Succos Alert: Lulav Shortage

Due to the rapid decline in Egypt and Israeli relations there will most likely not be any imports from Egypt for Lulavim. Egypt being the main supplier of palm will surely cause a lulav shortage and increase prices as well. Be prepared  and act accordingly! Read the article here.

Islam's Greatest Invention!

This guy sounds like he's Texan. Check out Bill Finlay aka Wild Bill for America.

Israeli Company: Convert Roadways into Energy

An Israeli Based Company, Innowatttech has developed what it calls "energy harvesting systems". This allows it after installation, to use the energy of movement and convert into renewable energy. It can harvest energy from many sources including: pedestrian traffic, railroads, highways and airports. Very Cool!

Song to Gilad: Video- Do not fear!

"Al Tidag Gilad" – artists sing to gilad shalit.

"Al Tidag Gilad", a song produced by "dos music" and zachi bar-chen, is dedicated with lots of love to the abducted soldier gilad shalit, who has been in captivity for over three years.

"dos music" in cooperation with singer zachi bar-chen succeeded to recruit the finest of Israeli artists, both religious and non – religious to come together in song and express the deep feelings all Israelis have and stress the fact that gilad has been in captivity for "more than a thousand days", witch is the first line of the song they all sing together.

"don't fear gilad you are not alone" , so sing avi sinvani, udi habri, itzik orlev, eliran tavori, beni brada , hezi fanian, haim moshe, yuval tayeb, tzedi or, zachi bar-chen, "pirchey yerushalaim", ruben "the angel", shahar sela and shimi tavori.

David bend avid, one of the projects founders: "in this song and project we are all hope for gilad to return to his home and loving family".

Video: Israelis losing fatih in Obama?

This video depicts the issues Israelis have with Obama in regards to his wanting to dismantle settlements. Check out all the antisemitic comments it's receiving.

Parshas Korach in the News!

We all know the famous story in this weeks parsha regarding the ground swallowing up korach and his men (or just his men). I find it to be a strange coincidence that this week, there is a big story about a person who was swallowed up in the dead sea. Apparently in the dead sea there exist a "sink hole" problem. What is a sink hole you ask? A sink hole is an underground crate that can open up in an instant, sucking in whatever lies above and leaving the surrounding area looking like an earthquake zone. In this particular story: Eli Raz was peering into a narrow hole in the Dead Sea hole when the earth opened up and swallowed him. Fearing he would never be found alive in the 30-foot- deep pit, he scribbled his will on an old postcard. After 14 hours a search party pulled him from the hole unhurt, and five years later the 69-year-old geologist is working to save others from a similar fate, leading an effort to map the sinkholes that are spreading on the banks of the fabled saltwater lake.

Pretty insane! Might make you think twice about taking a dip in the dead sea.

Jewish Music Video: Ohad Moskowitz-Kol Haolam Kuloh

Here is live performance of a backup choir and child solist and Ohad singing Kol Haolam Kuloh. Enjoy!

Son Of Hamas Leader: Speaking Out Against Hamas!

Fox News has an excellent piece on Hamas, featuring the son of Sheikh Hassan Yousef, one of it's most influential leaders. He explains that Hamas does not want peace and he states regarding the idea that there ever can be:"There is no chance. Is there any chance for fire to co-exist with the water?" said Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of one of the group's founding members."The Hamas leadership, including my father, they're responsible; they're responsible for all the violence that happened from the organization. I know they describe it as reaction to Israeli aggression, but still, they are part of it and they had to make decisions in those operations against Israel (for) which there was the killing of many civilians." Needles to say he is seeking asylum.

Israel to Iran: We are Ready To Strike

The tensions are certainly high with the latest missile testing by Iran. Condoleezza Rice responded to Iran's message stating “We are sending a message to Iran that we will defend American interests and the interests of our allies". Sanctions against Iran have isolated it from technology advances that would allowed it to extract and liquify gas from the field. The latest isolation effort influenced France's Total group, the last big western energy company in Iran, to halt plans to develop huge natural gas reserves in the Gulf. Israel is taking a harder stance against Iran as Ehud Barack hints at just how ready they are.

