Israel news from within Israel

[Soldier4Christ]

What? Israel to help Muslims carve
Quranic verses on Temple Mount
Islamic writings all over
holiest site for Judaism

After three years of waiting, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert quietly has granted permission to the Muslim custodians of the Temple Mount to repair and enhance Quranic verses plastered around Judaism's holiest site, WND has learned.

The approval came as result of the petitioning of the Israeli government by Jordan, which has been solidifying control over the Temple Mount in recent years.

There are more than 4,000 Quranic quotations written in Arabic calligraphy and carved into various Islamic buildings throughout the Temple Mount, including inside and outside the Al Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock.

Six hundred of the carved verses are in poor condition, according to the Waqf, the Mount's Muslim custodians.

The Waqf has been asking Israel for permission to repair the Quranic quotation carvings for years now. It even transported to the Israeli port city of Ashdod boxes of European tools and machinery especially made to repair the Temple Mount Quranic verses. The tools have been sitting in Ashdod for three years, according to informed sources.

Following Jordanian intervention, Olmert last week gave the Waqf approval to begin fixing the Quranic quotes, the informed sources told WND.

Jordan controlled areas of eastern Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount, from 1948 until Israel recaptured the site in the 1967 Six Day War.

During the period of Jordanian control, Jews were barred from the Western Wall and Temple Mount, and hundreds of synagogues in eastern Jerusalem were destroyed. Jordan constructed a road that stretched across the Mount of Olives, adjacent to the Temple Mount, bulldozing hundreds of Jewish gravestones in the process.

Following the Six Day War, one of the first acts of Moshe Dayan, chief of staff of the Israeli Defense Forces, was to ensure the Jordanian-allied Mufti of Jerusalem, Abd Al Hamid A Saih, the holy site would remain under Islamic custodianship.

Dayan later also famously ordered an Israeli flag removed from the Dome of the Rock.

Jordan continues to maintain a major influence over the Temple Mount. Sheik Azzam Khateeb, who was installed in February 2007 as the new manager of the Waqf, is known to be close to the Jordanian monarchy. The previous Waqf manager, Sheik Adnon Husseini, was loyal to Palestinian Authority although toward the end of his rein, he seemed to be warming to Jordan.

In a gesture to Jordan, in January 2006, Israel granted Jordan permission to replace the main podium in the Al Aqsa Mosque from which Islamic preachers deliver their sermons. The podium, which was partially funded by Saudi Arabia, is considered one of the most important stands in the Muslim world. Muslims now believe it marks the "exact spot" Muhammad went up to heaven to receive revelations from Allah.

The new stand bears the emblem of the Jordanian kingdom. It replaced a 1,000-year-old podium believed to have been shipped to Jerusalem by the Islamic conqueror Saladin.

That stand was destroyed in 1969, when an Australian tourist set fire to the Al Aqsa Mosque.

In recent years, Jordan quietly has been purchasing real estate surrounding the Temple Mount in Jerusalem in hopes of gaining more control over the area accessing the holy site, according to Palestinian and Israeli officials speaking to WND.

The officials disclosed the Jordanian kingdom in 2006 and 2007 used shell companies to purchase several apartments and shops located at key peripheral sections of the Temple Mount. The shell companies at times presented themselves as acting on behalf of the Waqf custodians of the Temple Mount, according to information obtained.

The officials said Jordan also set up a commission to use the shell companies to petition mostly Arab landowners adjacent to eastern sections of the Temple Mount to sell their properties. They said profits from sales at any purchased shops would be reinvested to buy more real estate near the Mount and in eastern Jerusalem neighborhoods.

The Temple Mount is the holiest site in Judaism. The First Jewish Temple was built there by King Solomon in the 10th century B.C. It was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. The Second Temple was rebuilt in 515 B.C. after Jerusalem was freed from Babylonian captivity. That temple was destroyed by the Roman Empire in A.D. 70. Each temple stood for a period of about four centuries.

The Jewish Temple was the center of religious Jewish worship. It housed the Holy of Holies, which contained the Ark of the Covenant and was said to be the area upon which God's shechina or "presence" dwelt. All Jewish holidays centered on worship at the Temple. The Jewish Temple served as the primary location for the offering of sacrifices and was the main gathering place for the Jewish people.

According to the Talmud, the world was created from the foundation stone of the Temple Mount. The site is believed to be the Biblical Mount Moriah, the location where Abraham fulfilled God's test to see if he would be willing to sacrifice his son Isaac.

Jewish tradition holds Mashiach, or the Jewish Messiah, will return and rebuild the third and final Temple on the Mount in Jerusalem.

The Kotel, or Western Wall, is the one part of the Temple Mount that survived the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans and stands today in Jerusalem.

Throughout all notorious Jewish exiles, thorough documentation shows the Jews never gave up their hope of returning to Jerusalem and re-establishing their Temple. To this day Jews worldwide pray facing the Western Wall, while Muslims turn their backs away from the Temple Mount and pray toward Mecca.

The Al Aqsa Mosque was constructed around A.D. 709 to serve as a shrine near another shrine, the Dome of the Rock, which was built by an Islamic caliph.

About 100 years ago, Al Aqsa in Jerusalem became associated with the place Muslims came to believe Muhammad ascended to heaven. Jerusalem, however, is not mentioned in the Quran.

Islamic tradition states Muhammad took a journey in a single night from "a sacred mosque" – believed to be in Mecca in southern Saudi Arabia – to "the farthest mosque," and from a rock there ascended to heaven to receive revelations from Allah that became part of the Quran.

Palestinians today claim exclusivity over the Temple Mount and Palestinian leaders routinely deny Jewish historic connection to the site, but historically, Muslims did not claim the Al Aqsa Mosque as their third holiest site and admitted the Jewish Temples existed.

