An Arab terrorist from eastern Jerusalem ran over a group of soldiers and some civilians shortly before 11 p.m. Monday night at Kikar Tzahal (IDF Square) near the Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem. The terrorist was driving a private vehicle, a black BMW, when he attacked opposite the entrance to the Old City. He was shot and killed by an IDF soldier in the targeted group.

One of the victims is in serious condition, and all of the others suffered light and moderate injuries. Most of the wounded were evacuated to Jerusalem's Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital, and seven other victims were rushed to Shaarei Tzedek Hospital. The victims were primarily soldiers who had gone to the Old City to participate in the nighttime selichot prayers traditionally recited before Rosh Hashanah. 

Shortly after the attack, a group of young hareidi-religious Jews gathered in a spontaneous protest near the scene of the incident. Protesters threw rocks and cursed at Arab passersby, calling out condemnations of the Arab presence in Jerusalem. The small mob was dispersed within a short time.

The terrorist was under 20 years of age and a resident of Jerusalem. Initial police investigation of the incident revealed that he carried out the attack alone. However, security forces are following all leads that may indicate a connection with Palestinian Authority terrorist organizations.

Two earlier terrorist attacks in the capital this year involved a tractor and bulldozer, killing three Israelis and injuring scores of others. Both of the terrorists were Israeli Arabs from eastern Jerusalem who were working in the city.

Asked by a reporter how the police is handling the threat of such vehicle-based attacks, Jerusalem District Police Chief Aharon Franco said, "Jerusalem police are widely deployed throughout the [Muslim] month of Ramadan - an attack such as this can happen anywhere - so that we can respond quickly."

Security forces have identified the terrorist who attacked a group of IDF soldiers Monday night in the capital as 19-year-old Kassem Salah Al-Mughrabi, a resident of the eastern Jerusalem neighborhood of Jabel Mukaber. His motives, it appears, were not limited to the Muslim imperative of jihad against the Jews although the results were the same.

Al-Mughrabi rammed his new black BMW into a large crowd of
When the would-be lover's advances were spurned he decided to pour his anger out on the Jewish Israelis.
pedestrians shortly before 11:00 p.m. at Kikar Tzahal, next to the Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem's Old City. He was shot dead by an off-duty IDF soldier at the scene. Most of the 23 victims, one of whom is in serious condition, were Jewish soldiers who had gone to the Old City to participate in the nighttime selichot prayers traditionally recited before Rosh Hashanah.

Mixed Motives and a New Terror Tactic
Minutes after the attack, a previously unknown group calling itself Nisour al-Jalil (Victory of the Galilee) notified the Arabic media that it was responsible for sending the terrorist. The caller provided details of the attacker's identity that were unconfirmed at the time, lending credence to the cell's claim.

A terrorist group with a similar name, Ahrar al-Jalil (Freemen of the Galilee), has claimed responsibility for a series of vehicle, shooting and stabbing attacks. Ahrar al-Jalil is thought to be an arm of the Lebanese Hizbullah operating within the Arab population of Israel. It is known that terrorist groups often use multiple names for purposes of psychological warfare or for their own operational security.

The Hamas terrorist organization, which is the ruling power in the Palestinian Authority in Gaza, and the Iranian-backed, PA-based Islamic Jihad terror group praised the Monday night terrorist attack in Jerusalem. Islamic Jihad called the attack "a natural response to the criminal occupation," while Hamas was more emphatic and called it "a natural response to the continued Zionist attacks on the Palestinian nation, to settling and Judaization."

Terrorist spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told journalists that "the deed proves that the Palestinian nation can find new ways to fight the occupation."

Israeli police, on the other hand, indicated that while Mughrabi's attack indeed targeted Jews specifically, the spark for it may have been mixed with motives far less ideological than the Islamists are promoting. On Tuesday morning, Jerusalem police spokesman Shmuel Ben Ruby said the terrorist was suffering from unrequited love.

Mughrabi apparently wanted to marry his cousin, but when the would-be lover's advances were spurned he decided to pour his anger out on the Jewish Israelis instead. Police noted that, like other recent Muslim attackers from Jerusalem, Mughrabi had no previous security record.

