Sorrow and Hope

Signs of the Times

Israel’s Economy Under Caution

{image_1} Israel responded to the international economic crisis by cutting interest rates 50 basis points. Bank of Israel Governor Professor Stanley Fischer initiated the move. “The chances of a slowdown in Israel’s rate of economic growth in the near future have risen,” the bank warned.

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US Radar Deployed in Israel

{image_1} A new American-developed and -staffed radar installation has been deployed in the Negev desert in southern Israel, marking the first permanent deployment of US military personnel in Israel, the Defense News Web site reported.

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Muslim Officials: Capitalism Has Collapsed

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Egyptian cleric Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi has announced the collapse of capitalism and called for its replacement with an Islamic financial system. Speaking in Doha, Qatar, at the sixth Annual Conference on Jerusalem, he said, “The Western system has collapsed, and we have a complete economic philosophy, as well as spiritual strength.”

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Israel Warns Russia!

{image_1} It is rare to read a headline that says, “Israel warns Russia!” Recent reports suggesting that Russia is on the verge of selling the advanced electronic warfare S-300 anti-aircraft missile system to Iran caused Israel to threaten to neutralize the S-300 and its salability.

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“Skunk” on Riot Patrol

{image_1} Out with rubber bullets, tear gas, shock grenades; in with new, stinky means to scatter violent rioters. The Israeli Border Guard has begun using a new means of contending with riots, coined “Skunk.” The police developed this new method for scattering violent demonstrations and tested its effectiveness in August.

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Nasrallah Calls for United Lebanese Front

{image_1} Two years after the Second Lebanon War and the day Israel buried the two Israel Defense Forces reservists Eldad Regev and Udi Goldwasser taken captive by Hizbullah, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah [secretary-general of Hizbullah] rejoiced, declared victory, and called for a united Lebanese front. It is no secret that since the war, Hizbullah has succeeded in replenishing its arsenal three-fold. Israel has estimated that the terrorist organization has in its possession over 40,000 long- and short- range rockets. Hizbullah continues to enjoy heavy Syrian and Iranian support.

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Large-Scale Ethiopian Emigration Ends

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The era of large-scale Jewish emigration from Ethiopia to Israel
is over, the Jewish Agency for Israel has said. The last official
airlift of Ethiopian Jews was scheduled to land in Tel Aviv on August
5, bringing to an end an organized campaign that began nearly 30 years
ago and brought in some 120,000 immigrants from the east African
nation.

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Long-range Missiles in Gaza

{image_1} It is only a matter of time before Hamas uses the long-range missiles capable of hitting Ashdod and Kiryat Gat, reported Israel’s internal security organization Shin Bet head Yuval Diskin. Diskin warned that until the Philadelphi corridor between Rafah and Egypt is totally sealed off, Hamas will continue to receive smuggled weapons, rockets, missiles, and other high quality weaponry.

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Palestinian Human Rights Abuses Increase

{image_1} A Palestinian rights group is charging that human rights abuses have increased in both the West Bank [Judea and Samaria] and Gaza Strip since Hamas routed Fatah in Gaza last year. The Palestinian Independent Commission for Citizens’ Rights (PICCR) charges that both Fatah and Hamas “use the law as a tool to justify practices and policies each side uses to challenge the other.” The group says that the abuses include torture and the deaths of prisoners in detention.

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Iran Supports Terrorists in West Bank

{image_1} Iran continues to have a foothold with terror groups partly based in the West Bank [Judea and Samaria], according to the recently released US Country Reports on Terrorism for 2007. In addition to supporting Hizbullah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, Iran also is involved with the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a terror group with past links to Mahmoud Abbas’s (Abu Mazen’s) West Bank-based Fatah party, as well as the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. According to the US report, Iran supplies the various Palestinian terror agencies with “extensive funding, training, and weapons.”

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