Yoram Ettinger, a former Israeli Embassy liaison with Congress, says it's critical for Israeli decision-makers to know that, contrary to popular perception, the proportion of Jews in the Land of Israel is rising. 

"The demographic problem is not only not lethal to Israel," Ettinger told Yishai Fleisher on IsraelNationalRadio.com, "the tailwind is in fact going in favor of the Jews, not the Arabs."
In 1995, the number of Jewish births comprised 69% of all births in Israel, while today it is 75%.

The most startling recent demographic finding, Ettinger said, "is that between 1995 and 2007, the annual number of Jewish births has increased by 40%, from some 80,000 to 112,000 Jewish births each year.  During this period, the number of Arab births within the Green Line [pre-'67 Israel] has stabilized at around 39,000 a year.  In addition, in 1995, the number of Jewish births comprised 69% of all births in Israel, while today it is 75%. This means that from year to year, Jewish society in Israel becomes relatively younger, while Arab society becomes older."

The true numbers, Ettinger told Arutz-7 last month, are as follows: "Within the Green Line, there are currently 1.4 million Arabs, compared with almost 6 million Jews.  In Judea and Samaria, there are 1.5 million Arabs, and not 2.3 million, as [the PA] claims.  In Gaza, there are 1.1 million, and not 1.5 million."

Ettinger then summed up: "What this shows is that the trend is Jewish, not Arab.  One of the conclusions must be that there is absolutely no reason for Israel to give away Jewish geography in favor of Jewish demography.  Anyone who says otherwise is either recklessly wrong or misleading."
There is no doubt that demographic optimistic and hope is much more conducive for better long-term planning, a better economy, a better investment climate, and a better social climate.

Asked by Fleisher about other important demographers whose conclusions are otherwise, Ettinger responded clearly and concisely: "The facts are that the others have been wrong, and here are some examples. In the 80s, those demographers told Israelis that there was no chance of a massive Aliyah [immigration] from the USSR, and that if the gates were to be opened, the Jews would mainly go to the US, Germany and elsewhere.  Of course, one million came to Israel... The founder of the Central Bureau of Statistics told Ben-Gurion back in 1948 to delay the Declaration of Independence because conventional demographics at that time said that the 600,000 Jews were expected to become a minority within 20 years.  They also told him not to expect Jewish Aliyah after the War of Independence.  Once again, they were wrong. They also said in the 1970s that we shouldn't expect Soviet Aliyah - when in fact about 200,000 came."

"So time after time," Ettinger said, "the conventional Israeli demographers were wrong on Aliyah, and were wrong on Jewish fertility, and were wrong on Arab fertility.  Jewish fertility in Israel over the past 10-15 years is the highest in the industrialized world - contrary to predictions that it would drop!"

Asked about the Arab growth rate in Judea and Samaria (Yesha), Ettinger had a detailed answer: "Arab fertility in Yesha reached its peak in 1992, for a simple reason: The Six Day War in 1967 brought about an interaction between a Western society and a third-world society - the Arabs of Yesha.  When this phenomenon happens, it triggers one generation of unprecedented growth rate in the third-world society, primarily due to better health services, longer life expectancy, etc.  After one generation, the fertility rates begin dropping and coming closer to Western fertility rates; at the same time, the death rate increases because the increased life expectancy meant there were many more older people - leading to a general decline in growth.  The Jewish birth rate, however - seeing as we are a non-normative Western society - defies these rules, and we keep creeping upward."

The bottom line, Ettinger concludes, is that "Arab fertility rates have decreased tremendously since 1993, and perhaps more importantly, emigration has increased considerably, especially since 2000.  When Hamas took over Gaza, 25,000 more people emigrated than immigrated, compared with 16,000 the year before.  Between 1950 and 2007, in every year except for six of them, they lost people in net emigration." 

Ettinger explained that it is important for a country to know the truth, and not wallow in "baseless, pessimistic, fatalistic projections" and "suicidal talk about the 'besieged Jewish state.' There is no doubt that demographic optimism and hope is much more conducive for better long-term planning, a better economy, a better investment climate, and a better social climate.  Certainly it is better to enter into critical national security and diplomatic issues with demographic confidence; this expands your options and your room for maneuverability. If, on the other hand, you come with fatalism and demographic sweat on your brow, it restricts your options and leads to defeat."

"Right now, we have a 60% Jewish majority between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River - and 67% if we don't include Gaza.  Those who say that this is not good enough and that we must therefore give away Arab-populated areas, I say that we should remember that in 1947, when the UN granted us the right to have a State, the Jews were only 33% of the population.  In 1900, we were only 8%!  Anyone who understands nationalism and demographics cannot deal with short-term considerations, but rather must look 100 years backward and 100 years forward.  Over 100 years we have grown from 8% to 60%, and looking to the future, we can also derive comfort from the growing Jewish birth rates and the declining Arab rates."

