Presumptive U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama told Iowa voters Monday that the international community must tighten sanctions on Iran so that Israel does not feel that its "back is against the wall," prompting the Jewish State to stage a military strike against Iranian nuclear facilities.
Obama said that a nuclear Iran would be able to project its power with impunity.

Some sanctions have been imposed on Iran in an effort to convince the regime to suspend its efforts to obtain nuclear weapons capabilities. Israeli and American leaders have been calling for expanded sanctions on the Islamic Republic, but have thus far insisted that the military option remains a viable one.

"My job as president is to make sure we are tightening the screws on Iran diplomatically... to get sanctions in place so that Iran starts making a different calculation," Senator Obama (D., Illinois) said. "And we have got to do that before Israel feels like its back is against the wall." He made the comments  at a campaign stop attended by more than 200 people.

"We have to act much more forcefully and effectively on the world stage to contain Iran's nuclear capabilities," Obama added in response to a question regarding Israeli intentions. Israel, he said, is "one of our strongest allies in the world."

Aside from its effect on Israel, Obama said that a nuclear Iran would be able to project its power with impunity in Iraq and threaten regional oil production.

At the same time, Senator Obama reiterated his position that direct talks with Iran are the best strategy to moderate its nuclear ambitions. "The problem is that for most of the Bush administration, instead of trying to engage directly with Iran, there was a lot of saber-rattling," he said.

Approximately 60,000 people have gathered in Denver, Colorado, for the Democratic National Convention (DNC) Monday. Senator Obama is set to receive the party's presidential nomination alongside Senator Joe Biden of Deleware. Biden was tapped to be Obama's running mate on Saturday.

Biden, too, supports unconditional talks with the Islamic Republic. "The net effect of demanding preconditions that Iran rejects is this: We get no results and Iran gets closer to the bomb,'' he said in a July media statement.

In a 2007 interview with the American Jewish affairs program Shalom TV, Senator Biden said that Israel was "the single greatest strength America has in the Middle East." He further declared, "I am a Zionist. You don't have to be a Jew to be a Zionist." Asked about imprisoned Israeli agent Jonathan Pollard, Biden said that he should be given "leniency."

A "Peace Now" report finds that Jewish construction in Judea and Samaria (Yesha) has nearly doubled, mostly east of the partition wall.

The ultra-left radical organization, which seeks a Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria - areas of Israel populated by hundreds of thousands of Jews - states that the rate of new construction in Yesha has jumped 180% compared to last year.  It further finds that 55% of the new construction is happening east of the partition wall, most of which is designated by the Road Map plan for a future Palestinian Authority state.

MK Uri Ariel responded with good cheer. "Finally, after years of Peace Now causing strife and dissention in our society, it finally brings Israel some good news," said the National Religious Party/National Union party whip.

"As usual, however" he added, "Peace Now is not perfectly accurate.  The construction is private and not government-funded, it is within the towns' borders and not expansion, and is much less widespread than the report states.  And the main point is that it is much less than is necessary."

MK Ariel then summed up the nationalist camp position in a nutshell:  "As usual, the extreme left-wing ignores some fundamental facts: One, the demand for apartments in Judea and Samaria is strong, consistent, and growing.  Two, the future of Israel lies only in the development of Israel's only remaining lands - the Samarian hills, the Biblical birthplace of the Jewish Nation."

Media is Like Bil'am
Dr. Ron Breiman, spokesman for the nationalist HaTikvah movement, also expressed satisfaction at the data in the Peace Now report, but had some words for Israel's media: "The press is granting free publicity to Peace Now, but, like Bil'am of the Bible, he wished to curse [us] but ended up blessing [us]."
 
Peace Now reports that 1,000 buildings are currently under construction in Judea and Samaria, for a total of 2,600 housing units.  Most of the building is taking place in Jewish neighborhoods of eastern/northern Jerusalem, such as Pisgat Ze'ev and Har Homa, liberated during the Six Day War.

The rate of construction tender issuance in eastern Jerusalem has nearly doubled this year compared with 2007, the report states.  Nearly 800 tenders were issued in 2007, and 1,014 in the first eight months of this year.

Oppenheimer Laments Loss of Green Line
Peace Now chairman Yariv Oppenheimer lamented, "Israel is erasing the Green Line [the separation between pre-1967 Israel and Judea/Samaria - ed.] by intensive construction designed to create contiguity between settlement blocs and isolated settlements. The Jewish presence often extends up to the edges of Palestinian cities. Continuing this policy will make it impossible to separate between the Israelis and the Palestinians."

