[DEBATE] : Re: DEBATE Digest, Vol 230, Issue 15

[David Everatt]

It's a green site. All sorts of effluence gets recycled.

____________________

David Everatt

Strategy & Tactics (Johannesburg)

www.s-and-t.co.za <http://www.s-and-t.co.za/>

Visiting Research Fellow

School of Public & Development Management

University of the Witwatersrand

+27-11-486-4910 (office)

+27-11-486-4912 (fax)

+27-83-455-9466 (cell)



Sean Jacobs wrote:
> Rhoda Kadalie gets recycled on this list now? Sean
>
> On 9/7/07, debate-request at lists.kabissa.org
> <debate-request at lists.kabissa.org> wrote:
>   
>> Send DEBATE mailing list submissions to
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>>
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>> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
>> than "Re: Contents of DEBATE digest..."
>>
>> Today's Topics:
>>
>>    1.  Re: DEBATE Kadalie on 'Sick ruling party' (Stefan Andreasson)
>>    2.  SOUTH AFRICA - Cabinet (not Mbeki) worried about protests
>>       (Patrick Bond)
>>    3. Re:  Kadalie on 'Sick ruling party' (Tahir Wood)
>>    4.  (Fwd) Electricity generation privatisation 'an extraordinary
>>       concession' sez Business Day (Patrick Bond)
>>    5.  Study finds U.S. Jews distance selves from Israel
>>       (Russell Grinker)
>>
>>
>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>> From: "Stefan Andreasson" <bstefan at gmail.com>
>> To: debate at lists.kabissa.org
>> Date: Thu, 6 Sep 2007 19:04:30 +0100
>> Subject: [DEBATE] : Re: DEBATE Kadalie on 'Sick ruling party'
>> Recently, the British press was lamenting the fact that 'everyone
>> knew' Gordon Brown would be the next Labour leader (and PM). How the
>> perspectives differ...
>>
>> Stefan
>>
>>
>>     
>>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>>> From: "Russell Grinker" <grinker at mweb.co.za>
>>> To: "'debate: SA discussion list '" <debate at lists.kabissa.org>
>>> Date: Thu, 6 Sep 2007 17:28:23 +0200
>>> Subject: [DEBATE] : Kadalie on 'Sick ruling party'
>>>       
>> [...]
>>
>>     
>>> That no one in the party can predict who Mbeki's successor will be says a
>>> lot about the state of the party. It is a sad commentary on a style of
>>> leadership that thrives on intrigue, destructive internal factionalism,
>>> plots and counter-plots and succession rivalries, reminiscent of the
>>> divisive politics of the '70s and '80s that characterised the ANC in exile.
>>> This downward spiral has had a deleterious effect on the body politic and
>>> morale of the nation.
>>>       
>>
>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>> From: Patrick Bond <pbond at mail.ngo.za>
>> To: debate: SA discussion list <debate at lists.kabissa.org>, Discussion list for social movements book <socialmovements at fahamu.org>
>> Date: Fri, 07 Sep 2007 08:49:10 +0200
>> Subject: [DEBATE] : SOUTH AFRICA - Cabinet (not Mbeki) worried about protests
>> The Mercury
>>
>> Cabinet to probe service delivery protests
>> September 07, 2007 Edition 1
>>
>> Wendy Jasson da Costa and Chiara Carter
>>
>> A cabinet committee will investigate the violent countrywide service
>> protests and MPs lack of basic services might lead to social instability.
>>
>> Government spokesman Themba Maseko yesterday said the committee was
>> probing the causes of the protests and would determine what steps needed
>> to be taken to resolve the issue.
>>
>> The announcement came amid reports that at least 11 protesters in Soweto
>> had been arrested for burning down the home of a councillor this week.
>>
>> Maseko said the cabinet had expressed its concern about the matter a
>> while ago and the committee's work would be led by Provincial and Local
>> Government Minister Sydney Mufamadi.
>>
>> IFP MP Inka Mars said in the National Assembly that the debate about
>> human settlement could not have come at a more appropriate time as
>> public frustration with the government's lack of service delivery was
>> "reaching boiling point in numerous communities".
>>
>> She said this spelt a danger for democracy as social instability could
>> lead to destabilisation.
>>
>> Public frustration was understandable because the housing backlog was
>> not being eradicated quickly enough and many still did not have basic
>> services and the pace of provision was too slow, she said.
>>
>> At the same time, the office of Public Protector Lawrence Mushwana is
>> preparing for its own investigation into the matter which will focus on
>> four municipalities in different parts of the country where people have
>> made their dissatisfaction known at demonstrations.
