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 1. National-Religious Parties Considering Historic Mergerby Hillel Fendel  Once again, voices in the national-religious parties are calling for unity - in time for the possibly upcoming national elections. A historic merger of three or four parties may be on the way MK Rabbi Yitzchak Levy (National Union), is the latest to make an impassioned plea for unity. "If we unite and ask the public to choose our leader and Knesset representation," he told Arutz-7's Hebrew newsmagazine, "we will definitely increase our strength. But if we remain as is - four parties running as one - we are likely to decrease in size." MK Levy, who was appointed this week a Deputy Speaker of the Knesset, is the co-founder, together with MK Effie Eitam, of Achi - a movement that seeks to unite all four national-religious parties, including itself, into one. The parties are the National Religious Party, Moledet, Tekumah, and Achi. The latter three are currently part of the National Union bloc. Achi is a Hebrew acronym for the words Land, Society and Judaism. MKs Levy and Eitam have been running a nationwide registration drive for people who wish to unite the entire religious-Zionist public and its supporters under one political roof. Eitam to the Likud? Historic Talks And who will be the MKs? The answer, according to the source, is "another historic first. The MKs have apparently agreed to allow their future to be determined by a council of public figures, rabbis, settlement leaders, and others. The council will choose the Knesset list - and there will apparently be no guaranteed slots for the incumbents Knesset Members, at least not in the top ten. This is unprecedented in Knesset history." While on the topic, the source added, "As someone who has worked in the Knesset for a number of years, I can tell you that there is no other Knesset faction in which the MKs work so harmoniously and help each other. In no other party is there anything like this. Even the two MKs who were at very strong odds with each other a while ago now work together. It is important to remember that, even though sometimes the national-religious press likes to present an opposite picture." MK Levy insists that the Achi plan can work, however. "We began this drive with the slogan, 'Uniting Everyone," he said, "and our solution to this end is to hold nation-wide primaries to choose the leader of our united list, enable practical involvement of wider circles in the national-religious and secular public, and allow the public a say in choosing the Knesset list." "This is a good plan, and the only way to bring about unity of the four parties," Levy added. "I hope the other parties will accept it. The current situation of four parties is abnormal; we need a leader and one party that will lead our moves. I have hope that this can be done. Time is running out, we can't know when elections will be held, and we have to make the decisions as quickly as possible."  2. IDF Reels in Ashkenazi Remark on Shalitby Hana Levi Julian  The IDF Spokesperson's Office scrambled to cool off media excitement on Monday over IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi's public assertion that Israel knows where kidnapped IDF Staff Sgt. Gilad Shalit is being held captive, and by whom.
Ashkenazi made the remark during a speech to armored corps recruits at the IDF induction center at Tel HaShomer in Tel Aviv.
One new recruit asked the Chief of Staff, "What will the IDF do when we go out to the lines and what will the State do in order to return a hostage alive or dead?" The soldier noted that Gilad Shalit is still in captivity after being kidnapped two years ago, adding, "This is a very disturbing issue."
In an answer that surprised many with its candor, Ashkenazi responded, "Gilad Shalit has been held hostage for more than two years and we must return him and make every effort on this matter. We know that Gilad Shalit is alive, where he is being held and by whom."
"I can't say I am pleased," the General continued, "but we completed the mission in the north and returned Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser, unfortunately not alive, but we returned them to a Jewish grave. I can't go into details, but efforts are being exerted on the Gilad Shalit issue on all levels."
The Chief of Staff emphasized that IDF soldiers "must always remember that if anything happens to them, we will make sure they are returned to their families."
Within two hours the Spokesperson's Unit issued a "clarification" playing down the significance of Ashkenazi's remarks.
