The Sunday Times of London reports that Israel's intelligence information on Iran's nuclear capabilities appears to belie the official United States stance on the issue.  The US National Intelligence Estimate of last December concluded that Iran had halted its nuclear weapons development program in 2003.  However, the Times reports, Israel has made a breakthrough in intelligence-gathering within Iran, and now fears that Iran has in fact made significant advances towards attaining nuclear power.

A source quoted by the Times said the new information was "on a par with intelligence that led Israel to discover and then destroy a partly constructed nuclear reactor in Syria last September."

The head of Britain's MI6 intelligence agency, Sir John Scarlett, is scheduled to visit Israel later this month, and will be briefed by Israeli Mossad chief Meir Dagan.  Iran’s nuclear program is expected to be high on their agenda in an intelligence-sharing process described by Israeli officials as a “strategic dialogue;" both Israel and Britain have extensive spy networks in the Middle East.

Israeli officials have briefed US and British officials on their findings, and Israel expects the US to revise its analysis of Iran’s program in the near future.  The newspaper surmises that if Israel "were considering military action against Iran [regarding] its nuclear program, it would want to ensure it had diplomatic support in London and Washington."

Iran: Barak Threatened Us
An Iranian press agency reported that Defense Minister Ehud Barak "threatened" Iran this past Friday.  The agency quoted Barak as saying that Israel is fully prepared to launch a military attack on Tehran - though he did not elaborate.

"Israel is the strongest country in the entire region, even at a range of 1,500 kilometers," Barak reportedly said, adding that Israel is "willing to be alone with the problem."

Last week, a second US aircraft carrier entered the Persian Gulf, sparking media speculation in Iran that this was a tacit declaration of war on Iran.  The Iranian news agency also reported that Israel "has been preparing for war for several months now," citing Israel's recent nationwide drill testing its emergency response as an example. 

More than 400 new immigrants from 23 countries will be arriving in Israel on Monday for what has been declared International Aliyah Day 2008.

Aliyah means immigration of Jews to the Land of Isael.

The one-day display of the ingathering of exiles, orchestrated by the Absorption Ministry and the Jewish Agency, will mark the absorption of more than 3,000,000 Jewish immigrants to the Promised Land in the 60 years since the State of Israel declared independence.

The new immigrants will hail from almost two dozen countries including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, England, France, Germany, Honduras, Hungary, Italy, Russia, South Africa, Turkey, Ukraine and the United States. They are planning to settle in more than 50 communities throughout the Land of Israel.

A reception honoring the new immigrants will take place at Ben Gurion Airport’s Terminal One at 3 p.m. on Monday, May 5.

Also being flown in are about one hundred parents of lone immigrant soldiers serving in the IDF. The young men and women, who immigrated without their families, will be allowed to spend Independence Day with their loved ones. The initiative, called the Keshet Project, seeks to expose parents of immigrants to the country in the hope that they will join their children here.

The ceremony will be attended by Absorption Minister Ya’akov Edery, Jewish Agency Chairman Ze’ev Bielski, Chief Sephardic Rabbi Shlomo Amar, JNF Chairman Avi Pazner and representatives from the UJC Federations of the US and the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, which has been assisting the Jewish Agency in its Aliyah efforts.

Origins of the Idea
The concept of Aliyah Day was first proposed by Israel National Radio's Yishai Fleisher, co-founder of the Kumah Aliyah movement. It was formally presented to the Knesset Lobby for Western Aliyah earlier this year.

"Aliyah Day is a project that can help change attitudes through the classic Jewish technique of education," Fleisher wrote in a brief to be submitted to Committee Chair MK Gilad Erdan. "There are well known state holidays that are used as springboards for massive educational undertakings. Yom Haatzmaut [Independence Day] is a national celebration, but it is also a day of award ceremonies, mass concerts, and gatherings. Yom Hazikaron [Memorial Day] has its cemetery memorials and the horn that so powerfully reminds us of the sacrifice. Yom Hashoa educates us about the horrors of the Holocaust. The time has arrived for a new State Holiday called Aliyah Day.

