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1. Rocket Attack on Sderot
by Hana Levi Julian
Gaza terrorists resumed their near-daily rocket fire on southern Israel Thursday morning with an attack on the nearby city of Sderot.
A short-range Kassam rocket exploded next to two houses in the Gaza Belt community at about 8:45 a.m., damaging both buildings and traumatizing a number of residents.
Several people were treated for severe emotional shock by Magen David Adom medics who raced to the scene following the attack. The house sustained considerable damage as a result of the rocket explosion.
The attack was the second of two that came as part of what has become a daily delivery of rocket fire aimed by Gaza terrorists at southern Israeli civilians.
The Color Red rocket alert siren blared its warning the first time at about 8:30 a.m., sending residents scrambling for shelter just 15 seconds before an explosion rocked the Sha’ar HaNegev region.
The short-range missile exploded in an open area, and no physical injuries or damage was reported.
Hamas Resumes 'Import' of Grad Missiles
Hamas has resumed smuggling long-range Grad missiles into Gaza through Egypt, according to Channel 2 television news reporter Ronnie Daniel.
Last month, the United States and a consortium of European nations vowed to stem such weapons smuggling by placing international observers on site and using advanced technology to supervise the Egyptian border, with Cairo's agreement.
Daniel reported that explosives are also entering Gaza and that the IDF's targeted air strikes on smuggling tunnels along the Philadelphi corridor along the Egyptian border has not stopped the activity. The IAF has been authorized to bomb the tunnels only in specific retaliation for rocket attacks against Israeli communities.
'Virtual Ceasefire?'
According to Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Gaza-based Hamas terrorists and Israel have reached a virtual ceasefire, despite the near-daily attacks, and Israel's targeted retaliations.
Aboul Gheit spoke with reporters on Wednesday following negotiations on a ceasefire and the release of Arab terrorists in exchange for the return of kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.
Israel and Hamas have reached several ceasefire agreements over the past two years, but most of them were broken within a few days. Israel declared a unilateral ceasefire at the end of its counterterrorist Operation Cast Lead in Gaza on January 18, followed a few hours later by a similar declaration from Hamas. Nonetheless, the terrorists continued to launch rocket attacks at Israel, which Israel then responded to with targeted air strikes and occasional limited ground actions.
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by Hana Levi Julian
Gaza terrorists resumed their near-daily rocket fire on southern Israel Thursday morning with an attack on the nearby city of Sderot.
A short-range Kassam rocket exploded next to two houses in the Gaza Belt community at about 8:45 a.m., damaging both buildings and traumatizing a number of residents.
Several people were treated for severe emotional shock by Magen David Adom medics who raced to the scene following the attack. The house sustained considerable damage as a result of the rocket explosion.
The attack was the second of two that came as part of what has become a daily delivery of rocket fire aimed by Gaza terrorists at southern Israeli civilians.
The Color Red rocket alert siren blared its warning the first time at about 8:30 a.m., sending residents scrambling for shelter just 15 seconds before an explosion rocked the Sha’ar HaNegev region.
The short-range missile exploded in an open area, and no physical injuries or damage was reported.
Hamas Resumes 'Import' of Grad Missiles
Hamas has resumed smuggling long-range Grad missiles into Gaza through Egypt, according to Channel 2 television news reporter Ronnie Daniel.
Last month, the United States and a consortium of European nations vowed to stem such weapons smuggling by placing international observers on site and using advanced technology to supervise the Egyptian border, with Cairo's agreement.
Daniel reported that explosives are also entering Gaza and that the IDF's targeted air strikes on smuggling tunnels along the Philadelphi corridor along the Egyptian border has not stopped the activity. The IAF has been authorized to bomb the tunnels only in specific retaliation for rocket attacks against Israeli communities.
'Virtual Ceasefire?'
According to Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Gaza-based Hamas terrorists and Israel have reached a virtual ceasefire, despite the near-daily attacks, and Israel's targeted retaliations.
Aboul Gheit spoke with reporters on Wednesday following negotiations on a ceasefire and the release of Arab terrorists in exchange for the return of kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.
Israel and Hamas have reached several ceasefire agreements over the past two years, but most of them were broken within a few days. Israel declared a unilateral ceasefire at the end of its counterterrorist Operation Cast Lead in Gaza on January 18, followed a few hours later by a similar declaration from Hamas. Nonetheless, the terrorists continued to launch rocket attacks at Israel, which Israel then responded to with targeted air strikes and occasional limited ground actions.
