* Shares volatile on recession fear US shares have been volatile in early trading on Wall Street, after a slew of weak corporate earnings increased fears that a recession is on the way.

* EU foreign policy chief says hopes Syria-Israel talks continue The European Union’s foreign policy chief said Thursday he hopes indirect peace talks between Syria and Israel will continue and bring progress.

* Iraq takes over 12th province from US Iraq took control of the central Shiite province of Babil from US forces on Thursday in what officials declared was a further sign of security gains across the war-torn nation.

* Iran, Russia, Qatar move on natural gas cartel Russians, Qataris and Iranians met in Teheran on Tuesday to discuss setting up a natural gas cartel, similar to the oil-based Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

* Financial woes to top Beijing talks Leaders from Europe and Asia have begun gathering in China for a meeting set to be dominated by talks on measures to counter the global financial crisis.

* Larijani: Iran prefers Obama Iranian parliament speaker says his country is leaning towards Democratic candidate in US presidential election ‘because he is more flexible and rational’.

* Nuclear materials secretly transported Enough processed uranium to make six nuclear weapons was secretly transported thousands of miles by truck, rail and ship on a month long trip from a research reactor in Budapest, Hungary, to a facility in Russia so it could be more closely protected against theft, U.S. officials revealed Wednesday.

* Israel Prays for Rain, Thunderstorms Drench Western Galilee Up to two inches of rain drenched the Haifa area Wednesday night and Thursday morning following a light drizzle Tuesday, when Jews began adding to prayer a reminder that the Almighty “causes the winds to blow and the rains to fall.”

* Livni expected to call elections if no coalition deal by Sunday Kadima Chairwoman and Prime Minister-designate Tzipi Livni is expected to announce on Thursday that she will call early elections if a deal to strike a coalition government is not sealed by next week.

* Georgia Says Russia Has 7,000 Troops in South Ossetia Russia has deployed as many as 7,000 soldiers in the separatist region of South Ossetia, leading Georgia to suspect “further provocations” following a five-day war in August, a Georgian Interior Ministry spokesman said.

By: – Robert Maginnis

The US and Iraq have reached an agreement that could govern American military activities until our troops leave. But the pact, which allows the Bush administration to put the seal on the Iraq war, is opposed by Tehran and influential Iraqis, potentially weakens American combat operations and removes some protections for Americans. In spite of these challenges, it is still perhaps the best deal available.

In October 2003 the United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution authorizing the American-led mission in Iraq. That resolution which expires this December 31 was intended to last only until Iraq regained a measure of stability and the Baghdad government gained a firmer grasp on the levers of power. Now that those aims are in sight, the negotiated pact, a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), is supposed to provide the basis for a long-term, stable relationship with Baghdad.

In theory, the proposed SOFA will govern the conduct of American forces in Iraq for the remainder of their time there. It is supposed to primarily deal with legal issues associated with American military personnel and property but the draft agreement also sets timelines for America’s withdraw, restricts combat operations and establishes new jurisdictions.

The Bush administration has always said that we would leave if and when the Iraqis said it was time to go. Apparently, that time has come and the draft agreement specifies that US troops must leave Iraqi cities by the end of June 2009 and be out of the country by 2012. Administration officials argue that the agreement includes sufficient caveats to address any future downturn in the security situation to allow Iraq to extend America’s presence for “training purposes” or to “support Iraqi security forces.”

The most controversial aspects of the pact for the US but not necessarily unusual for a SOFA are restrictions on combat operations. It creates a bureaucratic joint US-Iraqi committee to coordinate American military operations which could potentially cripple operations tied to time-sensitive intelligence. It also turns our combatants into law enforcement agents by prohibiting them from detaining Iraqi citizens without an Iraqi-issued warrant, searching property without judicial warrant (except in active combat in coordination with Iraqi authorities), and requires US forces to surrender detainees within 24 hours perhaps before valuable intelligence can be gathered.

Personnel jurisdiction is a hot button issue as well. In a significant concession, the agreement makes private American security companies like Blackwater Worldwide and other contractors subject to Iraqi justice in criminal cases.

Last year, Blackwater employees in Baghdad shot and killed Iraqis allegedly “without cause” according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. That incident created significant anger among Iraqi officials prompting them to insist on “the primary right to exercise jurisdiction” over American contractors.

By contrast, the US retains “primary” jurisdiction over soldiers and Pentagon employees for alleged offenses committed on American facilities or during military operations. This language is expected to shield troops from prosecution for accidentally killing civilians caught in the crossfire.

