The latest TV character created to incite Palestinian Authority children to anti-Semitism, Islamic triumphalism and violence has debuted on a popular show produced by Hamas. The character is a cute rabbit who aspires to finish off the Jews and eat them.

The rabbit's name is Assoud, which translates as "lions," and he has come from Lebanon "in order to return to the homeland and liberate it," according to the Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) organization, which translated the
"I, Assoud, will finish off the Jews and eat them."
dialogue.

In a PA children's program called Tomorrow's Pioneers, a young girl hostess asks the new character, "Why is your name Assoud, since you are a rabbit?"

Assoud replies: "A rabbit is a [term] for a bad person and coward. And I, Assoud, will finish off the Jews and eat them."

"Allah Willing!" the girl exclaims.

Can't see video screen above? Click here.

Later in the show, children are taught that the Jewish city of Tel Aviv is actually Arab and that it must be "liberated" by way of Hamas-style terrorism.

Assoud asks the child hostess of the program, "Do you know the original name of our city... Tel Aviv?"

"It's our city: Tel-Rabia," she replies, "but the Zionists today call it Tel Aviv, but it will stay ours.... And we will return with Allah's will."

Assoud: "How will we go to our city if the Jews took it?"

"We will continue the resistance [a PA term for terrorism]," she answers.

The program ends with singing: "We will never recognize Israel...." with the hostess emphasizing the call to "liberate our homeland from the Zionist filth."

The show, Tomorrow’s Pioneers, first became known for its genocidal Mickey Mouse look-alike character, Farfur. The show's producers had Farfur murdered by Israelis and replaced by Nahoul the bee, who was killed off in an episode in which Israel would not allow him to leave Gaza for medical treatment.

The army is ready for a large-scale counter-terrorist operation in Gaza, but is waiting for the government to give the go-ahead, IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi said Monday at a conference of senior army officers. Government leaders say the army is free to act in defense of Sderot, Ashkelon and other southern towns.
The year 2008, Lt. Gen. Ashkenazi explained, will be a year of many... challenges on the military front.
Meanwhile, Palestinian Authority rocket attacks continue.

Speaking at a gathering of hundreds of IDF officers on Monday, Lt. Gen. Ashkenazi declared that the IDF is "prepared to expand and extend its operations [in Gaza] as needed and in accordance with [government] decisions." He went on to say that he has "complete faith" in the ability of the army to meet the security needs of the State of Israel. The year 2008, Lt. Gen. Ashkenazi explained, will be a year of many such challenges on the military front.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Olmert said, "The security establishment has the tools and all of the necessary confirmations to deal with [the] threat" of rocket attacks on Israel. Defense Minister Ehud Barak told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Monday that Israel would not rule out any possible course of action. "IDF operations are continuing day and night and will even be expanded," he said.

Last April, the Chief of Staff told the government at a cabinet meeting that "the only solution to continued Palestinian rocket fire into the western Negev is to implement a ground incursion into the Gaza Strip." However, as of Tuesday, the IDF is continuing to implement a policy of targeted airstrikes against terrorist cells and leaders in the Gaza region.

This week, Israeli intelligence sources warned that Hamas terrorists, including senior leaders, will now be targeted in response to rocket attacks. The head of the Palestinian Authority in Gaza, the Hamas's Ismail Haniyeh, has reportedly gone into hiding in order to avoid Israeli retaliation. On Monday, an Air Force strike in Rafiah targeted a vehicle carrying Hamas terrorists. The car was hit and two people were reportedly injured.

PA attacks continue, however. Gaza terrorists fired two rockets at Ashkelon and a second Israeli town on Monday. The rockets landed in open areas. Early morning Tuesday saw seven rockets and mortar attacks in the area of the Negev communities Alumim and Nachal Oz. No injuries were reported in the shellings, but a Golani Brigade soldier was lightly injured in a shootout with a group of armed terrorists in northern Gaza. He was transported to a hospital for treatment.

Overnight, IDF infantry, tanks and combat engineering forces entered northern Gaza to carry out operations against the terrorist infrastructure there.

