Two parallel developments from Teheran are making for some sweaty palms in the international community, especially in Jerusalem: Iran's move toward producing a nuclear bomb, and its repeated verbal attacks on the legitimacy of the Jewish state. There are several reasons for alarm. In August, Iran restarted uranium conversion – a precursor to enrichment – at its Isfahan nuclear power plant. And, just this month, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad threatened to end all cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) should the UN Security Council take action against the Islamic Republic for having done so.The Iranians admit that they received…

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MOSCOW – Russia formally proposed to     Iran on Saturday that it move its uranium enrichment facilities to Russian territory, raising pressure on the Tehran regime to accept the Western-backed plan for restraining its nuclear program. Iran insists the program has the sole aim of making fuel for atomic reactors that would generate electricity and denies U.S. charges it is trying to develop nuclear weapons in violation of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Read More

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The Arab League has joined Palestinian Authority (PA) officials in exploiting Israel's policy of not allowing Arabs in Jerusalem, who are Israeli citizens, to vote in the PA legislative elections scheduled for January 25. It told the French news agency AFP that the ban would solidify Israel's claim that the entire capital is part of the country. AFP termed the predominantly Arab neighborhoods of the city “occupied east Jerusalem.” The papal representative in Israel, Nazareth native Michael Sabbah, told reporters, “This [partition] wall must not exist. One day it will not exist. The Palestinian people should regain their liberty and…

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HonestReporting.com cites sample articles from the New Statesman and the Baltimore Sun. According to the Sun, “A towering wall of gray concrete slabs, 30 feet high, cuts across what was once the main road into this town from Jerusalem. Just inside the barrier, past a new Israeli security terminal, a once-bustling neighborhood has become a ghost town. Shops are shuttered or empty, and the streets are deserted.” Buried several paragraphs later is the fact that tourism to Bethlehem is actually up: “Figures kept by the Bethlehem Municipality show a rebound in tourist visits… the numbers have climbed steadily since [2002],…

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By Nadav Shragai, Haaretz Correspondent   If the central sewage line for Jerusalem's Old City, which runs down the slope of the village of Silwan, had not gotten blocked a year ago, it would probably have been many years before we would have discovered the real dimensions of the historic Pool of Siloam from the Second Temple Period. The pool, whose present small dimensions date from Byzantine times, is the outlet for the spring water coursing through the ancient Hezekiah's tunnel. It was once huge – three to four dunams And if the huge dimensions of the pool had not…

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By Pantelis Boukalas Neither European Parliament President Josep Borrell Fontelles nor European Commission VP Franco Frattini have explained why a new law permitting total, ongoing surveillance and recording of our communications is a “triumph” for Europeans. Both men, apparently enthused by the margin of approval for the bill, simply lauded the decision, which elevates the EU from a humble pupil of the US to its teacher when it comes to civil rights violations and theft of private data. Now a huge legalized electronic bug has been added to all the countless illegal or semi-legal “spies.” So turning everyone into a…

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Eli Cohen worked as an operative for Israel's Mossad intelligence service in Damascus and successfully infiltrated the highest ranking levels of Syrian government. Cohen was responsible for transmitting crucial information that enabled the Israeli army a swift and decisive victory in their battle with the Syrians over the Golan Heights in the Six Day War. With the assistance of Soviet intelligence, the Syrians caught Eli while he was transmitting a message to Israel. Despite international protests, Eli Cohen was executed by the Syrians in a brutal public hanging on May 18, 1965 (pictured above). “I am very proud of my…

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The blue background behind these white letters is taken from a photograph of the actual me'il techelet – blue robe – of the High Priest, (cohein gadol), which is now nearing completion. Employing the Navajo “two-sided” weaving technique, master weaver Yehudit Avraham has been steadily working on the me'il for over a year. Both the front and the back panels of the me'il are ready, as are the golden bells. Yehudit is presently connecting the two panels and embellishing them with deep blue, (techelet), embroidery. The 72 golden bells that line the hem of the garment have been prepared and…

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Just minutes after NRP leader Zevulun Orlev intimated to an Army Radio interviewer that Rabbi Elon was likely to accept the offer, the same station released its “scoop” that the rabbi had in fact turned it down.The National Union (NU) and National Religious Party (NRP) have been conducting talks for the past several weeks on the option of running on a joint list in the upcoming elections. Despite the widespread support for a merger among both their publics, and despite calls for a merger by rabbis across the religious-Zionist political spectrum, the talks have not succeeded. The main issue of…

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