But Iraq would have the “primary right to exercise judicial jurisdiction” over “premeditated and gross felonies … committed outside the agreed facilities and areas and when not on a mission.” Iraqi foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari said that a joint committee would resolve jurisdiction disagreements.

On paper, the Iraqi judicial system guarantees the rights of the accused and is independent of outside interference. But instead of a jury, three Iraqi judges decide whether the accused committed the crime and imposes the sentence. Typically, the sentence is imposed immediately after the judges announce the verdict.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates indicates that “There is not a reason to be concerned” and promises that top US military officials “…are all satisfied that our men and women in uniform serving in Iraq are well protected.” But Senator Carl Levin, Democrat of Michigan, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said “I intend to reserve judgment as to whether the proposed agreement includes safeguards adequate to meet this standard until I have an opportunity for a more complete review.”

The SOFA, which is still subject to further review by both governments, must be approved by the majority of Iraq’s Council of Representatives — parliament — where there is plenty of opposition. Some of that opposition comes from its influential neighbor Iran.

Tehran has made no secret about its opposition to the US-Iraqi security pact. Officials like Iranian General Masoud Jazayeri have termed the agreement “a disgrace” and Iranian parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani warned the pact would have “unpleasant impacts” on Iraq-Iran relations.

Not surprisingly, Tehran has called for its rejection and accused Washington of pressuring the Iraqis to embrace the agreement. But Tehran appears to have gone beyond just verbal opposition to the pact.

US commander in Iraq General Ray Odierno accused Iran of “… coming in to pay off people to vote against” the SOFA and has used its Saddam-era contacts “… to attempt to influence the outcome of the potential vote.”

Odierno admits that there is no definitive proof of the bribes but adds “There are many intelligence reports” that suggest Iranians are “… coming in to pay off people to vote against it.”

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki slammed Odierno for the Iranian allegation. “The American commander has risked his position when he spoke in this tone and has regrettably complicated relations,” al-Maliki said. The prime minister’s remark underlines the delicacy of the issue of relations between Baghdad and Tehran.

But Odierno’s accusation was echoed by Kurdish Member of Parliament Mahmoud Othman, who claimed “Iran has been doing this for the last six months.” Othman, a vocal backer of the bilateral agreement, said the Iranians “… will try their best to influence anyone they can. They will tell people that it is dangerous, that this is not good for Iraq.”

The pact faces an uphill approval battle even without Iran’s interference. The Iraqi leadership has been torn between US demands as the price of continued operations, and resentment felt across Iraq about the continued American presence.

One of the opposition leaders is Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. On October 18, Sadr’s representative read a message from the cleric to a mass rally in Sadr City. Sadr, who is living in Iran, said through his spokesman that Iraq’s parliament must reject the pact because the SOFA will not end the US’ presence in Iraq and he contends it robs Iraq of its sovereignty. Sadr called on the Iraqi parliament to “… champion the will of the people over that of the occupier … Do not betray the people.”

Even mainline clerics have expressed concern about the pact. Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq’s pre-eminent Shiite cleric, has said any accord must have national consensus and must not violate Iraqi sovereignty. Other Shia and Sunni clerics have expressed concern that the Iraqi people know too little about the agreement.

After the announcement that an agreement had been reached, “Most of the political leaders asked for time to review the draft and then present their suggestions,” said Haider al-Abbadi, a senior member of DAWA, the party of Prime Minister al-Maliki. Abbadi thought it would take several more days before there was a clear sense of whether the pact could win approval. But Kurdish lawmaker Othman is skeptical. He warns that the backing for the SOFA is not solid.

Bush administration officials cautioned that while negotiators had finished their work, the draft accord still might be subject to changes as it moves through the ponderous Iraqi approval process.

The draft SOFA may well be the best the Bush administration can get. Like any compromise it provides less than either party wants but provides a framework for charting a future relationship that will hopefully lead to America’s withdraw leaving behind a democratic and stable Mideast partner.

* Top Iran officials recommend preemptive strike against Israel Senior Tehran officials are recommending a preemptive strike against Israel to prevent an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear reactors, a senior Islamic Republic official told foreign diplomats two weeks ago in London.

* Syria envoy: Future generations will pay if Israel scuttles peace talks Syria’s ambassador to the United States on Tuesday warned that should Israel scuttle peace negotiations with Syria, the citizens of each country will pay the price.

* China calls for cooperation on financial crisis Chinese President Hu Jintao expressed concerns over the ailing U.S. financial system in a phone conversation with U.S. President George W. Bush, state media reported Wednesday.