>>
>> Responding to questions by the DA and UDM in the National Assembly last
>> week, President Thabo Mbeki downplayed the size of the protests, saying
>> they did not involve entire communities and could not be seen as a "mass
>> rebellion".
>>
>> The DA's Sandra Botha said there had been 5 000 service protests in the
>> past year, the highest in the world.
>>
>> "To me, that sounds like a crisis," Botha told Mbeki.
>>
>> Mbeki admitted there were challenges and said there was "some way to go"
>> for the government to provide basic services.
>>
>> ***
>>
>> Mbeki tells parliament 'there is no service provision crisis'
>> August 31, 2007 Edition 1
>>
>> Angela Quintal
>>
>> There was no service provision crisis or, for that matter, a mass
>> rebellion in the country, President Thabo Mbeki told parliament yesterday.
>>
>> However, he urged that the defence of the country's democracy was "our
>> collective responsibility" and should not be "undermined by those ready
>> to cause all manner of problems because of a selfish interest".
>>
>> The president was replying to questions in the National Assembly
>> yesterday from, among others, the DA's Sandra Botha, the leader of the
>> opposition in the House, and UDM leader Bantu Holomisa.
>>
>> On service provision, he said this was continuing apace and that the
>> government continued to work hard to address the problems that did exist.
>>
>> "For anyone to posit a notion of a crisis of service delivery in the
>> country would be incorrect," he said
>>
>> However, Mbeki acknowledged that there was "some way to go" to meet the
>> government's objectives to provide basic services.
>>
>> This was borne out by the fact that 15% of households still did not have
>> access to potable water, 30% had no access to sanitation and 26% had no
>> electricity.
>>
>> Botha, however, was unconvinced that all was rosy.
>>
>> "Despite your reassurances, there were 5 000 service delivery protests
>> in the last year. The highest in the world. To me, that sounds like a
>> crisis."
>>
>> She blamed the ANC's deployment policy for the problems, saying that
>> party cadres were appointed at the expense of competent managers.
>>
>> Mbeki denied service provision problems had anything to do with cadre
>> development.
>>
>> The real issue was how to retain or attract the calibre of experienced
>> people needed in areas that did not have the financial muscle to compete
>> with other wealthier ones.
>>
>> The government was inter-vening to ensure that municipalities,
>> particularly rural ones, did have the capacity to deliver. Close
>> attention had to be paid to the "resource deficiencies" in an area of
>> local government that was not as well-funded as it should be, Mbeki said.
>>
>> Holomisa was particularly concerned about the anger and defiance
>> displayed in service provision protests, as well as industrial action
>> and even by those attending court cases.
>>
>> "Sometimes, the lack of decisive action by the government to solve these
>> issues like Khutsong lies at the heart of the escalating unrest. It
>> creates a precedent that in order to be heard, a community must resort
>> to protest."
>>
>> Mbeki agreed that there were "unacceptable features" in some of the
>> demonstrations.
>>
>> The president played down the size of the protests, saying they did not
>> involve entire communities and that they could not be seen as a "mass
>> rebellion".
>>
>>
>> ***
>>
>>
>> FXI report
>> Police repression in Protea South an indicator of a national trend
>> 5 September 2007
>> Issued by the Freedom of Expression Institute
>>
>> The Freedom of Expression Institute's concern about police repression of
>> protests – especially those organized by poor communities against the
>> lack of service delivery – was heightened this week with the highly-
>> publicized housing protest in Protea South which was violently attacked
>> by police.
>>
>> FXI staff were eyewitnesses to acts of police harassment against Protea
>> South residents Monday morning. Maureen Mnisi, a community leader and
>> Gauteng Chairperson of the Landless People's Movement, was arrested
>> while trying to speak with the media. She and at least five other
>> community members were taken into custody and released, without being
>> charged, after spending the night in jail. FXI staff overheard a police
>> captain admitting that he had "always wanted to arrest" Mnisi.
>>
>> We were shocked by the police violence. SAPS members fired at random
>> towards the protesters, leaving the pavement covered with the blue
