More Olmert-Fatah-Hamas collusion: Hamas has been given exclusive radio broadcast rights from the Temple Mount this week - while Jews mourning the First Temple siege are banned from the site.

This week is the Moslem holiday Ein ul-Adhaa, marking the Islamic equivalent of Akeidat Yitzchak (the binding of Isaac by Abraham); the Koran, written in the late 7th century C.E., substituted Ishmael for Isaac. 

Yesterday, as well, was the Jewish fast day of Asarah B'Tevet, commemorating the beginning of the siege by Nebuchadnezzar on Jerusalem over 2,500 years ago that resulted in the destruction of the First Temple, untold thousands of deaths, and a 70-year-long Jewish exile from the Holy Land.

"The siege of Nebuchadnezzar is recurring again in our time," said Rabbi Chaim Richman of the Temple Institute, "this time through the Israeli government, which is banning Jews and Christians but is allowing Hamas, who will defile G-d in our holiest place. There is no greater demonstration of the total spiritual bankruptcy of the Israeli government." 

He told Arutz-7 that if, alternatively, it is not the Israeli government that is responsible, "then who are we kidding when we say that Fatah will fight Hamas?  We see clearly that they work together, and Fatah has just as much of an interest in broadcasting Hamas incitement to murder Zionists as Hamas does."

"It is unbelievable that [US Secretary of State Condoleeza ] Rice and [Foreign Minister Tzipi] Livni continue to repeat that a 'strong PA and Palestinian state to fight terror is in the interest of Israel,' when we see obviously that Fatah has no desire at all to fight Hamas terrorism."

An ISDN line regularly broadcasts, over PA radio, the Islamic prayer services from the Temple Mount. This week, however, it granted the license to do so to Hamas - complete with Hamas Radio commercials, station identifications, and incitement against Jews. "Whoever wants to hear the Temple Mount services this week has to go to HamasRadio," says Rabbi Richman.

Rabbi Richman was astounded at the symbolism involved: "Closing the Temple Mount to Jews all week long, including on our fast day, because of the Moslem holiday, emphasizes that the government not only favors Moslem sensibilities over Jewish ones, but also the Koranic version of our history over that of the Tanach, our Bible."

WorldNetDaily's Aaron Klein reported that Hamas celebrated the "victory" of its broadcasts: "Our broadcast is a victory for the Al Aqsa Mosque, which is suffering from Judaization efforts imposed by the Zionist government," said Rami Kaoud, a manager at Hamas' Al Aqsa Radio. "Broadcasting daily radio is a way to bring Al Aqsa to the Gaza Strip and challenge the siege imposed on us by the Zionist entity."

A joint statement by the New Jewish Congress, the Temple Mount movements and The Sanhedrin states, "Not only is Hamas trying, with the Palestinian Authority, to destroy the State of Israel and all its [Jewish] inhabitants, but now the Government of Israel has decided to give over the Temple Mount, the apple of the Jewish Nation's eye, for the use of enemy incitement."

IDF Captain Nitai Okshi will receive a citation for bravery next week; he is the first IDF soldier in years to receive such an award for operations in Gaza. He is a member of the elite Golani Brigade, one of the most highly decorated infantry units in the IDF.

Okshi is being recognized for successfully restraining and wounding an armed terrorist with his bare hands.

On July 21, 2007, Okshi and a fellow commander raced forward to battle two terrorists encountered by his soldiers during operations in Gaza, killing one. The second terrorist stood between him and his men, readying a grenade.

Ordering his troops to lay flat, Okshi charged the terrorist, but ran out of ammunition – so he tackled the terrorist and wrestled him to the ground with his bare hands.

The Golani captain held on to him as the grenade exploded, ensuring that the terrorist absorbed most of the blast. Despite the wounds Okshi suffered in the explosion, he continued to hold the terrorists while his soldiers raced forward and completed the kill.

Okshi will be cited for bravery, resourcefulness, leadership, determination and setting a personal example.

Golani Major Who Died in Lebanon Awarded for Similar Bravery
Major Ro'I Klein, z"l, was faced with similar circumstances during the 2006 Second Lebanon War and earned a Medal of Valor for his bravery, but traded his life for those of his men in the battle.

On July 26, 2006, Major Klein volunteered to lead his Golani Brigade Battalion 51 into battle for control of the Hizbullah terrorist stronghold of Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon. He and his men, ambushed by the terrorists, tried to attack them from behind but were blocked by a wall.

