In the early years of Israel’s existence under the leadership of the late Prime Minister David ben Gurion, he established a “BIBLE CLUB” for the leaders of Israel that was one of the best things Israel’s leaders have ever done. Later, it was dropped from the agendas of the political and military leadership. Some have continued Bible studies with their individual rabbinical teachers. Consider this interesting bit of recent news!

ISRAEL GOVERNMENT BIBLE CLUB REVIVED!
(reported by Israel Today)

Israeli President Shimon Peres has revived a monthly Bible club attended by top Israeli officials, albeit with a twist that those familiar with the Bible club originally founded and hosted by David Ben Gurion may find unsavory.

After decades of only sporadic meetings, Peres this week jumped on the opportunity to reintroduce the club that, as Ben-Gurion’s right-hand man, he originally helped establish, reported Ha’aretz.

However, Peres appears to have turned the event into something of a flashy biblical production, in stark contrast to the more solemn and scholarly debates presided over by his mentor in the 1950s and early 1960s.

Wednesday’s meeting of the government Bible club at President House in Jerusalem featured lectures by prominent rabbis, poetry readings and a musical production entitled “Jerusalem Blues.”

When he first started the club, Ben-Gurion intended it to be a vehicle by which to train Israel’s leaders to relate to the Bible as their divine heritage in the national sense, as well as a universal document in terms of how God expects man to live. He openly rejected the idea that Rabbinical Judaism had a monopoly on how the Bible was to be interpreted, and used the Bible club as a platform to emphasize that position.

The idea was a success, and the club was regularly attended by Israel’s leading professors, judges, lawmakers and government ministers, who would gather to read scripture and heatedly debate its modern meaning, much in the fashion of ancient synagogues.

Once again the BBC is guilty of false reporting and revealing its anti-Israel bias. Here is the article from Israel National News:

BBC CAUGHT RED-HANDED ON ANTI-ISRAEL, FALSE COVERAGE!
by Hana Levi Julian

A media monitoring organization and a British citizen forced the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) to apologize for blatant anti-Israel news coverage. They caught the network “red-handed,” reporting falsely.

The BBC has frequently been accused of biased coverage slanted against Israel; Israeli government officials have summoned the BBC to explain itself in the past.

The “red-handed” false report in question was caught by the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA). CAMERA revealed that BBC used an old file photo to depict the alleged bulldozing of the home of the terrorist who slaughtered eight young yeshiva boys in Jerusalem this month.

“Hours after the attack, Israeli bulldozers destroyed his family home,” reported the BBC – but it was untrue. The home of Ala Abu Dheim continued to stand unharmed, as did the mourning tent in which his family greets people who come to console and congratulate them on his achievement and subsequent ”martyrdom.”

That, despite the fact that the Hashemite Kingdom refused to allow the Jordanian branch of the terrorist’s family to erect such a tent or otherwise hold public mourning events for the murderer in their village near Amman. Jordanian officials explained that public mourning in this case would encourage violence, which would in turn constitute a threat to national security

Another well-documented false and biased BBC report, detected by a Jewish resident of Manchester, England, quoted United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as condemning Israeli attacks on Gazan civilians..

The BBC used the quote several weeks later, out of context, to tie it to a specific IDF attack on Palestinian Authority terrorists in Gaza.

The news report in question stated that Israel had deliberately attacked Gaza civilians. In the report, BBC refrained from reporting the intensified attacks on Israeli civilians, in some weeks more than 100 rockets were fired at western Negev communities by terrorists hiding among women and children in Gaza.

Israel’s counterterrorism operation “Warm Winter” in Gaza came after an eight-year-old Sderot boy lost his left leg in a Kassam attack that almost cost him his life, as well as that of his 19-year-old brother, who was also seriously wounded by the rocket.

The collateral damage to civilians in Gaza, noted Israel, was caused by the terrorists who chose to launch their attacks from playgrounds and areas between residential buildings in densely populated civilian areas.

