he took blame for a nationwide broadcast pur- portedly announcing a mili- tary emergency, which was only a mobilization exercise. Gaza's Woes Unsettled On The West Bank By year's end, almost 140,000 Jewish residents were living in the West Bank. A majority of them, in the bed- room communities near Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, were drawn to the area by low-cost housing as much as ide- ological reasons. For some, even the hint of Jewish surrender of sov- ereignty over the area is tantamount to treason. Above: With Yitzhak Rabin's government at times treat- Golan supporters ing such settlers with disdain, a number of main- burn tires. stream Israelis began voicing support for their West Bank brethren. The Likud opposition kept trying to raise no confidence motions in the Knes- set on behalf of the settlers, but to no avail. The settlers took their protests to Israel proper, block- ing traffic and even burning tires in what some have called a mini-Jewish intifada. The settlers called for a national referendum on the peace process, which Mr. Rabin steadfastly refused. Nonetheless, as the country's standard of living con- tinued to rise, a large percentage of people in the coun- try increasingly focused on gaining material goods. Israeli soldiers used to dread pa- trolling the Gaza Strip. They no longer have that duty, but Yass- er Arafat's extensive police force — whose numbers surpass agreed limitations — did not have an easy time replacing them. The most serious challenge came on Nov. 18. Sixteen demon- strators, in what was labeled "Black Friday," were massacred by Palestinian police in Gaza after protesting Mr. Arafat's rule. The Palestinian Authority appointed two commissions to investigate; Is- rael treated the matter as an "in- ternal Palestinian affair," saying little about what some thought would be the start of a Palestinian civil war. Poverty and unemployment, particularly as Israel prevented Gazans from working in Israel af- ter bus bombings, were a constant story. Despite it all, Mr. Arafat con- tinued to do what he has done best as a Palestinian leader — survive. King Hussein and Arafat came together.