Third Attack by an Arab From Jerusalem
The attack was the third of its kind this year; all three carried out by eastern Jerusalem Arab residents, none of whom had previously been identified as an active terrorist.

The neighborhood of Jabel Mukaber is home to one of two terrorists who carried out two separate attacks in the capital using construction bulldozers this past summer, and to the man responsible for murdering eight students at Jerusalem's Merkaz HaRav Yeshiva in March. Arab residents of the capital carry either Israeli citizenship or permanent residency ID cards, per their own decision, both of which allow them unhindered access to the rest of the country.

Jerusalem District Police Commander Maj.-Gen. Aharon Franco ordered police Tuesday morning to block residents in the neighborhood from erecting a mourners' tent at the home of the terrorist's family in Jabel Mukaber. While such tents are traditionally set up by Arabs in Israel to receive visitors paying their condolences in the wake of a death in the family, the mourning tents of terrorists' families have been used to lionize the dead and to promote jihad.

Immediately upon being appointed by President Shimon Peres to put together a new government for Israel, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni called upon opposition Likud party chairman Binyamin Netanyahu to join her in a national unity coalition.

President Peres concluded two days of consultations with the heads of all the Knesset factions on Monday. Later that night, he announced his decision to hand Livni, newly elected head of the Kadima party, the task of constructing a ruling coalition.

In remarks to the media delivered from the President's Residence following the announcement, Livni said, "I call on Likud head Binyamin Netanyahu to join the government in order to promote the issues that he also understands must be promoted at this time."

The Likud is not likely to heed Livni's call. In his meeting with the president before Livni was selected to form the next government, Netanyahu did not offer an alternative to the Kadima leader; rather, the Likud representatives insisted that the nation go immediately to new general elections.

Livni said she would first attempt to create a unity government and - failing that - would try to maintain the current coalition. Only if both options fail will she call for general elections, she said. Livni has a month and a half to put together a coalition. If she can't do so, and she moves to disperse the Knesset, early general elections will be held in the first half of 2009.

"I understand the need for a clarification as quickly as possible of the question of whether it will be possible to create a government under current circumstances," Livni said. "If it turns out that it is not possible, then I will act to promote elections procedures."

In observing the past positions held by the foreign minister, Israel National News political analyst Jay Shapiro commented that her "main characteristic is obsequiousness." She "has left no lasting impression on any of the many offices she has held," Shapiro said.

Kashrut makes strange bedfellows: A Satmar community in New York State invited OU (Orthodox Union) teachers to teach them some detailed Kashrut laws.

Kashrut and kosher referring to the guidelines governing the acceptability of food and kitchen utensils in accordance with Jewish Law.

The anti-Zionist Hassidic Satmar sect and the modern-Orthodox OU are not generally assumed to have much in common other than a commitment to Torah Judaism, each according to its own, often very different, understanding.  However, “it is clear,” declared Rabbi Menachem Genack, CEO of OU-Kosher, “that in the Torah world, we have much more in common than what sets us apart."

Rabbi Genack made the remarks after OU's Ask-Outreach program conducted a two-part hands-on kosherization session for the Satmar Yoreh Deah Kollel of Kiryas Joel, NY.

The Ask-Outreach program, funded largely by the Harry H. Beren Foundation of Lakewood, NJ, was specifically designed to put OU-Kosher in contact with communities in the Torah world that are not part of its usual constituency. 

The OU's Rabbi Yosef Grossman, Director of Kashrut Education, and Rabbi Moshe Perlmutter of Passaic, NJ went to the Satmar Talmud Torah’s kitchen - capable of serving 10,000 meals daily - to illustrate foodservice kashering, performed in large kitchens such as those found in schools, hotels and catering establishments.

Twenty members of the Satmar kollel participated in the session, at their request. Rabbi Grossman said there could have been 100, based on interest shown by the community, if there had been space to accommodate them.  Both he and Rabbi Perlmutter said the participants were “a very learned group.” 

Ask-Outreach has similarly visited Chabad Lubavitch, Belz, Bobov, Vichnitz, Skver and other Hassidic groups. “It was only a matter of time before we got to Satmar,” Rabbi Grossman said.

The OU explained that the Satmar kollel members seek out practical applications of all aspects of Jewish Law that they study, thus leading to the request to the OU.

