by Hillel Fendel
(IsraelNN.com) A historic first: Last week, during a special visit to the Temple Mount, the Priestly Blessing (Numbers 6:24-26) was recited there, for arguably the first time since the 1st-century destruction.
The Blessing is recited daily in synagogues in Israel by descendants of Aaron the Priest, and only on festivals in the Diaspora.
On the Temple Mount: During the Priestly Blessing, the "Kohanim" raise their hands.
www.TempleInstitute.org
The special visit was held to commemorate the 842nd anniversary of Maimonides's famous visit to the Temple Mount, Judaism's holiest site.  A group of some 25 Jews, organized by the Temple Institute in Jerusalem, marked the special day with a commemorative visit.  Giving extra-special meaning to the occasion was a spontaneous Priestly Blessing delivered to the group by Yehuda Katz, the lead singer of the Reva L'Sheva band, and Eliezer Breuer, originally of the former Soviet Union and now from Kiryat Arba.
Rabbi Chaim Richman, one of the organizers of the trip, said, "This was probably the first time since the destruction of the Temple [1,928 years ago] that the Priestly Blessing was delivered on our holiest site.  At times like these, when there is talk of giving away our ...   more »

A leading Israeli Arab Muslim cleric said at the weekend that the Jewish state will very soon cease to exist and the whole of the country will come under Sharia (strict Islamic) law as another piece in the puzzle to reconstituting the Islamic Caliphate.
In an interview with a local Arabic-language newspaper, Sheikh Kamal Khatib, deputy head of northern Israel's Islamic Movement, insisted that the world is "on the threshold of a new era. The future belongs to Islam and the Muslims."
Khatib said that in preparation for the coming Islamic takeover, Muslims who hold Israeli citizenship like himself should begin to actively rebel against the state by refusing to cooperate with and forming alternatives to the Israeli authorities.
Also at the weekend, Khatib's boss, Sheikh Raed Salah denounced current peace negotiations leading to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Arab conflict as an "evil Israeli scheme." Salah, who is also an Israeli citizen, has long maintained that that Muslim world must not recognize Israel's right to exist.
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Gunmen attempted to hit prime minister's convoy as it made its way from Jerusalem to West Bank city for meeting with Palestinian President Abbas in August, Shin Bet chief tells cabinet ministers. PA arrests three suspects following incident, but later releases them. Olmert: Assassination attempt shall not be ignored. Fayyad: We'll draw all the possible lessons from the incident
Ronny Sofer
A group of gunmen affiliated with Fatah attempted to hit Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's convoy as it made its way from Jerusalem to Jericho for a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on August 6, Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin told the cabinet ministers Sunday morning.  
Israel learned of the plan from intelligence information received several days before the visit. The attack was eventually thwarted by the Shin Bet and the Palestinian Intelligence Service headed by Tawfik Tirawi.  
Jericho Meeting 
Following the incident, the Palestinians arrested three suspects, who were later released, according to Israeli officials. Two other cell members are being held in Israel.  
On Sunday, Israel filed an official complaint with the Palestinian Authority following the suspects' release.  
Israeli security sources expressed their anger over the release, which took place "after these terrorists' ...   more »

TEL AVIV — Israel is pressing a last-minute diplomatic offensive to stop the Russian sale to Syria of a strategic air defense system.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met Russian President Vladimir Putin in a discussion that focused on Moscow's plans to sell strategic military systems to Damascus.
Officials said Olmert urged Putin to halt Russia's plans to deliver the S-300PMU1 air defense system to Syria.
In a three-hour meeting, Olmert was said to have presented intelligence of Syria's strategic programs, including efforts to develop nuclear weapons. Officials said the prime minister provided Putin with details of Israel's strike on a suspected Syrian nuclear facility in September, protected by the Russian-origin Pantsyr-SE1 air defense system. Damascus received its first Pantsyrs in 2007 in a deal financed by Iran.
The official said Olmert had sought a meeting with Putin for several weeks. But Putin stalled until he concluded his visit to Iran on Oct. 17.
"The Russians plan to deliver the S-300 over the next few weeks and this was a desperate attempt by Olmert to stop this," an official said.
In wake of the September strike by Israel, Russia and Syria have concluded that Damascus required the S-300 to protect ...   more »

