M E N O R A H

Knesset marks Jerusalem Day Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tells Knesset plenum 'today we take an oath for a built up Jerusalem, Israel's eternal capital'

The Knesset plenum on Monday convened a special session to mark Jerusalem Day, which was celebrated on Sunday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Opposition Chairwoman Shelly Yachimovich (Labor) and Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin addressed the plenum during the event.

"We need to stop for one day every year and realize that we are witnessing and experiencing the fulfillment of a prophecy, the yearning for Zion, the return to Zion and the revival of Zion" Netanyahu told the Knesset plenum.

The prime minister came to the defense of visionary of the state Theodor Herzl, saying "he foresaw the problem and the solution, but he didn’t give up on Zion.

"He raised his right hand and said – If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand wither. Today we are raising our hand with the same oath. We are taking an oath for a built up Jerusalem, the eternal capital of Israel," he said. More

Egypt's Brotherhood Goes All out for Presidency

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood planned a mass climax to its presidential campaign on Sunday, hoping to sway undecided voters and clinch victory in this week's election when Egyptians will choose their leader freely for the first time.

On the last day of official campaigning, the Brotherhood told Egyptians to "book your place anywhere in Egypt" for evening rallies in support of its candidate Mohamed Mursi.

Brotherhood supporters seem unfazed by surveys that show their unfancied contender trailing rivals who entered the race earlier and are spending heavily in the dash for votes. More

Jerusalem: The Media Myth of Two Cities

The history of Jerusalem did not start in 1967. Thousands of years of Jewish history took place in what is now called "Arab East Jerusalem." Only when the Jewish residents were driven from their homes in 1948 was the city divided between East and West.
This video shows the reality of Jerusalem today and includes interviews from survivors of the fall of Jerusalem.

Olmert’s ‘Bitter Mistake’ on Jerusalem

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat criticized a former Jerusalem mayor, ex-prime minister Ehud Olmert, over Olmert’s failed plan to split Jerusalem with the Palestinian Authority. The plan stalled when the PA left talks without signing an agreement.

“Olmert makes a bitter mistake in thinking that separation, not unity, is the solution. His words are demagoguery,” Barkat said on Sunday.

“He lost his faith in Jerusalem when he was mayor,” he continued. “He wants to run from conflicts in Jerusalem and give in to them, instead of coping with them and directing them. That is not the way.” More

Netanyahu: Jerusalem will stay united

Prime minister warns that partitioning Jerusalem could result in religious war. Speaking in Jerusalem Day state ceremony he says, 'Israel without a united Jerusalem is like a body with a weak heart'

Speaking at a state ceremony marking Jerusalem Day in the capital's Ammunition Hill, Netanyahu said: "If we place this quadrate of the Temple Mount in the hands of others, I doubt we will be able to avoid a religious war.

"I know what history has taught us: only under Israeli sovereignty were peace and quiet among the faiths maintained."

Netanyahu further added, "Israel without Jerusalem is like a body with a weak heart. Never again will our heart be divided.

"A nation willing to sacrifice its heart would convince its enemies it has no desire to fight for anything. Jewish history has changed forever: the divided city has been united and will stay that way. More

WATCH: If I forget thee, O Jerusalem

Israel marks 45 years of a united capital • In 2011, 2.8 million tourists visited the city • In special tribute, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu draws sketch of his hometown • Video shows footage of Jerusalem one month after its liberation.

The cabinet on Sunday held its weekly meeting at Ammunition Hill, the site of one of the bloodiest battles of the 1967 Six-Day War. Cabinet ministers were set to vote on a resolution proposed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to grant career officers in the IDF and Israel Police the option of buying plots of land at a discount and using a fast-track application process. More

Talks aim not to thwart Iran nukes, but to stop Israeli attack

Nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany) are expected to resume on Wednesday in Baghdad. It's safe to assume that, like the talks in Istanbul before it, this encounter will end with positive declarations from all parties. Betting agencies in London seem more excited about the return of the Greek drachma than they do about what is expected to take place in Baghdad. More

The Rise of the Ezekiel 38 Nations

In 1948, the modern nation of Israel was re-established after nearly 2,000 years. This appears to fulfill Ezekiel’s prediction made 2,600 years ago that God would bring the Jewish people from the many nations into their own land. Further, God also predicted a coalition of nations that would one day attack Israel, as well as a future Jewish temple at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Are there signs that these two unfulfilled prophecies are nearing fulfillment in our day? Join us as we discuss the biblical prophecies and current events taking place that show how close our world could be to what the Bible predicts about the Ezekiel 38 nations. Watch

‘Be ready to break into the Old City’

The fateful June 5, 1967, order to paratroop commander Mordechai Gur ‘just slipped out,’ author Abraham Rabinovich recalls in this excerpt from his landmark book, ‘The Battle for Jerusalem’

Chief of Staff Yitzhak Rabin informed the General Staff on Saturday night, June 3, 1967, of the decision to launch a pre-emptive strike against Egypt in 36 hours, pending cabinet approval. Every effort would be made to keep the Jordanian front quiet.

Air Force Commander Motti Hod had never divulged details of the air force’s plan to the General Staff. Even now, he revealed to his fellow generals only one element — zero hour. The planes would strike at 7:45 AM. The Egyptian air force mounted dawn patrols from first light until 7 AM in anticipation of a possible Israeli attack out of the rising sun. At 7:45 the Egyptian pilots would be back at their bases having breakfast. Senior commanders lived off base and arrived at their headquarters about 8 a.m. At 7:45, they would still be in their cars, unable to react in the decisive first moments of the attack. Once the first planes began attacking, the Israeli armored divisions could shed their camouflage netting and begin the ground offensive. More

PM: Number of illegal migrants may reach 600,000

Cabinet meets on Ammunition Hill in honor of Jerusalem Day. Netanyahu says government increasing efforts to stop flow of African migrants. Yishai: Giving them jobs won't help

"The illegal immigration phenomenon is very severe and threatens national security and identity," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday, adding that "this problem began more than seven years ago."

Speaking at the weekly cabinet meeting, which was held at Ammunition Hill in honor of Jerusalem Day, Netayahu said his government was working to curb the flow of illegal migrants and to "begin removing" others from Israel. More