 1. Supreme Moslem Council: Temple Mount is Jewishby Hillel Fendel  The widely-disseminated Arab Moslem position that the Temple Mount is not Jewish has been debunked - by the Supreme Moslem Council (Waqf) of Jerusalem, in a Temple Mount guide published in 1925. Comment on This StoryWakf guidebook, 1925, cover The Temple Institute Guidebook Puts the Lie to Current Arab Campaign In 1997, the chief Moslem cleric of the Palestinian Authority, Mufti Ikrama Sabri, stated, "The claim of the Jews to the right over [Jerusalem] is false, and we recognize nothing but an entirely Islamic Jerusalem under Islamic supervision..." Thus began a campaign to convince the world that the millennia-old natural association between Jerusalem and Jews was untrue. As Islamic Movement chief Raed Salah stated in 2006, "We remind, for the 1,000th time, that the entire Al-Aqsa mosque [on the Temple Mount], including all of its area and alleys above the ground and under it, is exclusive and absolute Moslem property, and no one else has any rights to even one grain of earth in it." However, it is now known that this "absolute" Moslem claim is actually not as absolute as claimed. In fact, back in 1925, the Supreme Moslem Council - also known as the Waqf, which has overseen Temple Mount activities on behalf of the Moslem religion for hundreds of years - boasted proudly that the site was none other than that of Solomon's Temple. The Jerusalem-based Temple Institute (http://www.templeinstitute.org) reports that it has acquired a copy of the official 1925 Supreme Moslem Council Guide Book to Al-Haram Al-Sharif (the Moslem name for the Temple Mount). On page 4, the Waqf states, "Its identity with the site of Solomon's Temple is beyond dispute. This, too, is the spot, according to universal belief, on which 'David built there an altar unto the L-rd...', citing the source in 2 Samuel XXIV,25. Wakf guidebook, 1925, excerpt close-up The Temple Institute In addition, on page 16, the pamphlet makes reference to the underground area in the south-east corner of the Mount, which is refers to as Solomon's Stables. "Little is known for certain of the history of the chamber itself," the guide reads. "It dates probably as far back as the construction of Solomon's Temple. According to Josephus, it was in existence and was used as a place of refuge by the Jews at the time of the conquest of Jerusalem by Titus in the year 70 A.D." The Temple Mount in Jerusalem was in fact the site of the two Jewish Holy Temples which stood for nearly 1,000 years (see below). Wakf guidebook, 1925, excerpt The Temple Institute Proof of Moslem Anti-Jewish Revisionism The Temple Institute's Rabbi Chaim Richman writes that the pamphlet provides proof that the Waqf's current position is a departure from traditional Muslim belief. "In recent years," he writes, "the Moslem Waqf has come to deny the historic existence of the Holy Temple, claiming that the Temple Mount belongs solely to the Moslem nation, and that there exists no connection between the Jewish nation and the Temple Mount. It is clear from this pamphlet that the revised Waqf position strays from traditional Moslem acknowledgment of the Mount's Jewish antecedents." "The current denial of historical reality is merely one tool in the war being waged by Moslems against the G-d of Israel and the entire 'infidel' world," Richman declares. Examples of the new Palestinian/Arab position on Jerusalem: PA Mufti Sabri was quoted in the Palestinian daily Al-Ayyam on November 22, 1997 as saying, "The 'Al-Buraq' Wall [the Western Wall] is a part of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The Jews have no relation to it." The same newspaper, on July 18, 1997, reported that Hamad Yusef, head of The Institution for the Rejuvenation of the Palestinian Heritage, referred to the "false historical claim of the Jews in the holy city, a claim which they were unable to prove in all of the excavations conducted by foreign groups for the past hundred years." The paper also stated that Hamad "accused the Israelis of unprecedented historical forgeries, emphasizing the Palestinian, the Arab and the Islamic nature of the holy city for the past 6,000 years. Israel fails in her attempt to find a historical connection to Jerusalem." (courtesy of Jewish Virtual Library) Jewish History on the Mount The Temple Mount in Jerusalem was the site of the two Jewish Holy Temples, the first of which was built by King Solomon in the year 832 BCE, close to 1,500 years before Islam was founded. It stood for over 400 years, and after the 70-year Babylonian Exile, a Second Temple was built on the same site. Thus, for nearly 1,000 years, Holy Temples stood on the site, until the Romans conquered the entire land and destroyed the Second Temple. Though the area came under the control of the Romans, Byzantines, Moslems, Christians, Turks, British and others over the intervening centuries, Jerusalem and the Temple Mount were always the focus of Jewish religious and national yearnings, and continued to be the Jews' "capital" even while in exile. In the Six Day War of 1967, the modern State of Israel liberated the Temple Mount area and all of Jerusalem, placing it under Jewish control once again after a hiatus of 1,900 years. Israel, however, never actualized its sovereignty over the holy Temple Mount site, but rather granted the Waqf nearly total control. Jews, in fact, have not been allowed to pray there ever since then-Chief IDF Rabbi Shlomo Goren led a prayer service there on the first Tisha B'Av after the liberation. Jews' visiting hours are also restricted.  