When Syria controlled the Golan, between 1948 and 1967, it systematically shelled and attacked the Israeli towns below, killing 140 Israelis and injuring many more.
Syrian media are reporting that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has informed Syrian dictator Bashar Assad that he is willing to give up the entire Golan Heights.  Olmert allegedly made the offer via Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Opposition MKs say Olmert is negligently forsaking Israeli security merely so he can survive politically.

Sources in the Likud - the party that polls show will replace Olmert's Kadima as Israel's largest in the next elections - say Olmert is sorely misguided.  "There is no limit to the dangerous concessions that Olmert is willing to make simply so that he can remain in office," Likud Party elements were quoted as saying.  "We now hear that Olmert is willing to make far-reaching concessions to Iran's ally, Syria, which supports Hamas terror and arms Hizbullah."

Eitam vs. Olmert
MK Brig.-Gen. (ret.) Effie Eitam (National Union), a former IDF Galilee Formation commander and a resident of the Golan Heights town of Nov, said simply, "Olmert is abandoning Israel's security." 

Eitam added, "In a last-ditch effort to present to the voters some kind of diplomatic achievement, Olmert is willing to give up a security and national asset. Israel's control of the Golan has led to more than 40 years of quiet on Israel's border with Syria."

"The Nation is With the Golan"
Governmental talk of giving away the Golan in 1996 and 1999-2000 was repressed by widespread popular national campaigns opposing Golan withdrawals.  In the mid-90's, thousands of banners and a million stickers reading "HaAm Im HaGolan" (The Nation is With the Golan) graced porches, billboards and cars throughout the country, and in January 2000, some 300,000 people took part in one of the largest demonstrations in Israeli history, calling on then-Prime Minister Ehud Barak not to agree to an Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights.

Referring to the above campaigns, MK Eitam said, "I recommend that Olmert take advantage of his vacation in the Golan to meet and talk with Israeli citizens touring and hiking in the Golan this week, and he'll see that 'the nation is with the Golan' and will allow no one to give it away to the Syrians."

MKs Tal and Shteinitz
MK David Tal, of Olmert's own Kadima party, said Israel's departure from the Golan would lead to the entry of Hizbullah terrorists into the area. Tal said he plans to advance legislation that would require a referendum on any Golan giveaway. 

MK Yuval Shteinitz (Likud) said, "This is an unprecedented security blunder... Without the Golan, Israel will have difficulty defending its existence or maintaining the Kinneret Sea and the water sources there.  I have no doubt that the 'nation is with the Golan' and not with the Prime Minister."

The Syrian reports about Olmert's willingness to cede the Golan were broadcast on an internet site and a television station.

Olmert himself, in his pre-Passover interviews last week, confirmed that he and Assad were exchanging messages.  Though Israel and Syria have no diplomatic relations, Olmert said, "I can only say that I am very interested in a peace process with the Syrians, I am working to this end, and I hope that my efforts will result in something significant."

Syria Shelled Israel from the Golan
Syria controlled the Golan for 19 years, beginning in 1948, and used it to systematically shell and attack the Israeli towns below, such as Ein Gev and others in the eastern Galilee.  140 Israelis were killed in these attacks, many more were injured, and heavy property damage was also inflicted.

Israel liberated the Golan Heights in the 1967 Six Day War, thus freeing northern Israel of the Syrian threat.  Israel soon realized that the Golan was vital not only militarily, but also in terms of water, history, and more.  The Golan was officially annexed to Israel in 1981, and over the years, 33 Jewish communities were built, including the full-fledged town of Katzrin. 

Today, close to 17,000 Jewish residents in 33 communities (27 kibbutzim and moshavim, 5 communal settlements and the town of Katzrin) live on the Golan Heights and the slopes of Mt. Hermon. In addition, 19,000 Druze and 2,000 Muslims live there as well.

Esther Pollard: "The Kadish case will have whatever impact [on Pollard] that Prime Minister Olmert chooses for it to have."
Following the news that an 83-year-old former US Army engineer, Ben-Ami Kadish of New Jersey, had been arrested on charges of spying for Israel 25 years ago, the Justice for Jonathan Pollard organization feels abandoned by the Israeli government once again.

Speaking with Arutz-7's Yedidya HaCohen, Esther Pollard said, "I feel great disappointment at the Government of Israel.  Everyone in the media comes to me and hears what they should be hearing from Ehud Olmert - namely, that this entire [Kadish] case has nothing to do with Jonathan Pollard, that it does not cancel out the fact that Pollard deserves immediate release, and that the government of Israel is obligated to work for this goal."

