2 — THE BULLETIN — Thursday, January 13,1994
By DEBORAH KALB
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Israel and Morocco are reportedly on the verge of expanding their ties.
While the expansion would not create diplomatic relations between Ihem, the two countries are reportedly set to announce economic measures including air, telephone and mail links.
Morocco has been at the forefront of Arab countries open to contacts with Israel.
The Israeli Embassy here said that it could confirm the general direction of the information reported in the New York Times about the agreements.
The article said Morocco's King Hassan "has decided to broaden his country's economic cooperation with Israel in a major step toward the eventual normalization of relations."
The paper cited Clinton administration officials as sources.
Embassy spokesman Dan Arbell said he could not go into details of the Times report. But sources in the pro-Israel community said they had heard from a very senior State Department source that the New York Times story was true.
The Moroccan Embassy here would not comment on the article.
Arbell of the Israeli Embassy said, "We do detect" on the part of Morocco "a trend that illustrates more normalization"
of Israeli-Moroccan relations.
The Times eported that Israeli national airline El Al and the Moroccan airline. Royal Air Maroc, had agreed on flights between Israel and Morocco. In addition, the Times reported that the two countries planned direct phone and mail links, and that Israel's two chief rabbis would visit Morocco.
Also, Israel and Morocco would set up joint banking arrangements and would increase the number of contacts among officials from both sides, the Times reported.
A State Department spokesman said that such agreements would be "the sort of measures that would be important for providing support" in the region for the peace process, but added that the department had no further comment on the specifics of any agreements.
Recently, the head of Morocco's Jewish community was named Morocco's tourism minister. The king and foreign minister found no incompatibility in having the Jewish leader. Serge Berdugo, holding his post in the community and taking up the reins of the Tourism Department.
Israeli Jews of Moroccan origii^ have, in fact, been free for years to visit Morocco on their Israeli passports and need only say they are of Moroccan background.
By STEVEN WEISS
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The spirit of peace has brought Jews and Arabs together in recent months to talk, and now to dine and dance.
The American Jewish Congress presented its annual Stephen S. Wise Award this year at a dinner dance attended for the first time by a group from Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi group of diplomats and businessmen paid $10,000 for a table at the posh event, according to the AJCongress' public relations office.
It was believed to be the first time Arabs attended the event in the AJCongress' 75-year history.
The award was given to Robert K. Lifton at a black-tie ceremony at the Pierre Hotel in New York.
The Arab delegation joined some 300 guests at the affair, which v/as marked by
speeches and then dancing to a variety of tunes.
Lifton, now completing his third two-year term as president of AJCongress, received a telegram of congratulations from Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.
The Saudis attended because of the good relationship they have enjoyed with Lifton during his tenure, said Belle Faber, assistant executive director of AJC.
"It was a personal tribute based on a personal friendship," Faber said.
Lifton was "very touched" by the appearance, she added.
Among those attending this year's ceremony were New York Mayor David Dinkins and Mayor-Elect Rudolph Giuliani.
The AJCongress presented the award to Lifton for his "inspiring and dedi-
SAUDIS - Page 8
® e ®
Said the mechanic, "Mr. Kroloff, your car needs a real overhaul. Three hundred dollars. But when I'm done, she'll purr like a cat?"
Kroloff gulped. "How much will it cost if you don't potchke around — and just make it meow like a pussy?"
LEO MOSTEN — THE JOYS OF VINGUSH
Israel Sun
WARREN CHRISTOPHER, US secretary off state (left) meets with Tami Arad, wife of Ron Arad, air navigator captured seven year ago in Lebanon. Chen Arad, Tami's brother-in-law, Es at right.
TEL AVIV (JTA) — Shlomo Goren, former Israeli chief rabbi and chief military chaplain, has advised Israeli soldiers to refuse to obey any orders to
TEL AVIV (JTA) — Israel will soon start importing coal from the People's Republic of China, it was announced.
Israel currently imports about 5.5 million tons of coal a year from four countries, including South Africa, Israel's largest supplier.
The addition of a fifth country will help ensure that Israel has a safe, continuous supply of coal from a variety of sources.
