Adalah Submits Petition to Supreme Court Against New Law Banning Family Unification
Adalah 8/4/2003
Yesterday, Adalah submitted a petition to the Supreme Court of Israel challenging the constitutionality of a new law that prohibits the granting of residency or citizenship status to Palestinians from the Occupied Territories who are married to Israeli citizens. The petition was filed in Adalah's own name and on behalf of the El-Sana and Tbilah families...

Israeli high tech targets U.S. security market
Ha'aretz 8/4/2003
"Israel has a 30-year lead over the rest of the world." -- From software that can "translate" a guard dog's bark to lasers that sniff out explosives, Israel is banking on years of defense expertise to give it an edge in a burgeoning U.S. security market. Israeli ingenuity in cross-the-board technologies and an ability to quickly turn an idea into a product is seen likely to return the country's industry to prominence in a world obsessed by security.

Tourism up 44% in June
Globes 8/4/2003
104,700 tourists came from the US, 14% more than in June 2002, and 58,400 from France, a 13% rise, compared with June 2002. -- Incoming tourism rose 2% in the first half of 2003, compared with the corresponding period last year, the Ministry of Tourism said today. The ministry claimed the figures were particularly encouraging, considering the slump in tourism preceding the war in Iraq.

Italy sponsoring Israeli-Palestinian tourism route
Globes 8/4/2003
Each participating town will have a different tourist attraction with historical, ethnic, and gastronomic motifs. -- The Israeli mayors of Haifa, Acre, and Taibeh, the Palestinian mayors of Nablus, Anabta, and Tul Karm, and Italian mayors have agreed on an EU-funded NIS 20 million tourism project.

Zahi Khouri speaking
Globes 8/4/2003
An interview with the chairman of Palestine Cellular Communications, the Palestinian Authority's largest private sector employer. -- The "Globes" interview with Zahi Khouri opened with ambulance sirens in the background. They were carrying the wounded from the latest bus bombing in Jerusalem that killed 17 and wounded scores of people. "This really pains me," he says, as he receives SMS updates on his cellular telephone about IDF helicopter counterstrikes in Gaza...."Terrorism cannot be justified," says Khouri. "but despair creates fertile ground and abets the recruitment of suicide terrorists. Collective punishments and occupation go together. They're bad for the Palestinians, and worse for the Israelis."

Israelis' o'seas investments down NIS 1.6b in June
Globes 8/4/2003
The downward trend in Israelis' overseas financial investments is continuing. The Bank of Israel reports that total overseas financial investments by Israelis fell by 1.6%, or NIS 1.6 billion, in June to NIS 97.8 billion. The reasons for the decline include the erosion in the value of overseas investments from the shekel appreciation against the dollar and a substantial reduction in foreign currency transfers by individuals and households to overseas bank accounts.

Cars boost July imports of consumer products 20% on 2002
Ha'aretz 8/4/2003
Durables imports soared 20 percent in July 2003 versus the same month of last year, according to data from the Customs and VAT Authority. Most of the increase was due to a surge in car imports, the figures show. Import of cars increased 23 percent in July 2003 compared with July 2002, totaling $95.6 million.

Single mother's trek inspires Israeli protesters
The Guardian 8/3/2003
One day she was an ordinary mother trying to bring up her two youngest children on a meagre wage and state benefits. The next Vicki Knafo was a national icon for Israel's poor, being courted by journalists and Ministers. The transformation came when the 43-year-old divorced mother of three decided to walk 120 miles to Jerusalem from her home in the Negev desert to camp outside the Finance Ministry in protest at swingeing benefit cuts. Within days, men and women from all over Israel were trekking miles in her footsteps to join the protest camp in the heart of the government district.

A Campaign to ‘Buy’ Settlers Homes
Palestine Media Center/Philadelphia Inquirer 8/3/2003
Money's the key in a grassroots effort to lure Israelis out of occupied lands, advance peace process. Money enticed most of them there, and money is the surest way to bring them back. That is the guiding principle of a costly, controversial grassroots Jewish campaign tackling one of the Mideast conflict's thorniest issues: the Israeli settlers living in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. "A Call to Bring the Settlers Home to Israel" aims to mobilize American Jewish support for a prospective fund to help willing settler families return, primarily from the most isolated, fortified outposts.

Barenboim concert thrills West Bank
BBC 8/3/2003
The controversial Israeli pianist and conductor, Daniel Barenboim, has played a rare concert for Palestinians in Ramallah in the West Bank. Daniel Barenboim has attracted criticism in Israel for giving recitals in the West Bank. However he says his concert was not about politics, but about using music to bridge the divide between Israelis and Palestinians.

Palestinians Defy Detention, Have Children
Palestine Chronicle 8/3/2003
TULKARM - It would not make sense by any stretch of the imagination that a prisoner behind bars could have children without consummation. But Palestinian prisoners have made the unbelievable come true. Ikhlas Abbas, a 32-year-old lady from the West Bank city of Tulkarm , is the first ever Palestinian woman who took the initiative in launching the so-called "tele-pregnancy" or in medically speaking "in vitro fertilization (IVF)."

