_WORLD WATCH______________________________
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Sharon, Bush at odds
Differing views on Mideast peace process
As Ariel Sharon arrived in Washington late in June for talks with US President George W. Bush, the city’s leading newspaper reported a new effort to have the Israeli prime minister tried on war-crimes charges. The Washington Post story apparently came in response to a special program aired by the British Broadcasting Corporation, in which several prominent officials were quoted as saying that Sharon could be subject to war-crimes charges in connection with massacres in Lebanon in 1982. Such charges had already been brought before a court in Belgium; the new speculation involved efforts to bring the Sharon case before international tribunals.
If that story furnished an inauspicious beginning for Sharon’s trip to the US, his visit to the White House also left the Israeli leader unsatisfied. Sharon and Bush aired distinctly different views on the Middle East peace process after the June 26 meeting. Bush repeated his request for Israeli cooperation in efforts to establish a new cease-fire in the Holy Land. Sharon replied that he would not endorse a cease-fire until Palestinian leaders curtailed all violence by their supporters.
Sharon said that he would demand a full 10 days of peace before he embarked on any new negotiations with Palestinians. He charged that the Palestinian side has repeatedly broken peace agreements, and rejected arguments that the Israeli government has also been guilty of violations.
Greek Orthodox protest government meddling
Potential bishops refused entry
The Greek Orthodox Church has accused Israel of meddling in religious affairs by trying to disqualify several candidates from becoming the new Orthodox patriarch in the Holy Land.
In an order signed by Israeli Justice Minister Meir Shetreet, five of the 15 candidates were banned from the country for alleged security reasons, according to Metropolitan Isychios, who is one of the five unwelcome candidates. He said the Greek Orthodox Church was going to ignore Israel’s objections and proceed with the selection process. All of the candidates are Greek.
“The Patriarchate condemns this unwelcome and unlawful intrusion of the Israeli government into church affairs, which serves undisclosed and suspicious interests,” the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate said in a press release. The five banned candidates included Metropolitan Timotheos, who has served for years as secretary and spokesman for the Patriarchate, which has its offices in the Christian Quarter of Jerusalem. For several years before the death of Patriarch Diodoros I last December, Timotheos had been the de facto spiritual leader of the Greek Orthodox in the Holy Land.
Under a law dating back to the 6th-century Byzantine Emperor Justinian, the government in the Holy Land has the right to vet candidates for the office of patriarch. The present list was submitted to the governments of Israel and Jordan and the Palestinian Authority. Jordan and the Palestinians made no objections to any candidates.
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