Chairman of the United Torah Judaism (UTJ) Knesset faction, MK Yaakov Litzman, said Monday that his party would not join the ruling coalition. Earlier, MK Litzman met with Likud opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu in
"How is it possible to discuss joining a government that negotiates dividing Jerusalem....?" -- MK Litzman
Jerusalem.

"How is it possible to discuss joining a government that negotiates dividing Jerusalem, and that freezes construction in Jerusalem?" Litzman asked in an interview with Arutz Sheva Radio. United Torah Judaism has six seats in the current Knesset.

According to Litzman, those who speculate about the possibility of UTJ joining the government "are speaking amongst themselves. We are not negotiating. We have no intention of joining the coalition."

Industry and Trade Minister Eli Yishai, chairman of the hareidi-religious Shas party, recently claimed that the division of Jerusalem is not currently under discussion between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. When asked by Arutz Sheva about Yishai's statement, MK Litzman replied, "Perhaps he is saying such things because he wishes to remain in the government. ...I sat with senior officials in the Housing Ministry, and I was shocked by the information [about the building freeze in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria]."

The Shas party, which promised to quit the government if the status of Jerusalem were discussed with the PA, is under heavy pressure from the right-wing and the religious blocs. Shas's departure would leave the coalition without a majority in the Knesset.

Senior sources in Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's Kadima party have said that, once the current status of the coalition becomes clear, there will be a negotiating effort to try and bring the UTJ MKs to join it. If the effort fails, Kadima will try and enlist the support of the far-left Meretz faction, according to the sources.

On Sunday, MK Litzman met with opposition leader MK Binyamin Netanyahu, chairman of the Likud party, in a Jerusalem hotel. The two faction heads discussed the political situation and the diplomatic threat to the nation's capital. Both Likud and UTJ sources confirmed that the meeting is part of regular consultations between the parties' leadership.

Earlier this month, UTJ constituent factions Agudas Yisroel and Degel HaTorah signed a proclamation by the Hareidi-religious Council of Torah Sages in Israel and the United States that called for "prayer and fasting" over "danger [that] threatens both body and soul" in Israel. "During these days, items are on agendas that could place entire populations of Jews into grave danger, G-d forbid - including those in the Holy City of Jerusalem," the call for Jewish solidarity said.

"...or perhaps Yishai is simply believing what he wants to believe."
With secret talks over the future of Jerusalem underway, Likud MK Gideon Saar reminds Shas that it promised to quit the moment such talks started.  Pressure has been brought to bear upon Shas from other quarters as well.

MK Gideon Saar, head of the Likud Knesset faction, says that the Shas Party is not living up to its promise of only two weeks ago to quit the government as soon as it begins talking about the future of Jerusalem.

Saar, speaking at the Likud Knesset faction's weekly meeting on Monday, said, "There is evidence that negotiations about Jerusalem are underway - and this has not been denied by the foreign minister [Tzipi Livni].  Under these circumstances, the Shas Party, which declared that it would quit the coalition the moment discussions about Jerusalem begin, must fulfill its promise in order to stop this process."

Two Weeks Ago
It was exactly two weeks ago that the Council of Torah Sages of the Shas party, headed by former Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, decided that Shas would quit the coalition government as soon as government representatives start talking with the PA about splitting Jerusalem.

The decision had been long awaited by the nationalist camp and many Shas supporters, especially given the fact that two weeks before, Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel Our Home) left the government.  The government now depends on Shas and its 11 MKs for its very existence; without them, the coalition would number only three parties - Kadima, Labor and the Pensioners - and a total of 55 Knesset Members, or less than a majority of the Knesset.

Shas Spokesman Denies Talks
Shas, however, has a different version of the situation. "[Shas party leader and Industry and Trade Minister] Eli Yeshai speaks with Foreign Minister Livni every day," Shas spokesman Ro'i Lachmanovitch told Arutz-7 Monday afternoon, "and she briefs him on everything that goes on in the talks.  Jerusalem is not on the agenda, period."

Arutz-7's Haggai Huberman said that it is clear that Livni is deceiving Yishai, "or perhaps Yishai is simply believing what he wants to believe.  The Olmert strategy is that all the core issues are intertwined, and therefore if even one issue is being discussed, then all the issues are being discussed - including Jerusalem."

