For the first time this year, snow fell in Jerusalem, the Galilee and Judea/Samaria overnight.  Many schools and offices are closed, and the snowfall is expected to resume - where it did not stop - towards Wednesday evening.  According to Israel's Meteorological Service, light snow is forecast for Thursday morning, and Friday is expected to be precipitation-free.

Schools in Jerusalem are closed due to the heavy snowfall, and in Tzfat, classes will end early.  Snow-removing vehicles cleared many main arteries in the capital, but motorists have followed the municipality's request and are largely staying off the roads.  This, due to the slippery and freezing conditions, combined with continued rain/snow precipitation.  Public transportation has also been suspended, though is expected to resume gradually throughout the late morning.  Courts in the city and university classes were also closed. 

One event that will apparently not be affected is the release of the Winograd Report, which is still expected to take place at 6 PM in the Binyanei HaUmah Convention Center in the capital, as has been planned for a number of weeks.

Magen David Adom (MDA) crews have treated 11 people in Jerusalem who broke limbs while slipping on frozen-over sidewalks; five women in labor were evacuated to local hospitals.  A police cruiser overturned early Wednesday morning in the city, causing lightly injuries to a teenaged girl who was evacuated to Hadassah Hospital on Mount Scopus.  The MDA has bolstered its staff and readiness in many areas of the country.

A snowman competition will take place in Sacher Park in Jerusalem in the afternoon.  The judges committee will be headed by Mayor Uri Lupoliansky, and judging will begin at 3 PM.

The new overpass at the main entrance to Jerusalem, bulit to carry the light rail train that is to be activated in the capital by 2010, was cleared of heavy ice buildups this morning.  Traffic in the area was halted for a while.

Schools in the Binyamin region, north of Jerusalem, are closed as well.  This includes Ofrah, Beit El, Psagot, Kokhav Yaakov, Tel Tzion, Maaleh Levonah, Eli, Shilo, Shvut Rachel, and Hareshah. The main Highway 60 from Jerusalem northward to Shilo, with many curves and hilly sections, is closed to traffic; snow there has reached heights of up to 20 centimeters (8 inches).

Further north in the Shomron, snow did not pile up, but a thin sheet of ice that has formed on the roads led to the closing of many schools there as well.  Affected communities include Elon Moreh, Brachah, Yitzhar and Itamar.

South of Jerusalem, snow has accumulated on the roads and is being cleared away as of late Wednesday morning.  Schools in most of Gush Etzion and south of Kiryat Arba-Hevron are closed, as are some roads. The same is true in the northern Golan Heights, while in the Upper Galilee, schools opened late.

A welcome half-meter of snow (20 inches) has accumulated so far on Mt. Hermon, Israel's ski site. The slopes are expected to be opened to the public on Friday. 

Residents in many areas were advised to leave the water running on "slow drip" to help prevent solar plates from freezing and bursting.

The Minister of Science, Culture and Sport, Raleb Majadle (Labor) said Tuesday that his party would not be leaving the government following publication of the final report by the Winograd commission, which was appointed to investigate the handling of the Second Lebanon War in the summer of 2006.

"This is the best government for Israel," he said. "I am not waiting to see Winograd; we have seen the intermediate report and that is enough for us."

"We need to look ahead, for the good of Israeli society," Israel's first Arab minister said. "The society requires that we show national responsibility, and first and foremost governmental stability. We can't have elections every two years."

Report may center on Halutz
A source described as being "close to the Winograd Commission" told Ynet that "the report will place a mirror before the face of Israeli society." The core of the report, the source said, will deal with the IDF "ethos of combat" and "the interface between Israel's society and its military."

Leaks from the report are varied in nature but most of them predict a report that will not be very hars
The report's main purpose is not "to chop off heads" but to learn from mistakes and prepare Israel for the coming years.
h on Olmert, and reserve most of its criticism for the military leadership, especially then-Chief of Staff of the IDF, Lt.-Gen.Dan Halutz.

The report's main purpose, according to another news item on the subject, is not "to chop off heads" but to learn from mistakes and prepare Israel for the coming years.

