Unidentified gunmen attack natural gas pipeline in the northern Sinai Peninsula for the third time this month • Six people reported killed after 100 armed men try to storm El-Arish police station.
Daniel Siryoti and Hezi Sternlicht

"The peace agreement between Israel and Egypt is crumbling."

Unidentified gunmen attacked a terminal along the Egyptian natural gas pipeline to Israel in the northern Sinai Peninsula on Saturday, marking the third such attack this month and the fifth since the ouster of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in February.

After the attack on the pipeline and a separate weekend attack on a police station in the port town of El-Arish, Egyptian security sources told Israel Hayom that the new government in Cairo was losing control over part of the peninsula.

According to reports, gunmen launched rocket-propelled grenades at the al-Shulaq natural gas terminal, hitting the pipeline that directs gas to Israel and Jordan. The line, which has not been repaired since a previous attack on July 12, did not contain any gas.

Reuters reported that the attackers initially tried to storm the area's main gas station, but fled after being confronted by security forces.

No casualties were reported in the pipeline attack.

After the July 12 attack on the pipeline, Israeli National Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau said the sabotage symbolized the deterioration of the “central pillar anchoring Israel's peace treaty with Egypt -- the economic pillar.”

“From the economic perspective, the peace agreement between Israel and Egypt is crumbling,” Landau said at the time, adding that the consequence of the repeated attacks on the pipeline delivering gas to Israel would be an increase in the cost of Israeli electricity.

In a related development, Egyptian state media reported that at least six people were killed and at least 21 were injured in unrest that began Friday, when more than 100 armed men rode into the town of El-Arish in Sinai and tried to storm a police station. Authorities said some of the attackers waved flags bearing Islamic slogans as they fired shots into the air.

Other reports said some of the attackers shouted slogans calling for the Sinai to be turned into “an Islamic emirate.”

Witnesses told the French news agency AFP that the armed men had also tried to destroy a statue of former President Anwar Sadat, who was assassinated by Islamists in 1981.

State-run news agency MENA reported that the dead included a policeman and a military officer.

Egyptian authorities said on Saturday that 15 of the attackers were arrested, including 10 Palestinian nationals. Their names were not publicly released.

Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Islamists packed Cairo's Tahrir Square on Friday in a show of force that angered secularists as clashes in Sinai between security personnel and apparent Islamists killed four, including a military captain, AFP reported.

Islamists from across the country flocked into the central square to defend what they called “Egypt's Islamic identity” in the country's largest protest since Mubarak’s ousting in February.

The rally in Cairo, organized by hardline Salafi groups and the influential Muslim Brotherhood, came as tensions grow between secular activists and the military on the one hand and Islamists on the other.

“The people demand the application of God's law,” thousands chanted under the searing sun, many of them carrying umbrellas or pouring water on their heads to counter the heat.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 05:43 PM | Permalink

For those who would like to hear me on the radio, I am very pleased to announce that I will be having a weekly appearance on the Middle East Radio Forum, the show is hosted By William Wolf.

You can listen to the show by going to the MERF web page
http://www.middleeastradioforum.org/

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 06:10 PM | Permalink

Rabbi Elazar Abuhatzeira, 70, grandson of the well-known kabbalist Baba Sali, stabbed to death after midnight in his yeshiva by a man saying he came to receive a blessing • Eli Yishai: An indescribable loss.
Gadi Golan and Yehuda Shlezinger

Rabbi Elazar Abuhatzeira, 70, grandson of the well-known kabbalist Baba Sali and a kabbalist in his own right, was murdered early Friday morning at his yeshiva in Be'er Sheva by a man who came to the rabbi asking for a blessing.

The Abuhatzeira rabbis are leading Moroccan Sephardic spiritual leaders and kabbalists renowned for their alleged ability to work miracles through prayer.

Rabbi Abuhatzeira's funeral procession began 11:00 a.m. Friday at the Porat Yosef yeshiva in Jerusalem, with eulogies from other leading rabbis. The procession proceeded to the Mount of Olives, where the rabbi is being laid to rest. Abuhatzeira leaves behind seven children and a horde of followers. Rabbi Pinchas Abuhatzeira, one of Elazar's sons, has taken over the mantle of the yeshiva's leadership. "Who will bless us now? Who will guide us now? Who will enlighten us with the Torah?" Pinchas eulogized, crying.

Chief Sephardic Rabbi Shlomo Amar said Friday that "an evil hand has struck a holy man, one of Israel's great men, who led so many along the path of the Torah."

A man claiming he wanted a blessing arrived during Abuhatzeira's regular visiting hours, shortly before midnight, and entered the rabbi's study. There, he pulled out a knife, stabbed Abuhatzeira several times, and fled. A number of people at the yeshiva gave chase and caught the man, while others called the police and the Magen David Adom ambulance services.

Paramedics treated Abuhatzeira on the scene before he was taken to the Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva in a critical condition, where he was pronounced dead.

A large police contingent, including Southern District Police Commander Yossi Pariente and Negev Regional Police Commander Peretz Amar, arrived on the scene. Police say the motive for the murder remains unclear. Abuhatzeira was stabbed in his upper body, they said. The suspect, identified as 42-year-old Asher Dahan, from Elad, was arrested and taken to the Negev regional police station for interrogation. On Friday morning Dahan was brought before a judge at the Be'er Sheva Magistrates Court and had his remand extended by 13 days. According to reports, Dahan had visited the yeshiva several times before and was known to Abuhatzeira's associates. Channel 2 TV reported that Dahan has a criminal record and has served jail time. Dahan has confessed to the stabbing, Channel 2 TV reported. Dahan was sent for psychiatric evaluation, and according to his lawyer, did not intend to kill the rabbi. Army Radio reported that Dahan was unhappy with advice the rabbi gave him regarding his troubled marriage.

Abuhatzeira, also known as "Baba Elazar," was a well-known kabbalist. As a young student, he spent days on end at the Porat Yosef Yeshiva, a leading Sephardic yeshiva in Jerusalem. He was the brother of Rabbi David Abuhatzeira, who serves the northern city of Nahariya, and nephew of Rabbi Baruch Abuhatzeira, also known as "Baba Baruch" who serves the southern city of Netivot. Politicians and public figures were regular visitors to Abuhatzeira's yeshiva, arriving to ask for his blessings and advice.

Abuhatzeira was viewed by his followers as a spiritual leader. He was an extremely strict adherent of Jewish law and he often hid his face in public to avoid the media as well as the adulation of his followers. He was also known to travel via a specially built tunnel between his home and his yeshiva to safeguard his privacy.

Interior Minister and leader of the Sephardic Shas party, Eli Yishai, arrived at the Yeshiva overnight. "We are shocked. It's impossible to comprehend. It is an indescribable loss," Yishai said.

Abuhatzeira's followers on Friday discussed what they believed to be the rabbi's miracles. "A man came to see [Abuhatzeira] after his doctors told him he only had a few more days to live," said one follower. "The rabbi blessed him, and he recovered. We are deeply shocked. We cannot fathom why someone would want to hurt the rabbi."

When news of Abuhatzeira's death was released, hundreds of Be'er Sheva residents rushed to the rabbi's home, crying out in anguish and disbelief at the murder of the highly esteemed rabbi.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 11:43 AM | Permalink

Social protest unnerves Likud

Party members agitated by growing social unrest, say Likud center must convene in show of support for Netanyahu
Attila Somfalvi

The growing demand for social change is making Likud party members nervous: Ynet learned Thursday that prominent party members are pushing for an urgent Likud center session to discuss the growing protest, as well as to devise ways to bolster Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's public status.

"There are social problems and there is room for improvement, but the protest has become political and we need to support Bibi. The situations demands rectifying, but what's happing now is problematic," Shuki Ohana, a Safed councilman and head of the Likud Galilee Branches forum, told Ynet.

Ohana stressed that the convention initiative was not coordinated with the prime minister, and that it will not be used to bash Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz or to set his possible replacement in motion.

Despite enjoying Netanyahu's support – lent in spite of his opposition to several of the prime minister's solutions to the housing crisis – Steinitz has ruffled many Likud feathers recently.

It remains unclear whether members of the Likud center will demand Steinitz's ousting, but a senior center member told Ynet that "it won't be a Steinitz-friendly atmosphere."

Ohana, however, was adamant: "We don't know how the meeting will go. We might address (Steinitz), but that's not the goal here. We want to reinforce Bibi against what is beginning to look like a political onslaught."

Members of the Likud center have now begun collecting the necessary signatures to call a meeting within 10 days.

MK Moshe Kahlon, who serves as the center's chairman, voiced his support for the move, but according to the Likud Codex, Netanyahu has the ability to torpedo – or at least postpone – such a meeting.

The is just the latest example as to why the Likud is the biggest bluff in Israeli history.

Likud hang tough for once.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 05:12 PM | Permalink

Senior Fatah official Mohammed Dahlan in hot seat: Former members accuse him of conspiring to topple PA president. Dahlan denies charges
Roee Nahmias

Did senior Fatah member Mohammed Dahlan plan a coup against Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas? This was indeed the case, according to reports in Palestinian media outlets affiliated with Hamas on Monday, based on interviews with former Fatah officials who wished to remain anonymous.

The Fatah leadership crisis surrounding Dahlan has been going on for a while. Just this week Fatah's central committee decided to suspend Dahlan's membership over suspicions of corruption and conspiring against the Palestinian president.

The committee issued a statement saying Dahlan's suspension will last "until the inquiry committee has finished its job."

Abu Mahar Ranaim was appointed head of the inquiry committee, but he asked to resign after a short while and Abbas approved his request. Three other officials were left to serve as part of the committee.

British network BBC reported that Dahlan arrived in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Sunday to appear before the committee, though Israeli Channel 10 reported he was currently staying in Jordan, rather than in Ramallah.

In an interview with news channel al-Arabiya last week, the senior Fatah member denied all accusations he had planned a coup against Abbas or those close to him. He also denied reports that his membership in Fatah had been suspended.

