Rocket fire from Gaza on Israeli civilians continues

By the second week of 2011 more than 20 rockets, missiles and mortar shells had been fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel's southern communities. During 2010, over 235 Grad missiles, Kassam rockets and mortar shells were fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel.

Help Israel recover from its worst forest fire

Always a time for planting in Israel, the Jewish New Year for the Trees, Tu B'Shvat, served as a symbolic start to bringing the devastated Carmel forest back to life after the early December fire that led to 44 deaths and destroyed about five million trees along with many plants and creatures. It will take massive manpower and money to restore the nature reserve, fix damaged buildings and infrastructure, and care for residents traumatized or left homeless by the worst forest fire in Israel's history. Israel needs your help with this effort. The JNF is collecting funds to help with the recovery.

UN Votes for Durban III

In the ongoing campaign to delegitimize Israel the UN voted to authorize Durban III with a General Assembly session planned for September 2011 to commemorate the original Durban conference. The Israeli government issued an official response. The first conference in 2001 titled the “UN World Conference Against Racism” became a focus for hateful anti-Jewish rhetoric and anti-Israel political agendas, prompting both Israel and the United States to withdraw their delegations from the conference. Participants revived the charge that "Zionism is Racism" and copies of the anti-Semitic work The Protocols of the Elders of Zion were sold on conference grounds. Read more about the original conference here. Canada and Israel have announced that they will boycott Durban III. There were 22 other countries that voted against having the conference. Among the countries abstaining were Austria, Belgium, France, Greece, Hungary and Spain. To help understand the international campaign to delegitimize Israel read FAQ: The campaign to defame Israel.

Israel: Best Economy in the West

Israel's Gross National Product grew by 4.5% in 2010, compared with only 2.7% in the other 33 countries of the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD). Israel became an OECD member this past September.

Israel’s unemployment rate, at 6.7%, is also lower than other OECD countries.

More details at Arutz Sheva.

Leviathan gas field is largest find in Israel’s history

The natural gas reserves in the Leviathan field total 16 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, based on preliminary results of the production tests. The find could turn Israel into an exporter of natural gas and serve the country’s own needs for decades to come.

More about this important development at the Jerusalem Post, Globes and The Wall Street Journal.

The find, combined with an earlier discovery in the Tamar field, could impact Israel’s project to convert 100% to electric cars with Israeli company Better Place by providing the resources necessary to increase electricity generation without importing the fuel to do so.

ARZA Statement Criticizes UNESCO Declaration that Rachel’s Tomb is a Mosque and PA Study Denying Jewish History of the Temple Mount

 

UNESCO has called Rachel’s tomb a mosque. The Palestinian Authority is denying that the Western Wall is part of our Temple Mount. ARZA has issued the following statement on these subjects:

"If there is ever to be true peace in the Middle East, the shrines of each of the three Abrahamic religions must be respected by the political bodies in the region and by the United Nations. Referring to Rachel's tomb as a "mosque" is both factually and historically inaccurate. Similarly statements by the Palestinian Authority that the Western Wall in Jerusalem is not the retaining wall of our Temple Mount ignores established historical fact. Both of these references are disrespectful of Judaism and of the generations of Jews who have consistently venerated these sites; one from the time of Genesis and the second from before the Christian era to the present. Accordingly, we call upon UNESCO, the Palestinian Authority and upon all people and all nations of good will to cease referring to Rachel's tomb as a mosque or the Western Wall as anything other than a treasure of the Jewish people.”

There is an excellent article in The New York Jewish Week titled "Rachel’s Tomb Is Now A Mosque — Who Cares?"

Stand for Freedom in Iran

Join thousands of Americans who stand for human rights and freedom at the "Stand for Freedom in Iran Rally" as President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addresses the UN General Assembly.

Thursday September 24th at Noon
Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, 47th Street and Second Avenue

Click here for more information.

Iran and nuclear weapons. Don't let it happen.