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Olive Oil
Israel's Demographics
Scaling Mt. Everest for Peace
Israeli Poster Boy
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Fact Sheet
The Big Lie About the Middle East: Arab Nations Don't Care about the Palestinians
No sensible person is against peacemaking in the Holy Land. Applause and hopefulness would seem the reasonable reaction to the Iraq Study Group's recommendation that the Bush Administration "act boldly" and "as soon as possible" to resolve the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians. But in lumping the Iraq mess in with the Palestinian problem - and suggesting the first could not be fixed unless the second was too - the Baker-Hamilton commission lent credibility to a corrosive myth: that the fundamental problem in the Arab world is the plight of the Palestinians.
It is a falsehood perpetuated not just by the likes of Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden, who came late to the slogan after their actual beefs. The mantra is also repeated in parts of the State Department, in various think tanks, by editorial writers and Sunday talk-show hosts.
But the pan-Arabism that once made the Palestinian cause the region's cause is long dead. In a decade of reporting in the region, I found it rarely took more than the arching of an eyebrow to get the most candid of Arab thinkers to acknowledge that the tears shed for the Palestinians today outside the West Bank and Gaza are of the crocodile variety. Palestinians know this best of all.
To promote the canard that the troubles of the Arab world are rooted in the Palestinians' misfortune does great harm. It encourages the Arabs to continue to avoid addressing their colossal societal and political ills by hiding behind their Great Excuse: it's all Israel's fault.
One might argue that if the Arab dictators were deprived of the Great Excuse, they might begin to rule with greater concern for their constituents' needs. But why should they be allowed to wait - in the meantime cynically selling their people the Israel Myth - especially since the wait is apt to be long?
The Baker commission report's airy prescription for frog-marching Israelis and Palestinians into new peace talks perpetuates another persistent fiction: that U.S. involvement is the key to a breakthrough. That contradicts the real-life story of all three of the major peace agreements Israel has signed, with the Egyptians, Palestinians, and Jordanians. Each was the result of bold initiatives not by Washington but by local leaders, when conditions were ripe. In all three cases, the accords were the product of negotiations begun in secret behind the backs of the Americans.
Source: Time by Lisa Beyer |
Related publications:
Daily Alert - daily update on Israel-related news and analysis
Israel Campus Beat - weekly email newsletter for the pro-Israel college community
Planting My Way to Israel
by Shira Paul
After reading the November 30th issue of the Israel HighWay about summer trips to Israel, Shira Paul wanted to share her experience with JNF's new program that enabled her to raise money for a trip to Israel while performing a mitzvah to support the Jewish State. Shira raised $1838 towards her summer trip to Israel.
This summer was by far the most amazing six weeks. I had so many incredible experiences, met my forty-three best friends and learned more than I could have possibly imagined. Aside from the ordinary sights people see in Poland and in Israel, like the Kotel and the Dead Sea, I got to do so many things that so few people will probably ever get the chance to experience.
One of the really unique experience I had, came from the fiancé of one of my staff (also named Shira), who was an officer in the IDF. He gave us a perspective into what it was like to be an Israeli. Only a day and a half after he explained to us the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict, two soldiers were captured at the northern border, and a day later war broke out. Although my mom was terrified, I am actually glad I was able to be in Israel at that time. Shira’s fiancé called her every night and she gave us a daily update on the war - a real update, not what you guys saw on CNN. Additionally, I came to realize just how important our support is to Israel and I got to see the unbelievable pride and support Israelis have for their country-something very few Americans have.
I am thankful to all my Plant Your Way supporters for the camel ride, a donkey ride, snorkeling in the Red Sea, floating in the Dead Sea, body surfing in the Mediterranean, a crazy amount of hiking, a crazier amount of sweating, farmer’s tan lines, more t-shirts than I know what to do with, cherry picking, blackberry picking, blueberry picking, plum picking, falafel, shawarma, pita bread, a disco-boat dance, the opportunity to visit the one place on earth where at any given point during the day, a minimum of a thousand people are facing the Western Wall and praying, meeting forty-three of my favorite people, and my passion for Israel.
Shira Paul is from Coral Springs, FL and attended USY Pilgrimage 2006 with her friends from Camp Ramah Darom.
For more information on the Plant Your Way to Israel program, and to start your fundraising today, visit www.jnf.org/pyw
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December 14, 2006
The Real Star of Hanukkah: The Olive
by Israel HighWay Staff
Face it: If Judah the Maccabee hadn’t stepped forward to lead the rebellion against the Assyrian Greeks, then one of his brothers or some other priest (cohen) may have done it. Well, any one of them could have, right?