"Aliyah Day should be celebrated in all Israeli schools with every child getting up and telling the tale of his family's Aliyah. On TV, the stories of the various Aliyot (mass immigrations from a particular country or sector) are told. Prizes are given out to Aliyah activists, or Klita (absorption) activists.

"Simultaneously, Aliyah Day will be celebrated internationally in all Zionist institutions. There, the discussion will focus on the importance of Aliyah, the centrality of Israel, and the ingathering of the exiles. In short, Aliyah Day will use the proven model of a State holiday to put Aliyah back into the discourse of Israel and Zionism."

Fleisher originally prepared the idea to be presented by Aliyah activist Ze'ev Orenstein, the former Director of Student Aliyah at the Jewish Agency’s New York Aliyah Center, at the World Zionist Congress. After it the Congress responded unenthusiastically to the idea, Orenstein outlined the proposal further on his blog in 2005:

“Yom HaAliyah [Aliyah Day] is a day which celebrates the Aliyah of millions of Jews from the four corners of the Earth to the Jewish State of Israel,” Orenstein wrote. “[It] is a day which celebrates the undying will and spirit of the Jewish People throughout the 2,000 year Exile to return Home to the Land of Israel, as is expressed through Jewish tradition and heritage. [It] is a day which will focus on educating Jews both in Israel, as well as abroad, of the importance of Aliyah, and the fulfillment that it brings to one's Jewish life.

“In Israel, educational programming would be geared towards helping Jewish Israelis appreciate the significance of Aliyah to the future of the State of Israel, both in a demographic sense, as well as a spiritual one. Additionally, educational programming would be geared towards helping native Israelis understand the challenges and sacrifices involved in making Aliyah, in an effort to try and build a connection and understanding between native Israelis and Olim Chadashim (new immigrants).

“Additionally, on this day, all Jews who made Aliyah in the past year would be invited to a special ceremony lead by Jewish / political leaders throughout Israel in a gala celebration of the Ingathering of the Exiles.

“Jewish communities throughout the world will learn how they can find both personal and communal fulfillment in Israel, be it professionally, educationally, religiously, spiritually, or physically. Olim from their respective communities will return to their native communities to give first hand accounts of their lives in Israel.”

An Annual Holiday
Both Fleisher and Orenstein suggest alternate dates for the new holiday. Orenstein proposed the 6th of Tammuz. "On the 6th of Tammuz over 500 Jews made Aliyah from North America (with the generous assistance and support of Nefesh B'Nefesh), the largest contingent of North American Jews to make Aliyah in one day in Israel’s history," he wrote, explaining that he believes Aliyah from North America to most personify the holiday as it is the apex of Aliyah-by-choice.

Fleisher suggested choosing a day in the Hebrew month of Cheshvan. "It has some amazing Aliyah dates while at the same time being a reletivally quiet month situated at the beginning of the school year," he explained "The Torah portion of Lech Lecha usually falls within Cheshvan. Lech Lecha and Abraham's Aliyah is an awesome pedagogical tool to promote Aliyah. Cheshvan also has the yartzeit [anniversary of the death] of [the Matriarch] Rachel, and the Rambam's [Maimonides] Aliyah to Jerusalem. All together, Cheshvan seems a perfect month for a new State holiday to be celebrated and propagated throughout the world with one central message: We are proud and lucky to live in Israel and we are calling upon all Jews to make Aliyah and to join us in the Promised Land."

A dozen other chartered and group flights from the US and Canada will take place throughout the summer, organized by Aliyah-assistance movement Nefesh B’Nefesh. Click here for the dates of the flights.

Knesset Members Moshe Sharoni, Sarah Marom-Shalev and Elchanan Glazer of the Pensioners' Party announced that they would be leaving the party and the coalition led by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Glazer said Saturday that "in view of Prime Minister Olmert's investigations, the government's days are numbered, and an alternative approach to the coalition needs to be presented." He said people in other factions are of a similar opinion.