* Cleric in Iran issues fatwa against US-Iraqi pact An influential Iraqi cleric living in Iran on Wednesday issued a religious decree – a fatwa – blasting the US-Iraqi security pact that would keep American troops in Iraq for three more years and warned Iraqi leaders not to back the deal.

* Recession fears drag shares lower US stocks fell in opening trading in New York, echoing declines in Europe and Asia as fears of a global recession continued to hit investor confidence.

* OPEC faces tough test as oil price tumbles At the beginning of the year, OPEC producers felt confident that strong economic growth and tight supplies would keep oil prices high.

* Temple Mount Visit Cut Short by Arab Mob A mob of dozens of Arabs threatened and nearly surrounded a group of Jewish worshipers who visited the Temple Mount over the Simchat Torah holiday on Tuesday. The police told the Jews to leave.

* Diplomatic Sources: Nasrallah Ill from Chemical Murder Attempt Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah is seriously ill from a chemical attack nearly two weeks ago, according to Iraqi sources quoted by Beirut diplomats.

* Sarkozy in fresh call for eurozone ‘government’ French president Nicolas Sarkozy on Tuesday (21 October) renewed calls he made last week for the creation of an “economic government” for countries using the euro, in order to react better to crisis situations such as the current global financial turmoil.

* Turkey wants next gov’t to renew indirect Syrian talks Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said Monday he hoped the next Israeli government would continue the Turkish-mediated indirect talks with Syria.

* Top US, Russian military chiefs meet American and Russian military leaders met Tuesday for unannounced talks in Finland, the highest-level military meeting between the two countries since Russia’s war with US ally Georgia in August, a US Embassy official said.

* Libya seeks Russian arms Interfax quotes Russian arms source, says OPEC member may buy more than $2 billion in weapons, including surface-to-air missiles.

* Iran, Russia, Qatar mull forming OPEC-style natural gas cartel Iran, Russia and Qatar discussed the formation of an OPEC-style cartel among some of the largest natural gas producing nations on Tuesday, a prospect that has unnerved energy-importing nations in Europe and the United States.

* Iran sanction talks produce no result Senior diplomats from six world powers discussed on Monday the possibility of imposing new sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, but they failed again to reach consensus on how or whether to continue, US officials said.

* Abbas hints he might not leave office when his term ends Palestinian Authority Preisdent Mahmoud Abbas said Monday he was not intending to step down from office when his term ends in January 2009, hinting also that he would run again for PA president in 2010.

* 3 oil countries face a reckoning As the price of oil roared to ever higher levels in recent years, the leaders of Venezuela, Iran and Russia muscled their way onto the world stage, using checkbook diplomacy and, on occasion, intimidation.

* Russia set to invest heavily in space industry Russia will spend billions of dollars over the next three years to consolidate its leading role in the space industry, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday.

* Somali Piracy Shakes Confidence in Suez Canal Route The rise in piracy off the coasts of Somalia has shaken confidence in the Suez Canal as a safe passage linking the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea and has prompted shipping companies to seek out alternative routes that avoid the dangerous East African Horn waters.

* Iraq-U.S. Security Pact Fate Hangs in the Balance An Iraqi-U.S. security pact that would determine the presence of the U.S. forces in Iraq beyond the end of this year is hanging in the balance after Iraqi leaders refused to endorse what was to be the “final draft,” as further negotiations are expected to be held to resolve the toughest issues on which neither side seems to be budging.

* Switzerland, a Possible Target of Islamist Terrorism? Once considered the safest country in Europe, if not the world, Switzerland is now a potential target of a terrorist attack.

* Bush backs EU plan on global financial reform US President George W. Bush has backed the European idea of a series of global talks on reform of the world’s financial system, with the first summit set to be held shortly after the US presidential elections in November.

* Olmert Seeking Golan-Giveaway Agreement In light of reports that outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is trying to reach an agreement with Syria before he leaves office, a party colleague, MK David Tal, says: “Hands off the Golan.”

* Abbas: I was promised almost all of West Bank Palestinian president tell reporters in Ramallah that Prime Minister Olmert promised to give him ‘nearly all of the West Bank and east Jerusalem neighborhoods.

* Iran: Defeat in UNSC ‘obvious injustice’ Iran says its failure to win a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council was an “obvious injustice.”

* Saudi official presents new Israeli-Palestinian peace plan Turki al-Faisal, the former Saudi intelligence director and a member of the royal family, presented a proposal for Israeli-Palestinian peace at a conference yesterday.