"The range of communities that have availed themselves of Ask-Outreach," Rabbi Genack said, "is living proof that the OU’s expertise spans the Jewish world, and that respect for our knowledge and its practical applications is a unifying force in the observant community.”

The session in the Satmar kitchen focused on ovens, pots, kettles and other items, emphasizing how to make a non-kosher vessel kosher once again.  Rabbi Grossman noted that everything in the Satmar kitchen was kosher, but that the techniques could still be demonstrated.

“We received a very warm reception at Kiryas Joel and were made to feel right at home,” Rabbi Grossman said.

Rabbi Perlmutter noted that this was the first time his kashrut seminar was "totally Satmar and on their home turf, in their kitchen, with their own mashgiach [kashrut supervisor] participating... We both learned a lot from each other.”

Jewish security prisoner Ofer Gamliel, serving a 15-year-sentence with no vacations, has begun a hunger strike. 

To draw attention to his case and make sure he is not forgotten, supporters of several Jewish prisoners incarcerated together with Gamliel, have erected a protest tent outside Yeshivat Merkaz HaRav in the Kiryat Moshe neighborhood of Jerusalem.  The tent is manned by family members of the prisoners, as well as supporters and well-wishers.

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Their goal: To draw attention to the plight of Jewish security prisoners who are not allowed vacations - while Arab prisoners are permitted to visit their homes for Ramadan and the like, and sometimes even released en-masse.
Realizing that as far as the authorities are concerned, he is destined to send the next 8.5 years in prison without ever leaving, Gamliel decided, this past Tuesday, to begin a hunger strike.

Gamliel, father of seven children, was charged in 2002 for his role in an aborted bombing of an Arab school in Jerusalem.  He and his two co-defendants claimed the bomb was never meant to go off, but rather to instill fear in the Arab community. The court ruled, however, that the faulty battery was only an oversight on their part.

Their lawyer claimed at the time, "The court has decided that it knows the defendants' intentions, by saying that what they said was purposeful was really only accidental."

Gamliel and Shlomi Dvir, father of five, were sentenced to 15 years each, while the third defendant, their neighbor Yarden Morag, was sentenced to 12 years.

They, as well as other Jews convicted of security crimes, do not receive many of the privileges granted to Arab prisoners - most notably, vacations.  Gamliel, for instance, has not been granted one vacation in the nearly 6.5 years that he has been in prison - and the General Security Service (GSS) has no plans to give him any.

Another Bat Ayin prisoner, Shlomi Dvir, has been allowed prison leave only one time in six years - for 12 hours when his baby daughter was born.  He was taken out of prison on two other occasions, chained in both legs and hands and with many guards surrounding him, for three hours each time, when his two sons were born.  His request to attend his brother's wedding last year was advanced by several Knesset Members, but the Prison Service and Minister of Public Security Avi Dichter refused to allow it - at the behest of the General Security Service.

The Shabak (GSS) claims they are hiding information on other Jewish conspiracies, and that "every minute they are out of jail represents a danger to the State of Israel."

About a year ago, Judge David Rosen of the Tel Aviv Administrative Matters Court ruled that the danger presented by Gamliel is not different than those presented by prisoners who are allowed vacations, and that he must therefore be allowed a short vacation outside prison.  The GSS protested the ruling to the Supreme Court, which accepted the appeal. 
GSS: "Every minute they are out of jail represents a danger to the State of Israel."

Gamliel protested and appealed the overturning of the decision, but Supreme Court Judge Uzi Fogelman rejected his appeal and upheld the no-vacations policy.  Gamliel then applied to the Supreme Court for a re-hearing, but Justice Eliezer Rivlin turned him down.              

Realizing that as far as the authorities are concerned, he is destined to send the next 8.5 years in prison without ever leaving, Gamliel decided, this past Tuesday, to begin a hunger strike.                    

The prison authorities retaliated by throwing him into solitary confinement.                            

"He is not allowed to call home, of course," said protestor David Libman, who himself is under administrative orders not to return to his home in Samaria for four months.  "But the jailers are in touch with him, and we assume that if anything should happen to him during this hunger strike, they will give him the necessary treatment... We wish to call attention to this disgraceful situation in which Arab prisoners are given many privileges, while Jews are not.  It is simply intolerable."

