Russian Increases Jerusalem (JTA) — Russian immigra- tion to Israel is up by 116 percent dur- ing the first quarter of 1999, according to the Jewish Agency for Israel. Some 7,933 Russian Jews immigrat- ed to Israel in the first three months of the year, compared with 3,673 during the same period in 1998. Some 31 percent of the 1,054 immigrants surveyed by the Jewish :,Agency cited anti-Semitism as one of •the main reasons for their move, an increase from 9 percent in a similar sur- vey conducted before Russia's economic crisis began last August. Overall, 16,389 immigrants from the former Soviet Union arrived in the Jewish state in the first quarter. Some 13,336 did so during the same period in 1998. Ha - • e. 4.1- bN saS. Submarine's Fate Three hundred wooden crosses from a lot that borders the former Auschwitz German death camp lie on the ground in the Franciscan friars' monastery in Harmeze, Poland. Breathing Room Poland's removal of crosses at Auschwitz earns goodwill. A move by the Polish govern- ment to remove some 300 ' crosses near the Auschwitz death camp appears to have earned Poland some goodwill with the international Jewish community. Polish police removed the crosses last Friday from outside Auschwitz, sending them to a nearby church. The,police action occurred only days befOre Pope John Paul II is scheduled to begin a trip to his home- land, during which he will stress religious tolerance. The pope's 13- • day visit is slated to begin Saturday. The Polish move also came one day after police detonated explo- sives at a site where Kazimerz Switon, the Polish Catholic activist who led a campaign beginning last August to erect the sea of crosses, was staging a sit-in. "We have to congratulate the Polish government and President Kwasniewski for their swift action," said Kalman Sultanik, vice president of the Auschwitz Museum Council, referring to President Aleksander Kwasniewski's signing last month of a bill that would sez- up.protective 6/4 1999 zones around Auschwitz and other for- mer German death camps in Poland. "This action will enable the Polish government to renew its dialogue with the Jewish community and Israel," he said. Some 1.5 million people, mainly Jews, were killed at Auschwitz and neighboring Birkenau during World War II. Tens of thousands of Poles were murdered there as well. The controversy over religious sym- bols at Auschwitz is nothing new — Last month Polish Catholic mourners walked toward the crosses. The "papal cross" is in the foreground; Block 11, known as the "Death. Block, in the background. and despite the burst of goodwill, the controversy over crosses is far from over. In 1984, a Carmelite convent was installed against the Auschwitz camp's northeastern wall. By 1988, Jewish groups were pressing for the convent to be relocated, which it was in 1993. It was in 1988 that a 26-foot "papal cross" reappeared, erected next to the convent as a sign of resistance. The large cross was originally erected for a mass Pope John Paul II held at Birkenau in 1979 that was attended by 300,000 Poles. Until 1988, the cross was stored in a local parish. Despite a yearlong protest by Israel and Jewish groups, the papal cross will remain near Auschwitz — at least for now. The position of the Jewish commu- nity, said Sultanik, remains firm: Religious symbols have no place at Auschwitz — "not crosses, not Stars of David, not anything." But, he added, the removal of the smaller crosses makes it likely that Jewish leaders will give the Polish gov- ernment more time to remove the papal cross. El_ — Peter Ephross/JTA An Israeli submarine Jerusalem (JTA) discovered last week at the bottom of the Mediterranean, 30 years after it dis- appeared, probably was rammed acci- dentally and was not the target of an attack, a navy investigator said Tuesday The crew of the Dakar probably spotted a large ship coming at them when it was already too late. The Dakar's entire crew of 68 went down with the submarine during its maiden voyage from Britain to Israel. — Expansion Scored Jerusalem (JTA) — An Israeli plan to extend the West Bank settlement of Maaleh Adumim four miles westward to Jerusalem is a "provocative act by an outgoing aovernment," the U.S. State Department said last Friday. The statement came one day after outaoina b Defense Minister Moshe Arens announced the expansion. The Palestinian Cabinet had said the plan Was "destroying the p e ace process" and appealed for U.S. intervention. 'Palestinian officials designated Thursday as a "Day of Anger" to protest the planned expansion. c_ Miss Israel Misses Trinidad — In case you were wonder- ing, Miss Israel Rana Raslan, did not < win the Miss Universe contest. The winner was Miss Botswana Mpule Kwelagobe, who beat out other final- ists Miss South Africa Sonia Raciti, Miss Philippines Miriam Quiambao, Miss Spain Diana Nogueira and Miss Venezuela Carolina Indriago.