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Indirect Middle East Talks Begin
by Josh Mitnick
 Palestinian officials announced the official start of
indirect peace talks with Israel, following weekend authorization by
the Palestinian Liberation Organization and ending a two-month boycott
triggered by Jewish building plans in East Jerusalem. The approval was expected, but it now officially allows U.S.
negotiators to start presiding over long-delayed indirect—or
"proximity"—talks between the two sides. The announcement coincided with the departure of the Obama administration's special
Mideast envoy, George Mitchell, who was in the region last week to lay
the groundwork and begin the talks. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the Palestinian
decision, but added that Israel wants to move to direct talks as soon
as possible. "Peace cannot be made from a distance or by remote control," Mr. Netanyahu said. (Wall Street Journal)
43rd Jerusalem Day Kicks Off in Capital
by Abe Selig
 Forty-three
years after the battle for Jerusalem during the Six-Day War, Israel marked Jerusalem Day on Wednesday with a wide array of
ceremonies and festivities throughout the capital and beyond to mark
the city’s reunification on the 28th of Iyar in 1967. Jerusalem
is Israel’s largest city, with 774,000 residents, according to the
latest data released by the Central Bureau of Statistics.
Some 488,000 (63 percent) of those residents are Jews, 261,000 (34%)
are Muslims and 15,000 (2%) are Christian. An additional 10,000 (1%) of
Jerusalem’s residents are not classified by religion at the Interior
Ministry. (Jerusalem Post)
Israel Says N. Korea Shipping WMDs to Syria
 Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Tuesday accused nuclear power North Korea of supplying Syria with weapons of mass destruction. "The cooperation between Syria and North Korea is not focused on economic development and growth but rather on weapons of mass
destruction," Lieberman said. In evidence he cited the December 2009 seizure at Bangkok airport of an illicit shipment bound for an unnamed Middle East country.
Lieberman said Syria intended to pass the weapons on to the Lebanese Hizbullah militia and to the Islamic Hamas movement, which rules Gaza and has its political headquarters in Damascus. (AFP)
Obama Seeks $205 Million for Israel Rocket Shield
 President Barack
Obama will ask Congress to provide $205 million to Israel to spur
production and deployment of a new short-range rocket defense system,
administration officials said on Thursday. Produced by Israeli state-owned Rafael Advanced
Defense Systems Ltd., Iron Dome uses small radar-guided missiles to
blow up Katyusha-style rockets with ranges of between 3
miles and 45 miles, as well as mortar bombs, in mid-air. "The president recognizes the threat missiles
and rockets fired by Hamas and Hizbullah pose to Israelis, and has
therefore decided to seek funding from Congress to support the
production of Israel's short range rocket defense system called Iron
Dome," White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said. (Reuters)
Canadian-Born IDF Soldier to Catch Ride with Netanyahu
by Geoff Nixon
 Everyone who knows Jonathan Fader heard about his conversation with Benjamin Netanyahu. His friends posted messages on his Facebook wall and soon there was a
picture of the camouflaged and smiling Fader standing in front of the
Israeli prime minister. It all transpired Tuesday when Prime Minister Netanyahu visited an Israeli Defense Forces training exercise. The military picked two soldiers to have a chat with the
prime minister. One turned out to be Fader. The prime minister asked him where he was from. When Netanyahu heard he was from Canada, he mentioned that he was "going there next week." Then he asked if Fader wanted a lift home. "I thought he was joking," said Fader. But he wasn't. (CTV)
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Test Yourself: How Much Do You Know about Jerusalem?
by The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
 May 12 marked the 43rd anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem in the Six-Day War. Test your knowledge of Jerusalem's current events and history with a short, interactive quiz.
Israel Joins the OECD - Major Diplomatic Achievement
by Aluf Benn
 For Israel, joining the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is
a major diplomatic achievement. Nothing better answers the calls for boycotting
Israel than acceptance into the club of developed economies. Israel has always
sought to become a member of international organizations where the Western bloc
of nations enjoys a clear advantage. Now we're in the club and the Palestinians,
Egyptians and even the Saudis aren't. They're not even on the waiting list.
(Ha'aretz)
See also A Great Day for Israel by Sever Plocker
Israel's membership in OECD indicates that the developed world recognizes that
we are an industrial, advanced country; a democratic and competitive state that
shares the basic values of the wealthy West. (Ynet News)
Hiking the Israel National Trail
by Maya Hasson
 Many countries have hiking trails. But few are so small that you can walk clear across them in two months or less, and even fewer have landscapes so varied that they allow a hiker to pass from desert hills of red stone to flat wastelands to green forests and lakes and rugged mountain tops in such a short period of time. For those willing to invest time, sweat and blisters, the Israel Trail, a 620-mile route running the length of the country from the waters of the Red Sea to the Israel-Lebanon frontier, offers an incomparable way to see one of the world's most interesting places. The trail is beginning to catch on with Israeli hikers, but few foreign travelers have discovered it yet. (AP-ABC News)
Whale Sighting Off Israeli Coast Stuns Scientists
 The appearance of
a grey whale off the coast of Israel has stunned scientists. It is
thought to be the first time the giant mammal has been seen outside the
Pacific in several hundred years. "It's an unbelievable event which has been described as one of the
most important whale sightings ever," said Dr. Aviad Scheinin, chairman
of the Israel Marine Mammal Research and Assistance Center which
identified the creature. (AFP)
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