* Disarray at Turkish terror trial The trial of 86 people in Turkey on charges including armed insurrection and aiding a terror group has adjourned after chaotic opening scenes.

* Egypt pushes for Palestinian unity government Cairo invites Fatah, Hamas to attend talks which would deal with establishment of PA unity cabinet ahead of January elections, integration of Hamas, Islamic Jihad factions into PLO.

* Turkey: Syria-Israel talks should resume Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said he wants Turkish-mediated indirect talks between Syria and Israel to resume.

* The Next U.S. President and the Middle East The Arabs should be aware that pressure is mounting in the United States to reduce dependence on Middle East oil Ð in other words to reduce oil imports.

* Peres grants Livni two more weeks to form coalition gov’t President Shimon Peres on Monday granted Kadima leader Tzipi Livni a two-week extension to put together a coalition government.

By: David Smith – The Jerusalem Post

For centuries Jews have remembered and mourned the destruction of the Temple through traditions such as crushing a glass at weddings or leaving unpainted a patch of wall opposite the entrance to one’s home – each stressing that nothing can be perfect or complete without the Temple.

Temple Institute Director Yehuda Glick
Photo: David Smith

Built by Solomon in about 950 BCE and destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BCE, the Temple was rebuilt about 70 years later but finally razed by the Romans in 70 CE.

Talmud scholar Rabbi Yohanan wrote: “During these times that the Temple is demolished, a person is not allowed to fill his mouth with laughter. This is because the verse [Psalms 126] says, ‘Then our mouths will be filled with laughter,’ and does not say ‘Now our mouths will be filled with laughter.’ And when is ‘then’? ‘Then’ will be when the Third Temple is rebuilt.”

In other words, “Jewish life without the Temple is like fish out of water,” says Rabbi Chaim Richman, head of the international department of the Temple Institute.

An author of 10 books on the Temple, Richman adds: “Do you realize that 202 commandments out of 613 must have the Temple to be fulfilled? Without the Temple, Judaism is a skeleton of what it’s supposed to be.”

To this end, the Temple Institute was founded in 1987 with the explicit goal of rebuilding the Temple. Located in the Jewish Quarter, some 100,000 visitors, about half of them Christian, visit the institute each year to learn about the First and Second Temples and preparations for the Third Temple.

The Second Temple
Photo: Courtesy

The institute is presently involved in education, research and constructing vessels for use in the longed-for Temple.

Richman relates a story about Temple Institute founder Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, a paratrooper who helped liberate the Old City, including the Western Wall and the Temple Mount, in June 1967.

A Jordanian Muslim guide led the soldiers around the Temple Mount explaining where the Temple and other fixtures, such as the menora and altar, had stood. When asked why he was helpful, the guide explained, “We have a tradition that one day the Jews would win a war and rebuild the Temple. This is my contribution. I assume you’re starting tomorrow.”

Although Temple Institute staff have been called lunatics, zealots and racists by some, they maintain that there is nothing more natural for the Jewish faithful to do than make preparations for the Third Temple.

“The hallmark of the Third Temple is unparalleled peace and harmony,” says Richman. “I believe that the best that a Jew can do is to have the integrity to believe and do as much as possible toward building the Temple.”

According to Richman the first step in this process is soul searching. “The answer is returning to our spiritual roots. This adds up to building up the holy Temple. It’s the vehicle that builds up reconciliation between God and man… not just Jewish people.”

To achieve this, the Temple Institute aims “to rekindle the flame of the holy Temple in the hearts of mankind” through various educational initiatives. Toward that end the institute invests about $500,000 yearly in publications, tours and seminars as well as maintenance of its Web site.

But the long-term goal, Richman says, is “to do all in our limited power to bring about the building of the holy Temple in our time.”

How exactly this will be achieved is a point of contention.

According to Temple Institute director Yehuda Glick, many devout Jews believe the Temple “will come down somehow from heaven.”

He insists a legend like that can be very hard to overcome, even though no Jewish sources support the idea.

“We must understand that ‘heavenly’ doesn’t automatically mean mystical, superficial magic. During the Six Day War, the people of Israel were facing a major catastrophe and, in human eyes, we had no chance – we were to be wiped out. In six days we overcame enemies from every border and reunited Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel. That is no less a miracle,” says Glick.

“So too when we look back at 1938 [before the Holocaust] and see we were almost wiped out,” he continues. “Who would have believed we were just 10 years from seeing the words of the prophets coming out of the Book and materializing [the establishment of Israel].