"These reports are humiliating to the Fatah movement. Accusing me of conspiring against Abbas is unacceptable. These words aren't part of the Fatah lexicon. They're only helping Hamas and Israel and making it hard on the movement," Dahlan said. He added that the officials behind the reports are only trying to "pour oil into the fire and create a rift within Fatah."

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 05:08 PM | Permalink

Foreign Minister Stoere is in charge of the same Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in which Socialist Ingrid Fiskaa — who said in April 2008 that she sometimes wished the United Nations would send “precision-guided missiles against selected Israeli targets” — so proudly serves as a state secretary.

Norway’s Labor Party lawmaker Anders Mathisen has gone even further and publicly denied the Holocaust. He said that Jews “exaggerated their stories” and “there is no evidence the gas chambers and or mass graves existed.”

Socialist leader Kristin Halvorsen has been leading the boycott Israel campaign. While serving as Norway’s finance minister, she was amongst the demonstrators at an anti-Israel protest, in which a poster read (translated): “The greatest axis of evil: USA and Israel.” Among the slogans repeatedly shouted at the demonstration was (as translated) “Death to the Jews!”

Halvorsen has recently supported a measure calling for military action against Israel if it decides to act against Hamas in Gaza, based on the reasoning that the world community’s credibility in confronting the Qaddafi regime would be undermined if it does nothing to help Hamas repel Israeli air attacks in Gaza.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 07:43 AM | Permalink

Svein Sevje said in an Israeli newspaper interview Tuesday that while the Norwergian bomb and gun rampages that killed 76 people and Palestinian attacks should both be considered morally unacceptable, he wanted to "outline the similarity and the difference in the two cases."

Palestinians, the ambassador told Maariv, "are doing this because of a defined goal that is related to the Israeli occupation. There are elements of revenge against Israel and hatred of Israel. To this you can add the religious element to their actions."

"In the case of the terror attack in Norway, the murderer had an ideology that says that Norway, particularly the Labor Party, is forgoing Norwegian culture," Sevje said, referring to suspect Anders Breivik, a Christian nativist who is opently anti-Islam and anti-immigration.

Unlike European Union states, Norway has engaged Hamas and often been fiercely critical of Israel, to Jerusalem's dismay.

While Sevje voiced sympathy for Israeli terror victims, having experienced "the inferno" of such attacks during his posting, he saw little chance of Norway reviewing its Middle East policies.

"We Norwegians consider the occupation to be the cause of the terror against Israel," he said. "Those who believe this will not change their mind because of the attack in Oslo."

He added, "Can Israel and the Palestinians solve the problems without Hamas? I don't think so."

May Norway sink under the tide of Muslim immigration and may the Norwegians see every thing they hold dear ripped from their future.

Israel must declare Sevie persona non grata and throw him out of Israel .
.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 05:08 AM | Permalink

Prime Minister says obstacles need to be removed, promises fast-track process for approving new apartments • Tent protesters unimpressed • Netanyahu offers subsidies and new dorms for students.
Zeev Klein, Mati Tuchfeld, Yehuda Shlezinger

Benjamin Netanyahu: Housing blocked by "indescribable bureaucracy" which must be circumvented.
|
Photo credit: AP

Amid growing middle-class protests over the high cost of housing and essential products in Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday presented the government's plan for alleviating the crisis.

At an afternoon press conference with Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz and Housing and Construction Minister Ariel Attias, Netanyahu said the main part of his plan involved fast-tracking the process for releasing state lands as well as approving new housing starts. "There are not enough apartments," Netanyahu said, citing statistics showing a 40 percent increase in the price of an apartment since 2007. "Housing will be more affordable when we unblock the obstructions in the housing market."

Netanyahu said the one of the main obstructions was the Israel Lands Administration, which controls 90 percent of the land in the country "and releases it in little drops." In addition, he said, "It takes years to build apartments. We are in 121st place in the world in terms of obtaining building permits and 147th in the world for registering properties."

Netanyahu blamed this bottleneck on an "indescribable bureaucracy" which he plans to circumvent by passing a national housing committee law next week in the Knesset. The proposed law would establish new fast-track committees that would circumvent the current lengthy approval process for housing starts.

Netanyahu said he expects the move will result in an additional 50,000 apartments on the market in the next 18 months.

I need to study this more, but on the surface I think this is a good start.

Get the government out of the way of private investment.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 06:31 PM | Permalink

Father and son convicted of helping Israel target Hamas leader executed in Gaza
Associated Press

The Hamas government in the Gaza Strip hanged a father and son at dawn Tuesday for collaborating with Israel, a government spokesman said.

The two were found guilty of helping Israel target a top Hamas leader and identify other militants who were later killed by Israeli forces, said Ihab Ghussein, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry in Gaza.

They were arrested in 2003 and charged a year later, and had exhausted all legal means to appeal the sentence, he said.

He would not provide their names, but the Gaza-based Palestinian Center for Human Rights identified them as 51-year-old Mahmoud Abu Qenas and his 22-year-old son, Rami Abu Qenas.

The family of the two men executed Tuesday burned tires and tried to shut down a Gaza City road in response to the deaths. Family members were quickly pushed back into their homes by Hamas police who also shooed away journalists and told them not to take photos.

In a statement, the human rights group condemned the hangings, saying the Palestinian judicial process was so flawed that it would have not been possible to conclusively prove the two men were involved in spying.

The deaths brought to five the number of Palestinians executed by Hamas for spying since the Islamic militant group seized control of Gaza in 2007. Another seventeen alleged informers were killed in vigilante-style shootings by Palestinians during the three-week Israeli offensive in Gaza that ended in January 2009. Some were on death row or awaiting trial by Hamas.

Collaborators are loathed by Palestinian society at large and vigilante killings of suspected informers have been common in the Palestinian territories for decades.

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights said the men were accused of involvement in a 2003 assassination attempt against Abdel-Aziz Rantisi, a Hamas co-founder.

Israel killed Rantisi in 2004. The two men executed Tuesday were already jailed by then.

Please note the picture, this is not hanging in the way it is done in the west where the floor drops out from under you and your neck is snapped.

Silent, is where they are. Showing just how evil these people are from Hamas to the UN to ISM and Norway.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 01:42 PM | Permalink

Rightwing US broadcaster hits new low, compares of political activities on island of Utoya with Nazi party camp

Yitzhak Benhorin
Published: 07.26.11, 07:38 / Israel News

WASHINGTON – Rightwing US broadcaster Glenn Beck has come under proverbial fire again, this time for comparing the Labor party camp on the Norwegian island of Utoya, where dozens of youths were gunned down Friday, to Hitler's infamous Hitler Youth.

"There was a shooting at a political camp, which sounds a little like, you know, the Hitler youth. I mean, who does a camp for kids that's all about politics? Disturbing," Beck stated in his radio show Monday.

I agree 100%

Israel needs to get to the point where we understand that if you do anything to weaken Israel you are the enemy.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 06:58 AM | Permalink

Interior Ministry given the authority to deny National Insurance Institute benefits to convicted terrorists and their families • MK David Rotem: We must put an end to this "absurd" situation.
Edna Adato

The Ministerial Committee on Legislation approved a new law on Sunday stripping convicted terrorists, as well as their family members, of benefits paid by the state, including insurance, pensions and welfare.

The law, proposed by MK David Rotem (Yisrael Beitenu) and MK Robert Ilatov (Yisrael Beitenu), gives the Interior Ministry the authority to deny National Insurance Institute benefits to convicted terrorists and their families. The benefits include stipends as well as pension funds and state financial allowances. Relatives of the convicted would be eligible for a hearing in which they would be given the chance to prove they were not involved with the terrorists' activities.

"We must put and end to this absurd situation," Rotem, who currently serves as chairman of the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, said. "Terrorists who contribute to and partake in attacks against Israeli citizens enjoy the same benefits as the people they hurt -- the state of Israel continues to wire money into their bank accounts and provide them with benefits."

"There are many cases in which Israeli citizens, including residents of east Jerusalem, were involved in terrorist activity," the bill's explanatory notes said. "They have blue [Israeli] ID cards, and thus were provided with immediate financial assistance from social security. The proposed clauses provide an appropriate punishment against those who deny Israel's right to exist and do all in their power to harm its citizens."

This is a bill that must be passed.

The Knesset is finally starting to purpose and even pass some good laws that protect Israel.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 09:31 AM | Permalink

The aim: war against draft dodgers • The law will not apply to those discharged because of health problems, outstanding high school students, and immigrants who arrived in Israel after age 17.
Yael Branovsky

Following a slew of controversial bills, a new proposal by Yisrael Beitenu seeks to withhold tuition assistance from students seeking to attend university when they should be serving in the army or participating in national service.

Israel Hayom has learned that the bill, proposed by Education, Culture and Sports Committee chairman Alex Miller, stipulates that the government will not grant funding assistance to a male student under the age of 20, or a female student under 19 who has not yet served in the Israel Defense Forces or the national or civil service programs.

The new rules would not apply to the IDF's "Atudai" program, which allows students to defer their military service until after they complete academic degrees, to soldiers discharged due to health issues, to outstanding students who began academic studies while still in high school, or to those who immigrated to Israel after the age of 17.

The government subsidizes student tuition for a number of Israeli institutions, granting eligible students up to NIS 10,000 (about $2,900) per year. According to Yisrael Beitenu's proposal, anyone who begins their studies before the stipulated age would have to pay double or more the tuition fees. Many such students are from the Arab sector.

"In Israel, one must serve the state, either through the IDF, or the national or civil service programs," Miller told Israel Hayom. "Government aid for academic students who choose, for whatever reason, not to contribute to society and the state gives them a significant and unfair advantage in obtaining an academic degree and in finding a good job later on. They do so at the expense of others who sacrifice those years in the service of the state."

