by Sara Yoheved Rigler
This week a diverse cross-section of hundreds of thousands of Jews gathered together, united in one aim -- to express their love for Jerusalem. 8th January 2001/13 Tevet 5761)It was great to be a Jew in Jerusalem today. More than 300,000 Jews from throughout Israel and the world -- the largest rally in the history of Israel -- gathered together to express their loyalty to Jerusalem as the eternal, undivided capital of the Jewish nation. The rally began at eventide when Jews from all over Israel, holding torches and Israeli flags, formed a human chain around the Old City. Hebrew songs of love and longing for Jerusalem blared from mammoth speakers set up along the 16th century walls. By nightfall, the crowds stretched from Jaffa Gate for more than a kilometer up Jerusalem's main street.The rally was billed as non-political and nonpartisan, and indeed, no politicians nor members of Knesset spoke. As Mayor of Jerusalem Ehud Olmert said: "This is not a demonstration. This is not a political rally. This is simply the natural expression and outpouring of the love and fidelity of the Jewish people for Jerusalem." Most of the speakers were simple citizens, representing ...   more »

by Aish.com Staff
When the Western Wall was liberated in 1967, Jews from all over the World felt an electrifying excitement, as once again the Wall was in our hands. The following two stories of Israeli soldiers, who participated in the liberation, exemplify how the Wall has touched the hearts of Jews throughout the ages. Moshe Amirav, a paratrooper, describes his first minutes at the Wall:We ran there, a group of panting soldiers, lost on the plaza of the Temple Mount, searching for a giant stone wall. We did not stop to look at the Mosque of Omar even though this was the first time we had seen it close up. Forward! Forward! Hurriedly, we pushed our way through the Magreb Gate and suddenly we stopped, thunderstruck. There it was before our eyes! Gray and massive, silent and restrained. The Western Wall! Slowly, slowly I began to approach the Wall in fear and trembling like a pious cantor going to the lectern to lead the prayers. I approached it as the messenger of my father and my grandfather, of my great-grandfather and of all the generations in all the exiles who had never merited seeing it - and so they ...   more »

ISRAELI Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said today he would seek to expand the borders of Jerusalem and he hoped for eventual world acceptance of Israeli rule in the disputed city.At a ceremony marking the anniversary of Israel's capture and annexation in 1967 of the city's eastern sector which Palestinians seek as a capital for a future state, Mr Olmert said: "The past 40 years are only the beginning. I believe, hope and pray that we will continue to work together to strengthen Jerusalem, to expand its borders, to cultivate its foundations, to build its neighbourhoods." In his remarks at the Western Wall remnant of an ancient Jewish temple in Jerusalem, Mr Olmert said Israel hoped to achieve world acceptance of its rule in the city, by respecting its holiness to three faiths, Judaism, Christianity and Islam."If we do this with wisdom and caution, we will preserve this city always under our sovereignty, complete and united and accepted by the entire world. This is our goal," Mr Olmert said. About 200,000 Israelis have moved into neighbourhoods Israel has built in Arab East Jerusalem since annexing the area after a 1967 Middle East War and making it a part of its capital ...   more »

Not enough Jews in Jerusalem? New bill suggests reinforcing Israel's capital with communities in Jerusalem's surrounding area Amnon Meranda What can be done to maintain a Jewish majority in Jerusalem? Likud MK Yisrael Katz has proposed a new bill to help sustain Jerusalem as Israel's capital. The bill came after Ynet reported last week that the Arab population in Jerusalem was growing twice as fast as the Jewish one, and after Uri Lupolianski, Jerusalem's mayor, said on Sunday that Hamas could demographically take over the city within 12 years. Demographic Threat  
Hamas may conquer Jerusalem within 12 years, says mayor / Ronny Sofer  
Uri Lupolianski warns cabinet ministers that demographic shift could lead to Palestinian group gaining control of Israel’s capital. As government discusses 40-year anniversary of city's reunification, Olmert promises to invest in its development  According to the bill, residents of communities surrounding Jerusalem would be granted double municipal voting rights, one in their own community and one for the mayor and municipality of Jerusalem. Katz explained that according to his proposal, all of the local councils in the Jerusalem vicinity would remain autonomous, but would combine into Greater Jerusalem. "Metropolitan Jerusalem's aim is to strengthen the city, provide benefits to investors and ...   more »