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2. Livni-US Envoy: Help Moderates
by Hana Levi Julian
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told U.S. Middle East envoy George C. Mitchell on Thursday afternoon that moderate forces in the region must be strengthened, not terrorists.
“Israel believes in providing humanitarian assistance,” Livni told Mitchell. “However, it should be done in a way that won’t strengthen Hamas,” she said.
Livni met with Mitchell at her office in Tel Aviv following his arrival from Turkey, where he met with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
After speaking with Erdogan on Wednesday, Mitchell said, “As an important democratic nation with strong relations with Israel, [Turke has a unique role to play and can have significant influence on our efforts to promote comprehensive peace in the Middle East."
Turkey has mediated backdoor talks between Israel and Syria, which do not have diplomatic ties.
Tensions rose between Turkey and Israel, which formerly enjoyed close relations, during the counterterrorist Operation Cast Lead in Gaza last month. Erdogan in particular made a number of virulent remarks about the operation, at one point even accusing Israel of committing “war crimes” in Gaza.
During a panel discussion last month at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Erdogan walked out after President Shimon Peres pointed out that Turkey would have responded if rockets had hit Istanbul. “Do you understand the meaning of a situation where hundreds of rockets are falling on women and children who cannot sleep quietly, who need to sleep in shelters? You don’t understand, and I am not prepared for lies,” he told Erdogan, to the applause of the audience.
Mitchell is also expected to meet with Likud party chairman and Prime Minister-designate Binyamin Netanyahu, as well as outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. On Friday he will travel to Ramallah to meet with Palestinian Authority Chairman and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas and other officials.
He is expected to return to Jerusalem with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton next week.
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by Hana Levi Julian
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told U.S. Middle East envoy George C. Mitchell on Thursday afternoon that moderate forces in the region must be strengthened, not terrorists.
“Israel believes in providing humanitarian assistance,” Livni told Mitchell. “However, it should be done in a way that won’t strengthen Hamas,” she said.
Livni met with Mitchell at her office in Tel Aviv following his arrival from Turkey, where he met with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
After speaking with Erdogan on Wednesday, Mitchell said, “As an important democratic nation with strong relations with Israel, [Turke has a unique role to play and can have significant influence on our efforts to promote comprehensive peace in the Middle East."
Turkey has mediated backdoor talks between Israel and Syria, which do not have diplomatic ties.
Tensions rose between Turkey and Israel, which formerly enjoyed close relations, during the counterterrorist Operation Cast Lead in Gaza last month. Erdogan in particular made a number of virulent remarks about the operation, at one point even accusing Israel of committing “war crimes” in Gaza.
During a panel discussion last month at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Erdogan walked out after President Shimon Peres pointed out that Turkey would have responded if rockets had hit Istanbul. “Do you understand the meaning of a situation where hundreds of rockets are falling on women and children who cannot sleep quietly, who need to sleep in shelters? You don’t understand, and I am not prepared for lies,” he told Erdogan, to the applause of the audience.
Mitchell is also expected to meet with Likud party chairman and Prime Minister-designate Binyamin Netanyahu, as well as outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. On Friday he will travel to Ramallah to meet with Palestinian Authority Chairman and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas and other officials.
He is expected to return to Jerusalem with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton next week.
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3. Hamas: We'll Keep Smuggling Arms
by Hillel Fendel
A top Hamas official has declared that his Palestinian terrorist group will continue to smuggle weapons into Gaza, despite international protests.
"It's our right to bring in everything money and arms," Mahmoud Zahar told Reuters on Tuesday. "We will not give anyone any commitment on this subject." The promise to smuggle in war materiel comes as the AIPAC pro-Israel lobby group states that Iran is redoubling its efforts to smuggle advanced weaponry to Hamas terrorists.
In addition, not only is Hamas continuing to fire rockets at Israeli civilian areas – over 100 have slammed into Israel over the past several weeks – but Hamas also continues efforts to expand its military capabilities. The terrorist rulers of the Gaza Strip recently fired a rocket into the Mediterranean, measuring its distance as part of a military assessment of its weapons capabilities.
Gaza, ruled by Hamas since it overthrew Fatah in 2007, borders Israeli cities and areas such as Sderot, the Negev and the southern coastal plane.
Where Does the U.S. Stand?
