The police recently made a routine request to a cell phone company for information on a customer and tried to obtain info to which they were not entitled.
 
The chairman of the Knesset Law Committee was miffed: "You will soon want us to approve other  laws that entail an encroachment on privacy, and I'm not sure we'll be able to."
 
Israel National News Hebrew correspondent Ben Sha'ul reports that the Committee held a session on Wednesday in which the matter was discussed.  The Cellcom phone company presented to the Committee a police request for information on the seller of a particular phone, its type, and the date on which the customer signed up.
 
The "Big Brother" Law
This information is not included in a 2007 law, nicknamed the Big Brother law, which allows the police to establish a data bank of information on phone users. The law allows the inclusion of only specific information from the phone companies: Phone numbers, owners' names and addresses, and information on the companies' antennas.  The objective is to enable the police to act quickly and efficiently in urgent cases.
 
Police officer Jacqueline Levy, the head of the Police Computerization and Information Department, admitted to the Committee that the request should not have been made, but said that it was submitted only in rough-copy form.
 
The Cellcom representative countered that the company understood it to have been an official, final request.
 
The Cabinet recently voted to back legislation requiring every citizen to provide fingerprints and a facial photograph for a new ID card.  The idea has aroused great controversy: proponents say it will prevent identity-theft and will enable the police to find criminals within hours, while opponents bemoan the encroachment on personal privacy and the apparent ease with which the information can be abused.
 
Ben-Sasson Issues Warning
Knesset Law Committee Chairman MK Menachem Ben-Sasson (Kadima) responded with great consternation to the illegal police request. "I view with great gravity the fact that the police overstepped their authority," he said. "Soon you [the police] will ask us to approve laws that have similar ramifications regarding invasion of privacy, such as the biometric information procedure, and I am not sure that we will be able to do so."
 
"The prestige of the Knesset Members who supported the [2007] law and understood its importance is now hanging in the balance," MK Ben-Sasson continued. "I am concerned at the use you are making with the authority you have received.  We have convened to approve the regulations regarding the storing of the data, never imagining that we would encounter such grave failures so quickly."
 
Ben-Sasson said that the regulations would not be approved until it is made clear that the police do not overstep their authority.  Other committee members expressed similar concerns.
 
Biometric Proposal Procedure
The new biometric proposal has been submitted to the Ministerial Committee for Legislation for its approval.  The Knesset must then prepare it for actual legislation.  The Israel Civil Rights Association, privacy experts in the Ministry of Justice, and the Israel Bar Associaton have all come out against the idea.

Just two days after reports that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has offered 93% of Judea and Samaria for a Palestinian state, it is now reported that the same offer includes a proposal to accept 20,000 Arabs inside Israel.  The PA has turned it down.

The latest report means that Olmert has reneged on a principle on which Israeli consensus has stood fast for over six decades - namely, what the Arabs call the Right of Return. The Arabs demand that some five million Arabs who claim that they or their ancestors were displaced from Israel during the War of Independence (1948) and Six Day War (1967) be allowed to live in Israel.

Olmert has reportedly agreed to accept 20,000 of the Arabs over the next ten years.  However, his conditions stipulate that the process be called "family unification" on a "humanitarian basis," and that the Palestinian Authority drop its remaining "right of return" demands.  All other Arabs who wish to "return" must live in a future Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria, Olmert insists.

A response from the Prime Minister's Bureau later denied the entire report, saying that Olmert continues to insist that no refugees be allowed to enter Israel.

PA Chairman has rejected Olmert's package deal outright.  Without relating to the report of the offer to accept the 20,000 Arabs, PA spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said that Israel's insistence on keeping 7% of Judea and Samaria is "unacceptable because it contradicts Palestinian, Arab and international resolutions."  He said that Israel must withdraw all of its "settlements" and enable the establishment of a Palestinian state based on the pre-1967 borders.

Livni: Against
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, leading the negotiations with the PA, is opposed to any Israeli concessions on the matter of the so-called Arab refugees. 

