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Wishing All E-Alert Subscribers a Happy Chanukah and
2006!
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End-of-Year Reminder
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National and International Scene
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Local Events and Programs
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Israel Science & Technology
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| Editorial,
Opinion and Analysis |
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End-of-Year Reminder
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| CONTRIBUTE NOW TO JUF'S 2005 ANNUAL
CAMPAIGN |
| If you haven't already made your gift to JUF's
2005 Annual Campaign, don't miss this chance to Live Generously.
Your contribution supports essential programs in Israel, resettling
new olim, assisting vulnerable populations and providing
social services for Israelis displaced by disengagement. |
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National and International Scene
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| SUICIDE BOMBER KILLS IDF OFFICERS, PALESTINIANS |
| A Palestinian suicide bomber
blew up when Israeli soldiers tried to search him at a roadblock in
the West Bank today. An IDF officer and two Palestinians were killed,
and three Israeli soldiers and six Palestinians were wounded. |
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| ABBAS: GAZA ROCKETS ARE 'ISRAEL'S PROBLEM' |
| Frustrated by continuing rocket fire from Palestinian
terrorists, Israel
moved Wednesday to carve out a buffer zone in the northern Gaza Strip,
firing a barrage of artillery shells and dropping leaflets that warned
Palestinian residents to stay clear. Three rockets
were fired from southern Lebanon into the northern Israeli city of
Kiryat Shmona on Tuesday, slamming into residential areas but causing
no casualties. Senior IDF officials and Shin Bet security service
officials have said recently that PA leader Mahmoud Abbas has said
that the Kassam rockets
being fired from the Gaza Strip at Israel are "Israel's problem" and
that he does not intend to interfere. |
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| QUARTET: NO REJECTIONISTS IN PALESTINIAN
CABINET |
| The Quartet, made up of the U.S., U.N., E.U., and Russia,
issued a statement
Wednesday saying that a future Palestinian Cabinet "should include
no member who has not committed to the principles of Israel's right
to exist in peace and security and an unequivocal end to violence
and terrorism," referring to Hamas or other militant groups. |
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| SHARON TO UNDERGO HEART PROCEDURE |
| Doctors next month will seal a small hole in Ariel Sharon's
heart
that they said led to his recent stroke. The procedure will reduce
the risk of a similar stroke, said Dr. Haim Lotem, head of cardiology
at Jerusalem's Hadassah Hospital. Doctors said the hole is a birth
defect found in 15-20 percent of the population. |
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| JEWISH COMMUNITY RAISES CONCERNS OVER
'MUNICH' |
| Steven Spielberg has called "Munich," which dramatizes
the 1972 massacre of 11 of its Olympic athletes and Israel's reprisals
against members of the Palestine Liberation Organization, his "prayer
for peace." But the filmmaker's tale has been criticized by Jewish
communal leaders as well as reviewers. Michael
Kotzin, executive vice president of JUF, writes, "The meaning
that I believe emerges...is a rendition of what has come to be known
as post-Zionism." Read other reactions, including: Seeing
terrorism as drama with sequels and prequels, Israeli
spies nix 'Munich', Arabs
will hate "Munich" and a roundup in the Chicago
Tribune. Read also JUF News Executive Editor Aaron Cohen's firsthand
recollections
of being in Israel during the time of the actual events. |
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| HIGH-TECH INDUSTRY IN ISRAEL GOES FROM
BUST TO BOOM |
| Israel's high-tech
sector is having its best year since the dot-com implosion in
2000, and the evidence includes JUF's Partnership 2000 town, Kiryat
Gat, where bulldozers are rapidly clearing acres of land for a huge,
state-of-the-art chip-making plant. |
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| LEGISLATORS CONCERNED OVER PRESBYTERIAN
MEETING WITH HEZBOLLAH |
| Five Chicago legislators wrote a letter
recently to Rev. Dr. Robert Reynolds, Executive Presbyter of the Presbytery
of Chicago, expressing "deep concern" over a recent meeting between
the Chicago Presbytery's Middle East Task Force and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The letter states, "We are surprised that a spiritual association
