International Fellowship of Christians and Jews

Jerusalem march ends without incident

2009-10-06T09:34:00.000-07:00

October 6, 2009

Palestinians shout at Israeli border police officers blocking the entrance to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City on Oct. 04, 2009. (Mohammar Awad / Flash 90 / JTA)JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Restrictions on worshipers at the Temple Mount remained in place as the annual Jerusalem march took place across the city.

Some 70,000 people from around the world participated in the march Tuesday.

The parade route, which began at Ammunition Hill, went to Mount Scopus before passing several eastern Jerusalem neighborhoods on the way to Sacher Park. From there the parade is marched through downtown Jerusalem during the afternoon.

Marchers passed the eastern Jerusalem city of Silwan, surrounded by police and border guard forces, with no incidents.

Police will remained on high alert for the 51st annual march, according to reports.

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said during the march that he did not believe the recent violence in the city would spark a third intifada. "We have to be able to put the violence and provocation aside. These are specific events, emanating from hubs of violence. We have to find these hubs, isolate them, stop them and move on," he said, saying a violent uprising is "unlikely and it's in no one's interest,"

The march ended without incident.

http://jta.org/news/article/2009/10/06/1008338/restrictions-remain-as-jerusalem-march-begins

Jewish Agency leaders to meet Red Cross on Shalit

2009-09-17T07:39:00.000-07:00

September 16, 2009

WASHINGTON (JTA) -- Jewish Agency for Israel lay leaders and community representatives will meet with the Red Cross to discuss Gilad Shalit.

At the meeting Tuesday in Washington with Gail McGovern, CEO of the American Red Cross, and Mary Werntz, the head of delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Jewish leaders will deliver hundreds of postcards and thousands of names collected on an electronic petition asking the Red Cross to continue demanding that Shalit receive the full rights of an abducted soldier under international law.

The meeting culminates several events across the United States held in honor of Shalit's 23rd birthday. The Israeli soldier was taken from Gaza by Hamas in a cross-border raid more than three years ago.

“It is important for everyone to know that the American Jewish community and all Americans of conscience deplore the situation in which the Red Cross has been denied contact or verification of condition of an abducted soldier,” said Carole Solomon, chair of the Jewish Agency North American Council. “This was a grass-roots initiative in communities from Tulsa to Tucson, Phoenix to Minneapolis. These are the voices of Americans all across the country.”

http://jta.org/news/article/2009/09/16/1007917/jewish-agency-leaders-and-community-reps-to-meet-with-red-cross

IFCJ providing for needy Israelis for the holidays

2009-09-14T14:07:00.000-07:00

September 14, 2009

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews is providing $4.6 million to help needy Israelis purchase food for the High Holidays.

The evangelical group is distributing 46,000 gift cards to be used at local supermarkets at a cost of $4 million, as well as distributing 15,000 food baskets through the Latet and Colel Chabad organizations at a cost of $600,000.

"This is the largest and most far-reaching food campaign ever in the history of Israel," said Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, the group's founder and president. "While we have supported tens of thousands of people in Israel with food each year for quite a while, especially before the New Year holiday period, the number of people in need has unfortunately skyrocketed this year."

The fellowship is coordinating the food campaign, which will reach hundreds of thousands of Israelis, with welfare offices across Israel.

http://jta.org/news/article/2009/09/14/1007839/ifcj-helping-hundreds-of-thousands-for-holidays

Watch this week's new Journey To Zion: The Role of Women in the Salvation and Redemption of the World

2009-09-08T08:08:00.000-07:00

Journey to Zion is a unique and exciting weekly television program that will help Christians grow in their faith as they learn about the Jewish roots of Christianity, and strengthen Jewish-Christian relations by teaching Christians about Jewish history, traditions and culture. Each 30-minute show features Fellowship founder and president Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein teaching before a live audience and exploring issues related to Israel, Jewish faith and traditions, and Jewish-Christian relations.

The Role of Women in the Salvation and Redemption of the World
Does God have a special place for women in his plan for the redemption of the world? Explore the critical role of righteous women in the Bible, and the message their stories carry for our own lives. Then, journey to the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem to study an ancient Egyptian stone carving and learn how it ties in to a well-known biblical story.

Follow this link to view this episode of Journey To Zion and previous episodes: http://www.ifcj.org/site/PageNavigator/eng/programs/journey_to_zion/second_season

NEW Return to Zion: The Jesus Boat

2009-08-20T08:03:00.000-07:00

Hosted by Rabbi Eckstein, these short two to five minute video programs explore many fascinating and important topics about Jewish life, the Jewish roots of Christianity, and the Bible.

The Jesus Boat
As the water in the Sea of Galilee continues to recede, more and more amazing artifacts are being uncovered. Recent discoveries have included a 1st century boat, just like the one described in the New Testament as being used by Jesus and his disciples. Gain a deeper understanding of Israel during the times of Jesus on this week's Returning to Zion.

Follow this link to view: http://www.ifcj.org/site/PageNavigator/eng/rabbi/return_to_zion

Israeli officials agree to freezing settlement construction

2009-08-18T09:19:00.000-07:00

Israeli officials freezing settlement construction
August 18, 2009

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Israeli officials reportedly have agreed to freeze construction in the West Bank until the beginning of 2010.

JTA first reported the unofficial freeze on July 6.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Housing Minister Ariel Atias have agreed to a moratorium on building in the settlements in order to give the peace process a chance to move forward, several news outlets reported this week.

"Since the government was established five months ago, no tenders have been issued for Judea and Samaria," Atias told Israel Radio on Tuesday, echoing what officials told JTA in early July. "The fact is, we are in a holding pattern; an attempt, I believe, to reach an understanding with the U.S. administration and a comprehensive peace agreement."

Netanyahu's office has not confirmed the freeze.

The freeze reportedly includes eastern Jerusalem, according to the French news agency AFP, but Peace Now told Reuters that the building of more than 1,000 previously approved housing units is continuing.

The United States has called on Israel to halt all construction in the West Bank. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has said that the Palestinians will not agree to resume peace talks until all settlement-building activities cease.

IDF: No Israeli soldier found to be kidnapped

2009-08-14T07:13:00.000-07:00

IDF: No Israeli soldier found to be kidnapped
August 14, 2009

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- A previously unknown Palestinian group's claim that it kidnapped an Israeli soldier has turned out to be false, the Israel Defense Forces says.

The Israel military conducted an internal check Thursday night and did not discover any missing servicemen, according to reports.

A group calling itself the Al Quds Army released a statement Thursday announcing the abduction of an Israeli soldier.

"A group of our resistance fighters captured a Zionist soldier near Ben-Gurion Airport and withdrew along with the soldier without incident," said the statement sent to the Palestinian news agency Ma'an. "We will provide details about the captured soldier later."

In addition, a female soldier had filed a report earlier in the day claiming she saw two people forcing a soldier into a car near an Air Force base near the international airport, the IDF spokesman said in a statement Thursday evening, according to reports.

Army and police checkpoints were set up Thursday afternoon on roads near major Israeli cities as well as in the West Bank.

Ma'an reported that a soldier made a phone call to an unnamed person claiming to have been kidnapped.

A Palestinian security official told the Israeli news outlet Ynet that the Al-Quds Army is believed to have links to Hezbollah.

http://jta.org/news/article/2009/08/14/1007239/palestinian-group-claims-israeli-soldier-kidnapping

Palestinian group claims it captured Israeli soldier

2009-08-13T12:07:00.001-07:00

Palestinian group claims it captured Israeli soldier
August 13, 2009

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- A previously unknown Palestinian group claims it kidnapped an Israeli soldier.

A group calling itself the Al Quds Army released a statement Thursday announcing the abduction. "A group of our resistance fighters captured a Zionist soldier near Ben-Gurion Airport and withdrew along with the soldier without incident," the statement, sent to the Palestinian news agency Ma'an, said. "We will provide details about the captured soldier later."

The Israel Defense Forces told Israeli media it is investigating the reports. The IDF spokesman said in a statement Thursday evening that a soldier had filed a report earlier in the day claiming she saw two people forcing a soldier into a car near an air force base close to the international airport, according to reports.

Army and police checkpoints were set up Thursday afternoon on roads near major Israeli cities as well as in the West Bank, according to reports.

Ma'an reported that a soldier made a phone call to an unnamed person claiming to have been kidnapped.

A Palestinian security official told the Israeli news outlet Ynet that the Al-Quds Army is believed to have links to Hezbollah.

http://jta.org/news/article/2009/08/13/1007239/palestinian-group-claims-israeli-soldier-kidnapping

Sons of murdered Yemeni Jew make aliyah

2009-08-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

Sons of murdered Yemeni Jew make aliyah
August 12, 2009

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- The sons of a Jewish man killed last year in Yemen have left the country for Israel, a Yemen news agency reported.

The sons of Moshe Yaish al-Nahari left Yemen on Tuesday, according to Yemen News, quoting the murdered man's brother, who serves as the chief rabbi of the district of Ridah. Naharis daughters made aliyah in December. His parents, wife, four brothers and a sister remain in Yemen.

Nahari was gunned down in December by a man who said that Yemen Jews should convert or be killed.

Harassment and threats against Jews in Yemen have increased, according to the report. About 400 Jews remain in the country.

13-year old, New Yorker donates $40,000 to Israel

2009-08-11T12:14:00.001-07:00

Bar mitzvah donates gifts for Israel park
August 11, 2009

NEW YORK (JTA) -- A 13-year-old from New York donated $40,000 to build a park in southern Israel.

Benjamin Sternklar Davis decided to give the money he received for his bar mitzvah to the town of Sderot, which has been bombarded by Kassam rockets launched from Gaza, in order to create a recreational facility for local residents, the Israeli daily Ha'aretz reported Tuesday.

"I felt bad during the war for the children of Sderot who had to go to school and come back with the constant thought they could be hit by a Kassam rocket at any given second," Benjamin said.

Sderot residents and officials participated at a reception Tuesday in the area honoring the young philanthropist's bar mitzvah, an occasion that according to Jewish tradition marks the age at which boys reach adulthood.

David Buskila, the mayor of Sderot, thanked Benjamin and gave him a decorated prayer shawl as a token of appreciation for his donation.

Israel bombs Gaza smuggling tunnel

2009-08-10T07:48:00.000-07:00

Israel bombs Gaza smuggling tunnel
August 10, 2009

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Israel bombed a smuggling tunnel between Gaza and Egypt in retaliation for attacks from Gaza.

No injuries were reported in the Israeli airstrike early Monday, according to Reuters.

A spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces said the attack came in response to rocket and mortar attacks from Gaza at southern Israeli communities. A Kassam rocket fired from Gaza Sunday struck an open area in the western Negev. No damage or injuries were reported.

It was the first Kassam rocket attack on Israel in nearly a month.

Later Sunday, two mortar shells fired by Gazan Palestinians landed near the Erez Crossing with Israel near ambulances that were transferring a Palestinian patient to Israel for treatment for a heart condition, according to reports. Other reports put the number of mortar shells at six.

http://jta.org/news/article/2009/08/10/1007122/kassam-hits-israel

Hamas tests upgraded rocket

2009-08-07T08:04:00.001-07:00

August 7, 2009

(JTA) -- Hamas fired two rockets into the sea near Gaza in what is being described as a test for an upgraded version of the Kassam rocket.

The mlitant group fired the rockets on Thursday to test their capabilities, Israel's daily Ma'ariv reported. The new Kassam reportedly has an increased range and could strike farther into Israel.

Since 2002, Hamas has fired thousands of rockets at Israel from the Gaza Strip, killing and wounding numerous civilians. In a three-week war with Israel last January, Hamas' rockets reached Israeli targets as far away as Beersheva, Yavneh and Kiryat Gat. There has been a steep decline in Hamas rocket fire since that war.

This article was made possible by JTA.

German police storm neo-Nazi 'camp'

2009-08-06T15:08:00.000-07:00

A neo-Nazi "youth camp," which had been set up in a debt-ridden hotel in Germany by a leading Holocaust denier, was raided by German commandos on Tuesday, hours after a court in Lower Saxony had ordered the "campers" evicted, the Telegraph reported on Thursday.

In mid-July the owner, Jens Wilhelm, tried to order the neo-Nazis out of the hotel, the reported stated. However, not only did they reject the demand, a group of their supporters stormed the building and refused to leave.

Fears that the neo-Nazi tenants were armed alerted police and German commandos to the scene. A tense stand-off ensued, with the police both keeping guard over the building while simultaneously trying to prevent a clash between neo-Nazi supporters and anti-Nazi demonstrators who also flocked to the area, the report stated.

The incident ended when police stormed the hotel after hearing what they believed to be gunshots. The Telegraph reported that several fake firearms, a concealable truncheon and pepper spray were found in the building.

Four minors who were part of the neo-Nazi camp were handed over to youth services following the raid. The remaining eight members were not arrested, and left the premises masked and hooded.

http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=6301443149422627942

2009-08-05T08:08:00.000-07:00

Watch this week's NEW episode of Journey To Zion: Jewish Groups of the 1st Century.

What was Jewish life like at the time of Jesus? Explore with Rabbi Eckstein the various Jewish groups that existed in the first century. And later, you'll visit the ruins of the ancient synagogue at Capernaum, the very synagogue where Jesus taught.

Journey to Zion is a unique and exciting weekly television program that will help Christians grow in their faith as they learn about the Jewish roots of Christianity, and strengthen Jewish-Christian relations by teaching Christians about Jewish history, traditions and culture. Each 30-minute show features Fellowship founder and president Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein teaching before a live audience and exploring issues related to Israel, Jewish faith and traditions, and Jewish-Christian relations.

http://www.ifcj.org/site/PageNavigator/eng/programs/journey_to_zion/second_season?s_src=tv_journey&s_subsrc=JEW0900XXEXXX

Report: Netanyahu freezes Jerusalem construction project

2009-07-30T07:30:00.001-07:00

Report: Netanyahu freezes Jerusalem construction project
July 30, 2009

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Israel's prime minister has frozen a construction project in an eastern Jerusalem suburb.

The 900-apartment project in Pisgat Ze'ev, which is located outside the Green Line on land annexed by Israel in what is considered eastern Jerusalem, was ordered stopped by Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's Channel 10 reported late Wednesday.

