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1. Jews, Arabs Work Together to Save Hevron's Olive Trees
by Maayana Miskin
Residents of the Hevron area are concluding a weeks-long battle to save ancient olive trees next to the city. The project brought together Jews and Arabs from Hevron.
The ancient trees of Tel Hevron – some of them up to 2,000 years old – were endangered by a parasitic plant known as divkon hazayit. The plant was first discovered growing on the trees last year, and quickly multiplied, threatening to devastate the area.
The danger was spotted by Noam Arnon, spokesman for Hevron's Jewish community, who noticed the invasive species taking root while hiking through the area. He contacted the Ministry of Agriculture and the IDF Civil Administration to warn them.
Ministry of Agriculture workers were sent to the region and confirmed that without treatment, many trees could die. They created a plan of action to save the trees.
Over the course of several weeks, volunteers from both the Jewish and Arab communities of Hevron went from tree to tree and pruned off the invasive species. Olive tree branches found to be infected were cut off and burnt.
Some trees were so badly infected that they were cut down completely, leaving only a stump. However, olive trees are known for their ability to regrow, and experts say even those trees left with no branches at all will eventually flourish.
While the media often prefers to focus on Jewish-Arab tensions in Hevron, there is not insignificant Jewish-Arab cooperation in the city as well. In 2005, Arabs and Jews united in order to expel extreme-left foreign activists from the city. In 2008 an Arab sheikh prevented left-wing anarchists from destroying the Hazon David synagogue; Arab and Jewish leaders later sat down together in an attempt to create friendly Muslim-Jewish ties.
In April, local Jews and Arabs worked together to restore an archaeological site in Tel Hevron.
2. Jerusalem's Most Ancient Letter Revealed
by Maayana Miskin
Archaeologists working in Jerusalem have uncovered the most ancient written document ever found in the city – a fragment of a letter thought to date back to the 14th century BCE. The letter was engraved in clay using the Akkadian text, used at the time as a "bridge language" between kingdoms and others.
Researchers said the fragment shows that Jerusalem was an important city in the late Bronze age, even before it became the capital of the Jewish state and the city in which the Holy Temple was built.
The fragment was found in an excavation between the southern wall of the Old City and the City of David. The previous most ancient writing found in Jerusalem was discovered nearby, in the Shiloach stream in the City of David, and dates back to the eighth century BCE.
The fragment is small, measuring 2.0 by 2.8 centimeters. Some words or symbols can be clearly seen, including those meaning “you were,” “to do,” “them,” and “later.” The quality of the writing shows that the letter was the work of an expert scribe, which is another sign that Jerusalem was an important city at that time, said Professor Wayne Horowitz of Hebrew University, who translated the script along with a former graduate student, Dr. Takayoshi Oshima.
Horowitz, an expert in Assyriology, believes the fragment was part of a letter from the king of Jerusalem to the contemporary pharaoh in Egypt.
Archaeologist Dr. Eilat Mazar said the fragment was “one of the most important finds” discovered in the Jerusalem dig, in that it attests to the city's importance and centrality even at that early date. She expressed the hope that other such artifacts will be found in the same area.
3. 'Nine Days' of Mourning Begin Today
by Hillel Fendel
The “Nine Days” – the second stage of the “Three Weeks” of gradually-increasing mourning over the destruction of the Holy Temples and Israel's exile – begins today (Monday), the first day of the traditionally mournful month of Av.
The ninth day of Av - literally: Tisha B’Av - is the day on which both Holy Temples in Jerusalem were destroyed, roughly 2,000 and 2,500 years ago. The first third of the month, therefore, is a time of heightened sorrow – and avoidance of potentially harmful situations. The Talmud teaches: “When the month of Adar begins, we increase joy, and when Av begins, we reduce joy.”
One must not enter into certain judicial proceedings during this period, if they can be avoided, nor may one make joyful preparations for new young couple or purchase new items that bring joy.
In addition to the restrictions of the “Three Weeks,” which include not marrying, partying or shaving/haircutting, during the Nine Days the consumption of meat or wine is also forbidden.
In general, Ashkenazi custom is not to wear freshly-laundered clothes, to wash clothing, or to shower in hot water during this period, while Sephardim implement these restrictions only during the actual week in which Tisha B’Av falls.
