|
|
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Some headlines and summaries from JTA
|
Israel criticized over airstrikes
Britain, the United Nations and Russia criticized Israel for recent airstrikes in the Gaza Strip that have killed civilians.
“The killing of innocent civilians, and particularly children, is completely unacceptable,” Britain’s foreign secretary, Margaret Beckett, was quoted as saying.
U.N. official Ibrahim Gambari gave a similar quote, while Russia’s Foreign Ministry released a statement acknowledging Israel’s security concerns, but saying that the “use of force against the civilian population is unacceptable.”
The airstrikes are aimed at suspected terrorists, including those firing rocket salvoes into Israel, but have killed many civilians as well. “I think we have been doing the right thing, and will continue to do so,” Israel’s infrastructure minister, Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, told Israel Radio. “This is war.”
Energy pact passes committee
A U.S. House of Representatives committee approved legislation to push for alternative energy solutions through joint American-Israeli research.
The House Committee on Energy and Commerce passed the United States-Israel Energy Cooperation Act by voice vote Tuesday, reflecting its bipartisan support. The legislation could be voted on by the full House as early as next week.
The bill would establish a $20 million annual grant program — administered by the U.S. Department of Energy — to fund joint ventures between U.S. and Israeli businesses and academics. The Senate version of the bill has been referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
Edwards visits Israel
Former Democratic vice-presidential candidate John Edwards returned from a trip to Israel.
Edwards, who visited June 4-7, met with Israeli officials to discuss issues including the Israeli government’s efforts to ensure security, Israel’s approach towards the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority and the nuclear threat from Iran.
The trip included meetings with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Amir Peretz and Likud Party Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu.
Edwards, a former senator from North Carolina, is considered a contender for the Democratic nomination for president in 2008. He ran for the nomination in 2004 before becoming the running mate of Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.).
Olmert: Withdrawal a demographic necessity
Ehud Olmert described his plan to withdraw from parts of the West Bank as an answer to drop-offs in Jewish immigration to Israel.
“Today, the State of Israel is already closer to being the place in which the majority of Jews in the world live,” the Israeli prime minister said Tuesday in a speech to the 35th Zionist Congress.
“I would like this fact to be determined solely by an increasing stream of aliyah, but unfortunately, this is not to be at this time.
Demographics point to processes of shrinking Jewish communities in the Diaspora due to low birth rates, assimilation, mixed marriages or unintentional alienation from their Jewish identity.”
Olmert said his “realignment plan,” under which isolated West Bank settlements will be removed while others are annexed, will spare Israel the threat of a growing Palestinian population within its borders.
http://jta.org
posted by Somebody @ 11:22 PM Permanent Link
 
0 Comments:
<< Home
|
| |
