prime minister Olment comforts toddler during visit to South

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert visited Gaza vicinity communities on Tuesday and met with children of the Qassam-stricken areas in schools and kindergartens.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words...























Source: Ynet

Israeli Candidate Borrows a (Web) Page From Obama

The campaign Web site of Benjamin Netanyahu, right, looks a lot like Barack Obama's, and it's no coincidence.

The colors, the fonts, the icons for donating and volunteering, the use of videos, and the social networking Facebook-type options — including Twitter, which hardly exists in Israel — all reflect a conscious effort by the Netanyahu campaign to learn from the Obama success.

“Imitation is the greatest form of flattery,” noted Ron Dermer, one of Mr. Netanyahu’s top campaign advisers. “We’re all in the same business, so we took a close look at a guy who has been the most successful and tried to learn from him. And while we will not use the word ‘change’ in the same way in our campaign, we believe Netanyahu is the real candidate of change for Israel.”

Those who created the Obama Web site, including Thomas Gensemer, managing partner of Blue State Digital, say the Netanyahu site is closer to Mr. Obama’s than any others they have seen.

“Nothing has been so direct as the Netanyahu Web site, though we have seen others with shades of it,” he said. When a campaign is successful, he added, “people are going to knock things off, both in terms of functionality and aesthetic.”

Web sites aside, for liberals in both countries, the idea of Mr. Netanyahu as the Obama candidate of Israel seems mystifying. Of the three main contenders for prime minister in February’s election, including Tzipi Livni of Kadima and Ehud Barak of Labor, Mr. Netanyahu is the most hawkish and the least interested in the focus on dialogue with adversaries that Mr. Obama made a centerpiece of his foreign policy platform. Mr. Netanyahu has said he would shut down the current negotiations with the Palestinian leadership.

But it is precisely the break with the current policy that Mr. Netanyahu, known by his nickname, Bibi, believes will help him win. The most recent polls show him slightly ahead of his rivals.

Sani Sanilevich, who is managing Mr. Netanyahu’s Internet campaign, said the Web was one of the biggest focuses of the campaign, and with good reason.

“The main advantage of the Internet is the ability to communicate with citizens and people directly,” he said. “You can actually hear them and get them involved in this campaign. The whole idea is, together we can succeed.”

The phrase “Together we can succeed” is the campaign slogan on the Netanyahu site, and it echoes, to some extent, Mr. Obama’s “Yes we can.” Mr. Sanilevich said the Netanyahu campaign plans to make use of Twitter, the mass text-messaging service that sends out short “tweets.”

“There are a couple thousand in Israel on Twitter,” he said. “We have lots of people using the Web sites registered as volunteers, and I am sure we will be able to use Twitter, which is an amazing tool. I have it on my phone, and I go around with Bibi and everywhere we go he gives me things to say on Twitter.”

Netanyahu aides say direct communication with voters is important for many reasons; one of them is their belief that Israel’s mainstream news outlets are not sympathetic to the candidate, and he needs to go around them.

The campaign said that like the Obama operation, it would bombard its supporters with messages for volunteering and donating and set up a site where supporters could communicate with one another without the campaign’s direct involvement.

At least before Mr. Obama’s victory last week, Mr. Netanyahu might have been expected to have a stronger political rapport with Senator John McCain. The Republican positioned himself as the more reliable friend of Israel. His campaign portrayed Mr. Obama as an uncritical friend of a prominent Palestinian critic of Israeli policies in the West Bank, and accused him of associating with a terrorist.

But Dore Gold, a former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations and a close Netanyahu adviser, said the Likud leader liked and respected Mr. Obama, so it was not strange that he had taken a page from the president-elect. Mr. Gold said the two meetings they had held so far, in Washington in 2007 and in Jerusalem last summer, had gone well.

“I was at both meetings, and it was clear that the two leaders established a very good chemistry very quickly,” he said. “We are convinced that the Obama administration will be open to hearing new ideas from Israel on how to make progress in the region.”

Mr. Netanyahu is positioning himself as the candidate of new ideas both for Israel itself and for peace with the Palestinians.

The ideas revolve around economic opportunities, aides say, cutting red tape to improve the Palestinian economy; building peace from the ground up, not the top down; and improving life in Israel with a bold domestic agenda involving improved education, economic growth and personal security against increased crime.

The aides are convinced that negotiations with Palestinian leaders will lead nowhere and that the best steps Israel can take, as it waits for Palestinian attitudes to change, involve building the Palestinian economy. Ms. Livni has vowed to continue the talks with the Palestinians, which she is helping to lead.

Mr. Netanyahu’s aides add that just as the Obama campaign linked Mr. McCain to President Bush, they plan to label Ms. Livni as a continuation of the status quo and Mr. Netanyahu as the candidate of change.