Over one thousand people, including Israeli VIPs, protested on Monday afternoon against the presence of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in New York City. He is scheduled to address the United Nations General Assembly's opening session on Tuesday. A second anti-Ahmadinejad rally has been called for Thursday to protest a religious dialogue dinner the Iranian president has been invited to attend.
There was a large contingent of local high school students and Iranian expatriates.

Monday's protest at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza was organized and attended by a coalition of Jewish organizations brought together to condemn Ahmadinejad's denial of the Holocaust and his threats to perpetrate a new one by "wiping Israel from the map." The Iranian government has thus far thwarted efforts to prevent it from acquiring the nuclear weapons it is seeking, which Iranian leaders have warned could be used to destroy Israel.

In addition to members and supporters of the Jewish groups behind the rally, there was a large contingent of local high school students and Iranian expatriates, the latter carrying large signs with pictures of political prisoners held, tortured and executed by the Iranian regime. Demonstrators waved Israeli and American flags, chanted "Stop Iran Now" and held signs with messages that included "No Nuclear Iran", "Zero Tolerance for Islamofascists" and "Bomb Bushehr".

Among the high-profile participants were Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik, former Soviet prisoner and Israeli cabinet minister Natan Sharansky, former Canadian Justice Minister Irwin Cotler, and Nobel prize-winning author Elie Wiesel.

Instead of attending the opening ceremony at the United Nations, Ahmadinejad should be on trial in an international courtroom for "propagating genocidal policies," Wiesel said. "He's not Hitler - nobody is Hitler," added the noted Holocaust survivor, "but he wishes to follow in Hitler's footsteps and that makes him an arch-criminal."

Wiesel urged world leaders to leave the General Assembly hall when Ahmadinejad speaks on Tuesday. "President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran is a threat to world peace.... Our message to him is 'go home, go home and stay there,' " said Wiesel.

Other speakers at the protest echoed Wiesel's remarks and said Ahmadinejad should be shunned by the international community.

Ahmadinejad Invited to 'Religious Dialogue'
Undermining the efforts of anti-Ahmadinejad forces to isolate the Iranian ruler, a coalition of American Christian organizations has invited Ahmadinejad to be the featured guest at a dinner billed as a religious dialogue. The event - put together by the American Friends Service Committee, the Mennonite Central Committee, the Quaker UN Office, Religions for Peace, and the World Council of Churches - is slated to take place at the Grand Hyatt Hotel on Thursday night. The president of the U.N. General Assembly, Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann, is expected to take part in the dinner as well.

A coalition of Jewish and non-Jewish groups is planning to greet the dinner meeting with another demonstration against the Iranian president. Among the groups behind the September 25th protest are the Jewish Action Alliance, Stand With Us, the Israel Project, Americans for a Safe Israel, the Center for Security Policy, the Catholic League, Rabbi Potasnik of the New York Board of Rabbis, the Traditional Values Coalition and the Alliance of Iranian Women.

"These religious leaders are about to betray their brethren across all religions, parties and countries by honoring the tyrannical regime of Ahmadinejad and the Iranian mullahs of this terrorist state," protest organizers said.

Republican Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin has been invited to speak at the interfaith rally, along with other politicians.

The dinner honoring Ahmadinejad prompted the American Jewish Committee to send a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon protesting Brockmann's planned attendance. The AJC noted that Ahmadinejad has violated the U.N. Charter by calling for the elimination of a U.N. member state, Israel, as well as contradicting a General Assembly resolution against denying the Holocaust.
The president of the U.N. General Assembly... is expected to take part in the dinner.

Tehran Highlights the Fringe
The Iranian government-controlled English-language newspaper Tehran Times mentioned the protests, but highlighted a statement by the tiny Jewish fringe organization, Neturei Karta, warmly greeting Ahmadinejad.

"It has been our honor and privilege to meet with President Ahmadinejad.... We have found the Iranian President to be a deeply religious man, dedicated to a peaceful world, based on mutual respect, fairness and dialogue. Out of great respect to the Iranian Nation and their leadership we proudly welcome the Honorable President Ahmadinejad to New York, WELCOME!" read the statement by Neturei Karta leader Yisroel Dovid Weiss.

