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

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...