Israel Line - Thursday, May 15, 2008

• Zahar: 'We will persecute the Zionists'
• Rocket hits Ashkelon mall, 90 hurt
• Bush tells Knesset US 'stands by Israel in war on terror'
• OP-ED: Official: 'Cease-fire would be victory for Hamas'
• OP-ED: Restrained response expected
• America celebrates Israel's 60th
• Learning languages could keep you mentally fit
• Video: Celebrity Salute to Israel @ Times Square
• Hebrew Phrase of the Week

Zahar: 'We will persecute the Zionists'/JPost

Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar said Wednesday that a Palestinian state will be established on all of the land of Palestine and not only on parts of it, and that it will include "Jaffa, Lod and Haifa." "After we defeat the Zionists we will persecute them… we will persecute them to eternity, and the sun of the freedom and independence of the Palestinians will burn all of the Zionists," he continued.




Rocket hits Ashkelon mall, 90 hurt/Ha'aretz

A shopping mall in Ashkelon was hit yesterday afternoon by a long-range rocket fired from the Gaza Strip injuring around 90 people, four of them seriously. Two militant groups, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance Committees, claimed responsibility. The rise in rocket barrages has been deadly for southern Israel. 70-year-old Shuli Katz was killed by a Qassam rocket on Monday while visiting relatives in a small community in the Eshkol Regional Council and 48-year-old Jimmy Kdoshim of Kibbutz Kfar Aza was killed by a mortar shell last week while standing outside his home.



Bush tells Knesset US 'stands by Israel in war on terror'/Ynet

"I'm honored to be here… America is proud to be Israel's closest ally and best friend in the world; our alliance is unbreakable," visiting US President George W. Bush told a special Knesset session held in his honor Thursday. Earlier Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told the Knesset, 'The deep friendship between Israel and the US is not taken for granted… We share the vision of a better world; we share the distinction between a way of life worth protecting and one which suppresses freedom and democracy.




OP-ED: Official: 'Cease-fire would be victory for Hamas'/JPost

A cease-fire that does not include the prevention of the transfer of weapons to the Gaza Strip will be "a major strategic victory" for Hamas and will only serve to strengthen its rule there at the expense of the Fatah-led government in the West Bank, a senior Israeli official said Wednesday. "A cease-fire, which is the easy way out, will ensure us of several months of quiet but will also entrench the Hamas state in Gaza, which will become more and more dependent on the Iranians," the senior official said in a briefing for foreign journalists in Jerusalem.



OP-ED: Restrained response expected/Ynet

Three days ago already, Hamas started to target Ashkelon, and as it turns out the fire was not coincidental. It appears Hamas was preparing to welcome President Bush with an impressive rocket attack, and therefore it prepared thoroughly. The Israeli response is expected to be immediate, although it will not be in full force. The objective of Wednesday’s attack, as was the case in the past, was to undertake a strategic provocation that conveys the message that Hamas is not scared and is in fact the true power in the region – and hence, any regional move that does not take Hamas into account is doomed for failure, because the group has the power to light up the area.



America celebrates Israel's 60th/Israel21c

Israel's 60th Independence Day may have come and gone, but in the US the merrymaking is far from over. Politicians, community organizations, synagogues, churches, sports teams, artists, musicians, entrepreneurs - you name it - are throwing parties, giving speeches, teaching classes, organizing concerts and parades, launching websites, and creating new organizations that will last throughout Israel's entire 60th year, and beyond.



Learning languages could keep you mentally fit/Israel21c

Learning a second or third language in childhood may protect your brain against the effects of aging later in life, according to new research by Israeli scientists. In the study, Dr. Gitit Kavé, a clinical neuro-psychologist from the Herczeg Institute on Aging at Tel Aviv University, and colleagues Nitza Eyal, Aviva Shorek, and Jiska Cohen-Manfield, discovered that senior citizens who speak more languages test for better cognitive functioning and are likely to be more clear-minded at an older age.



Video: Celebrity Salute to Israel @ Times Square/YouTube



Hebrew Phrase of the Week/LearnHebrew




Yechidei Segula

Literally: Individual treasures
Idiomatically: Exceptional individuals; the chosen few

Many people are familiar with the phrase "Am Segula," which is loosely translated as "the chosen people" (Deuteronomy 7:6). The term "Yechidei Segula," in its positive use can mean very special people. It can also be used in a slightly derogatory sense. When talking about a super nightclub that "bars" most of us, you may say "Ani Lo yachol lehikanes sham - zeh rak l'yechidei segula". By the way, there is another use of the word "segula," and that is as a remedy (Maimonidies Shabbat 67a) or even a good luck charm or talisman. When I asked my grandmother why she would always bake a fish head on Friday (which no one would ever eat) she would answer "It's a segula." For what? "So that you should be smart and not ask such silly questions."


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