Huberman explained that originally, Livni suggested there be separate negotiating teams set up for each of the various issues, such as final borders, Jerusalem, water, refugees, etc.  However, Olmert rejected this idea outright, saying that all the issues are intertwined, and that a concession on one issue could be given only in exchange for a concession from the PA side on another issue.  He therefore instructed that all negotiations be done by the same team headed by Minister Livni.

"Yishai is well aware of this Olmert strategy," Huberman said, "and therefore he knows that if talks are underway, Jerusalem is on the table as well."            

Abbas and Others Confirm Talks
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, the head of Fatah, said last Thursday as well that Livni and PA negotiator Abu Alla have been talking about "all the core issues."  He told a group of European Parliament members that this is being done "quietly, away from the media."

The Makor Rishon newspaper reported earlier in the week that Livni herself confirmed this in a talk with foreign diplomats.  She told them that all the core issues, including Jerusalem, were being discussed, and admitted that this was in contradiction to the promise Olmert gave Shas a number of days before.

Despite this, the Shas spokesman told Arutz-7 that though Livni has not denied the reports that Jerusalem is being discussed, "she has not confirmed them either."

PA Source: Israel Agreed to Quit Jerusalem Neighborhoods
Furthermore, a "senior PA official in Ramallah" was quoted in the Jerusalem Post as having said over the weekend that the PA negotiating team has been holding secret talks with Foreign Minister Livni, and that "progress has been achieved during the secret talks, particularly on the issue of Jerusalem."

 "We can now say that Israel is prepared to withdraw from almost all the Arab neighborhoods and villages in Jerusalem," the official said. "Israel is prepared to redivide Jerusalem and this is a positive development."

In a letter to Foreign Minister Livni, Jerusalem City Councilman and likely future mayoral candidate Nir Barkat wrote, "If these reports are true, they are a complete departure from the fundamental principles of [your] Kadima party, and a blatant violation of Israel's Basic Law: Jerusalem.  They are also a breach of the voters' trust, as well as an undermining of Israel's sovereignty."

Barkat asked, "In your role as negotiations coordinator with the Palestinians, do you confirm that Israel is now prepared to give up parts of Jerusalem to them? If so, and in light of their severity and grave implications for the security and future of Jerusalem, I demand that you reveal from the Knesset podium all the agreements, secret and otherwise, that Israel has reached with the Palestinians.  Alternatively, I demand that you deny publicly the existence of such agreements."

In light of the reports, pressure has once again been brought to bear upon Shas and Rabbi Yosef to quit the government and nip the process in the bud.  The party spokesman's response indicates that as of now, Shas is remaining in the government.

On the other hand, late this afternoon, Shas Chairman Eli Yishai told his party colleagues, "If the negotiations lead to any further progress while Kassams are still being fired upon us and terrorism is continuing in the West Bank [Judea and Samaria], we will quit the government."

Thousands of dunams of potato-crop land were saved from the severe damages of the recent frost - precisely because they were grown in accordance with Shemittah rules.

The Otzar HaAretz enterprise announces that despite the loss of some 80% of this year's potato crop due to frost, tens of thousands of its potato-growing dunams in the western Negev were saved.  Senior Otzar HaAretz agronomist Moti Shomron explains why:

"It is forbidden to plant in the Shemittah year, and therefore the farmers following the Otzar HaAretz plan were forced to plant their potato saplings earlier than usual this year.  What happened then was that the potato plants sprouted earlier than usual and had time to grow and become stronger before the frost hit.  When the frost came, the leaves were hurt, but not the bulbs - and thus the potato crop was saved."

In contrast, most farmers in Israel planted their potato crops at the regular time, i.e., the end of September, Shomron said, "and unfortunately, most of them are now forced to deal with small, damaged potatoes, and in fact, most of the crop has been destroyed."

It is estimated that four out of every five tons of potential potatoes for this year have been lost.

