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Thursday, May 1, 1986 Nisan 22, 5746
50^
Second Class Mail RegisuJtion.Numbei 1683 Posuige P.xd >n To'cwio
To avoid a cabinet crisis. Israel's justice minister and finance minister recently swapped jobs. They are shown here toasting their exchange of portfolios: at left, Yitzhak Modai who is now justice minister and Moshe Nissim, the new finance minister. Qne of Nissim's first major tasks is to deal with the Beisky Commission report (CJN April 21). [IPP A photo]
Report blasts system
JERUSALEM (JTA)
Moshe Mandeibaum. govempr of the Bank of Israel, reisigned last week in the wake of a $cathuig indictment of Israel's ' banking system by a commission set up to investigate the collapse of bank shares in 1983 (CJN April 23).
The commission, headed by Supreme Court Justice Chaim Beisky; recommended, among other things, that the governor qf the Bank of Israel and the heads of the five largest cornmercial banks be made to resign within 30 day^. .
Mandeibaum had planned to leave office shortly as heiad of Israel's central bank, which plays a regulatory role similar to some ways to the Central Bank in Canada. :
• His early departure set ,6ff a search for a replacement and several names were mentioned as likely candidates. Finance Minister Moshe Nissim, who took over the Treasury only weeks ago, said he has his own choice but would not name him before consulting with Premiier Shimon Peres and Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir, leader of Likud which is Nissitn's party.
Among the possible replacements for Mandeibaum are Deputy Finance Minister Adi Ambrai; Michael Bruno, a professor of economics; Emanuel Sharon, director-general of the finance ministry, and Moshe Zanbar, who was Mandelbaum's predecessor at the Bank of Israel.
The Bank Hapoalim is
also looking for a replacement for its board chair-^ man, Giora Gazit, who' resigned last week. Its directorate and the directors of the Bank Leurai have been meeting to consider the Breisky commission report and possible replacement for other senior banking officials who. may resign in the coming weeks. The Bank Hapoalim also released its annual report which showed profits up by 85% in 1985 compared to -1984. ..v.-..
The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, whose management was blasted by the Beisky Commission for failure to heed warnings
of the market collapse three years ago, appeared to be unaffected by the report. Since itwas released the prices of most shares rose by an average of about 1% and advances far outnumbered declines.
Meanwhile; the Knesset is embroiled in a heated debate over whether to pass legislation that would protect the banks from law .suits by customers who, in light ofthe Beisky Commission's findings, could claim they were defrauded. The government is inclined to enact such laws to preserve the stability .of the banking sys-, tem.
e increases
■ By . -SHELDON KIRSHNER
Western Europe stepped up its war against terrorism this week as President Reagan warned terrorists to be "prepared for the con^ sequences" if they committed "cowardly acts" against Americans.
A week after condemning the U.S. bombing of Libya, European nations that had been loath to crack down on terrorism were doing just that.
However, the Europeans were still not prepared to impose punitive economic sanctions, nor to consider military strikes, against Libya, options the Americans have already used.
For.starters, the foreign ministers of the European Economic Community agreed.to order reductions id the staff of Libyan em-
bassies in their capitals. The embassies, or Peo-
_ pie's Bureaus, have been known to serve as ammunition dumps and safe houses for Arab assassins. _ By this week, more than 200 Libyan diplomats,
_ students and journalists had been expelled from West Germany, France, Britain, and Denmark.
The Europeans also decided to increase their exchange of information on terrorism with the U.S. and other countries.
And according to reports, Italy and , West Germany were seriously considering the possibility of establishing a commando force that could be used in future terrorist emergencies.
• • Meanwhile, France's new conservative government — which had rejected Washington's request that U.S. fighter-jets be allowed to fly over French ter-
ritory on their way to bomb Tripoli and Benghazi --^ announced plans to combat terrorism.
France intends to introduce legislation making terrorism a crime and to ^xpand its police force.
.In the face of vague Libyan threats to take "appropriate measures" against Europe's political sanctions, the news leaked out that France and Italy had apparently been ready to act militarily in concert with the U.S.
The French and Italians, the most vocal opponents of the April 15 U.S. raid, had reportedly been prepared to support a major action designed to topple the regime headed by Muammar Qadaffi.
Qadaffi; still reeling, from the bombing which destroyed and/or damaged -his personal headquarters
; [Cont'd, oh page 6]
m
e: synagogue visit "emotional experience'
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ROME (JTA) -
Pope John Paul II described his visit to Rome's main synagogue on April, 13 at a "very deep'' experience, "especially from a religious point of view."
In a television interview last week, the Pontiff, the first Pope in history to enter a Jewish house of worship, said, "It was a deep emotional experience
to enter that place which at least ideally, brings us back to the times of St. Peter and the first Christians."
He said the visit "was ma(ie possible by the Second Vatican Council" more than 20 years ago and by its famous declaration "Nostra Aetate'; (Oiir Times) in which the Catholic church repudiated Jewish guilt for the death of Jesus.