By Ayanawo Farada Sanbatu  
The National Authority of Religious Services (NARS) will ordain 11 new Ethiopian rabbis, it was reported Monday.A board made-up of officials from the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption, National Religious Council and Chief Rabbis Office will examine the rabbis' incorporation into the authority. The Committee for Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs called for the authority to ordain more rabbis of Ethiopian descent over half a year ago. Only one rabbi of Ethiopian descent has so far been ordained: Rabbi Yosef Hadanah, who is designated as the community's chief rabbi. 
The dearth of rabbis of Ethiopian descent has caused troubles for many Ethiopian Jews, also known as Beta Israel, whose number is estimated at 100,000 in Israel. Some regional religious councils have refused to marry couples of Ethiopian Jews over claims of suspect Judaism, forcing them to travel to Hadanah's place of residence in Tel Aviv to bypass the obstacle.A decree was issued by the official in charge of religious affairs at the Prime Minister's office forbidding religious councils from snubbing couples of Ethiopian descent, but some cases have persisted.

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Rev. Jerry Falwell's legacy will continue long into the 21st century, not only as the launcher of a movement bringing evangelical and fundamentalist Christians into the political sphere but as the founder of a university he hoped one day would become a "Protestant Notre Dame." Falwell, a WND columnist, died yesterday at age 73 after being found unconscious in his office at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., where he served as chancellor. Falwell founded the Moral Majority in 1979 to support lawmakers who opposed abortion, homosexuality, pornography and bans on school prayer. The organization grew to 6.5 million members before he stepped down as president in 1987. He credited it with registering millions of conservative voters that helped elect Ronald Reagan and give Republicans control of the Senate in 1980. "I shudder to think where the country would be right now if the religious right had not evolved," Falwell said he resigned from the group. Falwell launched an independent Baptist church in 1956 with 35 people that grew into the 22,000-member Thomas Road Baptist Church. His "Old Time Gospel Hour" television show was carried on stations nationwide. He founded Lynchburg Baptist College in Lynchburg in 1971, which became Liberty University. ...   more »

Genetic engineering a double-edged sword
This science was promoted in the name of curing diseases; but what about hyperparents trying to create super-babies?Douglas Todd
Vancouver Sun My first son was born in 1984, the year George Orwell predicted the world would be one grim totalitarian state.The year was not, in that way, an auspicious one for a child to be born. But I liked how we were braving the aura of 1984 doom and just going for it -- full of hope and openness to what chance and our own genetic makeup would create.We ended up being blessed with a marvellous first son, plus two more excellent sons to follow. Healthy, handsome, unpredictable, complex creatures. We have been fortunate. They have been gifts.But that sense many parents have of children being mysterious gifts is under threat this Mother's Day.The startling, rapid advance of genetic engineering is giving parents who want to manufacture the "perfect" child some powerful tools with which to do so.Genetic enhancement is making it possible to pick the gender and improve the height, strength, memory and intelligence of offspring.This wasn't supposed to be the goal of genetic research. Advancements in genetics were promoted in the name of ...   more »

This past week an ABC News debate aired on "Nightline," which pitted popular theists against Internet atheists. While I'll have more to say about that battle of wits in my next article, it testifies to the growing number (30 million Americans) of those who profess there is no God. Add to that what I believe is possibly three times the number of functional atheists, those who believe in a God but practically don't show it, and America is facing a new religious horizon in which atheism is becoming a formidable foe.
Though the majority of Americans continue to claim to be Christians, a Gallup poll discovered 45 percent of us would support an atheist for president, 55 percent would support a homosexual candidate and 72 percent would support a Mormon candidate.
Such a survey is a clear indication that most Americans are simply confused about what it means to be Christian. It also shows that the secularization of society is alive and well, especially when almost half would endorse an atheist president.
The opponents of God
Once upon a time, years ago, it seemed that the only major fire for atheism burned from the anti-Christian work of Madelyn Murray O'Hair ...   more »

The Taliban leader who was killed during an American helicopter attack in Afghanistan's Helmand Province was training both Americans and Brits to carry out suicide terrorist attacks on their homelands, according to a report from ABC.
The network said it had obtained a television interview with Taliban commander Mullah Dadullah that was taped just 36 hours before his death on Saturday.
Excerpts were being aired on "World News with Charles Gibson."
"We will be executing attacks in Britain and the U.S. to demonstrate our sincerity," he said on the tape made by an Afghan interviewer, "to destroy their cities as they have destroyed ours," Dadullah said.
He didn't specify how many were under training, or give other details.
"This is our religious and moral duty to train suicide bombers against the nuclear power of the infidels, and they will be used when they are needed, whether they are one, 10 or 20."
A senior U.S. official told ABCNEWS.com that the intelligence reports recently had confirmed Dadullah's statement that U.S. citizens were being trained in Taliban and al-Qaida camps.
"The number is small, not large, but even once is dangerous," the official said.
WND already has reported on several situations, including ...   more »