Arab countries have long demanded that Israel allow up to five million Arabs to move from foreign countries to within Israel's pre-1967 borders. Most media have adopted the Arab term "refugees" when referring to the approximately 600,000 Arabs who fled the country during the War of Independence in 1948.

Many, if not most, of them no longer are living, but the PA defines all of their descendants as "refugees" and claims they have the "right of return," similar to the right of all Jews throughout the world to move to Israel and become Israeli citizens.

Virtually all Israeli politicians, including left-wing leaders, have rejected the demand. However, by using the term "family reunification," Prime Minister Olmert may lead to a crack in the Israeli wall of resistance. 

Israeli Skepticism
An Israel official, insisting on anonymity, told Reuters that the entire plan, including the offer for almost all of Judea and Samaria while the status of Jerusalem remains undefined, was made by Olmert only in order to establish a legacy for himself before his political exit. "There will be no agreement, period," the official said.

Prime Minister Olmert's offer to Abbas is publicized a week before U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's next trip to the region. She has been pressing Israel and the PA to come up with an "agreement of principles" that can be announced before U.S. President Bush's term of office ends in January.

Recent terrorist attacks perpetrated by Israeli-Arabs working in Jerusalem have unleashed an undercurrent of suspicion in the hearts and minds of many Israeli citizens.

Unlike the Arabs of Judea and Samaria (Yesha), Israeli-Arabs hold Israeli citizenship and enjoy state benefits. Much of the Israeli public has largely considered them loyal citizens over the years.
 
That perception is changing.
 
The movement promoting Jewish Labor has gained momentum as a result of the recent attacks, and many Israelis now actively seek out services and suppliers which employ Jewish laborers only.

A Jewish construction worker

The following feature article on Jewish labor and the Jewish Labor Hotline originally appeared in Hebrew in the B'Sheva weekly, Israel's third largest-circulation newspaper. Information about the Jewish Labor hotline appears at the end of this article, along with some sample listings.

Should Arabs be Building your Home in Israel?
By Hagit Rotenberg, B'sheva Newspaper

The following news report, published a week ago, is just another unremarkable headline of the many which are flooding internet news sites: Arab workers attack a Jewish Electrician, resident of Kiryat Gat, with a Hammer at a building site in Kibbutz Massuot Yitschak. The Jewish worker told the police that he did not even know his attackers as it was their first day at work - they began hitting him for no reason. The police have yet to determine whether the incident was nationalistically motivated or just an act of hooliganism.

After two terrorist driven bulldozers wreaked murderous havoc in the heart of Jerusalem just last month, one would expect the public not to need the story of the Kiryat Gat worker to understand how dangerous it is to employ Arabs. Yet surprisingly, the hiring of Arab workers is so entrenched in many sectors of Israeli industry that even those who experience the terror have a hard time changing. Rafi Bantal, security supervisor at Massuot Yitschak, said that the contractor in the case above was a private builder brought into the kibbutz.  “Still”, he admits, “the kibbutz also employ Arabs, but they all have work permits and someone armed accompanies them all the time they are here.”

It’s the same at Kibbutz Kfar Etzion, located south of Jerusalem, where, despite a terrorist attack foiled by a miracle at the Mekor Chaim Yeshiva high school just six months ago, there are over one hundred Arab workers. “I would be happy to see the situation change,” says Efraim Somech, head of security at the kibbutz, “but it’s hard to find Jewish workers for the jobs we have available. We also have to stay on good terms with the three Arab villages nearby, some of whose residents have been working here for many years. Arabs work in the entire Etzion area, in kitchens, offices, stores, groceries, on construction sites - just about everywhere.”

B'sheva: After they infiltrated into the yeshiva high school library, aren’t you afraid to allow them in?
Somech: “We worry about each and every one of them, but try to keep things in proportion. I am extremely strict about sticking to the quota of Palestinian workers I allow, so that at some point it pays for employers to look for Jewish workers.”

“Jewish Labor” can Work
In contrast to Somech in Kfar Etzion, Danny Huerta, a garage owner in Kfar Adumim east of Jerusalem, has a more encouraging story. Huerta, originally from Sadot in the Sinai desert, was uprooted from his home there in 1982 and settled in Maale Adumim, later moving to Kfar Adumim. “I ran a cement factory for seventeen years”, he notes, “employing Palestinians, until one day I just decided to do without them.”

