Tisha Be’Av is a time of fasting and mourning for the loss of both Jewish temples. It is a time of reflection and personal, as well as collective, introspection. Tisha Be’ Av is the time to open ourselves to constructive criticism, to consider how to correct our wrongs and to change our ways. Our prime minister and government were given a prime opportunity to do this last week when the state comptroller released his much anticipated report on the government’s performance during the second Lebanon war.
In it, the state comptroller gave an in-depth description of the failure of government, police, fire department, medical services and social service functions during the war. Rather than receiving the comptroller’s criticism and considering his suggestions, Prime Minister Olmert lashed out and publicly attacked the comptroller for his report.
Prime Minister Olmert’s official response to the state comptroller’s report clearly expressed his lack of accountability to the Israeli public. In a booklet entitled “Comments of the Prime Minister to the State Comptroller”, Prime Minister Olmert stated, “The Comptroller marks attractive targets and shoots in all directions in order to achieve headlines and to create public opinion.”
This reaction makes it clear that Prime Minister ...   more »

For most of his professional life, Tel Aviv University professor Michael Ovadia focused on snakes and the medicinal properties of their venom. But seven years ago, after meditating on a biblical passage, Ovadia's career focus began to take a twist... a cinnamon twist to be exact.
Today the spiritual scientist from TAU's Department of Zoology is commercializing a unique cinnamon extract that is touted to quell viral infections from HIV to the Avian flu.
A research and license deal on his patent-pending cinnamon extract was signed last week between TAU's technology transfer company Ramot and Frutarom, a multinational nutraceutical company based in Israel. Frutarom is expected to use the extract in a whole host of applications from disinfecting the air as a spray against Avian flu in airports; to a daily supplement that protects people against the common flu.
Those researching in the field of natural medicine know that snake venom, especially the notorious poisonous kind, has unique anti-viral and analgesic properties that can help fight human illness and disease. For the past 40 years, Ovadia had been working with natural antidotes and found that certain kinds of venom can deactivate Parainfluenza (Sendai) virus - a virus similar to the ...   more »

In intelligence parlance it’s called “chatter” – communication by known or suspected terrorists among themselves. When monitoring agents detect intensification in the level of communication, or certain variations in the pattern of interaction – they increase the alert level and brace for a possible attack. Western intelligence agencies are also consistently monitoring hostile nations for the likelihood of war. In the Middle East, falling down on this job could lead – and has led – to surprise attacks that have threatened the very existence of the State of Israel.
Here in Israel, “ordinary” folk don’t generally have access to this type of “chatter.” Because of the prevailing tensions in our world, however, our “antennae” are probably more sensitive to conditions - and our spirits more quickly alerted – than if we were living elsewhere.
Jerusalem has been my home for nearly 20 years. At some point in almost every one of those years, conjecture has circulated about the possibility of war. In the early 1990s, conflicts seemed to always be anticipated in the autumn. More recent years have seen that time frame shift to the summer.
Of course, there is good reason for the speculation:  Israel has fought or endured ...   more »

By Richard Baehr
An American Thinker Classic
For decades, most American Jews have believed there were far greater threats from the fringe right than the fringe left in this country. While this view may have been reasonable in the past, it is certainly not so today. The fringe right still exists— the neo—Nazis in Northwest Idaho, Matthew Hale, and David Duke, and the remnants of the KKK. But the views of the fringe right have been marginalized by their repudiation by virtually all mainstream elements on the political right.
The fringe left, on the other hand, has evolved into a broader left, and become more mainstream. The political perspective of this new left is vehemently anti—Israel, and the power and reach of this movement represent a real threat to Israel, and by extension to Jews who support Israel.
What is the Left?
The left does not mean the Democratic Party in Congress.  When pro—Israel resolutions come before the Congress, due in part to the extraordinary efforts of AIPAC [America Israel Public Affairs Committee], a very high percentage of both Democrats and Republicans vote a solidly pro—Israel agenda. There are some small differences between the parties, however, especially in the House. ...   more »