“Yes he can,” one aide said, with a touch of self-parody. “He believes he is the guy who can do it.”

Ethan Bronner reported from Jerusalem, and Noam Cohen from New York.

Source: NY Times

Coushatta Tribe proclaimed its friendship with Israel

ELTON, L.A. – In a major ceremony November 17, the Sovereign Nation of the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana became the first Native American tribe to recognize, honor and welcome official representatives of the State of Israel.

“This unprecedented initiative will firmly establish the Coushatta Tribe’s role on both the national and international stages, while also opening the door to new business relationships and future economic development initiatives,” said Kevin Sickey, Chairman of the Tribal Council of the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana.

The Honorable Asher Yarden, Consul General of Israel to the Southwest, represented the State of Israel at the event. Yarden and other members of the Israeli delegation toured the Coushatta Tribe installations on the Coushatta Reservation in Elton, Louisiana, and joined with Coushatta Tribal Council leaders for a press conference.

During the ceremony, Coushatta leaders and Consul General Yarden signed a proclamation in recognition of “common histories” and a “shared spirit of endurance.” Yarden explained that one of these “common histories” is that “both of our ancient languages are still in use today.”

“This unique relationship, being forged between two sovereign entities, which live so far apart geographically, only goes to show that open hearts and open minds can bridge the gap between two old and historical cultures that may otherwise appear so far apart,” Yarden said.

Sickey explained that the proclamation is a way to honor the similarities and officially declare that the two nations will be tied together for years to come. In addition to the valuable cultural exchange, he said, the Coushatta Tribe hopes to build on the relationship by exploring possible business and investment opportunities as a way to expand on the Coushatta Tribe’s revenue base for the future.

“I am thrilled to see this opportunity materialize,” said Roee Madai, Consul for Economic Affairs to the U.S. Southern Region. “Israel is always vested in developing and expanding mutually beneficial economic relationships with other nations. As Israel’s economic consul, I will make myself and my office available to promoting business opportunities in Israel and stimulating the trade relations between Israel and the Coushatta Tribe. “

The agreement with the State of Israel is the latest and most important step in an ongoing effort by the Tribe to build relationships with other governments and explore new business opportunities. In June, 2008, the Coushatta entered into a cooperative agreement with the Jefferson Davis Parish Economic Development Commission – the first formal agreement addressing economic development efforts between the two neighboring governments.

“Many Native American Tribes have not explored the full benefits of being a sovereign nation, but it has been a part of our long-range planning for some time. This important event will not only highlight our sovereign status, but will serve to establish an important, mutually beneficial relationship with a major, international partner,” Sickey said.


About the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana

The Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana was officially recognized by the Federal government in 1973 and marked a major turning point in tribal history in 1985 with the election by popular vote of the first Coushatta tribal government.

From their earliest days as a proud, hard-working people struggling to maintain long-standing traditions in the face of possible relocation, the Coushatta Indians have endured and overcome every hardship they have faced and have remained on tribal lands in and around Elton, Louisiana, since the 1800s. Despite serious setbacks and some population dispersal, the tribe’s character and ideals have not only held fast, but have been strengthened. The Coushatta language, Koasati, is now considered unique among Native Americans because it has survived in its purest form and is still spoken fluently in the Coushatta community today.

The Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana owns and operates Coushatta Casino Resort, which employs more than 2,700 area residents. The Coushatta are in the process of building a new, $12 million Coushatta Heritage Center, which is scheduled to open in Fall 2009 and will feature interactive exhibits and a language game that will allow visitors to hear and learn about the Koasati language.


Source: Native Times

Man Hanged In Iran For Spying For Israel

Electronic Specialist Was Convicted For Trying To Pass Nuke Secrets On To Mossad Agents
(AP) Iran executed a man convicted of spying for Israel, a judiciary spokesman said Saturday.


Ali Reza Jamshidi told The Associated Press that Ali Ashtari was hanged on Nov. 17 after being sentenced to death on June 30 by a revolutionary court in Tehran. It was the country's first known conviction for espionage linked to Israel in almost a decade.

IRNA, Iran's official news agency has confirmed the report.

Jamshidi said Ashtari was found guilty of relaying sensitive information on military, defense and research centers which the 45-year-old electronics salesmen worked with, to Israeli intelligence officers.

Iranian officials have said the material that Ashtari allegedly passed to Israel included information on Iran's Atomic Energy Organization.

A top Iranian intelligence official said that the announcement of Ashtari's hanging was part of an "intelligence battle" with the secret agencies of Iran's enemies, the official IRNA news agency reported.