A statement released by the Justice for Jonathan Pollard organization states that the U.S. "has put Israel on the defensive once again, with breaking 'news' in the American media accusing Israel of running a spy in the US prior to the Pollard case... It is not clear for how many years the U.S. has been sitting on this 'breaking news' story waiting for the right moment to hurl new accusations against Israel, and thus falsely and unfairly target Jonathan Pollard by association."

The statement notes that "unlike other espionage cases in the US, which are dealt with on a case-by-case basis, every accusation against Israel is yielded like a club against Jonathan Pollard - as if the 23 years he has served is somehow not enough to make up for all of the sins of Israel."

"It's Up to Olmert"
When asked by Israel's Channel One TV News what impact this latest story will have on chances for her husband's release, Esther Pollard responded, "It will have whatever impact Prime Minister Olmert chooses for it to have. To date, Olmert has still not made an official request for Jonathan's release. It is time for the Prime Minister to discharge his legal and moral responsibility to save the life of an Israeli agent in peril, who has already served a grossly disproportionate sentence."

She noted what she said was the "suspicious timing of the breaking 'news' story," just prior to President Bush's anticipated visit to the region for Israel's 60th anniversary.  Several news analysts have made this connection as well, seeing the release of the story as an attempt to prevent Bush from possibly pardoning Pollard in time for the upcoming Presidential visit.

"There is solid support for Jonathan's release," Mrs. Pollard said. "Every senior American official familiar with the case and the secret files - people like James Woolsey, former head of the CIA, and Senator Dennis DeConcini, former head of the Senate Intelligence Committee at the time of Jonathan's arrest - have been on record for years saying it is time to release Jonathan Pollard. There is no excuse that trumps the 23 years that Jonathan has already served in American prisons."

"My husband should not have to pay the price for this latest case," Esther told HaCohen.  "What, 23 years in prison are not enough? Olmert should say clearly that the cases are not connected.  It is hard for me that after 23 years, we are once again abandoned, and that no one stands up for him."

Mrs. Pollard urged the Prime Minister not to be deterred by this "blatant attempt to put Israel on the defensive, and to simply do the right thing: Bring Jonathan home now, alive, in time for Israel's 60th anniversary!"

Communities throughout Israel are offering tours and events in honor of the Passover holiday, many of them for free.  The city of Jerusalem held its bi-annual mass priestly blessing (Birkat HaCohanim) in the Old City on Tuesday morning, followed by a happening in the Jewish Quarter's central square including music and games. 

Events and tours in the Old City and the City of David will continue throughout the day, and at night the city will sponsor a lights show on the outer wall of the Old City, near Jaffa Gate.  Several of Jerusalem’s attractions will be free to the public throughout the week, including the Israel Museum and the Botanical Gardens.

In Hevron on Tuesday and Wednesday, thousands of Jews will be celebrating the holiday with food, music, and dancing.  The entire Cave of the Patriarchs will be open to Jews, including the hall over the burial sites of Yitzchak and Rivka (Isaac and Rebecca), which is usually reserved for Muslims.

An increasingly popular site in Jerusalem is Zedekiah's Cave, adjacent to Damascus Gate.  The cave dates back to the days of the First Temple period, at least some 2,500 years ago, when it helped King Zedekiah of Judea to briefly escape the Babylonian army.  Much larger now than it was then, it runs under the Moslem Quarter of the Old City; some historians say it once reached all the way to the Temple Mount.

Several towns and parks in Gush Etzion are offering a variety of family activities, including pony rides, paintball, and arts and crafts.  The town of Alon Shvut will hold a free Chassidic music concert on Wednesday night. 

To find out more about the many events available this week, visit Arutz Sheva’s Passover page and click on “all events.” 

With Sen. Barack Obama commanding a strong lead over Sen. Hilary Clinton in the race for the U.S. Democractic presidential nomination, Obama's advisors paint a murky picture of his foreign policy positions.  Seven out of 18 questions produced either "We don't know" answers, or unfulfilled promises to "check with Obama and get back to you."  Most of the others were answered only in a general manner. 

Jerusalem-based investigative reporter David Bedein presented a set of 18 foreign policy questions last week to three top Middle East advisors to candidate Obama.  Their answers show that Obama has either not developed strong opinions on the complex issues facing a future President of the United States - or refuses to divulge them.

The list of questions Bedein presented to the three advisors - Howard Guttman, former U.S. Rep. Mel Levine (Cal.), and one who wished to remain unnamed - was published, together with any answers that were provided, in Philadelphia's Evening Bulletin newspaper.  Excerpts:

Saudi Arabia
Question 1. How would a President Obama relate to the security threat posed by Saudi Arabia? [Declassified security reports confirm that Saudi Arabia continues to fund groups defined by the U.S. government as terrorist organizations, while Saudi Arabia maintains an active state of war against the state of Israel since 1948.]