According to research by Israeli author Shmuel Berkovits, Islam previously disregarded Jerusalem. He points out in his book "How Dreadful Is this Place!" that Muhammad was said to loathe Jerusalem and what it stood for. Berkovits wrote that Muhammad made a point of eliminating pagan sites of worship, and sanctifying only one place – the Kaaba in Mecca – to signify the unity of God.

As late as the 14th century, Islamic scholar Taqi al-Din Ibn Taymiyya, whose writings influenced the Wahhabi movement in Arabia, ruled that sacred Islamic sites are to be found only in the Arabian Peninsula, and that "in Jerusalem, there is not a place one calls sacred, and the same holds true for the tombs of Hebron."

It wasn't until the late 19th century – incidentally when Jews started immigrating to Palestine – that some Muslim scholars began claiming Muhammad tied his horse to the Western Wall and associated Muhammad's purported night journey with the Temple Mount.

A guide to the Temple Mount by the Supreme Muslim Council in Jerusalem published in 1925 listed the Mount as the site of Solomon's Temple. The Temple Institute acquired a copy of the official 1925 "Guide Book to Al-Haram Al-Sharif," which states on page 4, "Its identity with the site of Solomon's Temple is beyond dispute. This, too, is the spot, according to universal belief, on which 'David built there an altar unto the Lord.'"

[HisDaughter]

Israel slated to buy US smart bombs for possible attack on Iran

Prophecy News Watch
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The US Department of Defense has notified Congress of a potential sale to Israel of 1,000 smart bombs capable of penetrating underground bunkers, which would likely be used in the event of a military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.

The notification to Congress was made over the weekend by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, the branch of the Pentagon responsible for evaluating foreign military sales. Congress has 30 days to object to the deal.

The deal is valued at $77 million and the principal contractor would be Boeing Integrated Defense Systems.

The bomb Israel wants is the GBU-39, developed in recent years by the US as a small-diameter bomb for low-cost, high-precision and low-collateral damage strikes.

Israel has also asked for 150 mounting carriages, 30 guided test vehicles and two instructors to train the air force in loading the bombs on its aircraft.

The GPS-guided GBU-39 is said to be one of the most accurate bombs in the world. The 113 kg. bomb has the same penetration capabilities as a normal 900 kg. bomb, although it has only 22.7 kg. of explosives. At just 1.75 meters long, its small size increases the number of bombs an aircraft can carry and the number of targets it can attack in a sortie.

Tests conducted in the US have proven that the bomb is capable of penetrating at least 90 cm. of steel-reinforced concrete. The GBU-39 can be used in adverse weather conditions and has a standoff range of more than 110 km. due to pop-out wings.

In its recommendation to Congress, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency wrote that Israel's strategic position was "vital to the United States' interests throughout the Middle East."

"It is vital to the US national interests to assist Israel to develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability. This proposed sale is consistent with those objectives," the statement read.

The agency's announcement came amid growing concern that the Pentagon was not willing to sell Israel advanced military platforms such as bunker-buster missiles in an effort to dissuade Jerusalem from attacking Iran's nuclear facilities.

Bunker-buster missiles would be a fundamental component of an air strike against Iran, since many of the nuclear facilities, such as the Natanz uranium enrichment complex, have been built in underground, heavily fortified bunkers.

During the Second Lebanon War, Israel reportedly received an emergency shipment of bunker-buster missiles from the US to use against underground Hizbullah facilities.

Yiftah Shapir, from the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, said the GBU-39 is one of the most advanced in the world and would improve Israel's standoff fire capabilities.

"The bomb is extremely accurate," he said. "All you have to do is punch in the coordinates, fire and forget."

He said they could be used to attack Iranian underground facilities like Natanz but that they could only penetrate a few meters.

"Hundreds of these would have to be used in an attack on Natanz for it to be successful," Shapir said.

[HisDaughter]

Israel on high alert for mass-casualty strikes

worldtribune

Israel's military has been placed on high alert following an airline bomb scare and reports of other threats.

Officials said the intelligence community has warned of an imminent attack by either Al Qaida or Hizbullah against Israel. They said the Islamic insurgency could be planning the hijacking of an Israeli passenger jet that would then be crashed into an Israeli residential area.

"There is an assessment that something very bad will take place over the next few weeks, perhaps over the Jewish holidays," an official said.

On Sept. 24, the Israeli military was ordered on high alert following a bomb scare involving an El Al passenger jet. Security officials received information that a bomb had been placed on plane scheduled to arrive at Ben-Gurion International Airport from Paris that evening.

Israel Air Force F-15 and F-16 fighters escorted the El Al jet once it entered Israeli air space. The passenger plane landed at 8 p.m. and was searched by a bomb disposal unit.

"The bomb threat was found to be baseless," the military said.

Hours earlier, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert convened a Cabinet committee to discuss reports of imminent threats against Israeli interests abroad. The National Security Council has warned of Al Qaida and Hizbullah plots to abduct or kill Israelis.

"Government bodies are making every effort to map the threats and warn against them," a Cabinet statement said. "However, it is the responsibility — first and foremost — of every citizen who travels abroad to keep far away from dangerous areas and to take obligatory precautions."

Officials said Hizbullah was coordinating with Al Qaida and Hamas to abduct Israeli tourists in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. They said the abduction plot was one of several Hizbullah options designed to avenge the assassination of operations chief Imad Mughniyeh in February 2008.

Another threat was said to stem from Palestinian insurgents in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. On Sept. 19, four Palestinians infiltrated a major Israel Air Force base in the Negev desert without being detected.