The U.S. does not officially recognize Hamas, but has made some gestures towards Gaza. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will officially announce next week that the Obama administration intends to provide some $900 million to help rebuild the Gaza Strip. Clinton will be taking part in a donors’ conference in Cairo.
The funds, which must first be approved by Congress, will not go directly to Hamas, but will rather be disbursed to non-governmental agencies and the United Nations.
Two U.S. Congressmen and a Senator have recently visited Gaza, with the former two taking an overtly anti-Israel tone. Rep. Brian Baird (D.-Wash) even said that Israel had “apparently willfully destroyed any capacity of the Palestinians to rebuild their own infrastructure.”
Hamas Provocations
Hamas has openly displayed its efforts to rebuild the arm-and-explosives smuggling tunnel network under the Gaza-Egypt border, even as it continues to use the tunnels that were not destroyed to bolster its arsenal.
In a Beirut rally on Jan. 25, Hamas Lebanese representative Osama Hamdan declared that Hamas will continue its violence. “It is our right to have weapons,” he said, “and we shall continue to enter arms into Gaza and the West Bank. Let no one think that we shall surrender.”
The Islamic Jihad and Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) terrorist organizations of Gaza do not even pretend to be beholden to a ceasefire. The former said, “The resistance will continue its battle as long as occupation forces are on the land of Gaza and as long as the siege and the blockade continue,” while a PRC spokesman said, “A unilateral cease-fire is nothing to do with us... and we will continue to bear arms.”
Humanitarian Aid Provided by Israel
At the same time, since Israel’s anti-terrorism military operation in Gaza ended on Jan. 18, Israel has dramatically increased the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza. There has been an average of more than 150 trucks a day, representing a five-fold increase from December and a six-fold increase from November.
Since Jan. 18, 112,991 tons of food and medicine entered Gaza, as have over 10 million liters of fuel.
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by Hillel Fendel
A top Hamas official has declared that his Palestinian terrorist group will continue to smuggle weapons into Gaza, despite international protests.
"It's our right to bring in everything money and arms," Mahmoud Zahar told Reuters on Tuesday. "We will not give anyone any commitment on this subject." The promise to smuggle in war materiel comes as the AIPAC pro-Israel lobby group states that Iran is redoubling its efforts to smuggle advanced weaponry to Hamas terrorists.
In addition, not only is Hamas continuing to fire rockets at Israeli civilian areas – over 100 have slammed into Israel over the past several weeks – but Hamas also continues efforts to expand its military capabilities. The terrorist rulers of the Gaza Strip recently fired a rocket into the Mediterranean, measuring its distance as part of a military assessment of its weapons capabilities.
Gaza, ruled by Hamas since it overthrew Fatah in 2007, borders Israeli cities and areas such as Sderot, the Negev and the southern coastal plane.
Where Does the U.S. Stand?
The U.S. does not officially recognize Hamas, but has made some gestures towards Gaza. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will officially announce next week that the Obama administration intends to provide some $900 million to help rebuild the Gaza Strip. Clinton will be taking part in a donors’ conference in Cairo.
The funds, which must first be approved by Congress, will not go directly to Hamas, but will rather be disbursed to non-governmental agencies and the United Nations.
Two U.S. Congressmen and a Senator have recently visited Gaza, with the former two taking an overtly anti-Israel tone. Rep. Brian Baird (D.-Wash) even said that Israel had “apparently willfully destroyed any capacity of the Palestinians to rebuild their own infrastructure.”
Hamas Provocations
Hamas has openly displayed its efforts to rebuild the arm-and-explosives smuggling tunnel network under the Gaza-Egypt border, even as it continues to use the tunnels that were not destroyed to bolster its arsenal.
In a Beirut rally on Jan. 25, Hamas Lebanese representative Osama Hamdan declared that Hamas will continue its violence. “It is our right to have weapons,” he said, “and we shall continue to enter arms into Gaza and the West Bank. Let no one think that we shall surrender.”
The Islamic Jihad and Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) terrorist organizations of Gaza do not even pretend to be beholden to a ceasefire. The former said, “The resistance will continue its battle as long as occupation forces are on the land of Gaza and as long as the siege and the blockade continue,” while a PRC spokesman said, “A unilateral cease-fire is nothing to do with us... and we will continue to bear arms.”
Humanitarian Aid Provided by Israel
At the same time, since Israel’s anti-terrorism military operation in Gaza ended on Jan. 18, Israel has dramatically increased the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza. There has been an average of more than 150 trucks a day, representing a five-fold increase from December and a six-fold increase from November.
