Rabbi Leiby Burnham
What is unique about sheep? They play a prominent role in the Pesach story and its commemorative commandments. Starting back in Egypt, G-d tells Moshe that each Jewish family should take a sheep and keep it in their care for four days before offering it as a sacrifice on the night of the Exodus. The blood of that sheep was what delineated a Jewish home from an Egyptian home, and was the symbol that G-d should “Pass over” that home while exacting vengeance on the Egyptian tormentors. That sheep’s blood indicated a difference between the house of a Jew and the house of his neighbor.
Throughout the periods of the Temple, every Jewish family traveled to Jerusalem and brought animals from the sheep family (artiodactyla bovidae in case you were wondering) as a Pesach offering, reliving the experience of our forefathers in Egypt. Even in 2008, while we sit at our seders, the roasted shank-bone on the seder plate is there to remind us of the sheep that were used as Pesach offerings. What is it about the sheep that is so central to the Pesach experience?
Even before the sheep was brought by the Jews as ...   more »

Justice in Israel
Important Legal Victory
In a landmark decision today, the Supreme Court of Israel ratified a settlement between twelve Messianic Jewish believers and the State of Israel, which states that being a Messianic Jew does not prevent one from receiving citizenship in Israel under the Law of Return or the Law of Citizenship, if one is a descendent of Jews on one's father's side (and thus not Jewish according to halacha).
This Supreme Court decision brought an end to a legal battle that has carried on for two and a half years. The applicants were represented by Yuval Grayevsky and Calev Myers from the offices of Yehuda Raveh & Co., and their legal costs were subsidized by the Jerusalem Institute of Justice.
All twelve of the applicants were denied citizenship solely based on grounds that they belong to the Messianic Jewish community. Most of them received letters stating that they would not receive citizenship because they "commit missionary activity". One of the applicants was told by a clerk at the Ministry of Interior that because she "committed missionary activity", she is "acting against the interests of the State of Israel and against the Jewish people". These allegations are ...   more »

Hon. Harry S. Truman                                                                                          Fort Worth, Texas        
                                                                                                                               Oct. 2, 1947      
                                                                                                                      
President United States
Washington, D. C.
Dear Mr. President:
Mr. Matthew J. Connelly wired me New York October 1st and suggested that I write you certain matters of my trip to Palestine.
First, I want to thank you for your very kind personal letter of August 5th, which was of invaluable assistance in all my travels.
I have given extensive study to the Jewish Palestinian question. The issue is whether we will take the authority of the Bible of our mothers or the Koran with the sword and flame.
In that whole controversy the big issue is who owns the land, who has the title to that land? If that question is settled there is no other question.
The Lord God Almighty in Genesis the 17th chapter, specifically states that the title to Palestine is given not to Ishmael, the ancestor of the Arabs, but to Isaac and his seed for ever.
“And God said, Sarah thy wife ...   more »

Eli Yishai
For millions of people, Jerusalem is the ID card of the Jewish people, and renouncing parts of it means blurring this ID. I regret to see people who fail to grasp Jerusalem’s value. I ask them: Why do you think that those who are engaged in diplomatic negotiations with us, either as dialogue partners or as mediators, are pressing us to renounce it? Are we dealing with territorial distress on the other side in this respect? The answer is of course no.  
The growing pressure on Israeli negotiators in all matters pertaining to the Jerusalem question attest to the declarative value attributed by the Palestinians to getting it. Our public conduct in relation to the diplomatic negotiations is what gives rise to this pressure on us. The Palestinian demand for Jerusalem shows us the added value of the Jewish people’s eternal capital.  
Every time I attempt to find logic in perceptions that in one way or another espouse the division of Jerusalem, I become agitated. The Shas movement backs peace, on condition that it will be genuine peace. Rabbi Ovadia Yosef even ruled more than 30 years ago that when we are engaged in a genuine ...   more »

