by Rebbetzin Tzipporah Heller
On Sukkot, we discover that happiness is never about having; it is about being.
Someone's luggage inevitably comes off the conveyor belt first. The odds (compared to say, winning a state lottery) are not really that heavily stacked against you, especially on a local flight. Yet after years of watching other people's luggage pass me by as I vainly waited for my non-descript suitcases, the one time mine came out first, I was in a state of disbelief. In my wildest dreams I never thought that I would be the lucky one!
I quickly filed the experience away in my "happiness" dossier and let its sappy sweetness soak my inner discontent. The problem, of course, is that within 20 minutes I was back into my just-off-the-plane-and-I'm-hot irritable impatient state that is as familiar and comfortable as an old shoe. Genuine happiness had eluded me once again.
Western society is infused with the right of the pursuit happiness. We hunt it down with relentless drive. Do we find it? I'm not so sure. Sure, no one is happy when they are hungry, cold, in pain, or deprived of companionship. But the tricky part is that being satiated, ...   more »

In first comment by Israeli official following reports on IDF overflight in Syria, opposition leader claims he was informed about operation 'from the start'. Netanyahu praises Prime Minister Olmert for Syria mission but slams him over willingness to negotiate on Jerusalem. 'The Western Wall isn't real estate; the Temple Mount is in our hands only as long as the IDF is there', he tells Ynet
Ronny Sofer
Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that he had been informed about the reported IDF operation in Syria "from the start" and praised Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for carrying out the mission. He was the first Israeli official to break the silence and admit that the overflight in Syria did take place.  
Netahyahu's office said in response that he was not referring to a specific operation and that he did not reveal any details.  
In an interview with Channel 1 news Wednesday, Netanyahu personally congratulated Olmert on the operation: "When a prime minister does things that I believe are important and necessary, I give my full support," he said. "I was in on it from the first moment, and I gave my support Security Cooperation  
Barak: Israel could partially hand ...   more »

A stunning report published by Jane's Defense Weekly confirms rumors of a July explosion at a Syrian military base at al-Safir, near Aleppo, in which reportedly "dozens" of Iranian engineers were killed along with their Syrian counterparts.
Syria had originally dismissed reports of the explosion by saying the blast was generated by the desert heat causing the accidental detonation of a stockpile of explosives.
Jane's reported that the explosion was actually triggered while the engineers were fitting a chemical warhead onto a Scud-C missile. The explosion and fire released containers of the deadly nerve agents VX and sarin gas, as well as a mustard gas blistering agent.
Israeli Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter told reporters this week, "Iran has entered into strategic cooperation with Syria on conventional and nonconventional weapons development," adding, "The Iranians are very big in Syria."  
Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is preparing Syria to cover his flank, should war break out between Israel and Iran over Tehran's nuclear arsenal. Ahmadinejad is evidently gambling on Syria taking out Israel while Iran squares off against the United States. Were Iran and Israel to face each other head-to-head, one or the other would inevitably cease to exist. Israel would have ...   more »

Yoni, an Israeli Defense Force soldier stationed in Hebron, was shot by an Arab terrorist. It happened very early in the morning, and no one else was awake to hear it. Yoni passed out and was bleeding steadily, his life was heading toward a silent end.
But another soldier stationed nearby heard the shot and went to investigate. He found a fellow Israeli soldier bleeding to death. He tried the best he could to stop the bleeding and called for help. Waiting for help to arrive, he kept applying pressure to the wound- literally holding Yoni's life in his hands.
Yoni was taken to a hospital in Be’er Sheva where he underwent surgery. Yoni's parents were notified and they rushed to the hospital. Imagine the fear of the parents who were only told "your son has been injured and is in the hospital." When they arrived the doctor told them that Yoni was shot but will be alright. Had it not been for the immediate actions of the other soldier, their son Yoni would have bled to death. It was a miracle that the other soldier heard what no one else heard, and managed to locate Yoni as quickly as ...   more »