Since Jan. 18, 112,991 tons of food and medicine entered Gaza, as have over 10 million liters of fuel.
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4. Poll: PA Leads in Hate for USA
by Maayana Miskin
A poll released this week by the World Public Opinion polling group showed the Palestinian Authority leading several other Arab and Muslim countries in hatred for the United States, belief that the United States is battling Islam and support for attacks on American civilians.
The poll was conducted in 2007 and 2008 among residents of Egypt, Indonesia, Morocco and Pakistan, and in 2008 among residents of Azerbaijan, Iran, Jordan, Turkey and Palestinian Authority-controlled areas in Judea, Samaria and Gaza. Nigerian Muslims were polled as well.
The survey also showed a slight increase in support for terrorism and attacks on US civilians in countries where the poll was conducted in both 2007 and 2008.A total of 638 PA Arabs were questioned for the poll, and the margin of error regarding their responses was four percent.
Among the findings:
A full 88 percent of PA Arabs said spreading Christianity in the Middle East was “definitely” or “probably” one of the United States' foreign policy goals, with PA residents the most likely to support this claim. Muslims in Turkey, Jordan and Pakistan were also likely to hold this belief, with between 70-80 percent of respondents in those countries answering that the spread of Christianity was “definitely” or “probably” a US goal.
Eighty-nine percent of PA respondents said the US was “definitely” or “probably” trying to control Middle East oil resources, a percent similar to that in other Muslim countries. Seventy percent said the US was “definitely” hoping to divide and weaken the Muslim world.
Over 50 percent said the US was “definitely” or “probably” interested in creating “an independent and economically viable” PA state. However, 90 percent said the US was also planning to expand Israel's borders.
Forty-nine percent said the US “purposely tries to humiliate the Islamic world.”
When asked about the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the US, 42 percent of PA respondents said they believed Al Qaeda or another Muslim terrorist group was behind the attacks, while 27 percent blamed the American government.
PA Arabs were the least likely to say they disapproved of all terrorist groups that attack Americans and were the most likely to express full or mixed approval for such groups. Fourteen percent of those PA Arabs surveyed fell into the former category, while 53 percent said they supported some terrorist groups that attack US citizens and 30 percent said they approve of “most or all” such groups.
Jordan was in second place in support of anti-US terror, with 20 percent of respondents saying they approve “most or all” groups that attack the US and 42 percent saying they approve of some such groups.
Sixty-seven percent of PA Arabs said they strongly approve of attacks on US troops in Iraq, and 23 percent said they somewhat approve. Only five percent reported that they “somewhat” or “strongly” disapprove. Sixty-one percent expressed strong support for attacks on US troops in the Persian Gulf; six percent disapproved.
While a much lower percentage expressed support for attacks on US civilians inside the United States, PA Muslims still led other respondents by a wide margin, with 10 percent expressing “strong approval” of such attacks, 14 percent “somewhat” approving, and 15 percent with mixed feelings.
Comment on this story
by Maayana Miskin
A poll released this week by the World Public Opinion polling group showed the Palestinian Authority leading several other Arab and Muslim countries in hatred for the United States, belief that the United States is battling Islam and support for attacks on American civilians.
The poll was conducted in 2007 and 2008 among residents of Egypt, Indonesia, Morocco and Pakistan, and in 2008 among residents of Azerbaijan, Iran, Jordan, Turkey and Palestinian Authority-controlled areas in Judea, Samaria and Gaza. Nigerian Muslims were polled as well.
The survey also showed a slight increase in support for terrorism and attacks on US civilians in countries where the poll was conducted in both 2007 and 2008.A total of 638 PA Arabs were questioned for the poll, and the margin of error regarding their responses was four percent.
Among the findings:
A full 88 percent of PA Arabs said spreading Christianity in the Middle East was “definitely” or “probably” one of the United States' foreign policy goals, with PA residents the most likely to support this claim. Muslims in Turkey, Jordan and Pakistan were also likely to hold this belief, with between 70-80 percent of respondents in those countries answering that the spread of Christianity was “definitely” or “probably” a US goal.
Eighty-nine percent of PA respondents said the US was “definitely” or “probably” trying to control Middle East oil resources, a percent similar to that in other Muslim countries. Seventy percent said the US was “definitely” hoping to divide and weaken the Muslim world.