"What the Chief of Staff meant to say was that we know Gilad Shalit is being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. His remark offers no new information," said the IDF Spokesperson's Unit.  3. Israeli Companies Flex Economic Muscle,Gobble Up Foreign Firmsby Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu  Last year, Warren Buffet paid more than $4 billion for the IsraCar Metal Tools company in the Galilee, marking yet another buyout of Israeli businesses by foreigners. Israeli firms now have turned the tables and are gobbling up foreign companies as homegrown firms flex their economic muscle. The Israeli-based Ness Technologies has agreed to purchase Logos, a Czech information technology provider, for $68 million, as Israeli firms continue an aggressive purchase of foreign companies. Last month, Teva Pharmaceuticals announced it would pay more than $7 billion for the American-based Barr drug company. Ness's purchase of Logos is the Israel's company's largest acquisition to date. Logos, which employs 570 people, provides IT services and consultation for the Czech financial and telecom industry, whereas Ness focuses on the manufacturing, utilities and public sectors. The branching out of Israeli firms has helped reverse the trend of the shekel-dollar rate, which has declined significantly over the past three years. The purchase of Barr necessitates Teva's coming up with $2 billion in cash beyond its current reserves, and the deal means it will have to sell a large amount of shekels. The acquisition provides a lifeline for Bank of Israel Governor Prof. Stanley Fischer, who has been caught in a bind between trying to keep the shekel-dollar rate from falling without having to further raise the interest rate to stave off inflation. The dollar has fallen from 4.75 shekels to a 12-year-low of 3.20 shekels in the past two years, making the shekel one of the world's strongest currencies when compared with the greenback. The strong shekel has been a boon for consumers buying products from overseas but has forced many importers to lay off employees due to shrinking profits resulting from lower revenues in shekels for dollar-linked merchandise. Lowering the interest rate was one way of keeping the shekel-dollar rate from falling further because a lower rate encourages investors to put their shekels into a foreign currency that earns a higher interest rate. However, a lower rate also encourages consumption, which can result in the economy overheating and the inflation rate soaring out of control. Fischer has been forced to raise the interest three times this year to combat inflation. His only other course of action was to meddle in currency trading, a policy which he has opposed but nevertheless adopted several months ago with the surprise announcement that the Bank of Israel would buy millions of dollars every day. The Teva and Ness purchases have given him much more room to breathe by helping to drive up the shekel-dollar rate from 3.20 to 3.53 in the past three weeks. 4. Analysis: Israel Ignoring Hamas Bid to Conquer Judea/Samariaby Hillel Fendel  Veteran Palestinian Authority affairs correspondent Pinchas Inbari, a researcher for the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, writes that Hamas has a realistic plan for a peaceful takeover of Judea and Samaria in the near future - and that Israel is not paying enough attention. Shalit, an IDF corporal, was abducted by Hamas terrorists over two years ago and has been held, apparently in Gaza, since then. Hamas has demanded the release of up to 1,000 imprisoned terrorists for Shalit's freedom. Hamas to Set Elections In addition to the military boost Hamas will receive when its prisoners are returned, Hamas is also strong politically in Judea and Samaria, Inbari says. "Hamas won decisively in the last elections for municipal leaders, defeating [imprisoned-for-murder Fatah leader Marwan] Barghouti's men, and also winning in the second round of legislative council elections." Safe Passage Will Make it Easier for Hamas to Conquer Yesha Uprooting Jewish Towns is the First Step to Hamas Takeover Let Israel Not Interfere  5. Bereaved Parents Skeptical of Olmert's Motivesby Gil Ronen  The three weeks between the fast of the 17th of Tammuz and the fast of Tisha Be'av are traditional days of mourning, but they are especially painful for the bereaved families who lost their loved ones during the Second Lebanon War, at this time of the year. [video:123352] Israel National News TV joined the memorial service for First Lieutenant Amichai Merchavia. The ceremony took place the day after Prime Minister Olmert declared that he will not be a candidate for the leadership of his party. The bereaved families feel that Olmert's statement came too late, and for the wrong motives. David Einhorn, bereaved father of Yonatan, said: "This year we witnessed how our kidnapped soldiers, for whom the war broke out, came back in coffins. This brings up many questions regarding the purpose of the war. What were its accomplishments?" "However," he said, "I hope that yesterday's statement is the beginning of the end of he who should have taken responsibility two years ago and not wait till today when he resigns because of money issues. He should have resigned because of the blood, not because of the money." 