2. Iran: We Produce\Export Weapons to 50 Countriesby Nissan Ratzlav-Katz  Iranian officials have boasted of their homegrown arms industry in recent days, including claims that they develop their own missiles and export weapons to more than 50 countries. Speaking with reporters on Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi said, "Our missile and technical capabilities completely depend on Iranian scientific know-how." He further stated that Tehran is developing its defense capabilities within the framework of international norms. Qashqavi emphatically claimed that reports regarding Russian missile sales to the Islamic Republic are incorrect. However, his statement contradicts that of Iranian Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar from December of last year that a sophisticated missile-based air defense system "will be delivered to Iran on the basis of a contract signed with Russia in the past." Russia has been evasive in confirming or denying the sale. Israeli officials believe that the Russian S-300 anti-aircraft missile system will be delivered to Iran before 2009, possibly even this month. If Iranian officials are correct, then not only is Iran not importing missiles from Russia, but it is a leading weapons exporter. On Friday, Defense Minister Najjar reiterated a claim he has made in the past to the effect that Iran exports weapons systems to more than fifty nations worldwide. Najjar made the comments during a gathering for Muslim prayers in the city of Aroumia. According to Najjar, Iran produces and exports world-class advanced systems for land, sea and air forces, as well as for use in outer space. Iran, he continued, is therefore well prepared to stave off and defeat any external threat with its domestically produced arsenal. Najjar added that his country has no intention of attacking any other state. The information known to the public, Najjar boasted, represents only 80% of Iran's true capabilities.  3. Al-Qaeda Connections in Gazaby Hillel Fendel  Reporters were given a tour on Monday of a new terrorist base in Hamas-run Gaza - operated by terrorists who say they have the same goals as Al-Qaeda. The terrorists were seen engaged in active training for battle with Israel. 4. J'lem Court Upholds U.S. Judgment Against PAby Nissan Ratzlav-Katz  A Jerusalem District Court on Monday evening upheld the enforceability of a United States Federal Court judgment ordering the Palestinian Authority to pay US $116 million in damages to the family of two American victims of PA-backed terrorism. On June 9, 1996, a Hamas terror cell ambushed, shot and killed Yaron and Efrat Ungar as they drove with their baby son, Yishai, on a road adjacent to Beit Shemesh, west of Jerusalem. The cell members were identified and two years later an Israeli court convicted three Hamas terrorists of the shooting murders of the Ungars. The Ungar and Dassberg families, as executors of the estate and guardians of Yaron and Efrat's children, filed a suit in a U.S. court in 2000 under federal counter-terrorism laws and named as defendants, in addition to the PA, the PLO and Yasser Arafat, as well as senior Fatah commanders Jibril Rajoub, Mohamed Dahlan, Amin al-Hindi, Tawfik Tirawi and Razi Jabali. Also named were Hamas and several terrorists belonging to the cell that carried out the attack. In July of 2004 the U.S. Federal Court held the principal defendants responsible for the attack on the Ungars, who were American citizens, and ordered the PA to pay the estate 116 million dollars in compensation. The terror victims' families brought the U.S. verdict before an Israeli court for enforcement. The PA, however, claimed that paying the sum awarded would lead to additional lawsuits against it and to the ultimate financial collapse of the PA. Therefore, the Fatah-run government argued, the order to pay the financial compensation to the Ungars should be deemed unenforceable. The PA lawyers also warned that there would be security and policy consequences for Israeli citizens if the decision is enforced. On Monday, Jerusalem District Court Judge Aharon Farkash dismissed the PA's arguments and ruled that the American decision was indeed enforceable. In 2004, a Tel Aviv court ordered 40 million NIS seized in an IDF raid on Ramallah banks to be held until the enforcement of the Ungar decision was ordered by an Israeli court. Judge Farkash renewed the lien on those and other PA funds held by Israel. In the U.S., the PA and the PLO were represented by the law firm of former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark. Initially, they argued sovereign immunity, but the court rejected the claim, saying the PA is not a state. In August 2005 PA assets in the U.S. were frozen pending a U.S. Supreme Court appeal. The U.S. Supreme Court recently declared the federal court judgment "final and enforceable." Among other sources of funding, the PA has received billions of dollars from donor nations in the last decade. The final destination of most of that money has never been sufficiently identified.  