Otzar HaAretz is a semi-public enterprise that enables the observance of the strict Bilblical laws of the Shemittah year.  The Torah stipulates that every seventh year, Jews must not work the Land of Israel and it must lie fallow.  The year is known as Shemittah, from the root meaning to "drop" or "abandon."  In the Shemittah of 1889, rabbis of the Land of Israel agreed to temporarily sell parts of the Land to non-Jews, so that certain agricultural activities could be carried out.  As the national economy grew and the potential losses -including the very destruction of the fledgling Jewish community - became more threatening, the dispensation became more widespread and institutionalized, yet never universally accepted. 

Another solution that has been instituted, though never on as large a scale as this year, is that of the Otzar HaAretz initiative, known as Otzar Beit Din (Rabbinical Court Treasury). Based on the concept that produce grown in the seventh year is not forbidden, but is rather ownerless and may be taken for personal use, the Otzar Beit Din solution involves the public gathering of fruits in a large-scale manner and their sale in a public, not-for-profit manner.

The running of this enterprise requires the recruitment of both farmers willing to abide by its rules and consumers who are willing to commit to acquiring a certain minimum of produce during the course of the year.  The produce grown in this manner has the status of "kedushat shvi'it," i.e., it is sacred and must be handled with extra care - and specifically, must not be thrown out in a degrading manner.  Only consumers who are willing to take the extra care necessary for the consumption of the sacred fruits and vegetables are candidates for Otzar HaAretz.

Despite the difficulties, 180 stores have agreed to sell Otzar HaAretz produce, thus solving many problems at once: The need for Arab-grown produce has been lessened, many farmers are able to continue supporting their families without violating Shemittah laws, the national agricultural economy is not harmed, and Shemittah is observed throughout the country.

Rabbi Yehuda Amichai, head of the Torah and Land Institute - formerly of Gush Katif - which oversees Otzar HaAretz, said, "We have merited this year to see G-d's miracles and how His will guides us in all our ways.  I am happy to be a witness to this 'agricultural miracle' that proves how G-d 'pays back' those who follow His laws.  At the same time, we are sorry for the many farmers in Israel whose crops were ruined in the frost..."

Some 30,000 tons of potatoes have been destroyed so far because of the frost

For more information on Otzar HaAretz and Shemittah, click here.

The new Achi Party has set itself a goal of revitalizing the religious-Zionist political camp, and is holding a national registration drive to this end.

Though the party is headed by veteran Knesset Members Effie Eitam and Yitzchak Levy, the two say they will support any leader chosen by the public in a primaries election. 

Achi, a Hebrew word meaning "my brother" and an acronym for Land-Society-Judaism, is actually just the new name of a party that was formed in 2006.  Eitam and Levy, members at the time of the National Religious Party (NRP), quit it because of policy differences regarding the proper way to oppose the Disengagement/expulsion from Gush Katif and Northern Shomron. They then started a new party they called the Religious Zionist Party. This past autumn, they changed its name to Achi and announced the new registration drive.

The objective of the party's current registration drive is to "restore honor and unity to the nationalist camp," by holding an unprejudiced and open registration drive for the entire sector.

Confusion in the Camp
The announcement of the drive has caused some confusion in the religious-Zionist camp, however, leaving many potential voters uncertain as to the precise relationship between the various religious-Zionist parties.
We believe that only registration will guarantee the direct election of the leadership by the public
 

At present, there is one religious-Zionist party in the Knesset- the National Union-National Religious Party (NU-NRP) - which comprises four different factions: The NRP and the three parties that make up the National Union.  The party's four members are thus the following:

• The NRP, the most senior member. Essentially the successor to the original Mizrachi party, it once boasted as many as 12 MKs on its own (in the 9th Knesset, from 1977 to 1981). It held a registration drive three years ago, which garnered 70,000 members. It is headed by MK Zevulun Orlev; its other MKs are Eli Gabbai and Nissan Slomiansky.
• Tekumah, founded in 1998 by former MK Chanan Porat, and a long-time member of the National Union.  Its policy is largely determined by a board of three leading religious-Zionist rabbis. Its MKs today are Uri Ariel and Tzvi Hendel. Porat resigned from politics and devotes his time to education.
• Moledet, founded by the late Rehavam Ze'evi in time for the 1992 elections, when it won 3 Knesset seats - its best showing.  Comprising both religious and not religious members, its MKs are party leader Rabbi Benny Elon and Aryeh Eldad.
• Achi, whose MKs are Eitam and Levy.

