Israel in the News Jun/Jul 1997
For more Israel In The News, updated at least twice each week, visit our web site at foi.org/news
Jordanian politicians back girls’ killer
Two radical Islamic groups praised the killing of seven Israeli schoolgirls by a Jordanian soldier, and called on Moslems to wage a “holy war” to regain Jerusalem. Jordan’s parliamentary opposition also came out in the soldier’s favor, urging the government to stop “condemning and criminalizing” him.
Pope wants visit before 2000
Pope John Paul II expressed interest in visiting the Holy Land before the millennium, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said after a 20-minute private audience in the pontiff’s Vatican study.
“I invited him to visit in the year 2000 due to the importance of the date of Jesus’s birth to Christianity,” Netanyahu told reporters after meeting the pope. “He said he wanted to come before that time.”
“We look forward to receiving you in Jerusalem,” Netanyahu said as he left the meeting.
Last year, the pope accepted an invitation from Palestinian Authority leader Yasser Arafat to visit for the year 2000. A trip to the Holy Land, one of the 76-year-old pope’s cherished dreams, would be the first since Paul VI visited in 1964.
Army bans cellular phones in security zone
The army’s Northern Command has imposed a strict order banning soldiers from using cellular phones in the security zone. This follows reports that Hizbullah has been listening to conversations and using the information to plan attacks.
Scientists discover gene which could ‘unleash’ human immune system
A gene that plays a vital role in the process of infection, the activation of the immune system and—perhaps—in the maturation of the HIV virus that causes AIDS has been discovered and cloned by Weizmann Institute researchers. Prof. David Wallach…discovered the long-sought gene, called NIK, with help from doctoral students…NIK helps remove a molecular “brake” that keeps the immune response in check. Its discovery, they said, could lead to the development of drugs to regulate the immune system in a variety of diseases.
A growing Web of hatred
A modem is becoming the antisemite’s best friend, as Holocaust-deniers and Jew-haters continue to exploit cyberspace to spread their venomous diatribes.
Cost-effective, quick, and able to transfer large amounts of material, the Internet has become the new playground of 200 hate groups, according to a special chapter [in Antisemitism Worldwide, 1996/7, prepared by Tel Aviv University’s Project for the Study of Antisemitism, in conjunction with the Anti-Defamation League and the World Jewish Congress] entitled “Antisemitism on the Internet”….
Five organizations are now tracking antisemitism, racism and hate offerings on the Net, including the ADL (http://www.adl.org/) and the Simon Wiesenthal Center (www.wiesenthal.com/). It appears they will have their hands full…Those who encounter such sites [are advised] to contact their Internet providers, who may not be aware of their existence.
HU develops no-shot flu vaccine
The world’s first influenza vaccine in the form of nose drops has been found safe and effective.
The successful clinical trials were announced by Prof. Zichria Zakay-Rones, a senior virologist at the Hebrew University-hadassah School of Medicine, who headed a team that has worked on the new vaccine delivery system for the past six years.
The breakthrough vaccine, if manufactured on a mass scale, would be a boon, as many people at high-risk avoid getting a flu injection.
(All articles are from The Jerusalem Post.)