5. Dutch Spies Recalled From Iran Due to 'Imminent' U.S. Attackby Nissan Ratzlav-Katz  According to a leading newspaper published in the Netherlands, the Dutch intelligence agency recently recalled operatives from Iran in response to information that a United States attack on the Islamic Republic is "imminent." De Telegraaf reported on Friday, August 29, that the Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) had been running a successful "top secret operation" in Iran for several years. The aim of the operation, according to unnamed sources, was "infiltration and sabotage of the armaments industry in the Islamic Republic," according to the Dutch newspaper. However, the plug was pulled on the operation recently and a key agent recalled home because of information that an American decision to attack Iran "would be made within a few weeks." Potential targets of the impending American bombing campaign include facilities infiltrated by one of the Dutch agents, according to sources cited by journalists Joost de Haas and Bart Mos. Some of the Iranian military targets were identified by AIVD, which has shared intelligence with the American CIA. Iranian nuclear plants, military installations, missile supply lines and the like are expected to be targeted by unmanned bombers, De Telegraaf suggested. Saber Rattling in the Gulf In their efforts to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, neither Israel nor the United States has taken the military option off the table. However, both nations have emphasized the need for tightened sanctions to coerce Iran through non-violent means. Recent reports from the region indicate that American naval vessels are making their way towards the Persian Gulf in what security analysts speculate is preparation for a maritime blockade of Iranian fuel supplies. For its part, Iran has warned that it could close the strategic Strait of Hormuz itself if it was attacked, thus cutting off Gulf oil exports to the West. Security analysts further speculate that Iranian terrorist sleeper cells have been placed in various Middle Eastern nations and elsewhere as a strategic option to be activated in the event of an attack on Iran. 6. IDF: Shooting During Arrest Was Justifiedby Nissan Ratzlav-Katz  IDF soldiers who were carrying out an operation to apprehend a violent Palestinian Authority instigator came under A preliminary IDF investigation into the incident indicates that the soldier who shot Awad was justified in opening fire. Soldiers said the wounded man had charged at them, tried to take a soldier's gun and yelled, "Allah hu akbar!" - a slogan often used by attacking Arab terrorists. The army added that Awad refused the soldiers' offers of first aid and shut himself in a room in his house. Palestinian Authority sources claim that Awad is mentally ill. Conflicting reports from neighbors and family indicate that he was either not interfering at all with the IDF operation or he was attempting to prevent the soldiers from entering the house in which the incident occurred. PA medics said that Awad was sent to the intensive care unit of the hospital in Ramallah. In reaction to the incident, PA legislator Mustafa Barghouti called for Defense Minister Ehud Barak, whom he holds responsible for the shooting, to be tried before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. The Yesh Din pro-PA legal aid organization called on the army to launch a more complete investigation of the soldier's actions in Na'alin. Na'alin, an Arab village located east of the Jewish city of Modiin and adjacent to Modiin Illit, has been the scene of repeated violent and non-violent protests against the security barrier being erected nearby. In related news, three wanted terrorists were apprehended by IDF forces on Monday night. They were captured in the Hevron and Bethlehem regions and handed over to General Security Services (GSS) for questioning.  7. TV: Israeli Arts & Crafts & Rockby IsraelNN Staff  This is one of the best editions of Israeli Salad, Israel's English TV Culture magazine, taking you to a major Arts & Crafts fair and great music. [video:123406] And don't miss the previous edition of Israeli Salad below which brings you to the first int'l Jewish bloggers conference. Also, a cool interview with leading Jewish Music composer Yossi Green. This edition starts at an outdoor wedding on a special historic site. [video:123408] Enjoy the program? Then "Share" with others using the "Share" button below. Sign up for Digg.com and then Digg it! 8. High Court Upholds Pension for Fugitive Ex MK-Bisharaby Hana Levi Julian  The High Court has upheld the right of former Israeli Arab Knesset Member and Balad party chairman Azmi Bishara, a fugitive from justice, to receive a pension from his years as a lawmaker. Knesset Member Said Nafa, who succeeded Bishara, said the former MK will not remain much longer in his self-imposed exile in Arab countries. [video:123407] Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch and Justices Miriam Naor and Edna Arbel ruled that Bishara is entitled to retain his Israeli citizenship and his pension because he has not yet been charged with a crime. Bishara fled the country just before he was to be indicted on charges of treason and aiding the enemy in wartime, providing strategic information to the Hizbullah terrorist organization during the Second Lebanon War in exchange for payment. World Likud leader Danny Danon had filed a petition with the Court to revoke Bishara's citizenship and to order the Knesset to halt the transfer of Bishara's pension funds to his bank account. Danon responded to the court decision with angry criticism of the justices. "It is a disgrace that the High Court of Justice has joined hands with the interior minister, who is not taking legal action against Bishara to revoke his citizenship and stop payments to him," he said. "The terror that is being directed at Israelis by leaders of the country's Arab community has just been given a tailwind by the High Court of Justice," according to the senior Likud leader. Government lawyers argued against the appeal, pointing out that a recent Knesset bill would prevent pension payments to anyone who has visited an enemy country in the past seven years. Bishara visited Lebanon several times but no action was taken against him.  9. Where Are the Lost Ten Tribes?by IsraelNN Staff  Historians and Biblical scholars say that King Solomon had a sophisticated navy which voyaged the world in exploration, looking for iron, gold and other materials to build the Holy Temple.