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, meeting in Jerusalem Tuesday morning, reacted coolly to the Peace Now report.  Rice told reporters that Israel would be well-advised to only carry out actions that help the peace process along.

FM Livni Not Bothered
Livni said, "I will not allow the talks to be harmed by the settlements...  The peace process need not be affected by the settlements. We are talking now about the borders of a Palestinian state. We have been talking about settlements for more than 40 years; it's part of the negotiations... I understand that this is a frustrating issue for the Palestinians. [But] even when there was terrorism, I didn't let that affect the negotiations... Just a year ago, there was much terrorism, but now we're at a point of hope."

Both Livni and Rice expressed optimism over the talks between Israel and the PA, but implied that an agreement was not yet in the offing.  Possibly because of her upcoming primaries race against Transportation Minister Sha'ul Mofaz for Kadima party leadership - in which Livni is perceived as much more dovish than Mofaz - Livni is opposed to releasing an interim report on the state of the talks, or to setting a timeline. She said that premature attempts to bridge gaps could lead to violence, as has happened in the past.

Rice said, "I don't think anyone has been trying to bring pressure to bridge the gaps. What we've been trying to do is to help the parties see how their own conversations might converge."

U.S.  Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's freeing of nearly 200 Arab terrorists the day before was a "good step" but not enough. "Obviously there is more that needs to be done… Both sides continue to have work to do," she told reporters before landing at Ben Gurion Airport on Tuesday.

However, her only specific suggestions were aimed at Israel, which she said should remove more roadblocks and checkpoints, which were set up in Judea and Samaria to prevent unrestricted mobility for terrorists. She made no comments on obligations by the Palestinian Authority (PA) to fight terror but previously has said its American-trained police forces are proving it can maintain law and order.

Concerning freeing more terrorists, Secretary Rice reminded Israel, "It is something that Abu Mazen [PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas] brings up each time we meet. It is something that matters a lot to the Palestinian people.''

Abbas headed the celebrations on Monday that welcomed home 198 terrorists, including two murderers. Israel has freed 700 terrorists the past year in "goodwill" measures aimed at bolstering Abbas's Fatah-led government. "I see 198 heroes," said Abbas, who added that there will be no peace until thousands of other prisoners and terrorists are released, including Marwan Barghouti, who is serving five life terms in prisons. He organized several deadly attacks on Israelis and is considered the most popular figure among PA Arabs.

Israel removed three major roadblocks in the past month in addition to 100 other roadblocks and checkpoints that were eliminated previously under pressure from Secretary Rice.
 
She will meet Prime Minister Ehud Olmert Tuesday morning for breakfast and then sit down for discussions with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and senior PA negotiator Ahmed Qureia. She will leave Israel for the United States after traveling to Ramallah for talks with Abbas.

Palestinian Authority terrorists launched two rockets at Jewish communities in the western Negev on Monday. No
The tahadiyeh mini-ceasefire, such as it is, may come to an end next week.
injuries or damage were reported, but the attacks may be a preview of more to come as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan approaches.

One of the rockets was fired late Monday afternoon and the second struck a few hours later. Both projectiles were launched from the northern part of Hamas-controlled Gaza. They landed in open areas adjacent to collective farming communities (kibbutzim) in the Shaar HaNegev Regional Council area. The Color Red alert system sounded an alarm in the targeted region shortly before the PA rockets landed.

In reaction to the rocket attacks on Monday, Israel announced the closure of the crossings into and out of Gaza.

Since the initiation of what the jihadist Hamas refers to as a tahadiyeh or "calm period" between Hamas and Israel in June, more than 45 rockets and mortar shells have been launched at Israel by Gaza-based terrorists.

The tahadiyeh mini-ceasefire, such as it is, may come to an end next week, at the start of the Islamic month of Ramadan, which Muslims see as a holy period. The Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), a Hamas front group, warned earlier this month that the temporary decrease in attacks on its part will likely end by Ramadan. The month is frequently marked by an increase in terrorism by jihadist elements in Israel and abroad. This year, Ramadan corresponds almost exactly with the month of September.