6. Proof of Jeremiah Unearthed in Jerusalemby Hana Levi Julian  Archaeologists have unearthed proof of another Biblical story at Jerusalem's ancient City of David, this time corroborating the Book of Jeremiah. A completely intact seal impression, or "bula", bearing the name Gedaliahu ben Pashur was uncovered. The bula is actually a stamped engraving made of mortar. Gedaliahu ben Pashur's bula was found a bare few meters away from the site where a second such seal, this one belonging to Yuchal ben Shlemiyahu was found three years ago, at the entrance to the City of David. In the Book of Jeremiah (38:1-4), both men are mentioned as ministers to King Tzidkiyahu, who reigned from 597-586 BCE. The two, along with another pair, demanded the death penalty for the prophet Jeremiah in response to his plea for the king to surrender the city to the oncoming hordes of the Babylonian conqueror Nebuchadnezzer. According to Professor Eilat Mazar of Jerusalem's Hebrew University, who led the dig, the ancient Hebrew letters "are very clearly preserved." The seal impression was found in clay, she said. The verses read as follows: Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashur, Yuchal son of Shelemiah and Pashur son of Malchiah heard the things that Jeremiah was speaking to the people saying: "Thus said Hashem: Whoever remains in this city will die by the sword, by the famine or by the pestilence, whereas whoever goes out [in surrender] to the Chaldeans will live; he will have his life as a booty, and he will live. "Thus said Hashem: This city will surely be delivered into the hand of the army of the king of Babylonia, and he will capture it." And the[se] officers said to the king, "Let this man be put to death now, because he is weakening the hands of the soldiers who remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking to them such things. For this man does not seek the welfare of this people, but rather [their] detriment." "How absolutely fantastic and special this find is, can only be realized when you hold in your hand this magnificent one-centimeter piece of clay and know that it survived 2,600 years in the debris of the destruction, and came to us complete and in perfect condition," said Mazar. Mazar's team of archaeologists focused its efforts on the layer of artifacts from the First Temple period located just outside the walls of the Old City, near Dung Gate. The seal impression that was found three years ago was uncovered inside a stone structure that Mazar said she believed was the Palace of David. Gedaliahu's seal impression was unearthed at the foot of the external wall of the same structure, under a tower that appeared to have been built in the days of Nechemia in the fifth century BCE. Mazar has been excavating the site since 2005. She is a senior fellow at the Shalem Center, a Jerusalem-based research and educational institute, and heads its Institute of Archaeology. The Ir David (City of David) Foundation was the principal sponsor of the excavation, together with the Israel Antiquities Authority, the Hebrew University, and the Shalem Center.  7. Yesha Resident Kicks Her Way to Beijing Olympicsby Hana Levi Julian  The Jewish State will be represented at the Olympic Games in Beijing this month by Bat-El Gatterer, a young religious resident of Kochav Yaakov, located in the Binyamin region of Samaria. Gatterer, an IDF soldier who ends her service on the day she travels to Beijing, will represent Israel in the women's taekwondo martial arts competition. A member of the largest delegation ever sent by Israel to the Games, the 21-year-old pioneer will compete in the 57 kilogram, (125 pound) class. She won the bronze medal at the European qualifying trials in Istanbul, Turkey last January. The young woman says she was slightly surprised at being able to qualify for the Summer Games. "It is a great achievement and it is the dream of every sportsman, but people believed in me," Gatterer told Reuters news agency at her training camp at Wingate