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1. EU Joins PA’s Diplomatic War on Jerusalem
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
The Foreign Ministry warned Tuesday morning that a Swedish-led attempt to have the European Union recognize eastern Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian Authority will backfire.
The draft proposal, expected to be placed on the EU table next week, would damage efforts to reach peace with the PA and damage the EU’s standing as a trusted entity, ministry spokesman Yossi Levy said. “The Europeans must pressure the Palestinians to return to the negotiating table," he added. "Such moves like the one being led by Sweden lead to the opposite outcome."
The Swedish proposal also omits any recognition of the rest of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Government officials estimate that several EU members will oppose the proposal by Sweden, which retains the rotating presidency of the European body until next month.
Likud Knesset Member Tzipi Hotovely blamed her own government for the EU move, saying, “This is more proof that the erosion of legitimacy for residents of Judea and Samaria is the direct cause for the erosion of the status of Jerusalem.”
The draft proposal of the EU will include its readiness to recognize the PA as a “democratic” and independent entity if PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas carries out his plan to unilaterally declare statehood. Abbas has asked the United Nations to recognize the PA as an independent state based on the 1949-1967 borders of Israel, a move which in effect destroys the Roadmap plan and American efforts for a negotiated agreement with Israel.
2. MK Porush: Feeling the Pain of the Land of Israel
by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz
Knesset Member Rabbi Meir Porush, of the Hareidi-religious United Torah Judaism party, believes his government's decision to freeze Jewish construction in Judea and Samaria is wrong and will only lead to further concessions. But UTJ is no closer to leaving the coalition because of it.
In an interview with Arutz Sheva on Monday, Rabbi Porush said: "We feel the pain of the Land of Israel. We are all in the same boat in that regard. While it can't be said [of the government's decisio 'desolation and destruction' [Isaiah 60:18 - ed, there is definitely 'great destruction' [Jeremiah 48:3 - ed here."
The MK, who is Deputy Minister of Education, said that he fails to see the logic in the freeze. "If someone were to come along and convince me that if we suspend construction, then everyone will come to understand... the behavior of the Arabs, everyone will begin to say, 'Stop giving in to them'... But that does not happen. Every concession leads to a greater concession."
Potential manipulation
Furthermore, Porush warned of a potential political manipulation of the building freeze on the part of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. There may be no negotiations for nine months, he suggested, at which point Abbas will agree to talks only on condition that the construction freeze continue indefinitely. According to Porush, it is not possible to predict how the Netanyahu administration would react to such a demand. "We may end up in a situation in which, G-d forbid, it will no longer be possible to build in Judea and Samaria," he said. "Where are we headed?"
Asked if, in light of his views, the UTJ is ready to quit the coalition over the construction freeze, Porush replied coyly: "I am always living on borrowed time. Every politician must know that, but especially in the UTJ. At any minute the order could come down [from the party's guiding rabbi, and whatever the order is, we'll do."
According to Porush, this is not the time for discussing coalition crises, in any event. "If we precipitate a crisis and quit, the [far-lef Meretz party will take our place.... The crisis is that we are losing, step by step, more and more parts [of the Land of Israe."
The UTJ, on principle, only agrees to accept deputy ministerial posts so as not to accept joint ministerial responsibility for government actions that may violate the Torah.
When asked what can be done, if coalition pressure is not currently possible, Porush, who served as Deputy Minister of Housing from 2001-2003, replied: "The things that can be done I can't say over the airwaves."
3. Magen David Adom Reunites Siblings After 64 Years
by Hillel Fendel
Lena, 85, and Victor, 73, were too choked up to speak when they first met each other after not having known of each other’s existence since the end of WWII. The meeting took place recently in Australia, where Lena has lived for years without knowing that her long-lost brother was alive.
The story began in 1945, when the chaotic situation in tha war led to the separation of the two siblings, who had been living in Rostov, Ukraine. In 1965, Victor turned to the Red Cross in Russia, asking for information on his missing family. Nothing turned up, but Victor did not give up.
In 2007, a woman named Liz Soda – the daughter of Lena – turned to the Central Tracing Service of the Red Cross in Germany, asking for information on the Bogdanovich family of Rostov. Here came the first break: She was told that though no documentation on the family had been found, a man named Victor had in the past made a similar query. Liz immediately understood that this was her lost uncle, and she began to search for him – but he had moved to Moscow and could not be found.
