Matisyahu on Letterman Singing, 'One Day'

This is my favorite song by Matisyahu:


And this is even more thrilling!

Passover in Jerusalem

Passover in Jerusalem (Pesach in Jerusalem) is one of the busiest times in the city with loads of special things to do for Passover and thousands of tourists coming to celebrate the significance of the words Jews say, “next year in Jerusalem”. School kids in Jerusalem are on holiday over Passover meaning that families are also out looking for things to do. The result is an amazing array of special events in Jerusalem for Passover for families: shows, museums events, festivals, and special tours. In 2012, Passover will be between April 6 to 13, 2012.

Passover in Jerusalem Highlights

Jerusalem Scavenger Hunts

A unique way for visitors to experience Jerusalem, Jerusalem Scavenger Hunts provide a special, memorable and fun way to experience the Old City of Jerusalem and the city’s Nachlaot neighborhood. They are especially good for kids and families and will run through the Passover period. More information about Jerusalem Scavenger Hunts.

Free Museums over Passover

Every year Bank Hapoalim sponsors tens of Israeli museums to open for free over the Passover period. These include some of the biggest and best museums in Israel. For more information or to see which museums are included, read about free museums in Jerusalem over Passover.

Special Museum events

Most of the major museums in Jerusalem are putting on special events for families – these include the Israel Museum, the Bloomfield Science Museum, and the City of David.

Israel Museum Jerusalem Events

The Israel Museum Jerusalem will be open for kids for free throughout Passover and everyone on April 12. Every day between April 8-12, the museum will host French illustrator Herve Tullet between 11am and 1pm. He will discuss his work and lead a creative workshop based on his books.

Jerusalem Ice Festival

The first Jerusalem Ice Festival which began in early March will run through the Passover holiday and is set to be a major attraction over the Passover in Jerusalem. More about the Jerusalem Ice Festival.

Join a tour

Either take a private guide, or join a group, and explore parts of Jerusalem you might otherwise not have seen. From the Jewish intertest group tours of Jerusalem, to private tours of Jerusalem – great for a family or small group, there are loads of great tours of Jerusalem for you.

Stage One Festival

Stage One is an English speaking theater festival taking place in Jerusalem between April 8-10, 2012. Performers include the Tenth Man, the Ein Prat Fountainheads, Passion Killer, and Talk. For more information visit www.bac.org.il

Pesach in Israel

There are loads of things to do for Passover in Israel if you leave Jerusalem for a while. Check out our separate article about things to do for Passover in Israel.

Benjamin Netanyahu Celebrates His Father's 102nd Birthday Yesterday.

ציינתי אתמול בביתו של אבי בירושלים את יום הולדתו ה – 102.

"I celebrated my father's 102nd birthday yesterday at his home in Jerusalem"
.

Soldiers, Settlers Celebrate Purim at Joshua’s Tomb

A reading of the Book of Esther for soldiers and Yesha residents was held at Joshua's Tomb despite desecration by local Arabs

By Gavriel Queenann

A special service was held on Purim morning Thursday at the tomb of Yehoshua Ben Nun in Kifl Hares in Samaria.

The morning prayer service and traditional second reading of the Book of Esther for Purim, was led by Samaria Regional Community Council head Gershon Mesika and Rabbi Uriel Genzel.

Of special note was the participation of the Ephraim Brigade, commanded by Col. Ron Kahane, who were lovingly welcomed by the residents of Judea and Samaria who attended.

Kahane and his men were toasted and given the traditional "lechaim" blessing – to life!

Earlier, when the first worshipers arrived at the tomb, they were shocked to discover local Arabs had desecrated the compound. The inner walls of the holy structure were painted with a large swastika and nationalist PA graffiti was spray-painted in Arabic.

PA security forces have allowed the tomb to be desecrated multiple times since Israel handed Kifl Hares over to them, but recently claimed they would prevent further desecration of tombs in their areas.