A Jewish construction team builds a house from the foundations to the roof.

B'sheva: What caused the change?
Huerta: “It bothered me. I felt that as Jews we have to take care of our own people. I began to establish a new business and hired Jews only. I’ve been running my garage for years, and it costs me at least double to employ Jews, but there is no comparison when it comes to loyalty, level of professionalism and the atmosphere in the workplace.” He claims that more customers come to his garage because of it.

Click here for the continuation of this feature article.

The commanding officer of the Mounted Police Unit, Superintendent Zevulun Hadar, is being sued for damages in civil court by a young woman who was trampled during the violent evictions from Amona in 2006. The case, filed in a Herzliya Magistrate's Court, is the first civil lawsuit against a commanding police officer stemming from the violence at the Amona protests.
She and dozens of other young women sat passively in the road into Amona.

The plaintiff, Rivka Turgeman, claims to suffer a 10 percent disability as a result of unjustified violence against her during the 2006 eviction of protesters prior to demolition of nine structures at the Samaria town of Amona. According to the action filed by Attorney Pinchas Maoz of the Yesha Human Rights Organization, Turgeman, 18 years old at the time of the protest, said she and dozens of other young women sat passively on the road into Amona on the night before the scheduled eviction. When the mounted police made their way towards the town along the road, according to Turgeman, one police officer purposely ran her down and several others trampled her under hoof.

The first rider who slammed into Turgeman, the lawsuit says, "decided to ignore the dozens of girls in his way and galloped towards them, needlessly and without any provocation on their part, without any effort to go around them. He did not even slow his pace." After knocking her down, it is alleged, the mounted policeman did not stop to check on his victim. At that point, the other passive resisters scattered, but Turgeman, unable to move, remained on the road. "And in that state, she continued to be trampled by four or five additional riders who galloped over her body, while she was helpless to defend herself. It will be noted that not a single rider assisted or offered first aid to the plaintiff," according to the court filing.

Turgeman had serious injuries to all parts of her body, as well as suffering psychological trauma which still remains. In addition to medical treatment for the injuries, she had to undergo lengthy physiotherapy in order to recover functionality.although she still is partially disabled.

Shortly after the events at Amona, the Police Internal Affairs Unit (IAU) opened an investigation into the brutality against Turgeman. However, the case was closed because the violators could not be successfully identified. The IAU investigator made a notation that he recommended to Superintendent Hadar that he learn the lessons from the Turgeman incident and include them in future training. According to the investigator, Hadar replied that he sees no need to do so because he emphasizes the need to take care due to the weight of the horses.

Turgeman's court action was filed against Superintendent Hadar personally, who was present and in command during the Amona eviction. Turgeman's lawsuit holds Hadar personally responsible for the mounted police officers' behavior, because he "did nothing to prevent the attack and the damages incurred."

The Turgeman investigation was far from the only one opened in the wake of the violent eviction and clash with protesters in Amona, which became the flashpoint in the conflict between the government and residents for Jewish rights in Judea and Samaria. More than 2,000 riot police and mounted officers were sent to the scene. A number of club-swinging police officers and at least one mounted police officer were indicted for their role in the ensuing violence.

Israel's IDE Technologies is accustomed to dealing with difficult situations; its entire raison d'etre is based on the need to bring forth sweet water from that which would otherwise be unusable.

But chief executive Avshalom Felder announced Tuesday that his company has signed a multi-million dollar contract to build a desalination plant in Australia – a deal that he said in a statement was one of the "most challenging" the company has ever received.

The plant will be based on reverse osmosis technology, a modern process used for desalinating water in a wide range of applications.

It will produce 140,000 cubic meters of high quality desalinated process water and drinking water per day (50 million cubic meters per year), according to IDE, most of which will be used by the firm's industrial client for its manufacturing processes.

The contract, worth more than 100 million euros ($149 million) puts IDE in "a key position for competing in similar projects in the future," said Felder.