'No improvement' since interim report
One of the commission's members said the committee was of the opinion that the prime minister did not implement changes in response to the conclusions in the committee's interim report, which was published nine months ago. Channel 10 News quoted the commission member, who said no meaningful improvement had taken place since the war, in the decision-making process regarding political and security matters.

Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik rejected a request by opposition MKs to hold a special Knesset session on Thursday in order to debate the final Winograd report (the Knesset does not normally convene on Thursdays; its three-day work week begins on Monday and ends on Wednesday).

The debate is probably going to be held next week. More than the required 40 MKs have signed a pe
Opposition MKs: 'Prime Minister attempting to buy time and delay the debate.'
tition requiring Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to personally address the debate on the Winograd report when it takes place.

Letter from Schneller
MKs Zevulun Orlev (NU/NRP) and Gideon Sa'ar (Likud) said Tuesday that the speaker's decision was misguided. According to Army Radio, the two said that "the report's importance overrides the Prime Minister's attempts to buy time and delay the debate."

Opposition members did not give up, though: they made use of their allotted one-minute speeches Tuesday evening to quote the most damning passages from the intermediate Winograd Commission report.

MK Otniel Schneller (Kadima), a confidante of Olmert's, wrote a letter to his fellow Kadima members Tuesday, in which he said that if the report unequivocally asks Olmert to resign, he will understand the consequences on his own. 

Shneller said that the blame for the problematic management of the war lay with past leaders, who did not place enough emphasis on the IDF's readiness. This year, said Schneller, the conclusions from the Second Lebanon War have been implemented and improvements are already visible.”

The latest chapter in the ongoing tribulations of the former residents of Gush Katif is that their bank accounts may be cracked into by officials to collect property taxes. The Ashkelon Coast Regional Council says the taxes are unpaid, and some 500 families of expellees say that the taxes are being unfairly demanded.

The story began in the summer of 2005, when over 1,650 families living in Gush Katif were made homeless under then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's unilateral disengagement withdrawal plan from Gaza.  The Knesset had passed an Evacuation/Compensation law several months earlier, attempting to guarantee fair compensation for the families' losses.

But as many reports have demonstrated, the law's goals were not met.

"We are dealing with a government and an administration [the government's Aid to the Uprooted Administration, known as SELA - ed.] that are accustomed to not fulfilling their word," says Laurence Beziz, formerly of Gush Katif who now works on behalf of the expelled residents in the Gush Katif Committee.  She and her family, together with some 500 other families, are being housed in the temporary town of Nitzan, just north of Ashkelon, in pre-fab houses they bitterly call "caravillas." 

"It's true that for many of us, the property tax they want us to pay [here in Nitzan] is not totally beyond our means," Ms. Beziz told Arutz-7.  "But for many of us, it is!  There are those who still have no jobs and have not received compensation for their businesses and farms, and who don't have food in their refrigerators.  We have to stand together - especially when dealing with a body that simply doesn’t fulfill its word."

"For instance," she continued, "they promised that after two years, we would be living in our permanent homes - or in other words, that our share in the price of Israel's decision to quit Gaza was to be 'only' two years without a home.  And now, it's already two and a half years later, and not only are we not in our permanent homes, but they are just beginning now to build the infrastructures for our permanent neighborhood in Nitzanim."

Asked what the official timetable, Laurence said, "They say - and we know what their word is worth - that by November, ten months from now, they will be ready to start the lottery for the distribution of the various plots of land.  But even then, there are still many unresolved issues, such as the fact that we will have much less land than we had before, and whether children who get married will be able to live in our neighborhoods as they would have done in Gush Katif, and more."

Compensation
She says that over the course of time, roughly 1,000 families have received the full amount of compensation for their homes, though not necessarily for their farms and businesses.  "The other families' compensation is being held up by an old conflict regarding the precise assessment of the value of their homes," Beziz said, "with no solution in sight.  This affects those who took advantage of the government's offer to have their homes privately assessed."