Over 50 percent said the US was “definitely” or “probably” interested in creating “an independent and economically viable” PA state. However, 90 percent said the US was also planning to expand Israel's borders.
Forty-nine percent said the US “purposely tries to humiliate the Islamic world.”
When asked about the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the US, 42 percent of PA respondents said they believed Al Qaeda or another Muslim terrorist group was behind the attacks, while 27 percent blamed the American government.
PA Arabs were the least likely to say they disapproved of all terrorist groups that attack Americans and were the most likely to express full or mixed approval for such groups. Fourteen percent of those PA Arabs surveyed fell into the former category, while 53 percent said they supported some terrorist groups that attack US citizens and 30 percent said they approve of “most or all” such groups.
Jordan was in second place in support of anti-US terror, with 20 percent of respondents saying they approve “most or all” groups that attack the US and 42 percent saying they approve of some such groups.
Sixty-seven percent of PA Arabs said they strongly approve of attacks on US troops in Iraq, and 23 percent said they somewhat approve. Only five percent reported that they “somewhat” or “strongly” disapprove. Sixty-one percent expressed strong support for attacks on US troops in the Persian Gulf; six percent disapproved.
While a much lower percentage expressed support for attacks on US civilians inside the United States, PA Muslims still led other respondents by a wide margin, with 10 percent expressing “strong approval” of such attacks, 14 percent “somewhat” approving, and 15 percent with mixed feelings.
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5. Feiglin’s Followers, Foes Debate
by Gil Ronen
Moshe Feiglin, the leader of the Manhigut Yehudit (Jewish Leadership) faction in the Likud party, failed in his bid to enter the 18th Knesset. Likud received only 27 seats – far from the 36 that were needed for Feiglin to conquer a seat in the Israeli parliament.
Now that election results have sunk in, a debate has begun raging between Feiglin's followers and detractors. The followers continue to call upon right-wingers to register as Likud members, despite Feiglin’s failure. They see the new Knesset as unstable and temporary and believe a new contest for Likud leadership will follow in the near future. His detractors blame him for mobilizing thousands of right-wing voters for a move that seems to have led nowhere.
Writing in Arutz-7’s opinion page, Jewish Leadership Managing Director Michael Fuah repeated his faction's position that the only way for the nationalist-religious camp to gain leadership of the country is by unseating Binyamin Netanyahu and taking over the Likud. Netanyahu, Fuah explained, is unable to create a right-wing government because of his overpowering need to appease the leftist legal and media elites.
Fuah said that the general Israeli public is ready for a G-d fearing leadership. Before Netanyahu managed to bump Feiglin to the 36th spot on Likud’s list because of a technicality (after he had been elected to the 20th spot), Fuah notes, polls were giving the Likud 40 seats. After Feiglin was unseated, Likud’s poll numbers began to plummet and right-wing voters began migrating towards Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel Our Home) party.
Fuah called on “tens of thousands” of religious voters to join Likud’s ranks and make Feiglin its head.
Feiglin's Flawed Logic
Fuah’s article drew numerous talkback responses and was followed by a counter-article by Attorney Dov Even-Ohr. Even-Ohr diagnosed what he said are several essential flaws in Jewish Leadership’s thinking.
Feiglin, he said, wants religious voters to join Likud so that he, Feiglin, can get elected to be its leader. This comes at the expense of Ichud Leumi (National Home) and the Jewish Home, he notes, and winds up putting leftists from the Likud list in the Knesset.
Another problem with Feiglin’s logic is this, according to Even-Ohr: “Who can give us a guarantee that if Feiglin succeeds in taking over the Likud, the people will vote for such a Likud to lead the country?”
“If Feiglin is so talented and such a leader, why can’t his qualities affect the people from within a true right-wing party, instead of leaning upon the Likud’s crutches? And why should the people want Feiglin as Prime Minister only if he comes from within the ranks of the Likud, but will refuse to crown him if he runs in the Ichud Leumi?”
Even-Ohr contended that as long as Feiglin is in the minority within Likud, it is he who is “in the pocket” of Binyamin Netanyahu and not the other way around. Feiglin was forced to swallow the humiliation of being knocked down to 36th place, he said, because if he had come out full-force against Netanyahu for the dirty trick, the resulting row would have cost Likud seats. For the same reason, he says, Jewish Leadership cannot take part in any anti-government protests. Only after the election can Feiglin afford to come out and attack Netanyahu because of this “iron cage” he has put himself in.
