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The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, continued to show his peculiar sense of humor when he commented that he was jealous of his Israeli counterpart, Moshe Katzav, who has been accused of sexual abuses. The Russian daily Kommersant printed several of Putin's comments made at the Kremlin when he thought the microphones had been turned off. "Give my best to your president. Come on, big guy! Rape a dozen women! We didn't think he would do it. He has surprised us all. We're all jealous of him," Putin said yesterday in a meeting with the Iraeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert. According...

Putin quip on Israeli president sex scandal caught on mics Wed Oct 18, 8:57 PM ET MOSCOW (AFP) - President Vladimir Putin's quip on the sex scandal surrounding his Israeli counterpart almost stole the show from his talks with visiting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert which focused on Iran. Putin, who was speaking seconds after the two leaders made statements at the opening of their meeting at the Kremlin, was caught on reporters' microphones telling Olmert "say hello to your president -- he really surprised us." Israeli police announced on Sunday that evidence gathered during a weeks-long investigation was enough to...

Katzav Condemns Amona Violence; ýSpecial Knesset Session Called 16:53 Feb 02, '06 / 4 Shevat 5766 By Hillel Fendel President M. Katzav has criticism of both sides in yesterday's Amona violence, B'Tselem calls for an investigation, and the Knesset Speaker has agreed to a Likud/Shas request for a special session. President Moshe Katzav said that "red lines" were crossed yesterday, and that what happened in Amona is "intolerable." He said that the police must explain why they used horses and clubs, and chastised the settlement enterprise leaders for organizing the protest without controlling the protestors. Katzav said he accepts Labor...

Summary of Editorials from the Hebrew Press 6 Feb 2005 (Government Press Office) Haaretz - http://www.haaretzdaily.comMa'ariv - http://www.maariv.co.ilYediot Aharonot - http://www.ynet.co.ilGlobes - http://www.globes.co.ilJerusalem Post - http://www.jpost.comHazofeh - http://www.hazofe.co.il Yediot Aharonot surveys the maneuvering ahead of Tuesday’s summit at Sharm e-Sheikh and acknowledges that many are saying that, “We have already seen this movie.” The editors assert that, “The substantive question, the answer to which will be given only at the Sharm summit, is whether, at the moment of truth, the two leaders will succeed in proving that this time this is a new movie.” Hatzofeh commends President Moshe Katsav’s...

Swiss Foreign Minister to visit Israel 6 Feb 2005The Foreign Minister of Switzerland, Micheline Calmy-Rey is interested in learning directly about developments in the peace process, and to meet with the Israeli public. This is Ms. Calmy-Rey’s first visit to Israel. (Communicated by the Foreign Ministry Spokesman) The Foreign Minister of Switzerland, Micheline Calmy-Rey, will arrive in Israel for a visit on Sunday, February 6, as a guest of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom. During the course of the visit, Minister Calmy-Rey will meet with the President of Israel Moshe Katsav, Vice Premier Shimon Peres, Vice Prime...

Graffiti with Sharon as target drawn on major Jerusalem intersection Large inscription with target in its center shows arrows pointing in direction of houses of PM, Katzav and Netanyahu, who live nearby. Tal Yamin-Wolfowitz A large inscription with a target in its center indicating possible incitement against Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, President Moshe Katzav and Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was drawn during Yom Kippur on a major intersection in Jerusalem. The graffiti, which shows arrows pointing in the direction of the houses of the three, who live nearby, with an image of a suicide bomber in the center of...

President Moshe Katzav, visiting in France, said yesterday that the late Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin never would have signed the Oslo accords had he known that Yasser Arafat would continue terrorism. The French news agency AFP reports that Katzav, speaking at a reception in his honor at the Council of Jewish Institutions in France, said, "Since the signing of the Oslo accords, we have not had one day of peace - while we have made far-reaching compromises." "Rabin took this historic step," Katzav said, but "if he had known that Arafat would continue with terrorism, he would never have signed....

Nov. 26, 2003 Katzav hosts Geneva Initiative architects By GIL HOFFMAN President Moshe Katzav hosted the Palestinian signatories to the Geneva Initiative at Beit Ha-Nassi (the President's residence) Wednesday. At the start of the meeting, former Palestinian minister Yasser Abed Rabo said that his delegation is "extending the hand of peace to Israel." "We are looking for the support of all Israelis who want peace in this land to help create a bridge to peace," Abed Rabo said. "Both sides have suffered a lot. We hope to put an end to the suffering and start a new era of friendship,...

President Moshe Katzav stands by his statement that the secular public had no right to choose between secularism and religion, but retracted his description of secular people as "captive babies," he told a delegation for the YAHAD council for Religious and Secular relations in the President's residence. Speaking earlier to Army Radio, Katzav said that the fact that an Israeli child does not know what the Talmud is, is a social flaw; however, he continued, the religious sector should also adopt more freedom of information. Katzav explained his position to the YAHAD delegation Monday, saying, "Some secular Jews are like...