Publisher of Jewish Newspaper suggests a "Permanent Solution" for Obama

Op-Ed suggests "green-lighting" Mossad agents to "terminate" the US Prez.

Judson Berger (01/20-2012 - Fox News)

The Secret Service said it is looking into a recent op-ed from an Atlanta publisher that floated the idea of green-lighting Israeli Mossad agents to assassinate President Obama in order to improve Israel's security against enemies like Iran.

The publisher and author, Andrew Adler, reportedly has apologized.

But Jewish advocacy groups condemned his comments as "outrageous," and Secret Service spokesman George Ogilvie said the agency is "aware" of the incident.

"We're conducting the appropriate investigative steps," he told FoxNews.com.

Ogilvie would not comment on whether Adler has been contacted or whether his column was deemed a potential threat to the president.

In the Jan. 13 column in the Atlanta Jewish Times, Adler floated three scenarios for how Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would deal with a nuclear Iran and other threats in the region.

Adler wrote that Israel could order a strike on Hezbollah and Hamas, or a strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.

A third option, he wrote, would be to "give the go-ahead for U.S.-based Mossad agents to take out a president deemed unfriendly to Israel in order for the current vice president to take his place, and forcefully dictate that the United States' policy includes its helping the Jewish state obliterate its enemies."

Leaving no question about what he was suggesting, Adler went on:

"Yes, you read 'three' correctly. Order a hit on a president in order to preserve Israel's existence. Think about it. If I have thought of this Tom Clancy-type scenario, don't you think that this almost unfathomable idea has been discussed in Israel's most inner circles?

Another way of putting 'three' in perspective goes something like this: How far would you go to save a nation comprised of 7 million lives...Jews, Christians and Arabs alike?"

Adler later told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that he will publish an apology. "I very much regret it," he said.

But Jewish advocacy groups were outraged.

Abraham H. Foxman, director of the Anti-Defamation League, said there is "no excuse" for that kind of rhetoric.

"It doesn't even belong in fiction. These are irresponsible and extremist words. It is outrageous and beyond the pale. An apology cannot possibly repair the damage," he said in a statement.

"Mr. Adler's lack of judgment as a publisher, editor and columnist raises serious questions as to whether he's fit to run a newspaper."

The National Jewish Democratic Council described the comments as "despicable."

"It is the height of irresponsibility to make the horrific suggestion that the State of Israel should assassinate the President of the United States of America," NJDC President David Harris said in a statement.

"To dare to give such despicable ideas space in a newspaper -- no less in the words of the paper's owner and publisher, and a Jewish newspaper at that -- is beyond the pale."

France's President desperately seeks world attention at Israel's expense.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy diminishes Israel to expand France's global role.

"Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and
judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge
the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge." (James 4:11)

Poor France ... yearning for the good 'ole days of the Napoleonic Empire.

As this week ends and a new one begins, French President Nicolas Sarkozy has graced the world stage with some profound observations that warrant extraordinary consideration.

Just kidding.

What he has done, however, is demonstrate that France -- desperate to be considered the new major player on the world stage after spearheading the events in Libya -- is willing to do or say anything it must to vie for that position.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in his anti-Israeli statements and apparent appeasement of the Palestinian Authority. The month of January has been a remarkable testament to the French government's anti-Israel bias.

Just today, French President Nicolas Sarkozy says the so-called Quartet of Mideast negotiators is a failure and a new method for finding peace is needed.

Sarkozy expressed frustration at the "glacial immobility" between Israelis and Palestinians. Talks between the two have been stalled for more than three years

In an annual diplomacy speech Friday, Sarkozy called for the opening up of negotiations to new players, a specific timetable and a monitoring mechanism.

He took particular aim at the Quartet - "We must stop hiding reality ... The Quartet is a failure," he said. I don't suppose that's because France isn't leading the show? Hmm.

The Quartet is made up of the United States, United Nations, Russia and the European Union. France is a prominent player in both the U.N. and E.U.

Yesterday, President Sarkozy warned against any military intervention against Iran over its nuclear program, saying a strike on Iran would "trigger war and chaos in the Middle East."

France would "do everything to avoid a military intervention," he said, calling instead for "much stronger sanctions" against Iran.