Whoever wants a model Jewish state that will be a light upon the nations, explained Even-Ohr, “must plant a new tree and not continue to sit on the branch of a rotten tree.” Feiglin, he says, “is trying to paint over a hollow branch, thus deluding himself and – what is worse – deluding others who do not see the danger in this.”
Even-Ohr’s article, too, has been drawing a flurry of talkbacks. The debate seems nowhere near its conclusion.
Comment on this story
by Gil Ronen
Moshe Feiglin, the leader of the Manhigut Yehudit (Jewish Leadership) faction in the Likud party, failed in his bid to enter the 18th Knesset. Likud received only 27 seats – far from the 36 that were needed for Feiglin to conquer a seat in the Israeli parliament.
Now that election results have sunk in, a debate has begun raging between Feiglin's followers and detractors. The followers continue to call upon right-wingers to register as Likud members, despite Feiglin’s failure. They see the new Knesset as unstable and temporary and believe a new contest for Likud leadership will follow in the near future. His detractors blame him for mobilizing thousands of right-wing voters for a move that seems to have led nowhere.
Writing in Arutz-7’s opinion page, Jewish Leadership Managing Director Michael Fuah repeated his faction's position that the only way for the nationalist-religious camp to gain leadership of the country is by unseating Binyamin Netanyahu and taking over the Likud. Netanyahu, Fuah explained, is unable to create a right-wing government because of his overpowering need to appease the leftist legal and media elites.
Fuah said that the general Israeli public is ready for a G-d fearing leadership. Before Netanyahu managed to bump Feiglin to the 36th spot on Likud’s list because of a technicality (after he had been elected to the 20th spot), Fuah notes, polls were giving the Likud 40 seats. After Feiglin was unseated, Likud’s poll numbers began to plummet and right-wing voters began migrating towards Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel Our Home) party.
Fuah called on “tens of thousands” of religious voters to join Likud’s ranks and make Feiglin its head.
Feiglin's Flawed Logic
Fuah’s article drew numerous talkback responses and was followed by a counter-article by Attorney Dov Even-Ohr. Even-Ohr diagnosed what he said are several essential flaws in Jewish Leadership’s thinking.
Feiglin, he said, wants religious voters to join Likud so that he, Feiglin, can get elected to be its leader. This comes at the expense of Ichud Leumi (National Home) and the Jewish Home, he notes, and winds up putting leftists from the Likud list in the Knesset.
Another problem with Feiglin’s logic is this, according to Even-Ohr: “Who can give us a guarantee that if Feiglin succeeds in taking over the Likud, the people will vote for such a Likud to lead the country?”
“If Feiglin is so talented and such a leader, why can’t his qualities affect the people from within a true right-wing party, instead of leaning upon the Likud’s crutches? And why should the people want Feiglin as Prime Minister only if he comes from within the ranks of the Likud, but will refuse to crown him if he runs in the Ichud Leumi?”
Even-Ohr contended that as long as Feiglin is in the minority within Likud, it is he who is “in the pocket” of Binyamin Netanyahu and not the other way around. Feiglin was forced to swallow the humiliation of being knocked down to 36th place, he said, because if he had come out full-force against Netanyahu for the dirty trick, the resulting row would have cost Likud seats. For the same reason, he says, Jewish Leadership cannot take part in any anti-government protests. Only after the election can Feiglin afford to come out and attack Netanyahu because of this “iron cage” he has put himself in.
Whoever wants a model Jewish state that will be a light upon the nations, explained Even-Ohr, “must plant a new tree and not continue to sit on the branch of a rotten tree.” Feiglin, he says, “is trying to paint over a hollow branch, thus deluding himself and – what is worse – deluding others who do not see the danger in this.”
Even-Ohr’s article, too, has been drawing a flurry of talkbacks. The debate seems nowhere near its conclusion.
Comment on this story
6. Once Again, Prayers in Jericho
by Hillel Fendel
For the first time in nearly nine years, Jews prayed at the centuries-old Shalom Al Yisrael synagogue in Jericho. Israeli soldiers and PA police guarded.
The synagogue is located in the ancient city of Jericho (Yericho in Hebrew), north of the Dead Sea in the Jordan Valley. Some 1,500 years old, it was discovered in 1936 by D.C. Baramki of the Antiquities Authority under the British Mandate. Its 10x13 meter mosaic floor features images of a menorah, shofar, lulav, Holy Ark, and the Hebrew words "Shalom Al Yisrael” (Peace Upon Israel).