The worshipers brought white paint and tried to execute minor repairs to the tomb before the service..

Col. Kahane said he was confident that his soldiers will be inspired by hearing the Megillah in Yehoshua Ben Nun's tomb alongside their fellow citizens to exert themselves in their missions, and that the settlements will continue to grow.

Mesika said, "It was very exciting to read the Book of Esther, the Book of valor of Israel, at the grave of the great leader who brought us into the land – Yehoshua Ben Nun."

Mesika also drew a parallel between the tomb desecration and the Book of Esther "On a day where we read about the downfall of the genocidal Haman so many years ago, we are again reminded of those people who want to follow in his footsteps today."

Mesika explained, "A direct line connects the Persian Haman today - Ahmadinejad, who threatens the destruction of Jewish people - and the PA terrorists who choose to mark their actions with the swastika, a symbol of barbarism that desecrates the graves of our holy fathers."

"In the face of this darkness we still have light, the salvation of Purim, and the joy of building Israel," he said. "This Purim, especially in the face of the swastika Yehoshua Ben Nun's tomb, we draw immortal strength and joy from him, who told us 'go up and inherit the land,' for we have done so."

PM Netanyahu's Speech at the AIPAC 2012

Prime Minister Netanyahu's powerful speech in Washington. We ask you to sign the Petition to President Obama to stand with Israel and Stop Iran Now --> http://www.stopiran.org/




Yesterday, The Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu visited Capitol Hill to meet with senior Senate and House leadership including House Speaker John Boehner, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

PM Netanyahu's visit to the US Congress


ביקור ראש הממשלה בנימין נתניהו בקונגרס.
צילום וידאו: לע"מ, רועי אברהם
סאונד: ליאון הרשקו

After meeting Obama, Netanyahu says World United Over Iran

Following a three-hour meeting at the White House, Prime Minister Benajamin Netanyahu says Israel has managed to place Iran at top of global priority list.

By Barak Ravid

WASHINGTON – Speaking at the end of his three-hour meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House on Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters that the internatinonal community is united against the Iranian nuclear threat.

U.S. President Barack Obama and Netanyahu met one-on-one in Washington to discuss the differences between Israel and the United States over how to deal with Iran’s nuclear program.

The talk between them dealt almost entirely with how to deal with Iran's nuclear program, Netanyahu told reporters.

"We managed to convince the international community that we are talking about a real threat and danger," Netanyahu said.

He added that Israel had also managed to "put the Iranian issue on the international order of priorities."

The position that Netanyahu presented to Obama at the White House were accepted with understanding, the Prime Minister said.

"What the President said outside, in front of the cameras, that is what he said in the meeting," Netanyahu added.

The meeting between Netanyahu and Obama came in the wake of a media storm over the possibility of a war against Iran. On Monday morning, a full-page ad in the Washington Post featured 10 former U.S. generals, each of whom calls on Obama to avoid a “war of choice with Iran.” The generals called on Obama to act toward stopping Iran’s nuclear plan by use of economic sanctions and political pressure in order to isolate the regime in Tehran.

Netanyahu is also set to speak in front of the AIPAC conference on Monday. The final wording of the speech will be determined only after the meeting with Obama, and will deal primarily with Iran’s nuclear plan.

ראש הממשלה בנימין נתניהו הבהיר לנשיא ארה"ב ברק אובמה בפגישתם בבית הלבן הערב כי ישראל לא קיבלה עדיין כל החלטה בנוגע לתקיפה צבאית באיראן. מקורות שעודכנו בתכני השיחה, אך ביקשו לשמור על אנונימיות, ציינו כי אובמה ונתניהו סיכמו להגביר את התיאום בנושא הגרעין האיראני. בעוד כשבועיים יגיע הרמטכ"ל בני גנץ לוושינגטון לשיחות בעניין.

