Shorts: Mideast

Israel to pass U.S. on Jewish population

jerusalem (jps) | By next year, Israel will become home to the largest Jewish community in the world for the first time, surpassing the Jewish population in the United States, a think tank said this week.

Not for nearly 2,000 years has the Holy Land been home to the globe's biggest Jewish community.

The report from the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute said the Jewish population of Israel was about 5.24 million and of the United States some 5.28 million, but the balance was shifting quickly.




Sharon to olim: We'll help you

jerusalem (jta) | Ariel Sharon promised to help a record number of North American immigrants who arrived in Israel.

"Life in Israel is not always easy, but you have our support and we will help you in any way we can," the Israeli prime minister, speaking in a hangar at Ben-Gurion Airport, told the 500 immigrants who arrived this week.

"Aliyah is the primary goal of our government," he said.

Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres, Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom and Zeev Bielski, chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel, also spoke to the group, which was met by Israeli soldiers and the army's rabbinic band.

The flights from New York and Toronto were sponsored by Nefesh B'Nefesh and the Jewish Agency. This is the first year since 1983 that more than 3,000 North American Jews will be making aliyah.




Dummy bomb found in Jerusalem

jerusalem (jta) | Activists opposed to the Gaza Strip withdrawal are suspected of planting a fake bomb in Jerusalem's central bus station.

The station was evacuated after the gas canister was found and before police realized the bomb was fake.

Since the beginning of March, opponents of withdrawal have placed six dummy bombs in bus stations in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, the Jerusalem Post reported.




Foreigners nabbed in Gaza Strip

jerusalem (jta) | Palestinians abducted an Austrian and a British citizen in the Gaza Strip.

Initial reports were that the foreigners, both water-treatment specialists, were kidnapped this week and that their embassies were negotiating for their release.

Palestinian Authority security forces searched a refugee camp in central Gaza where the hostages were believed to be held.




Abbas appeals to ADL to form commission

jerusalem (jta) | Mahmoud Abbas wants to re-establish a tripartite commission on fighting anti-Semitic behavior.

The Palestinian Authority president told an Anti-Defamation League delegation this week that incitement is a problem among his people — and among Israelis as well.

The Palestinian-Israeli-American governmental commission monitoring incitement fell apart during the last intifada. "He said he has been somewhat successful, but there's much to do," ADL National Director Abraham Foxman said.

Abbas also accepted an ADL offer to set up a committee of nongovernmental organizations parallel to the tripartite commission. Abbas told the ADL there also is much for him to do in establishing security.




G-8 pledges $3 billion in aid to Palestinians

jerusalem (jta) | Industrialized nations pledged $3 billion in assistance to the Palestinians to spur peace.

The Group of Eight leading industrialized nations concluded a three-day summit in Scotland last week with announcements of aid packages to developing nations.

Palestinian Authority officials say they need a quick influx of cash to ensure a smooth transition after Israel withdraws from the Gaza Strip this summer.