Officials acknowledged that the Palestinians, later identified as residents of the Hebron area who sought employment, bypassed chain link fences, video cameras and patrols to enter the Nevatim air base. Israeli officers and airmen saw the Palestinians wander through air and weapons hangers, but failed to inform security forces.

In the end, an Israeli contractor reported the Palestinians to the base commander. The Palestinians were arrested by police. "This incident will be investigated in depth by the air force, and lessons will be learned to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future," a military spokesman said.

[HisDaughter]

Hamas plotting West Bank takeover in early 2009
worldtribune

The Palestinian Authority has opted for a holding pattern rather than developing a strategy to block the opposition Hamas movement from seizing power in the West Bank.

PA security sources said PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has refused to respond to appeals by senior officers to implement a range of measures to protect the Fatah-aligned regime from Hamas threats.

"Abu Mazen [Abbas] is scared of Hamas," a senior source said. "He does not want to provoke Hamas."

The PA has assessed that Hamas could not topple the Abbas regime. Senior officials said that unlike the Gaza Strip, Hamas does not have sufficient forces to sustain a rebellion in the West Bank.

"Hamas does not have real power in the West Bank and Israel is exaggerating its strength," PA National Security Force commander Maj. Gen. Diyab Al Ali said. "We are ready to control the West Bank cities and maintain security if Israel withdraws from them and this will make it easier for us to obtain our demands from Israel."

But security sources said Hamas could destabilize the PA to the point where senior officials either flee the West Bank or stay home. The sources said this could include Abbas, who has often threatened to quit.

The sources said Hamas has been working with Iran and Syria in a campaign to undermine the Abbas regime in 2009. They said the Hamas effort was being planned in the Gaza Strip by military chief Ahmed Jaabari.

In 2008, the PA arrested about 400 Hamas members in the West Bank and closed four Hamas charities. All but about 120 have been released.

On Sept. 22, PA forces raided the Hebron office of a Hamas member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, identified as Samira Al Halayka,. Hebron has been the latest target of a PA crackdown on Hamas.

The sources said Hamas was believed to have organized assassination and sabotage squads that could attack the PA after January 2009, when Abbas's term was scheduled to end. Abbas was said to have agreed to a U.S. request to remain in power after January.

[Shammu]

Israelis Usher in Jewish New Year With Uncertain Eye Toward Future

Monday , September 29, 2008

JERUSALEM —
Israelis ushered in the Jewish New Year on Monday with festive family dinners, and a prediction from their outgoing prime minister, Ehud Olmert, that Israel would have to return virtually all the land it captured in the 1967 Mideast War in exchange for peace with the Palestinians and Syria.

Olmert exchanged holiday greetings with the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas. The Jewish New Year, or Rosh Hashana, coincides this year with Eid el-Fitr, one of the holiest days on the Muslim calendar. The two leaders, who have been meeting regularly in recent months, agreed to meet in the near future, officials said.

Still, months of talks have not produced tangible results, and many Israelis and Palestinians are skeptical about peace prospects. For many Israelis, the year that ended Monday was also disappointing in other ways. Top leaders, including Olmert, and a one-time president, Moshe Katsav were forced out by scandal.

"From the public, Israeli standpoint, the year that ends this evening should perhaps be erased from collective memory," wrote columnist Eitan Haber in the Yediot Ahronot daily.

"We are divided, skeptical, disbelieving, facing the greatest leadership crisis there has ever been here," added Yair Lapid, who also wrote in Yediot.

The New Year, which began at sundown, ushers in 10 days of soul-searching capped by Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement. Rosh Hashana is a time for festive meals, which traditionally include an apple dipped in honey to symbolize a sweet new year.

Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics released its annual population figures on the occasion of the holiday. It reported that 7.34 million people live in Israel, including 5.54 million Jews, or 75 percent of the population. In addition, there are 1.48 million Arabs, or about 20 percent, and 315,000 members of other groups.

The population growth rate held steady at 1.8 percent over the past year. The Arab population grew at a faster rate than the Jewish population, 2.6 percent compared to 1.6 percent.

Israel closed off the West Bank until late Wednesday, barring Palestinians from entering Israel. It's a measure common during Jewish holidays, to prevent possible attacks by Palestinian militants. Gaza has been virtually sealed off since June 2007 when the Islamic militant Hamas seized control by force, and the vast majority of the territory's 1.4 million Palestinians have been trapped there since then.

In his farewell interview, Olmert said Israel will have to give up virtually all of the West Bank and east Jerusalem if it wants peace with the Palestinians. Olmert also said Israel would have to leave the Golan Heights in order to obtain peace with Syria.

The comments were the clearest sign to date of Olmert's willingness to meet the demands of Israel's longtime enemies in peace negotiations. But their significance was uncertain, since Olmert's days in office are numbered and peace negotiations will soon become the responsibility of a different Israeli leader.

Palestinians, meanwhile, prepared for Eid el-Fitr, a three-day holiday marking the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. Eid el-Fitr will start either Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on when the sliver of the new moon is sighted.

In Gaza, outdoor markets were selling nearly all the supplies needed for the holiday, but prices are up sharply, compared to the period before the start of the blockade. Gazans get many of their supplies through smuggling tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border.

A tunnel operator, who would only identify himself as Abu Nidal, said he's been working double time in the run-up to the holiday. "Before we used to enter 1-2 tons a day of goods in general," he said. "These days, from 5 to 6 tons." He added that the smuggled goods range from clothes and chocolate to balloons.