הפגישה בין נתניהו לאובמה נמשכה כשעתיים, כאשר בחדר מלבד שני המנהיגים ישבו היועצים לביטחון לאומי של ארה"ב וישראל טום דונילון ויעקב עמידרור. לאחר מכן עברו הצדדים לארוחת צהריים בפורום רחב שכלל את כל הצמרת האמריקאית – שרת החוץ הילרי קלינטון, שר ההגנה ליאון פנטה, הרמטכ"ל מרטין דמפסי, השגריר בישראל דן שפירו ואחרים.

הנושא האיראני עמד במרכז השיחות. החל מהתכנים של הפגישה בין נתניהו לאובמה וכלה במתנה שהעניק ראש הממשלה הישראלי לנשיא האמריקאי: עותק מהודר של מגילת אסתר לרגל חג פורים, אבל נתניהו הסביר לנשיא כי "גם אז רצו להשמיד את העם היהודי".

עשו לנו לייק וקבלו את החדשות המעניינות ביותר, ישירות לפייסבוק

עוד כתבות בנושא

• בעצם, הפגישה עם ביבי מיותרת 05.03.2012 | 05:20

גורמים בפמליית נתניהו וכן בכירים אמריקאים אמרו ל"הארץ" כי הפגישה היתה טובה וכללה הסכמות רבות. גם המשלחת הישראלית וגם הצד האמריקאי עשו מאמצים כדי להפחית את המתיחויות וליצור אווירה חמה בפגישה. כך למשל, הנשיא אובמה בירך את המזכיר הצבאי של ראש הממשלה יוחנן לוקר על יום ההולדת שחגגה רעייתו היום. "מצטער שבגללי אתה לא חוגג איתה", אמר אובמה ללוקר.

במהלך הפגישה עם נתניהו שטח אובמה את עמדתו בנושא האיראני. נשיא ארה"ב אמר לנתניהו כי יש לישראל ולארה"ב מטרה זהה של עצירת איראן מהשגת נשק גרעיני. "אין לי כל כוונה לנסות ולהכיל את הנושא האיראני", אמר אובמה לנתניהו. "אני חושב שיש זמן לדיפלומטיה ובכל מקרה איני מוריד אף אופציה מהשולחן, כולל אופציה צבאית".

נתניהו השיב לאובמה כי עדיין לא קיבל כל החלטה לתקוף את מתקני הגרעין של איראן. עם זאת, הבהיר נתניהו לאובמה כי אינו פוסל פעולה כזו בעתיד. גם בהצהרות לעיתונות בתחילת הפגישה וגם לאחר מכן בפגישה עצמה אמר נתניהו כי לישראל יש זכות ריבונית להגנה עצמית מול איראן.

"חשוב שלישראל תהיה תמיד את היכולת להגן על עצמה בכוחות עצמה מול כל איום", אמר נתניהו בפתח הפגישה. "זו המטרה של המדינה היהודית. להחזיר לעם היהודי את היכולת לשלוט בגורלו. אחריותי היא שישראל תישאר אחראית לגורלה".

בהצהרות לתקשורת אמר גם אובמה כי לישראל זכות ריבונית להגן על עצמה בכוחות עצמה והוסיף כי "אני רוצה להבטיח לעם הישראלי ולעם האמריקאי כי התיאום בינינו הדוק... ואני מתכוון להבטיח כי מצב זה יימשך בשורת החודשים הקשים, אני חושש, הצפויים ב-2012".

נתניהו אמר לאובמה כי הוא סבור שהמשטר האיראני קיבל החלטה להשמיד את ישראל וכי מדובר במדיניות סדורה. "הם מתכוונים לזה", אמר נתניהו לאובמה. "אם זה ייפתר בדרכים דיפלומטיות – מצוין. אבל צריך להתכונן גם לאפשרות הגרועה ביותר. הלחץ על איראן אמנם גובר, אבל הזמן מתקצר".

