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Roundup from page 8
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Ecuador's Palestinian State
QUITO (JTA) -- Ecuador has recog-
nized a Palestinian state, the fifth Latin
American country to do so in recent
weeks.
Ecuador's President Rafael Correa on
Dec. 24 signed a resolution recognizing
"the Palestine State as free and indepen-
dent within its 1967 borders!' The reso-
lution was sent to Palestinian Authority
President Malunoud Abbas and the
Palestinian representative to the United
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Israel Won't Apologize
JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Israel's prime
minister said Israel will not apologize
to Turkey for the interception of a Gaza-
bound ship or the loss of life on board.
However, Benjamin Netanyahu said in
an interview on Israeli national televi-
sion on Dec. 27, Israel would express its
regret.
"We need to understand that they
want an apology and, of course, we do
not want to apologize. We are prepared
to express regret as we expressed it over
the loss of life," Netanyahu said during
an interview on Israel Channel 10.
"But what do we want? We want one
thing. We want — first of all — to pro-
tect our soldiers and commanders. They
are being accused of war crimes. They
could be arrested worldwide. First of all,
we want this to stop. And there should
be Turkish recognition that Israel did
not act maliciously and that IDF soldiers
acted out of self-defense."
He continued: "There is still no corn-
promise formula. We are continuing to
try, and I think that it is our interest to
try to resolve this. I think that public
remarks on this issue are not helpful:'
The interview came after inflamma-
tory statements from Foreign Minister
Avigdor Lieberman, who on Dec. 26
called Turkey's continued insistence on
an apology from Israel for the incident
"beyond rude."
Lieberman said that Turkey should
apologize to Israel for supporting ter-
rorists. He was responding to comments
made the previous day by Turkish
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu,
who said that Turkey "has the will to
make peace with Israel;' but was unable
to, since it is "very difficult to establish
political will in Israel."
Turkey and Israel began discussing
reestablishing ties earlier this month
after Turkey sent assistance to Israel in
battling the Carmel fire.
Nations, according to reports.
"Sadly, the Middle East continues to
face wars and violent events that have
led to the death of many innocent peo-
ple, a situation contrary to the humane
and pacifist position established by
the Ecuadorian Constitution," noted a
statement issued by Ecuador's Foreign
Ministry. "This recognition is meant to
reinforce the valid and legitimate wish
of the Palestine people to have their own
free and independent state."
Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina and
Uruguay all made similar declarations
this month.
'Don't Date Arabs'
JERUSALEM (JTA) -- More than two-
dozen Israeli rabbis' wives signed a let-
ter urging Jewish women not to date or
work with Arab men.
The letter, which had at least 27
signatories, was distributed on Dec. 28
by Lehava, a one-year-old organization
dedicated to preventing intermarriage
between Jews and Arabs.
The letter comes on the heels of
another letter published earlier this
month and signed by several dozen
municipal rabbis calling on Jews not to
sell or rent properties to non-Jews. That
letter created a furor, sparking a host of
condemnations from some Israeli politi-
cal figures and numerous religious and
community leaders in the United States,
including the main Modern Orthodox
rabbinical group, the Rabbinical Council
of America.
The rabbis' wives' letter said: "There
are quite a few Arab workers who
use Hebrew names. Yusuf becomes
Yossi, Samir becomes Sami and Abed
I—comes Ami. They seek your proximity,
try to appeal to you and give you all the
tfention you could ask for, they actu-
ally know how be polite and act making
you believe they really care ... but their
behavior is only temporary," it said. "As
soon as they have in you in their grasp,
in their village, under their complete
control — everything becomes differ-
ent. Your life will never be the same, and
the attention you sought will be replaced
with curses, physical abuse and humili-
ation."
The letter's signatories, accord-
ing to Ynet, include: Nitzhiya Yosef,
daughter-in-law of Shas spiritual leader
Rabbi Ovadia Yosef and wife of Rabbi
Yaakov Yosef; Esther Lior , the wife
of Rabbi Dov Lior of Kiryat Arba,
Shlomit Melamed, the wife of Rabbi
Zalman Melamed of Beit El; and Esther
Levanon, the wife of Rabbi Elyakim
Levanon of Elon Moreh.
Roundup on page 12