Meanwhile, the Human Rights Watch organization held a briefing on Ahmadinejad's Iran at the Millennium U.N. Plaza Hotel on Monday. The HRW panel charged that Iran regularly carries out practices that violate internationally recognized human rights. Specifically cited were the execution of juveniles accused of crimes and the imprisonment of peaceful dissidents.

The protest outside the United Nations on Monday against Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who is slated to address the General Assembly, was somewhat shadowed by a disinvited speaker - vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin. At John McCain campaign headquarters, however, they felt his running mate should still be heard; so they released the text of the Alaska governor's undelivered speech to the media.
"Iran is not only a regional threat; it threatens the entire world." - Gov. Palin

At first, American VIPs invited to address the protest, organized by several American Jewish organizations, included Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Representative Jerry Nadler (D-NY). When Clinton learned that organizers also invited Palin, the one-time Democratic presidential candidate said that she would not be attending. In response, saying they did not want the event to be partisan, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations removed Palin from the list of invitees as well.

Nonetheless, Palin will be in New York on Tuesday for meetings with world leaders attending the UN General Assembly's opening sessions. She has also been invited to take part in another protest against Ahmadinejad slated for Thursday night. The Iranian premier will be attending a dinner in his honor at the Grand Hyatt Hotel sponsored by five Christian organizations. The president of the UN General Assembly, Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann, is also slated to take part in the event.

Murder is Part of Iran's Official Policy
This week, the McCain campaign released the text of the speech Governor Palin was intending to deliver at the anti-Ahmadinejad rally. The following are key excerpts:

"Ahmadinejad may choose his words carefully, but underneath all of the rhetoric is an agenda that threatens all who seek a safer and freer world. We gather here today to highlight the Iranian dictator's intentions and to call for action to thwart him. He must be stopped.

"The world must awake to the threat this man poses to all of us. Ahmadinejad denies that the Holocaust ever took place. He dreams of being an agent in a 'Final Solution' - the elimination of the Jewish people. He has called Israel a 'stinking corpse' that is 'on its way to annihilation.' Such talk cannot be dismissed as the ravings of a madman - not when Iran just this summer tested long-range Shahab-3 missiles capable of striking Tel Aviv, not when the Iranian nuclear program is nearing completion, and not when Iran sponsors terrorists that threaten and kill innocent people around the world.

"So, what should we do about this growing threat? First, we must succeed in Iraq. If we fail there, it will jeopardize the democracy the Iraqis have worked so hard to build, and empower the extremists in neighboring Iran. Iran has armed and trained terrorists who have killed our soldiers in Iraq, and it is Iran that would benefit from an American defeat in Iraq.

"If we retreat without leaving a stable Iraq, Iran's nuclear ambitions will be bolstered. If Iran acquires nuclear weapons they could share them tomorrow with the terrorists they finance, arm, and train today. Iranian nuclear weapons would set off a dangerous regional nuclear arms race that would make all of us less safe.

"But Iran is not only a regional threat; it threatens the entire world. It is the number one state sponsor of terrorism. It sponsors the world's most vicious terrorist groups, Hamas and Hizbullah. Together, Iran and its terrorists are responsible for the deaths of Americans in Lebanon in the 1980s, in Saudi Arabia in the 1990s, and in Iraq today. They have murdered Iraqis, Lebanese, Palestinians and other Muslims who have resisted Iran's desire to dominate the region. They have persecuted countless people simply because they are Jewish.

"Iran is responsible for attacks not only on Israelis, but on Jews living as far away as Argentina. Anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial are part of Iran's official ideology and murder is part of its official policy.

"Not even Iranian citizens are safe from their government's threat to those who want to live, work and worship in peace. Politically-motivated abductions, torture, death by stoning, flogging, and amputations are just some of its state-sanctioned punishments. ...[The] Iranian government is both oppressive and barbaric. Under Ahmadinejad's rule, Iranian women are some of the most vulnerable citizens.

"If an Iranian woman shows too much hair in public, she risks being beaten or killed. If she walks down a public street in clothing that violates the state dress code, she could be arrested. But in the face of this harsh regime, the Iranian women have shown courage. Despite threats to their lives and their families, Iranian women have sought better treatment through the One Million Signatures Campaign Demanding Changes to Discriminatory Laws. The authorities have reacted with predictable barbarism. Last year, women's rights activist Delaram Ali was sentenced to 20 lashes and 10 months in prison for committing the crime of 'propaganda against the system.'

