In Short

August 30, 2007

Sarkozy Restates Pro-Israel Stance
JERUSALEM (JTA) -- French president Nicolas Sarkozy reaffirmed his affection for Israel and his hostility toward Hamas.
"I have the reputation of being a friend of Israel, and it's true. I will never compromise on Israel's security," he said Monday in his first foreign-policy speech since taking office in May.
While he acknowledged that France would continue to cultivate rich ties with the moderate Arab world, Sarkozy drew a line at engaging Hamas or allowing Iran to procure nuclear weaponry.

Shalit Turns 21 in Captivity
JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Israelis marked the 21st birthday of Gilad Shalit, a soldier held for more than a year by Hamas-led gunmen in the Gaza Strip.
Supporters of Shalit held a rally in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, the conscript sergeant's second birthday in Palestinian captivity, while newspapers and other media carried fresh coverage on his family's ongoing ordeal.
Shalit's father, Noam Shalit, complained that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was not doing enough to recover his son from Hamas, which wants a prisoner exchange.
Two other soldiers, Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, were kidnapped by Hezbollah, prompting last year's summer war, which has come under criticism internally in Israel.
The two are also being held without any release of information on their whereabouts.

Egyptian Actor Faces Boycott
JERUSALEM (JTA) -- An Egyptian actor faces a boycott in his homeland for appearing in a TV film about Saddam Hussein starring an Israeli actor as the tyrant.
The Egyptian actor's union said that it would investigate whether Amr Waked violated its rules for agreeing to play Saddam's son-in-law in a BBC production now filming in Tunisia, Agence France Presse reported Tuesday.