Glazer said that he was offered the position of Deputy Minister for Pensioners' Affairs under Pensioners' Party head Rafi Eitan, but did not wish to impose a financial burden on the country and decided to refuse the offer.

While the defection of three MKs does not endanger Olmert's Knesset majority in and of itself, it is a crack in the coalition that some observers think may widen.

Sharoni's intention to split with the Pensioners has been a known fact for several months, following Sha
"Glazer's zigzags are ugly. He is spitting into the plate he ate from."
roni's demotion from the position of faction chairman, after he sponsored a bill to raise senior citizens' pensions beyond what the government was willing to authorize.

Zigzags and threats
Glazer and Marom-Shalev zigzaged between a stated intention to join Sharoni and last-minute second thoughts, as Eitan tried to convince them to stay. At one point, Sharoni convinced Glazer to sign a memo saying he would join him, and when Glazer tried to renege on the agreement, Sharoni threatened to take him to court.

Following the trio's announcement of the split, Pensioners' Knesset faction chairman MK Yitzchak Galanti said: "Maybe at last, after two years in which we have been contending with Sharoni's caprices we can start working. Glazer's zigzags are ugly. He is spitting into the plate he ate from."

As for MK Marom-Shalev, Galanti told Ynet that she doesn’t even want to run for the next Kness
"Elchanan Glazer is a real man. He was treated unjustly. He specifically said that he never asked to be a deputy minister."
et. "I didn't think this would happen when we ran in the Pensioners' list. Each time we tried to persuade Sharoni to stop running amok, and he kept on. Talking to him is like talking to a wall," he explained.

MK Sharoni responded by saying: "Elchanan Glazer is a real man. He was treated unjustly. He specifically said that he never asked to be a deputy minister. What angered him were all of the 'spins' that made him look like a position-seeker."  

The breakaway Pensioners MKs will be forming a new faction which will be identified with billionaire Arcadi Gaydamak, who has formed a party called "Social Justice." The new faction will reportedly call itself "Pensioners' Justice" and the united party that will contend in the next elections may be called "Social Justice / Justice for the Pensioners."

Forty-eight hours after the first leaks regarding serious suspicions against Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, the public in Israel is still not allowed to know what the Prime Minister is suspected of and what his reaction to the accusations is. The Attorney General, Menachem Mazuz, made a statement Saturday in which he denied earlier quotes damaging to the Prime Minister which appeared in the press and had been attributed to senior sources in the Justice Ministry.

The cloud of secrecy descended over the case Friday, as it became known that the police had requested and received a gag order on all details of the suspicions against Olmert. The only detail that the media was allowed to carry was that Olmert's longtime bureau chief and confidante, Shula Zaken, had been interrogated regarding the matter Tuesday.  

Mazuz Issues Denial
On Friday, different news outlets carried a leak from an unnamed senior Justice Department source who was quoted as saying that "if the suspicions against Olmert turn out to be true or if a solid evidentiary base is found, it is unlikely that the Prime Minister will be able to continue his term in office." Other sources said that "the matter being investigated is serious, and the development is a dramatic one."
"The subject never came up, was never discussed and was not mentioned in any discussion in the Justice Ministry."

Mazuz announced Saturday that "following news reports that seemed to imply that the Justice Ministry had taken a position regarding the continuation of the Prime Minister's term in office following the new investigation against him, [we] ask to clarify that the subject never came up, was never discussed and was not mentioned in any discussion in the Justice Ministry, neither directly nor indirectly, and no position was taken on this subject at such an early stage."

Ynet also reported Saturday that Olmert would be interrogated a second time soon. He was questioned for 90 minutes Friday at his official Jerusalem residence.