“We have total faith that we are to do what we are obligated to do. He has His ways to surprise us. But it must come from a wide-range call and action.”

RABBI MOSHE Silberschein, a professor of rabbinic literature at the Hebrew Union College, affirms the educational efforts of the Temple Institute. “I think the institute has educational value, helping children to see with their own eyes what they read about in the Bible and Mishna. It has value in helping them to visualize what the sacred service was like during the Second Temple period of Jewish history.”

Still, Silberschein does have some misgivings about the institute “once the institute goes beyond teaching history, heritage and sacred texts, and starts talking about building the Third Temple.” If, for example, a bulldozer were brought in to clear the path for the building of a Third Temple, that would be “tantamount to starting World War III,” he says. “This is hardly an auspicious way to fulfill the biblical verse in Isaiah 56, ‘For My House shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations.'”

Rabbi David Forman, former director of the Israel office of the Union for Reform Judaism, also takes issue with the institute’s aims. “I’m opposed for two reasons: one is purely ideological/theological, and the second is practical/political,” says Forman. “Firstly, the reconstruction of the Temple would thrust us back to a time where the expression of worship for God was exercised through sacrifice. According to our tradition, when the Temple was destroyed, the notion of sacrifice went by the wayside, and instead, in the rabbinic period, a new form of worship came into being – prayer – which seems to be a far more civilized way of asking, praising, thanking and praying to God.

“Secondly, it [rebuilding the Temple] would be terribly disruptive because of the emotional attachments the three monotheistic religions have to Jerusalem, the holy city, and to alter it and the status of the holy sites in any way that would impinge on spiritual longing would be a recipe for disaster and could lead not just to a local conflagration but to a wider one given the tension it would create,” he explains, adding that “it would exacerbate an already sensitive situation that would engage the entire world community and certainly the Islamic community.”

Eda Haredit spokesman Shmuel Poppenheim adds: “Hitgarut ha’umot [inciting nations] is forbidden… it awakens hate and repulsion, and could create a disastrous chain of events that would impede the coming of the Messiah.

Also, “In our days it is forbidden to enter the Temple Mount, which [institute founder] Ariel encourages. This is very grave and punishable by karet [premature death],” he continues. “But our main opposition [to the Temple Institute] is Ariel’s premise that we are redemption-bound… His nationalism damages the pure faith of the Jews. Because of our sins we were exiled from the Land of Israel and the Temple; only our goodness and the will of God will rebuild the Temple, not our hands.

“It is problematic that Ariel mixes religious precepts, like redemption, with political principles like democracy and the State of Israel.”

WHEN ASKED how the Third Temple would come about, Richman responds: “I don’t do scenarios. I’m not shying away from the question. The Temple is not up to the Temple Institute, but up to the people of Israel. They have a representative government. Whether they’ll act in accordance with what it means to be a Jew, I don’t know.”

He quotes Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, who said, “If we were the people we’re supposed to be, the Muslims would come to us and ask, ‘Please build us a Temple.'”

Asked about the timetable for construction, Richman, an ordained rabbi who quotes Maimonides on Temple matters but draws popular wisdom from “rabbis” Mark Twain and Yogi Berra, laughs, “I don’t know, but I think we’re behind schedule.”

In the meantime, the Temple Institute focuses its energies on education and preparing vessels for use in the Third Temple.

A team of researchers, rabbis and scientists collaborate to ensure the needed items meet scriptural and rabbinic criteria. Beyond those standards, the craftsmen have artistic license to construct vessels as they deem appropriate.

“It’s a very complex process,” Richman explains. “Some items have taken over 10 years of research. We have groups of scholars who sift through superfluous information regarding concepts that have become completely forgotten or little is known of them. We are taking a section of Torah wisdom and reactivating it.”

Knowledge of the construction of Temple objects is so obscure that “many people have asked us if we’re allowed to do it. They ask, ‘Isn’t God supposed to do that?'”

Construction of the high priest’s breastplate is an example of the complexity involved. According to Exodus 28 the material had to be woven of “gold, sky blue, dark red, and crimson-dyed wool, and of twisted linen.”

Metalsmiths beat the gold into thin sheets, then cut it into fine threads to be woven into the material. The sky-blue color (techelet in Hebrew, said by the Mishna to resemble indigo) was a dye obtained from a snail known as hilazon.

The exact identification of this animal and the method used to produce the dye is the subject of extensive research. Most scholars today believe it to be the Mediterranean snail known as Murex trunculus.