I suppose the French believe a nuclear Iran is more preferable than the chaos of a strike by Israel to protect its existence.

I also realize that any comments regarding "anti-military intervention" -- as Israel is leading the military intervention pack -- can be translated as "anti-Israeli action on Iran."

Why should we be so critical of France? Let's ponder their recent record ... excluding the statements above.

Remember the "Open Mic" incident at the G20 Summit last November involving Sarkozy and Obama? The discussion began with Obama criticizing Sarkozy for backing a Palestinian request for membership in UNESCO.

Sarkozy then reportedly told Obama that he could not "bear" Netanyahu and thinks the Israeli premier "is a liar." Obama responded, "You're fed up, but I have to deal with it all day."

"A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks." (Luke 6:45)

Justify speech as you will. Sarkozy's heart is apparent to all with an eye to see.

And just this month, a French legislator’s report on Israel's “apartheid” water policies described Israel's actions as “venomous." The report, a case study on “The Jordan Basin: Water as an Integrated Hinge of the Territorial Conflict and Security Question,” was a 20-page section in a more-than-300-page publication on “The Geopolitics of Water,” published by the French National Assembly.

The report goes on to slam Israel for the priority it gives to Jewish West Bank settlers over Palestinians during times of drought, as well as the “separation wall,” which it says provides Israel with control over groundwater access.

Watch for Sarkozy to attempt to position France as the new European leader world events, and watch for Israel being made the scapegoat for France's efforts. And while you are making these observations now ... remember what we were all told then:

"Go from the presence of a foolish man, when you do not perceive in him the lips of knowledge." (Proverbs 14:7)

Hamas is scared of singing but finds beauty in bombs.

Hamas bans "offensive & indecent" singing contest in Gaza.

"Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth; Break forth in song,

rejoice, and sing praises." (Pslam 98:4)

Silly terrorists; Hamas is at it again. Apparently, the only security threat posed to Gaza more serious than Israel is ... singing.

Organizers of the Palestinian version of "American Idol" said Thursday the Gaza Strip's Hamas rulers have banned residents from participating in the popular reality show.

The organizers said Hamas told them the program is "indecent," in what appears to be a new attempt by the fundamentalist militant Muslim group to crack down on behavior it sees as contrary to its conservative interpretation of Islam.

In the past, Hamas has banned women from riding on the backs of motorbikes, women from smoking water pipes, and men from working in hair salons - saying such practices were immodest. Not all bans are imposed uniformly.

The ban on competing in New Star came around the same time that Hamas police beat up members of Gaza's tiny Shiite minority while they tried to hold a religious ceremony.

Alaa al-Abed, the chief producer of the "New Star" program, said the edict would prevent Gaza's 12 contestants from competing in the upcoming second round of the competition Thursday night. It will be broadcast next month. He said he was informed of the decision last Saturday.

"This is more serious than Hamas just killing fun in Gaza - they are limiting the freedoms of the people, according to their whims," al-Abed said.

There was no official comment from Hamas. Ya' don't say?

In the past, Gaza contestants have competed via video conference due to travel restrictions imposed on Gaza residents by Egypt and Israel. This year Hamas banned that form of participation as well.

New Star is broadcast on satellite television in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Israel. A panel of judges rate performers signing pop songs, and viewers vote for their favorites.Now in its third year, it is a popular show with Palestinians.

In past years, contestants have included young women crooning in sleeveless dresses - a look that is unthinkable in conservative Gaza - while others wore Muslim headscarves. All of this year's Gaza contestants were men.

Hamas permits male barbershop style singing groups that do not use musical instruments and sing of the glory of Islam and to fighting Israel. Young, prepubescent girls also perform in their own singing groups, but teenage girls and women are never seen singing in public. Many devout Muslims believe singing by women is provocative.

Al-Abed said he was told by the head of Gaza's government press office, Hassan Abu Hashish, that the local singers could not compete because the program was not in compliance with the territory's culture and it was not morally acceptable.

Abu Hashish could not be reached for comment. But a statement released Wednesday by his office accused New Star's owners, the Palestinian news agency Maan, of incitement in a lengthy series of grievances about the company. Maan is based in the more liberal West Bank and receives generous funding from European donor nations.