Israelis Usher in Jewish New Year With Uncertain Eye Toward Future

[HisDaughter]

Does Livni Share Olmert's Plan To Give Away Golan, Most of Eastern Jerusalem?

israelnationalnews.com

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Israel must give away the Golan Heights and most of eastern Jerusalem, outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said in an interview with the Hebrew daily newspaper Yediot Acharonot on Friday.

Olmert has previously said he had not promised Syrian President Bashar Assad that Israel would end its sovereignty over the strategic Golan area, which was annexed to the Jewish State decades ago.

However, in the weekend interview the lame duck prime minister maintained, "One more hill, another 100 meters – this is not what is going to change the security of Israel." Olmert said that Damascus would be forced to end its ties with Iran in exchange for peace and Israel's relinquishing the Golan Heights.

In an address at the opening of the winter session of the Knesset in 2006, Olmert told lawmakers that negotiations with Syria would require some changes in Damascus: "One makes peace with those who eschew terrorism and not those who host the headquarters of terror organizations. You make peace with those who have made a strategic decision to advocate a moderate policy and not those who assist in the arming of a terror organization which threatens regional stability…

"Israel will consent to making peace with the President of Syria only if he makes a genuine strategic decision to renounce terrorism, and not with a leader who uses the language of peace as a tactic to divert the world's attention from other issues."

Olmert vowed exactly two years ago this week, "As long as I am prime minister, we shall not give up the Golan for all eternity!"

His current statements, coming at the tail end of his reign while Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni tries to form a new government, now present the new Kadima party chairwoman with a policy she may have no choice but to accept.

If she does not, she risks a breakdown in the peace negotiations while running the danger of losing a coalition.

However, a majority of Knesset Members already have stated they oppose any withdrawal from the Golan Heights.

[Shammu]

Rabbi gives first Synod address
6 October 2008

Cohen said wartime Pope Pius XII should have done more to help Jews

A Jewish cleric has addressed a worldwide gathering of Roman Catholic Bishops for the first time.

Shear-Yashuv Cohen, chief rabbi of the Israeli city of Haifa, explained to the Pope and his bishops the importance of the Bible to Jewish believers.

He also used the occasion to denounce the Iranian president for his comments about Israel at the UN last month.

The first day of the Vatican Synod saw some strong opinions expressed, the BBC's David Willey in Rome says.

Not only did the bishops cover the role of the Bible in the modern world - the official theme of the discussions - but also international politics and the world financial crisis.

Pope Benedict XVI described the current financial crisis as proof that the pursuit of money and success is pointless. "Only the word of God endures," he told the synod.

'Vicious words'

Before the gathering of 253 bishops, Rabbi Cohen spoke of the "long, hard and painful history" of relations between Catholics and Jews, describing it as "a history of blood and tears".

He said his presence at the synod sent a signal of "hope and a message of love, co-existence and peace for our generation, and for generations to come".

And he appealed for all religious leaders to defend and protect Israel from outside threats.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told the UN in New York last month that Israel "is on a definite slope to collapse and there is no way for it to get out of the cesspool created by itself and its supporters".

Without mentioning the Iranian president by name, Rabbi Cohen said Israelis felt "deep shock at the terrible and vicious words" he had uttered against their nation.

Improving relations

Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet, chief rapporteur of the synod, stressed the importance of dialogue with both Jews and Muslims.

"Bearing in mind the tragic history of the relations between Israel and the Church, we are invited... to repair any injustice committed against the Jews," he said.

The history of Christian persecution of Jews includes genocide, exile, pogroms, crusades and anti-Semitism going back several centuries.

Cardinal Oullet described Muslims as "allies in the defence of human life and in the assertion of the social importance of religion".

The Vatican will be hosting a major meeting with Muslim clerics and scholars in November as part of the Pope's plan to improve relations with the Islamic world, says our Rome correspondent.

Rabbi gives first Synod address

[HisDaughter]

Livni steps closer to Israeli leadership

Tzipi Livni on Tuesday moved one step closer to becoming the next prime minister of Israel, after she finally secured a pledge from her party’s biggest coalition ally to stay in the government and support her bid for the leadership.

Ms Livni, who currently serves as foreign minister, won the race to succeed Ehud Olmert as prime minister and head of the governing Kadima party in an internal primary last month. But she has faced an uphill battle in the weeks since to hold together the fractious government coalition assembled by Mr Olmert, who is stepping down to fight corruption allegations.

The breakthrough came on Tuesday, when the centre-left Labour party under Ehud Barak, the defence minister and himself a former prime minister, agreed to sign a new coalition agreement.

The deal was struck between senior negotiators from the two parties, but has yet to be formally ratified by the two leaders.

Together Kadima and Labour have 48 seats in the 120-seat Knesset. They would need a further 13 seats to give them an overall majority.

If Ms Livni can now also persuade the ultra-orthodox religious Shas party to stay on board, she will have enough votes in the Israeli parliament to become Israel’s second female prime minister after Golda Meir more than 30 years ago.

Shas has made its support conditional on a promise to raise child welfare payments. The party also wants to ensure that the current peace talks with the Palestinians exclude the sensitive issue of occupied east Jerusalem, which the Palestinians claim as the capital of a future independent state.

The deal with Labour came after a marathon negotiating session lasting 17 hours, Israeli media reported. It will see Mr Barak elevated to the post of “senior” deputy prime minister, marking him out as the highest-ranking government member behind Ms Livni. He will also be handed an unspecified role in the current peace negotiations with Syria, which were launched by Mr Olmert earlier this year.

The agreement reflects the desire of both parties to avoid an early election, which polls suggest would usher in a right-wing government under Benjamin Netanyahu, the leader of the Likud party and another former prime minister.

Mr Netanyahu has repeatedly urged both Labour and Shas not to join Kadima in a new government, arguing that Israel should go to the polls instead.