Original Source Israeli scientists have germinated a sapling from a date palm seed that is nearly 2,000 years old! “We are interested in preserving very valuable species in the Middle East,” Dr. Sarah Sallon, who heads the project, told israel today.
“Some of them are extinct but may be able to be resurrected.” Sallon, who works at the Louis Borick Natural Medicine Research Center in Jerusalem, said it is the oldest seed ever brought back to life. Until now, the oldest specie to be revived came from a 1,200-year-old lotus seed that was germinated in China.
The palm seed was found at the historic fortress of Masada near the Dead Sea, where 960 Jewish zealots chose suicide over capture by the Romans in 73 A.D. “We managed to get a few of these seeds, and we planted them, and some six or seven weeks later a bud appeared,” said Sallon.
The sapling is now about 14 inches (36 centimeters) tall. If it survives, the team hopes to revive the Judean date palm praised in the Bible. “In antiquity, there was a very famous date of ancient Israel,” Sallon said. “It was one of the most important exports of ancient Israel, ...   more »

Syria sees war with Israel as a real possibility, and is preparing for such an event, Syrian President Bashar Assad said Wednesday to Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar. Nevertheless, he said that the likelihood of war with Israel breaking out is low under the current circumstances.
Speaking to a group of Arab intellectuals, the Syrian president added that whilst war was not a preferable option, "if Israel declares war on Lebanon and Syria or if America declares war on Iran," Damascus will be prepared.
"We must keep American interest in mind," continued Assad. "In the last Lebanon war it was evident that Israel wanted to pull out at a specific time, however the American government forced them to continue."
He added that "we know there is someone in the American government who is interested in this war, and we are preparing for it."
In contrast, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Thursday that Israel and Syria have been exchanging messages to clarify expectations of any future peace treaty. "They know what we want from them, and I know full well what they want from us," he told Ma'ariv.
Olmert did not disclose the content of the messages or provide other details about the ...   more »

Syrian president says that while he believes chances for armed conflict with Israel are low, his country is preparing for worst. 'We know that there are those in the US administration that want this war,' he states Roee Nahmias
Syria is preparing for a possible war with Israel, but believes that the prospects for such a conflict are slim, Syrian President Bashar Assad said Wednesday, according to Syrian news agency SANA.  
War Looming?    
Syria has recently boosted its forces on the border with Israel, fearing that a Hizbullah retaliatory attack against Israeli targets for Imad Mugniyah's death may lead to a military escalation in the region.  Speaking at a conference in Damascus, Assad said that the recent war with Lebanon has made Israel less assured of its existence in the Middle East.  
"None of us can rule out the option of war, but it is arguable whether Israel will launch war against Lebanon or Syria, or whether the United States will launch a war against Iran.  
"We should analyze the situation from the perspective of American interests, because the last war in Lebanon has shown that at some point Israel wanted to stop the fighting, but ...   more »

Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi hailed Russian President Vladimir Putin's official visit as "historic and strategic" during a state dinner at the Bab Azizia palace, state television reported on Thursday.
"This is the first visit by a Russian president to Libya. It is a historic, strategic and very important visit," Kadhafi said in a speech late on Wednesday.
"The trip will enable increased cooperation, given that we are both producers of gas and oil," Kadhafi said. "We will work together to defend our interests."
Libya is a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2007-2008, and Khadafi said the world body needed to be reformed in order to face what he called an "imbalance of forces" internationally.
Putin, who spoke in Russian, said: "We must reflect on the project to reform the United Nations" and referred to "a friendly country on the Security Council with which we can work together to resolve problems."
The Russian president said "a large number of agreements" would be signed between the two countries during his 24-hour visit to Libya.
Putin arrived in Tripoli on Wednesday at the head of a large delegation for a visit expected to be dominated by talks over energy contracts ...   more »