"It has harmed (our) culture and traditions," Abu Hashish's statement read. They "show all of Gaza ... as if its youth search for singing programs."

Al-Abed said that Gazans were able to participate last year without any limitations. He urged Hamas to change its policy.

"People want to participate. We tried to make (Abu-Hashish) understand - even if only 5 percent of people want to sing, if they want to participate - why prevent them?"

Organizers say they hope that New Star can help unite the Palestinians, who have been divided between rival governments in the West Bank and Gaza since Hamas violently took control of Gaza in 2007. The Palestinians hope to turn the two territories, located on opposite sides of Israel, into an independent state.

Israeli "To-Do" app is voted "Best Technical Application" of 2011.

Downloaded over 500,000 times in the first month the new Any.DO

application is getting a lot of attention in the technology world.

TIFFANY STELMAN (01/17/2012 - NC)

"Then the LORD answered me and said: “Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it."" (Habakkuk 2:2)

Ever feel frustrated over the way you organize your to-do’s? Tangled in a web of post-it stickers hung around your office? There might be some hope yet. Any.DO, an Israeli social to-do app that organizes user’s tasks in new and creative ways, has been voted best Android app of 2011 by Techcrunch.

Like other to do apps, Any.DO includes the basics, like adding tasks, marking them complete, and setting priorities. But it does a number of other things which make it stand out from the crowd.

For example, you can create tasks using voice command and you can use gestures to manage your tasks like drag-and-drop for assigning task priorities or organizing tasks into folders or swiping to mark tasks complete.

You can also shake your phone to clear off the completed tasks from the screen. In addition, it syncs with Google tasks.

But Any.Do’s most intelligent feature is its auto-complete. When a user starts typing a new task, the app offers to auto-complete entries. Much like Google, the user is able to choose from the different suggestions. The list is easy to use and tasks can be dragged down from day to day, or copied.

Any.DO also lets you share a task, which means others can edit the note and complete it. This allows users to team up on tasks with family and friends – in some ways replacing group texting or e-mail threads.

Any.DO, created in 2011 by Omer Perchik, Yoni Lindenfeld and Itay Kahana, was downloaded over 500,000 times during the 30 days following its launch. It was recently voted be best android app for 2011 by Techcrunch, followed by Lightbox and Amazon MP3.

The app has an average 4.5 star rating out of more than 7,000 ratings. According to theAny.Do team, so far 2.5 million tasks have been added, with more than one million completed. There is an average of 100,000 tasks added every day, and 50 percent are added by voice command.

I'll take "Jewish Trivia Experts" for $1,000, Alex.

Jason Keller wins $213,900 during 9-episode run on Jeopardy!.

He wants to visit Israel to play Scrabble in Tel Aviv.

KEN MANDEL (01/19/20012 - JMNS)

"Only may the LORD give you wisdom and understanding, and give you charge concerning Israel, that you may keep the law of the LORD your God." (1 Chronicles 22:12)

While many Jews who have never been to Israel anticipate their first visit to the Western Wall, Jason Keller also has the Tel Aviv Scrabble Club—one of the world’s largest clubs of its kind—in mind.

A brainy tour of the Holy Land would only be natural for the 30-year-old Highland Park, NJ, resident, who last month won $213,900 during a nine-episode run on Jeopardy!, the classic answers-and-questions quiz show.

“I would love to see everything that Israel has to offer,” Keller said. “I really want to tour the country, but I’ll admit that if I happen to go during a time when there’s a Scrabble tournament, I may go to the Scrabble tournament.”

Appearing on Jeopardy! marked the fulfillment of a 16-year quest for Keller, who benefitted from a lifelong appreciation for trivia and brain games. He had been sending postcards and self-addressed stamped envelopes to the show since he was a teenager.

When the registration process evolved to online testing as the first qualifying filter, Keller passed that test four separate times and received three in-person auditions. Eventually, he wowed producers by telling them about his friendships with former Jeopardy! contestants through Scrabble tournaments, quiz bowls and other events.

“This is something that I've wanted for a really long time, and I’ve usually been an optimist,” he said. “I always felt that it would happen eventually.”

Nearly three months after his June audition, Keller was called to appear in late October. The show tapes five shows a day, two days a week, and Keller’s first game was the final show of a Tuesday taping.