U.S. House Resolution 185, adopted on Tuesday, recognizes for the first time the rights of Jews who became refugees as a result of the Arab-Israeli conflict. The Resolution expresses "the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the creation of refugee populations." 

The non-binding bill asks the President to ensure that in all international forums, when the issue of Middle East refugees is discussed, US representatives will make sure that any explicit reference to Palestinian Arab refugees is matched by a similar explicit reference to Palestinian Jewish and other refugees.
Many Jews lost their resources, their homes, and their heritage sites, fleeing in the face of persecution, pogroms, revolutions and brutal dictatorships.

                        
The bill's sponsors aimed to increase awareness of the fact that not only is there an Arab/Palestinian refugee issue as a result of the Middle East conflict, but that Jews, as well, lost their homes and livelihoods under similar circumstances.  It is estimated that 850,000 Jews were displaced from their homes, often under threats and with violence, as a result of Israel's War of Independence and afterwards.

Many note that while many of the Arabs living in the Land of Israel left their homes voluntarily, goaded on by Arab promises that they would come back as victors and be able to displace the Jews, the Jews in Arab countries were generally expelled under duress and violence.

"We believe this Resolution will produce a more balanced and accurate historical account," stated JIMENA (Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa), "and ultimately, a more just resolution to the Arab-Israeli conflict."

JIMENA, which lobbied heavily for the bill, is a human rights organization that educates and advocates for the plight of Jewish refugees from the Middle East.  It was co-founded by Regina Bubil-Waldman, whose family was nearly murdered - twice - while escaping from Libya in 1967. 

JIMENA notes that before 1948, approximately 850,000 Jews lived in Muslim countries of the Middle East, North Africa, and the Persian Gulf, while today, 99% percent of these ancient Jewish communities no longer exist due to Arab and Islamic government actions that led directly to their displacement. 

The Jews in Arab/Moslem countries, according to JIMENA, were subjected to a wide-spread pattern of persecution, including official decrees and legislation denying human and civil rights to Jews and other minorities, expropriation of their property, nullification of their citizenship, and the stripping of other means of livelihood. Jews in Arab lands prior to and following the creation of the State of Israel were often victims of murder, arbitrary arrest and detention, torture, and expulsions.

Since 1947, the United Nations General Assembly has adopted close to 700 resolutions on the Middle East conflict, including 101 resolutions on Palestinian refugees - yet there were "no UN resolutions, nor any recognition or assistance from the international community, for Jewish and other refugees from Arab countries," said Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL).

The passage of the resolution was the result of a bi-partisan House effort spearheaded by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), along with Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Michael Ferguson (R-NJ), and Joseph Crowley (D-NY).

"Discussions of Middle Eastern refugees invariably focus exclusively, and shortsightedly, on the plight of those of Palestinian descent," said Rep. Ros-Lehtinen. "Far fewer people are aware of the injustice faced by Jewish refugees from Arab lands and Iran. Many Jews saw their communities, which had existed vibrantly for centuries, systematically dismantled. They lost their resources, their homes, and their heritage sites, fleeing in the face of persecution, pogroms, revolutions and brutal dictatorships."

It was originally thought that a Palestinian terrorist at the Shilo Junction tried to stab 17-year-old Hillel Maeir of Beit El.  The terrorist lifted his arm to stab Hillel, was shot by a bystander, then tried to pull out another knife, and was then shot again - this time to death.

It was later learned, as reported on WorldNetDaily.com (WND), that the knives were merely a means by which to "persuade" the intended victim to enter a car waiting nearby.  So claim Fatah Al-Aqsa sources, in a talk with WND's Aaron Klein. 

The victim was then either to be held as a kidnapped hostage - or murdered, as was Eliyahu Asheri, 18, who was abducted while hitchhiking in the area and shot shortly afterwards in June 2006.

Monday's attack was carried out by the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a wing of Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah organization, according to information given WND by Al Aqsa representatives.
 
The attempted kidnapping occurred on the main Jerusalem-Binyamin-Samaria highway, between Ofrah and Eli, at a hitchhiking stop popularly used by Yesha residents - largely due to the infrequent public transportation services. 