"We had specific intentions with announcing the execution of Ashtari ... we want to show that new intelligence battles with enemy's intelligence services have begun and that intelligence battles have become more serious," IRNA quoted the head of Counterespionage Department at the Intelligence Ministry as saying.

The news agency didn't identify the intelligence official by name, which is customary in Iran.

The semi-official Mehr news agency quoted the same official as saying Saturday that Ashtari's body was handed over to his family last Monday and later buried.

Jamshidi, the spokesman, said Ashtari was arrested in 2007 after cooperating with the Israeli foreign intelligence agency Mossad for three years. Prior to his trial, Iranian officials accused Ashtari of trying to "create a link" between Iranian experts and Israeli agents.

Iran and Israel have long been enemies. But the ruling against Ashtari is the first time since 2000 that an Iranian court has convicted an Iranian citizen of charges of espionage for Israel. The ruling against Ashtari was handed down by Iran's Revolutionary Court, which handles security issues.

A closed-door trial in 2000 convicted 10 Iranian Jews of spying for Israel and sentenced them to prison terms ranging from four to 13 years. All were released before serving out their full sentences.

Ashtari's hanging comes amid rumors of Israeli intentions to attack Iran's nuclear facilities because of charges that Iran is seeking to build nuclear weapons.

Israel, the United States and many Western countries contend that Iran's nuclear program is intended to produce nuclear weapons. Iran denies that, saying its program is for peaceful purposes.

Earlier this year, Israel Aerospace Industries unveiled its Eitam airplane, equipped with sophisticated intelligence-gathering systems.

Israel also launched an advanced spy satellite in January able to track events even at night and in cloudy weather - all of which could be used to spy on Iran.

In 1981, an Israeli air attack destroyed an unfinished nuclear reactor in Iraq. Israel also hit a suspected nuclear facility in Syria September 2007.


Source: CBS News

Hanukkah is around the corner

First, just to set things straight, the drawing above is NOT a Menorah. Since it has a total of nine candles (8 candles and a shamash), it is a Hanukkiya -- which is what it is called in Israel to this very day.

There are several ways of spelling Hanukkah in English (Chanuka, Chanukah, Hanukah, and so on). The only really correct way to spell it is in Hebrew.

In modern Israel, Hanukkah symbolizes the victory of the few over the many. Every year during Hanukkah, there is a torch relay race which sets out from Modiin where the Maccabean revolt broke out and where the Hasmoneans (Maccabees) are buried. All over Israel, giant Hanukkah lamps are visable for great distances and are lit during the holiday atop public buildings, such as the Knesset building in Jerusalem.

The First Book of Maccabees states that Judah Maccabee defeated the Greek army commander-in-chief, Lysias, and then entered Jerusalem and purified the Temple. The 25th day of Kislev was set as the day of the rededication of the Temple. This day coincides with the third anniversary of the proclamation of the restrictive edicts of Antiochus Epiphanes in which he had decreed that pagan sacrifices should be offered on a platform erected on the Temple alter.

In those ancient days, Greece was at the height of its military power. When you come to think of it, it is rather amazing that a small Israelite army soundly trounced and defeated the mighty Greek army.

Throughout the centuries, history has come full cycle. In 1977, near Hanukkah time, the Maccabee-Tel Aviv basketball team defeated the Greek National basketball team to win the European basketball championship. Today, Greece is militarily aligned with Syria, Israel's enemy. Israel has close military ties with Turkey, Greece's enemy. Israel and the Jews will never forget Hanukkah -- and neither will the Greeks.

The Second Book of Maccabees notes that the 8-day dedication ceremony was performed as an analogy with King Solomon's consecration of the Temple. The book relates how fire had descended from the heavens (a meteor shower?), in the days of Judah Maccabee. The historian Josephus writes: 'From that time onward until this day we celebrate the festival, calling it the Festival of Lights.'

Tradition states that on entering the Temple, the Hasmoneans discovered that the Greeks had defiled all the oil, except for one small container which had enough oil to keep the candelabrum burning for only one day. A miracle happened, and the oil burned for 8 days, which is supposed to be the reason Hanukkah is celebrated for 8 days. -- Sorry kids, but the authenticity of the 8-day oil story was already questioned by Jewish scholars in the Middle Ages.

Iraq War Ends

A group of pranksters handed out more than 1.2 million fake New York Times newspapers mainly in New York City and Los Angeles on Wednesday with a front page story declaring "Iraq War Ends."

The elaborate 14-page edition, dated July 4, 2009, is said to be the work of a group called the Yes Men, whose previous hoaxes include masquerading as World Trade Organization officials announcing they were disbanding the body.

The newspaper includes a front page story saying that "Ex-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice reassured soldiers that the Bush administration had known well before the invasion that Saddam Hussein lacked weapons of mass destruction."