As he stood on the stage, Keller grew more excited hearing famed announcer Johnny Gilbert:

“This...is...Jeopardy!”

From the middle position—between Leslie Hamilton, a teacher and swim coach from Erlanger, Ky., and one-day champ Beth Watkins, a graduate student of medieval studies from Savannah, Ga.—the exam prep tutor was ready.

“There were some nerves, but it was more like ‘Here we go,’” Keller said. “I was more nervous sitting in the audience before my game. By the time I got up there, I felt relieved, and thought I would just see what happened. I thought I had a pretty good shot.”

Keller took control of the game early, accumulating $7,000 after the first round and $20,200 heading into Final Jeopardy, $6,400 more than second-place Hamilton.

The final answer, “A Roman legal term for a debtor sentenced to servitude is the origin of this term for a slave to a vice,” stumped Keller’s opponents, and his response of “What is addict?” made him a champion.

“I prepared myself for everything, from the best to the worst,” he said. “I dreamed about winning game number 75 [thus setting a record] and having all this confetti in the studio and having [former Jeopardy champion] Ken Jennings watching. I also had visions of getting on one show, having the categories not go my way and being really angry about it afterward.”

Keller’s winnings were the sixth-most in Jeopardy’s long history and the largest of the current season. His nine-day run is also among the longest since the show relaxed its rule that forced champions to retire after five straight wins.

During his run, Keller defeated an elementary school teacher, comedy writer, travel specialist, medical student, grocer, librarian, chef and assistant principal, among others. Keller gave the most correct responses in each of his nine wins, answering 229 questions in that span.

Three times, he entered Final Jeopardy as a runaway winner—meaning he had more than twice the amount of the second-place score—and twice won despite trailing.

With his fifth win, Keller guaranteed himself a spot in the Tournament of Champions.

“That was my first thought,” he said. “Not a lot of people get to do that. It was just wonderful.”

Keller wished his mother a happy birthday on his 10th show, which aired Dec. 29, thanking her for instilling in him a love of all games. They played Wheel of Fortune when he was a child, and Jeopardy eventually became an evening viewing staple.

He got a Scrabble board in third grade, learned how to play chess from his dad, and learned card games from his grandparents.

After a whirlwind weekend of commuting between coasts, Keller lost despite a last-minute charge. Tired by the taping of that day’s fourth episode, Keller didn’t know that the correct response to, “Concluding a four-book series, his 2004 novel ‘Folly and Glory’ features Kit Carson, William Clark & Jim Bowie,” was author Larry McMurtry.

He lost to Dave Leach, a software analyst from Atlanta, Ga., who also didn’t know the answer.

“I knew that [McMurtry was] a writer who does stories about the West, but I don’t know if I would’ve come up with that about him,” Keller said. “I was disappointed. There’s always regret when it’s over. You love the experience, and you don’t want it to end.”

For the Tournament of Champions, Keller will seek to improve his breadth of knowledge. While he thrived at geography, opera, women in sports and literature, he considers movies, animals and questions that ask for specific dates as weaknesses.

Raised in a Conservative Jewish home, Keller became intrigued with the prospect of traveling to Israel after hearing about his younger brother’s experiences on a Taglit-Birthright trip.

But for his next public endeavor, Keller is thinking bigger, picturing himself in physical jeopardy while dashing around the world on The Amazing Race.

“There could be a bunch of different angles,” Keller said with a laugh. “My younger brother thinks we should go on together. I could do the brainy stuff, and he can do the physical stuff. Or maybe they’d want two long-running Jeopardy! champions [on a team].”

Discerning ear of Israeli Air Force crew saves pilot's life

SFC Haim Adani ordered an F-16 pilot to stand down before takeoff because

his gut told him the engine sounded wrong - and saved his life.

Gavriel Queenann (Published: 01/18/2012 - Arutz Sheva)

"And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment." (Philippians 1:9)

The roar of jet fighter engines up close shakes the body to the bone and jars the senses. But the deafening noise is as regular as breathing for IAF ground crews who service the planes at Israel's air bases.

Last week, one experienced ground technician, used to hearing the same voice from an F-16 fighter's engine, averted a fatal accident.