“The dark red color, argaman in Hebrew, is also derived from a snail, possibly the Murex trunculus as well,” says Richman. “According to this theory, the difference in color is a product of the amount of time the substance is initially exposed to sunlight.”

The crimson color is produced from a worm referred to in the Torah as the “crimson worm,” tola’at shani in Hebrew, a mountain worm that has been identified as Kermes biblicus.

The Hebrew word that appears for “linen” is shesh, which means “six.” Researchers believe this requires each thread to be six-ply.

The 12 stones for the breastplate presented another problem since linguists don’t agree on what the ancient names intend. Extensive research eventually revealed that ancient stones were classified by color, not gem family.

“The final authority is the midrash, which explains that the 12 tribes of Israel each had a flag, and the flag color matched the color of the stone worn on the high priest’s breastplate representing that tribe. So there was maybe more than one stone to fit the requirement of the verse. We look at several criteria and find the best. That’s the goal… to find the best possible.”

TO DATE the institute has created more than 60 vessels for use in the Temple, which are on display at the institute. These include the showbread table, incense altar, and head and breast plates for the high priest.

One of the most expensive pieces is a golden menora showcased on a platform near the Western Wall. Made of a single piece of solid gold poured over a metal base, the half-ton fixture contains about 45 kilograms of gold and is valued at $3 million. Its design and construction was based on rabbinic sources as well as Roman-Jewish historian Josephus Flavius, himself a priest who served in the Temple. The absence of a red heifer presents a problem as its ashes must consecrate the articles in accordance with Numbers 19 and rabbinical instruction. Otherwise the priests would have to use the vessels in a state of impurity. Citing security concerns, Richman would not comment on the search for the red heifer. The institute has also begun mass production of priestly garments. It recently received rabbinic authorization to use special sewing machines to produce the apparel, bringing the price of each garment down from about $10,000 to $800.

Dozens of kohanim (members of the priestly line dating to Aaron) have placed their orders.

Until construction on the Third Temple can begin, the institute seeks to build a World Center for Temple Knowledge outside Jaffa Gate.

Slated for construction in 2012, the 2,500-square-meter facility will offer a 3-D experience of “going up to the Temple” as well as in-depth exhibits and galleries.

These and other projects aside, the institute’s long-term goal is to rebuild the Temple, which Richman insists must be preceded by a shift in thinking.

“Everything that goes on in this country relates to the spiritual struggle behind it all – especially with the people of Israel. It’s all about a total struggle about who we are and what our destiny is. We’re not called to be the best doctors and lawyers and Hollywood producers – that is not our destiny. We’re called to be a nation of priests,” he says.

“The Temple is a real litmus paper test of that equation. We are talking about the big existential question: Who are we?”

* Temple time? For centuries Jews have remembered and mourned the destruction of the Temple through traditions such as crushing a glass at weddings or leaving unpainted a patch of wall opposite the entrance to one’s home.

* The Real World: The Russian Navy Back in the Med Are happy days here again – for the Russian navy? The Russian Federation is redeploying a part of the Black Sea Fleet to its Cold War hunting grounds in the Mediterranean.

* Will Arabs hit the polls? In 2000, there were about 200,000 Arabs living in east Jerusalem. By now, they number about 267,000.

* Israel backs UNSC’s refusal of Iran Iran lost its bid to become a temporary member of the UN Security Council on Friday.

* Iraqis stage mass anti-US rally An estimated 50,000 protesters chanted slogans such as “Get out occupier!”.

* Peres: Falling oil prices hurt Iran The fall of oil prices due to the international financial crisis could lessen Iran’s ability to threaten Israel.

* Bush to hold crisis talks with EU US President George W Bush is to hold talks on the financial crisis with his French counterpart, Nicolas Sarkozy, and EC President Jose Manuel Barroso.

* Farrakhan Says ‘New Beginning’ For Nation of Islam The Nation of Islam, a secretive movement generally closed to outsiders, has planned a rare open-to-the public event at its Chicago-based headquarters.

* China to help build 2 Pakistan nuclear plants Pakistan said Saturday that China will help it build two more nuclear power plants.

* Iran demands Russia finish work on Bushehr reactor “Iran expects Russia to honor its commitments and complete the construction of the nuclear reactor in Bushehr in accordance with the agreed-upon schedule.”

By: Ariel Cohen – Middle East Times

Are happy days here again – for the Russian navy? The Russian Federation is redeploying a part of the Black Sea Fleet to its Cold War hunting grounds in the Mediterranean. Returning to bases and anchorages in Syria and Libya is a top priority for the Russian admirals.