The report of the order came a day after Netanyahu met with U.S. envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell, who reportedly pressed the prime minister on the settlements issue.

Article provided by JTA

A Lesson for Tisha Be'Av

2009-07-30T07:28:00.001-07:00

Today commemorates the national day of mourning for the Jewish people. Read on...

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1248277926000

Journey through the Scriptures

2009-07-29T07:34:00.000-07:00

Join us and Journey through the Scriptures: Psalms of Comfort and Hope

Hymns from Israel’s ‘Song Book’ That Will Strengthen, Bless, and Encourage God’s People

Lessons
The Shepherd and His Flock
A Cry for Mercy
Confidence in the Lord
Who Is There to Fear?
Light in the Darkness
A Mature Person of God
The House of the Lord

http://www.ifcj.org/site/PageNavigator/eng/rabbi/jtts/jtts_psalms_c_h

Emotions rise at rally in Israel

2009-07-28T07:47:00.000-07:00

Ignore U.S. on settlements, protesters cry at rally
July 27, 2009

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- About 1,000 right-wing activists at a Jerusalem rally called on Israel to ignore the U.S. demand to freeze settlement activity.

The demonstration Monday night outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence also called on visiting U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell to "go home."

The demonstrators also marched carrying torches from Jerusalem's Paris Square to the U.S. Consulate.

"We are here to call on the government to fend off U.S. pressure to halt construction in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem," said Danny Dayan, chairman of the Yesha Council settlers' umbrella group. "Not one construction plan has been approved since the inception of Netanyahu's government, yet the bulldozers are being readied to raze outposts."

Earlier Monday, young right-wing activists attempted to set up new outposts throughout the West Bank. Evening news programs showed police disbanding groups of teens from various locations.

This article was made possible by the JTA staff.

The Fellowship helps Israel's Youth at Risk through ELEM Van program

2009-07-27T10:26:00.001-07:00

ELEM GALA TOUTS ITS SUCCESS IN RESCUING ISRAEL’S YOUTH AT RISK
JULY 24, 2009

By Masha Leon

 “Who could believe this happened in Israel?!” ELEM/America president Ann Bialkin said at the organization’s June 17 gala, held at the Jewish Museum. “When ELEM — Youth In Distress in Israel started 27 years ago in America, its founders… could not believe the number of young people who were in court because of criminal acts! At least 300,000 Israeli youth [15% of Israel’s population] is at risk — alienated; vulnerable; victims of drugs, dysfunctional families.”

She credited ELEM’s multifaceted outreach programs with “linking them back to family, community and country.” Bialkin noted: “Despite the severe economic crisis, we have raised over $450,000 tonight and heard from Israel that we will receive $1 million for next year from The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews for our van program, which travels all over Israel every night of the week.” Asaf Shariv, Israel’s consul general, offered welcoming greetings. Michael Corriero, executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York, and Bialkin’s husband, Ken Bialkin, a partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP , presented awards to the gala’s honorees: the Honorable Judith Kaye (retired), chief judge of the State of New York, and Phyllis Korff, a Skadden, Arps partner.

Hosted by NBC News’ legal analyst, Dan Abrams, CEO of Abrams Research, the dinner’s three co-chairs were Abrams’s father, Floyd Abrams, of Cahill, Gordon & Reindel LLP, whom late senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan called “the most significant First Amendment lawyer of our age”; Joseph Flom, senior partner at Skadden, Arps, and Bernard Nussbaum, senior litigation partner at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. From 1993 to 1994, Nussbaum served as counsel to the president of the United States. A supervisor at an ELEM center in Rehovot, Dana Kohn, described the case of one of its clients, “a 15-year-old girl [who fled her home], ended up living with a 60-year-old man with whom she had to sleep.” Then the man “brought more men to sleep with her….The girl called the police and was rescued. Since then, she has undergone treatment, was involved in computer studies but,” Kohn stressed,” the most effective therapeutic Bialkin also alluded to Israel’s historic convulsions as contributing factors to the juvenile distress that ELEM encounters.

“When we began to work with the larger problem of alienated youth, dysfunctional families, drugs, incest, school dropouts, living on the street, we began to realize that Israeli youth were not only struggling to mature into proper adulthood, but [that] Israeli children were living in a constant state of siege. Since the moment of its birth and ever since, [Israel] has been subjected to war, vicious acts of hostility and aggression…exploding bombs, shrapnel-filled vests bombs and mortar shells. These were not only maiming, killing and destroying homes, but causing less visible damage — a [ripple effect] impacting on the developing minds of Israeli youth. So many young people in Israel feel powerless, helpless, frightened. They have lost trust in the ability of adults to protect them, and with that loss of trust comes the abandonment of hope and denial of aspirations…. And so ELEM will continue, as it has in the past, to reach out to troubled youth, one by one.”

Reporting the Truth

2009-07-24T13:12:00.000-07:00

Breaking the Silence, supposedly a "human rights" organization, suffers from a lack of credibility. They publish anonymous "testimonies" about alleged abuses of the IDF during Operation Cast Lead, and are using these rumors to promote their anti-Israel agenda. The IDF is not pleased:

The IDF Spokesperson Unit regrets the fact that yet another human rights organization is presenting to Israel and the world a report based on anonymous and general testimonies, without investigating their details or credibility. Furthermore, this organization denied the IDF the minimal decency of presenting the report to the IDF and allowing it to investigate the testimonies prior to the report's publication. This was done while defaming and slandering the IDF and its commanders.

To read more: http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Government/Communiques/2009/Reaction_to_Breaking_Silence_report_15_Jul_2009.htm

Why Khaled Abu Toameh writes for a Jewish newspaper

2009-07-23T12:30:00.001-07:00

Over at AISH, there's a fascinating article about the courageous Israeli-Arab journalist Khaled Abu Toameh, who does great work reporting on events in the West Bank and Gaza for the Jerusalem Post and other media outlets:

Most of the world believes, often with passionate intensity, that Jewish settlements on land claimed by Arabs limits the chances for peace. Abu Toameh disagrees. "I wish the settlements were the problem," he says, because it can be solved by the Israelis. If settlements were the problem, he argues, then Gaza would now be at peace. After all, the Israelis pulled out in 2005. But the result has been war -- war among the Palestinians, war with Israel. "The real obstacle to peace is not a Jew building a settlement but the failure of the Palestinians to have a government. Is there a partner on the Palestinian side for peace talks? No."

Welfare and Social Services Minister Isaac Herzog said he will continue supporting Ethiopian aliyah

2009-05-05T07:08:00.000-07:00

Herzog vows further support for Falash Mura aliya

May. 4, 2009
Ruth Eglash , THE JERUSALEM POST
Welfare and Social Services Minister Isaac Herzog said on Monday he will continue to support immigration from Ethiopia, despite a section in the 2009 Economic Arrangements Bill that could stem the flow of the Falash Mura community to Israel because it is considered too costly.

During a visit to the country's largest absorption center in Mevaseret Zion, Herzog told The Jerusalem Post he had always supported aliya from the East African nation and that he planned to speak out against any decision that would end it.

The section in the bill that deals with the Falash Mura - whose Jewish ancestors converted to Christianity under duress more than a century ago - calls for a reversal of last September's cabinet decision that promised to check the eligibility for aliya of some 3,000 people.

Advocates for the Falash Mura hoped that last year's decision would pave the way for the government to assess the eligibility of thousands of additional people, most of whom are currently based in Gondar, who want the chance to prove that they fit government criteria for aliya laid out in 2003. Many of them already have close family members living here.

At Sunday's weekly cabinet meeting, 20 of the government's 30 ministers voiced approval for the Economic Arrangements Bill, which is expected to meet with heavy criticism when it is reviewed in the Knesset later this week .

However, Herzog, who said on Sunday that his party, Labor, would oppose the proposed budget, told the Post no official draft has yet been distributed to lawmakers.

"Except for the copy that appeared on [MK] Shelly [Yacimovich]'s Web site last week, we have not even officially seen the bill," he said.

This article can also be read at http://www.jpost.com /servlet/Satellite?cid=1239710863135&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull
[ Back to the Article ]

JPost.com At Durban II: A shift is needed on American campuses

2009-04-23T10:44:00.000-07:00

Thursday Apr 23, 2009
At Durban II: A shift is needed on American campuses

http://cgis.jpost.com/Blogs/durbanII/entry/a_shift_is_needed_on

We must all thank Ahmadinejad for legitimating our long-said message to the world.

For too long, Israel has been singled out by the United Nations: the special committees established to investigate the actions of Israel and only Israel; the endless resolutions passed against Israel; the special status granted to Palestinian refugees, which allows them to remain refugees despite being citizens of Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, and yes, Switzerland too.

I spoke with a Palestinian refugee just the other day who had citizenship in Canada before moving to Switzerland, where he now resides as a full citizen.

And yes, he is still considered a refugee (by the oblique and unique definition reserved solely for Palestinian refugees but not the millions of Jewish refugees expelled from the Arab world). Yes, he still receives American tax-dollars, European tax-dollar and Israeli tax-dollars, which are funneled through the UNRWA (United Nations Relief Works Agency). However, he is lucky that he is a male refugee, and that his father was a male refugee because refugee status is patrilineal: if his mother had been a refugee and married a non-refugee, he would not be considered a refugee. Shocking that the United Nations tolerates (funds!) such overt gender discrimination. Don't believe me? Read James Lindsay's (former general counsel and legal advisor to the UNRWA) scathing exposé of this organization, entitled "Fixing the UNRWA," available free online.

But let me tell you a different story because the story of the United Nations disregard for evenhandedness and justice is getting old. I want the world to know that this week, the Jewish people and the real victims of this world won a Pyrrhic victory. And I believe it was largely because of the students and activist groups who were present at this conference, who made their presence known and their voices heard (Why didn't more organizations from America send students to protest this debacle!?). After all, it was the clown who made the cover of every newspaper in the world, whose message was simple enough and profound enough to expose the masquerade of Durban II to the whole world - politicians and laymen alike. Of course, the countries who walked out during Ahmadinejad's speech should be commended but their action should have been compulsory.

During my time spent with the European Union of Jewish Students (especially the French students), I have seen a passion for action that shames the campus activism in America, where a real and unjust war is being waged against Israel. Yes, there are exceptional students in America who do great things but sadly, such characters are rare. The EUJS students are not concerned with "not sounding politically correct" or "being ostracized by the larger community" because they fervently believe in the political correctness of their message.

There must be a paradigm shift on campuses across America: Jewish students need to stop being complacent, remaining silent and acting cowardly when libelous events like Israel Apartheid Week (IAW) sprout up on campus. When the charade that is IAW began, it was unknown; now, it is on more than seventy-five campuses. Why is there no American Union of Jewish Students uniting nationwide to combat this farce? Why are there no students ready to dress up as clowns, peacefully disrupt and expose the parody of IAW? There must be a revolution on the American campus, composed of creative students who are both human rights advocates and defenders of Israel.

I want to begin this much-needed revolution. Tomorrow at 12PM to 1PM (Friday April 24th) in New York City, I have called for a protest at the United Nations (being organized on very short notice by my admirable friends). Everyone should wear clown wigs and red noses to symbolize the masquerade that was Durban II. Silence has never been an effective message and it must never be our message; I hope that we will remain silent no more.

Ten Jews from Yemen arrive in Israel today

2009-02-19T14:32:00.000-08:00

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Ten Jews from Yemen arrive in Israel today

In a clandestine operation, the Jewish Agency for Israel brings a community leader and his family

Some 280 Jews remain in Yemen, under increasing threat from Al Qaeda groups

In a special Jewish Agency aliyah operation, ten new immigrants from Yemen arrived in Israel today (Thursday, February 19). The immigrants included Sayid Ben Yisrael, a leader of the 200-strong Jewish community in Raida, Yemen, his wife and their seven children, and another Yemenite Jew.

After landing in Israel, the Ben Yisrael family travelled with Jewish Agency staff to Beit Shemesh, where they will settle. The other new immigrant will be going to the Jewish Agency’s Ye'elim Absorption Center in Beersheva. Yemenite families will receive a special grant of $10,000 when they arrive in Israel.

To date, there are 280 Jews still in Yemen, about 230 in the city of Raida and 50 in the capital of Sanaa, who moved there after their town came under attack by terrorists associated with Al Qaeda. While Yemenite Jews have the special protection of the Yemenite President Ali Abdallah Salah, there have been growing harassment and attacks on Jews in recent years. These events climaxed with the December 10 murder of Moshe Yaish-Nahiri, father of nine and Hebrew teacher in the local school, who was shot dead near his home in Raida by a Muslim fundamentalist. In response, the Yemenite government paid to relocate the city’s Jews to the capital of Sanaa in January to better protect the community, but some Jews were refusing to move, according to a Yemenite news report, fearing it put them at yet greater danger.

Working through several clandestine channels to ensure the safety of both those who chose to come and those who chose to stay, the Jewish Agency launched a special operation to bring Yemenite Jewish community members to Israel.
Rescuing Jews from persecution and ensuring their safety and success in Israel is a core mission of the Jewish Agency, said Aliyah Department Director Eli Cohen, who welcomed the new arrivals at Ben Gurion Airport. "The Jewish Agency is working continuously to ensure the safety of the Yemenite Jewish community in light of recent events. We will strive to bring as many Jews as possible who are interested in moving to Israel from Yemen as quickly as possible.”

Credit for all photos: Sasson Tiram / Jewish Agency for Israel

The Jewish Agency is supported by founding constituent partners: Keren Hayesod, United Jewish Communities and Jewish federations around the world; and primary funders: Keren Hayesod, United Jewish Communities and major Jewish Federations in North America, International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.

God's grace and stories of miracles

2009-01-20T09:15:00.000-08:00

Words from Yael's Corner
For more visit www.ifcj.org

January 19, 2009

I woke up this morning to the somewhat expected news that Israel has declared a unilateral cease-fire in the Hamas controlled Gaza Strip.I personally have mixed feelings about a cease-fire.But what really touched me was how the Israeli government implemented the decision. Instead of convening the security cabinet on Friday, the Jewish Sabbath, they waited until sundown on Saturday in order to make this crucial decision after God's commanded day of rest concluded.

