A five-judge Supreme Court panel has unanimously rejected two aspects of an appeal against the plea bargain that was reached last year with ex-President Moshe Katzav.  A third aspect - namely, the request to repeal the most controversial aspects of the plea bargain - was rejected by a 3-2 margin. 

Several groups had appealed against the plea bargain, claiming that the mild nature of the agreement does not jibe with the severity of the original accusations against Katzav, which included even rape.  The minority position in favor of repealing the plea bargain was supported by Chief Justice Dorit Beinisch and Deputy Chief Justice Eliezer Rivlin.  Justices Ayala Procaccia, Edmond Levi and Asher Gronis voted to allow the plea bargain to stand.

Surprisingly, Katzav's attorney Tzion Amir threatened that if the Court ruling implies that the ex-President is guilty of crimes categorized as "bearing disgrace," he might not accept the plea bargain. 

According to the terms of the agreement reached nearly eight months ago by Attorney General Menachem Mazuz and Katzav's lawyers, Katzav is to plead guilty to several charges of sexual harassment, pay a fine of 50,000 shekels to the women he is accused of harassing, and be sentenced to a probationary sentence.

Unanimous Ruling on Two Points, "Majority Rules" on the Third
In two issues, the Court ruled unanimously that Mazuz had acted correctly - namely, in giving the complainants sufficient opportunities to make their cases, and in dropping all charges brought by a woman who worked with Katzav in the President's Residence for lack of evidence.  However, regarding a second complainant - a woman who worked with Katzav when he was Minister of Tourism - the panel was split, with the majority believing that there was no need to intervene in Mazuz's decision to reduce the charges based on the dearth of evidence.

The majority opinion in the 200-page ruling states, "Though there were faults in the way the Attorney General functioned in this matter, the appeals are to be rejected given the lack of any reason to intervene in his judgment... No illegality was proven in the way the agreement was reached."

The Movement for Quality in Government, one of the groups that appealed the plea bargain, announced that it would ask the Supreme Court to conduct yet another hearing on the matter.

MK Shteinitz says the government is to blame for a child nearly losing his hand in a rocket attack in Sderot on Monday.  He said a military offensive in Gaza needed immediately.

"The government of Israel is responsible for abandoning the residents of Sderot," says Likud MK Yuva Shteinitz, former Chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.  "Every further delay in a military operation in Gaza comes at the expense of the children of Sderot, and brings the threat closer to the children of Be'er Sheva and Ashdod as well."

US Congressman David Weldon (R., Florida), who visited Israel last week, said Israel should strike back at Gaza in one fell swoop.  "During World War II," Weldon told the Makor Rishon newspaper, "the U.S. attacked Japan mercilessly. Despite the ethical problems, everyone now agrees that this caused Japan to surrender, thus saving many lives, including Japanese lives. This is the reason I think Israel should hit the Palestinians with one fell swoop, thus defeating them. Otherwise, this cruel situation of today will continue year after year, decade after decade."

"Just like parents have to protect their children," Weldon said, "a state must protect its citizens, especially those who are threatened such as those in Sderot. If a country would attack the U.S., I would support turning that country into dust. If it’s right for the U.S., it's right for Israel."

Yossi Won't Lose Hand
Yossi Chaimov, the 10-year-old boy in Sderot who was wounded in his shoulder and hand in a Monday afternoon Kassam rocket attack, was operated on in Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon.  The doctors announced afterwards that they had succeeded in saving his hand.  Though he ran for cover when he heard the Color Red rocket warning alarm, he was hit by a piece of shrapnel when the rocket landed and exploded.

A mother and her one-year-old baby were also treated in the hospital for lighter injuries.

Tira: No Wrong Calculations
Oded Tira, former President of the Manufacturers Association, says that "unfortunately, people in the government are choosing not to protect the citizens of Israel because of the fear of losses to soldiers." Tira is a retired IDF Brigadier-General who oversaw the expulsion and destruction of the city of Yamit in Sinai following the 1982 peace agreement with Egypt.  He spoke on Thursday at a memorial ceremony for three officers who were killed in a battle with Hizbullah terrorists in Lebanon nine years ago.