Other headlines declared that the "Maximum Wage Law Succeeds," "Nationalized Oil to Fund Climate Change Efforts" and "Nation Sets Its Sights On Building Sane Economy."

There is also a full page fake advertisement on page three from the world's largest publicly traded oil company Exxon Mobil saying the company applauded the end of the Iraq war and that peace is "an idea the world can profit from."



Source: Reuters

Hoax site: http://www.nytimes-se.com/

F.C.C. Nods to New Use of Airwaves - white spaces

The Federal Communications Commission voted to open up unused, unlicensed portions of the television airwaves known as "white spaces" to deliver wireless broadband service.

"White spaces are the blank pages on which we which we will write our broadband future," said Jonathan Adelstein, one of two Democrats on the five-member commission. Adelstein added that white spaces could represent a "third channel" to reach consumers beyond the telephone and cable networks that represent the primary competition in today's broadband market

The discussion over how to handle white spaces emerged in light of an impending change in the way television signals were delivered. Starting in February, TV stations will be required to switch to digital from analog delivery.

Since 2004, the F.C.C. has been studying whether the frequencies between television channels — the white spaces — could be used by other devices, particularly because digital signals are less prone to interference. The F.C.C. performed two sets of tests that showed some potential for disruption on frequencies used by broadcasters, live theater performances or others who rely on the same spectrum.

Devices using the spectrum could be on the market within a year to 18 months. These might include portable communications gadgets as well as in-home electronics that, for instance, could carry a video signal from a computer or recording device to a television.

Opening up this spectrum to high-speed wireless connections has been a high priority for Internet companies, which stand to benefit as more Americans get online. Technology and equipment makers, meanwhile, are counting on a multibillion dollar market for advanced wireless devices to transmit and receive signals, including laptops, personal digital assistants and TV set-top boxes.


Source: NY Times
Source: Associated Press

Problems at work? boss is giving you hard times?

for all of you people that have rough days, hate their job or just complain all the time... look at those jobs and think again!

hmm, where should i start?














was it the red wire or the blue one?


















almost there... push, push













the car keys must be in here

don't worry Mr. ed i'm a professional

Signs on Synagogue Bulletin Boards

- What part of "Thou shalt not" don't you understand?

- Under same management for over 5765 years.

- Don't give up. Moses was once a basket case.

-Shul committees should be made up of three members, two of whom should be absent at every meeting.

-Sign over the urinal in a bathroom at Hebrew University :
"The future of the Jewish people is in your hands."

-My mother is a typical Jewish mother. Once she was on jury duty. They sent her home. She insisted SHE was guilty.

-An elderly Jewish man is knocked down by a car and is brought to the local hospital. A pretty nurse tucks him into bed and says, "Mr. Gevarter, are you comfortable?" Gevarter replies, "I make a living...."
.
-A rabbi was opening his mail one morning. Taking a single sheet of paper from an envelope he found written on it only one word: "shmuck." At the next Friday night service, the Rabbi announced,
"I have known many people who have written letters and forgot to sign their names, but this week I received a letter from someone who signed his name.... and forgot to write a letter.
.
-Three Jewish women get together for lunch. As they are being seated in the restaurant, one takes a deep breath and gives a long, slow "oy." The second takes a deep breath as well and lets out a long, slow "oy." The third takes a deep breath and says impatiently, "Girls, I thought we agreed that we weren't going to talk about our children."

Why Israel is the world's happiest country

An Asia Times article, explaining why Israel is the "world's happiest country," cites statistics showing that Israel leads the world in the national gap between fertility and suicide rates.

The author, identified only as Spengler, compiled and compared the fertility rates and suicide rates of 35 industrial countries, and found that Israelis "appear to love life and hate death more than any other nation."

Spengler explained that he compared "the proportion of people who choose to create new life, against the proportion who choose to destroy their own. Israel stands alone, positioned in the upper-left-hand-quadrant, or life-loving, portion of the chart.

"Israel's fertility rate (births per woman) is 2.77, according to Spengler, while its suicide rate is 6.2 per 100,000 people. In the U.S., however, the numbers are only 2.1 and 11, respectively, and in France they are 1.98 and 18. The gaps in the numbers of many of the other countries are on the chart are even wider.

"It's easy for the Jews to talk about delighting in life," Spengler wrote in another Asia Times article, because "they are quite sure that they are eternal, while other peoples tremble at the prospect impending extinction. It is not their individual lives that the Jews find so pleasant, but rather the notion of a covenantal life that proceeds uninterrupted through the generations."

"Israel is surrounded by neighbors willing to kill themselves in order to destroy it," Spengler writes. He notes that Muslims teach, "As much as you love life, we love death" - a formula found in a Palestinian Authority textbook for second graders as well.