In an effort to prevent Shas from following the Labour lead, Mr Netanyahu on Tuesday met the party’s spiritual leader, reportedly warning him of Ms Livni’s intention to redivide Jerusalem.

While most analysts believe that Shas will ultimately decide to join the government, the arduous coalition talks of the past weeks suggest that a Livni-led government may suffer from the same lack of stability and political cohesion that bedevilled Mr Olmert.

Ms Livni is likely to face a particular challenge in uniting her government behind the current peace talks with the Palestinian Authority, which have made little headway since their launch last year.

[Shammu]

Israeli air force planning answer for missile war
October 16, 2008

TEL AVIV — The Israel Air Force has been preparing for massive missile strikes by Iran and Syria.

Officials said the air force has sought to enhance capabilities that would enable fighter-jets to take off and land during missile and rocket strikes from such countries as Iran, Lebanon and Syria.

They said the air force began the planning effort soon after the Hizbullah war in 2006, which paralyzed at least one major base.

"We believe that our air bases would be a key target in any war," an official said.

The air force has been testing material that would enable aircraft to take off from damaged runways. Officials said the military has procured an unidentified non-asphalt substance that could restore destroyed runways within minutes.

"The tests were successful and would allow combat aircraft to take-off and land even under terrible conditions," the official said.

Officials said the air force has determined that Hizbullah and Hamas would coordinate in an effort to paralyze bases throughout the country. They said Hizbullah would target northern air bases and Hamas would fire extended-range rockets toward bases south of Tel Aviv as well as in the Negev desert.

Another Israeli option has been the procurement of a vertical takeoff variant of the Joint Strike Fighter, known as the F-35B. Under the option, the air force would procure about 10 such aircraft to ensure rapid response to any missile strike on the Jewish state.

Officials said Israel's F-15I fighter-jet would serve as the most important element in any counter-strike. The air force has acquired a system that enables the F-15I — the most powerful aircraft in the Israeli fleet -- to launch several precision-guided weapons simultaneously.

Israeli air force planning answer for missile war

[Shammu]

Temple time?
Oct. 16, 2008
DAVID SMITH , THE JERUSALEM POST

For centuries Jews have remembered and mourned the destruction of the Temple through traditions such as crushing a glass at weddings or leaving unpainted a patch of wall opposite the entrance to one's home - each stressing that nothing can be perfect or complete without the Temple.

Built by Solomon in about 950 BCE and destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BCE, the Temple was rebuilt about 70 years later but finally razed by the Romans in 70 CE.

Talmud scholar Rabbi Yohanan wrote: "During these times that the Temple is demolished, a person is not allowed to fill his mouth with laughter. This is because the verse [Psalms 126] says, 'Then our mouths will be filled with laughter,' and does not say 'Now our mouths will be filled with laughter.' And when is 'then'? 'Then' will be when the Third Temple is rebuilt."

In other words, "Jewish life without the Temple is like fish out of water," says Rabbi Chaim Richman, head of the international department of the Temple Institute.

An author of 10 books on the Temple, Richman adds: "Do you realize that 202 commandments out of 613 must have the Temple to be fulfilled? Without the Temple, Judaism is a skeleton of what it's supposed to be."

To this end, the Temple Institute was founded in 1987 with the explicit goal of rebuilding the Temple. Located in the Jewish Quarter, some 100,000 visitors, about half of them Christian, visit the institute each year to learn about the First and Second Temples and preparations for the Third Temple.

The institute is presently involved in education, research and constructing vessels for use in the longed-for Temple.

Richman relates a story about Temple Institute founder Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, a paratrooper who helped liberate the Old City, including the Western Wall and the Temple Mount, in June 1967.

A Jordanian Muslim guide led the soldiers around the Temple Mount explaining where the Temple and other fixtures, such as the menora and altar, had stood. When asked why he was helpful, the guide explained, "We have a tradition that one day the Jews would win a war and rebuild the Temple. This is my contribution. I assume you're starting tomorrow."

Although Temple Institute staff have been called lunatics, zealots and racists by some, they maintain that there is nothing more natural for the Jewish faithful to do than make preparations for the Third Temple.

"The hallmark of the Third Temple is unparalleled peace and harmony," says Richman. "I believe that the best that a Jew can do is to have the integrity to believe and do as much as possible toward building the Temple."

According to Richman the first step in this process is soul searching. "The answer is returning to our spiritual roots. This adds up to building up the holy Temple. It's the vehicle that builds up reconciliation between God and man… not just Jewish people."

To achieve this, the Temple Institute aims "to rekindle the flame of the holy Temple in the hearts of mankind" through various educational initiatives. Toward that end the institute invests about $500,000 yearly in publications, tours and seminars as well as maintenance of its Web site.

But the long-term goal, Richman says, is "to do all in our limited power to bring about the building of the holy Temple in our time."

How exactly this will be achieved is a point of contention.

According to Temple Institute director Yehuda Glick, many devout Jews believe the Temple "will come down somehow from heaven."

He insists a legend like that can be very hard to overcome, even though no Jewish sources support the idea.

"We must understand that 'heavenly' doesn't automatically mean mystical, superficial magic. During the Six Day War, the people of Israel were facing a major catastrophe and, in human eyes, we had no chance - we were to be wiped out. In six days we overcame enemies from every border and reunited Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel. That is no less a miracle," says Glick.

"So too when we look back at 1938 [before the Holocaust] and see we were almost wiped out," he continues. "Who would have believed we were just 10 years from seeing the words of the prophets coming out of the Book and materializing [the establishment of Israel].

"We have total faith that we are to do what we are obligated to do. He has His ways to surprise us. But it must come from a wide-range call and action."