>> casings of rubber bullets. Police also deployed a helicopter and water
>> cannon, and we saw at least two officers using live ammunition. One
>> Protea South resident, Mandisa Msewu, was shot in the mouth by a rubber
>> bullet, and several other residents were attended to by paramedics due
>> to police violence.
>>
>> Similar acts of protester repression were reported by the Anti-
>> Privatisation Forum in other parts of Gauteng yesterday. Several
>> protesters in Kliptown were reportedly beaten and arrested by private
>> security guards. And in the Vaal, according to the Coalition against
>> Water Privatisation's organizer, Patra Sindane, police opened fire
>> without any warning on protesters who were just beginning to gather and
>> then proceeded to go from house to house in pursuit of the protest's
>> organizers.
>>
>> Monday's events in Protea South seriously undermined media freedom as
>> well. A Sunday Times journalist, Lirhuwani Mammburu, was harassed by
>> police after photographing Mnisi's arrest. A SAPS member demanded to see
>> his press badge and, even after Mammburu displayed his credential, the
>> officer pushed Mammburu violently in the face, threatening to beat him up.
>>
>> The deliberate intimidation of journalists is not only a Gauteng
>> problem. Last Friday (31 August), a journalist for the Durban-based
>> Mercury allegedly was kidnapped and assaulted following his research
>> into repression of shack dwellers in Pinetown. A local business leader,
>> believed to be seeking the destruction of the Motala Heights shack
>> settlement, allegedly stole the journalist's film, promised to assault
>> another Mercury journalist, and threatened to kill the journalist if the
>> Mercury published the story.
>>
>> These distressing events over just the last few days indicate continuing
>> violations of the rights of protesters and the rights of the media to
>> cover such protests. The constitutional right to protest is increasingly
>> under threat, and the Regulation of Gatherings Act (RGA) – which which
>> aims to facilitate such assemblies – is being routinely violated –
>> usually by police who do not understand the provisions of the Act and
>> act contrary to both its spirit and its letter.
>>
>> These rights infringements this week come just days after the nationwide
>> Freedom of Expression Network (FXN) Day of Action last week which
>> protested against such acts of repression. It is just such violations
>> that have prompted the FXI to assist in setting up the FXN, which seeks
>> to build capacity among movements of the poor to better defend their
>> rights from continuing attempts to silence them. The FXI believes that
>> this on-going situation regarding the harassment of protesters demands
>> the urgent response of Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula. We
>> have sought a meeting with the Minister to apprise him of the situation
>> that protestors face and of the ongoing violations of the Constitution
>> and the RGA.
>>
>> For more information, contact:
>>
>> o Virginia Setshedi: (011) 403 8403; Cell: (078) 473 3086
>> o Na'eem Jeenah: (011) 403 8403; Cell: (084) 574 2674
>> o Henry Seton: (011) 403 8403; Cell: (076) 977 7618
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>> From: "Tahir Wood" <twood at uwc.ac.za>
>> To: <debate at lists.kabissa.org>
>> Date: Fri, 07 Sep 2007 09:08:10 +0200
>> Subject: Re: [DEBATE] : Kadalie on 'Sick ruling party'
>> Yeah I wouldn't take this very seriously. But the little bit about
>> financial dependence to keep you in line did make me pause for a moment
>> though.
>> Tahir
>>
>>     
>>>>> <mfleshman at aol.com> 09/06/07 6:06 PM >>>
>>>>>           
>>  Kadalie would have preferred that the duly elected President of Haiti
>> have been murdered by the Americans or rot in on of Bush's prisons
>> instead?
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Russell Grinker <grinker at mweb.co.za>
>> To: 'debate: SA discussion list ' <debate at lists.kabissa.org>
>> Sent: Thu, 6 Sep 2007 11:28 am
>> Subject: [DEBATE] : Kadalie on 'Sick ruling party'
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Sick ruling party sits at the heart of SA's malaise
>>
>>
>>
>> Rhoda Kadalie, Business Day, 6 September 2007
>>
>>
>>
>> PRESIDENT Thabo Mbeki's firing of Deputy Health Minister Nozizwe
>> Madlala-Routledge is proof that the African National Congress (ANC)
>> cannot
>> be transformed from within.
>>
>>
>>
>> That no one in the party can predict who Mbeki's successor will be says
>> a