Israel has been converting from oil to solid fuels, including coal, to produce electricity.
In the last few months, Israel and China have exchanged economic delegations to explore joint commercial projects and trade relations.
Recently, a delegation from China, which included the country's deputy minister for trade and industry, spent a week in Israel exploring possible cooperative ventures in the spheres of communications and computer hardware and software.
participate in military operations to evacuate Jewish settlements from the administered areas.
Goren's suggestion came in a pamphlet he wrote on behalf of the Rabbinical Committee of Jewish Settlements in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip.
He outlined his thoughts in an Israel Radio interview and was immediately denounced by many government leaders.
Deputy Defense Minister Mordechai Gur said Goren's view is "totally unacceptable."
'The spiritual world view
of a single person should not be allowed to determine positions in a democratic society. The majority must prevail," said Gur, who was in command of the Jerusalem area in the Six-Day War in 1967 when the Israel Defense Force captured the Old City.
Goren, then the IDF's chief chaplain, had raced to the Western Wall to blow the shofar, even before the shooting stopped.
In the pamphlet and in his radio interview, Goren said the government had no authority to rule on the sta-GOREN - Page 13
AMSTERDAM (JTA) — The Anne Frank Foundation and the Anne Frank Fund in Switzerland have asked a Dutch court to ban the distribution in Holland of a book that claims the Anne Frank diary is a hoax.
"The Diary of Anne Frank: A Critical Approach" is written by Holocaust deniers Robert Faurisson of France and Siegfried Verbeke of Belgium.
The diary of the teen-age Jewish girl who was hidden with her family in an Amsterdam attic but ultimately found and deported to her death by the Nazis, is one of Holocaust "deniers' most popular targets," according to Deborah Lipstadt, author of "Denying the Holocaust."
The reason is the popularity of the book as a school text and its use as a basis for understanding the Holocaust.
"By instilling doubts in the minds of young people about this powerful book, they hope also to instill doubts about the Holocaust itself," said Lipstadt.
Bp
REHAVAf^ ZE'EVE (left) @t ImmunEty to travel freely. Ze'evi tried to stop him ae he drove
Israel Sun
committee meetlngj over Arab M^Vq request to lift Ze'evi's told the ICnesset he would shoot my Palestinian policeman who Palestinian-controlleci territory, and called on other Jews to do
TEL AVIV — Fishermen at the port of Ashdod have complained that peace activist Abie Nathan sank his Voice of Peace floating radio station in an area that imperils fishing waters. Israel's Environment Ministry said it would investigate to determine whether the ship, which Nathan sank Nov. 28, had been sunk at an authorized location. * * *
Danish visitor
JERUSALEM — Danish Prime Minister Poul Ras-mussen arrived in Israel for an official visit to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Danish government's rescue of its Jewish population from the hands of the Nazis. Rasmussen toured Jerusalem and Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial.
IDF complaint
TEL AVIV — Israel has filed a complaint with the United Nations against a Finnish unit of the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon, charging that the unit refused humanitarian aid to an Israeli tank crew that came under fire in southern Lebanon.
* * *
C.O.L up .8 percent
TEL AVIV — The cost of living in Israel rose 0.8 percent in November, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported. The increase was led by a 3.1 percent rise in the cost of clothing. The costs of food, housing and health also rose. The index has risen 10.4 percent in the last 11 months.
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BUDAPEST
Israeli
Deputy Defense Minister Mordechai Gur completed a six-day official visit with high-level Hungarian officials.
Gur and Defense Minister Lajos Fur discussed Israel's offer to help modernize Hungary's Russian-made military hardware.
Israeli firms have expressed interest in the past in helping modernize Hungary's fleet of Russian-made MIG-21 and MIG-23 fighter planes.
— Chancellor Helmut Kohl's choice to replace Richard von Weiz-sacker as president of Germany has withdrawn his candicacy following controversy over his remarks,
Steffen Heitmann, who resigned as Christian Democratic presidential candidate, had offended many Germans with his comments about the Holocaust, the status of women and his feelings about foreigners.