A Call to the Others
MKs Eitam and Levy have called upon the other factions in the NU-NRP to join the open primaries in an effort to rejuvenate and unify the ranks of the nationalist camp.  "We believe that only registration [emphasis in the original] will guarantee the direct election of the leadership by the public," the new party states, "and will restore the voters' trust. Only registration will bring about unity of all our strengths as the next election draws near. And only registration will lead to the inclusion of new population sectors in the struggle for the integrity of the Land of Israel and for the Jewish character of our society.  Only a large registration for Achi will transmit the message to all the parties to join this initiative and to run together - for we are all brothers."

The Others' Response
In response, the chairmen of the other factions - Orlev, Elon, and Hendel - publicized a letter explaining that in fact, other parties of the NU-NRP are not involved in the drive.  "The internal registration drive of Achi is in its name only and has no connection to 'unity,' and we are not partners to it," the letter states.  It emphasizes that each of the three parties also choose their leaderships in a direct and democratic fashion.  The three signatories add, "Our party [including Achi - ed.] works together in harmony and friendship, following the difficulties of joining together into one united faction prior to the last election."

The nationalist political picture is further muddled by the presence of two other nationalist movements on the scene.  The first is the Manhigut Yehudit (Jewish Leadership) faction of the Likud, which boasts roughly 10,000 members, a strong presence in the Likud Central Committee, and an expectation of 1-2 Knesset Members in the next Knesset.

In addition, the HaTikvah movement has recently been started for what one of the founders, Dr. Ron Breiman, calls the "secular orange camp."  Among its supporters are MK Aryeh Eldad.

Meanwhile, the Achi party is also actively recruiting Anglos into its ranks, following the joining last month of US-born Nobel Prize laureate Prof. Yisrael Aumann of Jerusalem. The drive is being led by Shalom Lerner, the Deputy Mayor of Beit Shemesh and Mordechai I. Twersky of Pardes Chana. "We’re building a broad new coalition spanning religious, traditional and secular Israelis,” Twersky said. “We plan to effect change.”

By law, every citizen may only belong to one political party, thus that members of other parties cannot sign up for Achi. Avi Lerner, one of the directors of the new Achi campaign, told Arutz-7, "This is a problem only for Likud members; the other religious-Zionist parties do not have official membership.  Likud members who wish to join up with Achi merely have to fax the Likud a form, that we can provide, saying they wish to cancel their membership."

For more information about Achi, click here.

The Israeli government, along with both Democrats and Republicans in the US Congress and American Jewish organizations ranging from the Orthodox Union to Americans for Peace Now, expressed sorrow over the death of US Representative Tom Lantos (D-CA) on Monday. At age 80, Lantos was serving his fourteenth term in office when he succumbed to complications arising from esophageal cancer. The only Holocaust survivor to ever serve in the US legislature, Lantos, was a passionate defender of Israel and a champion of human rights worldwide. 
The only Holocaust survivor to ever serve in the US legislature, Lantos, was a passionate defender of Israel and a champion of human rights worldwide.

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said that the State of Israel owes a great debt to Lantos, who made the advancement of Israel-US relations and activity on behalf of the Jewish People his life's work. "From Jerusalem, the State of Israel sends its sincerest condolences to the family of Tom Lantos, may his memory be blessed," she said.

Elected to office in 1980, Lantos was Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. He was also a senior member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. According to his official House biography, Lantos's commitment to human rights "was forged when, as a young man, he lost nearly his entire family in the Holocaust."

Lantos died at the Naval Medical Center in the Washington, D.C. suburb of Bethesda, Maryland, surrounded by his wife, Annette, two daughters and many of his 18 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Funeral arrangements and the date for a public memorial service have not yet been announced.

Annette Lantos said that her husband's life was "defined by courage, optimism, and unwavering dedication to his principles and to his family."

Jewish Organizations Unite in Mourning Lantos's Passing
Political and religious Jewish organizations, representing both American and world Jewry, have been among the first to issue official statements mourning the death of Congressman Lantos.