>> lot about the state of the party. It is a sad commentary on a style of
>> leadership that thrives on intrigue, destructive internal
>> factionalism,
>> plots and counter-plots and succession rivalries, reminiscent of the
>> divisive politics of the '70s and '80s that characterised the ANC in
>> exile.
>> This downward spiral has had a deleterious effect on the body politic
>> and
>> morale of the nation.
>>
>>
>>
>> Since Mbeki succeeded Nelson Mandela, the party has lurched from one
>> fiasco
>> to another, starting with the allegations that Tokyo Sexwale, Cyril
>> Ramaphosa and Mathews Phosa were plotting to oust the president from
>> office.
>> This was followed by Mbeki's denial that HIV causes AIDS, and was
>> followed
>> by his disastrous support for Robert Mugabe, and his gift of asylum to
>> former Haitian dictator Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
>>
>>
>>
>> The ANC's messy politics have had a profound effect on how the country
>> has
>> been run . To ensure loyalty, Mbeki has turned a blind eye to the abuse
>> of
>> state resources by those close to him. Key state institutions have been
>> used
>> to hound out of office those who do not toe the line. His selective use
>> of
>> the law has created a groundswell of anger among the masses, with
>> service
>> delivery protests, and rampant crime becoming the order of the day.
>>
>>
>>
>> The National Assembly, with its majority ANC vote, is too weak to hold
>> the
>> ANC government accountable and, as much as some ANC members do not like
>> what
>> is going on in the party, not one of them will dare stand up to Mbeki,
>> lest
>> they go the route of Madlala-Routledge and Jacob Zuma.
>>
>>
>>
>> Political patronage and cronyism ensure you retain your job, and since
>> material gain is more important than political integrity, politicians
>> acquiesce to the rot that surrounds them.
>>
>>
>>
>> One reason people can no longer change the ANC from within is that they
>> have
>> indebted themselves to the party financially. Many appear to have
>> skipped
>> rent payments, accepted big salary increases and extra benefits, and
>> used
>> the government as a piggy bank, and are now bound to the party's
>> doctrine
>> lest they step out of line and have their sins exposed.
>>
>>
>>
>> It is only in such a treacherous political climate that the hideous
>> floor-crossing spectacle can thrive; that the national police
>> commissioner
>> can get away with associating with a fraud and alleged killer; that
>> R800000
>> can be siphoned out of the Land Bank to BEE companies in which senior
>> ANC
>> officials are shareholders; that MPs can fudge audit reports about
>> fraudulent travel vouchers.
>>
>>
>>
>> In an essay written a few years ago, I argued that the ANC tries
>> consistently to undermine Parliament by negating the very essence of
>> criticism and dialogue. It does so by promoting consensus under the
>> guise of
>> nation building, and deriding criticism as destructive when it comes
>> not
>> only from opposition members but also from members of its own party.
>> ANC
>> members are called upon to keep debates internal, and to raise them in
>> the
>> caucus lest the party appear weak to its opponents. Party documents go
>> so
>> far as to refer to criticism as "counterrevolutionary" and "resistant
>> to
>> change", or as opposed to the "correctness of the ANC's ways".
>>
>>
>>
>> The trend of targeting those who expose rot rather than targeting the
>> rot
>> itself is very fashionable in the ruling party.
>>
>>
>>
>> For encouraging criticism of the democratic Athenian government,
>> Socrates
>> was sentenced to death.
>>
>>
>>
>> Just before his execution, he made a speech damning the system of
>> democracy,
>> saying that because it was a system of governance by the many, it would
>> be
>> prone to share the vices of the many. He realised that robust debate
>> alone
>> was not enough to prevent abuses of power by the government.
>>
>>
>>
>> For centuries, people in undemocratic countries have believed that
>> they
>> could change government policies, if only they could win the trust, and
>> the
>> ear of the emperor. Most have failed.
>>
>>
>>
>> Our liberation leaders desperately need to undergo a process of
>> self-emancipation, otherwise we all are doomed to go down with them.
>>
>>
>>
>> Kadalie is a human rights activist based in Cape Town.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> DEBATE mailing list
>> DEBATE at lists.kabissa.org
>> http://lists.kabissa.org/mailman/listinfo/debate