Throughout the three week war in Gaza we have seen miracles which have assured us that God is with the Jewish people in this war for her survival. Even in the crowded Gaza Strip, where our brave young soldiers were repeatedly under attack by Hamas terrorists, we maintained a relatively low casualty rate.This can only be attributed to the grace of God. And in the seven years that Hamas has fired over 7,000 rockets at Israel's southern towns, most of them have landed in open fields and streets. Again, there is no natural explanation for this -- it is the work of God.The Jewish people are the apple of God's eye and we see how important we are to Him by the cloud of glory with which he surrounds us. That is why it made me so proud of my country when Israel convened the security cabinet after the Jewish Sabbath ended, in order to show proper respect, thanks, and recognition to God after the wonders that He has performed for His nation.

The war in Gaza began during Hanukkah, which everyone knows as the holiday of miracles -- the small can of olive oil which should have only lasted for one day that ended up burning for eight, and the small number of Maccabees who prevailed against the far greater number of soldiers of the mighty Greeks. The energy of Hanukkah was carried on throughout the war in Gaza and God sent both open and hidden miracles to inspire, encourage, and protect His nation during our fearful time of war. Just yesterday, on Shabbat, a rocket struck and destroyed a Synagogue near Ofakim, less than 10 minutes after the worshippers departed for home after concluding the morning prayers. Revealed miracles like this happened every day here in the Holy Land.

There are many miracle stories that the soldiers returning from Gaza are publicly recounting, yet one story I read stood out above the rest. There was a group of soldiers going house to house in Gaza looking for terrorists. As they entered one house, a woman approached and told them that the house was booby-trapped and they should run out immediately. They complied and 30 seconds later the house exploded. The soldiers went to the next house where the same woman approached and told them to run. Thirty seconds later the house exploded. She then led them to a house where she said high ranking terrorists were hiding and in fact she was correct.

When the soldiers asked the old lady how she knew all of these things she simply answered that she is our biblical foremother Rachel and was sent to watch out for the soldiers. She then walked away and was never seen again. According to many different accounts from the soldiers this story is true, yet whether you choose believe it or not, there is a lesson to be learned -- when we put our faith in God He will reveal Himself.

The chances for this cease-fire to succeed look remote at this moment. It has not even been 12 hours since the cease-fire was implemented and there have already been 9 Hamas rockets fired at southern Israeli towns. Hamas has vowed to continue fighting Israel and there have yet to be any resolutions put in place to halt the arms smuggling from Egypt into Gaza, which is one of the largest problems we face.
Although there are many factors which could point to this being just another failed peace initiative, we Israelis have been trained to believe in miracles and put trust in our democratically elected government. Together we all stand firm in our desire for peace and will continue to jump on every opportunity to attain it. We know that through prayer and faithfulness to God nothing is impossible -- even the elusive vision of peace in the Holy Land.

Israel troops closer to target

2009-01-16T13:29:00.000-08:00

Go to this link to find out more: http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE50B7AV20090112

Civilian fatalities not as high as some think

2009-01-16T13:23:00.000-08:00

A maximum of 25 percent of the Palestinians killed in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of Operation Cast Lead are innocent civilians, the head of the IDF's Gaza Coordination and Liaison Administration (CLA), Col. Moshe Levi, said Wednesday.

Gazan searches bombed home for family.
Photo: AP

Slideshow: Gaza op, day 20 According to Palestinian medical officials, Israel has killed some 1,000 Palestinians since the fighting began in late December and more than half of them are civilians. The toll included 11 Palestinians killed Wednesday, medical officials said.

Levi told reporters on Wednesday that the CLA had compiled a list with the names of 900 of the Palestinians killed during the fighting. He said that 150 names were of women, children and elderly and that the maximum number of civilians killed so far was 250.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) released a report on Wednesday citing Palestinian Ministry of Health figures according to which 311 of the dead are children and 76 are women.

The number of wounded, the report claims is 4,418, of whom 1,549 are children and 652 are women.

Levi also dismissed OCHA's claim that 43 Palestinians were killed in an IDF attack on a Hamas terror cell that was firing mortars at Israeli forces from within an UNRWA school in Jabalya.

Levi said that the CLA knew of 21 Palestinians killed in the attack, including a number of Hamas operatives.

Aid from several countries brought to the Gaza strip

2009-01-16T13:08:00.000-08:00

Since the beginning of Operation Cast Lead through 15 January 2009:

• About 1,175 trucks carrying over 28,119 tons of humanitarian aid, and over 1,436,350 litres of diesel fuel have been transferred to the Gaza Strip.
• 449 dual nationals were evacuated from Gaza.
• 3,000 units of blood were donated by Jordan.
• 5 ambulances were donated by Turkey.
• 5 ambulances were transferred from the West Bank on behalf of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society.
• 34 people were evacuated to Israel for medical needs, including two injured children.

Day 20 - Israel defending herself

2009-01-16T13:00:00.001-08:00

A brief update of events on the 20th Day of the War – 1.15.09:

On a day in which 22 rockets were fired into Israel, Amos Gilad, head of the Defense Ministry's military-political department is meeting in Egypt as that country attempts to broker a cease fire between Israel and Hamas. It is reported that one of the conditions required by Israel is that the cease fire be permanent and not limited to one year as Hamas has reportedly offered. There are reports that the Israel cabinet will meet tomorrow in order to announce whether it will agree to a cease fire.

At the moment, IDF Givati ground forces are still operating near Gaza city. The difficult pictures that will be shown around the world are those of the UNRWA headquarters, the Al Quds Hospital and a building housing foreign press services in Gaza city, having been hit by Israeli artillery. The context within which these incidents have occurred is that Hamas gunmen operating from all 3 of these structures were firing rocket-propelled grenades at Givati forces. In performing their function as back-up protection for the ground forces, IDF artillery forces returned fire at the source. There is no international convention that prohibits an army from firing on any target, no matter what it might be, when it is the origination point of hostile fire during wartime. All the same, Israelis, like all civilized people are happy to know that at the moment there have been no reports of any civilian casualties at these sites.

Christian support when Israel needs it most

2009-01-16T12:58:00.000-08:00

American Christians provide safety for Israelis in Gaza
By Charlie Butts

Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein is in Israel monitoring the war in Gaza firsthand.

The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ) has spent several hundred-thousand dollars donated by American Christians to fortify bomb shelters in northern and southern Israel.
IFCJ founder Eckstein is in Sderot, just north of Gaza, where one attack took place and the Code Red warning came over loudspeakers.

"Just 30 seconds ago, we experienced again what the people here in Sderot have experienced day after day after day for eight years. And that is a missile coming in," he notes. "You don't know where it's going to land. The siren goes off, which gives you roughly 15 seconds; and in this case, the missile hit just a few yards from where we are."

Rabbi Eckstein is safe and plans to return to the United States later this week. The Fellowship will continue to provide medical, food, and water supplies to hazardous areas in Israel.

Facts and Figures

2009-01-15T14:49:00.002-08:00

Hamas rocket attacks on Israel
Yesterday 20
Since 12/27/08 819
In 2008 3045
Since 2005 6141

European Jews standing with Israel

2009-01-15T14:49:00.001-08:00

Amid anti-Semitic storm, Europe’s Jews stand for Israel
By Dinah Spritzer · January 13, 2009

Pro-Israel rallies like this one in London have attracted much smaller crowds than anti-Israel demonstrations throughout Europe. (Giora Hirsch) Related LinksAnti-Israel rally in Brussels (video) PRAGUE (JTA) -- Confronting a rising storm of anti-Semitism as the conflict in Gaza intensifies, European Jews are grappling with the best way to express their support for Israel's fight against Hamas.

Recent assaults on Jews in European capitals range from the beating of a Jewish teenager in a Paris suburb by assailants who vowed she would “pay for Israel's acts” to the compilation on an Islamist Web site of a hit list of prominent British Jews. Jewish monuments in France and Sweden have been firebombed. And in Italy, a workers’ political party called for a boycott of Jewish stores.

While Jews have taken to the streets in the hundreds or thousands to demonstrate for peace and Israel’s right to defend itself, they are dwarfed by the tens and hundreds of thousands participating in protests against Israel. In many cases, top European political figures have supported the protests. Sometimes the rallies have turned violent.

The 27-country European Union has approximately 1.8 million Jews and 17 million Muslims, and that difference is keenly visible in the size of events relating to the war in Gaza and southern Israel.

After some 1,000 Jews turned out last week for a rally in Brussels in support of Israel -- held opposite the Embassy of Iran, which funds Hamas -- tens of thousands showed up Sunday for a march against what they called Israel's “massacre in Gaza.” The pro-Palestinian rally was organized by three of the four main political parities in the French-speaking part of Belgium, along with some 100 or so nongovernmental organizations.

Chanting “Death to Jews!” in Arabic, the crowd burned Israeli flags and carried signs calling Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni “Hitler's wife.”

“In a way, Jews feel alone,” said Joel Rubinfeld, the president of the umbrella group of French-speaking Jews in Belgium, known by the acronym CCOJB. “But lots of non-Jews are disgusted, too” with the anti-Semitic messages, he added.

Massive anti-Israel demonstrations last weekend in France, Brussels and Madrid have included anti-Semitic chants such as “Jews to the gas” and swastikas paired with the Star of David.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry, the European Jewish Congress, the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the Anti-Defamation League have implored European officials to acknowledge and combat the importing of the Middle East conflict to Europe and the scapegoating of Jews.

Countries with large Muslims populations, including France, Belgium and Britain, have seen the largest number of anti-Semitic incidents.

Britain's Community Security Trust, which monitors Jewish security issues, recorded a huge surge in anti-Semitic attacks -- 80 in total -- since Israel began bombing Hamas targets in Gaza on Dec. 27.

Undeterred, British Jews staged the largest European demonstration in support of Israel's right to security in this conflict. Sunday's demonstration, which also expressed sympathy for Palestinian civilians, drew 17,000 people to London's Trafalgar Square.

“I decided to do something after watching too much television and seeing the huge coverage of the anti-Israel demonstrations,” said one Jewish Londoner, Matt Freelander, who participated in a pro-Israel rally last week.

In France, Nicole Yardeni, the president of the CRIF Jewish umbrella group in Toulouse, decided not to hold a pro-Israel rally in the region after a car filled with Molotov cocktails rammed into the front gate of a synagogue Jan. 5.

“It's not that we are afraid,” she said of the community of approximately 20,000. But faced with consistent pro-Palestinian rallies that outnumber Toulouse Jews, Yardeni said the community “could not hold its own on the street” and thus could not have a “successful” protest.

In recent days, the CRIF held pro-Israel rallies in Paris, Marseilles and near Lyon.

The Marseilles rally was unusual in that every major local politician joined the crowd of about 4,000. The Paris rally did not have the same political backing. Many attendees said they left family and friends behind because they were afraid of publicly supporting Israel after seeing the violence and virulent anti-Zionism in a pro-Palestinian protest a day earlier.

"Once again, when in trouble, we've found ourselves alone," Patrick Gaubert, the president of the International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism, wrote in a letter published Jan. 8 in a French Jewish weekly.

In Italy, whose prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, has been honored by Jewish groups for being pro-Israel, pro-Israel rallies drew government officials.

In Germany, anti-Israel marches were relatively calm, but some marchers carried signs reading “Out with Jews” or "Israelis are child murderers.”

German Jews have turned out for pro-Israel rallies, too, albeit in small numbers. A rally in Frankfurt drew 2,000, while one in Berlin had 1,500 participants.

“When people see our small group,” said Sharon Adler, who co-organized the Berlin rally on Sunday, "perhaps they will understand that Israel is also a much smaller country than all the Arab countries around it, and that Jews in Germany are also a small minority."

In Stockholm, where the Jewish community numbers 5,000, a peace event in support of Israel held Saturday night at a church drew 800 people -- about half of whom were not Jewish, according to Lena Posner, the president of the Swedish Jewish community.

“There were about 100 people outside the church shouting insults against Israel,” Posner said. “The police had to close off the whole area around the church and we were escorted back to our cars in groups of 15.”

Earlier in the day, 8,000 protesters chanting anti-Israel slogans gathered for a mostly Muslim demonstration in Stockholm that included the head of the Swedish Socialist Party and the country’s former foreign minister. A Liberal Party legislator attended the pro-Israel event.

Elsewhere in the country, a burial chapel in the Jewish cemetery in central Malmo was firebombed for the third time since Israel began its operation in Gaza.

In Spain, violent incidents have been minimal, although an anti-Israel rally there on Saturday was Europe’s biggest such rally thus far, with crowd estimates ranging from 50,000 to 250,000.

Representatives of Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and his ruling Socialist Party were among those who participated. Some participants called for jihad, or holy war, praised Hezbollah and cursed Israel. The Israeli Embassy in Madrid took the rare step of openly chastising the prime minister for fueling anti-Israel anger.

“There was hate speech definitely, and a few marched to the Israeli Embassy and threw stones and the police had to intervene,” said Derek Wise, the general manager of Madrid’s Jewish community. “Our prime minister incited what was going on.''

Wise said Spanish Friends of Israel was planning a public pro-Israel event for Jan. 18.

“I understand there might be people afraid to come," he said, "but we want to show it is not only Jews, it's normal Spaniards who also understand that a democratic state like Israel has a right to defend itself.”

(JTA correspondents Devorah Lauter contributed to this story from Paris, Toby Axelrod from Berlin and Daphna Vardi from London.)

Soldier critically wounded a day after wedding

2009-01-15T14:48:00.000-08:00

Critically Wounded Officer Went to War Day after Wedding

by Yehudah Lev Kay

(IsraelNN.com) IDF officer Aharon Karov was critically wounded Monday night in Gaza by a blast from a booby trap. Karov was married only a week and a half ago to Tzvia Mordechai, and the morning after his wedding, he was off to war.

Aharon, who is from the Samaria community of Karnei Shomron, is a second lieutenant in the Paratroopers Brigade. He commanded a company in ground fighting in North Gaza until being injured. Before joining the army, Aharon studied in a yeshiva (school for religious study) in Netzarim, one of the Jewish communities destroyed in the 2005 Israeli Disengagement from Gaza.

Aharon's family has asked that the public pray for his recovery. His Hebrew name is Aharon Yehoshua Ben Chaya Shoshanna.