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says his country will strongly respond to any "enemy" invasion and defend its interests by all means.
Ahmadinejad did not name any particular country as the enemy.
"The Iranian nation will strongly respond to any invasion and will put any enemy in his place," he said in a speech broadcast live on state TV.
Ahmadinejad said an invasion by "bullying, arrogant, satanic, non-divine and expansionist powers" has failed to dominate the region because of Iranian resistance.
Original Source
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The US Supreme Court Wednesday ruled that lethal injection was constitutional in a landmark ruling set to pave the way for executions to resume after a lull of more than six months.
The judges ruled by seven for and two against that the risk of suffering to those executed by lethal injection did not constitute "cruel and unusual punishment" which is barred under the US constitution.
"Petitioners have not carried their burden of showing that the risk of pain from maladministration of a concededly humane lethal injection protocol, and the failure to adopt untried and untested alternatives, constitute cruel and unusual punishment," the judges said in an opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts.
Lethal injection is the most commonly used form of execution across the United States. Some 53 people were executed in the US in 2006, after the numbers reached a peak of 98 in 1999.
Several death row inmates, led by a pair from Kentucky, had urged the Supreme Court to rule on whether lethal injection violated the constitution. They had argued that the three-part injection method in which the first part sedates the inmate, the second paralyzes the muscles and the third stops the heart, caused ...   more »

Man working to convert all that grows into fuel surprised by 'inattention'
By Joe Kovacs
It could potentially be one of the biggest energy breakthroughs in history – genetically manipulating bacteria to quickly convert anything that grows out of the Earth into oil. But the biggest names in the national media have thus far not provided any coverage of this possible solution to skyrocketing gas prices and America's long-term energy security.
A WND story last month introduced to the nation a new technique where altered bacteria "rapidly digest" everything from grass clippings and wood chips, turning them into hydrocarbons for fuels such as gasoline and diesel. If done on a large scale, it could provide billions of barrels of renewable oil every year.
Naturally occurring bacteria used to convert biomass into hydrocarbons. 
One reader, Joe Russo of Fairbanks, Alaska, called it "the biggest story we've seen in a decade, yet the cable and mainstream news networks haven't even picked up on it."
The apparent inattention comes as a big surprise to the agricultural researcher pioneering the process, J.C. Bell, the CEO of Bell Bio-Energy, Inc.
"We've been on several radio stations, but nothing really national," he said. "We haven't talked ...   more »

Retired Marine Maj. Gen. Says Plans "Couldn't Move a Girl Scout Unit"
By Kristin Roberts
WASHINGTON
The Pentagon is not prepared to respond to a catastrophic chemical, biological or nuclear attack within the United States, placing Americans at risk, an independent panel reported to Congress on Thursday.
While the Defense Department conducts exhaustive planning for operations overseas, its planning for possible action inside the United States in response to attacks is inadequate, said the Commission on the National Guard and Reserves.
"We looked at their plans. They're totally unacceptable," said commission chairman Arnold Punaro, a retired Marine Corps major general.
"You couldn't move a Girl Scout unit with the kind of planning they're doing," Punaro said of plans drafted by U.S. Northern Command, the part of the military responsible for homeland defense.
While other federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, are responsible for pieces of the government's response to an attack, the Defense Department is the only agency with the resources and capabilities to manage the overall response, the commission argued.
The National Guard and Reserve should be ordered to lead the Defense Department's activities in that arena because those part-time troops live throughout the United States and ...   more »

By Mark Shenk
April 17 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil retreated from a record after the dollar increased from an all-time low against the euro, reducing the appeal of commodities.
Oil touched $115.54 before the dollar rebounded. The U.S. currency gained after failing to weaken beyond $1.60 and Luxembourg Finance Minister Jean-Claude Juncker said the euro's rise isn't desirable. The dollar's drop has increased the flow of money into commodities.
``The dollar-oil relationship is very much in evidence,'' said Jim Ritterbusch, president of Galena, Illinois-based energy consulting firm Ritterbusch & Associates. ``As long as there is no evidence that dollar will recover some of its lost ground there will be upside potential in the energy markets.''
Crude oil for May delivery fell 7 cents to settle at $114.86 a barrel at 2:43 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices are up 4.3 percent this week.
Brent crude for June settlement declined 23 cents to settle at $112.43 a barrel on London's ICE Futures Europe exchange. The contract touched a record $113.38 today.
``Oil backed off on Juncker's comments but the trend remains higher,'' said Tom Bentz, a broker at BNP Paribas in New York. ``Every day we get higher highs ...   more »