The BBC did issue an official statement of apology for both incidents in which the organization had been caught.

Netanyahu: JERUSALEM WITHDRAWAL WILL BRING IRAN TO CAPITAL
by Avi Tuchmayer (Israel National News)

Opposition leader Benyamin Netanyahu warned Sunday that an Israeli withdrawal from any part of Jerusalem would lead to the creation of an Iranian base in the heart of Israel.

“The Iranian threat (must be neutralized) before it arms itself with a nuclear bomb. In addition, Iran must be prevented from building its main bases in the region, from Gaza to Lebanon, and particularly in Jerusalem,” he said.

Netanyahu has been warning about Iran’s nuclear ambitions for more than a decade. His 1995 book ‘Fighting Terrorism’ contains a chapter entitled “The Specter of Nuclear Terrorism” that focuses largely on the Islamic Republic, and outlines the history of Iran’s nuclear installations at Bushehr and Isfahan and concludes with a chilling warning about terrorist groups and states obtaining nuclear weapons: “(They will) invariably deploy them in the service of their aggressive purposes.”

In addition to security issues, Netanyahu told US Vice President Dick Cheney that basic religious freedoms for non-Muslims would be endangered by ceding parts of the capital to Iran and its latest prodigy, the Hamas terrorist organization.

“Hamas, Iran and other forces affiliated with them will take control of it. They will threaten Jerusalem’s wellbeing, Israel’s security and the freedom of worship for millions of pilgrims and members of the different religions who visit the city today,” he said. Cheney replied that the US administration understood the situation.

Netanyahu also reiterated his call to the Shas Party to quit the government over ongoing negotiations over Jerusalem with the PA, which Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni confirmed on Friday. Earlier this month, the Shas party received some 185 million shekels in government funding for its institutions as part of its coalition agreement.

MCCAIN VISITS SDEROT, ENDORSES STRONGER ACTION!
by Hillel Fendel (Israel National News)

Visiting U.S. Senator John McCain (R., Arizona), all but assured of his party’s nomination for President, says the U.S. would not take rocket attacks on a city lying down.

McCain’s visit – together with fellow Senator Joseph Lieberman – formerly of the Democratic Party and now a self-declared “independent” – has included stops in Jerusalem and Sderot. McCain expressed sympathy for the people of Sderot, saying, “The residents obviously live under very severe stress… Living under a 15-second [rocket] alert is no way to spend Purim” – a reference to the usually ultra-joyous holiday that begins Thursday night.

Asked how he thinks Israel should respond to the Arab rocket attacks from Gaza, the future Republican candidate for U.S. President said he could not “give a good answer.” But, he added, “I can tell you that I believe that if rocket attacks came across the border of the United States of America, that the American people would probably demand pretty vigorous actions in response.”

On the topic of Hamas, McCain said, “Someone is going to have to answer me the question of how you are going to negotiate with an organization that is dedicated to your extinction.”

McCain was accompanied by Lieberman, an observant Jew, to the Western Wall on Wednesday, with both Senators sporting white knitted kippot (yarmulkes) for the occasion. Earlier, McCain visited Yad Vashem, and met with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, and Opposition Leader Binyamin Netanyahu.

At a joint press conference with Sen. McCain, Prime Minister Olmert said that Hamas is armed and sponsored by Iran and Syria. It is possible to stop the Kassam rocket attacks from Gaza “even without conquering Gaza,” Olmert said, but did not elaborate.

The senator said that as President of the United States, he would be active in trying to achieve peace between the sides in accordance with the principles agreed upon by the U.S. and Israel. He also had words of support for PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas, whom he called the President of the PA. “I believe wants to gets the [peace] process started,” McCain said, adding his confidence that Abbas “does not support the [terrorist] activity taking place in Gaza.”