The Mishna states that Tisha B’Av is also the day on which the Children of Israel accepted the slanderous reports of the Twelve Scouts sent by Moses regarding the Land of Israel, and on which Jerusalem was razed following Bar Kokhba's revolt against the Roman Empire.
Other calamities occurred on this day, as well, including the expulsion of English Jewry in 1290, the expulsion of Spanish Jewry in 1492, the outbreak of World War I in 1914, and the end of legal Jewish residence in Gush Katif in 2005. A group of leading religious-Zionist rabbis is planning to visit Jerusalem and the Temple Mount later today, in a show of solidarity and loyalty with the holy sites. The traditional monthly “Temple Mount Gates March” is also scheduled to be held this evening, with the expected participation of thousands. Lectures and historical tours are planned for the week, including Midreshet LIndenbaum's day of study on Sunday which includes a tour led by Rav Yakov Medan, Head of Har Etzion Yeshiva, in memory of Midreshet graduate Tsurit Yaron, z"l.
4. Netanyahu 'Burying Pollard Alive,' Wife Says
by Maayana Miskin
Jonathan Pollard, sentenced to life in prison in the United States for passing valuable security-related information to Israel, is spending his 9,000th day in prison Monday. His wife, Esther Pollard, criticized Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for not working to get her husband released.
"Netanyahu is burying Jonathan alive,” she told Arutz Sheva's Hebrew news service.
By abandoning Pollard, Israel has undermined its ability to free other prisoners, she said. “The Israeli government's approach, which allows it to sentence one prisoner to death, undermine its values and stand in the way of finding solutions for other captives,” she explained. "Since Yonatan was arrested in 1985 Israel has not managed to return a single live soldier from captivity - only bodies."
Esther Pollard pointed to the recent release of 10 suspected Russian spies in the U.S. as proof that Israel has the ability to obtain Pollard's release. “The Americans have proved that they can easily release [prisoners] – when they want to maintain good ties with an ally,” she concluded.
Activists are currently holding a three-day rally on the Light Rail Bridge in Jerusalem to mark the latest milestone date in Pollard's prison stay. They are asking passersby to write letters of support to Pollard, and hope to send at least 9,000 such letters, along with photographs of Israelis holding signs indicating their support.
5. Fifth Anniversary of Ongoing Gush Katif Tragedy to be Marked
by Hillel Fendel
The fifth anniversary of one of the worst tragedies in the history of the State of Israel will be marked this week at Kissufim and elsewhere in Israel and around the world.
This Wednesday, the 3rd of the Jewish month of Av, will kick off the fifth anniversary commemorations of Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from Gaza and some areas in northern Samaria. It resulted in expulsion, loss of employment, wandering and uncertainty for thousands of Jews over the course of the ensuing five years – and counting.
1,800 families (8,800 people) were expelled and uprooted, 25 communities and 400 farms were destroyed, 26 synagogues were demolished, hundreds of businesses were liquidated, and 35 years of accomplishments were wiped out.
The main memorial ceremony is to be held Wednesday evening near Kibbutz Kissufim in the Negev, where the entrance to Gush Katif – the Katif bloc of Jewish towns in Gaza – used to be. “We will show up at what used to be the entrance to Jewish Gaza,” the organizers say, “to express longing, to pledge faithfulness, and to pass the flag to the next generation.”
At 6:00 PM, torches will be lit by representatives of the 21 Gush Katif communities, followed by a play put on by children whose childhood in Gush Katif was abruptly cut off. Teenagers will participate in a treasure hunt/hike.
Around the country, solidarity events will be held at the same hour.
On Thursday evening, July 15, the OU Israel Center in Jerusalem will hold an English-language Gush Katif event. Dror Vanunu, International Coordinator of the Gush Katif Fund, and Rachel Saperstein, Director of Operation Dignity, will speak, and an exclusive film produced by the Gush Katif Committee will be shown.
The Katif Od Chai – Katif Still Lives - nationwide campaign begins on July 20. It will feature parlor meetings, films – and a massive fund-raising project for “18 (Chai) New Communities” and “18 (Chai) New Projects.”