The story then moves to the German city of Bad Arolsen, site of the International Tracing Service (ITS) archives. Victims of Nazi persecutions and their families can search there through more than 50 million reference cards for over 17.5 million people, and related documents and reference files, to verify the fate of loved ones.
The story of the Bogdonavich search was raised at the annual ITS convention this year – and listening attentively were representatives of Magen David Adom’s tracing service. With the help of Yolenta Michaeolova of the Red Cross in Russia, MDA’s Susan Adel and Eli Starik began working on the case, and within days were able to locate Victor’s son living in Moscow. When they told him that his aunt and cousin were looking for his father, “He was so excited that he could barely speak,” Adel said.
When Victor himself heard the news, he immediately made contact with his sister in Australia – but once again, they were too emotional to know what to say. They agreed that Victor would fly to Australia, where the dramatic reunion was held after 64 years of separation.
Lena’s daughter Liz said afterwards, “Our story is typical of what happened to many families of that period. We are thrilled that my mother was able, with the help of Magen David Adom, to find her brother whom she thought she would never see again.”
MDA acknowledges that its tracing service is not well known, its director Boriah Kozokin says, “But we have been involved in finding lost persons for many years, with great success. Most of our work centers around those who have lost contact with family members during and after World War II.”
4. Haifa Students Build Robotic Helicopter
by Malkah Fleisher
Students from the Faculty of Computer Science at the Technion University in Haifa have succeeded in building a lightweight hovercraft for use in special missions, observation and surveillance. The appearance of the mid-air drone was publicized on Monday in Homepage, the Technion computer sciences faculty newsletter.
"Skimmer," a 2.2-pound miniature robotic helicopter, can navigate and photograph independently for 30-40 minutes, even entering the windows of buildings to do its job, before flying out.
Professor Ehud Rivlin, who is leading the faculty's project, said students from the contributed to information processing and computer optics. "With different sensors we added to the skimmer, we gave it the ability to distinguish obstacles to prevent accidents, while maintaining height and orientation with the use of a three-dimensional map," Prof. Rivlin said.
Technion says Skimmer's camera is currently in its belly, but researchers are working to install additional cameras to allow photography from 360 degrees around the craft.
"Adding a handheld Pocket PC allowed us to increase the processing capacity of Skimmer" added Arel Uziel of the Graduate Department of Computer Science at the Technion, who participated in the development. "The computer controls Skimmer via a control box located on the platform and is responsible for steering. This enables wireless communications with ground stations for instructions on air flight and the transfer of images using computer communications capabilities."
Also leading the project are Professor Pini Gurfil of the Aerospace Engineering Faculty, intelligent systems lab engineer Ronen Keidar, and hardware engineer Sergei Danilean. The project is funded by the Dvora Foundation and the autonomous systems center at the Technion.
5. Highest Votes Sought for Lowest Point on Earth
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Israel is asking friends and environmentalists in the Diaspora to help turn the Dead Sea, 1,300 feet below sea level and the lowest point on Earth, to the highest place in the ongoing contest to name the world’s seven natural wonders. Click here to vote.
Knesset Member Ayoub Kara (Likud), who also is Deputy Minister for Development of the Galilee and Negev, is scheduled to tour the Dead Sea area Tuesday morning, accompanied by representatives of the Megilot Regional Council. He is promoting the Dead Sea as one of the 28 finalists in the contest for the New Seven Wonders of Nature, sponsored by the New Seven Wonders Fund.
Several of the other contestants include the Amazon River, the Grand Canyon, Cape Town's Table Mountain and Mount Vesuvius.
The Dead Sea is in danger of disappearing, and making it one of the official seven natural wonders of the world will help efforts to save it, according to environmentalists. Current projections indicate that the Dead Sea, which is more accurately described in Hebrew as the Salt Sea, indicate will be only a small pond in 40 years.
“Saving the Dead Sea is a regional issue, and if you take the heritage, environmental and historical importance, or even the geographical importance, it is an international issue," according to a water expert quoted by the London Telegraph. Industrial and agricultural demands, water-sharing with Jordan, and several years of drought, have contributed to the declining level of the sea.
The Dead Sea used to receive water from the north during years of abundant rainfall, but the last time the dams at the Kinneret, (Sea of Galilee) were opened, allowing more water to flow to the Jordan River and the Dead Sea, was in 1992. A proposal for a $2 billion pipeline from the Red Sea is in the works but worries environmentalists, who fear the differences in water quality will actually cause destruction.