Twelve people have been killed in and around Sderot by Kassam rockets, the most recent being Roni Yihye, 47, a father of four, less than a month ago. Five weeks ago, 8-year-old Osher Tuito lost his left leg, and his 19-year-old brother Rami suffered serious wounds to his legs as well, in a Kassam rocket attack in Sderot. The Victims of Arab Terror International Organization (VAT) honored Osher on Wednesday with a visit to his hospital bed, a Purim food package, and financial help “to ease the plight of this suffering family and in recognition of his great courage,” VAT founder Shifra Hoffman said.

YESHIVA RABBI STABBED NEAR JERUSALEM’S DAMASCUS GATE
by Hana Levi Julian

Rabbi Yechezkel Greenwald, father of four, is in Hadassah Ein Karem Hospital after being stabbed in the neck by an Arab terrorist near the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City on Tuesday morning.

The 49-year-old Beit El resident is a teacher at the Ateret Cohanim Yeshiva in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem. A student who was accompanying the rabbi reportedly fought off the terrorist, preventing the rabbi from being more seriously hurt.

Rabbi Greenwald was treated by Hatzalah-Ichud medics on the scene, and was evacuated to the hospital by a Magen David Adom ambulance. His condition improved as the hours passed, and by early afternoon he was reported to be in light condition. The Greenwald family has asked that people pray for Rabbi Yechezkel ben [son of] Zahava.

Security cameras at the gate captured the attack on tape. The face of the terrorist was quickly isolated and distributed to police searching the area. The Damascus Gate is the central open-air market in the area and is usually quite crowded.

Jewish residents of the Muslim Quarter – the largest part of the Old City — have been instructed by police not to walk through the area without an armed guard.

Tuesday’s stabbing was the second terrorist attack in Jerusalem in less than two weeks. Eight young students at the Merkaz HaRavYeshiva in Jerusalem were slaughtered in cold blood by an Arab resident of the Jabel Mukabar suburb in the eastern section of the capital. Eleven other students were wounded, and two of them are still hospitalized.

The murderer, Ala Abu Dheim, holds an Israeli ID card, as does his family, enabling them to move freely within pre-1967 Israel, including Jerusalem. They also are entitled to all Israeli benefits enjoyed by citizens of the Jewish State, with the exception of participating in national elections – as they chose not to accept official citizenship. The Abu Dheim family votes in PA elections instead.

Witnesses said the terrorist chased down the eight boys he murdered, shooting most of them in the yeshiva library at point-blank range after they had already been wounded. Bullet holes in the floor where they lay in a pool of blood attested to the truth of the account.

A full closure will be placed on the Palestinian Authority areas of Judea and Samaria on Wednesday, and will last until Monday. The closure covers the holiday of Purim, a three-day period this year, which starts Thursday evening.

The closure stems from intelligence information that terror attacks are being planned to coincide with the close of the 40-day Muslim mourning period for the Hizbullah terror organization’s second-in-command, Imad Mughniyeh. Mughniyeh was assassinated in Syria. The 40-day mark is a favorite among terrorists for carrying out revenge attacks.

Israel’s General Security Service (Shin Bet) also released a statement to the media warning of seven concrete threats of terrorist attacks over the Purim festival period. Police have already raised the terror alert in response to the information.

Palestinian Authority Arabs and Israeli-Arabs who live in Jerusalem will still be able to travel freely throughout the territorY.

Once again, Israel’s enemies (Hamas & Fatah) offer a “peace deal” that has been done so many times before now. Israel should be very careful about such a “deal.”

HAMAS: SWAP CEASEFIRE FOR SECURITY-FREE GAZA, JUDEA, SAMARIA
by Hana Levi Julian

Hamas terrorist organization has put out feelers to arrange a ceasefire with Israel in the wake of an intensified counterterrorism campaign by the IDF in Gaza two weeks ago.

Hamas, which controls the Gaza region, has said it will halt its rocket attacks on western Negev communities, but only on condition that the government orders the IDF to halt all counterterrorist operations in Judea and Samaria as well as Gaza.

Israel previously has totally rejected the proposal.

