Judaism's 3rd holiest site regarded as burial place of biblical patriarch
FROM WND'S JERUSALEM BUREAU
Palestinians burn Joseph's Tomb
Judaism's 3rd holiest site regarded as burial place of biblical patriarch
By Aaron Klein
Building at Joseph's Tomb site after Palestinian Authority took control in 2000 .
JERUSALEM – Palestinians yesterday tried to burn down Joseph's Tomb – Judaism's third holiest site – according to Palestinian security officials speaking to WND.
It marks the second time the Palestinians attempted to burn down the tomb, located near Nablus, the biblical city of Shechem.
Joseph's Tomb is the believed burial place of the biblical patriarch Joseph, the son of Jacob who was sold by his brothers into slavery and later became viceroy of Egypt.
Palestinian security officials in Nablus said yesterday they were called to the tomb to find 16 burning tires inside the sacred structure.
A Palestinian police official who inspected the site told WND today there was some fire damage to the tomb. He said the Palestinian Authority, fearing embarrassment, immediately formed a joint committee from the PA's Force 17, Preventative Security Services and Palestinian intelligence, to find out who was behind the fire.
He said patrols were stepped up around ...   more »

Gil Hoffman
The coalition crisis over Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's secret negotiations on Jerusalem with former Palestinian Authority prime minister Ahmed Qurei ended on Thursday when Shas chairman Eli Yishai received reassurances from Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Livni that the capital's fate was not on the table.
Livni told Yishai there was no secret channel of meetings with Qurei, denying statements to the contrary by senior PA officials to The Jerusalem Post. Olmert promised the Shas leader that Jerusalem would not be discussed until the end of the negotiations with the Palestinians and that he would make sure Livni abided by that vow.
"We are satisfied for now, but if secret negotiations begin tomorrow, we are leaving," a source close to Yishai said following his meetings with Olmert and Livni. "He believes the prime minister and the foreign minister. If he didn't, we would leave the coalition."
Olmert also promised Yishai that construction would continue in Jewish neighborhoods in east Jerusalem. He reportedly said that he would contact the authorities charged with planning and building in the Construction and Housing Ministry and issue new directives.
The prime minister told reporters in the Knesset following the meeting with Yishai that ...   more »

One Jordanian leader shares his deep desire to preserve the Arab Christian world.
Interview by Cornelis Hulsman
Prince Hassan bin Talal, brother of the late King Hussein of Jordan, is worried about the future of Christians all over the Arab world, including the Holy Land-the name he gives to the combined area of Israel, the Palestinian region, and his homeland of Jordan. The prince holds two degrees from Oxford University and is renowned worldwide for his views on the relationship of religion and society. He often talks about religion in cultural rather than theological terms, approaching religious issues fundamentally from the viewpoint of the secular state's compelling interests-the reduction of unhealthy political disputes, terrorism, and religious wars.
The prince has been working to ensure that those of disparate religions in the Middle East can learn to live with one another in an atmosphere of mutual respect. He doesn't want any religious groups to disappear, because he feels they all have something to offer society. Most importantly, he has devoted himself to bolstering the Christian community, one of the most threatened religious bodies in the region, especially in Muslim-majority nations.
Jordan receives good marks for its protection of religious freedom. Jordanian ...   more »

Hezbollah will try to take over government by summer
Editor's Note: The following report is excerpted from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin, the premium online newsletter published by the founder of WND. Subscriptions are $99 a year or, for monthly trials, just $9.95 per month for credit card users, and provide instant access for the complete reports.
When Americans consider the most critical "fronts" in the war on terror, the top four are almost always Iraq, Afghanistan, the ongoing conflict in Israel's Palestinian territories and the various unknown theaters where U.S. special forces and intelligence collectors operate.
Few, however, consider Lebanon a critical front. Sure, the Middle East nation has Hezbollah, but it also has Starbucks, resort hotels, trendy restaurants and a fashion industry that in many ways competes with Manhattan and Milan.
But Lebanon is a front in which the enemy – the Iranian-Syrian axis and its proxy army, Hezbollah – has the upper hand, because it appreciates the country's geostrategic value and has capitalized on the fact that the West seems not to.
Tom Harb, secretary general of the pro-democracy World Council of the Cedars Revolution, says the danger of losing Lebanon is imminent.
"Hezbollah will try to take ...   more »