נתניהו יצא מהפגישה עם אובמה שבע רצון. בתדרוך לכתבים לאחר הפגישה אמר כי הוא מייחס חשיבות לכך שהנושא האיראני הפך לעמוד בראש סדר העדיפויות בדיאלוג בין ישראל לארה"ב וכן בסדר היום הבינלאומי.

"הצלחנו לשכנע את הקהילה הבינלאומית שמדובר בסכנה ואיום אמיתי לעולם כולו", אמר נתניהו. "העמדות שהצגתי בנושא האיראני התקבלו בהבנה בבית הלבן. מה שהנשיא אמר בחוץ, אל מול המצלמות, זה מה שהוא אמר לי גם בפגישה הסגורה".

נתניהו דן עם אובמה במהלכים לפתיחת בדיאלוג בין שש המעצמות – ארה"ב, רוסיה, סין, צרפת, בריטניה וגרמניה – לבין איראן. נתניהו לא הציב דרישות ללוחות זמנים או קווים אדומים בכל הנוגע לדיאלוג, אך ציין כי ההישג הנדרש הוא סגירת מתקן ההעשרה בפורדו שליד העיר קום, הפסקת העשרת האורניום והוצאת כל האורניום המועשר מעל רמה של 3.5% מחוץ לאיראן.

במהלך הפגישה העלה ראש הממשלה נתניהו את סוגיית שחרורו של המרגל היהודי יונתן פולארד. לפני כמה חודשים שלח נתניהו מכתב לנשיא אובמה וביקש שיעניק לפולארד חנינה. עד היום אובמה לא השיב למכתבו של נתניהו. לא ברור אם היום קיבל נתניהו תשובה כלשהי בנושא. גם הנשיא פרס שנפגש ביום ראשון עם אובמה העלה את סוגיית שחרורו של פולארד.

אחרי פגישתו של נתניהו עם אובמה התקיימה פגישה נפרדת בינו לבין שר ההגנה ליאון פנטה. השיחה עסקה בהידוק שיתוף הפעולה הביטחוני והמודיעיני בין ישראל לארה"ב. נתניהו העלה שורה של בקשות ישראליות לרכש אמצעי לחימה מתקדמים באופן שישמר את היתרון האיכותי של צה"ל.

לפנות בוקר ינאם נתניהו בפני ועידת השדולה הפרו-ישראלית איפא"ק בוושינגטון. נאומו יתמקד בנושא האיראני, אך נתניהו ידבר בצורה זהירה. הוא יחזור על דבריו בנושא זכותה של ישראל להגן על עצמה, אולם יימנע ממסרים חריפים יותר.

היום יגיע נתניהו לגבעת הקפיטול וייפגש עם יו"ר בית הנבחרים מהמפלגה הרפובליקנית ג'ון ביינר. בנוסף יתדרך נתניהו קבוצה גדולה של חברי קונגרס וסנאטורים. בשעות הלילה ימריא נתניהו בחזרה לישראל וינחת ביום רביעי אחר הצהריים.

נתניהו ויועציו הגיעו לוושינגטון ביום ראשון בלילה לאחר ביקור בן שלושה ימים בקנדה. במהלך סוף השבוע וגם היום עשתה לשכת ראש הממשלה מאמץ גדול להוריד מסדר היום את פרשת עוזי ארד, אולם גם לשגר מסרים ברורים ליועץ לביטחון לאומי לשעבר.

פרסומת: שברולט קפטיבה 2012 החדשה כל מה שאתה צריך ברכב פנאי החל מ-169,900?

Finding Love in the Most Unexpected Place: An IDF Love Story

We couldn’t find a better love story to tell you this Valentine’s Day than the one between the soon to be married Staff Sgt. Robert Cohen and Sgt. Rebecca Dekno. Though deeply in love today, the road to happiness was not all roses for this young couple.

Robert was born in Germany months before the fall of the Berlin Wall. He grew up in France and Belgium and finished High School in Brussels.