The security officer of Shilo, Avigdor Shatz, told Arutz-7 that he does not accept the Al Aqsa claim that they attempted to kidnap the Jewish youth.  "It was an attempted stabbing, period," he told Arutz-7.  He added that while attempts are underway to improve security along the Yesha highways, "in the meanwhile, it is irresponsible to stand along the main road and hitchhike.  People must stand only within the communities themselves while waiting for rides." 

Nearby Checkpoint Removed
The attack came just hours after Israel removed an anti-terror checkpoint, at the behest of visiting U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, from the road to Rimonim just eight miles to the south.  Residents say it leaves a clear route for terrorists to perpetrate attacks and escape to PA-controlled Jericho.  In November 2002, Ettie Gealyah, a mother of seven, was killed in ambush shooting attack very close to that spot.

Shatz, who opposes the practice of hitchhiking in Yesha, was asked about the paucity of public transportation that necessitates waiting for rides. "There are many who pass up buses because they would rather hitch," he said. "We are installing cameras at the hitchhiking stations, and the army is working, but I call upon people not to wait for rides there.  And to those who say that this is a cave-in to terrorism, I say: 'You don't have to face the parents of kids who were stabbed or attacked.'"

Fatah's Al-Aqsa Brigades is responsible for scores of recent suicide bombings and hundreds of deadly shootings in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem, WND reports. Although Israel and the U.S. publicly consider Fatah to be a moderate force, the State Department considers Al Aqsa a terrorist group.           

According to a report released for publication on Tuesday morning, military and intelligence forces nabbed a wanted terrorist who was part of a Hamas cell disguised as nonviolent protesters in late February.

The joint IDF and General Security Services (GSS) operation on February 25, 2008, led to the capture of Muhamad Kassem, a Hamas terrorist, during the course of a planned attack on Israeli soldiers. The attackers disguised
The protest, like the planned attack, was organized by Hamas.
themselves as protesters during a demonstration near the Erez Crossing along the Gaza perimeter fence. The protest, like the planned attack, was organized by Hamas. 

According to the foiled plan, after detonating an explosive device near IDF forces deployed to control the Gaza protest, the terrorists were to open fire at the soldiers.

Kassem, 18, a resident of Beit Lahiya in Gaza, admitted that he was involved in a series of attempts to attack IDF soldiers, including: planting and activating explosive devices; ambushing IDF patrols; scouting for intelligence; and participating in the planning of a suicide bombing.

In September 2007, Kassem was recruited for the Hamas' suicide bombers unit and participated in a training course along with 40 additional recruits. As a part of his training, Kassem was supposed to receive an explosive belt weighing 20 kilograms. Kassem was arrested before he received the belt.

During his interrogation, Kassem said he was involved in planting and detonating explosive devices against IDF tanks. In one of these incidents, Kassem was involved in an attempt to plant an explosive device weighing 25kg. He and another Hamas terrorist conducted surveillance of IDF forces, but due to technical difficulties the device did not explode.

Counterterrorism Operations Continue
In another security success, IDF soldiers operating near the Gaza separation barrier early Tuesday morning killed two Hamas terrorists and wounded two others. IDF forces were conducting a routine counterterrorism operation when they encountered resistance and returned fire. Several terrorists were arrested and the soldiers returned to their base unharmed.

Palestinian Authority attacks on Israelis, both soldiers and civilians, continued on Tuesday as well. Two people were lightly wounded when Palestinian Authority terrorists fired two mortars from northern Gaza at nearby Jewish towns. A building and an electric line were damaged in the attack as well.

The shells slammed into the community of Netiv HaAsarah, just north of the Gaza region. Two people suffering from shrapnel wounds were taken to Ashkelon's Barzilai Hospital for treatment.

Earlier on Tuesday morning, a barrage of mortar shells were fired by PA terrorists at Jewish towns on the outskirts of Gaza. The shells landed near the Kissufim Crossing, the passage formerly used by residents of Gush Katif to reach their homes. No damage or injuries were reported in the attack.

In Samaria, PA residents attacked Jewish motorists driving between the towns of Tapuach and Migdalim. No injuries were reported, though vehicles were damaged.

Security services suspect that former MK Azmi Bishara, a fugitive living abroad accused of providing aid to Hizbullah, is intent on recruiting agents for the Lebanese terrorist group among Israeli Arabs.
[The GSS] invited activist members of the Balad party... and warned them against contact with Bishara.

In recent days, agents of the General Security Services (GSS) invited activist members of the Balad party from Wadi Ara to the agency's offices and warned them against contact with Bishara. Balad was led by Bishara until his flight from the country in 2007.

A member of the Arab Coordinating Committee, Ashraf Kortam, was also questioned by security services about his relationship with Bishara. He was asked to sign a statement agreeing to avoid all future contact with the fugitive Arab politician. Kortam refused, calling the demand "illegal."