Two and a half weeks ago, before Operation Cast Lead began, Aharon received leave from his unit to attend the traditional Sabbath celebration before his wedding. On the morning of that Saturday, the air force began bombing Gaza. Aharon had just finished the Sabbath prayers and sat down to eat lunch when his commanders decided to call him back to base in case a ground offensive in Gaza began.

The following week, Aharon was in the army preparing for the ground offensive set to begin any moment. On Tuesday evening his commanders decided to allow him to go home to prepare for his wedding on Thursday night. Aharon and Tzvia were married as planned, but the next morning the IDF already called Aharon back to base. By Saturday evening the army had begun its ground offensive, and with them, Aharon Karov in command of his Paratrooper company.

On Monday night, Aharon was wounded critically and two other soldiers moderately from a blast within a booby trapped home in Northern Gaza. Searches of the home after the blast uncovered another explosive device and a Hamas military vest.

Aharon's father, Rabbi Zev Karov, explained how a newly married groom could make such a sacrifice. "According to Jewish law, in a war of self defense even a newly married groom must fight," he explained. "More than that, [Aharon] is a commander who knows his soldiers, has prepared them, and knows what must be done. He couldn't just leave them on their own." Karov added that, "The bride was at first shocked, but then she understood that sometimes personal interests must be second to the common good."

Hamas to blame

2009-01-15T14:46:00.000-08:00

Hamas is Responsible
Michael J. Totten - 01.12.2009 - 11:24 AM

Steven Erlanger wrote a revealing article in the New York Times about the methods of urban warfare used by the Israel Defense Forces and Hamas in Gaza. He shows that Hamas is committing war crimes against both Israelis and Palestinians, and that Hamas knows better than most that Israelis take great care to avoid harming civilians despite propaganda saying otherwise.

“Unwilling to take Israel’s bait and come into the open,” he wrote, “Hamas militants are fighting in civilian clothes; even the police have been ordered to take off their uniforms.”

Hamas is in clear violation of the Geneva Conventions here, but that’s nothing new. Hamas never agreed to uphold the Conventions in the first place. Its raison d’être is the destruction of an entire country, after all. The laws and ethics of civilized warfare are anathema to groups like Hamas.

Nevertheless, everyone should be familiar with what the Geneva Conventions actually say. The Society of Professional Journalists provides a good summary explanation that most of my colleagues should know well by now:

The Geneva Conventions and supplementary protocols make a distinction between combatants and civilians. The two groups must be treated differently by the warring sides and, therefore, combatants must be clearly distinguishable from civilians… In order for the distinction between combatants and civilians to be clear, combatants must wear uniforms and carry their weapons openly during military operations and during preparation for them… Combatants who deliberately violate the rules about maintaining a clear separation between combatant and noncombatant groups and thus endanger the civilian population are no longer protected by the Geneva Convention.

These protocols have been carefully crafted by leaders of civilized nations and are not to be lightly dismissed. It may be convenient to blame the Israelis when civilians are killed by their air strikes in Gaza, but the Geneva Conventions clearly state that Hamas fighters endangered those civilians by disguising themselves.

Not only do Israelis have a harder time figuring out who is a target and who needs protection, we all have a harder time identifying those who have already been wounded and killed. Hamas says mostly civilians have been wounded and killed in the fighting in Gaza, but its fighters look just like everyone else. They can trot out the bodies of two dead terrorists in front of the cameras and say they’re civilians, thus easily fooling just about anyone. The number of civilian casualties, therefore, appears much higher than it really is. But even if that weren’t the case, far more civilians are being killed in this war because Hamas is fighting dirty.

Israelis, in the meantime, go far out of their way to avoid harming the civilians of Gaza. They have even developed weapons for precisely this purpose.

“A new Israeli weapon,” Erlanger writes, “is tailored to the Hamas tactic of asking civilians to stand on the roofs of buildings so Israeli pilots will not bomb. The Israelis are countering with a missile designed, paradoxically, not to explode. They aim the missiles at empty areas of the roofs to frighten residents into leaving the buildings, a tactic called ‘a knock on the roof’.”

If Israelis were targeting civilians, as Hamas and hysterical critics like to claim, it ought to go without saying that they would never have developed a “weapon” that scatters civilians away for their own protection.

Activists, professors, journalists, bloggers, and other uninformed individuals may believe Israelis kill civilians either negligently or on purpose, but even Hamas knows that’s a lie. Otherwise, Hamas would not ask “civilians to stand on the roofs of buildings so Israeli pilots will not bomb,” as Erlanger reports.

Hamas knows the truth but uses its lie as a weapon. And it works. Millions all over the world believe Israel massacres civilians in Gaza and that claims to the contrary from the military are disinformation and smokescreen.

Israelis, by contrast, don’t use human shields to deter Palestinian rocket attacks. The very idea is absurd. Hamas aims at civilians on purpose, as much as it can aim its crude rockets. A congregation of Israeli human shields would only make a bulls-eye at which Hamas could aim.

In any case, the use of human shields is strictly prohibited. The Law of Armed Conflict is absolutely clear on this point. It “requires defenders to separate military objects from civilian objects to the maximum extent feasible. Therefore, it would be inappropriate to locate a hospital or POW camp next to an ammunition factory.”

It is likewise inappropriate to place civilians atop buildings that are known to be targets. Israeli pilots should not have to warn these people with “knocks on the roof.”

Hamas routinely turns civilian buildings into military assets and targets. “Weapons are hidden in mosques,” Erlanger reports, “schoolyards and civilian houses, and the leadership’s war room is a bunker beneath Gaza’s largest hospital, Israeli intelligence officials say.” Ynet also reports that Israeli soldiers found a school and even a zoo rigged to explode. You can see a video of that booby-trapped school here on YouTube.

Hamas leaders couldn’t endanger more Palestinians if they tried.

“Israeli press officers call the tactics of Hamas cynical, illegal and inhumane,” Erlanger writes. “[E]ven Israel’s critics agree that Hamas’s regular use of rockets to fire at civilians in Israel, and its use of civilians as shields in Gaza, are also violations of the rules of war.”

He’s right that Israel’s fair-minded critics acknowledge Hamas is an army of war criminals. But few seem bothered by the fact that Hamas violates the laws and ethics of war as a matter of course. Perhaps that’s because few expect any better from a violent fascist regime that aspires to genocide. But the record should show, even so, that Hamas is morally, ethically, and legally responsible for civilian deaths in Gaza as well as in Israel.

In the line of fire

2009-01-14T15:18:00.000-08:00

Machers In Line Of Fire

By Stewart Ain

Close calls are becoming a staple of solidarity missions to the south of Israel (witness Mayor Michael Bloomberg ducking into a bomb shelter on a recent trip to Sderot just before a Hamas-launched rocket hit nearby).

But a delegation of Jewish federation leaders visiting the south this week got a more complete, and poignant, taste of what life is like for Israelis living in the shadow of the Gaza border.

Not only did the group dash into a bomb shelter when the alarm sounded Monday in Ashkelon, it also heard the blast and then visited the home it hit. The rocket missed by seconds the three children in the house who fled into the family’s basement bomb shelter.

The group, which included UJA-Federation CEO John Ruskay, also met an elderly couple, Holocaust survivors, whose home was built before bomb shelters were required in each building.

“The man had a stroke and is immobilized,” said Joe Kanfer, chairman of the United Jewish Communities. “When the [bomb] alert goes off, they are unable to run to a shelter. All they can do is sit and hold hands.”

And they met a counselor in Sderot hired by the Israel Trauma Coalition, which represents 50 trauma providers and which UJA-Federation of New York helped establish; it is now funded by the UJC. “She said she was counseling a single mother the other day when schools were closed [because of increased Hamas rocket attacks],” Kanfer recalled. “The alert was sounded during the middle of their session. The two crawled under a table, and each used their cell phones to check on the well-being of their children. “The constant stress of having the sirens go off and not knowing where their children are is disruptive to their emotional well-being and to their work. The emotional stress is really unbearable. Until you have looked people in the eyes and talked to them of what they have lived through, you don’t realize what it is like.”

The UJC last week authorized a $10 million grant to assist programs in Israel that are primarily working with the elderly and helping people to cope with the stress and trauma of the Hamas rocket attacks. More than $428,000 was allocated this week by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany to assist Nazi victims living in areas under Hamas rocket fire, who may be especially traumatized. Among other things, the money is to be used to provide shatterproof glass windows in three nursing homes in southern Israel in which 290 Holocaust survivors live.

“We are supporting these projects because the constant rocket attacks trigger anxiety and dark memories in Nazi victims,” said Julius Berman, chairman of the Claims Conference. “Having lived through a constant threat of danger and death decades ago, Nazi victims now living under missile fire suffer even more trauma and fear than other Israelis.”

In another close call in Sderot, Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, who heads the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, which raises funds among Evangelical Christians for the support of Israel, barely escaped injury last week when a rocket landed “not more than 100 yards away.” The rabbi told The Jewish Week he was in an open field with no shelter in sight. “I did the only thing I could do — trembling, I raised by hands to the heavens and prayed to God for protection.”

Day 19 - Israel's war to defend herself

2009-01-14T15:10:00.001-08:00

Report From Day 19 Of Israel's War To Defend Her People
Wednesday, January 14, 2009

The people of Israel woke up to the disturbing news that in addition to the sixteen rockets that were fired on southern Israel today, three rockets fired from Lebanon had struck an open area in the north, near the city of Kiryat Shmona. The Israeli army launched a counter strike, firing artillery shells at the assumed location of the Lebanese rocket launchers. Israelis are deeply worried about the prospect of a war opening on a second front. We were, however, relieved to hear that today the Lebanese army took action to dismantle three rocket launchers used in the attack. We pray that the Lebanese government continues to act responsibly, and inhibit the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist group from igniting the situation.

Reports from Egypt indicate that Hamas has accepted ceasefire terms - with reservations. Ironically, this war began when Hamas refused to extend the last temporary truce (which they had been continuously violating). As of this time, the terrorist organization has said that they will agree to a one year cease fire if Israel withdraws from Gaza and if the border to Gaza remains open. But there is no one in Israel who would be happy with a temporary ceasefire without an end to the rocket attacks as well as the smuggling of weapons into Gaza.

The people of Israel feel that this is a just war, and that it represents the only way to bring an end to the indiscriminate rocket fire of Hamas. Images of wounded Gaza citizens on television do not make Israelis happy. However, we remember that it is Hamas that uses their own people as human shields. It is Hamas that attacks Israel from schools, mosques, and residential areas. The IDF, in turn, must respond with their defensive operations.

As Operation Cast Lead continues, the mood and unity of the people remains strong. In every synagogue in Israel, the daily service is concluded with the recital of Psalms on behalf of the IDF soldiers and the innocent Israeli civilians threatened by Hamas terrorists. And we, at The Fellowship, continue to do our part by traveling through the war-torn areas and trying to fill the emergency needs of the people.

We continue to be in awe of the outpouring of love and support from our Fellowship donors who have helped renovate the bomb shelters that many Israelis are now living in, provided food coupons for the poor who cannot get to soup kitchens and food pantries, increased support for trauma centers, provided transportation to medical treatments for the elderly and infirm, and so much more. Your continuous support and love for Israel and her people during their time of need is truly making a difference during this most difficult time.

Today I want to leave you with the words of Moshe, a simple man who resides in the southern city of Netivot, an area continuously hit by Hamas rockets. In his words of thanks, he expresses the feelings of so many Israelis who now know they have Christian friends they can count on.

"It's good to know we are not alone," Moshe told Fellowship staff. "The Jewish people have gone through the worst of times again and again, but we always survive. We’ll survive this time as well because God protects us. There are a lot of needs in Netivot. If this war lasts a long time the needs are only going to get greater. Knowing that we have friends who are willing to help makes it a lot easier. Let everyone know that we appreciate them."

Supporting Trauma Centers in Israel

2009-01-13T14:37:00.001-08:00

Between 75 and 94 percent of Sderot children ranging in age from four to eighteen are displaying symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder due to the constant rocket attacks on their homes.

Typical symptoms from such rocket attacks include: insomnia; lack of focus; irritability; anger; blackouts; nightmares; heightened anxiety; and nearly phobic avoidance of people and places associated with the trauma.

The Fellowship is participating as a full partner along with Israel’s Ministries of Health, Welfare, and Pensioner’s Affairs to complete the preparedness of five critical Trauma Centers in the hardest hit areas in and around Sderot. The centers provide various forms of diagnostic services and counseling to help victims overcome these events.

Five counseling sessions for a child is $300. It costs $80 for play therapy sessions which include like paints, games and more for play therapy, so children can overcome their fears and learn to just be kids again.

Barzilai Hospital Support from IFCJ

2009-01-13T14:36:00.001-08:00

Barzilai Hospital Support from IFCJ

This hospital is located in Ashkelon and serves victims of Hamas terror as well as IDF soldiers injured in battle. With the increase in the number of victims of the war and terror attacks, the hospital needs additional emergency equipment. The Fellowship will be providing 4 respirators, 2 anesthesia machines, 2 anesthesia monitors, as well as, special lights for operating rooms.

In Times of War

2009-01-13T13:39:00.001-08:00

Israel's People Come Together In Time of War

January 8, 2009

The Israeli people’s determination to establish and protect the Jewish homeland is what has kept us strong and confident in the face of terror for the past 60 years. The morale of Israelis has not been broken by the endless attacks launched on us by our neighbors. Instead, these vicious acts have strengthened us in our conviction that God promised Israel to the Jews and will keep us victorious in order to protect and watch over His land. Despite our trials, we have not lost faith in the biblical principles of hope, love, and the need to confront evil.

Logic says that we should be ready to give up on our 2000 year old dream of living in our biblical homeland, because Israel has been at war since the establishment of the Jewish state sixty years ago. We have been attacked by every single one of our neighboring countries and demonized by countless others. We have seen terror attacks cruel beyond imagination – bombs detonated on public buses full of innocent civilians on their way to work and school, scores killed and injured while celebrating the sacred holiday of Passover, women with infants murdered while waiting outside a synagogue. We have become all too accustomed to harsh, unfair treatment by world governing bodies like the U.N. and to calls from world governments to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. Yes, it may seem like our morale should be broken, but all of these atrocities have only strengthened our resolve to protect our people and nation.

