Mideast Report

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Israeli workers launched a general strike Wednesday as Israel's finance minister presented an austerity package to the Knesset.

The strike ordered by the Histadrut shut down Ben-Gurion Airport, ports, trains, schools, banks, the stock exchange and government ministries.

The labor federation launched the strike to protest proposed cuts of $2.3 billion that Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said are essential to reining in the budget deficit and preventing the economy from collapsing.

Speaking in the Knesset, Netanyahu warned that promised U.S. loan guarantees of $9 billion hinge on approval of the plan.

Rock from Saddam up for eBay auction

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- A person claiming to be an Israeli journalist is trying to sell two rocks purportedly from one of Saddam Hussein's destroyed palaces.

The eBay listing shows a hand holding a stone, and the description says the seller is a "reporter from Tel Aviv, Israel" who collected the stones in Baghdad from a palace "demolished by a U.S. rocket."

The asking price was $10; by Sunday the bids had reached $15.50. Two Israeli journalists who were in Iraq during the U.S.-led war denied any link to the posting, the daily Yediot Ahronot reported.

Yad Vashem expands on 50th anniversary

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Israel's major Holocaust museum is expanding as it marks its 50th anniversary.

The Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem will triple its size with a new complex slated to open in September 2004.

The complex, most of which will be underground, will narrate the Holocaust from a personal perspective with objects and stories.

The museum is also expanding its educational activities, aiming to bring every Israeli student to a full-day seminar at its International School for Holocaust Studies.

Israel wins U.N. post for narcotics control

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Israel has gained its second U.N. post in three months.

Israel joined the U.N. Commission on Narcotic Drugs after approval Tuesday by the U.N. Economic and Social Council.

It was the second time since the 1960s that Israel has been chosen to serve on a U.N. body.

Three months ago, an Israeli was elected to serve as the deputy chairperson of a working group on disarmament.

Sharon accused of conflict of interest

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Israel's state comptroller accused Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of a conflict of interest regarding land-leasing policies.

Presenting the state comptroller's report on the functioning of the government and its agencies, Justice Eliezer Goldberg said Sharon, who owns a Negev ranch, had acted to advance decisions regarding leasing of agricultural lands from which Sharon and his family benefited, Israel Radio reported.