After Israel liberated the Biblical areas of Judea and Samaria in the 1967 Six Day War, Jews began visiting the synagogue. For a while, they were charged admission by an enterprising Arab who built a house atop the site, but in 1986, the National Parks Authority purchased the building and enabled free entry. Jews began studying and praying there regularly, and they grew into a small yeshiva.
Though Jericho was given over to Palestinian Authority control in 1994, the synagogue was granted special status, enabling continued free Jewish entry. This was the result of pressure by MK Chanan Porat, IDF Gen. Nechemia Tamari, Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau and others upon Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin.
In October 2000, when Arafat’s Palestinian Authority began the Oslo War, Arab vandals torched and burnt down a large part of the building. Local Arabs prevented Israeli fire trucks from putting out the fire. Though the Torah scroll, which had been kept in a safe inside the structure, was saved, no Jews have since been able to visit the synagogue - until last week.
This past Thursday, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch, the Rabbi of the Holy Sites, and Oded Viner of the Chief Rabbinate, together with army officials, paid an emotional visit to Shalom Al Yisrael. The visit was facilitated by Civil Administration head Brig.-Gen. Yoav Mordechai, and was coordinated fully with the Palestinian Authority and top PA officers.
The stated purpose of the visit was to check on the physical condition of the site. The PA had, in fact, painted the building and cleaned the area for the occasion.
The visit reached a climax with the holding of the first prayer service in nearly a decade. Rabbi Rabinovitch led the afternoon Mincha prayers, and noted afterwards that it was “truly an emotional moment to visit and pray at the site where our forefathers prayed so many years ago.”
There are currently no plans to allow Jews to frequent the synagogue in the near future. Joseph's Tomb, in Shechem (Nablus), was similarly overrun and destroyed by Arab vandals, but the IDF facilitates periodic visits for dozens of Jews at a time to the holy site.
Comment on this story
by Hillel Fendel
For the first time in nearly nine years, Jews prayed at the centuries-old Shalom Al Yisrael synagogue in Jericho. Israeli soldiers and PA police guarded.
The synagogue is located in the ancient city of Jericho (Yericho in Hebrew), north of the Dead Sea in the Jordan Valley. Some 1,500 years old, it was discovered in 1936 by D.C. Baramki of the Antiquities Authority under the British Mandate. Its 10x13 meter mosaic floor features images of a menorah, shofar, lulav, Holy Ark, and the Hebrew words "Shalom Al Yisrael” (Peace Upon Israel).
After Israel liberated the Biblical areas of Judea and Samaria in the 1967 Six Day War, Jews began visiting the synagogue. For a while, they were charged admission by an enterprising Arab who built a house atop the site, but in 1986, the National Parks Authority purchased the building and enabled free entry. Jews began studying and praying there regularly, and they grew into a small yeshiva.
Though Jericho was given over to Palestinian Authority control in 1994, the synagogue was granted special status, enabling continued free Jewish entry. This was the result of pressure by MK Chanan Porat, IDF Gen. Nechemia Tamari, Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau and others upon Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin.
In October 2000, when Arafat’s Palestinian Authority began the Oslo War, Arab vandals torched and burnt down a large part of the building. Local Arabs prevented Israeli fire trucks from putting out the fire. Though the Torah scroll, which had been kept in a safe inside the structure, was saved, no Jews have since been able to visit the synagogue - until last week.
This past Thursday, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch, the Rabbi of the Holy Sites, and Oded Viner of the Chief Rabbinate, together with army officials, paid an emotional visit to Shalom Al Yisrael. The visit was facilitated by Civil Administration head Brig.-Gen. Yoav Mordechai, and was coordinated fully with the Palestinian Authority and top PA officers.
The stated purpose of the visit was to check on the physical condition of the site. The PA had, in fact, painted the building and cleaned the area for the occasion.
The visit reached a climax with the holding of the first prayer service in nearly a decade. Rabbi Rabinovitch led the afternoon Mincha prayers, and noted afterwards that it was “truly an emotional moment to visit and pray at the site where our forefathers prayed so many years ago.”
There are currently no plans to allow Jews to frequent the synagogue in the near future. Joseph's Tomb, in Shechem (Nablus), was similarly overrun and destroyed by Arab vandals, but the IDF facilitates periodic visits for dozens of Jews at a time to the holy site.