"Earlier this year, Senator Clinton said that 'Iran is seeking nuclear weapons, and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps is in the forefront of that' effort. Senator Clinton argued that part of our response must include stronger sanctions, including the designation of the IRGC as a terrorist organization. John McCain and I could not agree more.

"Senator Clinton understands the nature of this threat and what we must do to confront it. This is an issue that should unite all Americans. Iran should not be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons. Period. And in a single voice, we must be loud enough for the whole world to hear: Stop Iran!"
"This is an issue that should unite all Americans." - Gov. Palin

Gov. Palin went on to suggest concrete actions, such as pressing "for truly tough sanctions at the UN, or with our allies if Iran's allies continue to block action in the UN We must start with restrictions on Iran's refined petroleum imports. We must reduce our dependency on foreign oil to weaken Iran's economic influence. We must target the regime's assets abroad; bank accounts, investments, and trading partners. President Ahmadinejad should be held accountable for inciting genocide, a crime under international law. We must sanction Iran's Central Bank and the Revolutionary Guard Corps - which no one should doubt is a terrorist organization.

"Together, we can stop Iran's nuclear program."

In her conclusion, Palin reiterated a mantra promoted before Jewish audiences by presidential candidate McCain: "Senator McCain has made a solemn commitment that I strongly endorse: Never again will we risk another Holocaust. And this is not a wish, a request, or a plea to Israel's enemies. This is a promise that the United States and Israel will honor, against any enemy who cares to test us. It is John McCain's promise and it is my promise."

Ehud Olmert's troubled premiership featured a failed war effort, a series of criminal investigations against him, and repeated calls to resign.

Milestones in Ehud Olmert's Prime Ministerial career:

Feb. 1, 2006 - After calling off talks on a possible compromise, Olmert approves destruction of nine houses in Amona, near Ofrah, amidst the wounding of hundreds of protestors and policemen.

June 25, 2006 - IDF soldier Gilad Shalit was kidnapped by Hamas-affiliated terrorists and taken via underground tunnel to Gaza. Olmert says, "Israel sees the Palestinian Authority, headed by Abu Mazen and the PA government, as responsible for it, with all that is implied thereof."

Born: Sept. 30, 1945, in Binyamina. He and wife Aliza have four children.

July 12, 2006 - IDF soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev were kidnapped - and apparently killed immediately or shortly afterwards - by Hizbullah terrorists into Lebanon. Israel goes to war to return the soldiers and to destroy Hizbullah's terrorist infrastructure; neither goal is met.

Aug. 11, 2006 - The final 60 hours of the Second Lebanon War begin, during which Olmert orders a ground offensive aimed at dealing a strong blow to Hizbullah but which ends up costing 35 soldiers' lives. Olmert was later harshly criticized for this decision.

Education: B.A. & LL.B., Hebrew University of Jerusalem - Psychology, Philosophy and Law

Aug. 13, 2006 - Cabinet approves UN ceasefire agreement in Lebanon, though the two soldiers are still being held and presumed to be alive and Hizbullah is not disarmed.

Aug 28, 2006 - State Comptroller accuses Olmert of nepotism and arranging jobs for Likud Central Committee in the Ministry of Industry and Trade that he headed in the Sharon government, in exchange for their political support.

Jan. 3, 2007 - Olmert's Bureau Chief Shula Zaken is restricted to house arrest over a major tax and bribe scandal.

Jan. 17, 2007 - State Prosecutor Eran Shendar orders Israel Police to launch a criminal probe against Olmert for allegedly using his former position as finance minister to help two friends who were interested in buying the government's shares in Bank Leumi.

Jan. 2007: Investigations underway against Olmert in two other affairs: Alleged illegal appointments at the Israel Small and Medium Enterprises Authority during his tenure as minister of Industry, Commerce and Labor; and his purchase of a luxury apartment on Cremieux Street in Jerusalem at a large discount, allegedly in exchange for zoning favors on behalf of the Jerusalem Municipality.
Knesset Member: From 1974 onward, with a 4.5-year break from 1998 until 2003 when a law was passed preventing mayors from serving in the Knesset.