The statement Kortam was asked to sign said, in part, "The undersigned was warned by the GSS that any meeting with Bishara may be with the goal of recruitment into activities on behalf of the Hizbullah, even if that is not the purpose of the meeting."

A lawyer from the Civil Rights Association, Sonia Boulos, called the demand to sign a commitment not to meet with Bishara "an open and illegal attempt at intimidation." Regarding the fugitive Arab leader, Boulos said he is "a political leader and an intellectual who has not been convicted of any wrongdoing.... It is our right to maintain contact and meetings with our national and political leadership."

In a related report, the Yediot Aharonot newspaper noted police concerns that Bishara will also attempt to recruit Arab youths in Israel into the ranks of the Hizbullah.

Bishara Was on Hizbullah Payroll
According to security officials, then-MK Bishara received several hundred thousand dollars from Hizbullah for delivering intelligence information during the Second Lebanon War Lebanon in the summer of 2006. He is accused of handing over information about strategic locations to enable Hizbullah to strike at them during the war. He is also suspected of stealing millions of shekels from Arab aid organizations, laundering the money through eastern Jerusalem money-changers, one of whom has reportedly turned state's witness.

Bishara allegedly received envelopes full of cash, with one such envelope containing $50,000 in cash, which he deposited in a Jordanian bank. Officials did not reveal from which country the money came. In return for the cash, Bishara used his connections in Israel and with foreign countries to deliver intelligence information and to estimate government changes in policy during the war.

Bishara was also allegedly in touch with intelligence agents from other unnamed countries.

On March 3, Bishara met with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus, where the two discussed "the catastrophic situation in the occupied Palestinian territories and the ongoing Israeli carnage of the Palestinian
Bishara was also allegedly in touch with intelligence agents from other unnamed countries.
people," according to the Syrian news agency SANA. Bishara is considered a favorite of Arab talk shows and has appeared many times on the Hizbullah's Al-Manar TV station.

Israel Still Paying Bishara's Knesset Pension
In September of 2007, the Supreme Court ruled that Israel's Interior Minister is authorized to revoke the citizenship of former Knesset Member Bishara. However, last week, reports emerged that the Knesset is still obligated to pay the man accused of being a Hizbullah agent a 400,000-shekel retirement package. This sum is in addition to his monthly pension payments of NIS 7,000, which he is slated to receive for the remainder of his life.

The Knesset was still able to deny Bishara two ex-MK benefits: an allowance for telephone expenses of NIS 8,406 and a free subscription to a daily newspaper.

The World Health Organization accused Israel Tuesday of causing the death of Gaza Arabs by not treating them in hospitals. The IDF blasted the group and showed its claims to be false.

IDF officials explained Tuesday evening that a report from the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) accusing Israel of failing to assist dying patients in Gaza was “completely wrong.”  In fact, they said, 90 percent of Gaza patients who request treatment in Israeli hospitals have their requests approved, despite the security risks entailed and past attempts by Gazan patients to bomb the hospitals in which they were receiving treatment. 

Even the 10 percent who are denied for security reasons are allowed to seek treatment in Egypt or Jordan, the IDF said.

The W.H.O. accused Israel on Tuesday of causing the deaths of PA Arabs from Gaza due to lengthy security checks. The group cited 32 such cases since last October, of which 6 were waiting for permits to enter pre-1967 Israel and the remainder were either denied permits altogether due to terrorist ties or waiting for security coordination to make the crossover through the security barrier.

Israel countered with a blunt reminder that PA Arab patients have, in the past, been granted permits to enter Israeli hospitals, only to be found attempting to carry out terrorist attacks therein. One such case took place at the doors of Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva several years ago on what was supposed to have been a return visit for a female patient. Alert security guards stopped the would-be attacker before she could carry out her plans.

"They use humanitarian needs to attack us. We have to check every request," said IDF Col. Nir Press, head of the security coordination for Gaza. He noted that two middle-aged mothers who had applied for permits for health treatment were found to would-be suicide bombers, according to Associated Press.

Col. Press discussed five specific case studies that were presented by W.H.O. as “proof” that Israeli policies caused the death of Gaza Arabs.  In fact, he said, all five patients had been approved for medical treatment in Israeli hospitals.  Two of the patients received treatment in Israeli hospitals, while three never used their permits.  The patients had died of their illnesses, not because of Israel, he concluded.

More Humanitarian Aid Sent to Gaza
Arab residents of Gaza - including Hamas and other terrorists - received on Tuesday more than a hundred trucks filled with foodstuffs and other humanitarian supplies delivered through various crossings.

