2— THE BULLETIN - Thursday. July 30.1992
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Ratain favQrs       Pollard's release
Compiled from Dispatches
.   TEL AVIV    Israeii prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and foreig Peres vyere Urged to ask American seciretary of state James Baker, during his visit to Israel last weekv for the early release^o^^^ officer Jonathan Pollard.
The request came from the Israel Public Committee to Free Jonathan Pollard, reported the Israeli daily Haaretz. "The subject will he dealt with very soon," predicteanthFnewspa^^^^
*There a re mo re signs that President [George] Bush is likely to grant clemency ora commutation of Pollard's sentence," said Amnon Dror, a chief activist on the committee. Many credit a New York rally in late June for putting rnomentum in their favor. '■'■..'^■•■^V ,.":,■■■■■[■'■
Earlier, Rabin's predecessor, Yitzhak Shamir, made an unprecedented personal appeal in a letter to Bush for Pollard^ release on humanitarian grounds, according to the Jeridsalem The act niay have been Shamir's last communication with Bush before he left office this month, the newspaper wrote. According to Haaretz, Shamir's appeal was made with Rabin's agreement.
Jht Post quoted "well-placed sources" as saying the letter did not deal with other issues, such as summarizing the rocky relationship between the two leaders or bidding Bush goodbye, the paper said. No other details of Shamir's plea were available.
Shamir had previously held back on any personal appeal to the United States to free Pollard, perhaps fearing it might endanger American-Israel relations, it was speculated in Jerusalem. But durihg the Persian Gulf War, he allowed aide Elyakim Rubinstein,to discuss the issue with visiting deputy secretary of state Lawrence Eagieburger and say that Pollard helped reveal information on Iraqi chemical weapons. V ■■ y^-'-P/:'
Given a life prison sentence in 1986 for spying for Israel, Pollard is being held in a miaximum security prison in Illinois. Israelis campaigning to free him have heard that the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to hear Pollard's appeal against a lower court TuUng (iisallowing him from withdrawing his earlier plea bargain.
Israel Sun
YA'ACOV tSUR, Israel's new agriculture minister, receives a basket of fruit from ministry employees upon entering his office.
By DAVID LANDAU
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Tension is still running high within Israel's haredi, or ultra-Orthbdox, community following the decision by the Sephardic hared i Shas party to join the Labor government.
Rabbi Eliezer Schach and other leading non-Hasidic Ashkenazic rabbis have declared that joining the government is prohibited.
These rabbis, who head the Degel HaTorah wing of the United Torah Judaism party, are threatening to "delegitiinize'' the Shas spiritual leader, former Sephardic Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, unless he orders his party toqiiit the coalition or has Shulamit Aloni renioved from/her post as education minister. ;
Schach and the other rabbis declared that Aloni, who heads the left-wing Meretz bloc, will "lead the children of Israel into apostasy." They insist that no haredim may serve in a goyernnient^ in which she is minister of education. .
By delegitimizing Yosef, they mean attacking his many halachic books and recommending they no longer be studied in their influential yeshiyas.
Schach and his aides are also directing strong pressure at the other members of the Shas Council of Sages to abandon Yosef and quit the party.
Yosef so far has withstood the pressure. In a lengthy handwritteh statement he published this month, he explained his decision to join .the goyernnient and not to to leave it despite Aloni's appointment.
He did that, he said, in order to protect and enhance the many achievements that Shas had won in recent years in terms of haredi education. He noted specifically that the military service deferment system for yeshiva students would be endangered if the haredim turned their backs on the hew government.
As for Aloni, Yosef pointed out that haredi edu^ caton is an autpmonous department within her ministry, headed by a Shas deputy minister. He also noted that Prime minister Yitzhak Rabin had assured him in writing that the curriculum ; of Jewish heritage taught in non-religious schools would not be reduced under Aloni.
as education minister, Zev-ulun Ha^mmer, "plundered from it over the years."
Hammer is a leader of the National Religious Party, which is Orthodox but not haredi and therefore in competition for funds with the department in question.
She Said that Jewish heritage "does riot belong exclusively to any one party" and stressed that she, as a person well schooled in Jewish sources, certainly does!not want Israeli children to be ignorant of their heritage.      ^     ' ^
Rabin spent two hours in private conversation with Vosef at his Jerusalem home. Political observers felt the premier wanted to bolster the Sephardic sage's determination to stick with his decision, despite the pressure.
TEL AVIV — Israel's Kn6sset has approved Yitzhak Rabin's government by a 67-53 margin, returning
the Labor Party leader to the prinie minister's office after a 15-year absence.