Oil-rich Saudi Arabia ranks 171st on an international quality of life index, Spengler writes, while "Israel is tied with Singapore on this index, although it should be observed that Israel ranks a runaway first on my life-preference index, whereas Singapore comes in dead last."

Spengler suggests traditional Jewish faith in G-d as the reason for Jewish joy. Muslim faith, however, is of the type that encourages a form of fatalism, he feels: "Arabs did not invent suicide attacks, but they have produced a population pool willing to die in order to inflict damage greater than any in history. One cannot help but conclude that Muslim clerics do not exaggerate when they express contempt for life."

'Jewish banks masterminded crisis'

As world financial crisis continues to show little improvement, websites continue to be flooded with anti-Semitic conspiracy theories accusing financial leaders of Jewish heritage of orchestrating global economy to tune of all-encompassing Zionist plot
[Yonit Moses] Published: 10.21.08, 20:26 / Israel Money
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3611260,00.html

The global financial crisis has brought with it a tidal wave of anti-Semitic sentiments, much of which has led to full-blown conspiracy theories postulating the crisis is part of a Jewish plot. While usual suspects Hamas and Iran have both put in their expected two pennies - with Hamas blaming the Jewish lobby in Washington and Tehran opting for a more far-reaching Zionist plot to control the entire world's economy.

That Israel's economy seems to have emerged relatively unscathed from the crisis has leant much ammunition to enemies of the Jewish state. As does the fact that many of the world's financial leaders are of Jewish descent. Figures such as US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, his predecessor Alan Greenspan, World Bank President Robert Zoellik, UK Business Secretary Peter Mandelson and the 2008 recipient of the Nobel Prize for economics, Paul Krugman, have all come under attack due to their heritage
However the traditional extremists are not alone in their peddling of anti-Semitic diatribes. Content historically associated with the most virulent of racists has, it would seem, gone mainstream online.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reported early in October that discussion boards and blogs dealing with the meltdown on Wall Street are being flooded with hate speech.

In hundreds of messages echoing rhetoric found on neo-Nazi and white supremacist websites, posters to mainstream forums promote centuries-old stereotypes and conspiracy theories alleging Jewish control of the economy, banking and the government.

Read the entire article at:
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3611260,00.html

The Holiday of Succot

The holiday of Succot (also spelled Succoth or Sukkot in English) falls on the 15th day of Tishri (usually in late September or early October), and commemorates the temporary dwellings the Children of Israel built in the wilderness after the Exodus.

By law, all stores and places of business in Israel are closed on Succot. It is thus appropriate to give a holiday gift of flowers the day before.

According to the Bible, the Feast of Booths (Succot) was a thanksgiving festival. From ancient times, this was one of the most impotant feasts of the Israelites (Leveticus 23:39, Judges 21:19).
A Succa (also called a booth or tabernacle), is usually constructed of a wood or pipe framework, with cut branches and leaves serving as a roof. Building, eating and sleeping in a Succa is in many ways the closest to Nature that city folks can get.

The Succa has traditionally always been richly decorated. A variety of fruits hang from its roof of foliage, and often there are pictures and tapestries on the wall.

In today's Israel, the sound of hammers and construction ring out from every neighborhood after the end of Yom Kippur, soon after darkness falls. For the next four days, children happily build the family Succa on the grass in the backyard. Those who do not have a backyard, build the Succa on an open balcony or on the roof. Yes, the neighborhood tree house usually gets renovated at this time of year.

Most municipalities choose this time to trim the city's trees, cutting dangerous branches like those that have grown close to power lines. The foliage is often piled on the sidewalks, but is not collected. People use this foliage as roofing for their Succot. Only at the end of the 7-day holiday in Israel the municipalities collect the (by then) dried out foliage.

This ecologically friendly arrangement discourages people from cutting down live branches and damaging living trees. Only braches which would have had to be pruned anyway, are cut.

During the week of Succa there is no school and children often turn their Succa into a type of 'clubhouse' where they spend a good part of the day with their friends, especially in the evening. A lone light bulb hanging from the ceiling and connected to an extension cord is the source of light. A portable CD Player/radio is standard equipment.

In Israel at this time of year, the weather is still summer-like and warm. It has not rained for over half a year, for it is near the end of the dry season. With amazing regularity, the first short drizzle of the winter rainy season almost always occurs either shortly before or during the week of Succot. The weather is wonderful: not oppressively hot during the day and very pleasant in the evenings.

Flowers play an important part of the well-wishing associated with the holiday. Relatives send flowers to each other on the day before the holiday and people often buy a bouquet of flowers to brighten up their living rooms

If the Passover Story Were Reported by CNN it Might Go Like This

although, pasch is still six months away, i think it is quite funny.