Klein, who was treating a wounded soldier, saw a terrorist hurl a grenade and yelled to his unit to warn the other men.
Soldiers who survived the battle - eight did not - reported that Ro'i yelled out "Shma Yisrael…" and jumped upon the grenade, absorbing the brunt of the explosion and saving the men around him. 
Though mortally wounded, Klein tried to continue to communicate by radio to his superiors. One of his fellow soldiers, Elad Ozeri, later said that shortly afterwards, when it was thought that Ro’i was dead, Capt. Itamar Katz, who took over the command, approached him.  At that point, Klein - in his last act on earth - raised his arm and gave his coded radio device to Katz. 
"Maj. Klein always emphasized to us the importance of finding the coded devices of soldiers who were hurt," Ozeri said, "so that they would not fall into the hands of the enemy."

Wednesday's leak of a municipal plan to build a new Jerusalem neighborhood on land of a moshav destroyed in the War of Independence has caused the repudiation of the plan in the face of American pressure.

The leak of the plan to build 10,000-15,000 housing units in Atarot, located in the northeastern part of the capital, was followed by hysterical headlines, outraged editorials and a dose of US pressure, resulting in its repudiation by the Prime Minister, Foreign Minister and Housing Minister.

Haaretz, who published the leaked plan, featured an editorial calling on Jerusalem to be built “up, not out.” The British Daily Telegraph innacurately titled its own piece: “Israel plans new town on seized land,” despite the fact that the area of Atarot is wholly owned by Jews and was even home to a Jewish community before the War of Independence, when it was destroyed by the Jordanians.

In a carefully-crafted, ambiguously worded Hebrew statement sent to Arutz-7, Housing Minister Ze'ev Boim said that there is no "plan/planning" (tichnun) to establish a neighborhood in Atarot.

A day earlier, Boim had defended the plan, saying Israel has the right to build within Jerusalem's municipal boundaries. The eastern neighborhoods of Jerusalem, including the Old City, ethnically cleansed of Jews in 1948 and liberated in the 1967 Six Day War, were annexed by the Knesset and are considered sovereign Israeli territory.

Boim's about-face followed statements from the Prime Minister's Office and Foreign Minister Tzippi Livni that the plan had not yet been authorized and would not be. Aides of both Olmert and Livni claimed their bosses had not been informed of the plans being drawn up for Atarot.

Boim's spokesman Eran Sidis tried to downplay the plan, telling the Hebrew daily newspaper Yediot Acharonot that the plan was but one of several proposals for expanding Jerusalem. “This one was obviously ruled out because of the sensitive nature of the peace talks. We wouldn't even dream of doing it '' the spokesman said.

Rice Pleased
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told the AFP news agency, following Olmert, Livni and Boim’s statements, that Israel “Took a good step. I don't know the calculations that went into it, but obviously it's helpful that you don't have that decision to contend with.” Rice said new Jewish communities would “undermine confidence.

“I think that the Israelis understood that what had happened with Har Homa had had an effect of undermining the confidence in the very fragile and brand new peace process,” Rice she added.

Boim Looks West
Boim’s written statement said the Housing Minister was now examining the possibility of renewing the discussion of the Safdie Plan for expanding Jerusalem westward, “in order to provide a solution for the housing crisis in the city.”

Safdie’s plan was rejected by city planners and environmental groups as it entailed the destruction of large swathes of the Jerusalem Forest.

Municipality Looking Beyond Olmert
A common sentiment expressed by Jerusalem municipality members on the condition of anonymity is that building plans take a very long time to make it to the actual building stage.

“Olmert is not going to be prime minister forever,” said one insider. “We have to have plans ready for someone who is willing to solve the housing crunch in Jerusalem and respect Israeli law – which is that Jerusalem was annexed, end of story.”

A day-long IDF counter-terrorism operation in central Gaza was concluded Thursday night. Up to seven Palestinian Authority terrorists were reportedly killed by Israeli troops and several others wounded. Three soldiers were injured in clashes with enemy gunmen.

IDF officials characterized the operation, which involved ground and air forces, as "routine." They expressed hope that the success of the incursion would prevent terrorists from approaching the Gaza security fence, which has been the site of numerous attempted attacks in recent weeks.

Tanks and soldiers from the Golani Brigade and the Engineering Corps, backed up by
Officials characterized the operation, which involved ground and air forces, as "routine."
IAF aircraft, entered central Gaza on Wednesday night. Operating in an area near the Maghazi refugee camp, the forces launched into a search and destroy mission aimed at PA terror cells, bases of operation, supplies and other terrorist infrastructure. PA gunmen opened fire on the IDF forces several times during the operation, including at least one effort to shoot down an Israeli helicopter. Soldiers responded from the ground and the air, killing seven terrorists and injuring several others.

During the clashes on Thursday, enemy gunmen fired an anti-tank rocket at a house in which IDF soldiers were stationed, severely wounding one of the troops. The injured man was transferred to the Soroka Hospital in Be'er Sheva for continued medical treatment. Two other soldiers were wounded very lightly on Wednesday night.