"The state provides up to 70 percent of the budgets of some institutions of higher learning, in accordance with the number of students enrolled in them, which means it effectively subsidizes two-thirds of tuition per student," Miller said. "The proposed arrangement would suspend that subsidy to prevent unfair discrimination against those who contribute to national service and are not studying at institutions of higher learning during their service. This will highlight the state's contribution to their choice of service as well."

In an explanation of the proposal, Yisrael Beitenu wrote: "The purpose of this proposal, among other things, is to combat draft dodging by preventing those who did not serve the state from gaining the advantage of obtaining an academic degree and a good job. Those who served the state honorably deserve to have those chances first. Someone who completed high school at the age of 18 and instead of being drafted into the IDF chose to pursue academic studies will be able to do so, but not at the expense of taxpayers. This is not an absolute prohibition, but only a prohibition against using government funds to pursue those studies."

On Sunday, the Ministerial Committee for Legislation is set to debate a bill proposed by MK Moshe Matalon of Yisrael Beitenu that would increase the standard one-time government grant for discharged soldiers to one month's average wage for each year of service in the IDF. This means that a soldier who serves in the IDF for 36 months wouldl receive a one-time grant of up to NIS 27,000, instead of the NIS 7,400 currently granted to discharged soldiers.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 07:52 PM | Permalink

For those who would like to hear me on the radio, I am very pleased to announce that I will be having a weekly appearance on the Middle East Radio Forum, the show is hosted By William Wolf.

You can listen to the show by going to the MERF web page
http://www.middleeastradioforum.org/

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 05:06 PM | Permalink

MetaCure treats diabetes without meds

Attached to the stomach in a minimally invasive procedure, the Israeli-innovated device frees diabetics from pills and injections.
MetaCure DIAMOND
DIAMOND is attached via electrodes to the stomach muscles.

As disturbing new figures emerge that show that 350 million people worldwide now suffer from Type 2 diabetes, according to a recently published study by the World Health Organization and the Gates Foundation, and with the number of people suffering the metabolic disease rising dramatically every year, the race is on for long-term, effective cures.

Israeli medical device company MetaCure is beginning to commercialize its innovative minimally invasive solution, DIAMOND, which received the European Union's CE mark in 2007 and is undergoing additional clinical trials.

An implantable gastric stimulator with electrodes attached through laparoscopic surgery to the outer stomach muscles, DIAMOND enhances stomach muscle contractions, which are the natural physiological response to eating. This causes the patient to feel full more quickly during a meal. It also affects the gastrointestinal (GI) system's release of hormones influencing hunger, satiety and the absorption and metabolism of nutrients.

Initially it was meant as a treatment for obesity, which is one of the risk factors for diabetes. However, according to MetaCure business development director Lior Teitelbaum, DIAMOND was found to be effective independently in controlling blood glucose (sugar) levels. People with diabetes, the seventh leading cause of death in the United States, have abnormally high blood glucose because their bodies either don't produce insulin or don't use it properly.

Normalizes blood pressure and other diabetes-related conditions

"We have over 230 patients implanted with it worldwide, and we've seen the system reduces blood glucose levels significantly," says Teitelbaum, adding that its results are similar or better than the effects of synthetic insulin and other diabetes medications.

Patients implanted with DIAMOND also show improvement in diabetes-associated metabolic conditions such as high blood pressure, cholesterol and triglycerides.

"Usually they need drugs to control each of these conditions, and that leads to problems of drug interactions and compliance," says Teitelbaum. Many of the current pharmaceuticals used to treat Type 2 diabetes pose a burden because they must be refrigerated and injected.

This is why the search is on to find a comprehensive treatment that doesn't depend on medication and has minimal compliance requirements. "Our solution reduces weight an average of five kilos [about 11 pounds], improves the blood lipids profile, reduces blood pressure and can even improve liver function," says Teitelbaum.

The device can be removed or stay in the body indefinitely. It has many advantages over bariatric or "weight-loss" surgery, a drastic measure that can be used only on morbidly obese people and comes with serious lifelong side effects. "We feel confident about DIAMOND's clean safety profile, unlike drugs that are artificial chemical entities that affect the entire body, or major surgery and its associated risks."

Turns on when it's needed

Teitelbaum tells ISRAEL21c that DIAMOND is unique among similar approaches in gastric stimulation because it enhances, rather than artificially paces, stomach contractions. And it is not on continuously, kicking into gear only when its eating detection sensor is activated.

Implanted during a minimally invasive procedure with about a day's recovery period, the device doesn't require any action by the patient except for a 45-minute weekly recharging, which is done at home while reading or watching TV. Every three to six months, the patient is checked out by a MetaCure clinical technician to make sure the system is aligned properly with personal physiological patterns.

Successful studies have been completed in Europe and the United States, and additional randomized and comparative studies continue in Europe and Hong Kong, while partners are being lined up for a larger American study toward FDA approval.

DIAMOND is commercially available in Europe but reimbursable only in Germany for now. Teitelbaum projects that over the next two or three years, the device will be introduced to the wider market.

MetaCure, a privately held company spun out of Impulse Dynamics in 2003, has a field office in Dusseldorf and its management, clinical and technology research center in Kfar Saba, Israel.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 03:02 PM | Permalink

By YAAKOV KATZ
22/07/2011
Snipers will switch to non-lead rounds and will use new rules of engagement to diffuse potential riots in W. Bank and along borders.

As the Palestinians move forward with their plans to unilaterally declare statehood in September, the army has decided to procure new non-lethal weapons that will help disperse large demonstrations and marches that could break out in the West Bank and along Israel’s borders in the North.

Last month, the IDF decided to begin distrusting throughout the infantry a new receiver for the standard-issue M-16 semi-automatic rifle that can enable it to shoot a 0.22 round instead of the usual 5.56 mm. bullet. The smaller rounds are not as lethal when fired from a distance.

In addition, the IDF has purchased impact rounds for snipers for use with Remington M-24 7.62 mm. rifles. Impact rounds are usually made of non-lead materials and do not penetrate skin but deal a painful blow.

The Ground Forces Command has also instituted new rules of engagement for snipers who will be deployed to stop demonstrations and marches, including at what distance they are allowed to open fire.

The new equipment is in addition to other riot gear the IDF has purchased ahead of September including tear gas, rubber bullets and protective equipment. The military is also buying new technological systems such as the “Scream,” a device that emits penetrating bursts of sound that leave rioters dizzy and nauseated, as well as the “Skunk Bomb,” which contains a foul-smelling liquid to be sprayed on rioters.

“The possibility of large demonstrations after September is at the forefront of the military’s activities these days,” one officer said this week. “The entire military is focused on it.”

The Central Command’s Lachish Training Base is being used as the main instruction center for military units, including reservists, which will be deployed in the West Bank and along the borders, particularly near Lebanon and Syria, to prevent mass infiltrations and violations of Israel’s sovereignty.

Several weeks ago, the IDF held a two-day workshop for all brigade, battalion and company commanders serving in the Central Command, the Southern Command and the Northern Command to begin preparing them for the expected demonstrations following the United Nations General Assembly session in September.

The commanders received intelligence briefings on what to expect if the Palestinians declare statehood. Current IDF assessments refer to the possibilities of a large outbreak of violence, or of sporadic, large and nonviolent marches toward Jewish settlements or IDF checkpoints.

The army is also preparing for the possibility that large demonstrations will break out throughout the West Bank and along the borders with Syria and Lebanon, the likes of which it faced in May and in June.

The procurement of the new equipment comes after the Ground Forces Command completed writing a new operational doctrine for containing the demonstrations, marches and riots. The work on the doctrine was begun several months ago by Brig.-Gen. Miki Edelstein, the IDF’s chief infantry and paratrooper officer, and dictates the way commanders are supposed to counter and contain march-protests.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 04:19 PM | Permalink

Israel Lands Administration accuses Sheik Raed Salah's Islamic Movement of planting 500 fake tombstones in Jerusalem's Mamilla cemetery, with goal of taking over the land • Inspectors find no evidence of actual graves underneath tombstones.
Daniel Siryoti

The Israel Lands Administration claims that the Islamic Movement's northern branch, led by Sheik Raed Salah, has been planting fake tombstones in an ancient Muslim cemetery in central Jerusalem as part of a "land war" being waged by the organization against the authority.

According to the ILA, officials sent to inspect the tombstones at the Mamilla Cemetery in downtown Jerusalem were stunned to find no evidence of any graves under them. While burials have not taken place inside the cemetery for decades, senior sources at the authority claim that new gravestones have mysteriously appeared in recent years in areas where no graves were previously documented.

The authority claims it has collected documentation over an extended period of time proving that fake graves were placed at the site with the personal involvement of Sheik Raed Salah and other members of the Islamic Movement's northern branch, who came to the cemetery "to personally supervise the placing of additional fake graves and the maintenance of fake graves set up in the past."

The authority's communications consultant Tom Wagner told Israel Hayom that, "Suspicions arose in 2007 that the Islamic Movement was trying to take over the cemetery when representatives of the Muslim public, who turned out to be movement representatives requested a permit from the Jerusalem municipality to carry out maintenance work in the cemetery. The municipality approved the permit, after which workers from the Islamic Movement arrived to clean up the area of the cemetery. However, an inspection carried out at the site of the maintenance works exposed a different reality."

"We're talking about fraud on a massive scale," Israel Scoop, who heads the Department of Oversight and Supervision at the ILA, said. "Five hundred tombstones, custom-made from concrete and stones brought in from the Galilee, were placed in the graveyard at a great financial investment by dozens of workers, who instead of cleaning up the place, as their permit allows, placed a huge number of fictitious tombstones there. This is a deliberate provocation through means which create the appearance of continuing burial and activity in the cemetery, with everything that entails."

Scoop continued, "In recent years, ILA inspectors have had to deal with squatting, trespassing and illegal construction by Islamic Movement elements who are attempting to establish facts on the ground, both in the graveyards and in terms of building mosques on land not zoned for them."

Scoop said that after the ILA began to remove the fake tombstones recently, the Islamic Movement secured a court injunction halting the authority's work. Following court proceedings between the two sides, however, the injunction was cancelled and ILA personnel managed to remove most of the fake tombstones, with the remainder slated to be removed soon as well.

