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Featured Stories Bush's final days fraught with Israel-related developments In George W. Bush's last days before joining the ranks of former presidents, the news and developments relating to the Middle East continue to pile up. (b2tse / Creative Commons) President Bush, hailed by some as the best friend Israel has ever had in the White House, is leaving office having allowed through a U.N. Security Council resolution criticized by Jewish groups and with new reports that he refused to aid plans for a strike against Iran. Read more » Hadassah lays off quarter of its staff Hadassah has instituted massive layoffs, cutting 80 employees across the country -- about a quarter of the organization's national staff Read more » On patrol with the IDF in Gaza JTA goes on patrol with Israeli troops fighting in Gaza. Read more » Federation leaders visit South, pledge aid A rocket attack on Ashkelon sends visiting North American Jewish leaders to the bomb shelter. Read more »

Editors' Picks Political Tidbits: Lone Star of David, Obama parties with Jewish conservatives The Associated Press reports that Barack Obama broke bread with several well known conservatives, including several Jewish pundits. Condi Rice's response to Olmert. Texas gets its first Jewish state House speaker since becoming a state. Ha'aretz reports on Michael Lerner's latest plans. Can Hamas learn a lesson? Thomas Friedman and Jeffrey Goldberg weigh in on the Op-Ed page of The New York Times. Gaza on campus In Insider Higher-Ed this week, Elizabeth Redden takes a look at the various Gaza-related initiatives in the works as North American college campuses return to life after the winter break. Text message: Your sons will die Ynet has two reports on the high-tech efforts of anti-Israel forces, including a menacing text message from Hamas to Israelis. Breaking News Osama bin Laden in a new message called for a holy war against Israel over its operation in Gaza. Ehud Olmert and Ehud Barak are at odds over the time line for the Gaza offensive, according to reports. At least three Katyusha rockets fired from Lebanon landed in northern Israel. A voodoo priest in Benin performed ritual sacrifices and offered prayers for an end to the conflict in Gaza, according to reports. Hillary Clinton said the Obama administration would not negotiate with Hamas unless it meets certain conditions. Pope Benedict XVI's policies may lead to the "cancellation" of 50 years of interfaith dialogue, the chief rabbi of Venice said. Israel denied that it prevented an Iranian ship carrying humanitarian supplies from reaching the Gaza Strip. A shipment of U.S. munitions to a stockpile in Israel has been delayed after the Greek government objected to its country being used as a transfer point. Traumatized Holocaust survivors living in southern Israel will receive assistance from the Claims Conference. Hundreds of pro-Israel demonstrators rallied in front of the Israeli Embassy in Budapest. A group of Palestinian supporters vandalized the offices of a pro-Israel lobby in London. A senior Irish politician compared Ireland's only Jewish parliamentarian and its Israeli ambassador to Nazi war propagandist Joseph Goebbels. Rabbi Alan Lew, who was known for his efforts to bridge Judaism and Buddhist teachings, died unexpectedly. Israel’s “Waltz with Bashir” has made the shortlist for the Oscar race. The Union of Reform Judaism has joined a brief challenging the legality of a California ballot initiative banning same-sex marriage. The White House released a report arguing that its Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives has been a success. The Al-Aqsa television network, which serves as a voice for Hamas, will not be broadcast in Europe as Hamas had announced. Germany will help pay for urgently needed conservation work at the Auschwitz concentration camp memorial in Poland.