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Mitchell and Netanyahu Meet in Jerusalem
by Haviv Rettig Gur
 Although the Obama administration apparently hoped
U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell's current visit would yield an
announcement on the resumption of direct Israeli-Palestinian talks, a
meeting between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Mitchell in
Jerusalem on Friday ended without any statements issued to the press. American and Israeli officials on Thursday said they
had little hope of a breakthrough ahead of the meeting. In recent days, both the Israelis and the Americans
have sought to lower expectations after witnessing the political
pummeling Abbas has suffered in the wake of his decision to withdraw a
motion to the UN Human Rights Council on the Goldstone Report. (Jerusalem Post)
Ambassador Oren: Obama Approval in Israel Must Improve
by Hilary Leila Krieger
 U.S. President Barack Obama's low approval ratings among Israelis must
improve for the Israeli-Arab peace process to advance, according to
Israel's envoy to the United States.
Amb. Michael Oren cited polls showing just 4 percent of
the Israeli public believed Obama is pro-Israel, during a speech at the
Washington Hudson Institute. He said that if the
Israeli public didn't trust the Obama administration it would be
unwilling to take the steps necessary for a peace deal, and called the
survey results "one of the greatest obstacles" to peace-making. "Those Israelis who are going to make peace with their neighbors are going to be asked to take immense risks, extraordinary risks with themselves, their families, their children. In order to take those risks, they need to be able to trust the administration." he said.
"We have to get this number up," (Jerusalem Post)
Israel Tries Less-Disruptive Tactics in West Bank
by Charles Levinson
 Israel's military, taking a page from the Pentagon's counterinsurgency
playbook, has changed tactics in the West Bank by emphasizing
improvements in Palestinian living conditions, rather than focusing
solely on killing and capturing militants. Israel has pulled back its soldiers from the enclave's cities, turned over
security responsibilities to Palestinians, and lifted many of the
checkpoints and roadblocks that had shackled the economy. "Part of our philosophy is to fight the terrorists with M-16 [rifles],
not F-16 [jets]," said Brig. Gen. Noam Tivon, one of the leaders of the
policy shift. Israeli generals had to overcome the skepticism of the country's
political leadership and other officers who were reluctant to trust the
Palestinians with handling security. (Wall Street Journal)
Israel, U.S. to Hold Joint Maneuvers
by Dan Williams
 Israel and the
U.S. will hold their biggest joint air-defense exercise next week,
officials said, testing missile interceptors that would serve as a
strategic bulwark in any future showdown with Iran. The Oct. 12-16
maneuvers, dubbed "Juniper Cobra," will be overseen by Adm. Mark
Fitzgerald, chief of the U.S. Navy's Sixth Fleet. The first Juniper
Cobra took place in 2001, when the Scud missiles of Saddam Hussein's
Iraq menaced Israel. Now Iran and its nuclear project are seen as the
main threat. American forces taking part will include 17 ships and
ground personnel operating the Aegis and THAAD missile interceptors,
which will be meshed with Israel's Arrow II missile-killer for
computer-simulated tests, an Israeli official said on Thursday. (Reuters)
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Hamas Releases Tape of Gilad Shalit
by Barak Ravid, Jonathan Lis
 A video of captive
Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit was broadcast on Israeli
television on Thursday, showing the gaunt soldier holding a Palestinian
newspaper dated September 14, 2009. In the video, Shalit is seen saying
that he was feeling healthy and being treated well by his captors. In the video, which Israel received from Hamas Friday
in exchange for the release of 20 female Palestinian prisoners held in
Israeli jails, Shalit says that he had been reading newspapers in
search of information regarding his situation. He adds that he has been waiting a long time to be released, and
expresses his love for his family. Shalit then recounts a personal
anecdote from before his abduction, when his family visited him at his
IDF army base. (Ha'aretz)
Watch video of Shalit in Captivity (YouTube)
Livni Slams Goldstone Report at Yale
  Speaking at an event at Yale University in New Haven on Thursday
night,
Israeli opposition leader Tzipi Livni criticized the UN fact-finding mission's
report on Operation Cast Lead for drawing comparisons between IDF
soldiers and terrorists, and told the audience of her support in the
two-state solution. "I will never accept the comparison between IDF solders and
terrorism, just as you would never compare murder and accidental
killing," Livni said of the Goldstone report. She added that the IDF is
a moral army, and that Israeli soldiers endanger themselves on a daily
basis in order to avoid harming civilians. While she stressed that the pain of a mother over the death of
her children could not be underestimated, Livni said that is was
important to distinguish between those who aim to murder children in
their homes and those who unintentionally harm civilians who are used
by terrorists as human shields. (Jerusalem Post)
Weizmann: Israeli Scientist Wins Nobel Prize for Chemistry
  Israeli scientist Ada Yonath, a leading researcher in the structural biology field, was awarded a Nobel Prize in chemistry on Wednesday. Yonath has focused her research on the structure of the ribosome, a part of the cell that synthesizes protein and translates genetic code in the production of protein. Yonath was the first Israeli biologist to work with NASA in sending research material to outer space. She cooperated with NASA on 12 missions. Her research contributed greatly to the development of more effective antibiotics, which can overcome phenomenon of drug resistant pathogens. Yonath is a professor and head researcher in the field of structural biology and biochemistry at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot. (Ha'aretz)
Michigan: A Mediocre Mushroom
by Sharon Jacobs
 Legend of the Black Shawarma, the newest release by Israeli
trance duo Infected Mushroom, is sure to solidify the group's status as
a love-it-or-be-annoyed-by-it cult icon. Infected Mushroom hails from Haifa, Israel. Members Erez Eisen and Amit
Duvdevani are both classically trained musicians who found electronic
music at a young age. IM has found success in many parts of the world
but is practically unheard of outside electronic music circles, despite
its genre-bending tendencies. Legend of the Black Shawarma is the outfit’s seventh full-length album. Some of the songs on Legend really do sound legendary. (Michigan Daily)
Watch Video Infected Mushroom - Bust a Move (YouTube)
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