It also establishes for the company, owned jointly by the Israel Corporation Group subsidiary Israel Chemicals and the Delek Group, a beachhead in Australia where few water technology firms have gone before.

The project is slated for completion sometime in 2010.

Israeli Technology on an International Scale
IDE has used the same technology in the desalination plants in Ashkelon and Hadera, each of which produces more than 100 million cubic meters of water per year, as well as in Cyprus (20 million cubic meters / year) and in Eilat (3.6 million cubic meters / year).

The Israeli firm has become a world leader in water desalination since its establishment in 1965. It specializes in commercial applications of thermal and membrane technologies for desalinating and converting sea and brackish water to drinking and process water. 

IDE has more than 385 clients in 40 countries on every continent around the world, altogether producing more than 1,600,000 cubic meters of water per day.

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, leading marginally in the polls over Transportation Minister Sha'ul Mofaz, has picked up important support from MK Tzachi HaNegbi. 

The two ministers are running, together with dark horses Ministers Avi Dichter and Meir Sheetrit, for leader of Israel's ruling party, Kadima.  The primaries are to be held five weeks from now.

The winner will be presented the task of winning the confidence of the existing coalition or formulating a new government. If successful, he/she will replace Ehud Olmert as prime minister.

The most recently publicized poll, surveying a sampling of 1,200 registered Kadima Party members this week, shows Livni leading Mofaz by 6-10 percentage points.  The poll, done by the Dialog Institute for Channel 10, shows that Dichter and Sheetrit would each receive only 4%, while Livni would garner 35%, and Mofaz - 25%.  If the two weaker candidates drop out, Mofaz would pick up another 8% and Livni only another 4%, cutting her lead to six points.

HaNegbi for Livni
HaNegbi, generally noted for his relatively hawkish stance within the dovish Kadima party, surprised observers by throwing his support behind Livni. 

"It is to the benefit of the State of Israel to have leadership from a centrist, public-minded political movement," said HaNegbi, "one that knows how to combine different outlooks that are in the Zionist and nationalist consensus, and that shakes off extremism.  I believe that Foreign Minister Livni well expresses this idea in her public experience, her values, and her calm and broad vision."

HaNegbi himself vaulted to national prominence as one of the leaders of the "Movement to Stop the Withdrawal from Sinai" in the early 1980s.  He led a group of university students who sat atop a tall monument in the doomed city of Yamit and refused to descend unless the withdrawal was called off.  Police and army soldiers later forcibly removed him.

Livni also has the support of Finance Minister Roni Bar-On, Environment Minister Gideon Ezra, Deputy Foreign Minister Majalli Whbee and MKs Yitzchak Ben-Yisrael and Shlomo Molla.

Six MKs for Mofaz
Six Kadima MKs and ministers have expressed public support for Sha'ul Mofaz in the race for Kadima leader.  They are Housing Minister Ze'ev Boim, Minister Ruchama Avraham-Belila, and MKs Ze'ev Elkin, Otniel Shneller, Ronit Tirosh and David Tal.

Mofaz is clearly favored by the nationalist camp, as his interests in securing a peace agreement with the Palestinian Authority play second fiddle to his security concerns.  Mofaz served in the past as Defense Minister and IDF Chief of Staff.

Shneller said Mofaz is the "most appropriate choice to connect and join various elements in Israeli society," but added that he would support whichever candidate is chosen by Kadima voters.

Tirosh said, "I entered politics because I liked the approach that combines the right-wing with the center. But unfortunately, right after the Disengagement from Gush Katif and northern Shomron, [there was] a social crisis, and then with the continued firing at Sderot and environs, my innocence was shattered.  I now think that in light of all this, we must be very cautious about any future withdrawal decisions."

Candidates Support Palestinian State
In May 2003, when then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon first presented the Road Map plan - calling for a Palestinian state - to the government for a vote, Ministers Livni, Mofaz and Sheetrit all voted in favor.  Dichter was not a Cabinet minister at the time, but he is known to strongly favor the formation of a Palestinian state in Judea, Samaria and Gaza.