"The Israel Lands Administration will continue to track activities such as these and act according to the law in order to preserve state lands," Scoop told Israel Hayom.

Sheik Salah is currently under arrest in the U.K. for illegal entry. Responding on his behalf, the Islamic Movement said, "We do not wish to respond to the campaign of slander, defamation and lies being waged against us by the Israel Lands Administration."

The Mamilla cemetery is a historic Muslim cemetery located just to the west of the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. The cemetery, at the center of which lies the Mamilla Pool, contains the remains of figures from the early Islamic period, several Sufi shrines and Mamluk-era tombs. The cemetery grounds also contain the bodies of thousands of Christians killed in the pre-Islamic era, as well several tombs from Crusader times.

In recent years it has been the focus of a controversy surrounding plans by the Simon Wiesenthal Center to build its Museum of Tolerance on a site adjacent to the cemetery. In 2010, the center's dean, Rabbi Marvin Hier, said, "Our opponents would have you believe our bulldozers are preparing to desecrate ancient Muslim tombstones and historic markers. Let me be clear: The Museum of Tolerance is not being built on the Mamilla cemetery, but on an adjacent 3-acre site where, for half a century, hundreds of people of all faiths have parked in a three-level underground structure without any protest."

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 07:31 AM | Permalink

Bereaved father lashes out at former IDF chief Halutz

Presence of former chief of staff Dan Halutz at a ceremony for fallen soldiers draws angry shouts • Bereaved father: You came to promote your political career • Halutz: I won't argue with those who have lost their dearest ones.

At the official annual memorial service on Monday for soldiers killed in the Second Lebanon War, a bereaved father lashed out against Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz, the Israel Defense Forces chief of staff during the 2006 war.

“We haven't seen you for five years and suddenly you show up? You're here to promote your political career,” Yoav Tzur, father of fallen soldier Sgt. Itamar Tzur, called out when Halutz appeared at the ceremony.

Halutz, who announced in December that he was joining the Kadima party, did not respond.

Itamar Tzur, 19, was killed when his tank was hit by a Hezbollah anti-tank missile in southern Lebanon in August 2006.

Yoav Tzur was seated behind Halutz and continued to goad him throughout the ceremony, shouting, “Why are you just showing up now? How did you prepare your army for war, Dan Halutz?”

At the end of the ceremony, after the national anthem was sung, Tzur added, “What did you do before the war? We haven't forgotten! All the phony embraces won't help you. You won't enter politics!”

Later, Tzur said, “This man is a coward. We didn't see him for five years. Now he wants to enter politics and that's why he showed up. He sold tens of thousands of dollars in shares when the war broke out and his preparation of the army was flawed. This was a just war, but why didn't Halutz prepare us adequately? Was he a rookie?”

Current IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz approached Tzur after the ceremony's conclusion and offered him a hug before the two conversed. “The chief of staff is a good guy,” Tzur said afterward.

Halutz left the ceremony quickly, saying only, “I honor the place, the event and the families.” He later issued a statement clarifying that this was not his first appearance at the memorial ceremony.

Halutz resigned as IDF chief of staff in 2007 following criticism of what some called his abysmal handling of the Second Lebanon War and IDF failures during the conflict. Halutz also drew criticism for selling off his investment portfolio just hours after two IDF soldiers were captured in the cross-border raid that started the conflict.

“I don't want to argue with a family that has lost what is most dear to them,” Halutz said in the statement. “As someone who has fought and lost friends along the way, I have taken part in memorial events for IDF soldiers for decades and will continue to do so until the end of my life. I feel the families' pain and I share in their sorrow.”

Some families had threatened to boycott the ceremony over another issue: a change in the words of the “Yizkor” prayer from “Israel remembers its sons and daughters,” to “God remembers His sons and daughters.” The prayer, however, passed without incident.

Tuesday's ceremony was also attended by the new head of the Northern Command, Maj. Gen. Yair Golan; Defense Ministry Director-General Gen. (Res.) Udi Shani; Opposition leader and foreign minister at the time of the war Tzipi Livni, and Brig. Gen. (Res.) Gal Hirsch, who commanded Division 91 during the war and retired from the military immediately afterward.

I support the parents that lost their sons.

But we are Israel so this worthless scum will find one special seat in the Knesset with his name on it.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 10:04 AM | Permalink

'Even an enemy can appeal to Israeli justice system,' judges say of terrorist who held Ron Arad
Aviad Glickman

The Supreme Court on Monday upheld a decision by the Tel Aviv District Court allowing Mustafa Dirani, who held captive navigator Ron Arad in the past, to continue to pursue his lawsuit against the state.

His attorney commended the decision, saying it upholds Israeli values and prevents the states from being "like its enemies".

Justices Ayala Procaccia and Salim Joubran rejected the state's appeal against the proceedings, while Justice Hanan Meltzer voted in favor of accepting the appeal.

Dirani, a Hezbollah operative, was captured by Israel in 1994 and held until a swap deal in 2004. Before his release he filed a claim for NIS 6 million ($1.75 million), claiming he was raped by one of his Israeli interrogators.

When Dirani returned to Lebanon he announced that he would continue to work for Hezbollah, prompting the state to file an appeal against his suit, claiming that the court was debating a terrorist's claim.

But Justice Procaccia explained in her decision that "even an enemy can appeal to the Israeli justice system, and present claims on the state's interference with his basic rights while in Israel and under the supervision of the government".

She added, "There is no danger here to the power of the state, but rather evidence of its ethical and moral prowess, seeing as a state's strength is not measured only in the power of its arms and military, but also in the upholding of the rule of law."

But Justice Meltzer holds the opposite opinion. He explained that once Dirani announced his return to terrorism and submitted to an enemy state's sovereignty, he forfeited his right to make claims against Israel.

"Sometimes it is right for us to learn from other justice systems based on the wisdom and experience of democratic and cultured countries," he said.

'Dirani not the issue, the state is'

Dirani's attorney, Zvi Rish, says the Supreme Court's decision is in keeping with Israel's values. "Dirani is not the issue, the state is," said Rish, who is representing Dirani for free as a court-appointed attorney.

"I wouldn't want us to be like the enemy," Rish told Ynet. "I don't want people to be raped in my country, not even terrorists."

He also refuted claims that Dirani is a terrorist responsible for the deaths of Israelis. "Who did he kill? Why wasn't he tried? They should have filed an indictment against him if they thought he was a terrorist and describe what he had done, and then I wouldn't represent him," Rish said.

On the other side of the debate on Dirani was MK Yariv Levin (Likud), who said the court's decision was "a prize for terrorists".

"It is proof of the urgent need for a change in the justice nomination system, to a system that can prevent the nomination of judges who cannot distinguish between good and evil," he said.

This shows how mentally ill the Israeli courts are, enough said.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 09:19 AM | Permalink

MK Zoabi suspended from Knesset debates

Balad MK removed from Knesset until end of annual session following her participation in last year's Gaza flotilla; to be banned from speaking at Knesset, attending debates. Ethics Committee: 'Participation in flotilla does not fall within an MK's legitimate freedom of action'
Moran Azulay

The Knesset's Ethics Committee decided Monday to suspend MK Hanin Zoabi (Balad) from all Knesset activities until the end of the current session which ends in two weeks, following her participation in last year's Gaza flotilla. This will not apply to votes in the plenum.

Zoabi wrote in response: "I reject the complaints against me. These are vexatious claims against legitimate political activity which is well within every citizen's rights, certainly a member of Knesset's. I exercised my right for political action and freedom of speech and did not break the law. I therefore call upon the committee to dismiss these complaints."

The committee said in its decision, "The very participation in the flotilla, which was intended to break the naval blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip as part of the armed conflict with Hamas constitutes an action which hurts state security and does not fall within a Knesset member's legitimate freedom of action."

The committee rejected claims of a legitimate form of protest: "The committee believes that an MK joining an action organized by a group which the defense minister declared unlawful and is meant to break a naval blockade imposed over security reasons exceeds a legitimate act of protest by an MK against government policy. " The committee noted that Zoabi had abused her duties as a member of Knesset obligated to maintain its honor.

Last July, the Knesset revoked Zoabi privileges following her participation in the flotilla.

Meanwhile, the MK sent a letter to Knesset Director-General Dan Landau following a complaint filed with the Knesset's Ethics Committee over her disorderly behavior at the plenum on Thursday.

"I understand and respect your need to support Knesset employees. I also support the employees' honor. I hereby state that I had no intention of hurting the ushers, much less assaulting them. I respect their work. The ushers themselves can arrest to the honorable manner in which I treat them."

Nevertheless, she noted that Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin's letter had damaged her reputation. "(The letter) was filled with false documentation and included hurtful conclusions violating the Libel Law."

Zoabi denied having attacked the ushers: "The video documentation clearly shows there is no basis for the groundless claims of 'assault' 'misbehavior' or the exercise of violence by me. Moreover, at the end of the debate one of the ushers involved came to apologize to me and I answered there was no need as she was trying to do her job."

The MK further stressed, "All I tried to do was free myself from the ushers' hands which held me disproportionally. After several such attempts, and as I was heading out, I pushed my hand trying to fend the ushers off, that is all. I never tried to assault her, much less hit her as your letter stated."

This is not enough.

I would love to do a head count of the Jewish members of the Knesset as to who has shaken her hand and will hold a civil conversation with her. Any Jewish member of Knesset that shakes her hand puts being a Knesset member ahead of protecting the Jewish State.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 07:52 AM | Permalink

Some parents threaten to boycott memorial ceremony for Second Lebanon War's fallen soldiers if then IDF chief comes. 'He wants authorization to return to politics,' says mother
Omri Efraim

Families of soldiers killed in the Second Lebanon War warned Sunday that they would boycott Monday's memorial ceremony in honor of their loved ones if the then IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz shows up.