RABBI MOSHE Silberschein, a professor of rabbinic literature at the Hebrew Union College, affirms the educational efforts of the Temple Institute. "I think the institute has educational value, helping children to see with their own eyes what they read about in the Bible and Mishna. It has value in helping them to visualize what the sacred service was like during the Second Temple period of Jewish history."

Still, Silberschein does have some misgivings about the institute "once the institute goes beyond teaching history, heritage and sacred texts, and starts talking about building the Third Temple." If, for example, a bulldozer were brought in to clear the path for the building of a Third Temple, that would be "tantamount to starting World War III," he says. "This is hardly an auspicious way to fulfill the biblical verse in Isaiah 56, 'For My House shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations.'"

Rabbi David Forman, former director of the Israel office of the Union for Reform Judaism, also takes issue with the institute's aims. "I'm opposed for two reasons: one is purely ideological/theological, and the second is practical/political," says Forman. "Firstly, the reconstruction of the Temple would thrust us back to a time where the expression of worship for God was exercised through sacrifice. According to our tradition, when the Temple was destroyed, the notion of sacrifice went by the wayside, and instead, in the rabbinic period, a new form of worship came into being - prayer - which seems to be a far more civilized way of asking, praising, thanking and praying to God.

"Secondly, it [rebuilding the Temple] would be terribly disruptive because of the emotional attachments the three monotheistic religions have to Jerusalem, the holy city, and to alter it and the status of the holy sites in any way that would impinge on spiritual longing would be a recipe for disaster and could lead not just to a local conflagration but to a wider one given the tension it would create," he explains, adding that "it would exacerbate an already sensitive situation that would engage the entire world community and certainly the Islamic community."

cont'd next post

[Shammu]

Eda Haredit spokesman Shmuel Poppenheim adds: "Hitgarut ha'umot [inciting nations] is forbidden... it awakens hate and repulsion, and could create a disastrous chain of events that would impede the coming of the Messiah.

Also, "In our days it is forbidden to enter the Temple Mount, which [institute founder] Ariel encourages. This is very grave and punishable by karet [premature death]," he continues. "But our main opposition [to the Temple Institute] is Ariel's premise that we are redemption-bound... His nationalism damages the pure faith of the Jews. Because of our sins we were exiled from the Land of Israel and the Temple; only our goodness and the will of God will rebuild the Temple, not our hands.

"It is problematic that Ariel mixes religious precepts, like redemption, with political principles like democracy and the State of Israel."

WHEN ASKED how the Third Temple would come about, Richman responds: "I don't do scenarios. I'm not shying away from the question. The Temple is not up to the Temple Institute, but up to the people of Israel. They have a representative government. Whether they'll act in accordance with what it means to be a Jew, I don't know."

He quotes Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, who said, "If we were the people we're supposed to be, the Muslims would come to us and ask, 'Please build us a Temple.'"

Asked about the timetable for construction, Richman, an ordained rabbi who quotes Maimonides on Temple matters but draws popular wisdom from "rabbis" Mark Twain and Yogi Berra, laughs, "I don't know, but I think we're behind schedule."

In the meantime, the Temple Institute focuses its energies on education and preparing vessels for use in the Third Temple.

A team of researchers, rabbis and scientists collaborate to ensure the needed items meet scriptural and rabbinic criteria. Beyond those standards, the craftsmen have artistic license to construct vessels as they deem appropriate.

"It's a very complex process," Richman explains. "Some items have taken over 10 years of research. We have groups of scholars who sift through superfluous information regarding concepts that have become completely forgotten or little is known of them. We are taking a section of Torah wisdom and reactivating it."

Knowledge of the construction of Temple objects is so obscure that "many people have asked us if we're allowed to do it. They ask, 'Isn't God supposed to do that?'"

Construction of the high priest's breastplate is an example of the complexity involved. According to Exodus 28 the material had to be woven of "gold, sky blue, dark red, and crimson-dyed wool, and of twisted linen."

Metalsmiths beat the gold into thin sheets, then cut it into fine threads to be woven into the material. The sky-blue color (techelet in Hebrew, said by the Mishna to resemble indigo) was a dye obtained from a snail known as hilazon.

The exact identification of this animal and the method used to produce the dye is the subject of extensive research. Most scholars today believe it to be the Mediterranean snail known as Murex trunculus.

"The dark red color, argaman in Hebrew, is also derived from a snail, possibly the Murex trunculus as well," says Richman. "According to this theory, the difference in color is a product of the amount of time the substance is initially exposed to sunlight."

The crimson color is produced from a worm referred to in the Torah as the "crimson worm," tola'at shani in Hebrew, a mountain worm that has been identified as Kermes biblicus.

The Hebrew word that appears for "linen" is shesh, which means "six." Researchers believe this requires each thread to be six-ply.

The 12 stones for the breastplate presented another problem since linguists don't agree on what the ancient names intend. Extensive research eventually revealed that ancient stones were classified by color, not gem family.

"The final authority is the midrash, which explains that the 12 tribes of Israel each had a flag, and the flag color matched the color of the stone worn on the high priest's breastplate representing that tribe. So there was maybe more than one stone to fit the requirement of the verse. We look at several criteria and find the best. That's the goal… to find the best possible."

TO DATE the institute has created more than 60 vessels for use in the Temple, which are on display at the institute. These include the showbread table, incense altar, and head and breast plates for the high priest.

