News in Brief

A former officer in an elite Israel Defense Forces unit said he claimed to be a pedophile in order to be discharged from the army, police said yesterday. The officer, 24, told his superiors that he committed 17 counts of child molestation while a babysitter in high school, police said. The suspect signed on to be a career officer in order to earn a university degree as part of his service. The soldier's defense attorney said he was under severe emotional pressure when he made the confession. The court released him to house arrest, but police have appealed. (Yaniv Kubovich)

A 37-year old janitor from Nesher was arrested yesterday on suspicion of selling drugs to pupils in various schools in the area. The police carried out a two-month undercover investigation among 70 pupils who are suspected of having been clients of the suspect. Three pupils were also under arrest, suspected of serving as go-betweens in the trade. A 25-year old suspect has still not been apprehended. During the police search, pupils were found in possession of hashish. Charges are expected to be brought against the suspects in the coming days. (Fadi Eyadat)

Communications Minister Moshe Kahlon declared yesterday that his ministry ought to be dismantled and replaced by a communications authority. "It's an excellent idea," he said during a panel discussion at the Eilat journalism conference. "The ministry is currently examining this issue, and it makes a lot of sense to set up an Israeli communications authority. The matter is important, and we're already discussing it." This was the second bombshell Kahlon dropped at the conference: Earlier, he said a draft bill to unite the various television regulatory agencies would be published later this month. (Gili Izikovich)

British singer Pete Doherty apologized yesterday for having sung the Nazi anthem at a performance in Munich on Saturday. The anthem, which includes the words "Deutschland uber alles" ("Germany above all"), prompted boos from the crowd. Doherty was quickly kicked off the stage, and Radio Bavaria cut off its live broadcast of the event. In a press statement, his spokesman said Doherty was "unaware of the controversy" over the song and did not intend to hurt anyone. Moreover, it said, Doherty himself is of "Jewish descent" and belongs to several anti-racism organizations. (Ofer Aderet)

Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin and former Supreme Court justice Mishael Cheshin launched a Bible study group at the Knesset yesterday. The group will be open to all Knesset members, alumni and employees, as well as to students. Rivlin said he launched the group because the Bible is too important to Jewish history and culture - and thus modern-day Israel - to be left to archaeologists and scholars of the ancient world. (Jonathan Lis)

Improvement of Government Services Minister Michael Eitan (Likud) is promoting a bill that would obligate politically active nonprofit organizations to reveal the identity of foreign countries that donate money to them. Yesterday he hosted a conference at the Knesset devoted, among other things, to considering issues relevant to such a bill. At the conference, several speakers charged that European countries fund various leftist groups in Israel with the goal of influencing Israeli policy. (Jonathan Lis)