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ________________________________________________________________________
>> Email and AIM finally together. You've gotta check out free AOL Mail! -
>> http://mail.aol.com
>>
>>
>> All Email originating from UWC is covered by disclaimer http://www.uwc.ac.za/portal/uwc2006/content/mail_disclaimer/index.htm
>>
>>
>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>> From: Patrick Bond <pbond at mail.ngo.za>
>> To: debate: SA discussion list <debate at lists.kabissa.org>
>> Date: Fri, 07 Sep 2007 09:09:57 +0200
>> Subject: [DEBATE] : (Fwd) Electricity generation privatisation 'an extraordinary concession' sez Business Day
>> www.bday.co.za
>>
>> 07 September 2007
>> Private power providers get state backing
>> Wyndham Hartley, Mathabo le Roux and Chantelle Benjamin
>>
>> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> E-Mail article Print-Friendly
>>
>>
>> Related Links
>>
>> Eskom warns of a summer of discontent
>>
>>
>> THE government has approved an extraordinary concession to attract major
>> private investors to the power generation sector with the assurance that
>> it will buy the power generated.
>>
>> The state has even given an assurance that the National Electricity
>> Regulator (Nersa) would regulate Eskom's single-buyer function and all
>> agreements with private producers.
>>
>>
>> These moves, taken at Wednesday's cabinet meeting, follow the
>> announcement of a consortium led by US power producer AES as the
>> preferred bidder for two new power plants at a cost of about R5bn last
>> month. This decision alone was seen as a boost for independent power
>> producers (IPPs) .
>>
>>
>> Chief government spokesman Themba Maseko yesterday said it was resolved
>> that Eskom would be the single buyer of power from independent power
>> producers and would also remain responsible for ensuring that
>> independent producers made up 30% of new power generated.
>>
>>
>> Maseko, in reply to a question, said the key to the policy was the
>> assurance that the state would buy the power generated by the IPPs. Also
>> vital to the plan is the role to be played by Nersa in that it will
>> regulate Eskom's single-buyer function and will have to approve all
>> commercial agreements between Eskom and the private producers.
>>
>>
>> Frost & Sullivan energy research analyst Jeannot Boussougouth said the
>> announcement showed government's commitment to gradually introduce
>> independent players into the market. It was also a recognition from
>> government of Eskom's "central role" in the power generation sector.
>>
>>
>> "Eskom is also the representative of the South African government within
>> the southern African power pool, so it would not make sense to
>> materially weaken it by introducing 'real competition' at a moment when
>> countries in the region are in serious need of concerted efforts to meet
>> their common electricity requirements. Overall, this is very good news
>> for the public utility."
>>
>>
>> The decision is contrary to what Eskom chairman Valli Moosa had
>> described in February as "ridiculous" guarantees being demanded by
>> investors to enter the power production sector in SA. He told a
>> parliamentary committee that these included there being guaranteed
>> profits, the assumption by government of all the risk and buyout
>> provisions in the event of difficulties.
>>
>> This policy will ensure that the responsibility and accountability for
>> the construction of power generation capacity is co-ordinated and will
>> provide certainty to the private providers. It will also allow
>> production cost benchmarking with the state utility.
>>
>> Over the next 20 years, Eskom will build all nuclear power plants in SA
>> and the IPPs will build more than half of all non-nuclear power plants.
>>
>> Boussougouth thought it likely that the government would force Nersa's
>> hand to grant Eskom's request for tariff hikes of 18% and 19% in 2009
>> and 2010, to cover the increased power generation costs .
>>
>> Eskom CEOJacob Maroga, in a separate briefing yesterday, again pointed
>> to the need for substantial tariff increases to cover increased
>> generation costs. The low electricity price has long been seen as a
>> major disincentive to foreign investment in the electricity industry, as
>> has the regulatory framework in which such investors would have to operate.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>> From: "Russell Grinker" <grinker at mweb.co.za>
>> To: "'debate: SA discussion list '" <debate at lists.kabissa.org>
>> Date: Fri, 7 Sep 2007 09:10:37 +0200