One of the most expensive pieces is a golden menora showcased on a platform near the Western Wall. Made of a single piece of solid gold poured over a metal base, the half-ton fixture contains about 45 kilograms of gold and is valued at $3 million. Its design and construction was based on rabbinic sources as well as Roman-Jewish historian Josephus Flavius, himself a priest who served in the Temple. The absence of a red heifer presents a problem as its ashes must consecrate the articles in accordance with Numbers 19 and rabbinical instruction. Otherwise the priests would have to use the vessels in a state of impurity. Citing security concerns, Richman would not comment on the search for the red heifer. The institute has also begun mass production of priestly garments. It recently received rabbinic authorization to use special sewing machines to produce the apparel, bringing the price of each garment down from about $10,000 to $800.

Dozens of kohanim (members of the priestly line dating to Aaron) have placed their orders.

Until construction on the Third Temple can begin, the institute seeks to build a World Center for Temple Knowledge outside Jaffa Gate.

Slated for construction in 2012, the 2,500-square-meter facility will offer a 3-D experience of "going up to the Temple" as well as in-depth exhibits and galleries.

These and other projects aside, the institute's long-term goal is to rebuild the Temple, which Richman insists must be preceded by a shift in thinking.

"Everything that goes on in this country relates to the spiritual struggle behind it all - especially with the people of Israel. It's all about a total struggle about who we are and what our destiny is. We're not called to be the best doctors and lawyers and Hollywood producers - that is not our destiny. We're called to be a nation of priests," he says.

"The Temple is a real litmus paper test of that equation. We are talking about the big existential question: Who are we?"

Temple time?

[Shammu]

Pope snubs Israel over Yad Vashem inscription

As Vatican fights for beatification of WWII pope, cardinal announces Holy See won't visit Israel until inscription asserting Pius XII ignored Holocaust during war is removed

Anat Shalev
Published:    10.18.08, 20:35 / Israel News

Jesuit Father Peter Gumpel, a Vatican cardinal, said Pope Benedict XVI would not travel to Israel so long as Yad Vashem continues to display an inscription by the image of Pope Pius XII asserting that the latter failed to raise his voice against the extermination of Europe's Jews during the Holocaust.

Gumpel's statement, which was quoted extensively by the Italian media on Saturday, has since been rejected by the Vatican.

The Rev. was referring to an invitation extended to the Holy See by Israel. A papal visit can involve several long months to arrange.

Gumpel was quoted as saying that while the Catholic Church seeks a positive relationship with Israel, such ties can only be built on reciprocation.

Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman for domestic media, Yossi Levi, confirmed Jerusalem had issued a response following the Italian reports. "We do not interfere in the beatification of popes, but we do indeed have something to say about the historic role played by Pius XII," said Levy.

"So long as the Vatican refuses to allow historians into its archives, that painful question will remain unanswered. We want to continue the excellent dialogue we have with the Vatican, and the Pope is a welcome guest. We do not see Gumpel's statement as representative of the Holy See."

Following the Vatican's clarification the Foreign Affairs Ministry added: "Father Gumpel's words found no audience in the Vatican, and the clarification issued by the Vatican has put this matter to rest as far as we are concerned."

On Friday however France's main Jewish organization warned that efforts to beatify Pius XII would deal "a severe blow" to relations between Catholics and Jews.

"Pope Pius XII, worried about burning his bridges with Germany, never made a clear statement denouncing the singular monstrosity of the extermination of millions of Jews. Moreover, he did not do so after the war either, which is profoundly shocking," the organization, Conseil Representatif des Institutions juives de France (CRIF), said in a statement.

Pope snubs Israel over Yad Vashem inscription

[Shammu]

Israel expects U.S.-Iran talks under Obama
By Barak Ravid
October 20, 2008

Israel expects the U.S. to initiate direct talks with Tehran if Senator Barack Obama is elected president, in which case a critical Israeli interest would be to condition any talks between the West and Iran on halting uranium enrichment, according to a senior government source.

The source said discussions have been underway for months between Israel's Foreign Ministry, the Atomic Energy Commission, the National Security Council, the Mossad, the Defense Ministry and academic experts. The significance of the discussions is that they were coordinated by the foreign minister and Kadima chairwoman, prime minister-designate Tzipi Livni.

The discussions studied a number of scenarios between Iran and the West. According to one, following an Obama win, the new president will start a dialogue with Iran to pressure it to stop its nuclear program. Obama said in his first debate with Senator John McCain that the U.S. had to enter tough direct talks with the Iranians, and that attempts to isolate Tehran only speed up its progress toward nuclearization.

Israel has no knowledge at present that Obama intends to present pre-conditions to dialogue with the Iranians, which is of great concern to Jerusalem.

According to another scenario, after the U.S. elections, and perhaps even before them, Iran would announce its agreement to the plan for a way forward proposed by the six powers a few months ago. According to the plan, uranium enrichment and sanctions would end simultaneously and talks would begin within 45 days on complete suspension of enrichment in exchange for a package of incentives from the West. A senior government source who took part in the discussions said: "The evaluation in Israel is that these two scenarios are possible in the next six months." The source said that in the course of strategic planning it was made clear that "Israel would have to avoid a situation in which the international community entered into dialogue and real negotiations with Iran while giving up the condition of stopping enrichment, and that this had to be emphasized to the six powers."

Ahead of the annual evaluation by the Foreign Ministry held two weeks ago, a document was written on the subject of the scenarios. According to Channel 10, the document was not presented to a wide forum because of concern over leaks that would compromise international efforts against Iran.

Meanwhile, over the past two months the Foreign Ministry has put together a four-pronged plan for a new diplomatic campaign against Iran. The plan is intended to solve a series of conflicts and tensions between various functionaries in the Foreign Ministry that have impaired action vis-a-vis Iran.