Comment on this story
7. Sharon's Son: Office in Hospital
by Hillel Fendel
The Ometz organization for Good Government wants to know why the Sharon family appears not to be cooperating with Sheba Tel HaShomer Medical Center, and has sent a letter to the Health Ministry’s Director General on the matter.
Two Points
Two points are raised in the letter: Gilad Sharon's use of hospital space for his private business, and the rejection of the Sharon family of a hospital request to transfer Ariel Sharon out of the hospital.
Ariel Sharon was serving as Israel’s Prime Minister three years ago when he suffered massive cerebral hemorrhaging and went into a coma from which he has not yet emerged. He has been hospitalized in Sheba’s respiratory ward since May 2006. In accordance with a Knesset Finance Committee decision, Sharon’s medical expenses are paid for by the State, despite the fact that this is generally not the case for “former ministers.”
Omertz Learned that Sharon's Son Opened Office
Ometz Director Aryeh Avneri wrote to the Health Ministry as follows, “Information that has reached Ometz in recent days indicates that Gilad Sharon, son of former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, has turned a room in the respiratory ward at Sheba into his private office, in which he manages his private business, holds meetings with people, and generally acts as if it were his office.”
“It is not clear to us why the State must pay for this office. Ometz is aware of the Finance Committee decision regarding Sharon’s medical expenses, but we feel that that this office is not included in the clause of the decision stipulating payment for ‘medical, hospital, and personal care services for the former Prime Minister.’”
“At the same time,” Avneri continues, “Ometz has also learned that the management of Sheba recently turned to the Sharon family and asked them to transfer Mr. Sharon from Sheba to the Sharon family home, with perpetual nursing care… The family refused the hospital’s request, and the matter has been frozen since then.”
The letter from Ometz states, “We are well aware of the character and activities of Mr. Sharon on behalf of the State of Israel over the course of decades, and this is the reason for the extraordinary flexibility and sensitivity shown by the hospital for Mr. Sharon and his family. At the same time, dialogue between the family and the medical staff is ongoing for the purpose of investigating the option of continued nursing and medical treatment in a non-hospital environment.”
“With all the respect that Ometz has for Ariel Sharon’s vast activities, it appears to us that these matters should be clarified at a high official level, and that the proper decisions should be made there.”
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by Hillel Fendel
The Ometz organization for Good Government wants to know why the Sharon family appears not to be cooperating with Sheba Tel HaShomer Medical Center, and has sent a letter to the Health Ministry’s Director General on the matter.
Two Points
Two points are raised in the letter: Gilad Sharon's use of hospital space for his private business, and the rejection of the Sharon family of a hospital request to transfer Ariel Sharon out of the hospital.
Ariel Sharon was serving as Israel’s Prime Minister three years ago when he suffered massive cerebral hemorrhaging and went into a coma from which he has not yet emerged. He has been hospitalized in Sheba’s respiratory ward since May 2006. In accordance with a Knesset Finance Committee decision, Sharon’s medical expenses are paid for by the State, despite the fact that this is generally not the case for “former ministers.”
Omertz Learned that Sharon's Son Opened Office
Ometz Director Aryeh Avneri wrote to the Health Ministry as follows, “Information that has reached Ometz in recent days indicates that Gilad Sharon, son of former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, has turned a room in the respiratory ward at Sheba into his private office, in which he manages his private business, holds meetings with people, and generally acts as if it were his office.”
“It is not clear to us why the State must pay for this office. Ometz is aware of the Finance Committee decision regarding Sharon’s medical expenses, but we feel that that this office is not included in the clause of the decision stipulating payment for ‘medical, hospital, and personal care services for the former Prime Minister.’”
“At the same time,” Avneri continues, “Ometz has also learned that the management of Sheba recently turned to the Sharon family and asked them to transfer Mr. Sharon from Sheba to the Sharon family home, with perpetual nursing care… The family refused the hospital’s request, and the matter has been frozen since then.”
The letter from Ometz states, “We are well aware of the character and activities of Mr. Sharon on behalf of the State of Israel over the course of decades, and this is the reason for the extraordinary flexibility and sensitivity shown by the hospital for Mr. Sharon and his family. At the same time, dialogue between the family and the medical staff is ongoing for the purpose of investigating the option of continued nursing and medical treatment in a non-hospital environment.”
“With all the respect that Ometz has for Ariel Sharon’s vast activities, it appears to us that these matters should be clarified at a high official level, and that the proper decisions should be made there.”
Comment on this story
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