During my recent visits to the war-torn southern part of Israel, I was shocked to see that the streets are not ghost towns. In fact, people from northern Israel are traveling south to show their solidarity and lend a hand to the most helpless residents. We are seeing teenagers spending days in Sderot and Ashkelon, going house to house and shelter to shelter visiting the elderly, playing with children, and showing their love and support in whatever way possible. Instead of spending their days at malls and movies, our youth spend their extra time volunteering in war zones.

Most Israelis believe this is a just war. This is inspiring since, in the game of politics, no one ever seems to agree. Yet in this instance it is different. After seven years of watching Israeli citizens in the south terrorized by missiles, Israelis seem to know that, as terrible as it is, war is the only option left to bring the hope of peace.

This war is a bloody war, and not because we try to kill Palestinian civilians. In fact, Israel deliberately tries to avoid Palestinian civilian casualties by carefully targeting terrorist leadership. The blame lies with Hamas, which uses its own people as human shields, its children’s school houses as missile launching sites, and university dorm rooms as weapon storage areas. Israelis sympathize with and regret Palestinian suffering, yet we know enough to see that this suffering has come about due to their own rulers’ lack of respect for the sanctity for life – both Israeli and Palestinian.

Speaking to Fellowship friends on the phone, I have realized that there is not one of you whose hearts and prayers are not directed towards Israel during this time of war. I have heard your tears from far away, and it gives me strength to know that you understand our suffering and support us. Your generous donations to The Fellowship’s Victims of War and Terror Fund have already reached the suffering population in southern Israel, and have contributed to the successful 24 hour a day operations in the Fellowship-funded trauma centers and bomb shelter projects, programs to provide the needy with food coupons, programs to provide the elderly and infirm with emergency transportation to and from medical appointments, and so much more. American Christians are truly standing for Israel by offering us help in this time of desperate need.

Throughout the year your gifts have helped to prepare the Israeli people for whatever arises, and therefore the people here have learned to trust and rely on you. When The Fellowship comes to their homes with food, clothing, and other assistance, the Israeli residents know it is given with love – and that is the best gift possible. Thank you for your genuine concern, prayers, and compassionate action on behalf of the Jewish people.

Shabbat Shalom,
Yael

Day 17 of Israel's War to Defend Her People

2009-01-13T13:37:00.001-08:00

Report From Day 17 Of Israel's War To Defend Her People
Monday, January 12, 2009

The Israeli army continues to push deeper into Gaza city, in a fierce battle to defend innocent men, women and children from the deadly rocket attacks that have rained over Southern Israel for the last seven years. And while a million innocent Israeli civilians stand on the front lines of the war, watching their homes, schools, and communities destroyed by Hamas rockets, their morale has not been destroyed. The people in the war torn areas of Israel continue to hope that the IDF will bring an end to the incessant missile attacks, and that they will once again be able to live a normal and peaceful life.

The Fellowship staff in Israel has worked tirelessly to bring relief to the many cities across southern Israel hit hardest by the war. Your contributions have funded food for bomb shelters, food stamps for the elderly and emergency equipment for shelters including heaters and radios, as well as games for the children and other small electrical equipment. The Fellowship has also funded emergency transportation to hospitals for people hurt and traumatized in the attacks, as well as for the elderly and the infirm who must now travel miles from their homes for their dialysis and other life-saving medical treatments.

As we travel across the many areas in Israel that are still threatened by a daily barrage of rockets attacks, the people living there are eager to share their stories with The Fellowship’s donors who have offered them a ray of light at the end of the tunnel. We meet the men, women, and children who are living in the bomb shelters that are funded by The Fellowship -- people who, amazingly, continue to have hope amidst their tragedies.

During our travels, we have heart some heartbreaking and chilling stories. We met Shoshanna, who narrowly avoided death when a rocket hit the room she had been sitting in just seconds before. We heard the story of little Inbal, a deaf girl in the third grade, who must stay in her bomb shelter day and night because she cannot hear the “Code Red” siren. We met Smadar, who spends all her time in the shelter with her children because she is too afraid to leave.

They are ordinary people thrown into extraordinary circumstances who continue to live their lives as best they can and pray for a lasting peace. They have the same hopes and dreams that we all have. “We want our children to be able to go outside and play,” says Maria, a resident of the town of Okafim, which was recently hit by rockets for the first time. “We want them to be able to go back to school. We want them to be able to have a normal childhood. We’re ready to pay the price.”

The battle, however, is one that they are not able to fight on their own. The Fellowship staff in Israel continues to work in areas hit by the terrorists, supporting their increasing critical needs. Israelis are extremely grateful for this life-saving assistance. But there is still much work to be done. We continue, for example, to work in areas like Ashkelon and Katzrin, renovating their bomb shelters to the highest standards, and giving them a place to run when the rockets fall.

The Fellowship staff in Israel feels extremely blessed by the outpouring of support and generosity from Christians in America – by their love for Israel, and their willingness to stand with her during this war. Throughout the years, your donations have helped renovate the bomb shelters that many Israelis are now living in, and continue to fund their many arising needs. The people in Israel know that they can trust and rely on their Christian friends. Thank you.

Words from Yael - Daughter of Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein

2009-01-13T13:36:00.001-08:00

Why Israelis Will Fight For Their Country

January 12, 2009

The media’s portrayal of Israel’s war on Hamas terror, as well as the worldwide demonstrations taking place today to protest Israel’s right to protect herself, make it clear that the much of the world doesn’t understand the current battle in Gaza. And, in a greater sense, they don’t understand the Jewish need – the Jewish imperative – to defend our homeland.

Since Jews were sent into exile with the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago, we have endured many catastrophes. In the countries where we have settled, we have been subject to unfathomable hate and attempted genocide. We have built businesses, established communities, and paid taxes to governments that allowed us to live under their rule, only to later have them turn against us.

The most horrifying example of this occurred during the last century. During the early 1900’s in Europe, Jews were thriving and contributing to society as much as any other culture or people living there. Some Jews immersed themselves in the secular world and held high positions in the government, universities, and hospitals. Others kept their strong faith and traditional orthodox Jewish ways of living, studying the Torah day and night.

And yet, no matter how “European” either group of these Jews felt, they all faced the same fate when Hitler’s brutal Nazi regime came into power in Germany and began to conquer Europe. The same Nazi policemen who found and imprisoned Jews who were hiding from the oppression, who murdered Jewish children in front of their mothers, were the same people that had been their neighbors. After the Holocaust, Jews saw that their efforts to find a place to live peacefully in another country had only resulted in millions of Jewish corpses.

The fact is, for the past 2000 years Jews have been wandering because we have been chased out of nearly every one of our homes after seeing fellow Jews slaughtered because of their faith. “Pogrom” (an organized massacre of Jews) is not just a word in the history books for us, but a word we use to describe to our children how their grandparents or great-grandparents died. We never had a Jewish homeland that would protect us from harm, and because of these painful collective memories from exile, the Jewish people no longer feel confident that we will be safe no matter where we live.

Now, 63 years after the Holocaust ended, I am sitting at my home in Jerusalem surrounded by 6 million fellow Jewish citizens of the land of Israel – the same number of Jews who were murdered during World War II. And yet, I still feel a historical déjà vu.

There is good reason for this. I turn on the news and see Iran calling for Israel’s destruction. I see U.N. ceremonies taking place with maps of “Palestine” hanging in the background, maps on which the state of Israel simply does not exist. I see Hamas terrorists and Muslim clerics praying to Allah to wipe Israel into the sea. I see terrorists firing rockets at civilian populations of southern Israel, tearing apart countless lives.

But I am heartened to know that finally, after seven years of terrorist rockets striking Israeli territory and Israel trying every form of negotiation possible, we are fighting back militarily. We have told both Hamas and the world that we will not allow the historical atrocities to repeat themselves again. We Jews have learned not to take terrorist threats in vain and we have summoned the nation’s courage to address these threats and fight them to the end. We know we will prevail because our true strength lies in the Torah, the book of Psalms, and prayer – and with those weapons there is no losing potential.

So I want to make clear today to all those protesting against Israel today what we are really fighting for. We are fighting for our survival, our people, and our history. We fight in the name of the millions of Jews that were murdered during the past 2,000 years because they didn’t have a government to stand up for their rights or a homeland to protect their ancient faith. What would the people who are picketing against Israel like us to do when we are faced with thousands of rockets being fired at our citizens – sit back and beg for mercy until they destroy us or kick us out of our land?

My friends, history may be repeating itself in many ways, but we also see progression and change for the better. YOU are that positive change. For 2000 years the Jews didn’t have any friends to turn to during our time of need. Now we have millions of Christians in North and South America, Canada, and around the world that love us and back us in our fight for freedom and life. Through both your physical and spiritual support, you have proven yourselves to be genuine and sincere partners with the Jewish people. Through The Fellowship you have given sacrificial financial gifts to provide lifesaving aid to Jewish people in Israel and around the world. Because of your donations we have Jewish Ethiopians, Indians, Iranians, and many more nationalities all living in their Jewish homeland in order to strengthen it – a true fulfillment of biblical prophecy. And now, during this time of war, when the rocket-stricken citizens of southern Israel retreat to their bomb shelters to find safety, they are greeted by a plaque that tells them that the Jewish people will never again be fighting alone: “Donated With Love by Christians in America, The Fellowship”.

Thank you for standing with us, both physically and spiritually, and positively changing the course of history forever.

With great gratitude and prayers for shalom,
Yael

Life in Southern Israel

2009-01-13T13:26:00.000-08:00

The Fellowship has been in the field during this crisis since day 1 tending to tens of thousands of Israelis in the cities of Ashkelon and Katzrin who are currently under fire from Hamas rockets do not have adequate bomb shelters. Help us fulfill our commitment to renovate 500 private bomb shelters in the poorest areas of these war-torn Israeli cities.

Watch our video (link below) to get a first-hand account of the affects this war has caused for so many of Israel’s people and why they need your help. Continue to show your support by continuing to tell your friends to join The Fellowship’s causes and spreading the word.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Chicago-IL/The-International-Fellowship-of-Christians-and-Jews/30914589895#/video/video.php?v=54963239973

Tally of air strikes from Gaza

2009-01-09T10:29:00.000-08:00

Tally of missiles, rockets and mortar shells fired from Gaza
• Since 2001, total number of identified rocket and mortar shell hits: 8,691.
• Since Israel's unilateral disengagement from Gaza in August 2005: 6,000.
• Since 4 November 2008: 896.
• Since the ceasefire ended on 19 December 2008: 831.
• Since Operation Cast Lead began on 27 December 2008: 676.

MILITANT ISLAM THREATENS US ALL

2009-01-09T08:04:00.001-08:00

MILITANT ISLAM THREATENS US ALL
Benjamin Netanyahu
Wall Street Journal, January 7, 2009

Imagine a siren that gives you 30 seconds to find shelter before a Kassam rocket falls from the sky and explodes, spraying its lethal shrapnel in all directions. Now imagine this happens day after day, month after month, year after year. If you can imagine that, you can begin to understand the terror to which hundreds of thousands of Israelis have been subjected. Three years ago Israel withdrew from every square inch of Gaza. And since that withdrawal, our civilians have been targeted by more than 6,000 rockets and mortars fired from Gaza. In the face of this relentless bombardment, Israel has acted with a restraint that other countries, faced with a similar threat, would find hard to fathom. Israel’s government has finally decided to respond.

For this action to succeed, we must first have moral clarity. There is no moral equivalence between Israel, a democracy which seeks peace and targets the terrorists, and Hamas, an Iranian-backed terror organization that seeks Israel’s destruction and targets the innocent.

In launching precision strikes against Hamas rocket launchers, headquarters, weapons depots, smuggling tunnels and training camps, Israel is trying to minimize civilian casualties. But Hamas deliberately attacks Israeli civilians and deliberately hides behind Palestinian civilians—a double war crime. Responsible governments do their utmost to minimize civilian casualties, but they do not grant immunity to terrorists who use civilians as human shields. The international community may occasionally condemn Hamas for putting Palestinian civilians in harm’s way, but if it ultimately holds Israel responsible for the casualties that ensue, then Hamas and other terror organizations will employ this abominable tactic again and again.

The charge that Israel is using disproportionate force is equally baseless. Does proportionality demand that Israel fire 6,000 rockets indiscriminately back at Gaza? Does it demand an equal number of casualties on both sides? Using that logic, one would conclude that the United States employed disproportionate force against the Germans because 20 times as many Germans as Americans died in World War II. In that same war, Britain responded to the firing of thousands of rockets on its population with the wholesale bombing of German cities. Israel’s measured response to rocket fire on its cities has come in the form of surgical strikes. To further root out Hamas terrorists in a way that minimizes Palestinian civilian casualties, Israel’s army is now engaged in a ground operation that places its soldiers in great peril. Carpet-bombing of Palestinian cities is not an option that any Israeli leader will entertain.

The goal of this mission should be clear: To end the current round of missile attacks and to remove the threat of such attacks in the future. The only cease-fire or diplomatic initiative that should be accepted is one that achieves this dual objective.

If our enemies assumed that the Israeli public would be divided on the eve of an election, they were wrong. When it comes to exercising our most basic right of self-defense, there is no opposition and no coalition. We stand united against Hamas because we know that only by defeating Hamas can we provide security for our people and hope for a future peace. We fight to defend ourselves, but in so doing we are also fighting a fanatical ideology that seeks to reverse the course of history and throw the civilized world back into a new dark age. The struggle between militant Islam and modernity—whether fought in Afghanistan, Iraq, India or Gaza—will decide our common future. It is a battle we cannot afford to lose.

(Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s ninth prime minister, is the chairman
of the Likud Party and its candidate for prime minister.)

The Task at Hand - Gaza Conflict

2009-01-09T07:54:00.000-08:00

THE TASK AT HAND
Moshe Arens
Ha’aretz, January 7, 2009

We have reached a crucial stage in the IDF’s operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. If we are not careful, we may have defeat staring us in the face—another defeat, after the fiasco of the Second Lebanon War. This time at the hands of Hamas, a terrorist organization even smaller and weaker than Hezbollah.

