Mideast Report

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Israeli police have launched an investigation into the distribution of videotapes containing songs and skits praising Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's assassin, Yigal Amir.

The tapes, which have been distributed in Jewish communities in the West Bank, also include material praising right-wing activists who have killed Arabs, including Baruch Goldstein, who gunned down 29 Moslem worshippers at the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron three years ago.

Top Israeli rabbi stops accepting wedding fees

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Israel's Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau announced this week he will no longer accept payment for conducting weddings -- but will propose that couples donate the money to worthy causes.

The chief rabbi's statement came in the wake of reports that he frequently was paid for conducting marriages.

The Israeli daily Ha'aretz reported last week that Lau performed more than 100 marriages a year and regularly collected fees ranging from $500 to $2,000 per couple.

Because marrying couples pay a fee to their local religious councils, rabbis are not paid for performing marriages.

In a statement issued this week, the chief rabbi said he had decided to refuse any kind of payment in light of the public storm.

Artist Lichtenstein gives work in Rabin's memory

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- The artist Roy Lichtenstein has donated one of his sculptures to Jerusalem's Israel Museum in memory of slain Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

The modern steel sculpture, which will be unveiled Sunday in the presence of the Rabin family, will stand in Daniel Park, in the Jerusalem municipality complex.

Lichtenstein, 73, was one of the founders of the 1960s Pop Art movement.

Known as "Modern Head," the 30-foot sculpture depicts two simplified heads in profile, combined with other abstract shapes of the kind often seen in Lichtenstein's paintings. The sculpture, which was donated jointly by Lichtenstein and art dealer Jeffrey Loria, is said to be worth $2.5 million.

Tremor shakes the north and others are predicted

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- An earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter Scale jolted Lebanon and northern Israel Wednesday morning, sending Lebanese and Israelis running into the streets.

There was no immediate report of damage or casualties. Many Israelis calling local radio stations said they felt their apartment buildings swaying.

Meanwhile, Israeli researchers warned recently that the country could be in for "the big one" -- a massive earthquake that could leave thousands dead and cause extensive property damage.

In an appearance before the Knesset Science and Technology Committee, seismologists said they were concerned by the relative quiet recently in seismic activity.

Nasal anti-flu vaccine developed at Hebrew U.

JERUSALEM (JPS) -- The world's first influenza vaccine in the form of nose drops has been found safe and effective.

The successful clinical trials were announced recently 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 six years.

The breakthrough vaccine, if manufactured on a mass scale, would be a boon, as many people at high risk are reluctant to get flu injections. One would merely need a few drops in the nose each year for protection.

It is not known when the vaccine would become commercially available.