Despite the IDF activity in Gaza this week, PA terrorists successfully fired at least six Kassam rockets at Jewish towns in the western Negev during the day on Thursday. One of the rockets landed next to an elementary school in Sderot, sending 10 children into shock.

On Thursday evening and into the night, PA terrorists fired another 15 mortar shells at the Gaza security fence. Three of the shells landed near the Erez Crossing between Gaza and the Negev, while 12 landed within Gaza or in open areas. No injuries or damage were reported in the shelling.

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A Call to Step Up Targeted Killings
Retired IDF Brigadier-General Yechiam Sasson, the former head of the IDF's counter-terrorism division, said Thursday that Israel must declare war on Hamas.

"There is no question that the IDF operations disrupt and even damage Hamas activities, but that is not enough," Sasson said.

While the IDF should not begin a massive ground operation at this time, it should step up targeted killings of Hamas leaders, Sasson explained. The army should destroy Hamas institutions as well, he added, referring to the recent assassination of several terrorist heads in Gaza as a "welcome trend." He called to continue those operations in order to put "intolerable pressure" on terrorist groups.

The senior terrorist leaders recently eliminated in targeted strikes by IDF forces were members of the Islamic Jihad group, not Hamas. The jihadist Hamas organization is currently in official political and military control of the Gaza region of the Palestinian Authority.

A Palestinian Authority TV mainstay is back on the screen, with the Virgins of Paradise reminding would-be suicide bomber terrorist shahids (martyrs) of the reward that awaits them when they die fighting the Jews.

Palestinian Media Watch alerted the public this week to the return of the program, which has been broadcast regularly over the past month after a hiatus of more than a year. The constant reruns may signal the need to increase motivation among PA Arab men to join the terrorist ranks and donate their lives to fighting Israelis.

The music video depicts a lovely Arab woman being shot in the chest, as she runs forward to greet a PA terrorist being released by IDF soldiers on the other side of a barbed wire fence.

The young woman is next seen dressed in a white robe dancing with other similar maidens in a shining pool of water, while her grief-stricken lover hunches over her tomb in the night, grim determination in his eyes.

The terrorist is then seen getting up and being shot in the back by Israeli soldiers as he is running from the gravesite. The scene flashes to the dancing maidens, including his love welcoming him, presumably to Paradise in reward for his Shahada (Death for Allah).

This scenario is based on Islamic traditions described in the Muslim holy book, the Koran (Suras 42, 44, 52, 56 and others) which states that a man who dies as a martyr is rewarded with eternal Paradise and 72 virgins upon his arrival.

To view the video, click here.

PMW Impact Growing, PA Officials Watching Closely

Palestinian Authority officials and other Arab leaders are beginning to exhibit concern about the regular bulletins from the PMW that expose the reality of PA messages to the Arab world.

According to the organization, PA TV and Arab internet news agencies are starting to respond quickly to PMW bulletins, including Fatah TV, Hamas TV and an Arabic-language internet site in London.

PMW expressed satisfaction that the monitored are now feeling the need to monitor.

Yad L'Achim, the anti-missionary organization with a side interest in rescuing Jewish girls from Arab villages, has rescued two such girls in the past few weeks - one of them twice!

The latest incident occurred when the young woman, identified only as S., told her Arab boyfriend - whom she met in the local supermarket where he worked - that she wanted to end their relationship. In response, he took her to an isolated spot, beat her, and warned her never to leave him.  He then took her to her parents' home, but continued to patrol the area in his car to make sure she would not run away. 

S. then called the Yad L'Achim emergency line, and was instructed to call her Arab "friend" and say that her desire to leave was only a momentary lapse and that she wishes to continue the relationship.  She did so, and in fact the Arab left.  Before dawn, a Yad L'Achim car arrived at the house and took her to a secret home in the Shomron. 

But the story does not end there - mainly because S. did not listen to instructions.  She was told that past experience had shown that she must give up her cell phone and all contacts with her family for a short while, in order that her boyfriend not be able to track her down.  S. could not bear to give up her phone contacts with her best friend, however - and in fact her Arab boyfriend found her.  He arrived one day with several friends and forced her to accompany them. Neighbors who saw the incident called the police, but S. told them she was not being kidnapped. Despite this, the Arab again beat her brutally. 

Once again, S. found the way to call Yad L'Achim and say that though she knew she didn't follow their instructions, she needed their help once again. This time, she was taken to another secret apartment, cut off all contact with friends and family for a while - and is now anxious to have her success story used as a warning to other Jewish girls not to enter into relationships with Arabs.

Yad L'Achim Chairman Rabbi Shalom Dov Lifshitz said the incident should serve as a warning for Jewish store-owners who employ Arabs in the midst of Jewish neighborhoods.

