Mideast Report

WASHINGTON (JTA) -- The United States formally eased sanctions on Iran, Libya and Sudan on Monday to allow U.S. companies to sell billions of dollars of food, medicine and medical equipment.

All other dealings with the countries remain restricted by U.S. laws as a result of their place on the State Department's list of state sponsors of terrorism. Some members of Congress recently said they would seek to block grain sales to Iran if 13 Jews held on charges of espionage are not released.

German-made subs join Israel's fleet

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- A new era in Israeli naval capability was ushered in with Tuesday's arrival of the first of three German-made submarines in Haifa.

The new Dolphin-class submarine is superior in speed and maneuverability to anything currently in Israel's naval arsenal, according to Israeli officials.

Some reports indicate that the submarine has been modified to carry cruise missiles with nuclear warheads.

Is Iran asking Israel for ransom for Jews?

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Jewish officials denied an Israeli media report that Israel has rejected a proposal to negotiate with Iran for the release of 13 Iranian Jews under arrest on charges of spying for Israel.

The report said Iran is seeking up to $1 billion that it claims Israel owes it from before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, said there were no overtures from the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and said the community would reject any attempts to link the fate of the prisoners to payment of Iranian financial claims.

Committee to focus on domestic violence

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak appointed a special ministerial committee to combat domestic violence.

Barak's move followed the arrest of a Tel Aviv man who confessed to murdering and torching his wife and two small children Saturday night because he suspected his spouse was flirting over the Internet.

Jerusalem populace is two-thirds Jews

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Jews make up some two-thirds of Jerusalem's 633,000 residents, according to a study released Monday. The city's Jewish population grew by 1 percent last year, compared to a more than 3 percent growth rate among the city's Arab residents.

The Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, which released the findings, attributed the disparity to a higher birth rate among Arab residents and a rise in the number of Jews leaving the city.

Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert called for an increase in affordable housing to attract young Jewish couples to the capital.

JNF to memorialize JFK Jr. with forest

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- The Jewish National Fund is establishing a memorial forest in Israel to commemorate John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife and sister-in-law.

The move comes more than 30 years after the JNF set up a forest in memory of President Kennedy.

Foreign investments in Israel top $2 billion

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Foreign investments in Israel totaled $2.3 billion during the past eight months, a 44 percent increase over the previous 10 months, according to the Bank of Israel.

The total reflects the "continuing bullish outlook on the part of international investors toward Israel," according to Israel's economic minister in North America, Ron Chaimovski.

Israel Museum checks for Nazi-looted art

JERUSALEM (JTA)-- The Israel Museum is investigating claims that it has been displaying a painting looted by the Nazis.

James Snyder, the museum's director, said his institution learned of the troubled provenance of Camille Pissarro's "Boulevard Montmartre, Spring 1897" after receiving a letter earlier this month.

The letter came from an attorney representing the family of Max Silberberg, a Jewish businessman and art collector who died in the Holocaust.