SFC Haim Adani, a technician attached to the "Knights of the North" squadron from Ramat David airbase, ordered his pilot and F-16 to stand down and remain on the ground at the last minute.

During a routine check before the flight, Adani identified a strange noise coming from the F-16's engine.

"I heard the sound a bit odd, and even though there was no reason to suspect something was really wrong, I decided to call someone senior and stop the flight," Adani said. "I just followed my gut feeling."

Later, after a detailed inspection, Adani's gut feeling was borne out when a critical fault was found in the engine.

"I'm very glad something much worse didn't happen," Adani said, "I'm not looking for praise, and I'm not looking for honor. I'm just glad I did my job."

"This is the height of professionalism for our technicians," Lt. Col. Moshe Abu, the squadron leader at Ramat David said. "Haim Adani proved he is possessed of the full array of values we expect from our ground crews: responsibility, safety, professionalism, leading by personal example and commitment."

Adani will be honored this weekend when he is awarded a commendation by the base commander for his excellent work.

Israeli eye surgeons give second chance of sight to the blind

Delegation of Israeli doctors sets up eye surgery camps in seven developing countries.

Itamar Eichner (Published: 01/12/12 - YNET)

"Wisdom is in the sight of him who has understanding, But the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth." (Proverbs 17:24)

Israeli doctors have recently restored the eyesight of more than 2,000 people in seven countries: Nepal, Myanmar, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Cambodia, the Maldives and Ethiopia.

The surgical operations were performed in special camps set up by MASHAV (Israel's Agency for International Development Cooperation, which is subject to the Foreign Ministry) in cooperation with the Eye from Zion organization and the Kahn Foundation.

All surgeons were Israeli ophthalmologists.

Eye Camps is a special operation aimed at restoring the eyesight of patients in developing countries which have no infrastructure for eye surgery. Israel sends a team of ophthalmologists who for two weeks perform cataract, oculoplastics and sight restoring surgical operations on dozens of patients.

The Israeli physicians also provide professional training and guidance to local teams engaging in ophthalmology. The locals are responsible for selecting the potential candidates for surgery and gathering them in a central hospital or any other suitable site.

The equipment required for the operations and post-surgery treatments is purchased by MASHAV and flown to the different countries through diplomatic mail.

Israel's Iron Dome Defense System is worthy of the prize.

Refael CEO asks council heads to endorse awarding anti-missile system's

developers with Israel Defense Prize. Not all responded affirmatively.

Ilana Curiel (Published: 01/19/2012 - YNET)

"Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the children of Zion be joyful in their King." (Psalm 149:2)

Council heads in southern Israel are divided as to whether the Iron Dome system is worthy of an Israel Defense Prize. "An endorsement would be to betray the residents' trust," Eshkol Regional Council head Haim Yalin told Ynet on Wednesday.

His counterpart in the Shaar Hanegev Regional Council, however claimed that the anti-missile system was "an exceptional project."

The council heads received a letter by Refael CEO Yedidya Ya'ari asking them to recommend that the developers of the system receive the Israel Defense Prize. "The system has proven in the short timetable since it became operational its capabolities in a large number of interceptions conducted with high success rates," the letter stated.

"The short time in which the system was developed is record breaking in the history of the development of missile systems of this scale in Israel and the world."

Eshkol Council head Yalin refused the request explaining that the system provides solutions for large cities in the south and not for residents of the Gaza vicinity communities. "Endorsing an award for a system which fails to help the residents which I represent means betraying their trust, my public duty and moral obligation to do everything in my power to protect the council's residents," Yalin explained.

Shaar Hanegev's Alon Schuster, however was quite keen to write a letter of recommendation. "This is an exceptional project and I cherish the strenuous work of those people who developed the system. If there are not enough Iron Dome batteries, and I accept the IDF's deployment logic, then the residents' houses must be fortified at the very least, and this is not being done," he said.

Ashdod Mayor Yehiel Lasri and Beersheba Mayor Rubik Danilovitch also agreed to recommend the system's developers. "Refael is a realization of the Zionist vision, a combination between a creative mind, faith and the triumph of the spirit.

They are worthy of an Israel Defense Price both on the security level and for daring and having imagination which are reflected in this groundbreaking technological development," Danilovitch said.