The Peace Now movement is suspected of setting up a financial scam to mask the European sources of its funding for its reconnaissance work against Israeli Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria.

The Non Profit Associations Registrar suspects Peace Now of operating a front organization for improper collection of funds, according to a report on Channel 2 TV by reporter Amit Segal.

The radical left-wing Peace Now group allegedly used a non-profit organization (amuta) called Sha'al, which supposedly dealt with educational matters, to receive and disburse millions of shekels over a period of many years.

Some of the organization's donors were exposed in the course of the inquiry. They include the British government, which donated more that 500,000 shekels, Norway (800,000 shekels) and the European Union, which donated 451,000 shekels earmarked for Peace Now's ongoing "settlement hunting" activity: the documentation of construction activity by Jews in Judea and Samaria.

This is not the first time Peace Now has crossed the lines of legality. In 2004, journalist David Bedein revealed and later the Knesset Interior Committee confirmed that Peace Now had received a budget in the amount of 50,000 Euros from the government of Finland to conduct intelligence activities in Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria, the Golan, Gaza and Jerusalem. The Israel Penal Code for Espionage was distributed to Knesset Interior Committees, with the third clause defining “photography of sensitive areas of Israel for any foreign power” as an act of espionage, punishable by ten years imprisonment if convicted.

It is not clear whether Segal's report was the result of a new investigative web site dedicated to researching and documenting the group's misdeeds.

The Non Profit Associations Registrar summoned 'Peace Now' to a hearing and instructed them to reply to the allegations by December 31.

Peace Now Calls on US to Talk to Iran
Americans for Peace Now, the Israeli leftist group’s fundraising arm that also engages in anti-Israel lobbying in the United States, urged US President George W. Bush “to open serious, determined and unconditional diplomacy with Iran,” according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

Franklin Fisher and Debra DeLee, Chairman and President respectively of the group, sent a letter to Bush arguing that it is in the “best interests of both the US and Israel [to engage in] direct, sustained, and unconditional US-led diplomacy and engagement with Iran to resolve issues surrounding Iran’s nuclear program."

“The letter reflects Americans for Peace Now’s longstanding contention that a U.S. policy toward Iran consisting of sanctions and threats of force is insufficient and potentially harmful to the interests of both the United States and Israel,” JTA reported. The letter was sent to all members of the House and Senate, as well as all the US presidential candidates.

Ten children, and eight others, are suffering from trauma in the Negev city of Sderot after a Kassam rocket slammed down just 40 meters from an elementary school.  The attack occured around 11 AM.

One pupil reported that when the Color Red early warning system was sounded, his teacher told the class to remain in their seats because the class was reinforced.  However, when they heard the crash and realized how close it had hit, some students and teachers began crying.  The school's psychological and counseling staff is currently being bolstered with staff from other schools and nearby cities.

The fear that a Kassam could hit a crowded school had been on everyone's minds, and the realization that a major catastrophe had been so narrowly avoided was on everyone's mind.  Some parents arrived to pick up their children early. 

Two other Kassams were fired at the Negev earlier this morning, and another one landed near Ashkelon.  Several mortar shells were also fired, but no damage was caused in these attacks.

The IDF reports that 165 Kassam rockets and mortar shells have been fired at Israel - mostly Sderot and environs - just this month alone; this is an average of over eight rockets or shells per day.

IDF forces entered Gaza overnight in an anti-terror offensive, and killed at least four terrorists. Though the forces were fired upon, no Israeli casualties were reported.

Precisely as the Kassam rocket landed near the school, Chief IDF Intelligence Officer Brig.-Gen. Halamish was speaking at a Tel Aviv University event, saying the IDF does not have a comprehensive solution to fight Kassam rockets. 

Five years after he tried to blow up an Israeli apartment building, PA terrorist Salid Ziwad was shot and captured early Wednesday morning.

The news was released only Wednesday afternoon. 

Ziwad was responsible for one of the most dramatic near-attacks in recent history.  An Islamic Jihad terrorist, he arranged for a car packed with some 400 kilograms of explosives to be brought into Israel, where it was to be detonated aside a residential building and thus bring it down.  The attack was thwarted, however, when the car was found - unoccupied - at a Border Guard checkpoint near Givat Ada in the Hadera region. 

The Shomron chapter of the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization is responsible for many serious attacks against Israel in which dozens of Jews have been murdered.

Israeli security forces arrived in a village northwest of Jenin early this morning to arrest Ziwad.  He attempted to escape and was shot in the neck, sustaining serious injuries.  He is being treated in an Israeli hospital.

In Gaza, IDF forces were not as successful.  They arrived in northern Gaza early morning for an unspecified operation, and were attacked by Hamas terrorists.  After a long and serious exchange of fire, the Israelis were able to retreat without casualties.  According to Hamas, the Israelis had intended to capture a terrorist leader.

Stoning Attack
An Israeli man driving with his brother on Wednesday on Route 443 - billed as the "alternate" Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway - was wounded lightly when Arabs stoned his car.  He was treated at the nearby IDF Ofer base.  Police and security forces arrived on the scene and initiated a search for the attackers.  Other stoning attacks along the same highway last week did not cause injuries.

A new, improved Patriot anti-aircraft missile system passed its tests with flying colors Tuesday at an IDF base in southern Israel. The trial evaluated the improvements made to the missiles' operational system with the aim of widening its range and accuracy.