The deliveries of approximately 138 truckloads of humanitarian aid and supplies were organized in cooperation with the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories through the following crossings:

Karni Crossing:  51 trucks of wheat, sesame, corn, soy, coffee
Sufa Crossing:  56 trucks of sugar, flour, rice, pasta, dairy products, fish, meat, fruit, carrots, garlic, school books and cleaning products
Kerem Shalom Crossing: 18 trucks of sugar, rice, oil, coffee, meat, meat, animal vitamins and soap. In addition, 13 trucks bearing rice and sugar donated by Egypt entered Gaza through the crossing as well.

Hana Levi Julian contributed to this report

JobShuk.com (“shuk” is Hebrew for “market”) was created by 28-year-old Modiin resident Zvi Landsman, formerly of Teaneck, New Jersey. The site matches up Israeli freelancers and businesses with overseas companies – melding the ideological desire of people worldwide to help Israel and the Jews who are part of the ingathering of the exiles with the mutually beneficial option of outsourcing to a foreign country filled with Western, highly educated workers.

The way it works is that local freelancers and businesses post a profile advertising their product. At the same time, foreign companies post short or long-term freelance jobs, tagged with keywords for easy searching and browsing. The freelancers may then review the job description and place a bid for the cost of the job. The company then reviews the bids and bidders and selects the most desirable candidate to hire for that specific job. Credibility is bolstered by reviews from past clients and samples of past work. Postings on both ends are free of charge; revenue is made by providing choice positioning to clients wishing to purchase an edge.

“JobShuk aims for the niche market of Israeli freelancers for bidders, and Israel or American-based Zionist organizations or individuals,” Landsman explains. “But any budget-conscious employers would benefit from outsourcing projects to Israel.”

Landsman hopes the site will bring about a paradigm shift in the world of philanthropy and the charitable decisions of Jews worldwide. “Why are people so generous when solicited for a charity organization,” he asks, “but cheap when it comes to business dealings, often avoiding business with a Jew to get a better rate from a foreigner or non-Jew? And when we can do business with Israel, supporting Jews settling the homeland, and also get great prices, we'd be foolish to do anything else!”

The Grand Plan
“Almost 60 years ago, G-d gave us the opening that we'd been praying for,” muses Landsman on JobShuk’s blog. “After the most massive national punishment known to modern man, G-d proclaimed, ‘I've punished you enough - now I will return you to me, and you shall return as you were promised. Come back into your land, which I have given you. Comfort the fallen city with the sounds of children playing in the streets. Follow my commandments, and we shall restore the days of old, and be united like husband and wife once again.’”

Landsman said this reality led him to ask: “So what am I doing? I've taken my personal steps: moved to Israel, served in the army, taken a beautiful wife, began to have children. But as for the national responsibilities? What should I do to expand my circle of influence and help others return to G-d and Zion, so that this generation will be the one to rebuild the temple and not destroy it?

“The gift which G-d has given me is not in Torah or rhetoric: I am a computer nerd with sensitivity to my surroundings. In a ‘Super-size Me’ world, everyone is so focused on acquiring their sustenance that they don't recognize when it's doing more harm than good. The mission that I've taken upon myself is to close the gap of wealth between those living in Israel, and those outside. By demonstrating that people in Israel can work as hard as others, and be compensated on a similar scale so that they are as comfortable in Israel at the end of the day as anywhere else - by using finances, the modern international language and the most common reason why people don't move to Israel, I hope to restore this country to its glorious days of old.”

The uniqueness of Landsman’s grassroots tool is its natural bypassing of the Israeli government and major philanthropic organizations or Israel Bonds agents to aim for what Maimonides termed the highest level of charity: giving someone a livelihood. “[For] those Israel supporters whose mission is not to move to Israel, I'd like to give them the opportunity to support the country, not through donations, but through the highest form of charity, with a job and a profession, so that [the new Israelis] never ha[ve] to rely on charity.”

A viral email announcing the launch of JobShuk was passed around featuring a New Year’s resolution Landsman invited other to sign on to: “Despite my political efforts on Israel's behalf, the every-day lives of those courageous men and women living in Israel are unaffected,” he wrote. “I recognize that these people rely on their own indomitable spirits and belief in both G-d and the Jewish state to keep the pulse of Israel strong. In the coming year, it is my resolution to be more involved with the social and financial lives of the people in Israel, to learn from them and provide my whole-hearted encouragement and support.”

Recipients of the resolution were asked to sign on and forward it to their friends.