Many shipping ports, settlements and colonies were established in places all over the Mediteranian and North African region, as well as Europe and the Americas. Did some of the 10 tribes of the Northern Kingdom escape on ships to distant lands to escape the Assyrian onslaught and subsequent exile?
In an interview with Israel National Radio's Tamar Yonah, Historian Steve Collins talks about where some of these tribes may have migrated to, including the New World, long before Columbus discovered America.
or
For more radio visit IsraelNationalRadio.com
Tamar Yonah is a longtime show host, activist, wife and mother from Judea and Samaria. She hosts the Tamar Yonah Show live on Israel National Radio. 10. Hamas Calls on Egypt to Send Army to Jerusalemby Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu  Hamas has called on Egypt to send its army into Jerusalem "to liberate [the] Al-Aqsa Mosque rather than to send troops to Gaza." Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit on Saturday suggested that its soldiers take over security in Gaza, a proposal that Hamas's rival party Fatah has welcomed. PA Minister of Prisoners Affairs Ashraf al-Ajrami welcomed the Egyptian proposal as helping "to end the state of split that emerged after Hamas's coup" last summer. "If Hamas [were] interested to reunite [sic] the internal Palestinian position and end the split, it has to accept this idea," he said. Al-Ajrami said that Hamas's rejection of allowing Egyptian troops in Gaza "proves that it has no decision to give up the authority it gained by force." Abul-Gheit raised the idea of deploying Arab troops in an interview with a local October magazine on Saturday. "Having Arab troops on the ground could help prevent fighting and confrontations between the Palestinian and Israeli sides," Abul-Gheit stated. Hamas has bitterly objected to PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas's meetings with the Olmert administration, calling Sunday's talks with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert "failed efforts and [an] absurd meeting." Hamas spokesman, Sami Abu Zuhri, said that Hamas is "satisfied for the failing of the negotiations." Abbas walked out of the talks in less than an hour as Prime Minister Olmert exclaimed that they must reach an agreement by the end of this year while Abbas stated there would be no pact without PA sovereignty over all of Judea and Samaria, including the Temple Mount. 11. Kanczuga Remembers Its Jews and Their Synagogueby Hana Levi Julian  Nearly 70 years to the day since the outbreak of World War II, the city of Kanczuga in Poland has placed a memorial plaque on the front of an old building that served as a synagogue for the town's Jews until the Holocaust. Plaque on the synagogue building commemorating the former Jewish house of worship Courtesy of Shavei Israel
Among those participating in the ceremony were Michael Freund, Chairman of "Shavei Israel" (who financed the restoration of the cemetery), and the mayor of Kanczuga, Jacek Solek. At the end of the ceremony Freund approached the mayor and asked that a memorial sign be placed on the synagogue building in Kanczuga. The building that once was a synagogue for Kanczuga's Jews Courtesy of Shavei Israel The mayor immediately agreed, telling Freund that, "The city must be reminded of its past and the fact that Jews once lived in Kanczuga and were an integral part of its life." He added it was also “important for people to know that it was once a synagogue and a house of prayer." True to his word, Solek convened the City Council the next day and passed a formal decision to put up the memorial plaque. The plaque was affixed on the front of the building late last week. The plaque was affixed in a prominent place, where every person who passes the spot could see it Courtesy of Shavei Israel “I am very pleased and deeply moved that the mayor responded to my request and had the city put up a sign on the front of the synagogue to remind everyone that Jews once prayed there, including my family,” said Freund. “This is an important step towards ensuring that what happened to the Jews of Kanczuga during the Holocaust will not be forgotten. I urge other Jews and Israelis whose families came from towns in Eastern Europe to become more involved in preserving what remains of the priceless Jewish heritage that once flourished there.” The first recorded Jewish presence in the town dates back to 1638, with the total Jewish population numbering 967 in 1921. By the start of World War II Jews made up more than 80% of the town's population – a fact that did not save them from the Nazis, who rounded them up in 1942 and marched them to the Kanczuga cemetery, where they murdered them and buried them in a mass grave. Among the prominent Israelis who originated in Kanczuga were former Knesset Member and Mapam party founder Meir Yaari and Binyamin Siegel – a former senior officer in the Israel Police. |
Danon Goes to Court Against Bishara 
Nefesh B'Nefesh Takes Over Jewish Agency Duties 
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