Property Tax History
The property tax issue was not a problem in 2006, when the Regional Council waived the charge.  In January 2007, however, the tax was instated - but the residents did not pay.  "We admit that we receive services, and we admit that they offered us a possible 50% discount," Beziz said. "But the point is more that temporary residential structures such as ours are exempt from property taxes all over the country, and there is no reason why we should have to pay.  Moreover, this entire area is not zoned for residential use; all that happened is that [Ariel] Sharon came here one day and gave the order to build temporary homes on this agricultural land - but when we leave, it will revert to its original agricultural use."

"In any event, we have now received letters saying that they plan to break into our bank accounts in order to take the property tax," Beziz said. 

No Shopping Center - Catastrophic for Small Business Owners
"The lack of a shopping center here is another example of their not keeping their word," Ms. Beziz said.  "They said they would build us a shopping center, in which all the small businesses could be concentrated, just like we had in N'vei Dekalim.  But of course, they didn't build it, leading to this place [Nitzan] looking like a refugee camp - with little businesses and stores behind or next to the caravan houses.  Many businesses can't prosper that way, and that's why many people are simply not making it."

Another legal struggle in which the residents are involved is their demand to ensure that they live in a rural setting, and not an urban one.  To this end, they have filed a court suit demanding that their new future neighborhood of Nitzanim be made part of the Ashkelon Coast Regional Council, and not, as it is currently designated, part of the Municipality of Ashkelon.

New School - Finally
Ironically, beginning this week, the children of Nitzan - the largest concentration of Gush Katif families - are able to attend school without having to take a bus.  The Nitzanei Katif elementary school, including Grades 1-8 for boys and 1-6 for girls, began operating this week in Nitzan - two and a half years after their expulsion from their homes.  Beziz and her neighbors are happy about the new situation, but, she asks, "is it believable that it actually took this long for it to happen?"

Encouraged by the Good
With all the bitterness, Beziz doesn't forget to mention the good: "We are encouraged by the many good things that are happening - not due to the government, or to the left-wingers who so sweetly told us to 'Come back home [from Gaza] to Israel' - but rather due to the orange camp and to our own determination.  For instance, the Yeshivat Hesder in N'vei Dekalim has opened its doors in its permanent location in Ashdod, and other Torah institutions from Gush Katif are working strongly for the People of Israel as well."

The 22nd of Shvat
Beziz noted that today, the 22nd of Shvat, is a special day: "It is the date we designated two years ago for schools to remember and teach about Gush Katif.  Some 50 volunteers are in schools around the country - mostly religious schools, I admit - giving lectures, showing films, and presenting exhibits on Gush Katif.  We hope that this initiative will become stronger in coming years."

For more information, visit the Gush Katif Committee website at www.katifund.org/English/.

Just a week after an announcement that Israel will be the testing ground for the first electric cars, an Israeli company is taking part in the development of a hydrogen-powered car.

The Israeli program, developed in cooperation with Russian and German researchers, has recently completed designing and testing a lightweight and safe hydrogen tank for use in cars, according to Globes business news agency.

The greatest challenge facing developers in recent years has been developing hydrogen tanks insulated well enough not to pose a fire hazard while remaining light enough to allow the vehicle's weight to remain movable.

The company, called C.En, has conducted over 120 experiments in the past three years. It now claims to have developed prototypes that store double the amount of hydrogen of currently available tanks.

The new tank, say C.En, would weigh 50 kg (110 pounds) and run a vehicle for 600 km (373 miles).

C.En has applied for five patents based on their tests. Further tests are being carried out at the German Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM).

Company literature says that if the tanks meet expectations, they will prove that an alternative energy source to Arab oil exists for the world’s motor vehicles.

Many open questions and issues remain before the hydrogen-powered car can become a reality. Click here for more information.

Israeli-Arab Islamist Chief Sheikh Ra’ad Salah was indicted Tuesday for incitement to violence and racism during a fiery speech he gave that was followed by rioting last year.