The Tourism Ministry is promoting the Dead Sea for its beauty, Biblical history, the Dead Sea Scrolls from the Qumran Caves, warm weather in the winter and the therapeutic benefits of Dead Sea mud.
While the Dead Sea is declining, fears are growing that global warming will cause floods around the world, including Israel’s Mediterranean Coast. The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) estimates that sea levels may rise by more than three feet by the end of the century.
6. Israel, Russia Form Agricultural Cooperation Agreement
by Malkah Fleisher
An initiative of President Shimon Peres, proposed during a meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, will promote global agricultural cooperation.
In accordance with this initiative, Agriculture Minister MK Shalom Simhon and his counterpart in the Russian government will form a permanent joint committee of agricultural cooperation between the two countries. The committee will be headed by the Director General of the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture, Yossi Yishai, and Russian Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Sergey Korolev.
The budding of the initiative was visible Monday, following the arrival of 10 senior Russian governmental officials, including the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and 15 representatives of agro-technology companies. They are here on a two-day visit aimed at outlining the main objectives of the planned cooperation and fostering ties between Israeli and Russian companies engaged in agricultural technology development and business.
The visit began Sunday with a large convened forum including the Russian delegation and representatives of the agriculture ministry in Israel. As part of the forum, a memorandum of understanding was signed which includes spheres of cooperation promoted by the working group. Among the areas addressed were trade promotion, strengthening of agricultural technology sharing between the two countries, transfer of information in research, development and training, the formulation of standard agro-forums for the private sector for networking and information exchange and the creation of joint workshops and exhibitions.
The agreement will form the basis for a discussion to be held on December 3 at a meeting of the Joint Israel-Russia Economic Committee in Moscow, headed by the Russian Deputy Prime Minister and Israel's Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The visiting delegation also took part in the first agro-forum meeting. Taking part in the exchange with the Russian visitors were representatives from about 30 Israeli companies working in agriculture and technology, agricultural farms, and other fields.
MK Shalom Simhon, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that "this kind of cooperation allows us to take advantage of the accumulated knowledge and numerous experiences of Israeli agriculture, as well as the land and water resources available in Russia. The combination of the forces of these two countries, on the governmental level and in the business sector, will help promote solutions to global nutrition problems."
Another meeting of the Joint Working Group of the Israeli and Russian Ministries of Agriculture will take place in 2010 in Russia.
7. ‘Handicapped’ Demjanjuk to Face Holocaust Survivors
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
John Demjanjuk, whose apparent handicapped condition is in doubt, is scheduled to face Holocaust survivors on the second day of his war crimes trial Tuesday. The trial may be the last major court case of its kind as most Nazi criminals die off.
Thirty plaintiffs, most of whom are relatives of the death camp victims, are to testify Tuesday. There are no known living survivors of Sobibor.
Demjanjuk, 89, appeared in court on Monday while moaning in a wheelchair for the first session and then returning on a stretcher. However, he was seen laughing and joking after most of journalists had left the room. His family has complained that he may not survive the court proceedings for allegedly being involved in the murder of 27,900 Jews while serving as a guard for the Nazis.
One blood specialist denied in court his family’s claim that Demjanjuk suffers from leukemia, and Nazi hunter Ephraim Zuroff of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Jerusalem, commented, “It's a pathetic attempt to appear more crippled than he is. He belongs in Hollywood."
Demjanjuk, known as Ivan the Terrible, was sentenced to death in Israel in 1988, but Israeli courts overturned the conviction five years later after doubts were raised concerning his identity. He claims he is the victim of mistaken identity in the case of a guard with a similar nickname who killed Jews at the Sobibor death camp in 1943.
Dr. Yitzchak Arad, who testified in the original trial in Israel and is an expert on Sobibor, told Arutz 7 that the trial in Israel concerned Treblinka and not Sobibor, where it is almost certain that there is no case of mistaken identify.
“There is no doubt that John Demjanjuk also was involved in Treblinka as well as Sobibor,” he said. There were incidents where guards were transferred from place to place. It has been proven that he was at Treblinka. Claims that he joined the war afterwards have been proven to be incorrect.”
He explained that the Israeli courts overturned the conviction because “our judicial system frees anyone when there is even the slightest doubt of someone being a criminal.”
Dr. Arad added that the murder indictments cover only a fraction of the 250,000 victims at Sobibor and that Demjanjuk is certain to be convicted. However, he said the judges may lighten the sentence because of Demjanjuk's age.
