FROM OUR ARCHIVES
50 YEARS AGO
On February 23, 1950, The Jerusalem Post reported from London that foreign minister Abba Eban voiced Israel’s concern over the Soviet Union’s large-scale military aid to Syria. He told the press conference that his country was constantly seeking to persuade Moscow to take a “less one-sided” stand on the Middle East, “but nothing indicates that we had made much headway in this direction.”
In Damas, Dr. Noureddin al-Atassi , the Syrian head of state, called on “progressive Arab forces” to unify their efforts and battle with “reactionary, imperialist and Zionist alliances”. Atassi concluded that it was now the right time to attack directly and openly both the Zionist forces and the Arab reaction which had extended its hand openly and directly to support them.
The US had withdrawn, without explanation, its offer of a $15 million in credit to the Syrian government, intended to expand grain storage facilities.
Eight policemen and five civilians were injured and nine persons were arrested in a riot in Kfar Shalem, Tel Aviv, after municipal inspectors attempted to tear down two unlicensed constructions. The police finally quelled the riot and the demolition was completed.
25 YEARS AGO
On February 23, 1992, The Jerusalem Post reported that following heavy IDF retaliation and international diplomatic intervention, Hezbollah signed an agreement to stop firing Katyusha rockets at Israel and to lower its profile in South Lebanon.
Any hopes for a compromise on the $10 billion in US loan guarantees were dashed, as US secretary of state James Baker and Israeli ambassador Zalman Shoval met, but had again failed to reach an agreement on terms. The loan guarantees’ fate was now linked to elections, and the possible different policies of a newly elected Israeli government.
Senior Israeli officials confirmed that their negotiators had no mandate to unveil a blueprint for Palestinian self-government on the fourth round of peace talks beginning in Washington. “The Prime Minister had not given permission,” said one Israeli official who refused to be identified.
Genia Friedmann, 42, was wounded and three other people injured when Yussuf Abd el Rahman from Kalkilya, brandishing a long kitchen knife, went on rampage in Kfar Saba. All the victims were new immigrants from the Soviet Union. A five-yearold girl was killed when a Katyusha rocket hit the center of Moshav Granot in Western Galilee.
10 YEARS AGO
On February 23, 2007, The Jerusalem Post reported that Israeli officials in Washington urged “crisper” and “faster” moves to sanction Iran after a UN report found the Islamic Republic had expanded its program to obtain nuclear weapons. The officials welcomed the Bush administration’s stated interest in pressing for expanded sanctions, but expressed a mounting concern over the slow pace of international action.
Labor Party chairman Amir Peretz claimed victory in a cabinet reshuffle, but sources close to him said prime minister Ehud Olmert’s government could fall soon, due to the diplomatic stalemate with the Palestinians.
A conversion case which had ended happily heightened the sad fact that, due to the inconsistent practices of the Conversion Authority, knowing the right bureaucrat could mean the difference between joining the Jewish people and being turned away. – Alexander Zvielli