World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder said, "Tom Lantos was a leader and a friend to all those around the world who fought for democracy and human rights, and no less to the Jewish people and the State of Israel. His hand guided every landmark in our recent history, from the fight against Nazi tyranny during the Holocaust to the championing of Soviet Jewry. His voice was never silent until today. Our thoughts and prayers are with his beloved wife Annette and his loving family."

Both the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America (OU), the nation's largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization, and the Reform movement's Religious Action Center expressed their deep sadness over news of the death of Congressman Lantos.

The OU's Director of Public Policy Nathan Diament called Lantos "a proud supporter of Israel and a proud Jew. His presence will be sorely missed."

The Chairman of Americans for Peace Now (APN), Franklin Fisher, concurred, saying, "Congressman Lantos was a devoted supporter of Israel, a supporter of peace, and a committed American public servant. As a Holocaust survivor, he embodied the strength and courage of the Jewish people. His achievements testify to the triumph of courage and the human spirit over the worst forms of adversity."

The Anti-Defamation League's Abraham H. Foxman issued a statement in which he noted that Lantos "transformed his own painful experience during the Holocaust into a lifelong commitment to preserving the dignity and security of the Jewish people, the State of Israel, and to fighting for the human rights of all. His efforts to secure fair treatment for oppressed minorities whose plight was ignored or forgotten were a cornerstone of his service in Congress."

Foxman added, "More recently, at a time when anti-Semitism was resurgent globally, he took a prominent
Both the OU and the Reform movement's Religious Action Center expressed their deep sadness.
leadership role, spearheading the Congressional Task Force Against Anti-Semitism and legislation such as the Global Anti-Semitism Review Act and calling on governments to speak out against any manifestation of hate against the Jewish people."

The American Jewish Committee (AJC) recalled "partnering with Lantos and his wife to promote Holocaust awareness and education, especially recalling the heroism of Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat whose personal intervention saved tens of thousands of Hungarian Jews from the Nazis, including Lantos and his beloved wife, Annette." The AJC was preparing to honor Rep. Lantos at its 102nd Annual Meeting in May with one of its highest honors for his lifelong leadership.

Other Jewish organizations expressing appreciation for Congressman Lantos's public service and mourning his death were the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the American Jewish World Service, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the United Jewish Communities, B'nai B'rith International, the National Council of Young Israel and Hadassah.

Both Sides of the Aisle
President George Bush said of Representative Lantos: "As the only Holocaust survivor to serve in Congress, Tom was a living reminder that we must never turn a blind eye to the suffering of the innocent at the hands of evil men."

Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, a fellow Democratic Representative from California, said: "Having lived through the worst evil known to mankind, Tom Lantos translated the experience into a lifetime commitment to the fight against anti-Semitism, Holocaust education, and a commitment to the state of Israel."

On the Republican side of the aisle, House Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), called Lantos "a man of uncommon integrity and sincere moral conviction - and a public servant who never wavered in his pursuit of a better, freer and more religiously tolerant world."

Senior Representative Illeana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fl.) said, "An unfailingly gracious and courageous man, Tom was recognized by friends and colleagues alike as a leader who left an enviable legacy of service to his country."

The National Jewish Democratic Council and the Republican Jewish Coalition issued statements mourning Lantos's passing, as well.

Statements in memory of Representative Lantos were also issued by US presidential candidates Senator Barack
"Tom was a living reminder that we must never turn a blind eye to the suffering of the innocent at the hands of evil men." -- US President Bush
Obama and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Blasted the PLO and the UN, But Wouldn't Block Saudi Arms
"Two generations after the Holocaust, I never thought - I could not even have imagined - that within the structure of the United Nations there would be some who would attempt to delegitimatize the Jewish State, the State of Israel, founded and built by the remnants of European Jewry and by the hundreds of thousands of Jews expelled from Arab lands," Congressman Lantos told the UN General Assembly, through his daughter, on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, January 28, 2008.

"Just as an earlier dictator pledged to destroy the Jews of Europe, so a new one is threatening to destroy the Jewish State," Lantos declared, in reference to Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The UN, he said, was too often the setting for "shameless invective against Israel." The Durban Anti-Racism Conference organized by the UN in 2001, Lantos said, was the "most sickening and unabashed" display of hate for Jews he had seen since the Nazi period.