Barak, Peretz Supportive of Olmert
Politicians identified with the left and opposition demanded Olmert's resignation Friday: MK Shelly Yechimovich of the Labor party and MK Zehava Galon of Meretz said the suspicions against Olmert were enough to warrant his resignation, even though they had not yet been proven. MK Gidon Saar of the Likud called upon Labor leader Ehud Barak, Olmert's senior coalition partner, to topple the government.

However, Barak's only announcement Saturday was that he hoped the Prime Minister would come out of this investigation "unblemished."

Former Labor head MK Amir Peretz said that politicians should not interfere in the investigation. "We must not fan the flames and cause the investigators to want to bring answers quickly… The politicians must keep quiet regarding this investigation," he said, adding: "We must wait to see if there is any substance behind the allegations."

In light of the new criminal allegations against Prime Minister Olmert, which have been described as "severe," Likud MK Silvan Shalom and others have begun canvassing Knesset support for new elections.

Shalom said that new elections are a necessity, given the fact that this is the sixth police investigation against Olmert since he took office in early 2006. "Not to mention the latest escapade," Shalom added, "in which a Knesset Member was offered a Deputy-Ministership merely so that he would remain in the coalition."  The reference is to Pensioners MK Elchanan Glaser, who has since turned down the offer.

Quiet in Kadima and Labor
MKs in Olmert's Kadima party have been, for the most part, silent on the new criminal allegations against the Prime Minister, which came to light on Friday.  All ears were turned to Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Olmert's greatest potential challenger within the party, but she has said nothing. 

Within the Labor Party, which is Kadima's largest coalition ally, calls for Olmert to resign - or, alternatively, for Labor to quit the government - are beginning to be heard.  Party leader Defense Minister Ehud Barak has not yet reacted publicly.  Back-bencher MK Shelly Yechimovitch, on the other hand, called immediately for Olmert to suspend himself, saying, "Israel cannot afford to have someone who is constantly being interrogated by the police at the helm of its regime."

The ruling Kadima party has two other coalition allies - Shas and the Pensioners.  The former has been threatening to quit for months, while nearly half of the latter actually did just that over the weekend.

Olmert's Pension Halved
Three of the Pensioner party's seven MKs have formed their own party, and declared that they are officially not part of the coalition. The new party is named "Justice for Pensioners," and is officially headed by Russian billionaire immigrant philanthropist Arcady Gaydamak.  The three-MK faction will be headed by Moshe Sharoni, who has long been at odds with Pensioners leader Rafi Eitan; the other two MKs are Elchanan Glaser and Sarah Marom-Shalev.

Olmert thus faces not only increasingly severe criminal/legal problems, but also a diminishing government coalition, which now has only a 4-seat majority (64 MKs out of 120 Knesset mandates).

A gag order has been placed on the latest criminal investigation against Ehud Olmert, although the Justice Ministry will reconsider it next week.  Police and other sources say the allegations include the most serious charges, and are accompanied by the most damning evidence, ever raised against Olmert. The police rushed to interrogate him on Friday morning under caution, to limit chances that he would coordinate his testimony with others, and announced that they will interrogate him again.

Even if the evidence justifies an indictment against Olmert, the process will clearly take many months. An indictment of a Prime Minister requires special approval from the Attorney General.  For this reason, a change in the government, if it occurs, is not likely to be the result of judicial/legal developments, but rather political.  It is assumed that Olmert will either call new elections on his own, or his government will be toppled in a no-confidence motion.

In the meanwhile, Olmert is broadcasting "business as usual," and plans to meet with visiting U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice later Sunday. 

Hundreds of armed Fatah loyalists were deployed in Jenin Saturday as the newest and most trained members of the Palestinian Authority armed police force.

The deployment came as a result of authorization granted by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as a “good-will gesture” to the foundering Fatah-run PA and its chairman, Fatah chief Mahmoud Abbas.

The 450 trained PLO veterans hail from Jordan and received training from United States General Keith Dayton and his men.

The IDF released a statement shortly after the deployment, saying, “This morning, approximately 450 Palestinian Authority personnel arrived at Jenin and north Samaria. The deployment was made after a number of coordinated meetings of different levels between IDF personnel and the Civil Administration with the Palestinians.”
 