The indictment was filed Monday by Attorney General Menachem Mazuz. Salah, who heads the northern branch of Israel's Islamic Movement,  made the speech during a protest last year against Israel’s reconstruction of the collapsed ramp leading up to the Rambam (Mughrabi) Gate of the Temple Mount, adjacent to the Western Wallr.

The February 16, 2007 speech accused Israel of murdering Arabs, with assertions that IDF officers’ ranks are made from the skulls of dead Arab “martyrs” and even asserting that medieval European blood libels were true. Salah boasted that Muslims do not mix blood with their post-Ramadan bread and advised his followers to research how the Jews used the blood of gentile children to make matzah for Passover, one of the oldest anti-Semitic canards which has led to the death of many Jews in blood libels.

The crowd at the protest cheered its approval of Salah’s claims, declaring that they would fight and die for the Temple Mount. Almost immediately after the speech, a riot broke out, with Arabs hurling rocks at Israeli police officers, wounding at least three.

Salah has refused to recant and in the past has rejected Israel’s authority to try him. He has served time for raising money for the Islamist terror group Hamas, which now rules Gaza.

His lawyer told Israel Radio that Israel is trying to keep his boss away from Jerusalem and the Al-Aksa Mosque and said he was considering turning to an international court instead.

A similar sentiment was expressed just days ago, when Mazuz announced that the police who responded to Israeli-Arab rioting with live ammunition in October, 2000 will not be prosecuted.

Druze Activist Offers to Testify Against Salah
Mandi Sfadi, chairman of the Druze for Israel Forum, wrote a letter praising the Attorney General for the indictment of Salah and offering to provide testimony at the Islamist leader's trial.

While calling Mazuz “brave” for his decision, Sfadi reminded him of a previous petition by the Druze activist calling for the outlawing of Salah's Islamic Movement. According to Sfadi, the group is involved in terrorism, incitement against the state of Israel, and the promotion of hatred of the Jewish religion.

In his letter to Mazuz, Sfadi wrote:

“In the context of the Forum of Druze for Israel, I research the issues of terrorism, Islam and the relations between Israel and its Arab citizens. During the course of this research, I could not ignore the central role played by Ra'ad Salah in the worsening relations between Jews and Arabs, the ongoing incitement that he spreads by way of articles appearing in the Movement's website, Sawt al-Haq wal-Hurriyeh, and additional Movement websites.”

Describing his reaction to Salah's incitement, Sfadi wrote, “I found myself tensely following Salah's every statement or publication or action.” The activist said that he has thus accumulated a large amount of evidence “that can help you prove the accusations against him, and even add new charges to the indictment that was filed.” Sfadi concluded by asking Mazuz to include him as a witness for the prosecution, in which capacity he could present the material he has collected.

Nissan Ratzlav-Katz contributed to this report.

Political activists in support of and against Prime Minister Ehud Olmert have already planned their reactions to the publication of the Winograd Committee's report Wednesday evening. The Prime Minister remains adamant that there will be no new elections in the wake of the report, which analyzes the management of the Second Lebanon War in 2006.

Kadima party activists are preparing to flood news websites and online forums with talkbacks in favor of Prime
Kadima party activists are preparing to flood news websites and online forums with talkbacks.
Minister Olmert following the release of the Winograd Report. According to a Yediot Acharonot report, a core group of activists plans to search for articles relating to the Winograd Report and send in as many responses as possible in support of Olmert. They are also planning to vote repeatedly in online polls regarding the issue.

Information from Yalla Kadima and other pro-Kadima websites indicate that the "talkback attack" is to begin Wednesday evening and continue over the following days. The virtual activists will be "on call" around the clock.

On the other end of the political spectrum, NRP activists plan to demonstrate on Wednesday opposite the Jerusalem home of Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor Eli Yishai, head of the Shas party. Protesters plan to call on Yishai to leave the government, which they hope will precipitate a coalition crisis and the fall of the Olmert government.

On Tuesday, Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, a former Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel, telephoned Prime Minister Olmert to encourage him prior to the publication of the Winograd Report. Shas political leaders have said that the party would quit the coalition if senior government negotiators talk with the Palestinian Authority about ceding parts of Jerusalem.