One of these mothers is Liora Hasson, whose son Guy was killed. "Tomorrow will mark five years since that damned war in which you fell – it's last day. It is the annual day in which we go to Mount Herzl," Hasson wrote in a letter entitled "I'm sorry son".

"This year I will not be arriving, my son, because that failure of a chief of staff from 2006 wants to come to the ceremony to seek authorization for his political path."

The bereaved parents say it will be Halutz's second annual ceremony. "I feel great anger. Halutz should not be attending this ceremony. He's not coming out of the will to identify with the parents but rather out of an intention to return to politics," said Haim Tzemah, whose son is among the fallen.

Yoav Tzur, who lost his son Itamar, added, "I demand that he not show up and reopen our wounds. We have not forgiven him for his actions during the war."

Tzur explained, "He threw our son and his battalion into battle unprepared. I will not allow him to attend the ceremony."

Halutz confirmed that he will be attending the Mount Herzl ceremony Monday, and had no comment on the parents' objections.

I agree with the parents 100%.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 03:54 PM | Permalink

Israel Project poll finds 62% in favor of kidnapping soldiers • 73% agreed with Hamas charter, which calls for killing Jews • 61% object to two-state solution.
Shlomo Cesana

Kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit.

A poll of more than a thousand Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza shows that 62 percent are in favor of kidnapping another Israeli soldier, the Israel Project advocacy group said on Thursday. American pollster Stanley Greenberg conducted the poll for the U.S.- funded group.

Seventy-three percent of the 1,010 Palestinians polled agreed with Hamas' charter that calls for killing Jews on Judgment Day. Forty-two percent opposed the Fogel family massacre in Itamar, while 29 percent were in favor of it. Rabbi Udi Fogel, his wife Ruth, and three of their children -- 11-year-old Yoav, 4-year-old Elad and baby Hadas -- were stabbed to death while asleep in their house in March this year.

Sixty-two percent of the Palestinians polled said they were in favor of kidnapping another Israeli soldier, and 60 percent did not believe that the U.N. statehood bid would improve their position.

A reported 61 percent also do not support U.S. President Barack Obama's two-state solution.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 06:05 PM | Permalink

For those who would like to hear me on the radio, I am very pleased to announce that I will be having a weekly appearance on the Middle East Radio Forum, the show is hosted By William Wolf.

You can listen to the show by going to the MERF web page
http://www.middleeastradioforum.org/

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 12:49 PM | Permalink

Netanyahu against probe of leftists

PM says he will oppose establishment of commission of inquiry into leftist funding; Yisrael Beiteinu: We won't for forgive slap in face
Koby Nachshoni

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Thursday that he will vote against a proposal to establish a parliamentary commission of inquiry to look into leftist organizations' funding.

The PM's move may prompt tension vis-à-vis his senior coalition partner, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. Senior Yisrael Beiteinu officials slammed Netanyahu's statement later Thursday

"We won't forgive Bibi for this slap in the face," one senior party official said. "The Likud shall pay for it in the next elections." Party members said that while no major coalition crisis is expected, Yisrael Beiteinu will "punish" the Likud at Knesset votes over the PM's move.

Speaking at a ceremony honoring Jewish communities in the former Soviet Union headed by Lev Leviev, Netanyahu said he will take a stand against Yisrael Beiteinu's initiative.

"We don't need probes at the Knesset; we don't need commissions of inquiry," the PM said. "Yet some people don't agree, which is why I shall grant them the freedom to vote as they see fit."

The prime minister added that as opposed to the Boycott Law vote, where he was absent, this time he will vote against the proposed legislation.

The initiative calls for the establishment of a five-member committee that would look into the funding of leftist groups and the way they purchase land. Lieberman said Wednesday he expects the government to support the proposal. The foreign minister said that he will not induce a coalition crisis in case no such support is granted, but added that he would view the move as a blow to his faction.

'Lighthouse of democracy'
During Thursday's event, Netanyahu also expressed his opposition to an initiative exposed by Ynet, a proposal that would enable the Knesset's Constitution Committee to veto the appointment of top judges.

"Democracy has firm pillars," the prime minister said. "One of them is the courts, and I shall protect the courts. This is vital. I would not disparage or harm this institution, which is essential for us all."

Addressing the Boycott Law, Netanyahu said: "I'm against boycotts. I'm against the notion of boycotting one sector of the public or another. We're a democracy lighthouse in the great darkness around us – there are no laws there, no legislators, and no judges. There's nothing out there. Around here, it's different."

Let Israel do what ever it has to do to become stronger and to protect our hold on all the land.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 10:37 AM | Permalink

Motti Katz, 77, receives lifetime achievement award after 58 years of military service
Hanan Greenberg

Great honor: After serving in the IDF for 58 years, both as a regular soldier and as a reservist, Brigadier Genreal Motti Katz has been honored by the army for his special record.

Katz, who is 77-years-old, continues to serve as an active reservist and is tasked with producing various scenarios that aim to surprise Israel's finest military intelligence officers.

On Wednesday, Katz was honored with a lifetime achievement award, presented to him by IDF Intelligence Chief Aviv Kochavi at a Tel Aviv University ceremony.

Katz joined the IDF in 1953 and two years later embarked on a career in the field intelligence corps. To this day, he reports for duty for every General Staff drill, takes part in drill management and scrutinizes the operations of the various Intelligence Branch units.

"Israeli intelligence underwent numerous processes and revolutions, but the element of surprise will always remain," Katz told Ynet. "We need to be able to contend with this element in real time."

"I don't take it easy on anyone during drills," he said. "I require the various forces to engage in an intellectual effort and seek different and new modus operandi."

Katz arrived at the ceremony in his honor accompanied by his wife, grandchildren, and great grandchild. During the ceremony, other distinguished intelligence officers and soldiers were honored, as well as classified projects that contributed greatly to national security.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 06:22 PM | Permalink

Complaint to Knesset c'tee: Zoabi attacked usher
By DANIEL CLINTON
14/07/2011
Rivlin issues complaint, saying Balad MK kick, hit usher trying to escort her from Knesset plenum; Zoabi: "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do it."

A complaint was lodged against MK Haneen Zoabi (Balad) with the Knesset Ethics Committee on Thursday, after she allegedly kicked and pushed a Knesset employee charged with escorting her out of the Knesset plenum after she continually interrupted a speech by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

The incident occurred Wednesday during a Kadima-initiated Knesset session on “the Netanyahu government’s failures.” The prime minister, who is required by law to give a response to a Knesset discussion with 40 or more signatures, referenced Zoabi while speaking about the Boycott Law.

“Earlier, an MK who participated in the provocative flotilla meant to break the state’s naval security blockade spoke,” Netanyahu said. He then turned to Zoabi and said, “You’re lucky that you are a member of the Israeli parliament and not the Syrian parliament, for example.”

Zoabi then began to shout at Netanyahu, “Go ahead, put me on trial! Put me on trial, like your soldiers should be put on trial!” The Balad MK was forcibly removed from the plenum, with MK Nissim Ze’ev (Shas) yelling after her, “You are garbage!”

Knesset Director-General Dan Landau instructed Knesset speaker Reuven Rivlin to submit the complaint to Knesset Ethics Committee chairman MK Yitzhak Vaknin.

"Attacking any Knesset employee, especially an usher while she is fulfilling her duties, is an unprecedentedly severe offense, which requires the attention of the Ethics Committee," Rivlin wrote in the complaint.

Landau released a statement in which he said that MK Zoabi had "crossed a red line." He added that in addition to the complaint, the Knesset employees had approached him in protest of Zoabi's behavior. Landau pledged his support for the "dedicated and professional" Knesset employees.

Zoabi addressed the complaint in an interview with Israel Radio on Thursday, repeatedly apologizing for the incident.

"I'm sorry if i pushed her, Zoabi stated." I publicly apologize before her. I'm sure she knows that I didn't mean to do it. I was simply trying to free myself. "

I for one am tired of this traitor.

Enough is Enough, suicide is not an option for Israel.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 08:35 AM | Permalink

New Likud initiative wants to give Knesset's Justice Committee authority to reject judges with 'post-Zionist agenda.' Initiative meant to 'break radical Left's hold on legal system.' Legalists: Bill delusional
Moran Azulay

Two Likud Knesset members are expected to present a new bill which is sure to strain the already tense relations between the House and the legal system further: They would like to give the Knesset veto power over Supreme Court nominations.

Ynet learned Wednesday that MKs Yariv Levin and Zeev Elkin have drafted legislation which proposes that the Knesset's Constitution, Law and Justice Committee have the authority to vet – and if need be veto - Supreme Court candidates.

According to the bill, every candidate would be subjected to a public hearing, during which he will be asked "about his legal and constitutional views, his personal contribution to legal thought, his views about law, justice and the necessary balance between various values and the separation of authorities."

Following the hearing, the Knesset's Justice Committee will rule on the candidacy. Should it veto the judge before it, he or she will not be eligible for a Supreme Court seat. Should the committee approve the candidacy, the process would be deferred to the Judicial Selection Committee for further deliberation.

Today, the Judicial Selection Committee is the only body which vets judges named for the Supreme Court.

Levin and Elkin said the law would also apply to the vetting process of naming the Supreme Court chief justice and his or her deputy.

The bill's brief explained that it aims to "put in place the procedure of public hearing for candidate vying for a Supreme Court seat, as well as for its presidency and vice presidency… in a manner which well allow for full public transparency regarding candidates who might find themselves serving in Israel's highest judicial authority.

"This will allow for the de facto implementation of the principle of transparency in public service… which today is lacking, despite the great importance of these nominations."

In the name of transparency?
As for the topics candidates would be asked to address, according to the brief, they were chosen "due to their extraordinary importance, in light of the Supreme Court's position not only as the highest judicial and appellate instance, but also as the High Court of Justice."

The new system would "allow the committee to introduce to the court different state of mind and allow them to influence the legal system."

Setting the Justice Committee's authority in the matter by law, would "reinstate the balance between the various state authorities – which virtually does not exists when in comes to selecting judges," the brief concluded.