But when it comes to the Hanukkah miracle in the Temple, what are you going to use if not the olive and its oil? Dates? Corn? The fact is for thousands of years, olives and olive oil have played a key role in Israel’s religion, history, economy and even politics.
Here are 10 things about the olive you probably never knew:
Issue of the Week is continued below 
Iranian President Tells Holocaust Conference that Israel's Days Are Numbered
by Tim Butcher and Kate Connolly
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, said on Tuesday that Israel's days were numbered in an address to a controversial Holocaust conference in Teheran. "Thanks to people's wishes and God's will, the trend for the existence of the Zionist regime is downwards," Ahmadinejad said. "Just as the Soviet Union was wiped out and today does not exist, so will the Zionist regime soon be wiped out."
His remarks were condemned in Washington, where the U.S. State Department spokesman said that Ahmadinejad's behaviour was "despicable" and his comments "absolutely outrageous." (Telegraph - UK)
Palestinian Gunmen Kill PA Official's Children at Gaza School
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas condemned as an "ugly and inhuman crime" the killing of three young children of a senior PA intelligence official in a car outside their school in Gaza City Monday morning. The driver of the vehicle, 25, was also killed in the drive-by shooting, in which Palestinian gunmen opened fire in a street crowded with hundreds of school children. It was an unprecedented attack that could ignite widespread factional fighting. (Reuters/Ha'aretz) 
Israeli Teens Learn, Teach in Massachusetts
by Rushmie Kalke
Tal Bar-on and Ron Marom, both 18, are living bridges. Having grown up in Israel, they have chosen to come to America for a year of community service before returning home to serve in the Israeli Army. Their mission is to educate others on Israeli life, while soaking up American culture. Ms. Bar-on and Mr. Marom are participants in an emissary program, called Partnership 2000, that allows young people to visit the United States after passing rigorous tests and requirements. There are 26 emissaries living all over the country, including 16 in New England. Ms. Bar-on and Mr. Marom volunteer at the Westboro Area (MA) Jewish Community Center, and are living with local families.
Ms. Bar-on is from Afula, the sister city of Massachusetts’ Jewish community, and she aspires to be a reporter for the army radio station once she enlists. Mr. Marom wants to apply to a college program for computers upon his return, and use his skills in the military after he finishes. In educating American children, they said, the focus is on doing good deeds for others. Children from Westboro, Worcester and surrounding towns are raising money to purchase a firetruck for firefighters in Afula. By working on projects like this, children can develop an attachment and curiosity about Israel, Mr. Marom said. (Worcester Telegram)
Virginia Beach School Pairs Local and Israeli Students
Next fall, students at Cape Henry Collegiate School will create a business plan with Israeli high school students. The local students plan to work with students from Alliance High School in Tel Aviv and the Igal Alon Art and Science High School in Ramat Hasharon. Cape Henry has had a cultural exchange program with Alliance since 2004.
The new project will join students in international teams, which will create business plans for marketing an Israeli product in the United States. The plans will then be presented to American and Israeli investors for critiques, said Willy Fluharty, who directs international programs at Cape Henry. The project is sponsored by the Virginia Israel Advisory Board (VIAB) and the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater. (Virginian-Pilot) 
Israeli Surgeons Repair Young Palestinian Hearts
by Allyn Fisher-Ilan
Her lower lip quivering with every breath, Hala Ketnani, a 10-month-old girl from Gaza, sleeps beneath an oxygen hood in an Israeli intensive care unit as she recovers from heart surgery. She had been unable to have the operation in Gaza, where many hospitals are suffering from worsening conditions since a Western aid embargo was imposed this year to pressure a Hamas-led Palestinian government to recognize Israel.