The process of dismantling the front group used by Peace Now to receive US tax exemption status has apparently been stalled.

A resident of Ofrah, Dalia Laor, filed a complaint with the US tax authorities, against Americans for Peace Now and the Shaal Educational Projects group, claiming that monies earmarked for the educational organization were actually used by Peace Now for its political activities. Alleged discrepancies between the amounts reported to the US authorities and Shaal's reports to Israel's non-profit associations office have also been reported.

Recent revelations have shown that Peace Now in Israel is not actually a legal entity, and has raised funding via the Shaal educational association ever since the 1980's.  Shaal's articles of association say nothing about political activity, and Israeli law forbids a non-profit association to deviate from its stated goals.  Shaal's funding of Peace Now is thus apparently illegal.

Accountant Gabi Izak, who was appointed to investigate the matter by the Registrar, submitted a grave report on the link between Shaal and Peace Now.  It appeared that the Registrar was about to begin dismantling Shaal as a result, following the precedent of Ir Shalem, another left-wing Peace Now-associated group. 

However, recent developments indicate that the Registrar is changing his mind.  Visits paid last week and this by concerned citizens - Dalia Laor of Ofrah and Dr. Jan Sokolofsky of Jerusalem - revealed that Shaal's file is unavailable for public perusal.  The reason explained to them is that the file is "being attended to." 

Sokolofsky told IsraelNationalNews that an office clerk told her, "This can mean only one of three things: Its name, or purpose, or articles of association are being changed."

The citizens expressed great concern that a Peace Now front organization is thus being "laundered." Laor says she will file an administrative court suit against the Registrar.

Peace Now has essentially set as its goal the removal of all Jewish presence from Judea and Samaria.  It tracks Jewish construction in the area and has often sought out Arabs who then claim that Jewish-built land is actually theirs.

National Union party sources quoted in the Makor Rishon newspaper said, "Once again, serial law violators appear to be rewarded. Peace Now's activity has always served to fan tensions in Israel, and between Israel and its allies."

Soulfarm will perform a series of concerts in Israel. The band was one of the first in the 1990s to develop a post-Shlomo Carlebach jangly rock sound.

Members Noah Solomon and C Lanzbom met on Moshav Mevo Modiin in Israel where they learned from the influential rabbi and musician, Shlomo Carlebach. After moving to New York City they formed Inasense. The band later evolved into Soulfarm with drummer Mark Ambrosino and bassist Jeff Langston and continues to tour extensively.

Although Solomon and Lanzbom have been to Israel many times, this is only the second time the full band has been to Israel together. Israel National Radio caught up with the band to discuss their tour.

Question: So tell us a little about what Soulfarm is.

Noah: We are basically a rock band with world beat influences. C and I met in Israel at the moshav (farm), and my parents still live there.

Question: So what is Israel like so far?
We played the exact same music to an audience that had no idea who Shlomo Carlebach was and it was very well

Mark: I think it's really important to see it for ourselves. I'm from New York. We only get a filtered version through the media and that's only a small piece of the pie. To get the full picture you have to get it for yourself.

Question: You have at least one or two Carlebach songs on every album.

C Lanzbom: We all have different connections to Shlomo. I met him in the 80s and he brought me to Israel, and I met everybody on the moshav. He was a great, great teacher, and I was very taken with all of his learnings as well as his music. I played with him often.

Question: Did your music change after your Israel experience? Are you playing the same style?

C Lanzbom: Basically I was just a rock musician and after I met Shlomo, I saw what Jewish music could be. He was really one of the foremost Jewish composers out there. So that influenced me a lot and a lot of the regular Israeli music as well. I had a chance to play with a lot of the Israeli starts. That had a profound influence.

Question: If a regular guy saw Soulfarm you might not know it's Jewish.

Mark: Most people don't know where that music is coming from. They're very exposed to Latin music or bluegrass or different genres throughout the world, but Middle Eastern or Jewish music is so varied. We've adapted Shlomo's music and people love it. And it doesn't matter if it's Jewish or not, it touches them. It's great writing.