Levin, who heads the Knesset's House Committee, said that the bill "will break the radical leftist elite's hold on the legal system and restore the public and Knesset's sovereignty over democratic life in Israel. Those who see themselves fit to annul legislation should be subject to public scrutiny through a democratic and transparent process."

The bill, he added, also aims "to put an end to the Supreme Court's 'buddy system' of appointments and stop the nominations of judges with post-Zionist agenda."

Levin added the bill was an urgent one, as Supreme Court President Dorit Beinish's term on the bench in nearing its end and her successor has yet to be named.

Coalition Chairman Elkin added that the new bill is meant to ensure the public's involvement in the judges' selection process.

'Bill delusional'

The bill has already evoked furor in the legal system. A senior legal expert told Ynet that "This is a delusional proposal. These Knesset members are apparently trying to eliminate democracy and force politicians into the Supreme Court. The first rule of democracy is separation of authorities and they are trying to eliminate that."

Supreme Court sources said the move is seen as an attempt to infringe on the court's independence: "It seems these politicians are drunk with power and are under the impression that they can use their power on everything… Having politicians on the Judicial Selection Committee is no longer enough for them – they now want to have a say on the composition of the Bench.

"This is an anti-democratic proposal that must be nipped in the bud."

A source on the Bench told Ynet that "It seems Knesset members are trying to eliminate one of the most important institutions in Israel by trying to forcibly introduce politics into the inner sanctum of the Judiciary.

"This bill infringes on the very fabric of democracy," he continued. "It is unheard of that every MK could try and pass a bill meant solely to compromise the legal system's independence."

This is a huge step forward to break the hold of the Cowards, Scum and Traitors that have served in the court until now.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 05:40 PM | Permalink

STATE OF ISRAEL
MINISTRY OF FINANCE
SPOKESPERSON'S OFFICE INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
DEPARTMENT

1 Kaplan St. Jerusalem 91030, P.O. Box 3100, Tel: 02-5317200, Fax:
02-5695349
English: www.financeisrael.mof.gov.il Hebrew: www.mof.gov.il
July 5, 2011
2011-1754

Press Release

USD 400 Million Raised by the Accountant General in a Private Placement to
One of the World's Largest Asian Investors

The Accountant General at the Ministry of Finance has completed a USD 400
million private placement of one-year government bonds to one of the world's
largest Asian investors. The bonds were issued as part of the government's
European Medium Term Note (EMTN) shelf registration program, with
Goldman-Sachs acting as underwriter. The private placement was carried out
at the request of the Asian investor, who is considered to be a strategic
investor in the global capital markets and for whom this is the first
investment in Israeli government bonds.

The deal was executed at a one-year dollar interest rate of 1.599%. In
Shekel terms, the financing costs of the private placement are about 0.3%
lower than the costs in the domestic market, based on the yield of
short-term notes for the same period.

The Minister of Finance, Dr. Yuval Steinitz, said: "The Ministry of Finance
sees great importance in exploring new markets, particularly the rapidly
developing Asian one. Israel's exposure to Asia's financial markets opens
the door for Israeli companies interested in conducting commercial activity
with Asian countries. The fact that investors of this magnitude have chosen
to invest in the State of Israel is further proof of the strength and
stamina of the Israeli economy."

The Accountant General in the Ministry of Finance, Michal Abadi-Boyanjo,
noted: "This issuance was carried out in accordance with the Accountant
General's Department action plan to establish and strengthen financial bonds
between the State of Israel and the economies of the Far East; These account
for an increasingly substantial share of the global economy, and are
currently a linchpin of international financing."

The Senior Deputy Accountant General, Eran Heimer, who led the deal, added:
"This is the third issuance to an Asian investor within a span of one and a
half years, as the previous issuance was carried out in March 2011. The Debt
Management Unit will continue in its mission to reach out to strategic
investors, in order to increase their involvement in tradable government
bonds, and at the end of the day reduce government financing costs.
We will continue to pursue attractive opportunities for implementing
financial transactions such as this latest private placement.

This latest private placement was preceded by six others:
1999: GBP 100 million for 35 years
2001: JPY 20 billion for 30 years
2002: USD 75 million for 30 years (zero coupon)
2006: USD 500 million linked to the Brazilian Real for 1 year
2010: USD 200 million for 2 years
2011 USD 124 million for 1 year

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 02:14 PM | Permalink

Kadima MKs to face tribunal over 'Boycott Bill' vote
By LAHAV HARKOV
12/07/2011
Gush Shalom petitions High Court over new law; Schneller, Shamalov-Berkovich vocally support the measure, defying party line.

Two Kadima MKs may face disciplinary measures on Wednesday after skipping the Knesset vote on the "Boycott Bill," as left-wing organizations announced their plan to challenge the controversial law in court.

The entire Kadima faction was told to vote against the bill on Monday, but MKs Otniel Schneller and Yulia Shamalov-Berkovich of Kadima were absent during the vote on the anti-boycott measure. The bill passed by a margin of nine votes, despite the fact that eleven ministers – including Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu – were absent, leading some Kadima insiders to suspect that either Schneller or Shamalov-Berkovich made a deal with Netanyahu to balance out his absence.

Schneller, a former Yesha Council chairman, lives in Maale Mikhmas, not far from Ramallah. He said on Tuesday: "I and my family cannot be boycotted like cottage cheese." The Kadima MK said his party should have "supported the bill, which was part of the State of Israel's fight against racism towards its citizens. If there wasn't party discipline, I would have voted in favor of the bill," he said.

"Those who oppose the bill with phony democratic claims are legitimizing the international trend of boycotting Israeli academia, culture and economics, thereby damaging the legitimacy of Israeli democracy and Jewish morals," Schneller added.

Kadima's disciplinary body is expected to meet on Wednesday, and decide how to punish Schneller and Shamalov-Berkovich. One of the more serious possibilities is to remove Schneller from the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

Kadima MKs Yoel Hasson and Arye Bibi were also absent on Monday night, because they were in China, and MK Gideon Ezra (Kadima) did not come to the Knesset because he was not feeling well.

MK Ronit Tirosh (Kadima) toed the party line, voting against the bill and each of its clauses, despite being a vocal supporter of the anti-boycott measure.

"Kadima's zigzag, in which Livni forced her party's members to remove their name from the bill, despite the fact that they were among those who proposed it proves that they are a party without an ideology that gives in to left-wing organizations," Coalition chairman Ze'ev Elkin (Likud), who proposed the bill, said. "This makes it final: Kadima is on the left side of the map." The original version of the "Boycott Bill" was proposed by Elkin along with Kadima faction chairwoman MK Dalia Itzik.

The bill that passed, which Elkin called "vegetarian" compared to its "meaty" first draft, allows citizens to bring civil suits against persons and organizations that call for economic, cultural or academic boycotts against Israel, Israeli institutions or regions under Israeli control. It also prevents the government from doing business with companies that initiate or comply with such boycotts.

Within minutes of the bill's passing after nearly six hours of debate on Monday night, left-wing organizations expressed outrage at the new law, with Gush Shalom petitioning the High Court on Tuesday afternoon.

A coalition of Israeli left-wing NGOs also announced that they would challenge the law in the High Court.

"The new law seriously harms freedom of expression and freedom of association," according to a statement released by Physicians for Human Rights – Israel, Adalah, the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel and the Coalition of Women for Peace. "Moreover, it gives protection to the illegal West Bank settlements in Israeli law, by penalizing their opponents."

Hadas Ziv of Physicians for Human Rights said that the law "signals a de jure annexation of the settlements in the West Bank," in that it will "oblige individuals, companies and organizations to support the illegal settlements by doing business with them."

Freedom of speech and democracy are not suicide pacts.

I hope and pray the high court that haven of leftist traitors will uphold this law but I have my doubts.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 07:46 AM | Permalink

Controversial bill which calls for imposing sanctions against anyone declaring embargo on Israel garners 47 ayes, 38 nays. Kadima: Bibi crossed red line of stupidity, national irresponsibility
Moran Azulay

The Knesset voted Monday in favor of the controversial "boycott bill," which proposes imposing sanctions against anyone declaring a commercial embargo on Israel. The vote was carried 47 to 38.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak were conspicuously absent from the vote, while Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin abstained. The Kadima faction voted against the bill, and members of the Independence faction abstained and were not present for the bill's second and third readings.

The bill, which was backed by the cabinet, states that any boycott against Israel or any group located within its territory, including the West Bank, will be labeled a civil offense and its initiators will be subject to litigation. The legislation has been the focus of harsh criticism.

Kadima blasted Netanyahu for his absence from the vote: "Netanyahu's government harms Israel and should be the first to pay the price... Netanyahu's scuttle from tonight's vote does not diminish the harm he has done. He has crossed a red line of stupidity and national irresponsibility.

"Netanyahu knows the gravity the law's impact will have, but is demonstrating political flaccidity and total capitulation to the extreme right which is taking over the Likud. The boycott bill is a mark of disgrace for Netanyahu's government and the State of Israel and its citizens will pay for it dearly."

MK Eitan Cabel (Labor) called the bill "a cowardly law," and "another law in a series of fascist laws drafted by the government."

Several human rights groups, including Adalah – the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, The Public Committee against Torture in Israel and Physicians for Human Rights, immediately announced that they would file a High Court appeal against the new law, and asked that it be annulled.

The groups plan to argue the law is anti-constitutional, that it impedes political freedom of expression, and violates international law and the laws of torts.

Dr. Yishai Menuchin of the Public Committee Against Torture said: "The road to anti-democratic hell is sometimes paved with good intentions – but not this time. The Knesset is full of legislators who took it upon themselves to infringe on Israel's democracy time and time again.

"The boycott law is just another step by the legislator to eradicate democracy in Israel. Warnings by human rights groups and many others in Israeli society had failed this time. The Knesset has led Israeli society another step closer to hell."