Ramadan: A Month of Jihad
During Ramadan of 2004, in Sawt Al-Jihad, an internet journal affiliated with al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, an ideologue explained: "Men of Jihad, this is your festive season since Jihad, in a state of fasting, has a particularly delectable taste for the believers.... Wonderful it is to delight in the breaking of the fast and to taste the killing of infidels, to delight in the sound of the wailing of tyrants and lowly degenerates.... [Ramadan is a] month of fighting, of self-sacrifice, of military victories, of the victory of religion and the humiliation of the infidels. The most courageous and finest forays took place in Ramadan...."

Among the "forays" associated with Ramadan in Muslim history are: the famous Battle of Badr, led by the founder of Islam, Mohammad, in 624 CE; the conquest of Mecca by Mohammad and his warriors in 630 CE; the conquest of Andalusia (Spain) in 711 CE; the takeover of the Crusader outpost in Tzfat (Safed) in 1189; the Yom Kippur War against Israel in 1973 (and hence called the Ramadan War in Egypt); and more.

A new institution has been added to the growing list of pre-military academies in Israel - this one in the northern-coast city of Acco (Acre).

Over 30 students - 18 boys and 13 girls, recent high school graduates - have started the 2008-9 school year in the new mechina, or pre-military academy.

Continuing the mechina movement's pursuit of excellence and leadership, the 31 were chosen from more than 100 candidates, having displayed a willingness to learn and contribute as well as leadership qualities and potential.  Most of them live in peripheral areas of Israel.

The new instituation, located in the city's Cultural Center complex,  is named Gal, in honor of the late renowned educator Lt.-Col. (ret.) Michael Gal.  It is the 35th such academy in Israel, with the first one, Yeshivat Bnei David, having been established in in the Shomron (Samaria) town of Eli in 1987.  In 1997, the first non-religious mechina sprouted - Nachshon, currently located in Metzudat Yoav near Ashkelon. 

Of the 25 recognized mechinot (ten are still in the process of receiving recognition), 13 are yeshiva academies, and the others are "general" - either secular or mixed secular/religious.  Nearly half of the mechinot are located in Judea, Samaria, greater Jerusalem, and the Jordan Valley. Others are in the Galilee, Golan, Tel Aviv, Negev, Massuot Yitzchak and elsewhere.

"The pre-military academies are a Zionist and principled enterprise of the first degree," MK Limor Livnat (Likud) said at the time.  She added that she helped develop the project when she was Minister of Education.

The yeshiva mechinot study Talmud, Jewish Law and Jewish thought, together with the courses in Zionism, leadership and Judaism given in the other pre-military academies.  "The best IDF officers and commanders come from the mechinot," Livnat said.

Just a month ago, the Knesset passed a law by a whopping 72-0 vote anchoring the mechinot's budgets in law.  As a result, the pre-military academies will no longer have to fear annual budget cuts.

Cooperation and Respect
Rabbi Ze'ev Sharon, head of the Maaleh Efraim Mechina Yeshiva, told IsraelNationalNews, "The cooperation, affection and respect between the religious and non-religious leaders of the mechina movement is something that should be emulated in the rest of the country.  It is simply outstanding, and truly - and not just as a turn of phrase - one for all and all for one. Specific examples abound."

The pre-military academies were established to prepare high school graduate youth for meaningful IDF service, to encourage them to serve in combat units and become officers, and to grant them spiritual and physical strength in anticipation of their encounter with army life.  The mechinot seek to develop young leadership, enrich the youth's Zionist-spiritual world, and to prepare them to accept responsibility and a sense of national mission and challenge in various spheres.

Of 546 complaints filed in the first half of 2008, mostly regarding delays in proceedings, only 45 were found to be meritorious.

Former Supreme Court Justice Tova Strassberg-Cohen, the Commissioner for Complaints Against Judges, has submitted her twice-yearly report to Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann and Supreme Court Chief Justice Dorit Beinish.  The report includes data on the complaints filed between January and June of this year, and includes specific examples - without naming names. 

In addition to this year's 546 complaints - an average of three a day - another 98 that were left over from last year were investigated, and another 173 were re-submitted this year for additional review.

Fewer Justified Complaints
Of the 546, decisions were made on all but three.  Just over 8%, 45 of them, were found to be justified - continuing the trend of fewer justified complaints in recent years. In addition, 186 were rejected outright, 195 were investigated and rebuffed, and 21 were found to be justified in and of themselves, though not regarding the judge now dealing with the case.  The others were put on hold.