Hamas spokesman Iman Tara told the London-based Arabic language newspaper Asharq al-Alawsat that the proposed ceasefire also is conditioned on Israel’s re-opening Gaza crossings, which Israel closed following the terror group’s takeover of the region.

The government has allowed humanitarian shipments to pass through the crossings. Tara also charged that the Olmert administration’s refusal to compromise is delaying a deal to free IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, who was kidnapped almost two years ago in a cross-border terrorist attack.

Hamas has periodically blamed its refusal to release Shalit on various actions by Israel. Numerous deals brokered by Egyptian security officials and allegedly “agreed to” by the terrorists since Shalit’s abduction in June 2006 were torpedoed at the last minute by the group.

Numerous attempts by International Red Cross representatives and other foreign officials to visit Shalit and ascertain his condition have failed. Although Hamas released a video of the 20-year-old soldier last year and prior to that, an audio recording, Shalit’s whereabouts and condition remain unknown.

TERROR BOMB FACTORIES ACTIVE IN JUDEA AND SAMARIA
PA Arab terrorists are also increasing their efforts to smuggle dangerous materials into Fatah-controlled Judea and Samaria, many of which can be used for manufacturing rockets and other weapons, according to IDF spokesmen.

IDF soldiers confiscated a truck carrying 12.5 tons of fertilizer at a Samaria checkpoint on Monday morning. The fertilizer in question is often used to prepare bombs. The truck was stopped following a joint operation involving the IDF, the Border Police, and the Civilian Administration.

Security forces have thwarted 14 attempts in the past several days to smuggle that substance and other dangerous materials as well as others in containers of merchandise hidden in five trucks.

Authorities have detected more that 1,600 attempts to transfer prohibited material, and police are investigating nine different incidents. The United States has insisted that Israel remove dozens of checkpoints in Judea and Samaria.

ANNUAL INTELLIGENCE REPORT: HIZBULLAH IS THE KEY!
by Hillel Fendel

The annual intelligence report, prepared by the IDF Intelligence Branch, with the help of the Mossad and the Shabak (General Security Service), warns of another round of warfare with the Lebanon-based Hizbullah terrorist organization. It could occur, the experts state, in the coming year or two.

The report, which was submitted to the government this week, shows that 1) Lebanon is crumbling and falling into the hands of Hizbullah, 2) Syria remains a threat, and 3) Israeli-Arabs are joining the fray. The report also notes Gaza and the world-wide Jihad movement as threats to Israel, but the most significant danger of all lies in Iran’s nuclear program.

Neither the neighboring Arab states nor Iran are expected to begin a major offensive against Israel in 2008 on their own. However, the situation in the north is highly-flammable, and it is possible that if Hizbullah attacks Israel, this will ignite other Arab fronts as well.

“There are five hostile operative fronts,” explained a senior diplomatic source to Maariv-NRG: “Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Gaza, and global Jihad. Iran, the main one, is advancing in its nuclear program and is leading the extremist axis. It continues to develop enrichment capabilities and long-range rockets, and blatantly violates the international decisions.”

Syria is not expected to attack Israel with ground forces and bombing raids, but rather with long-range ground-to-ground rockets, the report states. The price of avoiding this is straightforward: the entire Golan Heights, and U.S. help in de-radicalizing Syria.

Last year’s report correctly predicted low chances that Mahmoud Abbas would succeed in forming a government with Hamas to run the Palestinian Authority. The government was, in fact, short-lived, falling apart when Hamas conquered Gaza from the Fatah-run PA in the summer of 2007.

Maj.-Gen. (res.) Eyal Reuven, who served as IDF Deputy Commander of the Northern Command during the Second Lebanese War in 2006, told Army Radio, “This type of report, by its nature, concentrates on what our enemies can do, and therefore it looks bad. But the bottom line is that our regional deterrence is better than it was and is getting stronger. In addition, we have international legitimacy for our actions against terrorism, and economically we are much stronger than any of our neighbors.”