Free Tuition At Pardes

In response to the global recession, the Pardes Institute in Jerusalem, along with the MASA student grant program in Israel, is offering students tuition-free study at Pardes for the 2009-10 academic year. The offer is open to students from North America who qualify for a MASA grant, offered by the Israeli government and the Jewish Agency for Israel. Pardes, a non-denominational, co-ed yeshiva, was established in 1972.

Gadhafi blames Israel

Libyan President Muammar Gadhafi said Israel is to blame for the crisis in Darfur. Gadhafi, president of the African Union, said that “foreign forces,” including Israel, are to blame for the genocide in the Sudan region. “We discovered that some of the main leaders of the Darfur rebels have opened offices in Tel Aviv and hold meetings with the military there to add fuel to the conflict fire,” the Libyan state news agency Jana quoted Gadhafi as saying. Gadhafi urged the International Criminal Court to stop proceedings to decide whether to issue a warrant for the arrest of Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who is accused of masterminding the genocide. “Why do we have to hold President Bashir or the Sudanese government responsible when the Darfur problem was caused by outside parties, and Tel Aviv, for example, is behind the Darfur crisis?” he said.

Rockets in Lebanon

Four rockets were discovered in southern Lebanon, on the border with Israel, Lebanese security officials said. The rockets were found in a region facing the Golan Heights. The discovery comes days after two rockets were fired from Lebanon at northern Israel for the third time this year. The attacks sparked Israeli retaliation. No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Biblical markings found

Seal impressions that date back to the reign of the biblical King Hezekiah were found in southern Jerusalem.
Archeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority unearthed a large building on the site in the village of Umm Tuba that dates to the time of the First and Second Temples. The royal seal impressions were discovered in the building. Pits, agricultural installations and subterranean silos were discovered hewn inside the courtyard. In addition, a potter’s kiln, a large columbarium cave with a rock-hewn hiding refuge and pottery vessels also were discovered inside the complex. The pottery vessels that were found in the ruins of the building suggest it dates to the First Temple period in the eighth century BCE.

Missiles on nuclear site?

Syria built a missile facility on the site of an alleged nuclear reactor, according to Associated Press. Syria’s nuclear chief reportedly told the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency that either a control centre or a launching pad was built on the site of what was believed to be a nascent nuclear reactor that was bombed by the Israeli Air Force in September 2007, The IAEA reported earlier last week that traces of uranium and graphite, both used in a nuclear reactor, were found at the site.

Gaza inquiry named

A committee was appointed to investigate the handling of the resettlement of Gaza evacuees. The committee, headed by retired Supreme Court judge Eliyahu Matza, also will make recommendations for their resettlement, as well as look at the state of the evacuees’ employment and welfare situation. A recent report of Israel’s state comptroller criticized the authorities charged with resettling and assisting the evacuees, who were evicted from their homes in August 2005 when Israel unilaterally left Gaza. The report said some 95 per cent of evacuated families who wished to be resettled with their neighbours remain in temporary housing.