Adalah Director Hassan Jabarin echoed the sentiment, saying that "Once more we are seeing how the Knesset is trying to promote legislation which does not coincide with international law… The (bill) fails to meet any criteria and we believe the High Court won't accept it."

'Bill anti-democratic'

Ahead of the vote, the Knesset plenum convened for a filibuster, which saw heated arguments from both Left and Right.

The opposition vowed to fight the bill, which it labeled "anti-democratic"; several prominent legalists said that it was "grayish" at best, and unlikely to withstand High Court scrutiny.

Knesset Member Ilan Gilon (Meretz) was the first to speak before the Knesset plenum; he said the recent "anti-democratic" laws, in his words, legislated by the Knesset "black dysentery" that de-legitimizes the State of Israel.

"I know of nothing that causes more de-legitimization for Israel abroad than these acts of legislation," he said, adding that they leave Israel in a position of "a nation on its own shall dwell."

The Kadima faction said it would oppose the bill, with MK Shai Hermesh (Kadima) saying that the bill was a "muzzling bill, a bill that harms the basic rights."

MK Ahmad Tibi (United Arab List-Ta'al) took things to a personal level, wondering from the podium if Likud faction Chairman MK Zeev Elkin's "past as a shunned schoolboy who got beaten up" prompted him to initiate the bill.

Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz (Likud) said that "the majority of those who oppose the bill, do it in the name of freedom of expression. That begs the question – does freedom of expression in a democratic state includes the right to call for financial boycotts.

"It's a principle of democracy that you don't shun a public you disagree with by harming their livelihood. A boycott on a certain sector is not the proper manifestation of freedom of expression. It is an aggressive move meant to force a sector that thinks a different way to capitulate. Boycotts are aggressive and wrong," he said.

Netanyahu initially wanted to defer the vote, to avoid presenting Israel in a negative light as the Quartet gears to meet for a crucial discussion over the intention of the Palestinian Authority to seek UN recognition for a Palestinian state.

The Palestinians also denounced the bill, saying that if it passes, "the content of an impending Quartet announcement regarding the possible renewal of negotiations will become irrelevant."

Let me be blunt if you don't back this bill, you are an enemy of your Jewish brothers and sisters. If you side with the Palestinians and leftist thugs of the world against your Jewish family in Judea and Samaria, you are scum.

This sis a good start in fighting back and if the high court voids the law then shame on them.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 06:12 PM | Permalink

Haifa District Court set to enter verdict deliberations in civil suit filed over pro-Palestinian activist Rachel Corrie's 2003 death

An Israeli court has heard its final witness in a trial surrounding the death of American activist Rachel Corrie, who was crushed by an Israeli military bulldozer in the Gaza Strip in 2003.

Israel's commanding officer in Gaza at the time, Colonel Pinhas Zuaretz, testified before the Haifa District Court Sunday.

Corrie, a pro-Palestinian activist who was 23 at the time, was killed when she stood before the bulldozer in an attempt to block it from demolishing a Palestinian home.

The military cleared the soldier who drove the bulldozer, saying he could not see the activist.

That prompted Corrie's parents to file a civil suit against Israel's Defense Ministry in 2005. Her father said Sunday a credible and transparent investigation never happened.

The fact that this was even allowed into an Israeli court was a travesty of justice.

I will say it again here, she got what she deserved in Gaza get over it.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 12:44 PM | Permalink

For those who would like to hear me on the radio, I am very pleased to announce that I will be having a weekly appearance on the Middle East Radio Forum, the show is hosted By William Wolf.

You can listen to the show by going to the MERF web page
http://www.middleeastradioforum.org/

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 12:57 PM | Permalink

Cancer cell breakthrough reported by Hebrew U.
By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVITCH
07/07/2011
Jerusalem scientists identify molecular basis for DNA breakage, which results in the development of cancer.

The molecular basis for the breakage of DNA – the hallmark of cancer cells – has been identified by Hebrew University of Jerusalem scientists. The important discovery will be published on Friday in the prestigious journal Molecular Cell.

The DNA encodes all the genetic information needed to build the cell’s proteins. Thus, breaks in the DNA disrupt the proteins and lead to changes in cell function. These changes can lead to defects in the control of cellular proliferation, which results in the development of cancer.

Using cutting-edge technologies, researchers Prof. Batsheva Kerem and doctoral student Efrat Ozeri-Galai, of the Alexander Silverman Institute of Life Sciences in the HU’s Faculty of Science, were able to characterize for the first time the DNA regions that are the most sensitive to breakage in early stages of cancer development.

This is a breakthrough in our understanding of the effect of the DNA sequence and structure on its replication and stability, they said on Thursday.

“A hallmark of most human cancers is accumulation of damage in the DNA, which drives cancer development,” Kerem said. “In the early stages of cancer development, the cells are forced to proliferate. In each cycle of proliferation, the DNA is replicated to ensure that the daughter cells have a full DNA. However, in these early stages the conditions for DNA replication are perturbed, leading to DNA breaks, which occur specifically in regions defined as ‘fragile sites.’”

In their research, the team used a sophisticated new methodology that enables the study of single DNA molecules to study the basis for the specific sensitivity of the fragile sites. The findings are very important, as they shed new light on the DNA features and the regulation of DNA replication along the first regions that break in the development of cancer.

The results show that along the fragile region, there are sites that slow the DNA replication and even stop it. To allow completion of the DNA replication, already under normal conditions the cells activate mechanisms that are usually used under stress. As a result, under conditions of replication stress, such as in early cancer development stages, the cell has no more tools to overcome the stress – and the DNA breaks.

This study revealed the molecular mechanism that promotes cancer development, they said.

Currently, other studies focus on the very early stages of cancer development, aiming to identify the events leading to cancer on the one hand and to its inhibition, on the other. The current research identified for the first time DNA features that regulate DNA replication along the fragile sites, in early stages of cancer development. In the future, they hope, these findings could lead to the development of new therapeutic approaches to restrain and/or treat cancer.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 11:55 AM | Permalink

Tali Fahima wants job in Ramallah

Leftist turned-Muslim seeks employment in city of residence 'in civilian firm or law office'
Roi Kais

Israeli pro-Palestinian activist Tali Fahima, known for her close relationship with Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades commander Zakaria Zubeidi and her recent decision to convert to Islam, is looking for a job in the Palestinian territories.

On Thursday Fahima published an ad in the widely-distributed Al-Quds Al-Arabi, saying she was seeking employment in Ramallah or thereabouts.

"I, Tali Fahima, am looking for a job in Ramallah – in a company or civilian firm or law office," she wrote.

Fahima mentions that her mother-tongue is Hebrew and that she also speaks Arabic and English at a moderate level.

"I live in Ramallah," she adds, listing her email and cellular phone number.

Fahima confirmed to Ynet that she had placed the ad, but refused to comment.

Traitors should be eliminated, enough said.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 07:05 PM | Permalink

Norwegian, Swedish Gaza-bound flotilla activists to announce their return home after Greek interception of ships, while most US, Canadian activists head home. US passenger: We will be back
Aviel Magnezi

Norwegian Gaza-bound flotilla activists are expected to hold a press conference Friday morning in Norway to announce their decision to retract and make their way back home.

Another press conference will be held Thursday in Sweden with some 20 Swedish representatives from the Gaza-bound flotilla.

Harbor-Bound

Only four Swedes remained in Greece to try are pressure the local government to call off the blockade and permit them to head towards the Gaza Strip, according to Jewish-Swedish flotilla spokesman Dan Israel.

Despite the circumstances causing the activists to return home, the spokesman said they are not at all disappointed and happy with their contribution. He added that the important thing was that Israel allowed supplies to be passed along to Gaza.

However he criticized the Greek government for taking part in the blockage, but promised the activists will soon return and sail to Gaza.

Similarly, most of the 36 American passengers of the SS Audacity of Hope, which was prevented by Greek officials from sailing to the Gaza Strip on Friday, have already return home or are on their way back.

Meanwhile, many of the passengers onboard the Canadian Tahrir vessel, which left Crete Monday afternoon towards Gaza but was taken over by Greek Coast Guard forces, claimed Israel sabotaged their ship or planned to do so on their way back home.

Both Gaza-bound ships had attempted to leave its Greek port without authorization en route to the Strip, prompting Greek forces to stop it at sea.

Promised to return

Greta Berlin, spokeswoman for the Free Gaza Movement (FGM) and a passenger on the US ship, admitted that many activists have returned home but assured that they will be back immediately once called.

Berlin told Ynet that out of 36 US activists only 15 remained in Greece, but added that she has learned that some of the Canadian passengers made their way back to the ship despite rumors that they were planning to leave.

She remarked that they are currently working on getting exit permits so they could sail onwards as planned.

Some activities have declared their plan to stay in Greece until given permission to sail to Gaza, and are satisfied with the fact that they have been able to raise awareness if not anything else.

Meanwhile, the Greek coastguard intercepted the small French boat "Dignitiy" with Pro-Palestinian activists aboard on Thursday, the third flotilla ship to be prevented from sailing to Gaza to challenge an Israeli blockade.

The boat with about 10 activists aboard, including French politicians, an MEP and a journalist, sailed from Corsica. Activists had said it was in international waters waiting to join the rest of the flotilla, now confined in Greek ports.

"We are still checking their papers. We haven't spotted any problem so far. They have not disclosed their destination, maybe because they have not decided yet," said a coastguard official in Crete, on condition of anonymity.

There were no arrests, activists and the coastguard said.

Put a win down for Israel.

Israel needs to look at how to stop it the next time before it even get's this far.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 10:00 AM | Permalink

Over 20,000 teenagers attended a massive recruitment party at the Israel Trade Fairs and Convention Center in Tel Aviv on Tuesday. This annual celebration salutes young Israelis who are about to join the armed forces.
Dan Lavie

New recruits with Maj-General Orna Barbivay.