Noah: I think the reason his music works as opposed to other music is its simplicity. If you've heard it once through, you can join in and sing. That translates. Music transcends all barriers. We've played Shlomo's music in the middle of South Carolina, where no one would have any idea what that is and it still works.

Mark: In New York we have very large Jewish following. It may be possible to perceive the band as a Jewish band but in July we went to the Caribbean and we played the exact same music to an audience that had no idea who Shlomo Carlebach was or even that it was Jewish music and it was very well received. So it is Jewish music but it's also just music that anyone can relate to.

Question: What about the other songs - the English songs? Where do they come from?

C Lanzbom: We write about everything that we experience day to day. Most of it is about personal experiences or stories, feelings and emotions influenced by whatever we have gone though. So if there's something that's perceived as Jewish, that's why. We don't intentionally sit down to write any genre. We've almost been accused of being too much that way where every song is different, but that's just the way we write, and who we are. We're four different people and we grew up with different music and together it creates something new and exciting for us.

Noah: Every once in a while we write a song about specific things. When Jeff writes it's usually about something specific and often politics in the world. I wrote a song about my neighbor Aish Kodesh Gilmore who was murdered here in Israel in 2000.

Question: Why did you change your name from Inasense?

C Lanzbom: There's no great story. We just had a change in band members of the band and we had some uncertainty. We bumped into someone who threw out that phrase and it stuck. It fits our style of music because that's what we're trying to do, we're trying to feed our souls.

Soulfarm will be performing in Israel at the following locations:

Wednesday Aug. 13th  at the Shablul Music Club  in Tel Aviv, Thursday Aug. 14th at the Mifgashim Festival in Givatayim, Saturday night Aug. 16th  with haMAKOR at The Lab (HaMa'abada) in Jerusalem, Sunday Aug. 17th at the Celebrating Carlebach / Festival HaTanach in Bet Guvrin and Monday Aug. 18th at Shuni Fortress in Jabotinsky Park in Binyamina.

For more information, visit Tightrope Productions at http://www.pirsumeinisa.com

The Red Cross in Kenya has adopted a unique cholera prevention program developed by master degree students from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The prevention program was found to be highly effective in prevention and management of the disease.

The Red Cross is preparing to implement the program beyond the displaced persons camps in Kenya, where it was first put into use.

The students are from Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Colombia, Uzbekistan, India and the United States, and have been studying in Israel on the one-year Legacy-Heritage International Masters in Public Health Program at Hebrew University.

There are outbreaks of cholera in Kenya every year, mostly as a result of torrential rains with accompanying floods that contaminate already inadequate water supplies. 

The students have determined that the disease can be prevented and fatalities easily avoided if prevention efforts are integrated into routine health care and if outbreaks of the disease are reported early enough. However, student team leader Solomon Nzioka from Kenya said that the government often denies the outbreaks out of fears of losing tourist dollars.

If Kenyan government funding is secured, the students expect that the program will increase access to safe drinking water from 47 to 80 percent within three years. While the program is currently only being considered in Kenya, the students hope that it will soon be utilized in other countries, such as Nigeria and Ethiopia, where they say cholera is rife.

If the parents aren’t home and you need information, do not go to the teenager—ask the younger children.
As a real estate agent who has visited dozens, even hundreds of homes a year, I’ve gained quite a few insights into the way people live. The most humorous insights are those regarding teenagers.  As a parent of teenagers myself, dealing with their idiosyncrasies and habits, I’m comforted by what I have observed about this exceptional age-group. Here are some of my reflections.

Observation #1: Sleeping Beauties

Whenever I bring clients into a home with teenagers, it is guaranteed that at least one teenager will still be in bed--doesn’t matter what time of the day. If the sun is out, a teenager is sleeping, whether it’s a school day or summer vacation. You do not need to send your teenager to therapy if he/she sleeps until 11 am; 12 pm or even to 4:30 pm on a regular basis. It is something they all do. Perhaps studying for tests makes them tired—perhaps it’s the hormones. I’m starting to think they are really bats.

Observation #2: “No Information”

If the parents aren’t home and you need information...

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