Stones and Shots
Though Monday's threatened mass-march by Hamas did not materialize, a mob of some 50 Arab youths outside the Gaza perimeter fence near Kisufim stoned an army force Monday afternoon.  One soldier was injured.

In Shechem, an Arab-populated city in the Shomron, two wanted terrorists were shot and wounded during an IDF attempt to arrest them.

The Kadima party's Knesset representatives held a meeting Monday to discuss the status of Jerusalem and Jerusalem's place in the party platform. Eleven Kadima MKs took part in the discussion, which took place while Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is visiting Japan. No ministers attended the talks.
"When the public elected us," said MK David Tal, "it did not know that we plan to make concessions in Jerusalem."

Most of the MKs in attendance expressed support for the position that Jerusalem must remain united. The Kadima platform includes "guarding united Jerusalem as the capital of Israel" and clearly opposes splitting the city, according to the MKs.

"When the public elected us," said MK David Tal, "it did not know that we plan to make concessions in Jerusalem." Tal observed that in the year 2000, even PLO arch-terrorist Yasser Arafat was afraid to compromise the Arab position on Jerusalem, regardless of the concessions offered by then-Prime Minister Ehud Barak.

"Ministers do not determine the activities of the faction leadership. We also have a position, and today we are making our stance clear," said MK Eli Aflalo, the chairman of the Kadima party Knesset faction. "It is imperative that Olmert and the ministers know about the position we are formulating." Aflalo and MK Zeev Elkin called for the faction meeting following reports that party head  Olmert is discussing the division of Jerusalem with Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

MK Yoel Hasson observed that party members considering a position that approves of re-dividing Jerusalem "are causing damage to Kadima."

Saying that the Kadima position is not that of the Likud, Labor or the Geneva Initiative of far-left politician Yossi Beilin, MK Otniel Schneller said, "Kadima is a centrist party even on the issue of Jerusalem." Schneller explained that means acceptance of a Palestinian state and relinquishing some Jewish towns to the Arabs, "but Jerusalem belongs to the Jewish people."

Several MKs suggested that any agreement with the PA that includes concessions over Jewish sovereignty in Jerusalem be brought to the people in a referendum. There is no provision in Israeli law by which a referendum legally binds the hands of the government.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert landed in Tokyo early Monday morning, starting an official four-day visit to Japan. He will be meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and other ministers, as well as with Japanese
One major objective for Prime Minister Olmert in his trip is to promote and develop the economic ties between Japan and Israel.
business leaders, to discuss economic and diplomatic issues of interest to both countries. Accompanying Olmert are approximately 20 influential Israeli businesspeople.

One major objective for Prime Minister Olmert on the current trip, the first of an Israeli premier since Binyamin Netanyahu visited in 1997, is to promote and develop the economic ties between Japan and Israel. The two prime ministers are expected to sign a Memorandum of Understanding in coming days, and the Israeli government is hoping this will lay the groundwork for a full-fledged free-trade agreement.

The Israeli businesspeople - who were selected based on a list of industries suggested by Japan - will join Japanese businesspeople for a joint seminar, hosted by Prime Minister Olmert, on the economic situation in Israel. In addition, the prime minister will meet with Japanese economic leaders and visit a leading Japanese industrial plant that exports to Israel. PMO officials said that Olmert "hopes to increase Israeli exports to Japan, which are currently approximately one-third of imports."

One of the business leaders accompanying Prime Minister Olmert in Japan is General Manager Elisha Yanai of Motorola Israel. Yanai told the Globes financial newspaper that he is looking for Japanese investors to back research and development centers in Israel.

"Israel is very successful in high-tech, but most of the investment comes from the United States and Europe, and there is no reason why there shouldn't be Japanese investments as well," Yanai said. He added that there are several Hebrew-speaking Japanese people in Israel who could help set up centers in Israel: "The work of setting up the centers should be left up to them. There are at least 12 such people in Israel and half of them are up to the task."