“I just started University when Operation Cast Lead began. My grandparents, though not Jewish, used to live in Israel and I visited the country twice every year as a child. During Cast Lead one of my friends was injured in battle and that made me understand that I too should take an active stand for Israel’s safety. I moved to Israel and within several months I had already enlisted. One day during my service I had to take a bus to my base near Karmiel, and that’s where I met Rebecca.”

Two Lone Soldiers Falling In Love

“I volunteered to the IDF in 2006 after Aliyah from Hawaii and was assigned to the same base as Robert”, says Rebecca. “That day when I took the bus to base, I wanted to put my huge backpack into the trunk and accidentally got myself caught in the trunk just as the bus driver closed the doors. Robert saw what happened and alerted the driver. He saved my life. We sat next to each other on the bus and talked a bit. Robert kept looking at me and all I could think was that I had never had a guy this cute look at me.”

The two didn’t meet again until two weeks later when they ran into each other at the bus-station in Binyamina. They began talking again and Rebecca regretted not having taken his number the first time they met, so this time she gave him her’s.

“We arranged two dates but had to cancel both of them for different reasons and ended up not hearing from each other for five months. At some point I thought that he had forgotten about me. After about another two months I reactivated my Facebook so I could stay in touch with my mom and saw that he had sent me a message asking for my number because he had lost it – he hadn’t forgotten about me after all. So I sent him my number again and he called and we finally met that same weekend after I came back home from my base.

Rebecca returned home only to find out that her roommate had trashed their apartment during a big party. Just as she was standing in all the mess, Robert called to tell her that he was a few minutes away and asked her to come pick him up. After a great day together, Robert asked her to be his girlfriend, but Rebecca said no. She was already extremely busy with the army and didn’t think that she could split her time between the army and a boyfriend.

Love conquers everything – this young couple overcame many obstacles to find each other

But this wouldn’t be a romantic story if Robert had just given up here. Undeterred, he kept calling her after this; they didn’t, date but remained friends. One night when he called to speak to her, Rebecca was on guard-duty so she couldn’t answer. Robert left her a simple message: “I love you!”

”We started dating again and it didn’t take me long to realize that I loved him too. Our first kiss was like in the movies. We we’re out for a walk and just as the sun was setting, Robert kissed me. It was the most amazing kiss of my life.”

The young couple kept on dating and one day Robert asked his love to marry him after they get released from the army. Obviously she said yes, but only under the condition that he ask her father first. So when Rebecca’s father came to Israel for a visit, Robert did just that.

“I never liked any of Rebecca’s previous boyfriends, but Robert is a very good guy. I am very happy that she found someone like him.”

Rebecca and Robert – Off to a bright future together

Rebecca and Robert will get married on the 27th of June, the same date that Robert’s grandparents tied the knot many years ago.

Israel, U.S. Divided Over Timing of Potential Military Strike Against Iran

The U.S. and Israel are publicly disagreeing over timing for a potential attack on Iran to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons.

“There’s a growing concern -- more than a concern -- that the Israelis, in order to protect themselves, might launch a strike without approval, warning or even foreknowledge,” Aaron David Miller, a former Mideast peace negotiator in the Clinton administration, said today.

The U.S. and Israel have a “significant analytic difference” over estimates of how close Iran is to shielding its nuclear program from attack, Miller said today. The differing views were underscored by public comments yesterday by senior Israeli and U.S. defense officials.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Israel must consider “an operation” before Iran reaches an “immunity zone,” referring to Iran’s goal of protecting its uranium enrichment and other nuclear operations by moving them to deep underground facilities such as one at Fordo, near the holy city of Qom.

“Today, unlike the past, the world has no doubt that Iran’s nuclear program is steadily nearing readiness and is about to enter an immunity zone,” Barak said in an address to the annual Herzliya Conference at the Interdisciplinary Center academic campus north of Tel Aviv.