Sports Institute near Netanya. Because she is an observant Jew, Gatterer does not travel by car on the Sabbath (Friday night and Saturday) – a complication which in the past has meant that she sometimes has had to walk to her competition venues. At the Olympic Games, the young Israeli will compete on Thursday. She won't have to starve, however, thanks to the kosher food that will be provided by the organizers. There will also be plenty of kosher food available for spectators, according to Rabbi Shimon Freundlich, who has been living in China for seven years. A Glatt Kosher restaurant – Dini's – will be open during the Games 24 hours a day. The Chabad office in Beijing, added Freundlich, will also be on call to assist all the Israeli athletes and any other Jewish traveler who goes to Beijing for the Olympics – or after. Gatterer is the oldest of six children born to her parents, both themselves born in France. They moved to Kochav Yaakov in the 1980's, a religious community of more than 1,000 families. The vibrant community is located 12 minutes north of Jerusalem, near Ramallah. Although the political status of her home has no connection with her participation in the Games, Reuters pointed out to its readers that she is from a "West Bank hilltop settlement" that is part of "captured" land that has "been deemed illegal by the World Court." Kochav Yaakov, founded in 1984, and its adjacent sister community of Tel Tzion are populated by a mixture of religious Zionist, hareidi religious Zionist and other observant Jewish Israelis, both Sephardic and Ashkenazic, including 15 to 20 percent English-speaking immigrants. High Ranking for Israelis in Europe Beginning 2008, our athletes are now leading the ETU ranking system with Gold Medalists: In the junior category Alon Elboher (68 kg-Razi Taekwondo) and Liran Melachi (55kg-Sharabi M.A.) won gold medals in Sweden and Germany. Nissan Ratzlav-Katz contributed to this report. 8. Israel Convinces PA to Accept More Fatah Terroristsby Hana Levi Julian and Hillel Fendel  The Fatah-led Palestinian Authority (PA) has changed its stance for the second time and has agreed to accept more Fatah terrorists into the areas under its control. The terrorists will go to Jericho, however, and not to Ramallah, as originally requested. After day-long talks with Israeli authorities, PA officials agreed to accept approximately 120 terrorists of the Fatah-aligned Hilles clan that fled to the Jewish State after a crushing Hamas attack on its compound. Some 30 others were returned to Gaza; Hamas placed them under arrest and then released most of them, leaving 4-5 in Hamas prisons, where their lives are not guaranteed. Another 30 or so, largely women and children, are also to be returned to Gaza. PA Chairman and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas originally said he would accept the Gaza-based terrorists but then refused. Voice of Israel Radio's Danny Zaken reported that the Hilles clan did not oppose the Hamas takeover of Gaza from Fatah last year, and Abbas therefore saw no obligation to come to their aid now. The agreement to send the refugee terrorists to Jericho renders moot a petition filed over the weekend by left-wing groups, demanding that Israel not return them to Gaza. The petitioners said that the dangers facing the terrorists in Gaza morally obligate Israel to retain the men in its own territory. The Supreme Court had ordered Defense Minister Ehud Barak to respond to the petition by this afternoon, but the order was later rescinded. On Sunday, at the request of Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas and PA prime minister Salam Fayyad, both of whom accepted responsibility for the clan's security, the IDF began returning the escaped Fatah members to Gaza. In a release later issued to the media, Israeli authorities said they halted the process when they received information that the clan members were being arrested by Hamas and that their lives were in immediate danger. The statement said: "The Minister of Defense, Mr. Ehud Barak, ordered an immediate re-evaluation of the situation and direct discussions with Palestinian officials in order to convince them to allow the refugees entry to the Ramallah area instead. Under this instruction, the head of the Defense Ministry's Bureau for Security and Diplomacy, Maj.