By Andrew Pierce
The Queen is distressed by the row over Islamic law which she fears threatens to undermine the authority of the Archbishop of Canterbury and damage the Church of England.
Have your say: Are the Queen's concerns justified?
Archbishop's speech to General Synod in full   
Speaking to the General Synod, Dr Williams refused to apologise for his remarks but admitted he had been 'clumsy'
According to a royal source, the Queen has not expressed any view on whether Dr Rowan Williams was unwise to say it was "unavoidable" that aspects of the sharia legal system could be incorporated into English law.
But as Supreme Governor of the Church of England she has been dismayed by the controversy that the remarks have generated at such a difficult period in the history of the Established Church, which faces possible schism over the issue of homosexual clergy.
The Queen, who approved the appointment of Dr Williams on the recommendation of the Prime Minister, takes her role as Supreme Governor very seriously.
One royal source said: "I have no idea what her view is on what the Archbishop said about sharia law. But the Queen is worried, coming at such a difficult ...   more »

By Finlo Rohrer
If the UK lost its honey bees the countryside would face devastation, and that is exactly what beekeepers fear could happen.
Imagine a country lane. Hawthorn hedgerow on either side, clouds scudding overhead, apple blossom drifting gently by, the only noise the gentle hum of honey bees and the chirping of birds. What could be a more idyllic vision of British country life?
Then fast-forward 10 years.
The hedgerow is deteriorating, the birds are silent, the orchard is disappearing and the countryside is changed. Why? The hives are empty. Their once-buzzing occupants mysteriously vanished.
Environment and rural affairs minister Lord Rooker envisaged just such a scenario recently when he warned: "Bee health is at risk and, frankly, if nothing is done about it, the fact is the honey bee population could be wiped out in 10 years."
In a few weeks' time, Britain's thousands of amateur beekeepers will face what might be called "Bee-Day". In the south of England, the weather will be warm enough that apiarists can lift the tops off their hives for the first time and find out if their colonies have survived the winter.
And these beekeepers are worried. Every winter some colonies ...   more »

Mr Frattini said the EU must use "the most advanced technology"
Biometric tests at Frankfurt airport 
Visitors to the EU could face digital fingerprinting at airports under plans to beef up border security, EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini has said.
He said travellers from outside the EU could face a biometric test as part of their visa while those not needing a permit would be checked on arrival.
There are also plans to improve border surveillance and land and sea patrols.
Rights group Privacy International said the move could create a "fortress Europe" for foreigners.
And the European Council on Refugees in Exile complained that the tighter the restrictions, the harder it would become for people to seek safety from persecution.
'Highest security level'
The proposals for a radical shake-up of the EU's border security were unveiled by Mr Frattini in Brussels. 
Mr Frattini says the plans will have to be agreed by member states
He said the measures would apply to all 24 members of the Schengen accord, and it was up to countries such as the UK and Ireland whether to join in.
The commissioner said the EU had to use "the most advanced technology to reach the ...   more »

This week happy couples around the country will exchange tokens of love and affection in celebration of Valentine's Day. If this week has put you in the mood for a little romance, we recommend you take a look at what has to be the most charming little book in the Bible.
The book of Ruth is often studied (even in secular colleges) as a masterpiece in miniature for its romantic elegance and literary value - and its charming glimpse into life in ancient Israel. It is a classic love story of loyalty and devotion, and yet it also contains some surprising insights that go far beyond the historical narrative itself.
One of the principal characters is Naomi, a Bethlehemite, who, because of a famine, migrates with her husband and her two sons to distant Moab. The two sons take Moabite women for wives. During the ten years that follow, Naomi's husband and both her two sons pass away, leaving her destitute.
Upon hearing that things have turned for the better in her native Bethlehem, Naomi decides to return home. She encourages the two young girls to make new lives for themselves among their own people. However, Ruth refuses, insists upon ...   more »

