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Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Some headlines and summaries from JTA
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White House replies to rabbis’ letter
The White House told a dovish pro-Israel group that it would not provide assistance to the Palestinian Authority while it is ruled by Hamas.
The letter, dated June 26 but received by Brit Tzedek v’Shalom on Monday, was in reply to a March letter initiated by the group and signed by more than 400 rabbis. It urged President Bush to continue providing the Palestinians with emergency humanitarian assistance and to engage Palestinian moderates.
The White House reiterated its refusal to provide aid to the Hamas-led Palestinian government unless Hamas recognizes Israel’s right to exist and abandons terrorism. “While our country will not provide aid to a government that has expressed a desire to destroy its neighbor, we will work to provide humanitarian assistance, such as food and medicine, directly to suffering Palestinians,” the letter said. It also said the president would continue to work with Mahmoud Abbas, the relative moderate from the Fatah Party who serves as P.A. president.
Israel eyes laser for Gaza rockets
Israel is in talks to buy a U.S.-made laser to shoot down Palestinian rockets.
Security sources said Tuesday that Defense Minister Amir Peretz, under pressure to stem rocket salvoes from the Gaza Strip, has voiced interest in the Skyguard system designed by Northrop Grumman.
The Skyguard is a more mobile and cost-effective version of the Nautilus, a laser missile-killer that was developed by Israel’s Defense Ministry and Northrop Grumman since the late 1990s but shelved out of budgetary concerns.
While the Skyguard uses a laser to heat incoming rockets, blowing them up in mid-air, another system that has drawn Israeli interest is the Phalanx heavy machine gun.
Developed by Raytheon, the Phalanx automatically locks on to incoming shells and shreds them with 20-millimeter bullets.
The system is undergoing field trials with U.S. forces in Iraq and there is no word on when it might be exported.
S. African coalition wants diplomatic change
A coalition of South African organizations called on the government to cut ties with Israel.
The coalition also called on consumers to boycott Israeli products because of the conflict with the Palestinians, South African Business Day reported.
Jewish teens lobby in Washington
Nearly 200 Jewish teenagers are lobbying in Washington.
The Young Judaeans, from Camp Tel Yehudah in upstate New York, participated Monday in a rally at the Syrian Embassy calling for the release of kidnapped Israeli soldier Cpl. Gilad Shalit.
They later heard a speech from Israeli Embassy spokeswoman Jordana Luks and visited the Holocaust Museum.
The teens were scheduled to visit the White House and U.S. House of Representatives and Senate offices Tuesday to lobby on behalf of Israel and for action to stop violence in the Darfur region of Sudan. Panim: The Institute for Jewish Leadership and Values is coordinating the trip.
http://jta.org
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