During the Cold War era the Soviets emphasized interdicting Western aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines in the Mediterranean to prevent them from launching strikes against targets within the Soviet homeland. The Mediterranean remains a key area of interest for Russian nuclear deterrence strategy, while deterring a war against Syria by the presence of the Russian forces demonstrates Moscow’s clout to other countries.

The Mediterranean Fifth Flotilla of the Soviet navy left the Mediterranean in 1991. In 1999, a Russian military intelligence ship resupplied in the Syrian port of Tartus while spying on NATO operations in the former Yugoslavia.

Tartus is the only foreign naval base maintained by the Russians since they abandoned Cam Rahn Bay in Vietnam back in 2002. The base at Tarsus, the 720th Logistics Support Point, has been used for maintenance and refueling since the 1971 Syrian-Soviet Defense Treaty. The Cold War era facility is relatively small, boasting a floating dock and three floating PM-61 piers. But the Russian Federation has begun to expanding the facility and is preparing to defend it with S-300PMU-2 anti-air missile systems.

The other Syrian port, Latakia, is also being expanded and dredged in preparation to base Russian ships. In the context of Russian military and naval expansion, these steps signify intent to establish a permanent, sustainable naval presence in the Mediterranean. Such presence may provide some deterrent to the NATO forces and may eventually threaten the Suez Canal and Israel.

The primary motivation for the Mediterranean expansion is Russia’s desire to project power and influence throughout the region while reaching out to “old friends”, such as Syria. Russian vessels on their way to Venezuela took care to pay visits to another potential Russian regional ally – Moammar Gadhafi’s Libya.

According to Russian naval sources, ships which may be deployed to Tartus include Russia’s only aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, the missile cruiser Moskva and several nuclear power attack submarines (SSNs) or nuclear guided missile submarines (SSGNs).

The Admiral Kuznetsov was designed to protect the Soviet submarine fleet, interdict Western submarine forces, and destroy Western carrier groups with its supersonic Granit SS-N-19 anti-ship cruise missiles. It carries 24 Sukhoi-33 fighters (Flanker-D) comparable with the U.S.’s F-14s. Admiral Kuznetsov is designed to conduct air superiority and air defense operations using its aircraft and its 3K95 Kinzhal missile defense system.

Experts believe that Russia has had significant difficulty keeping more than a small portion of its naval forces operational. Many of them were constructed in Mykolai’iv (Nikolayev), in today’s Ukraine. Yet, reports abound that Moscow launched a number of programs updating its Soviet-era naval assets, including cruisers, destroyers, and submarines.

Recent increases in Russian military spending and operational readiness, as well as the expansion of port facilities at Tartus, will improve the capacity of the Russian Black Sea fleet and its Mediterranean squadron, to act. Until Russia can revitalize its naval forces to a much larger degree, its deployments to the Mediterranean contribute more to symbolic and diplomatic activity than being a viable military counterweight to NATO in the region. Yet, the Black Sea Fleet in the Mediterranean is a significant show of force, a diplomatic irritant and a potential threat to the shipping in the Suez Canal and to America’s ally, Israel.

Western forces in the Mediterranean are massive. NATO naval forces include the U.S. Sixth Fleet as well as British, French, Italian and Spanish fleets. The U.S. navy contributes vessels to the Sixth Fleet, such as the Nimitz-class supercarrier, at least one of which is assigned to the Sixth Fleet’s operational area at any given time.

The Sixth Fleet alone outnumbers the Russian Black Sea fleet (of which only a portion has been sent to the Mediterranean) in aircraft, armaments, electronic warfare capabilities, computer power, and personnel. Yet, NATO naval planners need to watch Russian advances in Europe’s strategic underbelly.

The Kremlin seeks to cultivate Syria as a close regional ally, and is looking to secure additional bases for the Black Sea fleet, beyond its current base in Sevastopol. In addition, Russia would also be able to deploy electronic intelligence gathering ships that could then improve its monitoring capabilities against NATO forces and Syria’s ability to monitor NATO and Israeli transmissions, expanding the previous naval intelligence engagement during the Balkan wars. Finally, Russian naval forces could deter or disrupt Israeli naval or air assets deployed in wartime against Syria or Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Syria is pursuing new arms deals with Russia, including the purchase of the modern aircraft, anti-aircraft missiles, and tanks. Iran is also involved in supporting Damascus. In 2007 alone, Iran reportedly financed Syrian purchases of Russian arms to the tune of $1 billion.

