Numerous organizations will join with the JCRC of NY and the UJA-Federation of New York , in cooperation with the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, to sponsor a New York metropolitan area community-wide rally in support of Israel.
The rally will take place near the Israeli Consulate at 42nd Street and 2nd Avenue.
Download the flier by clicking here. (http://tinyurl.com/9fgqa4)
Following the recent developments in Israel and the on-going IDF "Cast Lead" Operation, Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) has launched an Emergency Campaign, titled "FIDF Frontline Operation," aimed at raising awareness and funds to fulfill the immediate wellbeing needs of the IDF Soldiers on the frontlines of the Gaza Strip.
In response to an emergency request from the IDF to supply more goods and wellbeing services to the thousands of active-duty and reserve soldiers deployed in the Gaza Strip area, FIDF is accelerating its activities to help soldiers in the field.
To learn how you can help click here (http://tinyurl.com/7j6aas).
Of the 3,278 rockets and mortar shells that landed in Israel in 2008, the ones that made headlines were hits on shopping malls, schools and homes. Eight people were killed and 947 people were wounded. Thousands of civilians suffered from anxiety, shock, and various traumas. Once the "RED ALERT—TZEVA ADOM" sirens sound, they have 15 seconds to get to a bomb shelter before impact. The continuing fire of rockets and mortar shells has a severe, cumulative psychological effect on the population, causing severe damage to its social structure and severe damage to its feeling of safety.
With Hamas rockets from Gaza striking as far as Ashdod (http://tinyurl.com/82px49), Ashkelon (http://tinyurl.com/85zvlt) and Beersheba (http://tinyurl.com/9epuhh) nearly one million Israelis live within range. The IDF Home Front Command issued new instructions to citizens (http://tinyurl.com/879dte) and released a video showing how to react or prepare for incoming rockets (http://tinyurl.com/7t4yhm). Citizens as far as Tel Aviv have been ordered to prepare their private shelters (http://tinyurl.com/9t73q6).
For a summary of rocket fire and mortar shelling on Israel in 2008 download a report from The Intelligence & Terrorism Information Center (http://tinyurl.com/9wob3y).
With rockets from Gaza striking as far as Ashdod (http://tinyurl.com/82px49), Ashkelon (http://tinyurl.com/85zvlt) and Beersheba (http://tinyurl.com/9epuhh) , and nearly one million Israelis living within range, the IDF Home Front Command has issued new instructions (http://tinyurl.com/879dte) to citizens and released a video (http://tinyurl.com/7t4yhm) showing how to react or prepare for incoming rockets. Citizens as far as Tel Aviv have been ordered to prepare (http://tinyurl.com/9t73q6) their private shelters.
The two coins were rescued from rubble discarded by Islamic Wakf officials from their illegal excavations on the Temple Mount. The rubble is carefully sifted by two archeologists and a team of volunteers at a Jerusalem national park.
One coin, a silver half-shekel, was apparently minted on the Temple Mount itself by Temple authorities in the first year of the Great Revolt against the Romans in 
One side of the coin, which was found by a 14-year-old volunteer, shows a branch with three pomegranates, and the inscription "Holy Jerusalem"; the other side bears a chalice from the First Temple and says "Half-Shekel."
More details in articles from the Jerusalem Post (http://tinyurl.com/4eur9b), Arutz Sheva (http://tinyurl.com/95hqdq) and the web site of The Temple Mount Antiquities Salvage Operation (http://tinyurl.com/a7g2ev). The salvage operation site also provides information about how you can support its efforts to recover antiquities from the Temple Mount.
Despite the economic downturn tourism to Israel continued in November at a record pace. 260,000 tourists visited Israel ,a 25% increase compared to November 2007. From January to November, 2.8 million tourists visited Israel, an increase of 35% over the same period last year, and 10% more than the corresponding period in 2000. Visit http://tinyurl.com/3rcqxr for the complete story.
Three people were wounded on the afternoon of December 17th when a Kassam rocket fired by Gaza terrorists landed next to a Sderot shopping area (http://tinyurl.com/4ghp6r). The ongoing rocket fire has been increasing (http://tinyurl.com/6bm4nl and http://tinyurl.com/6236hl).
You can learn more about what’s happening in Sderot and the people who live there at the Sderot Media Center (www.sderotmedia.com). You can help support the people of Sderot and its surrounding area by shopping at the online Sderot Mall (http://sderotmall.com/).
The UN and Israel
The UN is at it again. This time (in late November) the President of the UN General Assembly denounced the policies of a certain Middle Eastern nation. He said, “the world must unite against them”, demanding an “end to this massive abuse of human rights” with a punishing “campaign of boycott, divestment, and sanctions.” Of which country was he speaking? The General Assembly president, who served as Nicaragua's foreign minister during the Sandinista regime in the 1980s, was not referring to any of the Middle East's Muslim autocracies and dictatorships, virtually all of which discriminate against ethnic and religious minorities. He was speaking of the Jewish state of Israel, the region's lone democracy, and the only one that guarantees the legal equality of all its citizens - one-fifth of whom are Muslim and Christian Arabs. Read the Boston Globe editorial titled “The UN's obsession with demonizing Israel” at http://tinyurl.com/5cx2c8. Also see http://tinyurl.com/5g79wz and http://tinyurl.com/5gk6au.
Rare Hebrew Seal from the First Temple Period Discovered in Western Wall Plaza Excavations
Israel takes part in NATO intelligence discussions
Israel's military cooperation with NATO is deepening: Israel took part in the formation of two intelligence reports prepared by NATO on missile development and the nuclear arms race in the Middle East. It is also extending its ties with NATO in order to prevent the smuggling of weapons in the Middle East (http://tinyurl.com/6fg7nk).
US Court Verdict Against Terror
A federal appeals court upheld a $156 million judgment Wednesday against three U.S.-based Islamic groups accused of bankrolling terrorism in a landmark civil case (http://tinyurl.com/5v4wgv).
Rocket Fire from Gaza Continues
Qassam rockets and mortar shells continue to hit the south of Israel around Sderot, Ashkelon and other Israeli towns in the Negev (http://tinyurl.com/6bm4nl and http://tinyurl.com/6236hl).
What is a Reform Zionist?