As another, more general, aspect of promoting bilateral relations, Israeli officials are reiterating the suggestion that Japan agree to direct flights from Tokyo. Japan has yet to positively reply to the idea.

Iranian Nukes and PA Terror on the Agenda
On the diplomatic front, Prime Minister Olmert will be raising the issue of Iran's aspiration to equip itself with nuclear weapons and its threats against the Jewish State. The prime minister intends to discuss with his hosts the need for the international community to act forthwith in order to prevent Iran from attaining nuclear weapons. Olmert will be expressing his view that trade sanctions on Iran must be implemented consistently and effectively by countries such as Japan, even outside the framework of the United Nations.

"Japan has already begun to enact a responsible policy in this regard and has taken upon itself to restrict Japanese companies' trade with Iran," PMO  officials said. "This effort must be continued."

In other efforts to take a central role in international diplomacy, Japan has initiated a large-scale economic project called "Corridor for Peace and Prosperity," intended to build joint Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian Authority factories and projects in the Jericho area. Prime Minister Olmert expressed his support for the Japanese project.

Olmert will also reportedly update Japanese leaders on the progress, developments and difficulties in the diplomatic process with the PA. In particular, he will note the ongoing PA terrorism from Gaza, Judea and Samaria.

Journalists were afforded a rare tour inside the huge pipes that  supply water to all of Israel last week.

The Mekorot (‘Sources’) National Water Company held the tour at the end of large-scale pumping and infrastructure work on one of the segments of the National Water Carrier, near Rosh HaAyin.

The author descends into the underground water system

Journalists in protective gear ready to enter the water carrier

The author climbs into the pipe

A giant duct in the National Water Carrier

Because the pressure is so great, the water must be routed through the side pipes in order to open or close the ducts

The work was carried out in order to link up a new water line for the delivery of water from the Hadera seawater desalination facility to the National Water Carrier. At Kibbutz Metzer, a huge gash in the earth has been dug, with piping laid out to connect the existing carrier with the Hadera plant, Israel's newest desalination facility.

Aerial photo of the laying of new piping to connect the Hadera deslination plant with the carrier
(Photo: Mekorot)

Wearing boots and protective gear, two groups of journalists were led down through a utility structure and through a hatch – into the huge pipes of the water carrier itself.

Water still flows at the bottom of the pipe
(Photo: Ezra HaLevi)

“This way brings water to Tel Aviv and this way to Jerusalem,” Mekorot Chairman Eli Ronen said at a fork in the pipes.

Right to Jerusalem, left to Tel Aviv

Mekorot Chairman Eli Ronen

Israel’s Water: Facts and Figures
Mekorot supplies those living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea with 1.5 billion cubic meters of water per year via 10,500  kilometers of pipes.

The water carrier combines various sources, including the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee), the aquifer beneath Judea and Samaria, 1,040 wells, 91 reservoirs and 31 desalination plants.

Israel leads the world in recycling wastewater – reusing 75 % of it for agricultural purposes. Spain, in second place, trails the Jewish state with 12 %.

“The treated wastewater supplied by the company for agricultural use complies with strict health standards and contributes to preserving the environment by reducing ecological damage caused by untreated wastewater,” the company reports.

Israeli produce grown using reclaimed water includes oranges, carrots, potatoes, lettuce, wheat and flowers.

The symbol of the Mekorot National Water Co.

Ongoing and Future Projects
* The Ashdod Seawater Desalination Plant, to be Israel’s largest, is set to be completed in 2011. It will be one of the most advanced in the world and will produce 100 million cubic meters of water per year.

* The Fifth Line to Jerusalem, a new pipe to Jerusalem and the surrounding region - being laid beneath the Judean Hills -  is intended to provide for increased water demand in the region. It will supply 500,000 cubic meters of water a day.

A piece of piping near Kibbutz Metzer

* The Third Line to the Negev is a series of 90-km-long pipes to supply more drinking water to the Negev as its population grows, as well as to pump treated water from the  Dan Region Wastewater treatment plant to Negev farmers.

