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Last Thursday Prime Minister Sharon shared his thinking with
the public -- something he does only on rare occasions -- and
outlined a sharply different approach to that taken by
Israeli governments in the past 15 years or so. Sharon said
that Israel cannot wait for the Palestinians indefinitely
and, if they do not come forward to negotiate peace, Israel
will move to establish a stable arrangement between itself
and the Palestinians that will allow both sides to live side
by side. At the State of Israel's non-government organizations (NGOs)
anything goes. From party fundraising for political parties
to running building committees and public institutions, they
have total freedom of activity. Although there is an NGO
Registrar responsible for oversight, he cannot tell an NGO
what goals to work towards nor what to do with the funds
entering its coffers.
Prime Minister's Office Director-General Avigdor Yitzchaki
revealed to the Knesset Finance Committee the new plan to
replace the present religious councils (moatzot dat),
which are slated for closure, presenting three models for
providing religious services according to the needs and
resources of the respective cities.
Even though the American stock markets are up by 20-40
percent this year, the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) is up
more than 50 percent so far, and Israeli interest rates are
down almost 4 percent. These developments have combined to
attract a lot of new money into Israeli investments.
Egged recently began operating three new mehadrin
lines in Jerusalem, Line 54 from Neveh Yaakov to Center 1,
Line 56 from Ramat Shlomo to Rechov Strauss and Line 40 Alef,
which continues the route as far as Kever Shmuel Hanovi.
Half of US Jews in College Have Only One Jewish
Parent Nearly half of all US college students who identify as Jews
have only one Jewish parent and, thanks to intermarriage,
assimilation and low birth rates, the number of college-age
Jews will shrink by four percent over the next five years,
according to new statistics. The figures apply to those in
college and not to all those of college age, such as those
learning in yeshiva.
In Jerusalem Out-Migration Continues to Exceed In-
Migration Jerusalem's negative migration balance is continuing. In 2002
some 16,600 people left the city, compared to 16,000 in 2001.
Jerusalem's total population was estimated at 680,400 people -
- 458,600 Jews (67.4 percent) and 221,900 Arabs (32.6
percent) -- representing about 10 percent of the population
of Israel. The natural rate of increase was 19 percent in the
Jewish sector, compared to 29.3 percent in the Arab
sector. French Try to Maintain Secularism French President Jacques Chirac, in an important policy
speech, announced that he supports legislations banning head
covering in schools, but is against making Jewish and Moslem
holidays into national days off from school. Remembering a Master Mechanech
On the first day of Rosh Chodesh Teves, the first
yahrtzeit of HaRav Zushe Waltner zt'l, many of
his former talmidim will be gathering to bring merit
and honor to his neshomoh. Meetings are to be held in
three different countries. The Growing Botswana Jewish Community
Botswana, a landlocked, largely arid African republic that
borders South Africa to the west, now has a Jewish community
numbering some hundred souls, located mainly in Gaberone, the
capital. Contrary to expectations, most of its members are
not Israelis but former South Africans.
Demography is in the news, and demography is driving the news
these days. Ehud Olmert, Minister of Industry and for many
years referred to as one of the Likud "princes" since he is
the son of a famous Likud politician, shocked both the Right
and the Left when he proposed to withdraw from the areas
where there are concentrations of Arab populations in Yehuda
and Shomron.
Chanuka
It was the eighth night of Chanuka and I stopped by a
neighbor. She had ten children and all of their menoras made
as school projects were arranged on top of folded, crinkly
foil that covered the table set near the window. Each round
metal cap glued to a wooden base held a brightly colored
candle.
The Torchbearer And His Amulet: The Relationship Between Reb
Isser Zalman zt'l and HaRav Shach zt'l Windows on the World
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