Under the private Israeli program "Save a Child's Heart," doctors at Wolfson Hospital near Tel Aviv repair congenital heart defects for children like Ketnani from the Palestinian territories, Iraq, Jordan and Africa. More than 1,000 children, about half from Gaza and the occupied West Bank, have been helped so far by the program, which is partly funded by the European Union. (Reuters)
Israeli, Palestinian DJs Plan Joint Performance in London
by Idit Avrahami
Two disk jockeys, one Israeli and one Palestinian, are planning to put on a joint performance in London on December 21. Israeli Srulik Einhorn (pictured) and Palestinian Khalil Kamal have performed together in the past, along with Jordanian DJ Kalis, at the Ha'Oman 17 Club in Jerusalem. The London party, titled "Bridge of Peace," is being organized by Einhorn along with the World Zionist Organization. (Ha'aretz)
Mt. Everest and the Middle East
by Lance Trumbull
There have been many Everest documentaries – but never one that has been filmed on location in Nepal, Tibet, USA, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, and the U.A.E. – and never one whose main story line will follow climbers who are supposed to hate each other - with the focus on the relationship between Palestinian-born Ali Bushnaq and Israelis Dudu Yifrah, a former elite Special Forces soldier, and Micha Yaniv. The documentary film – Everest: A Climb for Peace – will not be just a "typical Everest film", it will be a socially relevant film about peace, war and the human spirit - an inspirational and educational documentary. (Everest Peace Project)
Click to view video of the expedition. (Yahoo Videos) 
Stephen Hawking Visits Israel and Speaks to Israeli High School Students
Famous theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking presented a physics lecture to mesmerized Israeli teenagers on Sunday, as part of his eight day Israel trip. Hawking, who suffers from Lou Gehrig's disease, prerecorded his 45 minute lecture about black holes and how they warp space-time. Deemed the greatest physicist since Einstein, Hawking commented on his love of research and how happy he is to have made a contribution to the world of science: "I want to share my excitement and enthusiasm. There's nothing like the Eureka moment of discovering something that no one knew before." Hawking finished his presentation by answering questions posed by the winners and finalists of the Intel-Young Israeli Scientists competition. (Israel21c)
Click to view Hawking's lecture. (British Council) 
Musician is the Poster Boy for Positive Israeli PR
by Karin Kloosterman
Sabras see him as an "ethnic" Israeli musician; African-Americans embrace him as a brother promoting Ethiopian culture and Black History Month; Jews take him as a poster boy for positive Israeli public relations, while the rest of the world defines Idan Raichel, producer, musician and singer, much in the same way he describes himself – as a world-music artist.
We know him best for the mass of dreadlocks tamed by a Middle Eastern turban and the catchy tunes from the 2002 Idan Raichel Project CD – songs strung together with nuggets of enchanting Ethiopian melodies, Yemenite chants, Caribbean rhythms and biblical references. Raichel, 29, says the use of Torah references in his songs was a natural choice. "There are no better love songs than the Song of Songs, no poems more philosophical than Kohelet [Ecclesiastes], and no story of faith stronger than that of Job." (Canadian Jewish News)
Iglesias' $1 Million Hanukkah
Spanish pop star Enrique Iglesias is reportedly being paid $1 million to perform at a party to celebrate the Jewish festival Hanukkah in Israel. The Hero singer and his Russian girlfriend Anna Kournikova have been invited to billionaire Arcadi Gaydamak's bash at the Hilton Hotel in Tel Aviv on December 21. (Female First) 
News You Won't See
by Amnon Rubinstein
I imagine the IDF General Staff 20 years from now, led by many Israelis of Russian extraction bearing Russian names, since about a third of the IDF's fighting force is made up of former Russians. It will be led by Ethiopians too. Because of their motivation, their devotion and their Zionism. And there are those who say miracles don't happen in Israel anymore.
A report by the World Bank's section on demography and health provides fascinating figures on Israel compared to countries in the Western world. The health figures, which relate to the entire population, including Arabs, are astounding. Life expectancy in Israel at birth is 79 years (exactly the same as in England and New Zealand); infant mortality per 1,000 births is five (exactly the same as in England and New Zealand - in the United States it's seven); child mortality under the age of five is six per 1,000 (the same as in England, lower than in New Zealand and the U.S.).
The writer is president of the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya. (Jerusalem Post)
Tehran's Holocaust Lesson
by Anne Applebaum
Surely Iran's denial of the Holocaust cannot be serious. Unfortunately, Iran's president is deadly serious: Holocaust denial is his personal passion, not just a way of taunting Israel, and it's based on his personal interpretation of history. Questioning the reality of the Holocaust has long been another means of questioning the legitimacy of the State of Israel. If the Shiite Iranians are looking for friends, particularly among Sunni Arabs, Holocaust denial isn't a bad way to find them.
Yes, we think we've institutionalized the memory of the Holocaust, we think this particular European horror has been put to rest, and yet the near-destruction of the European Jews, in a very brief span of time, by a sophisticated European nation using the best technology available, was, it seems, an event that requires constant reexplanation. (Washington Post) Issue of the Week continued
1. Olives in the Bible and biblical period. "The olive tree and its oil have been major components in the culture and rituals of Ancient Israel and the economy of its inhabitants throughout history," according to archeologist David Eitam.
"The olive was a great necessity for man’s existence. The fruit and its oil were major diet constituents. Descriptions of ritual offerings and sacrifices in the Bible reveal that this was the most frequent use, as is indicated in the Talmud and the Mishnah."