April 26, 2007 - State Comptroller details suspicions of criminal activity by Olmert when he was Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor, allegedly using his influence to obtain 26 million shekels worth of grants and benefits for a factory headed by his friend's clients.

May 1, 2007 - Interim Winograd Commission report harshly criticizes Olmert and government for Second Lebanon War decisions: "There was a weakness in strategic thinking... They went into war without thinking how they would get out of it." Many, including Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, call for Olmert to resign.

July 18, 2007 - State Comptroller report blames Olmert and government for having "gravely failed in dealing with the Home Front during the Second Lebanon War."

Sept. 6, 2007 - Successful air strike against a nuclear reactor in Syria. Official Israeli position: "No comment."

Nov. 28, 2007 - Annapolis Summit: Olmert agrees to "address all the issues that have thus far been evaded. We will not avoid any subject." The reference was specifically to Jerusalem and the Arabs' demand for 'right of return' of millions of Arabs to Israel. The day before, with the future of Jerusalem in the backdrop, Olmert informed American Jewish leaders that "the government of Israel has a sovereign right to negotiate anything on behalf of Israel."
Mayor of Jerusalem: 1993-2003. Served as Minister of: Health; Industry, Trade, and Labor; Communications; Finance.

Jan. 16, 2008 - With indications strongly showing that Israel and the Palestinian Authority are negotiating the division of Jerusalem, Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel Our Home) quits the government coalition (which it had joined just 15 months before) while Shas - also under strong pressure to leave - remains.

Jan. 31, 2008 - The final Winograd Committee report examining the government's performance in the Second Lebanon War finds "serious faults and defects in the decision making processes in both the political and the military levels and the interface between them." The report laid the blame "mostly with the military," but added, "Partially responsible was the weakness projected by the political echelon."

May 26, 2008 - Economy doing well: Israel's Gross Domestic Product grew by an annualized 5.4% in the first quarter, and the shekel becomes an internationally recognized currency.

Interim or Acting Prime Minister: Jan. 4 - May 4, 2006; Sept. 21, 2008 and onwards. Prime Minister: May 4, 2006 - Sept. 21, 2008

May 27-28, 2008 - American philanthropist Moshe Talansky testifies about the tens of thousands of dollars he gave Olmert for his campaigns, saying, "He asked for cash." Defense Minister Ehud Barak issues near-ultimatum for Olmert to resign.

June 5, 2008 - Amnon Rosenberg of Kibbutz Nirim in the Negev is killed by a Kassam rocket - the 4th Hamas rocket casualty in the past 100 days. Sderot has been hit by many hundreds of rockets during Olmert's tenure, and its mayor even briefly resigned in protest.  "As it appears now," Olmert told reporters, "we are close to a [military] ground operation in Gaza."  Two weeks later, a ceasefire with Hamas is announced.

June 11, 2008 - Olmert approves primaries in Kadima to choose his successor, though he does not promise not to take part in the election himself.

July 30, 2008 - Olmert announces he will not run in the primaries.

Sept. 14, 2008 - Heading his second-to-last Cabinet meeting, Olmert states, "The notion of a Complete Land of Israel no longer exists, and anyone who still believes in it is deluding himself."

Sept. 17, 2008 - Tzipi Livni elected in party primaries to head Kadima.

Sept. 21, 2008 - Ehud Olmert submits resignation as Prime Minister. He remains head of the caretaker government until a new government is formed, which could theoretically take up to 6-7 months.               

Born: Sept. 30, 1945, in Binyamina

Education: B.A. & LL.B., Hebrew University of Jerusalem - Psychology, Philosophy and Law

Knesset Member: From 1974 onward, with a 4.5-year break from 1998 until 2003 when a  law was passed preventing mayors from serving in the Knesset. 

Mayor of Jerusalem: 1993-2003

Government Roles: Minister of Health; Minister of Industry, Trade, and Labor; Minister of Communications; Minister of Finance.

Interim or Acting Prime Minister: Jan. 4 - May 4, 2006; Sept. 21, 2008 and onwards.

Prime Minister: May 4, 2006 - Sept. 21, 2008