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta declined to comment directly on a report by Washington Post columnist David Ignatius that Panetta believes there is a strong likelihood Israel will strike Iran in April, May or June. Panetta and other U.S. officials have repeatedly warned Israel not to act alone against Iran.

Not a Rift

“Israel has indicated that they’re considering this” through public statements, Panetta told reporters traveling with him in Brussels yesterday. “And we have indicated our concerns.”

Israelis think Iran will reach the immunity zone in “half the time the Americans think it will,” Miller said. Even so, Miller said, “to take that difference and talk about a growing rift” between Israel and the U.S. “is by and large an overstatement.”

Panetta stressed today that the U.S. and Israel are in agreement on the need to do what is necessary to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power.

“We’ve made very clear that they cannot, they cannot develop a nuclear weapon,” Panetta told troops at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

Strike ‘Premature’

The chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, has said it is “premature” to resort to military force because sanctions are starting to have an impact on Iran. In a Jan. 26 interview with National Journal, Dempsey said he delivered a similar message of caution to Israel’s top leadership during a visit to the Jewish state in early January.

U.S. intelligence agencies think Iran is developing capabilities to produce nuclear weapons “should it choose to do so,” James Clapper, the U.S. director of national intelligence, told the Senate Intelligence Committee on Jan. 31.

“We do not know, however, if Iran will eventually decide to build nuclear weapons,” he said.

While leaders of both countries agree that time must be given to gauge the impact of the latest set of economic sanctions on Iran, Israel’s patience is shorter than that of the U.S., Ephraim Kam, deputy director of Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Studies, said.

‘May Be Too Late’

“It will take at least six months to see whether sanctions are effective and by then it may be too late,” said Kam, author of the 2007 book, “A Nuclear Iran: What Does it Mean, and What Can be Done.”

Israeli leaders have said their country is able to withstand Iranian retaliation, according to Kam, pointing to a Nov. 8 statement by Barak that “in any scenario there won’t be 50 thousand or 5,000 or even 500 dead.”

U.S. concern that an Israeli strike may also expose American personnel and its allies to Iranian retaliation makes the Obama administration more cautious, Kam said.

“We’re definitely using different clocks,” he said.

Barak said again this week that military action must be considered if sanctions fail.

“Today, unlike in the past, there is widespread global understanding that if the sanctions don’t achieve their goal of halting Iran’s nuclear weapons program, there will arise the need of weighing an operation,” Barak said.

Moshe Yaalon, Israel’s vice prime minister and its former top military commander, said Iran still doubts international resolve to take military action against it.

Iranians Doubt Resolve

“The Iranians believe that the determination still isn’t there, both in regards to military action and in regards to sanctions,” Yaalon told the Herzliya conference a few hours before Barak spoke.

“It’s possible to strike all Iran’s facilities, and I say that out of my experience as IDF chief of staff,” he said referring to the Israeli Defense Forces.

Israeli Army Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Benny Gantz told the conference on Feb. 1 that his nation must be “willing to deploy” its military assets because Iran may be within a year of gaining nuclear weapons capability.

Gantz said international sanctions are starting to show some results. The European Union agreed last month to ban Iranian oil imports as of July 1 and freeze assets of its central bank and eight other entities. The U.S. has also imposed restrictions on financial transactions with Iran.

IAEA Plans Talks

The U.S., its European allies and the International Atomic Energy Agency have said that while Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003, there are indications it may still be trying to move toward a nuclear weapon. They have challenged the government in Tehran to prove that its nuclear work is intended only for energy and medical research, as Iranian officials maintain.

Nuclear talks this week between senior IAEA officials and members of Iran’s government progressed enough for both sides to commit to more negotiations, Chief Inspector Herman Nackaerts told reporters on Feb. 1 at Vienna International Airport after returning from Iran.

To contact the reporters on this story: Nicole Gaouette in Washington at ngaouette@bloomberg.net; Jonathan Ferziger in Tel Aviv at jferziger@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: John Walcott at jwalcott9@bloomberg.net