Bloodthirsty or a classic? Gibson's film of Christ's last days alarms Jewish groups
The Guardian 8/4/2003
Star claims Holy Ghost helped him make film but threatens legal action after academics criticise script of The Passion -- On the face of it Mel Gibson's new film, The Passion, appears to be little more than a work of celluloid self-indulgence by a Hollywood veteran. Portraying the final 12 hours of the life of Jesus Christ, it has no distributor, features no stars and the dialogue is in Latin and Aramaic. It is not even certain whether the final product will have subtitles.

Burns may skip Lebanon, Syria on regional visit
Daily Star 8/4/2003
Beirut awaits official notification -- Lebanon has not yet been officially notified whether the US assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs, William Burns, will include Lebanon on the itinerary of his current tour in the region. Burns’ tour, which starts Monday, includes stops in Cairo, Amman, Jerusalem, the Palestinian self-ruled areas, and possibly Iraq. Meanwhile an official source said that Burns has not only omitted Lebanon from his tour, but also Syria.

Congressman to propose bill requiring US to help Jews from Arab countries
Globes 8/4/2003
The bill will stipulate that the issue of Jewish refugees be included in the negotiations with the Palestinians. -- At the start of the winter session in September, Representative Frank Pallone (NJ-D) will submit a bill to the House of Representatives recognizing the rights of Jews forced from Arab countries after Israel's independence in 1948. Pallone was speaking at a meeting organized by the World Jewish Congress in Jerusalem last night.

Assad: New, reform-minded Cabinet will be formed soon
Ha'aretz 8/4/2003
DAMASCUS, Syria - Syrian President Bashar Assad revealed plans Monday to form a new, reform-minded government, the official news agency said. The announcement by Assad came during a meeting he chaired Monday of the National Progressive Front, Syria's highest ruling body. "The reform process should be the top task assumed by the government, which will beformed in the coming period," SANA quoted Assad as saying during the meeting. He did not say when the new Cabinet would beformed.

Is Anybody Listening to Arab-American and Jewish-American Opinions?
Palestine Chronicle 8/2/2003
WASHINGTON - Upon returning to Israel after his visit to the White House this week, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced the construction of 22 new settlements in the occupied territories, despite the fact the Bush Administration has called for a cessation of the illegal settlements. It seems Americans with the most interest in the region — Arab-Americans and Jewish-Americans — agree with the president. According to a survey of Arab-Americans and Jewish-Americans regarding the Bush Administration’s Middle East policies and Israeli-Palestinian peace process issues, the poll found strong support in both communities for a freeze on Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied territories, support for the road map to Middle East peace; a two-state solution; and an end to Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.

Powell Warns Syria of Regional Isolation
Washington Post 8/1/2003
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretary of State Colin Powell warned Syria of regional isolation and exclusion from the Iraqi market if it did not meet U.S. demands that it crack down on militant groups. In an interview with the Israeli newspaper Maariv, released by the State Department on Friday, Powell said Syria could not yet expect better relations and cooperation with Washington.

In Postwar Iraq, Fortunes of Palestinians Worsen
Washington Post 8/3/2003
Hussein Was Viewed As Refugees' Patron -- BAGHDAD -- On a dusty field inside an urban athletic club is a makeshift camp of yellow canvas tents, baking like ovens in the searing midday heat. Babies fuss, women worry and tempers flare among frustrated, idle men. The 1,500 Palestinian refugees stranded inside the Haifa Sports Club were once part of former president Saddam Hussein's favorite foreign cause. He welcomed them after other Arab countries shut their doors, provided them with free housing, mentioned their political plight in major speeches and promised to liberate their homeland one day.

Plane 'sheds parts' over Netherlands
BBC 8/4/2003
An Israeli plane is reported to have lost several parts from its fuselage during a flight over the Netherlands. The cargo aircraft owned by state carrier El Al made an unscheduled landing at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport on Sunday afternoon, and was undergoing safety checks. The incident brought back memories of the country's biggest air disaster, when an El Al cargo plane crashed into two high-rise residential blocks in an Amsterdam suburb in 1992, killing 43 people.

Divorce blow for Jordan women
BBC 8/4/2003
The lower house of Jordan's newly-elected parliament has rejected a law which gave women in the kingdom the right to file for divorce. It was among 211 temporary laws introduced by the government since the previous parliament was dissolved two years ago. The deputies passed the law on to the Senate for consideration.

Female welfare protection scheme with UNICEF
Arabic News 8/4/2003
Egypt and UNICEF yesterday signed an agreement for a programme to stop practices harmful to the health of women and female children. The agreement, which includes a scheme to eliminate female genital mutilation (FGM) by end of 2003, is part of efforts by the Ministry of Social Affairs to eliminate customs that threaten the welfare of girls and women, Minister Amina el-Guindi said.

State Dept. Changes Seen if Bush Reelected
Washington Post 8/4/2003
Powell and Armitage Intend to Step Down -- Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and his deputy, Richard L. Armitage, have signaled to the White House that they intend to step down even if President Bush is reelected, setting the stage for a substantial reshaping of the administration's national security team that has remained unchanged through the September 2001 terrorist attacks, two wars and numerous other crises.

Officials deny Powell departure plan
MSNBC 8/4/2003
No such conversation,’ officials say in response to Washington Post story -- WASHINGTON, Aug. 4 — White House and State Department spokesmen on Monday denied a Washington Post report that Secretary of State Colin Powell and his top deputy had given notice that they wouldn’t serve a second term should President Bush win re-election.