None of Mr. Obama's advisers could answer this question.

Question 2. Does Mr. Obama support President Bush's policy of arming the Saudis? [The Bush administration offers major arms sales to Saudi Arabia, despite its pro-terror posture]

Neither Guttman nor Levine could answer this; they checked with Obama and could not get an answer.

Vagueness on Fatah, PA
Several questions dealt with Fatah and the Palestinian Authority, Israel's main negotiating partners.  The three were asked, for instance, if a President Obama would "support the idea that Palestinian refugees should reside in UNRWA refugee camps, under the premise and promise of the 'right of return,' [or be] provided with decent living conditions?"  The advisors emphasized that their candidate opposed the Palestinian "right of return," but none of them could find out his position on what Bedein called "continuing American government funding for the UNRWA agency, which fuels the right of return."

The three advisors did not provide answers to these questions: 
 "Would a President Obama ask for a change in the proposed constitution of the Palestinian Fatah state, which is based on the Islamic sharia law, and not allow for juridical status for any religion other than Islam?"  and  "Would a President Obama ignore the plight of Christians who are persecuted in the PA, or would he champion the cause of the Christians to practice their religion freely in the PA, since the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem has refused to render assistance to Christians who are persecuted by the PA?"

The three Obama advisors said he would "oppose all attempts to harbor terrorists by the Palestinian Authority" and would "insist on the implementation of a policy that would stand up for human rights and civil liberties in the Palestinian Authority." 

At the same time, asked if he would continue the Bush policy of arming Fatah, which is defined by American law as an illegal terrorist organization, one advisor said that Obama "wants to continue the policy of developing Fatah as a moderate entity."

Obama's advisors said their candidate believes Israel has a right to defend itself against Hamas, though they avoided specifics. 

Regarding Syria
Asked about Syria's continuing support for terror groups, the Obama advisors "indicated that they would review new directives to the Syrian government in this regard." Asked if a "President Obama would support an effort to destroy the Syrian source of lethal narcotics in the Bekka Valley, since Syria continues to orchestrate the export of lethal narcotics to the world?" Mr. Obama's advisers could not answer this question.

They similarly could not answer whether Obama would endorse the US Road Map plan of April 2003, or rather the May 2003 version that included Israel's 14 reservations.

Hints that Future Israeli Withdrawals are in the Cards
Finally, the advisors were asked: "Would a President Obama insist on future Israeli withdrawals, since the Gaza withdrawal indicates that Palestinians will use areas under their control to launch missile attacks against Israel?"

The unnamed adviser responded that the "Gaza and Lebanon precedent should be taken into consideration," considering the fact that Israel is ready for compromise.

In the once-Jewish neighborhood of Oudlajan in Tehran, seven ancient synagogues have been razed to the ground in recent weeks to make way for residential skyscrapers and other urban renovation. The municipality denies it is behind the destruction of the synagogues, several of which had previously been declared national cultural
Aside from the synagogues, developers also destroyed two historical mosques in the neighborhood.
heritage sites by the Iranian government. 

"These buildings, which were part of our cultural, artistic and architectural heritage were burnt to the ground," said Ahmad Mohit Tabatabaii, the director of the International Council of Museums' (ICOM) office in Tehran. He was quoted by the Adnrkonos website on April 15. "With the excuse of renovating this ancient quarter, they are erasing a part of our history," Tabatabaii added.

The ICOM director called for the government to intervene to stop the work, which he said was commissioned by the local authorities. Aside from the synagogues, developers also destroyed two historical mosques in the neighborhood.

In reaction to the large-scale renovations, which began three years ago, a group of residents of Oudjalan sent a letter to the mayor of Tehran asking him to put a halt to the work. Opponents of the work in the neighborhood include many of the remaining residents, Iranian cultural activists and environmentalists.

Although once a well-to-do Jewish neighborhood, Oudjalan lost almost all its Jewish population over the last 50 years. Today, the area is somewhat of an impoverished Tehran slum.

There are approximately between 25,000 and 30,000 Jews living in Iran today, making it the largest Jewish community in a Muslim country. The regime takes pains to show that it is not anti-Semitic, while at the same time regularly calling for the destruction of the Jewish state of Israel and aiding anti-Jewish terrorist groups in Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority.

Iran's capital, Tehran, has about 11 functioning synagogues, several Jewish schools and a Jewish library, as well as a Jewish old-age home, cemetery and hospital. The Iranian legislature, or Majlis, has a Deputy for Jewish Community Affairs, a position currently held by Morris Mo'tamed. 