The IDF statement qualified: “It is important to emphasize that the IDF did not pass the security responsibility in Jenin to the Palestinian Policemen, and will continue their coordination with the Palestinian Policemen in Jenin.”

Deployment Controversial
Several organizations, most notably terror victim associations and student groups, have come out against the training and deployment of additional PA police forces. In addition to the problem of Fatah controlling armed forces while it still maintains terrorist groups under its control, actual PA police have carried out terrorist attacks as recently as the past few months.

Ido Zoldan, a former resident of Homesh, was gunned down near Kedumim by a PA police officer. Off-duty IDF soldiers Achikam Amichai and David Rubin were also shot to death by a PA officer and PA Islamic court employee – who both took refuge at the PA’s Hevron headquarters immediately following the murders.

An armored vehicle given to Fatah when it controlled Gaza was recently used to overrun the Gaza border in a carefully staged bomb-attack on the eve of Passover two weeks ago by Hamas. Israel has authorized the transfer of several identical armored vehicles to Fatah by Russia to its remaining footholds in Judea and Samaria.

France Offers to Send Troops
France has offered its unsolicited assistance in the form of dispatching troops to Judea, Samaria and Gaza in the event that an international force is created to patrol those regions.

Left-wing groups and even MK Avigdor Lieberman (Yisrael Beiteinu) have increasingly called for international troops to be deployed in areas currently under control of Fatah and Hamas. Hamas rejects the idea, though Fatah officials have expressed interest.

Yehuda HaKohen of the student activist Zionist Freedom Alliance said, "This new Fatah force is a police force of gangsters who oppress their own people and kill our people. The only reason that they are being allowed to have an army is that their corrupt leadership [Abbas] is pursuing the agenda of the Bush administration to shrink and weaken the State of Israel. In this local conflict, both sides are being armed by the same western government. If western powers would stop interfering in our local conflict, maybe it will be easier to realize peace in our time."

French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said France would be willing to take part in such an international force “when circumstances permit and if the parties so wish.” International forces under the command of the European Union were stationed at the Rafiah crossing between Gaza and Egypt following the 2005 Disengagement, but fled almost immediately following the 2007 Hamas takeover of the region. International forces are currently stationed in southern Lebanon, but even internal UN reports admit they have failed to stop weapons smuggling and terrorist activity in the area.

Attacks and Arrests in Judea and Samaria
A terror attack in the south Hevron Hills area was prevented Friday night when soldiers manning a checkpoint attempted to stop an Arab man who was acting suspiciously. The Arab ran away from the troops, who fired in the air, in accordance with directives for IDF soldiers. When the Arab refused to stop they fired and wounded him. The Arab, who was found to be carrying a large knife, presumably to be used in a terror attack, was taken to an Israeli hospital for treatment. He later died of his wounds.

Over the Sabbath, Arab terrorists in Gaza fired two Kassam rockets and six mortar shells at Israeli targets in the western Negev. No injuries or damage were reported in the attacks.

Arabs threw Molotov cocktails at an Israeli driver on Saturday night near the city of Bethlehem. The driver was uninjured.

Later at night, Arabs threw Molotov cocktails and stones at IDF forces near the city. The soldiers were not hurt in the attack. Soldiers managed to arrest two of the attackers.

IDF soldiers arrested three wanted terrorists in Judea and Samaria early on Sunday morning. The detainees were taken to security services for questioning. No injuries were reported.

Rice to Demand Removal of More Checkpoints
United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says she plans to pressure Israel to continue removing checkpoints in Judea and Samaria. In a conversation with journalists held on Saturday, Rice said she would discuss the checkpoints with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

In addition, she said, she plans to investigate the “facts on the ground” to see whether or not Palestinian Authority Arabs are experiencing improved conditions following the removal of several checkpoints. Several checkpoints and dozens of roadblocks in Judea and Samaria have already been removed despite misgivings from some security officials.