Of the 45 justified complaints, 14 concerned prolonged proceedings and delays in handing down rulings.

One Judge Recommended for Dismissal
Only in one case did the Commissioner recommend that a judge be unseated, specifically, Rabbi Avraham Sherman of the Rabbinical Court.  He made headlines this past May when he invalidated all the conversions to Judaism performed by Conversion Authority head Rabbi Chaim Druckman's rabbinical courts within a 15-year period.  Rabbi Druckman filed a complaint against him, and Strassberg-Cohen concurred. She wrote that Rabbi Sherman did not have enough facts about the specific conversion that led to his blanket ruling, and that he unfairly attributed criminal activity to Rabbi Druckman - who was not a party to the case - without providing him an opportunity to explain his side.

New Commissioner
Strassberg-Cohen will step down, as required by law, at the end of next month at the end of her five-year term.  She will be replaced by former State Comptroller and ex-Supreme Court Justice Eliezer Goldberg.

Continuing higher-than-expected inflation prompted Bank of Israel Governor Prof. Stanley Fischer to raise the interest rate by another quarter of a percent on Monday. The prime lending rate for September was set at 4.25 percent, despite signs of an impending recession.

A higher interest rate tends to slow down the economy by discouraging credit but also is aimed at slowing demand that fuels inflation. Most of the recent inflation has been due to outside causes, particularly the soaring price of crude oil and the resulting increases in the cost of food and energy. However, Fischer has said there are growing signs that some of the inflation is homegrown.

The interest rate several months ago was only 3.25 percent when Israel was enjoying a growing economy with a low consumer price index. Monday's decision to rate increase was expected and had little effect on the shekel, which was valued in Monday's late trading according to the dollar at slightly more than 3.50 shekels.

Inflation has risen nearly two percent beyond the maximum Bank of Israel target of three percent. However, the 15 percent slide in the last month of the cost of crude oil on world markets may bring down the rate of inflation to target levels.
 
The financial crisis that has swept through the United States the past year has chilled the local economy, slowing down growth from more than five percent to less than two percent on an annual basis.
The financial crisis that has swept through the United States the past year has chilled the local economy.

 A wild card in the forecast is the unstable political situation in Israel and the budget. Following the announced resignation of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Kadima party leadership primaries next month, the government will become officially "lame-duck," as efforts are made to form a new one.  If the new Kadima leader is not successful, elections will be held around March.

The first order of economic business will be the proposed 2009 budget, which the Cabinet narrowly approved in the wee hours of the morning Monday but which all politicians agree has little meaning because of certain changes in the government. In addition, the Histadrut labor union is making waves for a wage increase to offset the high inflation rate, and higher salaries might fuel further inflation. 

The strife between Hamas and Fatah will continue for a long time, and the chances of a compromise are slim, according to Prof. Gamal Soltan of a Cairo think tank.

In an analysis that first appeared in bitterlemons-international.org, he said that Egypt's strategy is "to keep the [Hamas] movement at arm's length in order to contain it."  Soltan maintained that negotiating between Hamas and Israel on kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit is one way in which it is containing Hamas, but that "mutual mistrust between Hamas and Egypt" does not allow Cairo's strategy to fully succeed.

Prof. Soltan added that the division in the PA is similar to previous situations in Germany, Vietnam, China and Korea.
 
"This is the Middle East's cold war, in which states that are divided along ideological lines are not likely to restore unity until major systemic changes are brought about," the professor wrote. Referring to Fatah power in Judea and Samaria, and Hamas power in Gaza, he wrote, "Efforts to reconcile Palestinian factions should not be abandoned, however. Lasting peace in the Middle East cannot be achieved with two rival Palestinian mini-states in place."

He stated that serious changes in the region cannot be brought about without the participation of Israel, the United States, the European Union (EU), Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan.

Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey suggested to envoys from Saudi Arabia that they need to talk with "heavyweight political figures." She explained by asking, "Should we listen to these 'wise figures' who [see the world in] black and white, or should we continue dialogue without discrimination--even sitting down at the same table as Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden?"
 
The Foreign Minister added, "The only force we have ever had is that of words," the French news agency AFP reported. Opponents to her style and policies have accused the Foreign Minister of damaging Switzerland's status with allies.

The United States last March criticized Foreign Minister Calmey-Rey for signing a huge energy deal with the Iranian government-owned gas company. The agreement sent the "wrong message" to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the American government stated.