NRP members said that the demonstration at Minister Yishai's home will take place in any weather. It is planned to start just as the Winograd Committee report is released. 

PM Olmert's Preemptive Strike
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has taken the offensive even before the Winograd Committee issues its final report. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Olmert insisted that there will be no elections before his term of office ends in late 2010.

Finance Minister Ronnie Bar-On told a a Kadima party rally in Tiberias on Tuesday night that early elections would not be good for the country. According to Bar-On, the nation is in good shape economically and diplomatically, according to Bar-On.

"For the first time in seven years there is an attempt to create a diplomatic process and the economy is growing," Minister Bar-On declared. "The State of Israel will pay a heavy price if it goes to elections."

Another of Prime Minister Olmert's strongest supporters, Knesset Member Otniel Shneller, wrote a letter to fellow Kadima MKs calling for their support of the party leader. In any case, he asserted, if the Winograd Report unequivocally asks Olmert to resign, then the Prime Minister will understand the consequences on his own.
Shneller's letter also included advice on how to react to the Winograd Report.

Shneller's letter also included advice on how to react to the Winograd Report. He suggested that Kadima MKs not argue with families of fallen soldiers, but present what he said are facts that the IDF and government have repaired their mistakes and are stronger than ever in the north. Shneller laid the blame for the problematic management of the Second Lebanon War on past government leaders, who did not place enough emphasis on the IDF's readiness.

MKs in the Prime Minister's Kadima party are generally sitting on the fence regarding how best to react to the Winograd Report. Labor party MKs are leaning towards staying in the coalition, but MK Shelly Yechimovich is trying to line up support for ousting Prime Minister Olmert, whom she accuses of being corrupt.

While it is likely to expose serious flaws in the planning and execution of the 2006 war, the Winograd Report has no legislative mandate to place responsibility for failure on any individual.

Rabbi David Druckman, the Chief Rabbi of the northern city of Kiryat Motzkin and an outspoken opponent of Land of Israel withdrawals, says Jews must take the lead in condemning China for its murder of prisoners of conscience in order to harvest their organs.

"The atrocity is so great," Rabbi Druckman says on a recently released video, "that there are simply no words to express it.  From a certain standpoint it is even worse than what the Nazis did...  to cut organs from people under the cover of medical help for other people is simply astonishing and shocking from every human vantage point."

"It is especially incumbent upon us as Jews to lead the campaign that expresses total disgust at this phenomenon," Rabbi Druckman says.  "Especially us, the Jewish Nation, that suffered the crimes of the Nazis, may their names be blotted out, and those of the Communists under Stalin - who can stand by and comprehend the world's silence at all this?"

Israeli Petition Against Chinese Cruelty
Three months ago, over 220 Israeli rabbis, academics and politicians signed a petition calling for an end to the atrocities taking place in China.  Among the signatories were 8 Knesset Members (Hendel and Levy from National Union, Melchior and Cabel from Labor, Kachlon of Likud, and Oron, Gal'on and Vilan of Meretz). 

Over 40 rabbis signed, including Rabbis Chaim Druckman, Shlomo Aviner, Yuval Cherlow, Shmuel David of Afula, as well as Temple Mount loyalist rabbis, Moshe Feiglin and leaders of his Jewish Leadership group, and more.

Chinese Torture
China is accused of holding thousands of political prisoners without trial, beating and torturing people who protest being thrown out of their homes, employing slave labor for their mass manufacturing industries, and more.  Among the most persecuted groups are the Falun Gong, which numbers at least 70 million members in China alone.  Tens of thousands of practitioners of the Falun Gong system of meditation and character-building are ruthlessly persecuted by the government, including having organs removed from their bodies while still alive.

The CIPFG - Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong in China - has begun a campaign against holding the 2008 Olympics in China.  "It will be a stain on the history of the Olympic Games and a disgrace to mankind if these games and these crimes against humanity are held at the same time in China," the organization states.