Hospital Tip Leads to Jewish Wedding
In a story that was reported last month, an elderly hospital patient took notice of a suspicious Arab-Jewish relationship, phoned Yad L'Achim, and another girl was saved - and is about to be married to a newly-observant man in Bnei Brak. 

This incident began about seven months ago when the Yad L'Achim hotline received a call from a man hospitalized at Sheba Hospital near Tel Aviv. The caller said he saw a Jewish girl at whose bedside was a young man who appeared to be an Arab. “She seems to be suffering and the Arab is there to make sure she didn’t talk,” reported the elderly Jew. “I’m turning to you because you’re the only ones who can do something.”

Within half an hour, two Yad L’Achim members arrived at the hospital, posing as representatives of an organization that distributes food to patients and their families. After speaking with the girl, the two reported back to Yad L'Achim that she appeared to be "frightened, even terrorized."  The group's intelligence department then learned that the young Arab was an illegal worker and that the girl had left her family to enter into a relationship with him. Yad L’Achim immediately forwarded the information to the police, which arrested the Arab and neutralized the threat he posed.

Discussions with family in Arad revealed that the young woman had been orphaned from her father as a child and that she had slight disabilities that resulted in her being rejected by her friends. With no father or a close circle of friends, she was a “perfect” victim for her Arab suitor.  Weeks of painstaking work by Yad L’Achim, including deep discussions with he about the importance of family and the Jewish People, she returned to her family and Torah observance - and later became engaged to an observant Jew.  The marriage is scheduled for next month. 

Rabbi Lipschitz, commenting on this story, said, “An elderly Jew is lying in the hospital and sees something that sets off warning bells. He can ignore it, but he remembers his obligation to take responsibility for fellow Jews... He [took] out his cell phone and call[ed] Yad L’Achim’s hotline, and in so doing he saved a fellow Jew. All the souls that will come from this young woman and her descendants are in his merit. The message of this story is that we mustn’t remain indifferent.”

Israel's unemployment rate is the lowest it has been in more than a decade, according to the latest figures published by the government-run Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS).

The rate of unemployment in October, according to the CBS, was 6.9 percent, down from 7 percent in September and 7.1 percent in August. According to the Bureau, unemployment has been steadily dropping all this year and has dropped a full percentage point, meaning 30,000 newly employed individuals, since January. 38,100 citizens received jobs in the past 12 months.

The October rate is lowest since 1996, when it fell to 6.7 percent. That figure will be reached if the rise in the monthly rate continues its current trajectory. Unemployment has been as high as 11 percent at the height of the post-Oslo terror offensive in 2003.

Army Radio financial analysts opined that the drop is related to “the global economy, an increase in local investment and government moves to raise the employment rate, including the launch of programs meant to get more people off welfare and back to work.”

The Finance Ministry expressed its satisfaction with the report, saying it exceeded its projection that such a rate would be reached in 2008.

In the manual labor sectors, there is zero unemployment and an actual shortage of laborers.

Four veterans of the American comedy scene took part in a benefit tour for the Crossroads organization. The 2007 tour included appearances in Jerusalem, Beit Shemesh, Raanana and Tel Aviv.

The founder of the tour is Avi Liberman, a Jewish comedian from Texas who serves as the opening act.  Liberman just returned from a tour in Afghanistan, where he performed for the US and allied troops. He opened the Jerusalem show by recalling some of the "hairier" experiences of his time in the Muslim country, but said one main benefit of having spent time in the line of fire is it makes Israel look like one of the safest places on earth.

Next up was comic Mark Schiff, a regular opener for Jerry Seinfeld who recently published a book chronicling his years on the comedy circuit called “I Killed.” Schiff is an observant Jew from Los Angeles and was clearly pleased to be performing for Israeli audiences. 

Also joining the Tour were comedy veterans Reggie McFadden and John Mulrooney, both appearing in Israel for the first time. Both agreed that they were overwhelmed by the positive responses they have been receiving from Israeli audiences. McFadden, a tall African-American said he's had to tell several disappointed young Israelis that he was not in Israel playing for any of the local basketball teams.  

Mulrooney, who has appeared on The Tonight Show and hosted the hit show Comic Strip Live, reveled in interacting with his audiences, making those seated in the front rows healthy fodder for some good-intentioned ranking. Describing himself as a "goyim kopf" Mulrooney enjoyed mixing his Irish brogue with some side-splitting attempts at Hebrew and Yiddish.

The Crossroads Comedy Tour, now it its third year, benefits the Crossroads Center, located in downtown Jerusalem. The Center provides a wide network of educational, cultural, social and where relevant therapeutic services to hundreds of English-speaking teens facing a variety of problems, ranging from substance abuse to criminal involvement.   Founded in 2001, it is the only such facility in Israel dedicated to offering social services exclusively for English-speakers and is funded almost exclusively by private donations.