...The cycle of violence between the Jews and the Egyptians continues with no end in sight in Egypt. After eight previous plagues have destroyed the Egyptian infrastructure and disrupted the lives of ordinary Egyptian citizens, the Jews launched a new offensive this week in the form of the plague of darkness.

Western journalists were particularly enraged by this plague. "It is simply impossible to report when you can't see an inch in front of you," complained a frustrated Andrea Koppel of CNN. "I have heard from my reliable Egyptian contacts that in the midst of the blanket of blackness, the Jews were annihilating thousands of Egyptians. Their word is solid enough evidence for me."

While the Jews contend that the plagues are justified given the harsh slavery imposed upon them by the Egyptians, Pharaoh, the Egyptian leader, rebuts this claim. "If only the plagues would let up, there would be no slavery. We just want to live plague-free. It is the right of every society."

Saeb Erekat, an Egyptian spokesperson, complains that slavery is justifiable given the Jews' superior weaponry supplied to them by the superpower G-d. The Europeans are particularly enraged by the latest Jewish offensive. "The Jewish aggression must cease if there is to be peace in the region. The Jews should go back to slavery for the good of the rest of the world," stated an angry French President Jacques Chirac.

Even several Jews agree. Adam Shapiro, a Jew, has barricaded himself within Pharaoh's chambers to protect Pharaoh from what is feared will be the next plague, the death of the firstborn. Mr. Shapiro claims that while slavery is not necessarily a good thing, it is the product of the plagues and when the plagues end, so will the slavery. "The Jews have gone too far with plagues such as locusts and epidemic which have virtually destroyed the Egyptian economy," Mr. Shapiro laments. "The Egyptians are really a very nice people and Pharaoh is kind of huggable once you get to know him," gushes Shapiro.

The United States is demanding that Moses and Aaron, the Jewish leaders, continue to negotiate with Pharaoh. While Moses points out that Pharaoh had made promise after promise to free the Jewish people only to immediately break them and thereafter impose harsher and harsher slavery, Richard Boucher of the State Department assails the latest offensive. "Pharaoh is not in complete control of the taskmasters," Mr. Boucher states. "The Jews must return to the negotiating table and will accomplish nothing through these plagues."

The latest round of violence comes in the face of a bold new Saudi peace overture. "If only the Jews will give up their language, change their names to Egyptian names and cease having male children, the Arab nations will incline toward peace with them," Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah declared.

The 100 Most Influential Jews of All Time

The list below is from the book The Jewish 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Jews of all Time (Citadel Press Book, 1994), written by Michael Shapiro. Shapiro is a noted composer who lives in New York. The book features excellent essays about each individual listed, noting accomplishments and discussion each person's influence. Additionally, biographical information about all of these individuals is widely available on line and in libraries.

From the introduction:
This book ranks the 100 most influential Jews of all time. In their areas of human endeavor each of them worked a special influence on mankind. They changed the way we live and think. Even the few who touched only the souls and minds of Jews are important to us because of their defining presence on Jewish identity.
Some of the Jewish 100 modified their Judaism into something new. Saul of Tarsus became Paul, disciple of a man he claimed was the Jewish Messiah. Spinoza applied a logic that carried him straight out of Judaism. Karl Marx imposed an almost biblical sense of history to prove the imperative of his political ideal. Whether their modifications improved life will always generate discussion and argument.

