D1GE,T
Wiesel: No To Presidency
Jerusalem/JTA — Ellie Wiesel said
he was not interested in becoming
Israel's president.
"I don't want to be president. I never
planned to be president and I will not
be president;' Yediot Achronot quot-
ing the Nobel laureate as saying over
the weekend in response to reports
that he has been named as a possible
successor to the embattled President
Moshe Katsay.
"I teach in a university; I have
students; I write books, and that's it.
That's enough. As president I would
not be able to voice myself freely
— and words are all I have he said.
Segregation Challenged
Jerusalem/JTA — A leading Israeli
rabbi challenged the longstanding
fervently Orthodox insistence on
gender segregation at social celebra-
tions.
Ma'ariv on Monday quoted Rabbi
Ovadia Yosef, spiritual mentor to the
Sephardi political movement Shas, as
saying that the mechitza, or partition
used to separate men and women at
events like weddings, should not be
insisted upon if it causes family strife.
"Sometimes, a family is not so
pious, does not want a mechitza and
prefers that everyone sit together at
one table. This is not something to
fight over.
"If a mechitza is possible, then it
should be erected; but if it is not, it
can be done away with;' Yosef was
quoted as saying in a weekly sermon.
Katsav Stands Firm
Jerusalem/JTA — Israel's president
resisted calls to step down amid
a sex scandal. President Moshe
Katsav said Monday that he had no
intention of suspending himself
or resigning unless indicted over
allegations that he raped and sexu-
ally harassed several former female
employees.
On Sunday, Attorney General
Menachem Mazuz said Katsav
should consider stepping down until
the investigation runs its course.
Katsav, 60, has denied wrongdoing.
Even if he's indicted, the trial could
run past July 2007, when Katsav's
term ends.
increased as much as eightfold,
largely because of boosted security
at the Lebanese frontier that has dis-
couraged drug smugglers.
Another favored conduit for traf-
fickers, the Sinai desert, has seen
strengthened Israeli border patrols
aimed at preventing arms from reach-
ing Palestinian terrorists.
Cabinet Comeback?
Jerusalem/JTA — Ehud Barak is
expected to join Israel's government.
Israeli media reported Tuesday
that the former prime minister likely
would replace. Sports and Culture
Minister Ophir Pines-Paz, who ten-
dered his resignation to protest the
inclusion of the far-right Yisrael
Beiteinu Party in the governing coali-
tion.
Barak and Pines-Paz both are from
the center-left Labor Party, though
Barak has largely been absent from
politics in recent months.
Barak, whose term as prime minis-
ter from 1999 to 2001 included failed
efforts to reach a peace deal with Syria
and the Palestinians, as well as a uni-
lateral Israeli withdrawal from south-
ern Lebanon, could not be reached for
comment.
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HOSPICE HEROES
Answering
Israel's Critics
The Charge:
While showing solid support for
the Jewish State, recent surveys of
Americans' attitudes toward Israel
reveal that the country is viewed
as embattled, militaristic and less
than fully democratic.
The. Answer:
The results of these surveys point
to the need for Jews and others
who have visited Israel to share
their knowledge with their friends,
neighbors and co-workers, and to
speak about Israel's normality and
modernity, its freedoms, and its
vibrant, open politics, media and
society.
– Allan Gale, Jewish
Community Council of
Metropolitan Detroit
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Because No Jew Should Ever Be Alone
High Stakes For Pot
Jerusalem/JTA — Marijuana prices
in Israel reportedly have skyrock-
eted since the Lebanon war. Yediot
Achronot reported Tuesday that
the cost of cannabis in Israel has
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November 2 • 2006
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