Rabin, who also heads defence, religious affairs and social welfare ministries, and IsraeH president Herzog are seen seated in photo, page 1. Standing behind them are members of the new cabinet (left to right): Aridnon Rubinstein (energy), Yaacov Tsur (ajgricul-ture), Avraham (Beiga) Shohat (finance),Yair Tsaban (immigrant absorption), Binyamin (Fiiad) Ben-Eliezer (housing and construction), Haim Ramon (health), Meretz leader Shulamit Aloni (education), Moshe Shahal (police and cOmmtinications), Shimon Peres (foreign), David Libai (justice), Yisrael Kessar (transport), Micha Harish (industry and trade), Ora Namir (environment), Shimon Shetreet (economics), Aryeh Deri (interior) and Uzi Baram (tourism). •
Dutch sliul can't get
AMSTERDAM (JTA) — Amsterdam's Ashkenazic Congregation loaned three valuable artifacts to the state-subsidized Jewish Museum. But now, it can't get them back. :
The Dutch welfare and culture ministry has declared the objects national trea-suresthat are part of the history of Jews in the Netherlands. They must never be removed from the museum, even temporarily, the minis-
try decreed.
The Ashkenazic Congregation protested, and has asked the Dutch Council of State for a final decision. The congregation maintains that the order infringes on its religious freedom because it can never again make use of its precious possessions.
Items - include a 14thT century festival prayer book, a Torah shrine of the 18th century, and a synagogue menorah from 1753;
Aloni herself, in a series of interviews, pledged to "restore to haredi education" that which her predecessor
A funny thing happened ...
Little Joey was over an hour late coming home from school. "Joey!" cried his mother. "What happened?" "I was appointed traffic guard. I have white gloves and a ^ white band acriss my chest. And I am supposed to stop traffic and let the kids cross the street." **So? Vougotso confused you're oyer an hour late?" "No, ma, hut yoti can't imagine how long I had to waitbefore a car came along I could stop!"
LEO ROsf EN, HOORAY FOR VIDDISH!
Israel Sun
FIDDLER ON THE ROUNDS: During a visit to the Children's Medical Centre In Petach tikva, world-renowned violinist Itzhak Perlman talks with eight-year-old Ortal, who Is being treated in the facility's Child Development Centre for recurring severe headaches. She Is under the care of Child Development Centre director Dr; Oov Inl^ar. Perlman said he hoped the CMCI would senre as an example to the entire world.
Deliver new drone
TEL AVIV
craft industries
Israel Air-has deli-
vered to the Israeli air force the first of its new series of unmanned pilotless aircraft, or drones. The state-of-the-art "Searcher," is about 13 feet long and has a 23-foot wingspan. It is an updated version of a series of highly successful Israeli-designed pilotless aircraft in use with the Israeli air force and other hations'mi 1 itaries. The Searcher can stay aloft for far longer periods than its predecessors and fly greater distances. It can also carry a larger payload than other drones.
June jobless^
• TEL AVIV — New claims for unemployment insurance rose by 21.'6 percent, but tOtar claims remained stable at 83,000, the National Insurance Institute reported. New claims rose to 14,000 in June, up from 11,500 in May, which: had been 25 percent below March's peak of 15,330. Since the beginning of the year, total claims have risen by about 14 percent. There has been an 11 percent increase in new claims since January and a 15 percentrise in the number of continuing claims. Sonie 15 percent Of last month's claimants Were new immigrants, while 16 pierceni were newly demobilized soldiers.
<3iLO^AL
Phiiharmonic plays in Turkey
NEW  YORK —
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra will play a series of three concerts in Turkey in August to commemorate 500 years of peacefiil living in Turkish lands of the Jews expelled from Spain in 1492, Two concerts will be in Istanbul, and the final one will be held in the 25,000-seat ancient Roman amphitheater at Ephesus, former capital of the Ionic Confederation. ■.■'■■>■:;
These concerts, which conducted hy Zubin Mehta, will mark the Philharmonic's first appearance in Turkey. Further information: the Quincentennial Foundation of Istanbul at (212) 546-1548.
ILO looking 25 years later!
GENEVA — For the first time in 25 years, the International Labor^jganization closed its annual General Assembly, without adoptini an anti-Israel resolution.
Moreover, its report or the rights of Arab workers ir the Israeli administered ter ritofies, while charginj Israel with many violations also credited the Israeli civ; administration with prom oting economic develop ment and providing educs tional services.