Already Happening
A perusal of the site shows the concept is already taking off. A Ben Bar-Eli from New York City is seeking to pay $10,000 - $50,000 dollars to bring a patent-pending computer-mouse project to the production phase. Two Israeli bidders have already responded with questions about the project – one offering to complete it for the low figure in three weeks’ time.

Other eclectic businesses are showcased as well. Baltimore, MD olah (immigrant) Miryam Heiliczer posted her Tov Maod Events business, offering to plan weddings, bar mitzvahs or any other events for Israelis, visitors or non-profits.

The site is not limited to olim. Even a business run by veteran Kibbutzniks (members of a socialist cooperative community) in the Galilee has posted to JobShuk. Galilee Silks markets its unique hand-painted silk garments from Kibbutz Beit HaEmek.

Upcoming Virtual Job Expo
JobShuk.com is holding the world's first exhibition of Israel's talented service providers and businesses – over the Internet.

The expo will take place Tuesday, April 8, from 5 to 8 p.m. Israel time (10 AM to 1 PM EST).

The Expo will be run via the Skype application, which can be downloaded free at Skype.com, and will feature hundreds of live business representatives in Israel. “Businesses run the gamut from tourist services (guides, masseurs, property managers) to outsourcing specialists (programmers, designers, virtual assistants),” literature for the expo says. Participation is free for both exhibitors and attendees. Exhibitors must complete a business profile and attendees are also encouraged to pre-register at JobShuk.com/expo.

A rich mix of Jerusalemites came out on a brisk Jerusalem night in early March to celebrate the city's newest museum: The King David Museum and Genealogy Center. 

Located in the heart of the Old City, the museum is a celebration of the most celebrated king in Jewish history, the author of the Book of Psalms and a major subject of the biblical Book of Samuel. The museum tracks the unbroken Jewish connection to the city Jerusalem, that was first conquered and made the capital of Israel by King David.

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The permanent exhibition features artifacts from the first and second temple periods including earthenware, ceramics, coins, arrowheads, and more. There is also a section dedicated to printed matter about King David and the Temple Mount, featuring the first known printed book of Psalms, published in 1511, and a swath of original printings that date from 1696 to modern times. Another section of the museum features a series of jarred spices. Mixed together in the correct proportions, the spices were combined to create the incense that was offered daily in the Holy Temple.

Family Research

In addition to the museum, the King David Genealogy Center features an impressive display of family trees reaching back through nearly 3,000 years of Jewish history. Direct descendants of King David include Rashi, the eleventh-century scholar whose commentaries on the Bible and Talmud revolutionized the study of both disciplines, as well as the Ba'al Shem Tov, the eighteenth century founder of Hassidism. There are also computers available for visitors to trace their ancestry for possible links to the Davidic family tree, as well as several staff genealogists to help interested parties begin their research.

For Susan Roth, the museum founder and president, the new museum represents a natural culmination of her efforts in Israel for nearly 15 years.  In 1995, when the Rabin/Peres government threatened to cede control of Rachel's Tomb, Roth organized buses to bring hundreds of thousands of people to pray at the holy site. The effort eventually bore fruit: Rachel's Tomb was included on the Israeli side of the border fence. Though the tomb now resembles a military fortress with tall, thick concrete barriers protecting devotees from the nearby Arab population, the site is open 24 hours a day and hosts a weekly religious Saturday night celebration called a melave malka.

Spices for Temple Incense
King David Museum

Reaction to Oslo War

Roth says the idea for a King David museum germinated in 2000, at the beginning of the Oslo War, when Arab attacks on Jews throughout the Land of Israel became an almost daily occurrence. At that time she published a Golden Book of Psalms, and she began receiving requests for personalized books and family trees. She says the idea developed and gained speed quickly.

"I realized that no one had ever lifted as much as a little finger to outline the history of the King David Dynasty," she told Arutz 7. "In 3,000 years, no one had ever written a Torah scroll in honor of King David, and for many people, the popular song David, Melech Yisrael (David, King of Israel) was all they knew about him.

"In 2006, we founded the Davidic Dynasty organization and sponsored the first Torah scroll to honor King David, and began making plans to open a museum a stone's throw from the Temple Mount, which King David bought for 50 pieces of gold and prepared for his son, King Solomon, to build the Temple."

Visitors to the museum are immediately transported to Davidic times, with tour guides dressed in traditional Temple-era clothing and mannequins on display to show the biblically-mandated garments of the High Priest and assistant priests.

Quiet Revolution

Museum officials say the center will help revolutionize more than the way Jews and Israelis think about King David. They hope it will inspire visitors to consider their relationships not only to King David, but to Judaism itself.

