By: Newsmax  
The Israeli army has announced a new campaign to prepare the nation’s citizens for an attack with chemical or biological weapons.
The campaign will offer civilians detailed information on how to protect their homes against weapons of mass destruction — how to choose a protected room and how to seal doors and windows against a WMD attack.
Information will be provided in a guidebook to be distributed to every household, as well as through television broadcasts, a Web site, and a telephone information center.
The Israeli army in recent months has collected hundreds of thousands of gas masks it had distributed to civilians following the outbreak of the 1991 Gulf War, according to the Web site spacewar.com.
Israelis had feared that the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein would fire missiles at Israel loaded with WMDs.
 Original Source

   more »

By Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent   
Tags: Syria, Hamas, Israel  
The Foreign Ministry has placed the Syrian issue as one of its central objectives for 2008. A document published by the ministry states its intention to "formulate a strategic plan to remove Syria from the radical axis."
Senior officials in the Foreign Ministry indicated that there is still no clear program for reaching this goal, but that a list of ideas includes the distancing of Syria from Iran, Hezbollah and Palestinian terrorist organizations.
This objective is in line with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's recent "checking" with different Israel-Syria mediators to examine Damascus' willingness to start political negotiations with Israel.  
The Foreign Ministry's list of objectives for 2008, which was approved this week by Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, also includes promoting the Annapolis process, continuing the isolation of Hamas in the international arena, and improving the standard of living within the Gaza Strip.
Moreover, the plan calls for the normalization of relations with Arab countries and for the "opening of new channels of communication with countries with which Israel has no diplomatic relations."
The plan also states the importance of thwarting Iran's nuclear developments and assisting Jewish communities in distress. ...   more »

By Jessica Ravitz
LDS Church's Jerusalem Center. (Mark A. Philbrick)JERUSALEM - For many in Israel, the building and its inhabitants are shrouded in mystery. Some even call it "the secret place."
    "What is it, these Mormons?" a man with a thick Hebrew accent asks. "Do you know what they believe?" asks a woman in a downtown restaurant. "Why are they here?" a Palestinian taxi driver wonders aloud.
    Nestled atop Mount Scopus, with sweeping views of the Kidron Valley, the Mount of Olives and the Old City of Jerusalem, Brigham Young University's Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies sits on real estate that would make any Middle Eastern Donald Trump drool. Here, students who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints spend from two to four months immersed in study of the new and old, the ancient and the modern - whether that be the testaments of the Bible or near eastern history.
    But what the students and couples doing volunteer service at the center don't do is talk about their faith with others. That's right: They are Latter-day Saints who keep their beliefs quiet and lips sealed.
    "We do not proselytize. Even ...   more »

By Stan Goodenough
Dec 28, 2007
Only a settlement imposed by the United States can save Israel, which is politically a "failed state," according to the chief editor of Ha'aretz, one of Israel's most influential left wing newspapers.
Israel National News and The Jerusalem Post Friday reported that David Landau admitted to conveying this message to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during a confidential briefing she gave while visiting Israel last September.
Landau allegedly used obscene imagery in his conversation with Rice, telling her the Israeli government wanted to be "raped" by the United States, and saying he would be sexually gratified if this actually happened.
The British-born yeshiva-educated journalists confirmed the statements in a telephone conversation with the Jewish Week.
"I did say that in general, Israel wants to be raped — I did use that word — by the US, and I myself have long felt Israel needed more vigorous US intervention in the affairs of the Middle East," he said.
Makor Rishon quoted him as also telling Rice "that it had always been my wet dream to see this [US 'rape' of Israel] happen."
Rice’s response had been "fantastic [in that she was] completely unfazed" by ...   more »