NEW YORK (JTA)
Eastern Airlines says it will no longer make the magazine South available to its passengers as part of its in-flight library. :
A complaint lodged with the airline by the American Jewish Congress charged the Arab-owned publication with being "devoted almost exclusively to maligning Israel and the United States."
A letter of_reply from Donald F. Lohr, an Eastern
magaztne
official, said that the complaint from AJCongnessaind others "have convinced us to discontinue boariding this publication."
South, which calls itself The Third World Magazine, recently described Yasser Arafat as "one of the great freedoin fighters of our time," according to AJCongress, which noted that Arafat personally had ordered the assassination of the U.S. am. bassador to Sudan in 1973 as well as other terrorist acts. ■--■--„ •
TEL AVIV (JTA) -
Officials of the Israeli foreign ministry and the defence establishment categorically denied last week that Israel was in any Way involved in a conspiracy to sell $2 billion worth of American arms to Iran, following the arrest by U.S. authorities of a retired Israel Defence Force general alleged (o be one of the plotters.
Brig. Gen. .Avraham Baram.'52. an IPF veteran of 30 years' service, was one of 17 men of.six na-tionalities.who were placed under arrest or had warrants issued against them in New York and Bermuda. Baram and four of the men were arrested in Bermuda where they allegedly flew to make final arrangements for the arms deal.
Also named in the plot were two other Israelis, Guri Eisenberg, 31 and Israel Eisenberg, 55, and a man who may be Israeli, identified only as Hebroni. Others seized or wanted on , charges announced by federal prosecutor Rudolf. Giuliani are of U.S.. British, French, West German and Greek nationality.
Giuliani, the chief U.S. prosecutor for New York, said, however, that there is "no suggestion of involvement by the Israeli government" in the aborted armis deal, which he described as " mindboggl-ing in scope."
The U.S. state department had no immediate comment. But a spokesman for the Israel embassy in Washington stated flatly that "the government of Israel has no connection or involvement with this matter." He described Baram as long retired from the IDF.
Menahem Meron, director^general of the defence ministry, called in the U.S. charge d'affaires after what he called an intensive investigation. He informed the American official that no link, direct or indirect, could be found suggesting that Israel was involved in the alleged plot.
arms s
According to Giuliani and U.S. customs officials, the accused men conspired to sell Iran several hundred F-4 and F-5 jet fighters. 15,000 TOW air-to-air missiles and scores of tanks as we 11 as helicopterSi long range artillery arid C-130 military transport planes. They said the weapons were to be delivered in Greek >hips and were presently stored in Israel and several other countries.
The implication that the plot involved the sale by : Israel of combat aircraft and other weapons it acquired from theU.S .was described as'' ludicrous'' by well-informed sources here. The sources noted that the U.S. knows exactly how many American-built aircraft are in Israel's possession and about any that might be removed for the Israel Air Force order of battle. Moreover, Israel does not sell F-4s, has no F-5s and does not sell TOW missiles.
Even if Israel had sought to sell weapons to Iran, a country it regards as oneof : its most fanatical foes, it would hardly do so in the U.S., the sources said.
Israel has admitted selling Iran spare parts priOr to
Terror
the overthrow of the shah in 1979, and did so apparently with the knowledge and approval ofjhc U.S.
Israel Radio described Gen. Baram as a twicer decorated officer cited for bravery. But he retired under a cloud for allegedly giving unauthorized weapons to civilians.
Last year. Baram rcceiv-. od permission front the defence ministry to act as a, private .consultant oii military supplies and knowhow. But he was precluded frOm dealing in arms or even negotiating arms deals without special permission.
Baram's arrest focused attention on the problem of senior IDF officers who have become arms dealers after retiring from active service. There is no legal . way for Israel to control their activities abroad, even if they sully the country's reputation.
The U.S. has embargoed arms sales to Iran since the -seizure of hostages at the An>erican embassy in Teheran in: November, 1979. Even if no embargo exists, the state department must approve arms sales to. a foreign country;. ■
TEL AVIV (JTA) -
El Al, Israel's national airline, has sustained a 10% loss of American bookings to Europe and the Middle East because of the terrorist threat following the U.S. air strike against Libya on April 14. But it has suffered far less than other airlines which on the average have lost 35% of their bookings, according . to El Al spokesman Nahman Kleiman.
He said the Israeli carrier benefited from media reports of its security measun^, considered the most stringent of any
airline. Many American tourists coming to Israel prder direct flights to Tel -Aviv offered by El; Al. Other airlines require a change of planes in Europe.
A spokesman for the ministry of tourism reported an increase of tourism to Israel from Europe. Traffic from West Germany increased by 4% in the first quarter of 1986 compared to the same:period in 1985, he said. There has been a 6% rise from the United Kingdom, 4% from Switzerland and 27% from all of the Scandinavian countries. ;