Later in January, Lantos blasted the PLO's US representatives for lauding dead master terrorist George Habash, founder of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, as a "great leader."

"I am astonished that the PLO's representative to this country would make such an asinine comment and would actually have the temerity to call on Americans to come to his office and sign a 'register of condolences' for this vicious individual. How disgusting," Lantos said.

In another recent controversy, in mid-January Lantos broke with most other pro-Israel congressmen by refusing to help block the Bush administration's planned sale of advanced weaponry to Saudi Arabia. The US is planning to sell $120 million worth of Joint Direct Attack Munitions to the oil kingdom. JDAMs increase the accuracy of long-range missiles.

A Jewish-owned building in Peki’in was the target of arsonists early Monday, raising questions once more about the safety of Jews in the ancient Galilee village, recognized for hundreds of years as a place where mutual respect reigned between the local Jews and Arab Druze.

See related article: Photo Feature: The Conflicted Kabbalistic City of Peki'in

The building, purchased by a Jewish resident of Ma’alot four months ago, was in the process of being renovated to become a hostel as well as a pit stop for soldiers. It is located next to a spring in the center of the Peki'in, which is located 10 miles west of Tzfat. Police said the arson was meant as a warning by militant Druze youth to other Druze and Christian families who would consider selling their homes to Jews.

Peki'in is notable for its place in Jewish history. The Zohar, the most important book of the Kabbalah, was written by Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai in a cave apparently in Peki'in, where he hid during the 2nd century to avoid persecution by the Romans.

Recent anti-Semitic violence prompted an exodus of Jews from the predominantly Druze-Christian village, primarily families who had recently moved to the village. The last of the nine Jewish families that quit the community held out until their car was torched on a Friday night, convincing them it was time to go.

Ruth and Abel De Jung, both of whom are Holocaust survivors, said when they left that they had moved to Peki’in from Holland “to live in a place where people of all religions live side by side.”

Elderly resident Margalit Zinati, whose family has lived in the village for centuries, remained.

Last November, riots erupted after Druze youths vandalized a cellular phone antenna in the nearby Jewish town of New Peki’in. The violence began when police entered the village to search for the vandals.  Dozens of local residents and police officers were injured in the clashes, including three rioters who were shot.

Four Jewish homes in Peki'in were burned during the riots.

Inside a Jewish home burned by Druze rioters.
Photo: Ezra HaLevi

The De Jung car was torched December 1. Two days later, arsonists set fire to the home of a Jewish woman who had moved into the village the year before. The woman said after the blaze was extinguished that her home had been the target of several prior attacks and that she, too, had been harassed by local youths.

Druze youth in Peki’in also hurled rocks on December 25 at a bus of tourists visiting the nearby cave of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai. No injuries were reported, and police searched for the attackers.

Druze businessmen concerned about the significant drop in tourism following the attacks, and perhaps also embarrassed by the attacks by youths whose ancestors had lived in peace with the Jews for centuries, asked those who fled to return to the village.

However, there is a growing sector of the Druze community in Israel that is not as committed to co-existence with its Jewish neighbors as the previous generation.

One of the main leaders of the movement to shift Druze loyalties from Israel to the Arabs is Balad Party Knesset Member Sa’id Naffa’a, himself a Druze. He warned in an interview with Ynet last month that the traditional Druze alliance with Israel and Jews is changing.

“[Druze] people are beginning to realize that we are first and foremost Arabs,” he said, saying that discrimination in the IDF against Druze who traditionally served in the army has taken its toll on their unswerving loyalty to the state.

Naffa’a cited the Peki’in riots as evidence of the growing unrest among Druze youth. “Israel has always viewed the Druze as some type of domesticated beast,” he said, “but now this previously docile animal is fighting back.”

Police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld confirmed that it is the responsibility of the Israel Police to provide protection for Israeli civilians in Peki'in. At the time of this writing, Rosenfeld did not have a comment on the situation in Peki'in saying that it would require further investigation.