Jews in Samaria Repel Arab Mob
Residents of the Arab village of Asira al-Kabalia clashed with Jews from the nearby town of Yitzhar on Saturday. According to local Jews and IDF soldiers who witnessed the incident, the clash began when dozens of Arabs began walking towards Yitzhar while setting fire to Jewish-owned fields along the way.

When the Arabs reached the Jewish town, the two sides began to fight. IDF soldiers stopped the clash. Nobody was arrested.

Arabs later claimed Jews entered Asira al-Kabalia, took to the rooftops and smashed vehicles and windows throughout the village with help from IDF soldiers.

The Shomron Regional Council is preparing for the arrival of tens of thousands expected to flood the site of the destroyed town of Homesh on Thursday, Independence Day.

The event has been approved by the IDF and marchers will be allowed to enter the Homesh area – as opposed to last year's march to the site, which was broken up by the IDF on direct orders from then Defense Minister Amir Peretz. Despite that, about 30,000 protesters reached the site last year.

The IDF still maintains a strong presence in Homesh and Sa-nur, also destroyed during the 2005 disengagement. As a result, some 20 Knesset members have joined the “Homesh lobby” and are working to allow Jews to return to legally live at the site.

Gershon Mesika, head of the Shomron Regional Council, said that “even several ministers in Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government have admitted that leaving Homesh was a mistake,” because of its strategic importance.

Yossi Dagan, a member of the Homesh resettlement committee, said that the event was “the proper answer to Condoleeza Rice. We will go up to Homesh and tell her and her friends in the Israeli government that they will not only not succeed in chasing us out of outposts and towns, but that we will return to the places we have already been removed from.”

Salute to Returning Residents
The Independence Day event will include a ceremony saluting the core-group of Homesh First pioneers returning to live in Homesh. It has been nearly ten months, and despite regular forced evictions and the confiscation of their equipment on a regular basis, a group of activists have maintained a continuous Jewish presence in Homesh.

Though the event is not organized by Homesh First, which on principle does not request permission from the IDF to return to the town, it is endorsed by it. "There is no better birthday present for the State of Israel than the return to Homesh," the movement said in a statement.

Kiryat Arba musician Udi Davidi will give a free concert in Homesh at 3 PM Thursday.

Buses will be available from throughout the country, with private vehicles parked at the Bar-On Industrial Zone between Kedumim and Shavei Shomron, where shuttle buses will be available.

Arutz Sheva TV will broadcast the event live.

Click here for a photo feature on the pioneers returning to Homesh

David Shamah contributed to this report

Jerusalem's most popular English TV show Tuesday Night Live saluted Israeli agent Jonathan Pollard on their most recent episode.

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Can' see player above? Click here.

Pollard was a U.S. naval intelligence officer convicted to a life sentence for passing classified information to a US ally, Israel. He is spending his 24th year in jail in Butler, N.C. while others convicted of the same crime received sentences ranging from two to four years.

"This is about justice," declared show host Jeremy Gimpel. He and co-host Ari Abramowitz called upon Americans and Israelis to act to receive a pardon for Pollard. Pollard's wife Esther was a special guest on the show.

Tuesday Night Live also features live music, what Jerusalemites on the street are saying, and, of course, the live audience.

Join hundreds in the live studio audience for future shows on:

May 6 & 20, June 3 & 17, July 1 & 15
Heichal Shlomo auditorium on 58 King George St. in Jerusalem, across from the Plaza Hotel.
Entrance is free. Doors open at 6:45pm. A variety of vendors and refreshments (some complimentary!) before and after the show
To reserve a seat in advance (free!): email rachel [at] thelandofisrael [dot] com  with your name, phone number and how many seats are desired.

Click here to watch previous shows

• Rice to Demand Removal of More Checkpoints
• Olmert to Meet with Abbas on Monday
• Would-Be Arab Stabber Dies of Wounds
• Arab Car Thieves 'Test Drive' Their Way to Prison