THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAS
THURSDAY DECEMBER 7, 2006
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NEWS
MIDDLE EAST
9A
Hostages in critical condition
Capture of two soldiers sparks war between Israel, Hezbollah
The condition of two captured soldiers was announced Wednesday as being seriously wounded. Hezbollah guerrillas crossed the Lebanon-Israel border in July, killing three soldiers and capturing two.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
BY MARK LAVIE
ASSOCIATED PRESS
JERUSALEM — In their first comment about the fate of two soldiers whose capture triggered a monthlong war between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas last summer, Israeli officials said Wednesday the two were seriously wounded — raising the prospect they may no longer be alive.
The Israeli military censor allowed publication of the existence of the report on Wednesday, and local media broadcast sketchy details. Military officials told The Associated Press the report determined that one of the soldiers was critically wounded and the other seriously wounded when they were captured, without giving further details. They spoke on condition of anonymity under military rules.
"If they did not receive immediate medical treatment, there is grave concern for their lives." Israel TV military correspondent Yoav Lomir said on the nightly TV newscast.
After Hezbollah guerrillas crossed the Lebanon-Israel border in July and attacked an Israeli patrol, killing three soldiers and capturing the two, Israel sent regular forces into Lebanon, first to look for the soldiers and then to try to beat Hezbollah into submission.
Both missions failed, and the war ended inconclusively after Hezbollah fired almost 4,000 rockets at northern Israel despite a massive Israeli ground and air assault on Lebanon.
The outcome of the war cut deeply into popular support for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, and it continues to haunt him. This week, he caused an uproar with a comment about the captured soldiers, "if they (are alive), and we hope they are alive," saying it would have been improper to extend the war to try to win their freedom. Families of the soldiers objected to his implication that the two might be dead.
Wednesday's disclosure of the soldiers' serious wounds indicated that Olmert was referring to a real
possibility that the soldiers might not have survived. This would have implications on negotiations with Hexbollah. The U.N. is trying to mediate, but there are no reports of progress or of actual contacts.
Hezbollah has not released any details on the conditions of the soldiers, Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser, or provided any signs that they are still alive.
A senior Hezbollah official, Sheik Hassan Ezzeddine, said he knows nothing about their conditions. "Only Sayyed Nasrallah knows," he told the AP, referring to Hezbollah leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah.
In a statement Wednesday, the military would say only that a
Olmert has demanded that Hezbollah provide signs of life before he will consider a deal.
report about the circumstances of the abduction has been given to the defense minister, army commander and families of the soldiers.
"The working assumption of the army was and remains that the abducted soldiers are alive and according to that assumption the army continues its efforts to bring the soldiers home," the statement said.
RELIGION
Panel of Jewish scholars shows support for gay clergy
BY RACHEL ZOLL ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — Conservative Jewish scholars eased their ban Wednesday on ordaining gays, upending thousands of years of precedent while stopping short of fully accepting gay clergy.
The Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, which interprets religious law for the movement, adopted three starkly conflicting policies that nonetheless gave gays the chance to serve as clergy.
One upholds the prohibition against gay rabbis. Another, billed as a compromise, permits gay ordination while continuing to ban male sodomy. The third upholds the ban on gay sexual relationships in Jewish law and mentions the option for gays to undergo therapy aimed at changing their sexual orientation.
That leaves seminaries and syna
It will also test what Conservative Jewish leaders call their "big tent" — allowing diverse practices by the movement's more than 1,000 rabbis and 750 North American synagogues.
The 25-member panel made its decision in a two-day closed meeting in an Upper East Side synagogue. Students from a gay advocacy group at the Jewish Theological Seminary, the flagship school of Conservative Judaism, stood vigil nearby while the results were announced.
Conservative leaders are struggling to hold the shrinking middle ground of American Judaism, losing members to both the liberal Reform and the traditional Orthodox branches.
Reform Jews, as well as the smaller Reconstructionist branch, allow gays to become rabbis; the Orthodox bar gays and women from ordination.
The last major Law Committee vote on gay relationships came in
barred openly gay students from seminaries and prohibited the more than 1,000 rabbis in the movement from officiating at gay union ceremonies.
The debate focuses on Leviticus 18.22, which states, "Do not lie with a male as one lies with a woman"
It's unclear whether any congregations in the United Synagogue
— echoing the fight in mainline Protestant groups about the Bible and sexuality.
of Conservative Judaism, the synagogue arm of the movement, will break away over the gay issue.
A handful of Canadian congregations, which tend to be more traditional than their U.S. counterparts, have said they would consider the idea.
However, leaders believe it's more likely that individuals who object to the change will leave to worship in Orthodox synagogues.
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>> HURRICANE KATRINA
WASHINGTON — The government is squandering tens of millions of dollars in Hurricane Katrina disaster aid, in some cases doling out housing payments to people living rent-free, investigators said Wednesday.
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GAO: Relief services misused aid money
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee held a hearing on waste, fraud and abuse in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Wednesday. Investigations may show the government squandered tens of millions of dollars in disaster aid
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has recouped less than 1 percent of the $1 billion that investigators contend it squandered on fraudulent assistance, according to the Government Accountability Office. Its report shows the disaster relief agency's struggles, one year after the deadly storm, to rush aid to those in need while also preventing abuse.
Last week, a federal judge ordered the Bush administration to resume housing payments for
thousands displaced by Katrina. The ruling, which FEMA is appealing, cited a convoluted process for applying for help.
"I hope FEMA has learned the costly lesson and will make reforms for future disasters," Kutz said at a Senate hearing.
"Our work shows for individual assistance payments, at least tens of thousands of individuals took the opportunity to commit fraud," said Gregory Kutz, who works for Congress' investigative arm. He said his previous $1 billion estimate of wasted aid was now "likely understated."
In its latest report, the GAO found that numerous applicants received duplicate rental aid. In one case, FEMA gave free apartments to 10 people in Plano, Texas, while sending them $46,000 for out-of pocket housing expenses.
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