by Rebbetzin Tzipporah Heller
One of the most harrowing pictures I ever saw appeared in Newsweek. The camera caught a glimpse into a life that had, in many senses, vanished before it even began. A child, who could not have been more than three or four years old, was carrying building materials. We would call him a pre-schooler; in today's Sudan, he -- and his parents -- are slaves.
He can be purchased by just about anyone; someone looked at him and saw two arms that will grow larger and stronger. It is not likely that they saw a mind or a soul. In the Newsweek interview, the child had no idea of the name of his country or his village. Looking at him from my home in Jerusalem, I mourned for his childhood far more than he did. I silently wished that he would somehow be able to return to himself and learn that he is more than his two strong arms.
In the course of our lives, we close doors to higher and deeper selves and sometimes forget that we, too, are more than earners, spenders, and travelers through life. Our thoughtless enslavement to mindless routine can leave ...   more »

The upcoming release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh and final installment of the wildly popular series, has drawn indignation from ultra-Orthodox lawmakers such as Deputy prime minister and Industry, Trade, and Labor Minister Eli Yishai of Shas.
The book is set to be released simultaneously throughout the world on Saturday July 21. In Israel, the event falls at 2:01 a.m. on Shabbat, when it is illegal for most businesses to be open and functioning.
Yishai, who suggested that the book be sold either earlier on Friday or after the Sabbath is over, threatened to indict and fine any retailers who go through with plans to release the book as scheduled.
"We must put a limit on the desire to imitate other countries. It is inconceivable that numerous employees will be brought in to allow these events to take place and damage the spirit of Shabbat. I plan to file charges and fine anyone who violates the Hours of Work and Rest Law," Yishai said.
The two major book chains in Israel are both planning events to mark the launch. Steimatzky is planning a major event in Tel Aviv's port on Friday night. Tsomet Sfarim is also ...   more »

Only a few weeks ago our erratic Prime Minister was still assuring the nation that for the time being no further unilateral withdrawals were under consideration.
Yet a recent report in the daily Haaretz outlined a comprehensive new "peace" formula virtually indistinguishable from the 2002 Saudi plan, incorporating wide ranging concessions to the Palestinians which President Peres had submitted to Prime Minister Olmert immediately upon assuming office.
Of course, in line with standard procedures related to such trial balloons, the Prime Minister's office ritualistically denied that any such plan had ever been considered. However the office of the President not only confirmed the existence of the plan, but even expressed confidence that it would be endorsed by the Americans and Europeans.
Peres was the principal architect of the disastrous Oslo Accords, but his new proposal extends far beyond his original failed plan. It recommends that Israel forego the Israeli interpretation of UN Resolution 242 and accept the bitterly contested Arab-Soviet- French interpretation which demanded Israel's total withdrawal from all the territories beyond the green line, effectively ceding to the Palestinians one hundred percent of the territories conquered in 1967.
The major settlement blocs amounting up to 5% of the area ...   more »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. diplomatic security officials will begin training the Palestinian presidential guard this year in an effort to support the government of President Mahmoud Abbas, the State Department said on Sunday.  
Under an agreement signed this month by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, presidential guard officers would take course work and conduct VIP protection exercises under the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security.
Rice visited the West Bank in early August, six weeks after Hamas Islamists took over the Gaza strip, in order to bolster Abbas and his Fatah government and promote a U.S.-backed Middle East peace conference to be held later this year.
The guards' training will run from autumn into early 2008 and is part of U.S. and international efforts to bolster the Palestinian security sector and improve law and order, the State Department said in a statement.
The program aims to help the Palestinian Authority "deliver security for the Palestinian people and fight terrorism, build confidence between the parties, and ultimately help to meet the security needs of Palestinians and Israelis alike," it said.
Security training funds were part of about $80 million the Bush administration has promised ...   more »