While most Israeli children and adults were celebrating the Intermediate Days of the Pesach holiday with various tourist activities around the country, Sderot residents were again forced to race for cover Tuesday evening as the Color Red siren was activated.

Within seconds, two Kassam rockets launched by terrorists in Hamas-controlled northern Gaza slammed into the city.

One of the missiles scored a direct hit on a home, sending several residents into severe emotional shock and causing damage to the structure. The second exploded in an area on the outskirts of the city.

Israeli Air Force pilots immediately took to the skies to retaliate. Palestinian Authority sources said IAF pilots fired missiles at a car carrying terrorists in the southern Gaza town of Khan Yunis. According to unconfirmed reports, a number of passersby were injured in the air strike.  It is not clear whether the terrorists were hit.

Earlier on Tuesday, a Kassam rocket was fired at the port city of Ashkelon. The missile exploded in the city's industrial zone. No one was injured and no damage was reported.

Attacks on Monday included the wounding of a 4-year-old when a Kassam rocket hit a car, a near-hit on the mayor of a Negev town, and the firebombing of an Israeli car.

A 12-year-old boy and a sickly Arab woman died - and their organs were transplanted into seven people. For the first time in Israel, a small intestine was transplanted.

Five organs of 12-year-old Omri Gilor, from Moshav Kadima near Netanya, were transplanted into one 16-year-old girl, who has been fed through a tube for the last 12 years.  The girl, Nitzan, lost her small intestine and surrounding organs at age 4 when she underwent an operation that went wrong.  Since then, her father later told Voice of Israel Radio, she has had to undergo a nightly infusion to give her nutrients. 

"In addition," the father said, "she had to take some 30 pills each day.  Suddenly, this past Sunday we were informed that a donor had possibly been found... On Sunday night, when it became final, we gave Nitzan the word that a donor had been found, and she was thrilled.  This was a life-changer!"

The operation, which involved not only the small intestine but also the stomach, liver, pancreas, and parts of the large intestine, took place at Monday morning at 7 AM: "We spent the time praying, and being happy... Within a week or 10 days - even less, regarding the intestine - we should know if it was successful."

Omri was killed over the weekend while playing under a large sand pile, which collapsed and buried him. He had told his mother just two months ago that if he died, he would want his organs to be used to save lives.

The operation on 16-year-old Nitzan took place in Schneider Children's Hospital in Petach Tikvah.  It was carried out by world-famous US intestine transplant expert Dr. Andreas Tzakis. Tzakis lives in Florida, but happened to be on vacation in nearby Greece, from where it was relatively easy to alert him for the emergency operation.  It was the first time a small intestine had been transplanted in Israel.

In addition, Omri's heart was transplanted into an 8-year-old girl, his lungs into an 11-year-old boy, and two kidneys into two adults. 

At the same time, the kidneys of an Arab woman who had been suffering from Downs Syndrome and who died this week in Haifa were transplanted into two people.  "She was helped all her life by others," family members said, "and this is her chance to help others."

Hizbullah terrorists scared off UNIFIL armed forces last month after the armed international soldiers found a truck carrying arms and ammunition for the group.

According to Haaretz, which quotes an unnamed "source in Jerusalem," the UNIFIL troops were on patrol and pulled the truck over. When they approached the vehicle, armed Hizbullah terrorists exited and threatened them at gunpoint. The UNIFIL troops returned to their cars and went back to their base.

The March 31 incident, which undercuts confidence in the ability of international troops to prevent the activities of the terrorist group in the region, was kept secret at the time. It was mentioned in a semi-yearly report submitted to the UN Security Council by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

Hizbullah is not allowed to enter the area in which the weapons shipment was found according to UN Security Council Resolution 1701. The incident constitutes a major violation of the resolution, which Prime Minister Ehud Olmert counts among Israel's great successes of the Second Lebanon War.

Rules of Engagement Questioned, Hizbullah Threatens
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi announced last week that he would be reviewing the rules of engagement for the 2,500 Italian soldiers serving in the UN force, saying the troops were being prevented from reacting to certain situations. "We pledge our support for the strengthening of democracy (in Lebanon)," he said, "but we want to look at the rules of engagement. Our soldiers find themselves in a unique situation...because they cannot react. We will re-examine the rules of engagement."

The Hizbullah-led opposition in Lebanon warned against amending UNIFIL's rules of engagement, saying that it would change it into "occupation forces." The use of that language is meant to signal that Hizbullah terrorists would begin targeting UN forces in attacks.