Rank	Name	Lived	Description
1	Moses	13th Cen. C.E.
2	Jesus of Nazareth	ca. 4 B.C.E. - ca. 30 C.E.
3	Albert Einstein	1879-1955	physicist
4	Sigmund Freud	1856-1936	psychiatrist
5	Abraham	ca. 20th-19th cen B.C.E.;  according to the Bible,  1813-1638 B.C.E.
6	Saul of Tarsus (Saint Paul)	4 - 64 C.E.
7	Karl Marx	1818-1883	philosopher
8	Theodor Herzl	1860-1904	writer
9	Mary	b. ca. 20 B.C.E.
10	Baruch de Spinoza	1632-1677	philosopher
11	David	fl. 1000 B.C.E.
12	Anne Frank	1929-1945	diarist
13	The Prophets	Biblical times
14	Judas Iscariot	ca. 4 B.C.E. - ca. 30 C.E.
15	Gustav Mahler	1860-1911	composer
16	Maimonides	1135-1204	theologian
17	Niels Bohr	1885-1962	physicist
18	Moses Mendelssohn	1729-1786	philosopher
19	Paul Ehrlich	1854-1915	medical scientist
20	Rashi	1040-1105	rabbinical commentator
21	Benjamin Disraeli	1804-1881	politician
22	Franz Kafka	1883-1924	author
23	David Ben-Gurion	1886-1973	founder of Israel
24	Hillel	ca. 70 B.C.E. - 10 C.E.	theologian
25	John Von Neumann	1903-1957	mathematician
26	Simon Bar Kokhba	fl. 135 C.E.	general, leader
27	Marcel Proust	1871-1922	novelist
28	Mayer Rothschild	1744-1812	financier
29	Solomon	ca. 990 - ca. 933 B.C.E.
30	Heinrich Heine	1797-1856	poet
31	Selman Waksman	1888-1973	developed antibiotics
32	Giacomo Meyerbeer	1791-1864	created grand opera
33	Isaac Luria	1534-1572	kabbalist
34	Gregory Pincus	1903-1967	developed birth control pill
35	Leon Trotsky	1879-1940	facilitator of the Russian Revolution
36	David Ricardo	1772-1823	founded classical school of economics
37	Alfred Dreyfus	1859-1935	center of 1895 Dreyfus affair in Paris
38	Leo Szilard	1898-1964	physicist; cyberneticist
39	Mark Rothko	1903-1970	painter
40	Ferdinand Cohn	1828-1898	bacteriologist
41	Samuel Gompers	1850-1924	labor leader
42	Gertrude Stein	1874-1946	author
43	Albert Michelson	1852-1931	physicist
44	Philo Judaeus	ca. 20 B.C.E. - 40 C.E.	philosopher
45	Golda Meir	1898-1978	prime minister of Israel
46	The Vilna Gaon	1720-1797	rabbinical scholar
47	Henri Bergson	1859-1941	philosopher
48	The Baal Shem Tov	1700-1790	religious reformer
49	Felix Mendelssohn	1809-1847	musician
50	Louis B. Mayer	1885-1957	motion picture pioneer
51	Judah Halevy	ca. 1075-1141	philosopher and poet
52	Haym Salomon	1740-1785	Revolutionary War patriot
53	Johanan ben Zakkai	ca. 80 C.E.	general, leader
54	Arnold Schoenberg	1874-1951	composer
55	Emile Durkheim	1858-1917	sociologist
56	Betty Friedan	1921-	feminist; founder of NOW
57	David Sarnoff	1891-1971	broadcaster
58	Lorenzo Da Ponte	1749-1838	Mozart's librettist
59	Julius Rosenwald	1862-1932	philanthropist
60	Casimir Funk *	1884-1967	discoverer of vitamins
61	George Gershwin	1898-1937	composer
62	Chaim Weizmann	1874-1952	first president of Israel
63	Franz Boas	1858-1942	anthropologist
64	Sabbatai Zevi	1626-1676	religious leader
65	Leonard Bernstein	1918-1990	musician
66	Flavius Josephus	ca. 38-ca. 100 C.E.	historian
67	Walter Benjamin	1892-1940	literary critic, journalist, philosopher
68	Louis Brandeis	1856-1941	jurist
69	Emile Berliner	1851-1929	inventor
70	Sarah Bernhardt	1844-1923	actress
71	Levi Strauss	1829-1902	clothier
72	Nahmanides	1195-1270	scholar
73	Menachem Begin	1913-1992	politician
74	Anna Freud	1895-1982	psychologist
75	Queen Esther	5th cen. B.C.E.	Biblical queen
76	Martin Buber	1878-1965	philosopher, theologian, social activist
77	Jonas Salk	1914-	physician
78	Jerome Robbins	1918-	choreographer
79	Henry Kissinger	1923-	politician
80	Wilhelm Steinitz	ca. 1835-1900	chess champion
81	Arthur Miller	1915-	playwright
82	Daniel Mendoza	1764-1836	boxer
83	Stephen Sondheim	1930-	writer of musicals
84	Emma Goldman	1869-1940	anarchist, feminist
85	Sir Moses Montefiore	1787-1885	leader
86	Jerome Kern	1885-1945	writer of musicals
87	Boris Pasternak	1890-1960	novelist, poet
88	Harry Houdini	1874-1926	magician
89	Edward Bernays	1981-	founder of public relations
90	Leopold Auer	1845-1930	violinist
91	Groucho Marx	1890-1977	comedian
92	Man Ray	1890-1976	artist
93	Henrietta Szold	1860-1945	founder of Hadassah
94	Benny Goodman	1909-1986	clarinetist and bandleader
95	Steven Spielberg	1947-	filmmaker
96	Marc Chagall	1887-1985	painter
97	Bob Dylan	1941-	musician
98	Sandy Koufax	1935-	baseball player
99	Bernard Berenson	1865-1959	art critic
100	Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster	b. 1914; 1914-1992	comics book artist/writer, creators of Superman

Now, look at this beautiful picture i came across, you must enlarge to find all figures. how many do you recognize? perhaps we should comment the ones we find.