A 144-nation atomic energy conference criticized Israel Thursday for refusing to put its nuclear program under international purview, with the United States alone in supporting the Jewish state. 
Besides Washington, only Israel voted against the resolution, while 53 nations backed it and 47 abstained.  
The remaining nations were absent for the highly unusual vote — only the second in the 16 years the issue has been on the agenda of the International Atomic Energy Agency.  
Up to last year, the resolution on "Application of IAEA Safeguards in the Middle East" had been adopted by consensus, but in 2006, and again this year, Israeli objections forced a vote.  
This year, Israel opposed two paragraphs — one calling all nations in the Middle East "not to develop, test or otherwise acquire nuclear weapons," the other urging nuclear weapons states to "refrain from any action" hindering the establishment of a Mideast zone free of nuclear weapons.  
'No interest in consensus'
Both passages were clearly aimed at Israel, which is considered to have nuclear weapons despite its "no tell" policy on the issue. Israel counts on the United States as its chief ally for support — both in the outside ...   more »

By The Associated Press
Iran demanded that United Nations inspectors visit Israel to investigate its nuclear capability while Israel accused Tehran of lying in a bitter debate at an assembly of the UN atomic watchdog in Vienna on Friday.
United Nations officials at a 149-nation meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna said they had no memory of the two rival nations ever engaging each other directly at previous meetings.
The debate was sought by Arab and Islamic states after they shelved a resolution to brand Israel an atomic "threat" in the face of a likely Western maneuver to block a floor vote.
Israel is widely assumed to have the Middle East's only atomic arsenal, though it has never confirmed or denied this. It is also one of just three states to shun the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, along with India and Pakistan.
Iran is under UN Security Council sanctions for refusing to halt a nuclear energy program feared by major powers to be a covert attempt to build atom bombs. Tehran's Islamist leaders have called for Israel's destruction.
During the course of the annual IAEA assembly, Arab countries and Iran railed at "persistent international double standards and ...   more »

By Mazal Mualem and Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondents and News Agencies
Defense Minister Ehud Barak this week warned against forsaking Israeli diplomatic principles to gain favor with the Bush administration.
In statements made to Haaretz, Barak warned against a "withdrawal from Israeli principles that have stood for 40 years, merely to gain favor in the eyes of an American president who is leaving office in a year."
Barak also leveled harsh criticism on recent efforts by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Vice Premier Haim Ramon to advance diplomatic progress with the Palestinian Authority, stating that even if PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayad wanted to sign a peace agreement with Israel, they don't have the power to implement it.
Barak's words paint a strong contrast to statements made by Olmert speechto a Kadima Party gathering Thursday night where the PM said Israel "has a partner" in Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.
The defense minister attacked Ramon's recently published diplomatic plan that would set the future border of Israel on the 1967 lines and would transfer Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem to Palestinian control.
"Ramon is overreaching and he lacks supervision or self control," Barak stated.
Sources ...   more »

Palestinian music video in Hebrew celebrates putting Israelis 'in black bags' 
Hamas, which has a majority in the Palestinian Authority's parliament, broadcast a music video on its Al Aqsa TV channel that showed terrorist attacks against Israeli citizens, accompanied by the lyrics, "In black bags, chunks of flesh of Jews."
Footage of the broadcast, along with a translation, was obtained by the Middle East Media Research Institute.
The program aired Wednesday.
The lyrics to "Hamas - The Apple of My Eye," according to MEMRI, are as follows:
Hamas, Hamas, Hamas the apple of my eye - Hamas
They destroyed the Merkava [tank]
the apple of my eye - Hamas
Repeated eight times
A bombing every minute
Soldiers are afraid
A bombing every minute 
Soldiers are afraid
In black bags
Chunks of flesh of Jews
repeated five times
In retaliation for Yassin we want Sharon's head
We want Sharon's head
we want Sharon's head!
Hamas, Hamas, Hamas the apple of my eye - Hamas
They destroyed the Merkava [tank]
the apple of my eye - Hamas
Repeated five times
the apple of my eye -Hamas
the apple of my eye - Hamas
"Produced by AL-Aqsa TV, 2007"
Dedicated to the Arab ...   more »