Hundreds of ancient oil presses have been found throughout Israel. Olive-growing and olive-pressing were major industries. Archeologist Raffi Frankel explains the ancient oil-making process as follows: "Olive oil is produced in three stages:
I. Crushing the olives into a paste which is transferred to special baskets,
II. Pressing the paste, in later periods using specially designed presses, and
III. Separation of the oil from the sap."
"Olive oil produced in ancient Israel was considered to be of a very high quality," Frankel reported. "The olives themselves were also considered delicacies, as is pointed out by the Roman historian Pelinius, ‘The olives are very small, but their flesh is recommended. That is the reason why we prefer these imported olives to those of Italy.’"
2. The olive oil miracle. We all know about the small amount of oil found by the Maccabees (who were also priests) that burned for eight days. So that means that the miracle was really only a seven day miracle! There would have been enough for the first day, right? The rabbis have as many as 100 responses to the question of why we celebrate eight days. Some explain that there wasn’t enough oil even for the first day, or that they used only an eighth of the tiny jar every day, but that it miraculously lasted a full day eight times.
3. Olives and politics. In recent years, Palestinians have been complaining that Israeli settlers have been uprooting and destroying their trees in Judea and Samaria, while Israeli-owned olilve trees often have been uprooted by Palestinians. Israeli soldiers protected Palestinian farmers during this year’s harvest. But last week Palestinian youths were caught cutting down Palestinian olive trees. The episode may shed new light on some of the complaints by Palestinians farmers, but it continues to demonstrate how political olives can be.
4. What are Bernea, Maalot, Manzanillo, Musan, Nabili, and Souri? They are the varieties of olives grown in Israel. Some are meaty olives suitable for eating, and others have a high oil content. The Bernea was actually "invented" by an Israeli scientist who combined the best qualities of various trees to come up with a gourmet olive.
5. Grading olive oil. No, not A’s and C’s and F’s. The quality of olive oil is determined by its acid content and whether the olives are picked by hand. Oil expert Daniel Rogov explains, "Extra Virgin Oil is made from the first pressing of specially selected olives that must be picked by hand and the oil contain less than 1% of oleic acid. The acid in Virgin Oil must not exceed 2%, and that in Pure Oil cannot be more than 3%. Oil with more than 4-5% of oleic acid is generally considered not fit for human consumption."
6. Olive oil is healthy. Olive oil’s medical and biological properties make it an important dietary addition. The vitamin E in olive oil is a powerful "antioxidant." That means that olives’ fatty acids are less easily damaged by oxygen than other types of fat so they are less likely to produce free "radicals," molecules that damage cell membranes and contribute to several diseases. Olive oil prevents the loss of skin’s natural moisture and softens skin, too.
7. Olives can be harmful to your health. Olive trees flower in the spring, and olive pollen plagues some people in Israel with debilitating allergies. Olive pollens travel over an estimated 5 mile area in Israel, and some Israeli municipalities attempt to limit the number of olive trees within their boundaries to prevent a high pollen count.
8. Don’t eat an olive right off the tree! Olives freshly picked contain unique glycosidic (sugar-related) compounds that make the fruit unpalatable for immediate consumption. Olives must be "cured" or pickled before you can eat them. By the way, the only difference between green olives and black olives is ripeness. Unripe olives are green and fully ripe olives are black. Yet both are edible once processed. There are many recipes for preparing olives.
9. How old and tall do olive trees grow? Olive trees in Israel fall into three categories, writes Daniel Rogov: "Very young (those planted less than 50 years ago); moderately young (50 - 300 years old); and mature trees, some of which grow from root systems nearly 2,000 years old. While Jews tend to prune their olive trees regularly for more uniform growth, Arabs allow their trees to grow to their maximum height, sometimes exceeding 8 meters (24 feet)."
10. Olive oil has many uses. It’s not just for salads. Jews from around the world had different uses for their olive oil over the centuries. Indian Jews smeared babies with olive oil before bathing the child in order to strengthen skin and bones. Syrian Jews recommended that pregnant women drink olive oil for good luck. Tunisian and Algerian Jews used olive oil for massage and prevention of backaches. Moroccan Jews recommended olive oil to ease joint pains, and gave coughing babies a mixture of olive oil and honey. Iraqi Jews believed that a daily tablespoon of olive oil prevented headaches, loss of appetite, sleeplessness, and digestive ailments. Yemenite Jews rubbed olive oil on the head to prevent hair loss and dandruff. Ashkenazi Jews dripped warmed olive oil into aching ears.
Action Items
* Dedicate each night of Hanukkah to one of Israel’s eight captured or missing-in-action soldiers.
* The Hanukkah oil miracle is a good example of "energy conservation." Click here to see an environmental action agenda for the 8 days of Hanukkah.
* Have a happy - and safe - Hanukkah! (Israel HighWay)
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