Insistent calls are being heard for a cease-fire. Some of these calls come from outside Israel and others come from within our midst. If the IDF does not complete the mission it has been assigned, of suppressing the launching of rockets from the Gaza Strip against the cities, towns and villages of southern Israel, and if the final act before a cease-fire goes into effect ends up being an avalanche of rockets fired by Hamas against Israel, not only Hamas and the Arab states, but most of the world, will consider Hamas as having succeeded in defeating Israel.… [S]uch a second defeat would do irreparable damage to the general security of Israel, serving as an invitation to further provocations and aggression by Israel’s enemies in the years to come. All of Israel’s citizens, not only those living in the south, would bear the burden of such a development.

It was Henry Kissinger who said that “the conventional army loses if it does not win—the guerilla wins if he does not lose.” Any terrorist group that manages to face up to the might of the IDF and survive while continuing its attacks against Israel will invariably be seen as the victor. In the present fighting in the Gaza Strip, the IDF will lose if it does not win, and Hamas will emerge as the victor. No amount of wordage in a UN Security Council resolution calling for a cease-fire, or promises offered Israel by the international community, are going to change the face of the end result. That is what happened when UN Security Council Resolution 1701 brought about the cease-fire that ended the Second Lebanon War and the deployment of UNIFIL forces in southern Lebanon. You only need to take a look at what has happened to Hezbollah, its stockpile of rockets and its position in Lebanon since the cease-fire to see what is likely to occur in the Gaza Strip in the wake of a similar cease-fire there. For some reason, it is Israel that has difficulty learning that a cease-fire with terrorists is only to the advantage of the terrorists. Terrorism has to be destroyed.…

The idea that Israel may face unbearable international pressure that would limit its response against terrorist forces has little basis in fact.… [I]f we are seen as being successful, we will have nothing to fear from any quarter. If there are any doubts in our midst they can be laid to rest by recalling the statements made by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, of New York, during his recent visit to Ashkelon, and those made by senior Democratic and Republican senators and by President Bush. Most of those Israeli politicians who speak of the need to stop our military activity before international pressure forces us to stop have precious little experience with the American political establishment.

Our job now is to keep our eye on the ball, and not be diverted from the task at hand. The IDF must continue to pursue the mission it has been assigned and put an end to the firing of rockets from the Gaza Strip. We have the ability to do so and it must be done. The consequences of failure, regardless of the explanations offered by Israeli politicians and the wording of the relevant UN Security Council Resolution, would bode very ill for Israel.

12th Day of Gaza Conflict

2009-01-08T15:30:00.001-08:00

BICOM BRIEFING: GAZA SITUATION UPDATE - 8 JANUARY 2009
• At least two Katyusha rockets were fired this morning at the northern Israeli town of Nahariya. While unclear whether the situation on the northern border would escalate, this does indicate how Israel remains vulnerable on two fronts.

• The IDF has opened a humanitarian corridor in Gaza for the second day running. About 100 trucks are to be transferred to Gaza via the Kerem Shalom and Erez crossings. Some 500,000 litres of heavy duty diesel for the Gaza power station are also scheduled to be transferred to Gaza through the Nahal Oz fuel depot.

• To visit our new Operation Cast Lead section on our website, please go to http://www.bicom.org.uk/news/operation-cast-lead. It contains daily situation updates, analyses, useful facts and figures, and videos. You can also find the section by going to our homepage and clicking on the Operation Cast Lead button on the right-hand side. You will also find this button on the right-hand side of this email.

Key statements

High-ranking security official (1/6): "Even as the ground operation is taking place, the defence minister is keeping two channels open. In one, he is instructing the army to prepare practically for the operation's third stage. In the other, he is discussing the possibility of an agreement with Hamas. We have trained and prepared reserve troops available."

High-ranking security official (1/6): "The Americans are putting pressure on the Egyptians to get the tunnels closed. The problem is that this is being done harshly. The Egyptians don't want to look like their sovereignty has been violated, so if they want to increase the number of police officers along the road, Israel will consider that in a positive light."

Henry Carmeli, manager of the Nahariya nursing home hit by rocket fire from Lebanon (1/7): "The fact that all of the seniors were there [in the dining room waiting for breakfast at the time of the attack] saved many lives, because we saw that the strike caused heavy damage to the rooms on the second floor [where the residents sleep]."

Situation on the ground

Twelve rockets and mortar shells have already been fired by Palestinian militants into Israel today, wounding four people. Two sustained moderate wounds when a mortar shell exploded in the western Negev. A rocket scored a direct hit on a sports facility next to a school in Ashkelon.

At least two Katyusha rockets were fired this morning at the northern Israeli town of Nahariya, leaving one resident of a nursing home with a broken leg and many other residents suffering from shock. It is believed that the rockets were fired by a Palestinian organisation - not by Hezbollah - but a Hamas spokesperson in Lebanon said Hamas was not involved. While unclear whether the situation on the northern border would escalate, this does indicate how Israel remains vulnerable on two fronts. Additionally, UNIFIL patrols in Lebanon have been increased after eight Katyusha rockets were discovered aimed at Israel and connected to timers.

Operation Cast Lead continues, with 60 specific targets hit in Gaza overnight. These included a mosque used as a weapons storage facility, 15 tunnels used by Hamas terror operatives - some of which were located under houses, 10 additional weapons storage facilities, and 15 launching areas and underground launching pads used to fire mortar shells at IDF forces.

The IDF permitted the entry of a limited number of journalists into Gaza yesterday. This embedded press pool was allowed to later distribute footage from the area.

Diplomatic developments

Maj. Gen. (res.) Amos Gilad, director of the Political-Security Staff in the Israeli Defence Ministry, left for Cairo this morning to discuss prospects for a long-term Israel-Hamas ceasefire with Egyptian Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman. However, officials in the Defence Minister's Bureau are not optimistic that Gilad will come back with positive news of progress in negotiations.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Foreign Minister David Miliband and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner remain at UN Headquarters in New York to continue UN Security Council talks on the situation in Gaza. The US, the UK and France would like to issue a statement on a ceasefire, rather than a resolution; the statement they have offered emphasises the need for a sustainable ceasefire which includes guarantees that arms smuggling into Gaza will be prevented.

Tally of missiles, rockets and mortar shells fired from Gaza

• Since 2001: 8,648
• Since Israel's unilateral disengagement from Gaza in August 2005: 5,957
• Since 4 November 2008: 853
• Since the ceasefire ended on 19 December 2008: 788
• Since Operation Cast Lead began on 27 December 2008: 633
For a daily tally of rockets and mortars fired into Israel, see BICOM Statistics: Total number of identified rocket and mortar shell hits since 2001; daily tally for 2008 and 2009. Please note the new web link.

Humanitarian aid to Gaza

Israel is conducting the latest operation while making sure that food, basic supplies and medical needs are constantly transferred into the Gaza Strip. Israel maintains ongoing contact with humanitarian agencies and enables the constant flow of goods and supplies into the strip.

Since the beginning of operation in Gaza, 534 truckloads of humanitarian aid (12,229 tons) have been transferred at the request of international organisations, the Palestinian Authority and various governments. Israel does not wish to see the humanitarian situation in the strip deteriorate. Preparations are underway to facilitate further shipments expected to arrive in the coming days.

7 January 2009

Throughout the day, the crossings facilitated the movement of 76 trucks loaded with 2,068 tons of humanitarian goods, comprised of donations from Jordan and Egypt and aid on behalf of UNRWA, the World Food Programme, the World Health Organisation and the International Committee of the Red Cross. Also, 482,000 litres of heavy duty diesel for the power plant, 92,000 litres of diesel for UN humanitarian operations and 43 tons of gas for domestic use were transferred to the Gaza Strip.

Ongoing activities are taking place to repair additional electrical lines. Nevertheless, most of the population in the Gaza Strip has electricity.

6 January 2009

57 trucks loaded with 1,312 tons of humanitarian aid entered the Gaza Strip via the Kerem Shalom crossing. The trucks contained medical supplies, flour, powdered milk, potatoes, barley and more, shipped to Gaza at the request of international organisations including UNRWA, the World Food Programme and the World Health Organisation, as well as international donations on behalf of the governments of Jordan, Egypt and Greece. Israel's humanitarian efforts, in conjunction with international organisations operating in the Gaza Strip, also include medical treatment in Israeli hospitals and infrastructure repairs in the Gaza Strip.

5 January 2009

49 trucks carrying 1,119 tons of food and medicines were transferred to Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing, including four with medical equipment and medicines. The aid was donated by international organisations - UNRWA, WFP and the ICRC - and by several countries, including Egypt and Jordan. In addition, 215,000 litres of diesel fuel for the power plant, 93,000 litres of diesel for the use of various UN organisations and 50 tons of cooking gas for domestic uses were transferred via the Nahal Oz terminal.
The evacuation of dual nationals is continuing.

2 January 2009

Israel transferred 64 trucks carrying 1,530 tons of humanitarian aid (including basic foodstuffs, medicines and medical supplies, tents and generators) via the Kerem Shalom crossing.

1 January 2009

60 trucks, with approximately 1,360 tons of humanitarian aid, medical supplies and medication were conveyed through Kerem Shalom cargo terminal.

31 December 2008

93 truckloads carrying some 2,500 tons of humanitarian aid, medical supplies and medications were transferred through the Kerem Shalom crossing. The World Food Programme notified the Israeli authorities that their food warehouses in the Gaza Strip are full, with a two-week supply, and they do not require further shipments.
The Nahal Oz fuel crossing remained closed due to continuing fire in the area.
Twelve Palestinians, including two children, were transferred to Israeli hospitals.

30 December 2008

93 truckloads carrying 2,366 tons of humanitarian supplies as well as five ambulances donated by Turkey were transferred to the Gaza Strip. A Red Cross plane arrived with medical supplies for the hospital operating room. The aid included food and medicine provided by the World Food Programme, UNRWA, UNICEF, the ICRC, the World Health Organisation, Doctors without Borders, and Care International, as well as donations from Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and Turkey.

29 December 2008

63 trucks with 1,545 tons of humanitarian goods (food, medicines and medical supplies) were delivered via the Kerem Shalom crossing. Most of the aid was provided by the International Red Cross, UNRWA, Doctors without Borders, and Care International. Five ambulances from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) in Ramallah passed through, at the request of the International Red Cross (ICRC). 1,000 units of blood donated by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan were also delivered.
Erez crossing: Four people (patients and their escorts), and ten international staff, including a pregnant employee of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation and her Palestinian husband, left the Gaza Strip and crossed into Israel.

28 December 2008

At the request of international organisations (the International Red Cross, UNRWA, WFP) and of the Palestinian National Authority in Ramallah, 23 truckloads of humanitarian goods such as flour, medicines and medical supplies were transferred via Kerem Shalom crossing.
However, the transfer of additional aid through the crossings is being delayed by the high risk of terrorist attacks on the crossings themselves. There is a long history of such attacks, including:

• 22 May 2008: a Palestinian bomber blew up an explosives-laden truck on the Palestinian side of the Erez crossing, causing substantial damage.
• 20 April 2008: Hamas gunmen wounded 13 Israeli soldiers in an assault with mortar shells, explosives-laden vehicles and gunfire against the Kerem Shalom crossing.
• 9 April 2008: Two Israeli civilian fuel truck drivers working at the Nahal Oz fuel depot - which supplies fuel to Gaza - were killed in an attack by Gaza militants.

Further Information

For a full news review for 8 January, click here.

Senate standing with Israel!

2009-01-08T14:32:00.001-08:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 08, 2009

Contact:Josh Blockjblock@aipac.org

AIPAC Applauds Passage of Senate Resolution Reaffirming Support for Israel

AIPAC applauds the United States Senate for backing Israel's quest for peace and right to self-defense and its overwhelming expression of solidarity and support for the State of Israel with the passage of S.Res 10. The resolution supports a durable and sustainable diplomatic outcome to the current crisis that will ensure an end to the smuggling of arms into Gaza and an end to Hamas terror attacks on Israel, in an effort to create an environment conducive to a sustainable and lasting peace between the Israeli and Palestinian people.

The bipartisan resolution cosponsored by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), conveys America's unequivocal and steadfast support for Israel's right to self-defense against relentless assaults by the Iranian-backed terrorist group Hamas, who along with Iran's other terrorist proxy Hizballah, have killed more Americans than any other terrorist group except Al Qaeda. A similar Resolution is expected to be passed by the House shortly.

"The United States Senate will strengthen our historic bond with the State of Israel by reaffirming Israel's inalienable right to defend against attacks from Gaza, as well as our support for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid stated from the floor of the Senate.

"The Israelis, as the Majority Leader has indicated, are responding exactly the same way we would if rockets were being launched into the United States from Canada or Mexico, or some situation like that. The Israelis have every right to defend themselves against these acts of terrorism, so I enthusiastically support this," Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell added.

The United States Congress has once again demonstrated its unwavering support to Israel and her right to self-defense. While Israel is forced to defend its citizens from those who aim to destroy her, America has, as always, remained a voice of strength and reason.

AIPAC also applauds President Bush and the administration as well as the continued bipartisan support of the leadership of the House and Senate, President-elect Obama, and the numerous other American leaders who have defended Israel's right to a terror-free existence.

###

Consistently ranked as the most influential foreign policy lobbying organization on Capitol Hill, AIPAC is an American membership organization that seeks to strengthen the relationship between the United States and Israel. For more than 50 years, AIPAC has been working with Congress to build a strong, vibrant relationship between the U.S. and Israel. With more than 100,000 members across the United States, AIPAC works throughout the country to improve and strengthen that relationship by supporting U.S.-Israel military, economic, scientific and cultural cooperation.

Renovated bomb shelters funded by IFCJ

2009-01-07T13:14:00.000-08:00

During these times of war, with the help of all our supporters, IFCJ has been able to renovate local shelters in some of the hardest hit areas in Israel with rockets and missiles pouring down. Here are some things to note:

Sderot – 32 public shelters

Ashkelon – 302 private shelters

North – 1,896 private shelters
- Carmiel
- Hatzor
- Shlomi
- Nahariya
- Ma’alot
- Kiryat Shmona
- Acco
- Tzafed
- Rosh HaPina
- Tiberias

Emergency in Israel

2009-01-05T11:39:00.001-08:00

Emergency in Israel —
Your Help Needed Now
Hamas terrorist rocket and missile attacks continue to take a serious toll on innocent Israelis. More than a quarter of a million people live within the reach of Hamas rockets and missiles. Even as Israel's defensive operation inside Gaza has begun, the death toll from Hamas rockets is rising. Hundreds of Israelis have been hurt and traumatized. Lives are on hold and schools and businesses are closed as the shrill "red alert" sirens continually warn of incoming missiles. Hundreds of thousands have left their homes and are living in bomb shelters.

