M E N O R A H

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

Mystery Surrounds Judaic Manuscripts Found in Afghanistan

It was said to be a finding of groundbreaking scholarly and historic significance, comparable in importance to the 19th-century discovery of the Cairo Geniza and rivaling the Dead Sea Scrolls for sheer drama.

That, at any rate, was the buzz in scholarly circles when reports began surfacing last month that an exceptionally rare collection of ancient Judaic manuscripts -- some of them dating back more than a millennia -- were discovered in a cave in Samangan province in northeastern Afghanistan.

The manuscripts are of several varieties, both religious and secular, and are drafted in a number of languages, including Judeo-Persian and Judeo-Arabic. Among the documents recovered are fragments of the writings of the Saadia Gaon, a famed Jewish sage born in Egypt in the ninth century, and financial records that may shed light on the little-known medieval Jewish merchant class known as the Raddanites. More

PLO Officials Refuse Talks, Blame Israel

PLO officials went on the offensive and sought to blame Israel for the failure of exploratory contacts with Israeli negotiators as they met with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton on Wednesday.

PLO official Hanan Ashrawi told Ashton, "With the escalation of settlement activities in and around Jerusalem, the arbitrary arrests of Palestinian representatives and lawmakers, continued annexation of Palestinian land and natural resources, and the eviction and deportation of Palestinians, Israel is thwarting all efforts to resume talks and to honor its obligations under international humanitarian law.

Ashrawi's comments come amid other statements from Palestinian officials declaring that exploratory peace talks in Amman have ended due to what they describe as "Israeli intransigence." More

Cabinet defers vote on law meant to extend yeshiva students IDF exemption

"The government is scheming," said Idan Miller, one of the men behind the encampment idea. "It (the government) is ostensibly shortening the law from five years to just one but that time period wasn't random – it's an election year."

"This shameful situation where there are people who do not enlist and who do not share the burden must be stopped. We need to progress to a situation where everyone who turns 18 – secular, haredi or Arab – enlists to the IDF.

"If they can't, then there are enough places like hospitals which are desperate for manpower and help. National service can be done in these places thus, serving the community." More

Jerusalem concerned: Saudi Air Force to outnumber Israel's advanced US jet fleet

With its latest acquisitions from Washington and Europe, the Saudi Air Force will have more fighter-bombers of more advanced models that the Israeli Air Force. Deep concern over this was recently relayed by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak to President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta.

Last month, the US agreed to sell Saudi Arabia 84 advanced F-15SA fighter-bombers worth $29.4 billion. First deliveries are due in 2015. The package included the upgrading of 70 F-15 planes of the Saudi air fleet. Riyadhis also buying 72 advanced Eurofighter Typhoon fighter bombers. All in all, the oil kingdom will have the largest and most sophisticated fighter-bomber fleet in the Middle East.

Israel leaders reminded the Obama administration of its standing pledge to maintain Israel's qualitative military edge in the region. The aircraft supplied to the Saudis will place that edge in doubt. More

Former Amb. Ettinger: Gingrich is a Friend of Israel

Ambassador Yoram Ettinger, formerly a Minister for Congressional Affairs at Israel’s Embassy in Washington, said on Wednesday that he believes that the pro-Israel Republican candidate, Newt Gingrich, who won Saturday’s primary in South Carolina, has a good chance to beat Mitt Romney and run against President Barack Obama in November’s presidential election.

“The public is very enthusiastic about Gingrich’s ideology,” Ettinger told Arutz Sheva. “He is considered a friend of Israel and in his previous position as Speaker of the House of Representatives he proved to be an avid fan of Israel.” More

Murdered journalist Daniel Pearl’s final words

Ten years ago this week, Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, a young, successful, handsome man, was kidnapped and slaughtered by Islamic terrorists in Pakistan. His offense was being a Jew.

In the moments before Pearl was killed at the age of 38, he was videotaped saying bravely: “My father is Jewish, my mother is Jewish, I am Jewish.” In another segment Daniel said, “My family on my father’s side is Zionist.” In the third statement, he said, “My family follows Judaism. Back in the town of Bnei Brak there is a street named after my great-grandfather, Chaim Pearl, who was one of the founders of the town.” More

Remember Muslims cut his head off.

PM: World condemns Gilo construction, but not mufti's call to kill Jews

"Seventy years have passed since the Holocaust, and many around the world still remain silent in the face of Iran's threats to wipe Israel off the map, and many stay silent despite Hezbollah's call for the destruction of Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday during a special Knesset session ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which will be marked this week.

"International Holocaust Remembrance Day is the day on which the world needs to stand behind the words 'no more.' It's not a slogan, but has a deep meaning," he said. "It is the day on which the world must unite to make certain weapons of mass destruction do not fall into the hands of dark regimes, headed by the ayatollahs' regime in Iran." More

'It's Jewish money, stupid'

Last week, on Jan. 19, U.S. President Barack Obama released a video called "America and Israel: An Unbreakable Bond."

The seven-minute clip is an amalgamation of sound bites from the president's own speeches, interspersed with statements made by different prominent Israeli leaders, among them Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Its apparent purpose is to refute claims on the part of the Republicans that the Obama administration is anti-Israel. Its true goal is to keep the president's campaign afloat with Jewish cash

It's a neat trick.

In his first three years in office, Obama has emerged as the most openly hostile U.S. president Israel has ever known. This is no surprise, given his oft-stated commitment to "outreach and dialogue" with sworn enemies across the globe, chief among them Iran. More

Soros-Manufactured Chaos in Israel

In the warm summer of 2011, a twenty-something Israeli named Daphne Leef set up a Facebook protest page agitating against the high cost of housing in Tel Aviv. She pitched a tent and helped touch off a social protest movement that received national and international attention.

While the protests were billed as grassroots, there was nothing grassroots about them. The protests had been organized and funded by the New Israel Fund. Daphne Leef worked as a video editor for the New Israel Fund.

The New Israel Fund is the local Israeli version of Soros’ Shadow Party and it receives money from Soros. The Liels are the ultimate insiders. Rachel Liel worked as the Deputy Director of Rehabilitation Services in the Ministry of Labor and Alon Liel was the Director General of two ministries and a foreign affairs advisor to former Prime Minister Ehud Barak. Their real program is to bring the left to power. More