"We talked to Hamas and Hizbullah and other Islamist organizations; we talked to the most diverse groups in Kosovo, because they clearly expressed the legitimate interests of the population," Calmy-Rey stated. "By doing this, we did not legitimize their methods, but pushed them towards ending violence."

Foreign Minister Calmy-Rey also included Hizbullah along with other terrorist groups as being "essential in the search for a resolution" of different conflicts worldwide. However, she added that dialogue did not mean "accepting the unacceptable," and conceded that it could sometimes lead to tensions and "complex political blockages."

Palestinian Authority Chairman and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) fulfilled the time-honored PA tradition of rejecting any form of peace with Israel on Monday afternoon as soon as nearly 200 convicted terrorists crossed the border into PA territory.

“I promise we won’t rest until we bring about the release of all the prisoners,” vowed Abbas in a special welcome ceremony for the 198 terrorists released by Israel in the latest “goodwill gesture” offered by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as a means of supporting Abbas in his bid to retain control of the Palestinian Authority.

Abbas’s Fatah faction lost its grip over the Gaza region more than a year ago, when the rival Hamas terrorist organization seized control over the area.

“Despite the great happiness, we know that there is also sadness over those who were left behind, 11,000 who have yet to be released,” added Abbas in a speech gauged to maximize the moment of popularity. “They all have a place in our hearts, but there is a special one, senior brother Marwan Barghouti and the leading brother Ahmad Sa’adat, whom we hope to see soon,” he said.

Barghouti, head of the Fatah Tanzim terror group, is considered the most popular figure in PA politics today. He is currently serving five consecutive life sentences, in addition to a 40-year term for masterminding the murders of numerous civilians. Both Fatah and Hamas have tried numerous times to alternately persuade and coerce Israel into freeing Barghouti in negotiations for various prisoner release deals.

Sa’adat, leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist group, was one of the masterminds of the terrorist murder of former Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze’evi.

Abbas reiterated his intention to reject peace with Israel, despite numerous security concessions by the Olmert government.  He has said he would accept only an agreement that includes continguous land between Gaza, Judea and Samaria, and with Jerusalem as the capital of the new PA state.

The condition is not new. His predecessor, Yasser Arafat, rejected equally tempting proposals for peace settlements with Israel, including one by then-Prime Minister Ehud Barak.

In July 2000, Barak offered at Camp David to hand over 94 percent of Judea and Samaria and 100 percent of Gaza, plus one percent of pre-1967 Israeli territory in the Negev, but on condition that Jerusalem would remain in Israeli hands forever.

As did his protיgי Abbas with Olmert earlier this month, Arafat refused to compromise, and rejected the proposal. The talks collapsed, leading to a long-lasting round of PA Arab violence that has since become known as the Oslo War, or Second Intifada.

Reuters, which is partly owned by a Qatar investment fund and frequently runs critical articles of Israel, told its readers, "The United States says Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank threaten any peace between Israel and the Palestinians -- yet it also encourages Americans to help support settlers by offering tax breaks on donations."

Palestinian Authority (PA) leaders, responding to the report and its implicit charges that tax-free donations to Judea and Samaria threaten a peace agreement, said the tax exemptions are contrary to American policy and international law.

PA negotiator Saeb Erakat took the cue and told the news agency that the tax exemptions "contradict American policy." Americans for Peace Now official Ban Sheelf added that the tax breaks are "inconsistent" and that "either they stop the settlements or they stop talking about a two-state solution."
 
Pro-Yesha groups countered the Peace Now charges, accusing it and other anti-Yesha groups of using tax-free donations for political purposes.
Pro-Yesha groups countered the Peace Now charges, accusing it and other anti-Yesha groups of using tax-free donations for political purposes.

The tax exemptions are granted to organizations that use funds for charitable, religious and educational purposes, similar to those that aid the Palestinian Authority. Israeli nationalist groups have pointed out that many Arab "charities" are linked to funding terrorists.

U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said it is not his department's responsibility to review tax issues.
 
Reuters labeled as "enclaves" the Jewish communities that benefit from the tax-free donations, singling out Hevron as an example.

Sondra Oster Baras, president of Christian Friends of Israeli Communities, responded by asking, "Are you saying you can get a charitable deduction for helping starving people in New York City but you can't get a charitable deduction for helping starving people in Judea and Samaria?  That's an argument that doesn't make sense."