IDF officials and representatives of the semi-governmental Rafael Advanced Defense Systems firm watched as an improved Patriot missile, dubbed the "Yahalom" ("diamond" in Hebrew), was fired at a mock jet in a simulation of an operational mission, successfully intercepting the target.

Anti-Aircraft Forces Commander Brigadier-General Danny Milo expressed the IDF's satisfaction with the system's performance, saying the successful test means Israel's defense abilities vis-à-vis the "relevant threats" have improved.

The Patriot system, originally designed as an anti-aircraft system, was used by Israel as an anti-missile defense in 1991 during the Gulf War between the United States and Iraq. The Jewish State became a proxy target in the conflict, with Iraq firing surface-to-surface missiles at strategic Israeli targets. Subsequent evaluations found that the Patriots had provided a very incomplete defense against the missiles fired from Iraq.

A senior military source was quoted by Haaretz as saying the improved Patriot system can be put into action immediately, based on its successful performance.

Israel is slated to receive a PAC-3 (Patriot Advanced Capability) missile system from the US, according to media reports. According to a statement on the website of Lockheed Martin, a US-based defense industry firm, the PAC-3 is "a small, highly agile, kinetic kill interceptor for defense against tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and air-breathing threats. The PAC-3^TM Missile destroys its targets by direct, body-to-body impact."

It also has 16 launch pods, as opposed to the four-pod batteries Israel currently owns.

The Refuah Institute in Jerusalem announces the 1st Annual International Conference on Torah Psychology and Medicine, to be held in Jerusalem next week.  Its two days of lectures and discussion groups will be dedicated to exploring how Torah thought has contributed to the world in the fields of well-being, healing, health care, positive psychology, attaining happiness, and more. 

The conference will be held Dec. 26-27 at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center in Jerusalem. It is based on the Refuah Institute's unique manner of studying and teaching Torah psychology and mind-body medicine, which combines the Torah heritage of religious and spiritual teachings with modern scientific appreciation of positive psychology and the mind body therapies.  

Among the speakers will be former Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, Harvard lecturer Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar, Prof. Dr. Gerald Schroeder, Rabbi Zelig Pliskin, Dr. Miriam Adahan, Dr. Lisa Aiken, Rabbi Simcha Cohen, Rabbi Zev Leff, Rabbi Mordechai Neugroschel, and more.

Throughout most of the two days, four sessions will be going on simultaneously - three in English and one in Hebrew.  Some sample lectures include "Science Synergistically Enhanced by Torah" by Prof. Joshua H. Ritchie, "Finding the Soul within Science and Torah" by Prof. Schroeder, Dr. Chana Stroe and others on "Youth at Risk," and Dr. Ed Pakes and Reuben Tradburks on "Widows, Orphans & Converts."  Coaching, doctor-patient relationships, the right to refuse therapy and other topics will be discussed from the Torah's standpoint.

The Refuah Institute, founded and headed by Prof. Ritchie in 1994, is "dedicated to providing education and services that promote health and healing of body and soul in accordance with Torah Hashkafa principles," its website says.  It offers a range of Training Courses and Diploma programs, having taught over 300 students to date. 

In 1996, Refuah established the Milev Center for Crisis Counseling in Jerusalem, which has trained over 800 crisis counselors, supervisors and facilitators who now staff many of the diverse crisis counseling services operating in Israel today. Milev, in 1997, established a national Crisis Counseling Hotline, the first such service for the English-speaking population in Israel, which has received over 25,000 calls.

The Fast of Asarah B'Tevet (the 10th of the Hebrew month of Tevet), observed Wednesday, marked the siege that was emplaced around Jerusalem for three years by the superpower of the time, Babylonia. The ensuing destruction of Jerusalem led to the exile of the Jews to Babylonia (today's Iraq).

A large number of Jews gathered at the foot of the Temple Mount, at the Western Wall, reciting prayers and a few donning sackcloth for the rebuilding of the Holy Temple and for today's Jerusalem, again surrounded by adversaries.[video:122987]

The 10th of Tevet has also been designated by Israel's Chief Rabbinate as the day of mourning for Holocaust victims whose date of death is unknown. The day is known as the "Day of General Kaddish (mourners' prayer)."

 

The renowned Maimonides wrote in his Jewish Law Code, "The essential significance of the fast of the Tenth of Tevet, as well as that of the other fast days, is not primarily the grief and mourning which they evoke. Their aim is rather to awaken the hearts towards repentance; to recall to us, both the evil deeds of our fathers, and our own evil deeds, which caused anguish to befall both them and us and thereby to cause us to return towards the good."

Further information on the siege can be found in the Book of Kings II, chapter 25.

(Photos; Dan Paley)

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You've finally invested in real estate in Israel and now you're ready to earn some money by renting out the property. The following tips can help you protect your investment:

1.      The rental contract should be drafted by an attorney. It is easy to obtain examples of rental agreements but these standard agreements are often not comprehensive, and generally not specifically written with your own situation in mind.

2.      In addition to the rent, it is customary for the tenant to pay the municipal taxes, homeowner's association fees, running expenses of the property, and any expenses connected with the upkeep of the property. The tenant should also pay for insurance for third party liability, fire and theft. Insurance for the structure of the building is paid by the landlord.

Read the continuation of this article in the Arutz Sheva Real Estate Section

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