The plan divides activities in Iran into four teams that will advise Israeli diplomatic missions worldwide. The team charged with diplomatic action against the nuclearization of Iran will consist primarily of personnel from the strategic wing of the Foreign Ministry and will cooperate with other bodies in the defense establishment. It will focus on increasing international pressure on Iran.

The team tasked with Iran's economic isolation will discuss divesting from Iran, cancelling deals, particularly on energy, boycotting Iranian banks and increasing monitoring of Iranian money in foreign banks.

Another team will work to isolate Tehran in areas other than the nuclear plan, highlighting issues of human rights, Iranian support for terror groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah, and organizing rallies during visits by senior Iranian officials.

A fourth team will deal with issues of public diplomacy - writing articles in leading newspapers around the world, conducting press briefings, engaging in public relations efforts against the Iranian regime on university campuses, and disseminating intelligence against Iran in the media.

Israel expects U.S.-Iran talks under Obama

[Shammu]

Israel mulling non-aggression treaty with Lebanon
By Barak Ravid
20/10/2008

The Foreign Ministry is examining an initiative aimed at reaching a long-term non-belligerence pact with Lebanon to prevent renewed fighting along the northern border.

The initiative was first revealed two weeks ago during a strategic discussion over the future of the Middle East peace process that was held as part of the ministry's evaluation of regional developments.

The evaluation is the first of its kind, and was initiated by ministry director-general Aharon Abramovich, and later supported by Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.

Livni's close advisers and senior ministry officials participated in the discussion. Given the officials' close relationship with Livni, the evaluation's recommendations are likely to turn into official policy should she succeed in forming a government.

Eran Etzion, the head of the Foreign Ministry's political planning section, said a full peace agreement with Lebanon can only come in the wake of a similar deal with Syria. Still, he said, Israel can try to advance on a separate political track with Lebanon, the end result of which could be a long-term non-belligerence pact.

The agreement would be signed by both governments, and its focus would be a reciprocal agreement on the route of the border between the two countries. The deal would include a solution to the dispute over the Shaba Farms border area and the divided village of Ghajar, as well as a number of small border adjustments demanded by Lebanon.

The recommendation would provide for a coordination apparatus between the Israel Defense Forces and the Lebanese army, as well as the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) over border patrols and other monitoring activities.

Israel is expected to ask Lebanon to significantly reduce Hezbollah's weapons stores, and to extend the Lebanese army's authority across the entire country, with a special emphasis on the area south of the Litani River, which is the closest area to Israel. In return, an agreement would have to be reached over Israeli overflights in Lebanese airspace.

The discussion also dealt with the Syrian and Palestinian diplomatic tracks, and officials present argued over which track should receive first priority.

Those in favor of dealing with Syria first agreed that the only tenable option on that track would involve negotiations over a final-status agreement with an Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights.

Supporters of this strategy said an agreement with Syria would be easier to reach than with the Palestinians, the chances for its success are greater and the strategic dividend Israel would receive is bigger. They also said such a deal would greatly change the balance of power in the region by removing the threat posed to Israel by the Syrian army, placing distance between Damascus and Iran and possibly engendering a deal with Lebanon.

Supporters of the "Palestinians first" strategy argued, however, that without solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Jerusalem will be unable to advance peace talks with even a single moderate Arab state.

One official subscribing to this view said, "Every Arab person we talk to says the central issue that bothers him, and that they give priority to over everything else, is the Palestinian issue."

Israel mulling non-aggression treaty with Lebanon

[Shammu]

Israel, Hamas Prepare for End of Ceasefire
10/20/08
by Maayana Miskin

(IsraelNN.com) Both Israel and Hamas are preparing for the end of the Gaza ceasefire in another month. During the ceasefire Hamas committed to ending rocket attacks on nearby Jewish towns, while Israel agreed to allow shipments in and out of Gaza and to stop counter-terrorist operations and airstrikes. Several rocket attacks took place during the ceasefire, which has lasted for five months so far, but the overall number of attacks was much lower than in the months before.

Hamas spokesman Ismail Radwan said Sunday that the group had not yet begun to consult with other Gaza terror gangs regarding the continuation of the ceasefire. Hamas leaders must first discuss the matter amongst themselves, he said. Senior Hamas terrorist Abu Ubaida, head of the rocket-firing Al-Kassam branch, said Hamas was “fully prepared for the post-ceasefire stage.”

Despite Radwan's statement, Arab media outlets report that Hamas has asked for a three-month extension to the original six-month ceasefire. However, Hamas conditioned the extension on its being applied in Judea and Samaria and on the re-opening of the Rafiah crossing at the Egyptian border. The Olmert administration has said that the ceasefire would include the release of kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit before Rafiah will be reopened.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak discussed the ceasefire on Sunday during a meeting with community leaders from Sderot and other Jewish communities near Gaza in Tel Aviv. “The ceasefire is fragile by its very nature, but we have nothing to regret,” Barak said. "The ceasefire lasted longer than expected and may continue," he said.

Israel is better off for having agreed to the ceasefire despite the fact that Hamas has gained strength in the absence of IDF operations in Gaza, Barak added. The five months of relative quiet have allowed Israel to make progress on plans to reinforce homes in Sderot and surrounding towns against rocket fire, he said. In addition, “We should not regret even a single day of quiet,” he said.

The IDF has been watching Hamas during the ceasefire and is following events in Gaza, Barak said. “The IDF will know how to operate if and when it becomes necessary,” he said. No matter what decision are made regarding the ceasefire, “We do not want the situation we had before the ceasefire, that is, a reality in which normal life cannot continue in the area and yet there is no intense and comprehensive operation within Gaza,” he said.

Israel, Hamas Prepare for End of Ceasefire
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I'm not going to comment, because the writing is on the wall.