The Fellowship's staff in Israel is at work in areas hit by the terrorists providing emergency relief and care, assessing the need for bomb shelter supplies, increased support at trauma centers, and much more. We need your help to meet rapidly increasing emergency needs amid this crisis.

Your gift today will help us rush emergency aid to support innocent people whose lives have been shattered by these terrorist attacks. Their need is truly urgent and we must respond swiftly to support them as they struggle to protect themselves and their families. Thank you for providing immediate life-saving care to people in desperate need.

Aid comes to rocket attack victims

2008-12-31T12:57:00.000-08:00

JEWISH AGENCY FOR ISRAEL-PRESS
RELEASE

Monday, December 29, 2008

Jewish Agency provides emergency assistance to victims of rocket attacks
Emergency hotline for residents, new immigrants at absorption centers

Since the start of Israel's operation in Gaza Saturday, the Jewish Agency
has begun to aid residents of the area under attack by providing immediate
financial grants through its Victims of Terror Fund, which is underwritten
by the United Jewish Communities (US Federations) and Keren Hayesod.

As of Monday (Dec. 29), the Jewish Agency received 45 requests for
assistance and is already issuing checks to 14 families. Those eligible for
the assistance are people who have been physically injured or whose home was
badly damaged in a rocket attack. The grant, usually $1,000 per family, is
used for immediate needs such as paying for temporary housing, clothes and
other incidentals.

The Jewish Agency also set up a hotline 1800-200-183 for residents of the
area who need assistance. The hotline will serve residents interested in
being hosted by families living in the center of the country, away from the
area under fire as well as those needing to apply for Victims of Terror
funding.

The hotline will also serve the 1,200 immigrants living at five Jewish
Agency absorption centers in the area under fire. The Jewish Agency is
working to put the new immigrants in touch with relatives living abroad, and
has augmented staff and assigned additional social workers to the absorption
centers.

The Jewish Agency is supported by founding constituent partners:
Keren Hayesod, United
Jewish Communities and Jewish federations around the world; and primary
funders: Keren Hayesod,
United Jewish Communities and major Jewish Federations in North America,
International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.

Immigration to Israel in 2008

2008-12-31T12:56:00.000-08:00

According to Jewish Agency figures 16,500 Immigrate to Israel in 2008, 3,150 from North America 500 immigrants arrive in final week of year

Tuesday, December 30th, 2008

Michael Jankelowitz Spokesman to Foreign Press Jewish Agency for Israel

The Jewish Agency for Israel announced that over 16,500 new immigrants will have moved to Israel in 2008, 3,150 of them from North America.

The number of total immigration reflects a drop compared with last year which saw 19,700 immigrants, due mainly to the slowing in the immigration of Falashmura from Ethiopia and a decrease in the number of immigrants from France.

The number of new immigrants from North America increased slightly this year from 3,074 in 2007 to 3,150, of them, 2,750 of the new immigrants from the United States and 400 from Canada.

The number of immigrants to Israel from South Africa nearly doubled compared with last year, to 370, and a second special flight from South Africa will arrive in Israel on December 31 with 80 new immigrants. South African Jews have expressed increased interest in aliyah, in part a result of growing political instability and rising levels of violence and crime in the country.A welcoming ceremony for the 80 new immigrants from South Africa will take place at Jerusalem`s Western Wall at 10:15am on Thursday, January 1st.

A special flight from Moscow with nearly 100 new immigrants arrived Tuesday (Dec. 23) at Ben Gurion Airport, to be followed by flights from the UK, US (in a collaborative venture with Nefesh B'Nefesh), and South Africa - bringing, in all, nearly 500 new immigrants between now and year's end.

Aliyah Department Director Eli Cohen estimates that immigration will increase next year, particularly from the West, where the economic downturn will spur potential immigrants to move to Israel in the coming year. Cohen noted that the Jewish Agency would work with the Ministry of Absorption as well as its partner organizations Nefesh B'Nefesh, in North America, and AMI, in France, to develop new employment and special absorption initiatives to attract more olim from North America and Western Europe.

The Jewish Agency is supported by founding constituent partners: Keren Hayesod, United Jewish Communities and Jewish federations around the world; and primary funders: Keren Hayesod, United Jewish Communities and major Jewish Federations in North America, International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.

No Rest for the shell-shocked in Ashkelon Shelters

2008-12-30T12:23:00.000-08:00

Last update - 14:57 30/12/2008
No rest for the shell-shocked in Ashkelon shelters
By Fadi Eyadat

December 30, 2008
No rest for the shell-shocked in Ashkelon shelters
By Fadi Eyadat

Dozens of bomb shelters in Ashkelon designed to serve hundreds of individuals and families are not ready for even short-term habitation. The shelters are foul-smelling, dark and decrepit. Some of the residents have resorted to taking shelter in stairwell, even though they are unfortified, and others simply choose to remain in their homes.

At issue are private shelters located in the city's poorer neighborhoods. A residential building on Hagalil Street holds eight households for the elderly, new immigrants and single-parent families.

"We don't go down to the shelters," said Miri Levy, a disabled mother of two young girls. "We stay at home and pray that the rockets don't fall on us. The girls go to the stairwell sometimes, but it's open and unprotected."

Yelena Glick, who lives with her chronically ill mother in the same building, has entered the shelter only once. "You can't be down there even for a second," she said. "Since then, I've gone into the stairwell and my mother has stayed in bed." Many of the shelters do not have light or ventilation. Iron bars protrude from the ceiling, and the floor tiles are cracked. According to Ashkelon municipal law, responsibility for maintaining the shelters falls on residents themselves, as the buildings are private property.

"Tenants here don't have money. Home Front Command came here three months ago, saw the shelters, wrote in their notebooks and promised to come back. Since then we haven't seen them," said resident Eli Kronfeld, who moved his family to stay with relatives in Hadera. The closest shelter to Kronfeld's home is 200 meters away. "I'm not at the age that I can get there in 30 seconds, certainly not when I have to go down four floors," he said. For now, he descends to the third floor every time an alert is sounded. Ashkelon municipal representatives said 640 private shelters exist in the city's shared residential buildings, of which 350 in poorer neighborhoods have been renovated in recent months with contributions from the non-profit International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1051018.html

Defending Israel!

2008-12-29T15:21:00.000-08:00

Contact: Josh Block (202) 997-4614
AIPAC URGES CONGRESS AND THE ADMINISTRATION TO SUPPORT ISRAEL'S RIGHT TO SELF DEFENSE

AIPAC urges Congress and the Administration to stand firmly with Israel as it strives to defend itself against a renewed assault by Hamas terrorists.

"AIPAC is outraged that the U.N. Security Council failed to recognize Israel's right to self-defense in its statement on Sunday, a right enshrined in the U.N.'s founding charter," said AIPAC President David Victor. "Moving forward, we urge the administration to stand with Israel at the United Nations as it acts to defend itself in the face of continued violence from Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip. It is important that we never equate Israeli defensive measures with Hamas terrorism."

"We applaud the bipartisan coalition of American leaders who have stood up in support of Israel's right to defend its citizens, a clear sign of the strong ties between the United States and Israel," Victor added.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) was one of the first members of Congress to speak out in support of the Jewish state's right to protect its citizens: "...when Israel is attacked, the United States must continue to stand strongly with its friend and democratic ally." House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) rebuked Hamas for its continued attacks and said the terrorist group "has once again demonstrated its willingness to murder innocent Israelis and Palestinian civilians to achieve their political goals."

In addition, David Axelrod, senior advisor to President-elect Barack Obama, reiterated statements made by the then-senator during a July visit to Sderot, that Israel has a right to defend itself and "when bombs are ... raining down on your citizens, it is—it's obviously unacceptable."

Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005 in an effort to reduce violence and lay the groundwork for a future Palestinian state. Since then, the Iranian-backed Hamas has wrested control of the territory from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in a violent coup, kidnapped an Israeli soldier in a cross-border raid and has overseen a major military buildup, acquiring weapons that now threaten a quarter-million Israelis.

Since Israel's withdrawal from Gaza, Palestinian terrorists have fired more than 6,300 rockets and mortars at the Jewish state, killing a dozen Israelis and wounding countless others. Even after an Egyptian-brokered "period of calm" was put in place between Israel and Hamas, rocket fire continued. In recent weeks alone, Hamas has fired some 600 rockets and mortars at Israeli civilians—as many as 80 in a single day—destroying Israeli homes and infrastructure, and claiming three Israeli lives.
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Among the strong congressional statements of support for Israel are the following:

"I strongly support Israel's right to defend its citizens against rocket and mortar attacks from Hamas-controlled Gaza, which have killed and injured Israeli citizens, and to restore security to its residents." Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), December 29, 2008

"When Israel is attacked, the United States must continue to stand strongly with its friend and democratic ally." Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), December 27, 2008

"Israel is acting in clear self-defense in response to heinous rocket attacks from Hamas-controlled Gaza." House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), December 29, 2008

"The Israelis have proven time and time again their willingness to work with their neighbors for peace. Despite their best efforts, the Israelis have been forced to respond to terrorism with justifiable and understandable force to ensure their security." House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA), December 28, 2008

"Israel has a right, indeed a duty, to defend itself in response to the hundreds of rockets and mortars fired from Gaza over the past week. No government in the world would sit by and allow its citizens to be subjected to this kind of indiscriminate bombardment." Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA), Chairman of House Foreign Affairs Committee, December 27, 2008

"We stand with the Jewish State of Israel in its ongoing efforts to protect its citizens from those who seek its destruction." Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Ranking Member of House Foreign Affairs Committee, December 28, 2008

"It is regrettable that in response to Hamas' refusal to negotiate with Israel and continue its ceasefire, Israel was forced into this situation. Hamas has chosen war over peace. Israel has but no other choice to respond and protect its citizens." Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL), Co-Chair of Congressional Democratic Israel Working Group, December 29, 2008

"Israel has taken actions to defend itself and its people in an effort to restore security in the region." Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-MD), Member of Senate Foreign Relations Committee, December 29, 2008

"Hamas is abusing the people of Gaza by using their homes as a base for terror operations. The world should no longer tolerate a terrorist government in the Gaza Strip." Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Member of Senate Appropriations Committee, December 29, 2008

"[Israel] is very much like we are and, if we turn our back on Israel, I believe that the equation will be so bad for America, so bad for the world, that we simply don't understand." Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ), Member of House Armed Services Committee, December 28, 2008

"As a sovereign nation, it is clearly within Israel's rights to act in its own self-defense against all terrorist actions." Rep. John McHugh (R-NY), December 29, 2008

Special Update! Gaza Situation

2008-12-29T12:16:00.000-08:00

Dozens of rockets have hit Israeli communities today (Saturday, December 27) as Israel launched a military operation against Hamas' recent escalation of attacks. Thus far today, rockets have hit a large number of Israel's southern communities including Sderot, Ashkelon, Netivot, and Ofakim. One person has been killed and four wounded in Netivot alone. Another man was wounded seriously during Shabbat morning services as his synagogue took a direct hit.

For residents of the Gaza perimeter, even the "relative calm" of the six-month cease-fire with Hamas had its moments of threatening and damaging Kassam attacks. For many, it was an occurrence they learned to deal with – repressing post-traumatic anxieties from earlier intensified periods and beginning to piece back together semblances of normal lives. But that was before December 24th when, just days after the cease-fire ended, 80 rockets and mortar shells struck homes, schools, outdoor public spaces, businesses and more across the region. 80 rockets in 24 hours; practically 1 rocket every 18 minutes. By 9:00 a.m., 25 rockets had already begun terrorizing the lives of residents in Sderot and nearby communities as far ranging as Ashkelon. From small businesses and factories, to kindergartens, community centers and schools, the incessant strikes have caused damage on every level – physically and psychologically; communally and individually. Widespread panic and hysteria have ensued as post-traumatic sentiments have resurfaced and intensified. First responders, working with local authorities, have frantically raced toward attack sites to offer on-the-scene assistance ranging from the emotional to the structural.

Unfortunately, none of this is a new reality for Israel's southern communities. And the Jewish Agency has been standing by the citizens of Sderot and the Gaza Perimeter for the past several years. Responding to their crisis is our utmost priority – then and now. Our response framework strives to not only show our solidarity for their plight, but also work to strengthen their communities from within – fortifying and mobilizing human resources to respond to crises as they unfold. As the situation escalates, the Jewish Agency is already on the ground, responding with a range of immediate and long-term assistance programs:

Immediate financial aid for victims of Kassam attacks through our Fund for Victims of Terror and its SOS Emergency Fund, created by United Jewish Communities' Israel Emergency Campaign (IEC) and Keren Hayesod.

Cultural and recreational activities for the hundreds of children and youth in Sderot and surrounding communities, including a week-long program of entertainment during Hanukkah vacation and educational trips and summer camps in central and northern Israel.
Business coaching and loans for small- and medium-sized business facing financial ruin as a result of the situation in the region.

Trauma training that enables local community members to serve as first responders, and additional resources for psychological support including a hotline and mobile response unit.
Scholarships for students studying in southern colleges and institutions of higher education and incentive programs that encourage students and young adults in the south to stay and give back to their communities. As the needs on the ground intensify, the Jewish Agency stands ready to respond. Our programming and staff are already working with local authorities, organizations and individuals and actively making a difference for these beleaguered communities. Sadly, the news from Israel's south comes at a time that is already fraught with turmoil for Jews the world over. The global economic crisis took a more direct – and menacing – turn when it struck into the heart of Jewish philanthropy. Our efforts to strengthen and empower Israeli communities by reaching out to and helping individuals and communities under fire continue. And we know this wouldn't be possible without your collective and individual efforts to help, give and mobilize. Your partnership has been – and continues to be – a shining light in the darkness that hovers over Israel's southern communities during this week of Hanukkah and beyond.

