Shorts: Mideast

Shock jocks slip up, give plaintiff's name

jerusalem (jta) | Two Israeli radio disc jockeys were suspended for broadcasting the first name of a woman who alleges that President Moshe Katsav sexually assaulted her.

Shai Goldstein and Dror Raphael, irreverent anchors on Tel Aviv Radio, were suspended for a week following a recent surprise phone call they made on air to the former Katsav aide, who previously had been identified in the media only by her first initial "A" due to the sensitivity of the case. Before she hung up on the duo, they used her full first name.

The radio station apologized for the indiscretion but noted that the name is so common in Israel that the chance that the woman had been unmasked was slim. Shai and Dror, as they are popularly known, are famous for their broadcast pranks, which have included making crank calls to Israeli leaders and even enemy countries like Iran and Iraq.




Police put kibosh on gay parade — again

jerusalem (jps) | Jerusalem police will once again bar the gay pride parade, planned for Sept. 21, from taking place, sources reported Tuesday, Aug. 29.

The Jerusalem March for Pride and Tolerance parade was to substitute for the WorldPride parade that was canceled due to the war in Lebanon and mounting opposition. Police said the parade, planned just days before Rosh Hashanah, would interfere with police work in the Jerusalem area during this particularly busy time.

Police promised to consider the approval of a different date if organizers decided to postpone.




Jesse Jackson, Assad discuss swap

damascus (jps) | The Rev. Jesse Jackson discussed an Israel-Hezbollah prisoner swap with Syrian President Bashar Assad on Sunday, Aug. 27 and appealed for dialogue as a means to solve the Mideast's problems.

Jackson, who arrived in Damascus on the first leg of a tour that also included stops in Lebanon and Israel, said he was on a humanitarian mission to gauge the "views" of Syrian, Lebanese and Israeli officials. He also said he would appeal to them to stick to the U.N.-brokered cease-fire that took effect Aug. 14.

At a news conference with Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Fayssal Mekdad, Jackson brought up the subject of a prisoner swap in his discussions with Syrian leaders.

In addition, Jackson met with the families of the three kidnapped Israeli soldiers.

Israel politely dismissed Jackson's swap initiative.




Sad birthday for kidnapped soldier

kerem shalom (jta) | Family and friends of an Israeli soldier held hostage in the Gaza Strip marked his 20th birthday.

Relatives of Cpl. Gilad Shalit, joined by scores of well-wishers, gathered Monday, Aug. 28 at Kerem Shalom, the Israeli village that Shalit was guarding when Palestinian gunmen from the Gaza Strip abducted him June 25.

Israel launched a protracted sweep of Gaza after Shalit was seized, killing around 200 Palestinians but failing to secure even a sign that Shalit was alive. Egypt has been trying to negotiate a prisoner swap, but Israel so far has ruled out a mass release of jailed Palestinians, as demanded by Shalit's captors.




Israeli officials will fly on Italian airline

jerusalem (jta) | Israeli public servants traveling abroad will no longer fly El Al.

The Israeli government signed an agreement Aug. 22 with the Italian airline Alitalia for such flights, the Jerusalem Post reported.

The agreement comes after El Al, which was Israel's national airline until it was privatized recently, reported a loss for the second quarter, citing increased foreign competition.




Excavation reveals Judean site

jerusalem (jta) | Archaeologists made a major discovery at a kibbutz near Jerusalem. The Jerusalem Post reported that archaeologists from Israel, the United States and Europe uncovered a sophisticated water system from the seventh century B.C.E. and a Muslim structure from the ninth century C.E. at Kibbutz Ramat Rachel.

Experts said the findings indicate that the kibbutz, just south of Jerusalem, was a major royal site. Israeli Tourism Minister Isaac Herzog visited the site Monday, Aug. 28 and called the discovery among "the rarest and most important presented by Israeli archaeology."




German media group buys stake in Ha'aretz

jerusalem (ap) | Salman Schocken was a Jewish department store magnate-turned-publisher who fled Germany for pre-state Israel after the Nazis took power. Now, his Israeli heirs have sold 25 percent of their Ha'aretz newspaper to a German publisher with a Nazi past.

The DuMont Schauberg Group, one of Germany's largest media concerns, recently paid $30 million for its stake in the Israeli daily.

During World War II, the publishing house was headed by Kurt DuMont, a decorated member of the Nazi party.