M E N O R A H

J'lem seen as microcosm for Likud race

Primary could be marred by political deals; Netanyahu allied concerned Feiglin supporters could outnumber the rest of Capitals' Likud members

No Manhigut Yehudit members from Jerusalem were elected to the central committee the last time an election was held for the committee nearly a decade ago, due to deals that were made and broken. This time, Feiglin’s supporters have made sure they will be well represented. More

Netanyahu needs competition for wanting to destroy Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria. He is turning more and more to the left.

Caroline Glick: The Zionist imperative

We must hope that world Jewry will recognize today that the fate of the Jewish people in Israel and throughout the world is indivisible and rally to Israel’s side whatever the social cost of doing so. But even if they do not recognize this basic truth, the imperatives of Zionism, of the Jewish people, remain in place.

In a speech this week at the Knesset, Netanyahu explained the different lessons the Holocaust teaches the international community on the one hand, and the Jews on the other.

As far as its universal lessons are concerned, Netanyahu said, “The lesson is that the countries of the world must be woken up, as much as possible, so that they can organize against such crimes.

The lesson is that the broadest possible alliances must be forged in order to act against this threat before it is too late.” More

Hamas official meets Jordan's King Abdullah

Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mashaal arrived in Jordan on Sunday accompanied by the Qatari heir-apparent Shaikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. The two were met at the Amman airport by an official Jordanian delegation headed by Crown Prince Hussein, King Abdullah II's son. Mashaal later met the King in his palace.

This is Mashaal's first official visit in Jordan as leader of the Hamas organization, which was banished from the Hashemite Kingdom in 1999. He escaped a Mossad assassination attempt in 1997. His recent trips to Jordan were under personal circumstances. More

Feiglin has repeatedly called Netanyahu out as a hypocrite

Feiglin noting that while Netanyahu publicly promised to protect the settlements, he was busy intimidating fellow Likud ministers to vote against a new law that would make it illegal to uproot most Jewish communities.

Authored by minister Zevulun Orlev (Jewish Home Party), the "Outpost Law" would prevent the forced evacuation of any Jewish settlement that had been in existence for at least four years and was inhabited by at least 20 families. Those conditions would retroactively legalize a large number of "illegal outposts" - small Jewish communities, many of which were established with government backing, but which lacked official authorization by the Defense Ministry. More

US sets May as tentative date for clash with Iran. Floating SEALs base for Gulf

A hurried decision not to de-commission the USS Ponce helicopter marine carrier after duty in Libya - but to refit it for deployment by May in the Persian Gulf as a floating base for commando teams - was confirmed by the US Pentagon and Navy Sunday, Dec. 29. This transportable floating base will expand the commandos' range in coastal areas, support counter-measure against mines which Iran has threatened to plant in the Strait of Hormuz in reprisal for the US-EU oil embargo. The SEALs will also take on Iran's menacing fleet of military speedboats. DEBKAfile reports Tehran operates four different kinds of these craft in the Persian Gulf: More

Bibi to Sack Ministers Who Back Outpost Law

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to inform Likud ministers on Sunday that any Likud minister who votes for the Outpost Law will be fired from government.

The bill, authored by Minister Zevulun Orlev (Jewish Home), would forbid eviction and demolition orders for Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria that have stood for four years and have at least twenty families.

It also stipulates that all petitions disputing land claims must be proven through accepted evidentiary means in a court competent to hear the case. Should such a claim be found valid the court would be directed to order monetary compensation or alternative grant of land for the plaintiff. More

Christian Pioneer Dies, Leaves Legacy in Israel

JERUSALEM, Israel -- It took pioneers decades to build the land of Israel both physically and spiritually. Ken and Margie Crowell were two of those pioneers, helping to build the Israeli economy physically while building a Christian witness.

Ken passed away on Jan. 25, after a long battle with Myelofibrosis, a bone marrow disorder that disrupts normal production of blood cells. Still, his legacy lives on.

 They were fresh out of Bible school when they moved to Israel with their two children in 1969.

"We both received the call at the same time, and I went home one day and told Margie, 'I think that God is calling us to go to Israel.' And she said, 'Well, I think he is calling us, too,'" Ken told CBN News."More

Saudis seek new security allies, sign nuclear agreement with China

ABU DHABI — Saudi Arabia has been leading a Gulf Arab effort to conduct an independent security policy that was not dependent on the United States.

Diplomats and analysts said one option has been to strengthen relations with China, a nuclear power that has been searching for additional energy supplies.

China and Iran signed a nuclear cooperation agreement that envisioned Beijing’s assistance for a nuclear energy program in the GCC kingdom. The agreement came in wake of Saudi threats to match Iran’s nuclear weapons program. More

Poll: 80% of Israeli Jews believe in God

Eighty percent of Jews living in Israel believe in God, according to the findings of an extensive study conducted by the Guttman Center at the Israel Democracy Institute and published Thursday.

The study is a continuation of two previous surveys conducted in 1991 and 1999. A comparison shows that while the 1990s recorded a certain drop in affiliation to Jewish tradition, the following decade recorded an increase in affiliation up and beyond the numbers measured in 1991. More

Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day

The 2012 observance of the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust will focus on the theme "Children and the Holocaust". One-and-a-half million Jewish children perished in the Holocaust at the hands of the Nazis and their collaborators. Some children managed to survive in hiding, others fled to safe havens before it was too late, while many others suffered medical experiments or were sent to the gas chambers immediately upon arriving at the death camps. More