-Gen. (res.) Amos Gilad, consulted with the Palestinian Prime Minister and the civil administration and started to coordinate the process." Court Orders Israel to Free Former Hamas Minister According to another former Hamas minister quoted by the Reuters news agency, an Israeli judge ordered the government to release Omar Abdel Razak from prison. "The judge believed it was enough, the period that he served in prison," said the source. "They have released him and he is on his way home." Israeli officials did not comment on the report. Israel arrested approximately 40 Hamas officials for suspected involvement in terrorist activities after IDF Staff-Sgt. Gilad Shalit was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists on June 25, 2006.  9. Possible VP Nominee: Jerusalem is "Ground Zero"by Gil Ronen  Virginia Republican Congressman Eric Cantor, whom Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain is considering naming as his vice-presidential running mate, said in a speech last November that Jerusalem is "Ground Zero in the global battle between tyranny and democracy" and is "Israel's lifeblood." [video:123351] Speaking during a visit to Israel for the "One Jerusalem" event, which protested the Annapolis summit, Cantor said: "Jerusalem is not merely the capital of Israel but the spiritual capital of Jews and Christians everywhere. It's the site of the First and Second Temples, which housed the Holy of Holies, and it's the direction in which we Jews face when we pray. This glorious City of David is bound to the Jewish people by an undeniable 3,000 year historical link." Jerusalem, Cantor said, "is Israel's lifeblood. No one understands this better than Israel's enemies. That is precisely why they still engage in a systematic campaign to erase the historical link of the Jews to this great city. For if Israel were severed from Jerusalem, the Jewish state would lose its sense of legitimacy and its will to fight; only then could Israel be destroyed." 'Jerusalem is Ground Zero' Speaking in Hebrew, Cantor quoted Israel's first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, who said: "If a land has a soul, then Jerusalem is the soul of the Land of Israel." 10. Hamas Supporters to Claim Control of Gaza Coastby Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu  Arab Americans and supporters in Greece have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to help fund two boats that are set to sail to Gaza in a carefully prepared publicity stunt under the slogan "Free Gaza." The boats have been provided with a sophisticated satellite link and a live hookup for journalists on board. Israel stated it still retains sovereignty over the air and territorial waters after it withdrew soldiers from the Gaza region three summers ago, but Arabs and left-wing groups dispute the claim. They are gearing up for worldwide publicity for the boats to arrive on the Gaza coast. Israel has not yet decided how to react to the campaign, and the people on board are hoping for a confrontation or arrest in order to win more media sympathy. "Will Israel stop us?" the Free Gaza Movement wrote on its website." We believe that they will make the apparently reasonable request to inspect the boats first. However, [for us to comply] would constitute recognition of Israel's right to regulate traffic in a territory where they have no sovereignty." "The group will have the boats inspected in Cyprus in order to assure that no one is sabotaging the mission, but they insist that they will not voluntarily submit to Israeli authority outside of Israeli territory, even if it means being forcibly stopped." Israeli intelligence officials have said that terrorists in Gaza have used the seas to smuggle a large amount of weapons and explosives into Gaza. | Monday, Aug. 04 '08 3 Av 5768    Israel Related IsraLotto The FUN way to support Israel. Millions in prizes. 2.5¢ to Israel No Fees, High Quality Connections, and more.... NEFESH B'NEFESH Aliyah Assistance All Year Round. Apply Now. Simple to Remember.com Explore Judaism online with MP3s, Articles & Videos all free! Israel Charities Pro-life? Pro-Israel? Help bringing Jewish babies to Israel! 50,000 abortions in Israel annually Efrat: 25,000 Jewish children saved in 30 years Chai Lifeline Be part of a sick child hope for a miracle Higher Education Lessons in Tanya Taught by Rabbi Ben Tzion Krasnianski. On-line and Audio downloads lessons Lidrosh.com Free MP3 Torah Audio Specials Genesis 2000 2006 is your time to visit Israel with Genesis 2000 Personalized Silver Name Necklaces from Jerusalem Many Styles and Languages Sameach Music Podcast Download a FREE Jewish music show. Hear previews, news, contests & interviews Love Israel... Buy Israel www.GiftsfromIsrael withLOVE.com City of Refuge A biblical historical novel, and a breathtaking adventure
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Bereaved Fathers: "Olmert's Statement – to late, wrong motives" 
"Olmert's Statement – to late, wrong motives" 