>> Subject: [DEBATE] : Study finds U.S. Jews distance selves from Israel
>>
>> Study finds U.S. Jews distance selves from Israel
>>
>> By Michael Conlon, Religion Writer
>> Thu Sep 6, 1:12 AM ET
>>
>>
>> CHICAGO (Reuters) - Young U.S. non-Orthodox Jews are
>> becoming increasingly lukewarm if not alienated in
>> their support for Israel in a trend that is not likely
>> to be reversed, according to a study released on
>> Thursday.
>>
>> Blending into U.S. society, including marriage to
>> non-Jews and a tendency to look on Judaism more in
>> religious terms than ethnic ones, is part of what's
>> happening, the study found.
>>
>> "For our parent's generation, the question that
>> mattered was, how do we regard Israel? For Generation
>> Y (born after 1976) the question is indeed, why should
>> we regard Israel?" said Roger Bennett, a vice
>> president of The Andrea and Charles Bronfman
>> Philanthropies, which sponsored the study.
>>
>> "Until people recognize that a healthy and animated
>> dialogue about Israel is the first step to a
>> meaningful connection, the 'Israel debate' that takes
>> place in America is liable to become moot well before
>> Israel celebrates its 100th birthday," he added.
>>
>> U.S. support backed by a vocal and politically
>> powerful Jewish lobby has been a key feature of the
>> Jewish state's success since its founding in 1948, an
>> event that is widely backed by U.S. Jews and non-Jews.
>>
>> But the study found that "feelings of attachment may
>> well be changing as warmth gives way to indifference,
>> and indifference gives way even to downright
>> alienation."
>>
>> The study found only 48 percent of U.S. Jews under age
>> 35 believe that Israel's destruction would be a
>> personal tragedy for them, compared to 77 percent of
>> those 65 and older.
>>
>> In addition, only 54 percent of those under the age of
>> 35 are "comfortable with the idea of a Jewish State"
>> as opposed to 81 percent of those 65 and older.
>>
>> It did find higher levels of support among U.S. Jews,
>> regardless of age, who had visited Israel.
>>
>> VARIOUS AFFILIATIONS
>>
>> There are perhaps 6 million Jews in the United States,
>> only about a third of them affiliated with a
>> congregation. Of those who do attend a synagogue,
>> perhaps 40 percent are classified as liberal Reform,
>> 32 percent middle-ground Conservative and 8 percent
>> Orthodox, according to surveys.
>>
>> The findings were based on a representative sample of
>> 1,704 non-Orthodox Jews in 2006 and 2007 contacted in
>> writing. Its error margin was plus or minus three
>> percentage points. The authors said they excluded
>> Orthodox Jews because they tend to be overwhelmingly
>> supportive of Israel.
>>
>> In general U.S. Jews "have increasingly adopted the
>> American idea of what it means to be Jewish --
>> primarily a religious identity," Steven Cohen of
>> Hebrew Union College, co-author of the study, said in
>> an interview.
>>
>> "The decline in attachment is widespread. It doesn't
>> depend on how you measure it," Cohen added, with the
>> disengagement no different among political liberals or
>> conservatives.
>>
>> Cohen also said inter-marriage with other faiths had a
>> strong impact with "younger Jews being much more
>> likely to be married to non-Jews."
>>
>> The trend is part of a long-term historic slide not
>> likely to be reversed since "people do not seem to
>> significantly grow in their attachment to Israel as
>> they age," the study said.
>>
>> Steven Bayme, director of contemporary Jewish life for
>> the American Jewish Committee, a major pro-Israel
>> lobbying group, said "assimilation is the biggest
>> problem" with declining support among U.S. Jews, but
>> he said it is not new.
>>
>> "People growing up where there always has been an
>> Israel" are more detached, he said.
>>
>> But the study breaks new ground, he added, in finding
>> that politics do not underpin declining support --
>> that it is not as many assume a response to Israel's
>> handling of the peace process or problems with
>> religious pluralism in the country.
>>
>> Bayme also said that even though Orthodox Jews were
>> not included in the study, the segment represents
>> "strong signs of Jewish renewal" -- children involved
>> in the Hebrew faith in numbers far disproportionate to
>> those of non-Orthodox families and who in the future
>> will help counter the effects of assimilation outside
>> their ranks, he said.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>>
>>
>>     
>
>
>   
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