In the video-taped speech, Rabbi Druckman says that one of the seven Noachide commandments that the Jews are bidden to disseminate in the world is not to murder: "We as Jews must therefore stand at the front lines of this war, and employ every possible tactic in order that the world expunge atrocities such as this."

"When there is evil in the world," he continues, "every person with a human conscience, and every person with intelligence, must protest against it...  Jewish Law requires of us to spread values of faith in the Creator and of maintaining the human image throughout the world.  The same Torah that tells us to keep the Sabbath and to eat only Kosher food, also requires that we influence all of mankind - as is written, 'From Zion shall go forth Torah and the word of G-d from Jerusalem.'"

"We have to get our outraged objections, as people and as Jews, out to the world in every way possible... In this age of media, there are many methods, such as the torch passing through the countries of the world and will soon get to our region as well, ending with a giant rally here in Israel [on Feb. 18 - ed.].  It is obvious that we all support this initiative and welcome it.  We must also do whatever will result in a sharp condemnation of these animals that are doing these things in China.  This will help raise the standard of the entire human race in the world, and the more the world improves and becomes more gentle, this will bring us closer to the Redemption and the arrival of the Just Redeemer."

Religious - Not Just in Dress, but in Thought
"I believe that behind the description we carry of 'religious people' there is also real content - not just outer covering, but a genuine way of looking at the world... Certainly this is so in the Jewish faith, whose teachings about ethics and kindness have no rivals... Certainly one who sees himself as a religious person, not just in title but in essence, must join up with activities of this type."

The underground Lechi (Fighters for Israel's Freedom) organization of the 1940's, which was persecuted by most of the Jewish public at the time, is now enjoying a warm and admiring embrace from the Israeli consensus.

This week, the Knesset marked the 100th birthday of Lechi founder and commander Avraham Stern, known by his codename Ya'ir.  Prime Minister Ehud Olmert spoke warmly of the former anti-British fighter, saying, "His way was not the general path taken by the Zionist movements, but we are all obligated to honor his greatness.  He was like a match that ignites a large flame."

Olmert also noted the loneliness and hiding that Stern was forced to undergo, up until the very moment he was found and killed by the British in a Tel Aviv apartment in 1942. "There is something that doesn't leave me every time I think of this extraordinary man," Olmert said, "and that is the terrible loneliness.  Alone and solitary in hiding... What did he think about? We will never know.  How did he deal with it, waiting for the moment that the ruthless murderer would come? What did he hope and pray for?"

The Tuesday session was organized by MK Aryeh Eldad (National Union), whose father Yisrael was one of the leading Lechi members. 

Opposition Leader Binyamin Netanyahu said at the session, "It was not the decision by the United Nations that established the State of Israel; Israel arose in the merit of the Aliyah and the settlement enterprise, and in the merit of the struggle by the Lechi and Etzel, the Haganaha, and even HaShomer and Nili.  But above all, the State of Israel was established in the merit of those who continued - the warriors of the Israel Defense Forces, who repulsed the Arab attack after the declaration of the State."

Among those who took part in the special Knesset session were MK Rabbi Avraham Ravitz (United Torah Judaism), who served in the Lechi himself; MK Limor Livnat (Likud), whose father was an underground fighter who was exiled to Erithrea for his actions; and MK Yitzchak Ben-Yisrael (Kadima), both of whose parents were Lechi members.

Other Events
Publicist Yigal Amitai reports that other events were held this week to mark the date, including university seminars, an appearance at the famous Tzavta club, a nation-wide quiz for elementary and high school students, and a public memorial ceremony.

Prior to the special Knesset session, a ceremony marking the occasion was held in the Knesset auditorium. The ceremony featured a presentation by Ariel University Professor Dr. Udi Lebel showing the government's past opposition to memorializing Yair and his Lechi colleagues - as opposed to its current admiration of their contributions. 

Lebel detailed how Yair's actions to rid the country of the British - which ultimately succeeded, paving the way for the UN to establish the State of Israel - were all but erased from official history books, memorial sites and school curricula.