"The King David Dynasty has a special role in helping the Jewish nation understand they are not just Israelis," says Roth. "They are Jews. And to understand what king David wanted: First of all, to unite, to be one nation."

Museum Curator Yisrael Cohen takes the comments one step further, saying modern Jews and Israelis have one primary lesson to learn from King David.

"King David was the first king to unite the Jewish people, to bring them from tribes into a nation.  He became a leader, one of undisputed leaders of the Jewish people, and his legacy lives on until today. My greatest hope is for us to produce a king like King David today," he said.

The King David Museum and Genealogy Center is located at 19 Tiferet Yisrael Street in the Old City of Jerusalem. Opening Hours are Sunday- Thursday, 9 am – 9pm, Friday 9 am – 1pm. For more information, please call. (02) 628-1502

A major undercover sting operation has netted four suspects in a million-shekel pharmaceutical scam operation in the eastern section of the capital.

Two Israeli Arab doctors, a pharmacist and the head of a Jerusalem pharmacy were remanded into custody Tuesday for three to four days each on charges of fraud.

According to the rap sheet, doctors wrote out fake prescriptions worth hundreds of shekels at the Clalit health maintenance organization, and then split the profits with the pharmacist and head of the pharmacy. The deals reached some million shekels, according to police.

Firebombing Near Bethlehem, No Injuries
Palestinian Authority (PA) Arabs attacked Israeli motorists driving south of the PA-controlled Judean city of Bethlehem Tuesday night.

The attackers scored a direct hit after hurling a firebomb at the vehicle. No one was injured but the vehicle was severely damaged.

Weapons Discovered, Arrests Made in Judea and Samaria
IDF soldiers confiscated several weapons from terrorists during arrest operations conducted early Wednesday morning.  Soldiers confiscated a pistol while searching a terrorist’s house in a village near Tul Karem.

In searches conducted in the city of Tul Karem itself, soldiers found a Kalashnikov rifle with four matching magazines, an M-16 with two magazines, a pistol with three magazines, and five knives.  The weapons were confiscated.

In various operations, 17 wanted terrorists early Wednesday morning.  Five were arrested in Tul Karem and surrounding villages, three were arrested in Shechem, seven were arrested in the Ramallah region, and two were arrested near Hevron.

One of the larger operations took place in the dormitory of  a teachers’ college in Ramallah. The IDF instructed armed PA forces to clear the area shortly before the operation began.

The arrested terrorists were handed over to the Shabak (General Security Service) for interrogation.

Egyptians Reopen Rafiah Terminal Tuesday
Egypt opened the Rafiah terminal for a single day Tuesday in order to allow Egyptian citizens to return to the country from Gaza.

Some 350 Egyptians were stuck on the Gaza side of the border after crossing for an illegal visit after Hamas terrorists blew up the border fence two months ago, allowing a flood of PA Arabs to rush into Egypt.
 
Senior IDF officers spoke anonymously with various news agencies Tuesday, opposing Defense Minister Ehud Barak’s overtures indicating willingness to allow PA troops to oversee the Gaza crossings.

NATO Arrives in Israel for Training Exercise
A NATO naval force of six frigates under the command of Admiral Artugrol of the Turkish navy arrived Monday morning at the Haifa port for a joint training exercise with Israeli missile boats "in order to improve and strengthen the cooperation between NATO and the Israeli navy," according to an IDF release.

Three NATO boats and two Israeli missile boats, the INS Lahav, a Sa'ar 5 class corvette, and the INS Keshet, a Nirit class missile boat, participated in the exercise. The NATO naval vessels are scheduled to leave Israel in a few days.
 
During the visit, the NATO force hosted a formal dinner on board the naval vessel "Sailihreis" with the participation of Admiral Artugrol, the ambassadors of the countries whose naval vessels participants in the force, senior Israel Navy officers and other guests. During the visit, a demonstration of naval capabilities took place, as well as an exchange of information on a range of topics.
 
"It is important to emphasize that this year, for the first time, the Israel Navy posted an officer to NATO headquarter in Napoli, to serve as the liaison between the IDF and NATO's southern command," the IDF statement said. "The officer is based permanently in Napoli and is responsible for coordination with NATO and the transfer of information between NATO and the IDF. The officer was posted to Napoli, after an evaluative process over a period of years. The posting constitutes a significant step in strengthening the connection between the IDF and NATO."

Carcinogen Found for 2nd Time in F-16i Fighter Jets
A team of Israel Air Force officials has been sent to the Lockheed Martin plant in Texas where the F-16i Sufa "Storm" fighter jet is built, after a carcinogen was again found in the cockpits of two of the aircraft, it was announced Tuesday.