Iran and Syria, which have had a mutual defense treaty since 2004, train and equip Hezbollah, the biggest terrorist organization in the Middle East. Russia is cultivating both states as allies and as customers for Russian arms.

The Russian layered air defenses, both short-range TOR and long-range S-300 anti-aircraft systems, are able to provide a defensive envelope over the mysterious Syrian nuclear research activities, as well as the significant chemical weapons arsenal deliverable by Damascus’s short-range ballistic missiles, such as Syrian-produced SCUD-C and SCUD-D and, potentially, Russian-made Iskander-E (SS-X-26).

During the Soviet era, the USSR was able to project its naval power globally, with yearly naval maneuvers in the Caribbean and the North Fleet naval brigade in Conacri, Guinea, and Luanda, Angola. The 8th Operational Squadron of the Pacific Fleet had supply bases in Aden and Socotra (Yemen) and Dahlak (Eritrea), and in Berbera, Somalia. After the war in Georgia, the Black Sea navy is planning to deploy in Abkhazia, at the ports of Ochamchiri and Sukhumi.

For Moscow today, Tartus is only the first step in the long road to a renewed global naval presence.

* UN chief: Hizbullah must be disbanded UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned that Lebanon will not be a fully sovereign state until Hizbullah, and other militia groups are disbanded.

* US pushes for Iraq security deal US defence chief Robert Gates is seeking support from politicians on a draft deal to extend the US mandate in Iraq, which expires later this year.

* Analysts: Al-Qaeda awash in funds despite meltdown The meltdown in the global financial system may spare al-Qaeda.

* Somali Islamists threaten Kenya Somali Islamists say they will attack Kenya if it goes ahead with plans to train 10,000 government troops.

* Israel leads ME in approved arms purchases For the first time in years and in the face of Iran’s nuclear drive, Israel surpassed Saudi Arabia in arms purchases in 2008.

* OPEC calls emergency meeting as oil prices plummet Oil prices plummeted Thursday, falling below $70 a barrel for the first time in 16 months, prompting the OPEC oil cartel to call for an emergency meeting next week.

* Thousands Visit Judea, Samaria Tourist Sites Several tourist sites in Judea and Samaria have boasted thousands of visitors each day during the intermediate days of Sukkot.

* Iran seeks Security Council seat Voting is to begin shortly at the UN headquarters in New York to decide which nations will serve as temporary members of the Security Council.

* Bush to Assad: Sever Ties with Iran and Take the Golan Heights U.S. President George W. Bush offered Syrian President Bashar Assad a secret deal to pull Israel out of the Golan Heights.

* Barroso and Sarkozy plead for permanent EU presidency European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and French President Nicolas Sarkozy – currently chairing the EU – have urged the need for a permanent EU presidency.

* Tens of Thousands at Blessing of the Priests at the Kotel Thousands of Kohanim, Jewish men descended from members of the priestly class in the People of Israel, gathered at the Kotel (Western Wall) in Jerusalem.

* EU leaders call for global financial overhaul EU leaders were to wrap up a summit Thursday dominated by the financial crisis with a call for an overhaul of the global financial architecture.

* New IAF system will pinpoint Iranian missile targets in Israel The Israel Air Force is developing a computerized system to predict where a missile will land with considerable accuracy.

* Iraq reports progress on security pact Iraqi negotiators are reviewing a revised draft of a long-delayed draft security agreement to govern the conduct of American forces in Iraq.

* 35,000 take part in Jerusalem March More than 35,000 people took part in the annual Jerusalem March on Wednesday, thronging the streets of the capital in celebration of Succot.

* Iran hails world financial crisis as ‘end of capitalism’ Iranian leaders say the world financial crisis indicates the end of capitalism, the failure of liberal democracy and divine punishment.

* Hundreds more Christian families flee Iraq city The number of Christian families who have fled the northern Iraqi city of Mosul in the past week has reached 1,350.

* Livni Battling to Form New Israeli Government Israeli Foreign Minister and the leader of Israel’s ruling Kadima Party Tzipi Livni has just three weeks to cobble together a coalition government.

* ‘Lost’ synagogue reopens in Jerusalem’s Muslim Quarter A group of rabbis, politicians, philanthropists and right-wing activists gathered Sunday in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City to celebrate the reopening of a synagogue.

* Thousands Gather for Temple Congregation Ceremony The Temple Institute in Jerusalem’s Old City succeeded on Wednesday in arousing a spirit of longing for the Holy Temple amongst a crowd of thousands.