* Eilat, which is far from the National Carrier, has a number of deslination plants, which are being upgraded and improved.

A map shows the National Water Carrier

Click here for an English map of the carrier

The Ze'ev Facility, near Rosh Ha'Ayin, just before much-needed rain
(Photo: Ezra HaLevi)

(Photos, except where otherwise noted: Josh Shamsi, Arutz-7 Photojournalist)

Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer, ceding to the reality of the plummeting dollar and to the demands of the business sector, lowered interest rates by 0.5%, to 3.75%. Most economists had expected the bank to either leave the rate unchanged, or cut it by only a quarter of a percent.

The decision lowered the intrinsic value of the shekel, and trading responded as expected with the shekel dropping against the dollar.  Following the announcement, the dollar began trading by rising 1.5% against the shekel, though it closed slightly lower on Tuesday afternoon at 3.628 shekels to the dollar.  The Euro was up by even more, over 1.8%, and closed at 5.3981 shekels to the Euro compared to just over 5.3 on Monday.

The dollar closed on Monday at 3.58 shekels, the second-lowest shekel-dollar rate in nearly ten years; it was lower only on Feb. 4 of this year.

The dollar dropped from 4.34 shekels last August to below 4 shekels in October, and has continued to drop another 10% since then. 

Following Fishcher's announcement, Bank HaPoalim announced that it was dropping its prime rate to 5.25%, and its interest rates on approved overdrafts to 8.25%.

Uriel Linn, President of the Israeli Chambers of Commerce, expressed satisfaction with the dropping of the interest rate - a move for which he and his colleagues have long lobbied. The shekel's unbridled rise has caused exporters great losses.  Linn said that additional interest rate drops are still necessary, "though in a controlled manner."

Similarly, David Artzi, Chairman of the Export Institute, welcomed the move, and called for additional steps by the Finance Ministry to help stabilize the dollar-shekel rate.

The Rabbinic Association of Poland, an organization that was very active in pre-Holocaust Europe, was officially revived on Saturday in Lodz. Israeli Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger took a part in the historical event.
Rabbi Metzger and Rabbi Schudrich signed a special Rabbinic Association founding scroll.

Poland's Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich and seven other Polish rabbis, as well as Jewish community lay leaders and activists, gathered to inaugurate the renewed organization. Attendees came from cities such as Warsaw, Krakow, Lodz and Wroclaw, among others.

Ceremonies surrounding the association's renewed life began on Thursday of last week at Warsaw's Nozyk synagogue, the only Jewish place of worship in the Polish capital to have survived the German occupation.

On Friday, Rabbi Metzger met with members of the Jewish community in the city of Wroclaw, where the rabbi's mother lived prior to World War II. Rabbi Metzger's father immigrated to Israel from Warsaw.

"We believe that there will come a day when God will take the bones and create life from death," Rabbi Metzger commented. "We have to give strength to the Jewish community here. There are a lot of people who didn't even know they were Jewish. We want to tell them: 'Come and discover your roots.'"

On Saturday night, Rabbi Metzger and Rabbi Schudrich signed a special Rabbinic Association founding scroll along with the other community rabbis of Poland who joined the organization. The ceremony was included as part of an annual conference for "Hidden Jews" organized by Shavei Israel, a Jerusalem-based group that assists "lost Jews" seeking to return to the Jewish people. About 150 participants from across Poland came for the conference.

There are now between 3,500 to 15,000 Jews or people who identify as Jewish in Poland. Prior to the Holocaust, the country was home to around 3 million Jews, around 10 percent of the total population at the time. Half of all Jews killed by the Nazis and their collaborators were from Poland.

A7 Radio's "Yishai Fleisher Show"

Some people believe that you can make a more Jewish life in Passaic NJ than in Jerusalem, Israel. Are serious Torah Jews unable to find the right community or are they serving themselves instead of G-d? Also: Bloody Sderot - Josh Hasten survives his first Kassam attack and sees the blood on the wall. Moshe Feiglin thinks we should get the kids out of Sderot and Shas out of the government!