"Any amendment would give the international forces the jurisdiction to use force and erect checkpoints outside its area of deployment," the statement said. "That would transcend on the Lebanese Army's authorities, and would change these forces' mandate from observing implementation of resolution 1701 to occupation forces."

Hizbullah Calls the Shots
Hizbullah is tightening its control over southern Beirut, according to a report in Al-Mustakabel translated by MEMRI.  The group has recently clashed with Lebanese forces and forced them to abide by Hizbullah’s rules.

In one case, a Lebanese security official was kidnapped and questioned by Hizbullah agents after reportedly taking pictures of illegally built structures in a Hizbullah-friendly neighborhood.  In another, members of Hizbullah forced the Lebanese police to release two men who had been arrested after they refused to stop for a routine inspection.

Maayana Miskin contributed to this report

At least three large-scale hametz-selling ceremonies were held on Passover Eve, and two of them went off without a hitch.  The third held a reminder that Jerusalem may be sold as well.

This past Friday, the Chief Rabbis of Israel - Rabbis Shlomo Amar and Yonah Metzger - officially sold the State's chametz to Hussein Ismail Jabbar, who has been participating in this ceremony for many years.  The rabbis were authorized to make the sale by Finance Minister Roni Bar-On.  Jabbar, of the Jerusalem corridor village of Abu Ghosh, paid an advance of 20,000 shekels, and officially took ownership of the State's leavened products. 

The Torah forbids Jews from owning leavened products during the Passover holiday, and selling them is one way of ensuring that the law is not violated. The sale agreement specifies that if (and generally "when") the final details are not worked out by the end of the Passover holiday, the sale is annulled - though not retroactively.

The IDF's chametz was similarly sold by IDF Chief Rabbi Brig.-Gen. Avi Ronsky, to Col. (ret.) Nasser Aladdin Labaiv. 

Third Sale: Jerusalem, Too?
A third such ceremony, less official but still tracked by thousands of Jews, was marred by two seemingly minor incidents, as Idan Yosef reported on the NFC Hebrew news site.  The leading rabbis of the anti-Zionist Badatz hareidi-religious courts sold their chametz to Muhammed Nasolini, also of Abu Ghosh.  Nasolini has been buying the Badatz chametz for decades, but this time he showed some impatience - as well as some nationalism. 

Asked if he understood the exact terms of the deal, which were written in Hebrew, Nasolini became angered and said, "You can't teach me how to buy chametz! I've been doing this for years!"

When the acquisition was formalized by means of the traditional sudar cloth, Nasolini took the opportunity to put things into historic perspective: "You in the Badatz are worried about this cloth, but we [Arabs] are talking about Jerusalem! It used to be ours and you stole it.  We care about Jerusalem and not about this cloth!"

Though Maimonides wrote, "Accept the truth from whoever states it," the Badatz members did not appear to take the Arab's words seriously, and merely laughed at his sudden burst of patriotism.  Jews the world over do, however, continue to recite the verse in Psalms, "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its cunning" - even as negotiations over giving away the city's holiest parts take place between officials of Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

Israeli officials announced Wednesday that trucks would attempt to deliver one million liters of diesel fuel to Palestinian Authority residents of Gaza through the Nahal Oz Crossing, even as Hamas officials in Gaza pledged to resume their attacks on the crossings when the shipments resume.

Defense officials have said they need to reassess the security situation at Gaza crossings following a series of attacks in recent weeks, but the government has remained firm on its commitment to continue deliveries of fuel and other humanitarian aid to the region.

Asking for Help, Vowing Attacks
Earlier Wednesday, Hamas terrorists complained that the only power plant in Gaza would be forced to close without Israeli-supplied diesel fuel. The plant provides approximately 20 percent of the region’s electricity.

Hamas' plea for Israeli assistance came on the heels of a promise Monday to continue to infiltrate and hit all crossings used to supply food and humanitarian supplies to Gaza residents and expressed their intent to escalate their attacks.

The terminal has been closed three times in the past month as terrorists have sabotaged Israeli efforts to supply fuel to Gaza every time Israel has attempted to renew fuel delivery to the region. There have been two terror attacks at the crossing in as many weeks. 

An attack on the Kerem Shalom Crossing over the weekend that wounded 13 IDF soldiers was stopped in the midst of what could have become a mass casualty event and kidnap operation.

Two weeks ago, terrorists infiltrated the Nahal Oz Crossing and murdered two workers at the fuel depot under cover of a barrage of mortar fire. They escaped back into Gaza through the crossing.  Just a few days ago, three soldiers were killed while thwarting a similar attack in the same vicinity.

Within minutes, an elite IDF tank unit and IAF pilots tracked down and killed at least two of the terrorists.