Holocaust Survivors

2008-10-29T15:33:00.000-07:00

Major Program to Help Destitute Holocaust Survivors Announced by International Fellowship of Christians and Jews

Majority of Funds Have Been Donated by Evangelical Christians

Last update: 2:00 p.m. EDT Sept. 22, 2008

CHICAGO, Sep 22, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews announced today a major program to assist Holocaust survivors in desperate need. The Holocaust Survivors Fund will distribute $10,554,470 to 27,785 people in 37 countries. The program, which has been funded by Christians in the United States and Canada, provides the neediest Holocaust survivors around the world with a special gift of between $300-$600. The program was unveiled at the IFCJ's conference in Chicago by the group's founder, Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein. It marks the 25th anniversary of the organization's existence.
The major two-day conference and celebration in Chicago continues Tuesday. Hundreds of IFCJ supporters, both Christians and Jews, have come together to show their solidarity with Israel including Dr. Pat Robertson, Jonathan Falwell, Pat Boone, Gary Bauer and Ralph Reed, Jr. and the Israeli ambassador to the U.S., His Excellency Sallai Meridor. The full program is available on our web site at www.ifcj.org.
"We created the Holocaust Survivors Fund when we realized the extent of the need," says Rabbi Eckstein. "Despite the billions of dollars that have been pledged to aid Holocaust survivors, there are tens of thousands of them who live in abject poverty. Our program gives them a little something to celebrate the upcoming Jewish New Year -- and just as importantly, lets them know that they are not alone or forgotten."
There are approximately half a million Holocaust survivors alive today. The IFCJ program has identified those most in need, and mostly in those countries where there is little welfare safety net to support them financially. It then went to its donors and asked for their help to provide these suffering people with tangible assistance and a new measure of human dignity.
"When we asked our Christian supporters for help, their response was overwhelming," says Rabbi Eckstein. "We are proud that our supporters have made these gifts of love. And we are resolved that the dwindling numbers of Holocaust survivors be able to spend their remaining days in dignity and comfort."
The funds will start reaching Holocaust survivors next week and will be completely disbursed by October 13. A breakout of numbers of survivors for individual countries is available upon request.
Since its inception in 1983, The International Conference of Christians and Jews has provided more than half a billion dollars of support to Israel and Jews living outside of Israel in a variety of ways. This includes helping Jews immigrate to Israel ("On Wings of Eagles"), assistance to impoverished Jews in Israel and countries of the former Soviet Union, and political advocacy on behalf of Israel. It is recognized as the premier organization that has built ties of dialogue, respect and cooperation between Jews and Christians.

The Untold Story of Oppressed Christians in the Middle East

2008-10-29T15:02:00.000-07:00

The Untold Story Of Oppressed Christians In The Middle East
Thursday, July 31, 2008
By: Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein

In the daily drumbeat of Mideast news, there is one story of historic proportion that is nearly unreported: the growing persecution and systematic destruction in the Islamic world of some of the world’s oldest Christian communities.

Sure, we hear when a Catholic bishop is murdered in Iraq, when machete-armed fanatics attack Egyptian Copt worshipers, or when churches are torched in Hamas-controlled Gaza. But what about the jailing in Saudi Arabia of foreign workers for holding forbidden Christian prayers? Or the arrest in Pakistan of a Christian man for marrying a Muslim woman? Or the continuing Islamic educational system that teaches the young that Christians (as well as Jews) are “the descendants of apes and pigs”?

The pattern is nearly the same wherever extremist Islam holds sway. From Bangladesh to Darfur, Christians have become regular targets for Islamic thugs and the governments that back them. Just this month, a Pakistani court upheld the kidnapping, conversion and “marriage” to older Moslem men of two Christian sisters, aged 10 and 13.

Yet even in lands that are not under orthodox Sharia law, Christian communities feel the pressure of persecution. In constitutionally secular Turkey, a legally recognized Protestant church in the capital of Ankara is under threat of closure by local Islamist police.

Many Christians in Islamic lands have become subject to such terror that they are fleeing the homelands their ancestors have known almost since the time of Jesus. Iraq’s Christian sects now feel forced to pray in secret. Others simply leave. Although they comprise less than four percent of Iraq’s population, Iraqi Christians now account for 40 per cent of its refugees.

Lebanon’s once politically powerful Christian community has already shrunken almost beyond recognition. Thirty years ago, Lebanon was 60% Christian; today it is barely 25%. The growing political power of Iran-backed Hezbollah is encouraging further departures.

Even in the Holy Land, where Jesus walked, there is an increasing Christian exodus from both the West Bank and Gaza. Part of it surely stems from the continuing Palestinian- Israeli conflict. But much of it results from a growing Islamic campaign to force Christians to sell their property and leave. Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, was once 90% Christian. Today it has a 65% Moslem majority.

The only place in the Mideast where Christian communities continue to grow is in the Jewish State of Israel. Israel’s tolerance is logical. What people of faith knows the dangers of religious persecution better than the people of Israel – especially those whose families originated in the Islamic world? Between 1948 and 1956 more than 850,000 Jews were forced to flee the Arab lands where their families had lived for centuries.

Most found new homes in Israel; others settled in Western Europe and the Americas. Today there are almost no Jews in the Arab world. In Egypt, where 180,000 Jews once lived, there are fewer than 80. In Iraq, where Jews once comprised a third of Baghdad, there are possibly ten left. In Libya, there are none.

For much of Islamic history there was relative tolerance of both Jews and Christians. Though never treated as equals to Moslems, they were accepted as Dhimmi – protected minorities.
Today there seems to be a dangerous tendency in many Muslim nations to neither respect nor try to preserve the historic sanctity of these once sheltered cultures and faiths.

When Afghan fanatics destroyed two ancient statues of Buddha, the world was shocked. But the world should not forgot that between 1948 and 1967, when Islamic forces controlled the Holy City of Jerusalem, there was a systematic campaign to erase the historic Jewish presence.

Synagogues were destroyed and ancient Jewish gravestones carted away. Even today, the Palestinian Authority not only denies Israel’s right to consider itself a Jewish state, but denies the historic Jewish connection to Jerusalem. It is an empty effort to enhance the Palestinian political narrative at the expense of others’ hard earned history.

If there is a hope of true peace in the Middle East, extremist Islam must reform its view of others. It cannot go on teaching that non-Islamic history in the Middle East is “fiction.”

There is a sacred opportunity now to take up the call for the Islamic world’s hard-pressed and ever shrinking Christian communities. All people of commitment and tolerance - Christian, Jew, and Moslem - should speak out loudly and forcefully so that the Islamic world’s Christians do not suffer the same fate as its now all but non-existent Jewish communities.

IFCJ on Facebook!

2008-10-28T11:39:00.000-07:00

IFCJ on Facebook! Tell Your Friends

The Fellowship is continually working towards reaching as many people as possible to support Israel and her people. Not everyone can contribute monitarily so this is a great and extremely important way for you to show your support when money is tight.Just go to the links below, join the cause and tell all your friends. Its easy, free and helps promote understand and fellowship between Christians and Jews.

Holocaust Cause: http://apps.facebook.com/causes/104181?m=91e6b129

Georgia Cause: http://apps.facebook.com/causes/111035?m=91e6b129

With great respect and appreciation,
The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews

A Fellowship Greeting!

2008-10-28T09:20:00.000-07:00

Short video on how The Fellowship came to be. Hope you enjoy!

An Outpouring of Christian Support for Israel

2008-10-28T08:46:00.000-07:00

Introduction from Yael Eckstein-Farkas:

"My name is Yael Eckstein-Farkas, and, as you might have guessed, I'm the daughter of Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, The Fellowship's founder and president. I live in Israel with my family and have been involved in The Fellowship's work for about a year now. " - Yael-Eckstein Farkas

Below is an excerpt from Yael's Corner, a monthly e-letter written by Yael featured at www.ifcj.org

An Outpouring of Christian Support for Israel - By Yael- Eckstein Farkas

Every holiday celebrated in Israel is special. In my home of Jerusalem all the people come alive at these holy and wondrous times, to thank God and give praise for the miraculous deeds that He has performed both in our days and the days of Old. Sukkot is the holiday when the Jews celebrate the miracles that God performed for the Israelites when they were wandering in the desert after leaving Egypt in biblical times.

During Sukkot outside of every home in Israel you see a little wooden hut set up, with branches hanging over the top, which becomes a makeshift home for the entire holiday, which is celebrated for seven days. The hut, called a sukkah, commemorates the stupendous miracle of the cloud of glory that God sent to protect the Jews in the desert. This cloud that went with the Jews from the time they left Egypt until Moses died kept peace and security within the Jews traveling camp and blocked out the many threats faced in the desert.

Although today Sukkot is a holiday that is celebrated only by Jews, in the days of the Temple a sacrifice would be brought every day of the holiday in honor of all the nations of the world. Every person took part in the celebrations that would occur. Because the Holy Temple is no longer standing, this custom no longer occurs. But nearly thirty years ago Christians from all over the world decided that they would find their own way to Israel during Sukkot to show support for Israel and march in solidarity with God’s people.

This year around 7000 Christians from over 100 nations attended, which made it the largest annual tourism event in Israel. They came simply to tell Israel that they are our friends. All of the people who flew in from far off countries are mindful of where they came from and the passport that they hold, yet no matter where they settle and call their home, they know that Israel is God's home and they came to recognize this. Not only did this march boost the economy, it boosted us Israeli’s spirits as well.

When I went outside on this sunny Thursday morning to take my daughter for a walk, the main street by my house whose six lanes are normally packed with cars was closed down to vehicles. I asked one of the officers what was happening and he explained to me that the street would be used for a parade that would include Christians from all over the world.

Just hearing him say that in such a matter of a fact way gave me chills. For 25 years, it has been my father’s dream that every Jew and Israeli would know that Christians are our friends – and now, an Israeli policeman finds it normal that an enormous Christian solidarity march will take place in Jerusalem! I felt so proud that it was my father who first broke this stigma and was the pioneer in building this bridge of understanding between Christians and Jews, which has extended beyond the work of The Fellowship and into the everyday lives of millions of people.

As the march first began I saw Jerusalem’s many residents trickle out of their homes to see what was going on. People stopped in amazement as they saw a sight that they probably never saw in their lives. As far the eye could see was a crowd of Christians waving different colored flags representing all the nations of the world. The Jerusalemites were shedding tears of joy as the participants in the march banged drums, blew trumpets, and danced with all of their heart to show the people of Israel that, like us, they celebrate our homeland, and give us encouragement to continue to fight our holy battle for God's promised land.

When the marchers walked by they shouted out words of comfort like “shalom” and “we love you” and gave the thumbs up. But what was so unique, in my eyes, was the recognition among the Israelis that these Christians really are our friends. Seeing the different Christians from all different nations march the streets of Jerusalem did something that no sermon or editorial can accomplish – it showed absolute sincerity of Christian support for Israel.

We all realized that these participants bought expensive plane tickets not just from the U.S., but from far away countries like Malaysia, China, Singapore, Brazil, and India, solely to walk these streets and show their solidarity with Israel. Most of those standing on the sidelines of this march probably did not imagine that they had anything in common with Christians from Singapore or Malysia. But the march made them realize that Jews and Christians from all over the world are connected through God's Bible and the promises He gave. We Israelis are used to hearing people on radio, television, and in newspapers questioning our right to defend ourselves, and even our right to exist as a nation. This show of Christian support reminded us that there are better days ahead.

The hope and comfort that the solidarity march brought to the people of Israel is very similar to that which the Fellowship brings to Israelis and Jewish people around the world. When I visit people in their homes who have come home to Israel thanks to The Fellowship’s On Wings of Eagles program, or others who have received funding for lifesaving medical devices, or food for their children, or job training, I see that these gifts bring more than just immediate relief in a crisis – they give people the feeling that they aren’t alone. When Jews in Israel see the “donated with love by Christians in America, The Fellowship” sign hanging at the entrance to nearly every welfare program in Israel, they know we are not fighting our battle for survival alone – we have support from thousands of people in every country, people brought together by The Fellowship. It reminds us that even if some international governments and media don't support us, we have the greatest support from ordinary citizens of nearly every country.

Christian friends of Israel, the strength you give us cannot be expressed in words. A friend is someone who is by your side through the good times and bad, and that is what you have proven to be. On behalf of all Israelis, thank you!

With blessings from Jerusalem, Yael Eckstein

2008-10-27T11:49:00.000-07:00

Help Us Lift Up Israel and the Jewish People In Prayer

The Fellowship Prayer Team unites Jews and Christians around the world to raise a chorus of prayer to God for the security, well-being, and protection of Israel and the Jewish people. By appealing to God on behalf of his children, the Prayer Team will make a powerful, positive impact on Israel's struggle for peace and security, and provide a tremendous source of encouragement to Israel and her people.

Pray for the Fellowship Prayer Team, that we will grow and multiply the number of faithful intercessors. Teach us how to pray in power.

Pray for global cooperation on the current financial crisis. Pray for the poor and the vulnerable, and everyone at risk of losing meager resources due to credit problems and banking failures.
Pray for the upcoming U.S. elections.

Pray that the next administration will support Israel, be a good steward of the resources God has given the American people, and honor God in words and in action.

During a period of political uncertainty in Israel, continue to pray for a smooth transition of power from outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to his successor.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. "Deliver me from my enemies, O God; protect me from those who rise up against me. Deliver me from evildoers and save me from bloodthirsty men". Psalm 59:1-2

Pray to stem the rise of anti-Semitism in the world today, which has grown worse during the current economic crisis. "Hear me, O God, as I voice my complaint; protect my life from the threat of the enemy. Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked, from that noisy crowd of evildoers. They sharpen their tongues like swords and aim their words like deadly arrows". Psalm 64:1-3

Pray for the protection and safety of Christians in India and Iraq currently suffering under harsh persecution. Pray that God will calm religious tensions in these troubled areas.
Pray for Rabbi Eckstein.

Pray that God will protect and guide him as he works in partnership with Fellowship supporters to help poor Jews in Israel and around the world, and to help Jews return to Israel from the four corners of the earth. Pray for continued blessings on the ministry of The Fellowship.

Check out more about our prayer team at www.ifcj.org