‘Preparing for imminent martial law’
By Dana G Smith
With 23,682 members, including the FBI, Infragard is growing and preparing. The InfraGard website says that at its most basic level it is a "partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the private sector. InfraGard is an association of businesses, academic institutions, state and local law enforcement agencies, and other participants dedicated to sharing information and intelligence to prevent hostile acts against the United States. InfraGard Chapters are geographically linked with FBI Field Office territories." [infragard.net]
The main goal, according to InfraGard is to promote ongoing dialogue and timely communication between members and the FBI. InfraGard members gain information through a secure website which enables them to protect their assets. Of course, the government expects the business to give them information. All of this is encompassed in the true threat, the government says, "of terrorism and other crimes." Which, we cannot disagree with. There are threats to the society today. No wonder since the government and congress have been like sterilized amoebas and been unable to stop or even deal with the border security. If an attack comes the likely hood is very real, and the culprits, could have easily ...   more »

'Students to endure gender-bending education unless parents rescue them'
If you care about your children, homeschool, find a Christian school, participate in a homeschool coop, pay the tuition, drive an older car, whatever is necessary to keep them out of California's public school system. That's the message from a new campaign, assembled under the Rescue Your Child slogan.
And it's all because the California Legislature and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger worked together to establish Senate Bill 777 and Assembly Bill 394 as law, plans that institutionalize the promotion of homosexuality, bisexuality, transgenderism and other alternative lifestyle choices.
"First, [California] law allowed public schools to voluntarily promote homosexuality, bisexuality, and transsexuality. Then, the law required public schools to accept homosexual, bisexual, and transsexual teachers as role models for impressionable children. Now, the law has been changed to effectively require the positive portrayal of homosexuality, bisexuality, and transsexuality to six million children in California government-controlled schools," said Randy Thomasson, chief of the Campaign for Children and Families and a leader in the movement to withdraw what supporters pray will be up to 600,000 children from public districts in the state. 
At a Los Angeles news conference, Thomasson's organization kicked off the statewide drive ...   more »

By J. Ben-Joseph - The graceful Jefferson Memorial, majestic Capitol Building and the cloud-piercing Washington Monument exhibit our city's extraordinary prominence. Yet away from this visible public city there exists a more private Washington where historic jewels are rarely seen.
One hidden gemstone is where Abraham prayed — the president, not the patriarch. During the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln attended the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church; a red-brick church sitting on a triangular-shaped block so near to the White House that Lincoln could have walked to it. In my mind's eye, he did, slowly and even paced, his ladder-like frame weighted down by an ominous awareness of thousands of Americans warring in battle, many of them only 70 miles away.
Though tall buildings surround this church today, history endures inside. Downstairs you will find a lighted case exhibiting Lincoln's original manuscript proposing that the federal government compensate any state freeing its slaves. This was a forerunner to the Emancipation Proclamation.
When Lincoln drafted the Emancipation Proclamation, he sent it to the New York Avenue pastor here, Dr. Phineas D. Gurley, for reaction. A photograph of the long-side-burned Gurley can be seen in an adjoining room.
Nineteen stained-glass windows are in ...   more »

The technology is available, but the potential for misuse is almost limitless. Our columnist takes you through the dangers of this futuristic process
by David H. Holtzman
While it's easy to reject the notion of placing little ID chips inside humans as an ominous Orwellian invasion of individual rights, I suspect it's inevitable that in my lifetime we will all have some kind of computerized implants. My problem is not with the technology, known as chipping, or with the companies that sell it. My concern stems from my lack of trust in institutions and lack of belief that the technology will be forever restricted to beneficial, socially acceptable uses.
Chipping involves implanting a transponder chip below the skin for identification purposes. VeriChip (CHIP), the one company that has gained FDA clearance to perform this procedure, has emerged as the process's leading advocate. The implant procedure itself is simple and mostly painless, accomplished in a doctor's office in a matter of seconds.
Generally speaking, the only data stored on the chip is a 16-digit ID number that cross-references to a record in VeriChip's database. Nevertheless the chip raises a number of troubling concerns:
Health. Before diving into privacy and security concerns, ...   more »