The discovery comes a week after the substance, formaldehyde, was found in two other cockpits in the same type of aircraft. IAF Commander Eliezer Shkedy immediately grounded all F-16i jets until further notice. Pilots had been complaining of irritation of throat and mucous membrane for three years, with a sharp rise in recent months, but IAF officials said investigations turned up no results.

Commander Shkedy arranged for all F-16i pilots to meet with the IAF medical director to discuss the situation.

Animal rights group "Tnoo Lachayot Lichyot" ("Let the Animals Live") is threatening to take legal action to prevent the Jewish Temple movement from carrying out an educational demonstration of the Pesach (Passover) sacrifice next week. The group's chairman, Attorney Reuven Ladiansky, sent a letter to Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski and to Temple Institute Director Yehuda Glick, urging them to cancel the planned event or face legal action. The group sees the planned sacrifice as an act of illegal cruelty to an animal.

Temple pilgrimage in ancient times.
The Temple Institute

The demonstration of the Paschal sacrifice is part of a study day scheduled to take place on Sunday, the First of Nissan (April 6), at the Kotel Yeshiva in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City. The study day is a joint project of the Temple Institute, the Sanhedrin and the King David Museum. It was originally planned to take place one week later, but the organizers decided to dedicate it to the memory of the eight yeshiva boys murdered in Jerusalem recently, and to hold it on the 30th day after their death.

The study day is to include a public sacrifice which is being termed a "general rehearsal" for the actual Pesach sacrifice on the Temple Mount, a ritual prescribed by the Torah but currently forbidden by the Israel government and courts.

Public sacrifices are allowed
Making the Paschal sacrifice is part of the religious freedom which is a basic human right and a cornerstone of democracy."

Glick told Ynet Monday that according to Jewish law, abstaining from performing the sacrifice is an extremely serious offense, comparable in its severity to avoiding a brit (circumcision ceremony) for one's newborn boy. He explained that although Jewish law forbids Jews in an impure state (which all Jews are in as long as the Temple rites are not renewed) from entering the Temple area, an exception is made for public sacrifices like the Pesach sacrifice. 

The Temple movement recently sent a formal request to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Minister of Public Security Avi Dichter, to allow them to conduct the sacrifice on the Temple Mount. "Making the Paschal sacrifice is part of the religious freedom which is a basic human right and a cornerstone of democracy," they wrote.

Glick said, however, that the organizers "have no intention of trying to ascend to the Mount without permission from the police."

'A substitute should be used'
According to the chairman of "Tnoo Lachayot Lichyot," the "demonstration sacrifice" would violate the Israeli law which makes it illegal to torture animals or to kill them in a cruel way. Any use of animals for educational purposes requires prior approval by the Council for Experiments on Animals. "Carrying out a 'general rehearsal' in which a live animal is sacrificed for demonstrational purposes only, while a substitute – like a model of a sheep – can be used, is unjustified and unnecessary," he claimed.

Another animal rights activist, Etti Altman, said the sacrifice has no place in an "enlightened countr
An animal rights activist said the sacrifice has no place in an "enlightened country" like Israel.
y" like Israel and quoted from the ancient Sifri biblical commentary which says: "As God is called 'compassionate,' so should you be compassionate."

The Temple movement has conducted several Paschal sacrifices in recent years. The ceremonies took place in front of the Temple Mount, on a hill which is called the Hill of Hananyah, and on the Mount of Olives. These sacrifices, however, bore a symbolic nature and were seen as memorials to the real Pesach sacrifice, because Biblical law stipulates that the Pesach sacrifice can only be performed on the Temple Mount.

Court cited 'Special feelings'
In Biblical times, pilgrims came to Jerusalem from all parts of the Land of Israel, each family bringing with it a lamb, which was sacrificed in the Temple. The family then took the lamb and roasted it according to the Bible's instructions, making sure it did not touch the oven or the ground during the roasting. Then each family sat together and ate the sacrifice.

In 2007, the Temple Mount Faithful and the Sanhedrin rabbis purchased a herd of sheep and petitioned the Supreme Court to allow a Pesach sacrifice to be offered on the Temple Mount. However, the government and legal advisors to the police asked the Supreme Court to reject the plea. The act of bringing a sacrifice could threaten the general public's safety, they said, citing the Muslim public's “special feelings” for the Temple Mount and the possibility of a violent outbreak.

Besides the planned Pesach sacrifice demonstration, next week's study day will include discussions regarding the possibility of using an electrical oven or a ceramic skewer for roasting the Pesach sacrifice.