I love my mother in law

i love my mother in law, i really do... but for those of you who don't, i gathered some funny/cruel mother-in-law jokes.

How do you say Sokolow in English?

The picture below shows a street sign of Sokolow Street. As you can see Drayfus is definitely not Sokolow, and even not 100% Dreyfus…

if you're asking who are those people, you should be clicking below
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nahum_Sokolow
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreyfus_affair

Nothing's free

well, in Romania as shown in the receipt below, nothing costs 50$



and what do you say about this lucky driver? I guess it was his lucky day...
see where his car is positioned and the broken road barrier










now look a bit further.

Just a few jokes for the holidays

At a concert in Israel, Bono (the lead singer from U2) asks the audience for some quiet. Then he starts to slowly clap his hands.
Holding the audience in total silence, he says into the microphone....'I want you to think about something. Every time I clap my hands, a child in Africa dies.'
A voice from the front of the audience yells out... 'Nu - so stop clapping.'

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Moishe is driving in Jerusalem. He's late for a meeting and he's looking for a parking place, and can't find one. In desperation, he turns towards heaven and says: "God, if you find me a parking place, I promise that I'll eat only Kosher, respect Shabbas, and all the holidays...."
Miraculously, a place opens up just in front of him.

He turns his face up to heaven and says:
"Don't bother, God, I've just found one...."
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Goldie, a middle aged Jewish woman goes to see a fortune-teller.
"Two men are madly in love with me !" Goldie says. "Who will be the lucky one ? "
The fortune-teller answers...." Morris will marry you, and Irving will be the lucky one. "

The four species market (Succoth) - Rosh HaAyin

just before the Succoth, i went over to the four species market in Rosh HaAyin.
it became a little family tradition to take the girls and to bargain over lulav or hadass (myrtle).

even little kids have their table with the merchandise...














the lulav must be ramrod straight, with whole leaves that lay closely together, and not be bent or broken at the top.













the palm branch table with special delivery from egypt.













the most perfect hadass is one whose leaves grow evenly in each set of three. Each leaf is about the size of a thumbnail.

Things you don't learn in Hebrew school

just of few things i came across which i guess you will never learn in Hebrew school...

1. The High Holidays have absolutely nothing to do with marijuana.
2. Where there's smoke, there may be salmon.
3. No meal is complete without leftovers.
4. A shmata is a dress that your husband's ex is wearing.
5. One mitzvah can change the world; two will just make you tired.
6. After the destruction of the Second Temple, G-d created Neiman-Marcus
7. Anything worth saying is worth repeating a thousand times.
8. Never take a front row seat at a Brit.
9. Next year in Jerusalem. The year after that, how about a nice cruise?
10. Never leave a restaurant empty handed.
11. Spring ahead, fall back, winters in Boca.
12. WASP's leave and never say good bye; Jews say good bye and never leave.
13. Always whisper the names of diseases.
14. If it tastes good, it's probably not kosher.
15. The important Jewish holidays are the ones on which alternate side of the street parking is suspended..
16. Without Jewish mothers, who would need therapy?
17. If you have to ask the price, you can't afford it. But, if you can afford it, make sure to tell everybody what you paid.
18. Laugh now, but one day you'll be driving a Lexus and eating dinner at 4:00 PM in Florida.

Lebanon: Israel stole our falafel

Country's Industrialists Association says Jewish state trying to claim ownership of traditional Lebanese delicacies like tabouleh and hummus, plans international food-related suit
[Roee Nahmias]

Lebanon is planning on filing an international law suit against Israel for violating a food copyright, Fadi Abboud, president of the Lebanese Industrialists Association, told the al-Arabiya network.

The Lebanese claim is that Israel markets original Lebanese food like tabouleh, kubbeh, hummus, falafel and fattoush which the Lebanese considered their trademarks prior to the establishment of the Jewish state.

Abboud explained that the fact that Israel has been marketing Lebanese delicacies under the same names and ingredients around the world has caused great losses to Lebanon, and that while, “the full extent is unknown, it is estimated at tens of millions of dollars annually.”

For the rest of the article, browse to:
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3605773,00.html

or have a look at this Israeli "Tom Cruise" performance of falafel cocktail...

My first post

Welcome to my NEWS FOR THE JEWS blog.
This blog is about updates, funny items, good news for the Jews’ Jewish jokes and amazing accomplishments of the Jewish people.

In short, just the type of items you probably will never hear about on the TV evening news, on the radio, or on the front page of your daily newspaper.

Readers are invited to contribute their own news items.

You don’t have to be Jewish to enjoy the News of The Jews!