By Nadav Shragai, Haaretz Correspondent    
The Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies (JIIS), which in the past supported removing Arab neighborhoods from the capital's jurisdiction and placing them in Palestinian hands, will submit to the prime minister and policy makers a detailed document setting out the thorny legal and municipal issues involved in dividing Jerusalem. The institute's researchers now question whether Israel actually stands to "profit" (demographically and economically) from the removal of Arab neighborhoods from East Jerusalem, as the supporters of the city's division had until now assumed.
The experts of JIIS, including Prof. Ruth Lapidot, former Foreign Ministry director general Reuven Merhav, Prof. Yaacov Bar-Siman-Tov, JIIS Director-General Ora Ahimeir and Dr. Israel Kimhi, drafted various scenarios for dividing Jerusalem that were submitted to the political leadership. JIIS documents served as the foundations of plans presented by then-prime minister Ehud Barak at Camp David in 2000 as well as those currently being discussed by the Israeli and Palestinian negotiating teams.
In the latest report, former Foreign Ministry legal adviser Dr. Robbie Sabel and Gilad Noam, a J.D. candidate at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, note that residents of East Jerusalem will have the option of moving to Israel proper ...   more »

By Chris Mitchell
JERUSALEM DATELINE:
Will Olmert Divide Jerusalem?
CBNNews.com - Even members of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's own party are upset by Vice Premier Chaim Ramon's call to give up Israeli control over a large part of Jerusalem.
CBN News has learned that the plan, which was revealed while U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice was visiting, is based on a plan forwarded by President Bill Clinton seven years ago.
The Ramon proposal would effectively divide Jerusalem in two. Most of East Jerusalem would be given over to the Palestinian Authority, while West Jerusalem would remain under Israeli control.
The plan would put the holy sites like the Garden of Gethsemane and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher under "special sovereignty" while the Western Wall would remain under Israeli control.
"The moment that we re-divide Jerusalem and divide up the Old City of Jerusalem, we're going to create chaos," said former Israeli U.N. Ambassador Dore Gold.
Gold, author of The Fight for Jerusalem, says dividing the city would trigger a jihadist war.
"Look what's happening in Iraq where mosques are getting blown up and churches are being attacked. Do we really want to put that in the heart ...   more »

(IsraelNN.com) According to Arabic newspapers in Judea and Samaria, Palestinian Authority officials plan to tell United States officials that they followed the US-backed Road Map plan and filled all of their stage-one responsibilities.  PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas reportedly made similar statements to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
According to Stage One of the roadmap, the PA must accept Israel’s right to exist, call for an end to terrorism, take concrete steps to fight terrorism, and stop incitement against Israel.  Abbas, who is also head of the terrorist group Fatah, claims he has fulfilled the requirements, and has accused Israel of failing to meet its Road Map obligations
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Khaled Abu Toameh
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is reported to have threatened to resign if the upcoming peace conference in Annapolis fails, paving the way for another round of violence and for the emergence of al-Qaida in the Palestinian territories.
Abbas made the threat during his meeting with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Ramallah last Wednesday.
PA officials in Ramallah would neither confirm nor deny the report.
However, they pointed out that Abbas was "very disappointed" by the results of Rice's last shuttle tour in the region.
Because of the tensions, Abbas and Rice refrained from holding a joint press conference after the meeting, they added.
The Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jareeda quoted a top PA official as saying that Abbas also warned that the US and Israel would have to deal with al-Qaida and a third intifada if the conference failed.
"It was a very tough meeting," the official said. "President Abbas threatened to resign and to deliver a public speech that would cause the US political difficulties and earthquakes not only in the Palestinian territories, but among US allies throughout the world as well."
The PA official also quoted Abbas as telling Rice that the absence of ...   more »