In addition to three existing communities that Gush Katif expellees have built and settled over the last five years (Shvut Katif in Yad Binyamin, Tene-Omarim in southern Judea, and Mavkiim south of Ashkelon), 18 new communities are being built – bureaucracy and money permitting.
Among them are a new neighborhood in Avnei Eitan in the Golan; Katif Amatzia in the Negev by former residents of Moshav Katif; the N’veh Herzog neighborhood in Ashkelon by expellees from Nisanit; Be’er Ganim north of Ashkelon; a new neighborhood in Bustan HaGalil in the Galilee, by expellees from Nisanit and Dugit; Naveh, in the Halutz area, by former Atzmona-ites; Neta (Mirsham), in the Negev, by residents from Tel Katifa and Kfar Darom; and more.
In addition, the 18 new projects include:
Joint construction for families, involving the standardized construction of new homes for 150-200 families who are unable to build on their own.Two regional community centers and four youth centers for extra-curricular, cultural and supportive activitiesConstruction of synagogues in Talmei Yafeh, Yesodot and Maskiyot.Other projects include family unit workshops and lectures; 150 student scholarships; financial assistance to needy families; medical assistance; start-up business grants; vocational retraining; lobbying for farmers who wish to return to farming; the Gush Katif Legacy Center; and more.
For more information, click here. http://www.gushkatif.co.il/
6. First Flotilla Probe Completed, Handed to Barak
by Maayana Miskin
The IDF probe of the bloody clash aboard the Gaza-bound ship Marmara has been completed. Investigative committee head Major-General (res.) Giora Eiland has submitted his findings to Defense Minister Ehud Barak and IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi.
Results of the probe will be released to the public in a press conference this afternoon.
A second national probe, the Turkel commission, is ongoing. In addition, the United Nations Human Rights Council recently announced plans to establish its own probe, and the UN may create a probe as well.
The Eiland commission's findings are expected to include criticism of the way in which the IDF gathered information on the approaching ships and on their passengers' intentions. Eiland is also expected to point out flaws in the decision-making process prior to soldiers' descent onto the ships.
The military apparently expected passengers aboard the Marmara, self-defined human rights activists, to submit peacefully when soldiers boarded the ships in order to reroute them to Ashdod. Instead, passengers attacked the soldiers with clubs and knives, wounding several, and dragged three soldiers below deck, prompting fears of a kidnapping. Soldiers responded with live fire, killing nine Turkish citizens.
The 150-page Eiland report is not expected to assign personal responsibility for the incident to senior IDF officers, due to the limited mandate given the investigative committee. The government-appointed Turkel commission, however, is authorized to reach conclusions regarding individual officers' behavior - though it, too, is not expected to do so.
Eiland, a former head of the National Security Council, also headed a probe into the kidnapping of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.
7. Lebanese Politician Likes Germans Because "They Burned Jews"
by Hillel Fendel
A former Lebanese government minister said last week that he likes Germany because “they hate Jews and burned them.” He was speaking on Al-Jadid/New TV in Lebanon on July 4.
The clip was found and translated by MEMRI (Middle East Media Research Institute), and screened on its MEMRITV.org television monitor project.
Wiam Wahhab, known to be pro-Syrian, served as Lebanon’s Minister of the Environment from 2004-5.
Asked whom he supports in the World Cup, Wahhab said, “ “I support Germany in politics and Brazil in soccer. … I like the Germans because they hate the Jews and burned them” – and then laughed heartily.
He also said in the interview that if the current situation in southern Lebanon continues, UNIFIL could find itself under attack.
The MEMRITV project monitors over 100 Arabic and Farsi TV channels 24 hours a day, and provides translations.
In another clip from four weeks ago, Hamas leader Mahmoud a-Zahar said that the key to Hamas policy is to demand a state in the West Bank and Gaza, with its capital in Jerusalem, “but without recognizing Israeli sovereignty over a single inch of land. This is our plan for this stage – to liberate the West Bank and Gaza – without recognizing Israel’s right to a single inch of land, and without giving up the Right of Return for a single Palestinian refugee…"
"The next stage is to have Palestine in its entirety," A-Zahar continued.
He said that if Fatah – the PA – wishes to work towards establishing a state “only” in the "West Bank" (Judea and Samaria) and Gaza, “it doesn’t mean that we [Hamas] will give up the resistance [terrorism].”
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