by Hillel Fendel
(IsraelNN.com) The Chief Rabbinate of Israel, after hearing more testimony, reiterated its ban on Jewish participation in the Christian-sponsored conferences in Jerusalem this week.
The rabbinate's Committee to Stop Missionary Dissemination met for a second time on Thursday, this time with MK Benny Elon, the Chairman of the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus. Though Elon demonstrated his opposition to working with missionaries and the care his groups take to ensure that no missionary work is tolerated, the rabbis reaffirmed the previous ban.
The committee's first decision was a unanimous vote, agreed upon by Rabbis Simcha Kook (Chief Rabbi of Rechovot), Yitzchak Peretz (Raanana) and Yehuda Deri (Be'er Sheva). At the second vote, however, Rabbi Deri was not present, and Haifa's Chief Rabbi She'ar-Yashuv Cohen, who replaced him, voted against the decision.
Also participating in the meeting were Jerusalem Councilwoman Mina Fenton (NRP), a long-time activist against missionary activity, and Ze'ev Shtieglitz of the Netanya-based Lev L'Achim anti-missionary organization.
Elon Will Not Participate in Conference
MK Elon expressed disappointment with the decision, but said he would honor it: "I feel that the evidence presented to the rabbis was not complete, but the bottom line is that as a religious ...   more »

MUSLIMS are outraged that prospective citizens will have to acknowledge the Judeo-Christian tradition as the basis of Australia's values system.
Australia's peak Muslim body said the proposed citizenship question - revealed in the Herald Sun - was disturbing and potentially divisive.
Australian Federation of Islamic Councils president Dr Ameer Ali said the "Abrahamic tradition" or "universal values" would be less divisive ways of describing the nation's moral base.
Dr Ali said use of the term Judeo-Christian was the result of "WWII guilt", and before 1945 Australia would have been called only Christian.
"That question must be rephrased," he said.
Dr Ali was backed by Democrats senator Lyn Allison, who said the answer to the question was highly debatable.
But Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews stood firm on the merit of the question.
Mr Andrews said Australia's Judeo-Christian heritage was indisputable historical fact.
"We are not asking people to subscribe to the Judeo-Christian ethic," he said.
"We are simply stating a fact that this is part of the heritage of Australia in terms of its foundation.
"This is not an exercise in political correctness. It is trying to state what has been the case and still is the case."
But Health Minister ...   more »

By Solly Ganor
Five years ago, I had a conversation with a young Palestinian student who in short precise terms explained how Islam will defeat the West. The conversation opened my eyes to a much larger picture in which Israel plays only a minor role in the Islamic game of conquest. Since then I tried to speak to some Arabs who come to pray at the Mosque, but they were not as outspoken as the student.
Last week, I had another conversation with an Israeli Arab construction boss by the unlikely name of Francis who was in charge of building a villa near our house in Herzelia. He told me that his family was Christian, and his name was given to him in honor of the Franciscan monks. Our conversation was as interesting as the first conversation I had with the Arab student five years ago and I would like to share it with you. Francis frequently parked his car near our house and we would exchange polite greetings.
About a week ago, the water was shut off for repairs in the house he was building, and Francis asked me if I could give him some hot water for his ...   more »

Grant McArthur
FOR five years, Graeme Stuart has been living with a cancer that normally claims sufferers within 3 1/2 years. And thanks to a new medication, he is hoping for many years more.
The Hepburn grandfather is one of just 200 Australians being offered a treatment for multiple myeloma, a blood cancer.
Each year, 1200 cases are diagnosed.
Though it will be at least two years before Revlimid is assessed by the Therapeutic Goods Administration for use in Australia, six Victorian hospitals have been granted limited access to the drug.
Tests that have already been conducted in Australia have added an average of 14 months to patients' lives.
Mr Stuart, 75, gained an early taste of the benefits of the drug in a clinical trial three years ago.
And thanks to the limited release, he has now been taking the drug for two years.
"I thank my lucky stars I am getting this treatment. It's wonderful, and I'm responding to it," Mr Stuart said.
"I counted myself very lucky to be offered a chance in the original trial. When they put me on the real thing, I had a remarkable improvement.
"And for the last six months or more, ...   more »

Jose Nemesio Lugo Felix was appointed last month as head of a drug intelligence unit in Mexico's attorney general's office.
Less than 30 days later, he was shot and killed in a sophisticated street ambush that is being characterized as a "planned execution" – another assassination presumably by one of the Mexican drug cartels.
He hadn't even finished unpacking boxes in his new office.
The list of atrocities of this kind in Mexico grows on a daily basis:
Last weekend, two journalists for the Azteca television network who had previously covered the drug wars in Mexico were reported missing and assumed to have been kidnapped in Monterrey.
About the same time, an army captain was kidnapped and killed in Chilpancingo.
A federal police investigator was found shot dead in Tijuana.
A severed head was left at an army base in Vercruz, a day after the central government said it would send troops to the Gulf Coast to battle the drug trade.
Four government bodyguards assigned to protect the children of the governor of the state of Mexico, Enrique Pena Nieto, were killed while taking the kids to the beach.
Mexico City's El Universal newspaper reported more than 1,000 people have ...   more »