The “Yoter” [more] club, a division of the Association for the Wellbeing of Israel’s Soldiers, hosted a massive recruitment party at the Israel Trade Fairs and Convention Center in Tel Aviv on Tuesday. This annual celebration salutes young Israelis who are about to join the armed forces. This marked the 7th year of the annual celebration, with more than 20,000 teenagers in attendance.

Among those saluting the new soldiers was Israel's first female major-general, Orna Barbivay who said, "Over the course of the last year, 80 percent of new recruits asked to serve in combat units. This makes Israel very proud of its youth. The Israel Defense Forces is doing its best to absorb each individual and we look forward to seeing all of you.”

The event featured many popular artists, among them jazz/hip-hop group Hadag Nahash, singers Ninet Tayeb, Lior Narkis, and Roni Dalumi. The Bakum (the IDF reception and sorting base) set up computer stations for the new recruits to find more information about their desired unit and to submit their enlistment preferences.

Chairman of the Association for the Wellbeing of Israel’s Soldiers, Brig-General (res.) Avigdor Kahalani also attended. "These new recruits are going to be our defenders for the next three years, so we organized this event to salute them before their upcoming enlistment," he said.

Israeli youth that still want to serve in the IDF are the best kids possible.

I am so proud of them

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 12:24 PM | Permalink

Lest we forget: Bible inspires cinnamon extract Alzheimer’s study

A cinnamon bark extract called CEppt can slow the onset of Alzheimer’s, according to Israeli researchers who studied its effect in mice and fruit flies after taking inspiration from a biblical passage.

Blessed are the insects, blessed are the rodents...terribly sorry, where was I again?
Lead researcher, Professor Michael Ovadia, from the Department of Zoology at Tel Aviv University said the research was inspired by a bible passage describing the herb’s use by high priests in holy ointments during sacrificial rituals

He said the results were, “extremely exciting” but warned spice rack versions of the herb would not provide benefits as the amount required to gain an efficacious level of CEppt would be toxic in most people.
"The discovery is extremely exciting. While there are companies developing synthetic AD inhibiting substances, our extract would not be a drug with side effects, but a safe, natural substance that human beings have been consuming for millennia," the professor said.
Professor Ovadia and his fellow researchers wrote in the paper: "In contrast to the raw cinnamon bark, which is considered to have hepatotoxic effects, our method of preparation results in a highly potent non-toxic compound which is easily manufactured at low cost."
Brain plaque
The research, published in the journal PLoS ONE, gave a solution containing CEppt fed to mice genetically modified to develop Alzheimer’s and fruit flies mutated to simulate the ailment.
The four month study found the disease slowed in both sets of animals. Professor Ovadia said CEppt inhibited the formation of toxic amyloid polypeptide oligomers and fibrils in the brain – something akin to brain plaque.

Further in vitro testing showed it altered amyloid fibres, which are known to kill neurons in the brain. These results needed animal model verification, Professor Ovadia said.
According to the Alzheimer's Association, one in eight Americans over the age of 65 suffers from the disease.
Cinnamon and diabetes
Cinnamon has featured in many studies highlighting its ability to benefit blood glucose levels and therefore diabetes.
However, a 2008 meta-analysis questioned the potential benefits of cinnamon for type-2 diabetes. The analysis considered only five randomized placebo-controlled trials involving 282 subjects, and found no significant benefits of cinnamon supplement on glycated hemoglobin (A1C), fasting blood glucose (FBG), or other lipid parameters (Diabetes Care, 2008, Vol. 31, pp. 41-43).
Source:

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 07:03 AM | Permalink

Gallup Poll shows Jewish support for Obama down to 60%
By JEREMY SHARON
05/07/2011
Support for US president among American Jews at lowest point this year; weakest among Jews who regularly attend synagogue, poll finds.

A Gallup poll, released on Tuesday, surveying attitudes of Jewish Americans showed that communal support for US President Barak Obama has fallen to its lowest point this year, with 60 percent of American Jews giving him a positive job approval rating and 32 percent now disapproving of the job the president is doing.

This follows a general decline in support from Jewish Americans for Obama, having fallen from the 83 percent job approval he enjoyed at the beginning of his administration, although this reflects the same rate of decline in support as has occurred in the general US population, Gallup says.

“The level of Jewish support Obama received in the last election is not guaranteed for 2012,” said Larry Grossman, director of publications and a senior official at American Jewish Committee, regarding the poll.

“He’ll still get the majority of the Jewish vote, the question is will there be backsliding from the very high percentage he got last time? This might be significant in swing-states with large Jewish populations, although it’s too early to make definitive pronouncements at this stage of the game,” Grossman added.

According to the poll results, Obama’s foreign policy address to the US State Department on May 19 did not have a major impact on Jewish opinion, despite the negative reaction from Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to Obama’s support in his speech for a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians based on the pre-1967 lines.

At the time, the president’s job approval rating in general, and among Jews, was artificially high at 68 percent, following the killing of al-Qaida leader Osama Bin Laden. According to Gallup, Obama’s 45-day average job approval rating among Jews before his speech was 65 percent, and 62 percent in the following 45 days, a decline falling within the 6-point margin of error for the poll.

The continuing fall in Jewish support for Obama might also be significant regarding the level of contributions Jewish Democratic donors will provide for the 2012 presidential campaign.

"There are a lot of reports that these donors are now on the fence," says Grossman, "they may not be as generous to Obama as they were last time around."

"Things could easily change though, Jews don't just vote on Jewish issues. The economy is front and center for all American voters so if the economy turns around between now and then everything could change."

According to Gallup's poll, support for Obama is weakest among Jews who regularly attend synagogue, standing at 51 percent, whereas those who seldom or never attend services stands at 70 percent.

How can any Jew still support Obama ?

I will predict this if you think Obama is bad now wait until G-D forbid he gets reelected.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 12:21 PM | Permalink

By YAAKOV KATZ
05/07/2011
Good-will gesture to Abbas delayed over concerns that releasing terrorist remains may hinder efforts to secure release of Gilad Schalit.

Israel will not transfer the bodies of senior Palestinian terrorists, suicide bombers and former residents of the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian Authority in a planned gesture to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Defense Minister Ehud Barak decided on Tuesday.

Barak’s decision came a day after the PA and IDF confirmed that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu had approved the transfer of 84 bodies of Palestinians killed since 1967 to Abbas ahead of the Muslim month of Ramadan.

Early Tuesday morning, Barak suddenly decided to overturn his earlier decision to move forward with the gesture, citing concerns that the mass release of bodies – some of senior Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists – could be detrimental to Israeli efforts to secure the release of Gilad Schalit from Hamas captivity.

“Soon there won’t be anything left to transfer to them and there is room to consider transferring the bodies as opposed to leaving them in a temporary cemetery,” Barak said on the sidelines of an IDF brigade exercise in the Negev on Tuesday. “On the other hand, we need to check who we are transferring.”

In the afternoon, Barak announced his decision not to transfer the following bodies: Amad and Adal Awadalle, senior Hamas military commanders, Fuad Alkusama, a senior Hamas commander from Hebron, Abdullah Alkusami, a senior Hamas terrorist, Ramaz Aslim, the suicide bomber who killed seven people in Café Hillel in Jerusalem in 2003 and Hanadi Jaradat, the female suicide bomber who killed 21 people in the Maxim restaurant in Haifa in 2003.

Also on the list were - Ihab Abu-Salim, the suicide bomber who killed nine soldiers at a hitchhiking post outside the Tzrifin Base near Rishon Letzion in 2003, Abdullah Abdullah, the suicide bomber who killed four Israelis outside the Stage nightclub in Tel Aviv in 2005 and Amar Ali Abdullah, the suicide bomber who killed three people in the Carmel Market in Tel Aviv in 2004.

Barak also decided not to transfer the bodies of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, likely part of an effort to retain bargaining chips for future negotiations regarding Schalit.

The bodies will be taken from a cemetery near Allenby Bridge where some 150 bodies of Palestinians killed since the Six Day War are buried. The transfer is expected to take place in the coming weeks and will be overseen by the office of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories.

Why is Israel even talking about this when Shalit is still a hostage?

Israel should do nothing positive for the PA or the Palestinian people until we get Shalit back alive and well.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 12:14 PM | Permalink

Happy Independence Day.

May the American people soon be free from the tyranny that is growing every day.

So that 200 years from now America is still the shining light of freedom and liberty, that it once was.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 07:36 AM | Permalink

For those who would like to hear me on the radio, I am very pleased to announce that I will be having a weekly appearance on the Middle East Radio Forum, the show is hosted By William Wolf.

You can listen to the show by going to the MERF web page
http://www.middleeastradioforum.org/

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 02:26 PM | Permalink

By JTA
01/07/2011
Department of Homeland Security says Israel one of 36 countries whose citizens might have terrorist ties; doesn't reflect gov't policy.

WASHINGTON -- Israel is on a list compiled by US immigration authorities of countries that might harbor terrorists, it was reported this week.

The Department of Homeland Security list of 36 nations does not fault government policies and instead recognizes the likelihood that a suspect traveler from that country might have terrorist ties.

If a traveler from one of the countries is detained, the country's inclusion on the list triggers a special check by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement division.

The list, attached to a May 10 document from the DHS Inspector General's office, was first reported this week by CNS News, a Christian news service.

An ICE spokeswoman, Gillian Christensen, told CNS that appearance on the list did not suggest a country backs terrorism.

"The US does not and never has considered Israel to have links to terrorism, but rather they are a partner in our efforts to combat global terrorism,” Christensen said. “Countries may have been included on the list because of the backgrounds of arrestees, not because of the country’s government itself. The United States maintains close intelligence-sharing relationships with many of these countries in order to address security issues within their own borders and in our mutual pursuit of safety and security around the globe."

The list includes a number of other close US allies, like Turkey, Bahrain, Morocco and Philippines, as well as nations beset by internal fighting, like Sudan and Somalia.

This makes as much sense as if the Nazi's had said the death camps do not reflect government policy.

Today Israel is still on the list of terrorist countries , enough said.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 02:22 PM | Permalink