Nazi Guard Caught! Extradition to Germany....

AP reports on the latest findings of Nazi war criminals. John Demjanjuk is a former autoworker from suburban Cleveland who was thought to have been Ivan the Terrible and was extradited to Israel in 1986. After receiving evidence another Ukrainian was the real Ivan, the Israeli high courts freed him and his U.S. citizenship was restored in 1998. although Germany is seeking extradition the defense is claiming he's too old to be deported.

Efraim Zuroff, the top Nazi hunter at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, said there are allegations from a fellow guard that Demjanjuk played "an active part in the mass murder of Jews deported to the Sobibor death camp."

"I very much welcome the decision made by the German authorities to seek the extradition of Demjanjuk and hope that it will be expedited so that he can be prosecuted in Germany and punished for his crimes," Zuroff said.

He noted that Demjanjuk is No. 2 on the center's "most wanted" list of Nazi war criminals — below only the brutal SS doctor Aribert Heim, whose whereabouts are unknown.

"The issue is that he was involved in mass murder; for some of our suspects, we have proof that they were responsible for individual murders, but here we are talking about someone who participated in the process that led to the annihilation of a quarter million Jews" at Sobibor, Zuroff said.

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef: Don't Push Away Converts!

Rabbi Ovadia was quoted as saying that the conversion courts were being overly stringent with their rules on potential converts:"Accepting the yoke of the commandments is essential for conversion," Yosef reportedly told a small group of Shas MKs and functionaries. "But we must not push off converts too much. It is not right to cause them pain by rejecting them." Rabbi Ovadia explained that the Talmud (Sanhedrin 99-100) relates that the patriarch Abraham rejected Timna who wished to become his concubine. Instead, Timna married Eliphaz, Abraham's great grandson through Eisav and gave birth to Amalek, the Jewish people's archenemy. I find this story quite interesting since it's my understanding ( although I'm no experts) that the Sephardic community is very against marrying converts but perhaps that's only the Syrian community.

Donald Trump & Israel: Lawsuits, Prospects

Donald Trump is not happy. He's currently suing and Israeli land developer. He's claiming that Cresents Hieghts Diamond, owned by Sonny Kahan, had used the name "Trump Plaza" in assisting him in selling the plans to 70-story residential and commercial tower in Ramat Gan for a profit of $35 million. As upsetting as this might be for Trump, it hasn't changed his mind about developing in Israel. Trump's daughter, Ivanka, was spotted scouting for new potential areas for development in Israel for her father. Hopefully, he will have more success in this next venture.

Olmert is He In Or Out?

Although there are those that think Israel is getting ready for Olmert to find the door, his own party seems to be in sync with him. Olmert is quoted as saying that he would resign if indicted and has claimed that he puts his trust in the ongoing police investigation. The PM is insisting that there are no bribes involved here, only campaign contributions.Trying to put this investigation to the sidelines while pursuing his daily activities, Olmert is promising to bring an end to rocket attacks (good luck Olmert). Meanwhile one of the points that prseident Bush is to discuss with the PM is that of a new Radar System:The US may offer Israel a powerful radar system that would greatly strengthen Israeli defenses against ballistic missiles while incorporating it directly into a growing US missile shield. Let's hope Israel gets that help from the US.

Woodmere Long Island & PM Olmert Collide: Will He Resign?

Israeli PM Ehud Olmert is in deep water to say with the least. With next week's peace meeting with President George Bush an inquiry into bribery is the last thing he needs. At the focal point of this scandal is a Long Island businessman:Morris Talansky who runs an investment firm out of his home in Woodmere Long Island and is set to testify to Israel's state prosecutor's office. The bribe in question took place in 1999 during the period when Olmert was Mayor of Jerusalem. The Israeli courts have issued a gag order of the investigation from the press which would imply this is a very serious situation indeed. The gag order is set to be partially lifted tomorrow since foreign press has many details already. Will it bring down the PM? Stay tuned....

Don't you dare leave Israel for Passover!