such as the Chicago Presbytery decided to meet with an organization
that has declared the United Stated one of its greatest enemies, is
responsible for the death of more than 300 Americans, and desires
to destroy the state of Israel." |
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| ISRAEL PROVIDES $25 MILLION TO UN FOR
GAZA REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT |
| The UN Development Program's Program of Assistance to
the Palestinian People announced that it has received a $25 million
grant
from the government of Israel for the clearance and rehabilitation
of the sites of the evacuated Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip. |
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| ISRAEL, ARAB WORLD ENGAGE IN HIDDEN
TRADE |
| Camouflaged trade
has been going on for years between Israel and its officially hostile
Arab neighbors, with Israeli-made goods moving to Arab customers through
third countries such as Cyprus or the Netherlands. |
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| ISRAEL'S REALIGNED POLITICS |
| Leading Israeli pollster Rafi Smith and Israeli journalist
Leslie Susser share insight
into Israel's realigned domestic politics and prospects for general
election outcomes scheduled for March 2006. |
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| REBUILDING LIVES ONE YEAR AFTER THE
TSUNAMI |
| Since the Tsunami last year, American Jewish Joint Distribution
Committee--one of JUF's overseas beneficiaries--has been working to
provide devastated communities in Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and Indonesia
with the resources to rebuild their lives and livelihoods. Read a
one-year retrospective. |
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Local Events and Programs
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| ISRAEL EXPERIENCE PROGRAM SCHOLARSHIPS
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| Federation scholarship applications are available for
Israel
Experience programs beginning this coming summer or fall. The
deadline for submission of both financial need and merit scholarships
is March 1, 2006. For more information, call the Israel Experience
Scholarship Office at (312) 444-2895 or (312) 444-2904. |
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| WALK WITH ISRAEL T-SHIRT CONTEST |
| Your design could be featured on this year's Walk
With Israel T-shirts! Children through age 12 are invited to send
in a submission for this year's children's T-shirt. Ages 13-18 send
in a submission for this year's adult T-shirt. Designs are for the
front of the shirt and should only use two colors (T-shirt itself
is white). All entries must be received by Feb. 6. Call the Israel
Solidarity Day hotline at (312) 444-2905 or e-mail IsraelSolidarity@juf.org
for more information. |
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| SIGN UP NOW FOR KRAV MAGA |
| The CFJE/YLD series of Krav
Maga (Israeli-style karate) classes begins in January. The series
will run on the following dates: January 24, February 1, 15, 22, 28
AND March 8, 22, 28. Session one will begin at 6:15 p.m., while all
other sessions will begin at 6:45 p.m. Sessions will take place at
POW! Gym located at 950 W. Washington, Chicago. Register for the series
(including all 8 sessions and necessary hand wraps) for $99 or for
single sessions at $18 each. For more information contact Dani at
(312) 357-4861 or DanielleWeinstein@juf.org.
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Israel Science & Technology
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| ISRAELI BREAKTHROUGH PAVES WAY FOR 'GREEN'
DIAPERS |
| A new 100 percent biodegradable absorbent polymer developed
by Israeli startup Exotech
could be the answer to the environmental problems caused by today's
disposable diapers. Plus, the polymer's potential uses are limitless,
according to Arie Axlerad, the company's CEO. How safe is it? Ask
him to take a bite. |
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| Editorial, Opinion and
Analysis |
| FROM THE ISRAELI AND AMERICAN PRESS
AND OTHER SOURCES |
Sharon's
Health An Issue in Elections by Leslie Susser
Hamas's
Victory in Municipal Elections by Meir Litvak
Hosni
Mubarak's Democracy, New York Times Editorial
Iranian's
Oratory Reflects Devotion to '79 Revolution by Nazila Fathi
and Michael Slackman
A
Shah With a Turban by Thomas L. Friedman
What Lies Behind
Ahmadi-Nejad's Hate Speech? by David Menashri
Jewish
Groups Keep Watchful Eye as Schools Receive Saudi Donations
by Dina Kraft
Zarqawi and
Israel by Dore Gold and Jonathan D. Halevi |
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