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Sympathy For Settlers
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Jerusatem/JTA— The Orthodox Union
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expressed empathy with settlers facing
eviction, but said security issues are best
left to Israel's citizens and government.
"The current Israeli debate over dis-
engagement from Gaza and parts of
Shomron has evoked strongly held feel-
ings within the Orthodox Union fami-
ly," the Orthodox Union said in a reso-
lution adopted at last week's annual
meeting in Israel, using the biblical
name for the northern West Bank.
"The intensity of these emotions is
compounded by the profound identifi-
cation that so many in our community
feel with the plight of Jews who face
removal from their homes in areas that
resonate in Jewish history, and where
their presence was encouraged and sup-
ported by the State of Israel."
But the resolution acknowledged "that
questions of Israeli foreign policy and
domestic security are best left to the citi-
zens of Israel and the State of Israel's
democratically elected institutions."
`Frosty' Still OK?
New York/JTA — A school district in
New Jersey said instrumental songs with
religious references cannot be played at
school holiday concerts. School adminis-
trators in Maplewood/South Orange,
which previously had banned vocal reli-
gious songs, clarified its policy as
Christmas and Chanukah approach, the
Newark Star-Ledger reported.
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Nairobi/JTA — An Israeli-owned hotel
in Kenya that was hit by suicide
bombers in 2002 reopened for business.
The Paradise Hotel reopened exactly
two years after 12 people were killed in
an attack by three suicide bombers. The
crime, widely attributed to Al Qaida,
remains formally unsolved.
AIDS On Rise In Israel
Jemsalem/JTA— There are hundreds of
new AIDS cases every year in Israel.
According to Health Ministry figures
released Tuesday ahead of World AIDS
Day, 341 Israelis were diagnosed as HIV
positive in 2004, among them 96 new-
borns who contracted the virus from
their mothers during pregnancy. The
total number of AIDS sufferers in Israel
is around 4,300.
While health officials say most are gay
men or intravenous drug users, the inci-
dence of AIDS also is on the rise among
heterosexuals, especially teenagers. The
Health Ministry has initiated AIDS-
awareness classes in high schools to
counter the prevailing notion that preg-
nancy, rather than venereal disease, is the
biggest threat to sexually active teens.
Violin Incident Dismissed
Ramallah/JTA — The Israeli army vindi-
cated troops who were present when a
Palestinian man began to play his violin
at a West Bank checkpoint.
The head of the Israel Defense Forces'
central command, Maj. Gen. Moshe
Kaplinski, said Tuesday that the
Palestinian who began to play his violin
for a few seconds at a checkpoint last
week was not coerced but did so of his
own volition to show soldiers that the
instrument was not a bomb.
An Israeli watchdog group filmed the
incident, which was shown on national
media and evoked, for some pundits,
images of the Holocaust. Musical instru-
ments have been used in previous terror-
ist attacks.
Barak Storms Stage
Tel Aviv/JTA — Former Israeli Prime
Minister Ehud Barak tried to take over a
Labor Party meeting, causing uproar.
At a session of Labor's Central
Committee on Tuesday, Barak, who
recently announced his return to politics
after a hiatus of almost four years,
grabbed the microphone from party offi-
cial Moshe Shahal and demanded that
the upcoming primary be conducted by
secret ballot.
A shocked Shahal accused Barak of
turning the meeting into "a show of
force the likes of which civilized people
cannot forgive." The Central
Committee decided to reconvene Dec.
12 to decide on a date for the primary,
in which Barak hopes to beat Shimon
Peres for the party leadership.
Red Cross Meets MDA
Jerusalem/JTA — Red Cross officials are
meeting in Israel with counterparts from
Magen David Adorn. The delegation
from the American Red Cross in Greater
New York will exchange information
with leaders of the Israeli organization
on responding to emergencies.
"The Israelis are experts in leading-
edge technology in disaster response,
and we can learn from their expertise,
said Terry Bischoff, the American group's
CEO. "We bring experience in dealing
with the psychological aspects of trauma
and ways to help families after a tragedy,
which will be very helpful to the leader-
ship of Magen David Adorn."
The American Red Cross group,was
expected to sign a memorandum of
understanding with the Israelis, marking
the beginning of a new partnership.
,'