At least that the gist of what prominent Zionist Rabbi Zalman Melamed said in a weekly op-ed published in the Komemuyot Movement's pamphlet. He was upset at the tremendous amount of passover vacation advertising in the religious media. These packages offered vacations abroad to various destinations at attractive rates and Rabbi Zalman is very opposed to people moving away from the holy sites of Israel:During the holiday, we call on people to be close to the (Jewish) holy sites, to the Land of Israel and to Jerusalem, and not drift away from holiness, G-d forbid," the rabbi wrote.

Israeli Flag: World Record!

AP-The world's largest Israeli flag has been produced by a Filipino evangelical Christian. Just how big is this flag? It measures 2,165 feet long and 330 feet wide and weighing 5.7 tons, breaking the record for the world's largest, according to the Israeli Ministry of Tourism.

Filipino entrepreneur Grace Galindez-Gupana said she decided two years ago to produce a giant Israeli flag as a testament to her love for Israel and the Jewish people and as a celebration of 50 years of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Israel.

"God spoke to me in thunder and lightning," Galindez-Gupana said. "The Lord said, 'Make the flag of Israel, the standard of my people.'"

"This is a tall order," she said, breaking down in tears.

The Israeli flag was accompanied by a giant Philippines flag — huge, but not quite as big. It weighed about 4.2 tons.

After 20 long Years This Woman Got a Divorce

These stories just wrench your heart: A woman in France became an agunah after her husband left her and just disappeared. After 20 years the family received word that the husband was being held in an Isreali prison. They contacted Israel Prison Service's chief rabbi, Yehuda Yekutiel Vizner who eventually found the missing husband who agreed to sign the divorce papers. Looks like both husband and wife were prisoners and finally the wife was released.

Rabbi Eliashiv Cut in Bris Mishap!

JTA reports that Rabbi Yosef Shalom Eliashiv, had suffered a deep cut to his hand while taking part in a bris ceremony. The mohel was most likely very nervous to be in the presence of an odom godol that he slipped while performing the bris and took a piece of the great Rabbi's hand. The papers have agreed not to print the mohel's name for fear of hurting his livelihood. Rabbi Eliashiv who is 97, is said to be doing well as his hand was stitched up and the baby was unharmed. As you can imagine this story created quite a stir among the hariedim.

Interpol: Putting Iranians on the Most Wanted List

Interpol is grappling with putting some Iranians on the most-wanted list for the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Argentina. As you can imagine Iran has been trying to make this all about politics. Fortunately, the lead prosecutor in Argentina, Alberto Nisman is not backing down:"We are going to Morocco with our truth and we are going to explain why these persons are being sought, as simple as that," Nisman said. No convictions have been seen in this case which is already 13 yrs. old. Argentine prosecutors allege Iranian officials orchestrated the bombing and entrusted the Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah to carry it out. They say they have sufficient evidence for Interpol member nations to approve "red notices" for six suspects — five Iranians and one Lebanese. A red notice means a suspect is wanted for possible extradition. While it does not force countries to arrest or extradite suspects, people with red-notice status appear on Interpol's equivalent of a most-wanted list. I'm not sure what will really happen with these "red notices" being given out since Iran will not extradite any of it's own but it's a good start.

Kosher Red Bull: Dominating Israel's Ultra Orthodox

Being an ultra-orthodox Jew takes a lot of energy! You have a lot of kids, you study the torah from dawn to dusk so you will need a drink to keep you going. Enter "EXIT" the first kosher energy drink for ultra-Orthodox Jews. Exit is an orange beverage that was modeled after the famous Red Bull and is strictly kosher. The manufacturer boasts 58 different extracts all of which have been carefully checked by rabbinical experts for high kashrus standards. The label does have a warning for children under 12 not to consume it although it hardly seems to deter them, as the article describes: David, an 11-year-old yeshiva student, said that his religious school had forbidden the drink on its premises – the label recommends children under the age of 12 do not consume it – but that he and his friends drank at least a can a day each to help them concentrate on memorising the sacred texts. “It tastes pure and clean because we know the ingredients are pure,” he said. “All my friends drink it; we study 14 hours a day.” Needless to say it seems to be a big hit.