Subscribe to TNS Weekly Report by e-mail! Weekly News of Faith in Israel Week ending Shabbat, June 3, 2006 7 Sivan, 5766 Suicide Bombing Averted Two weeks ago, the Shin Bet [General Security Service] received information about a planned suicide attack in Jerusalem. On Monday, Haruv Brigades Commander Lieutenant-Colonel Arik Hen announced that two "Palestinian" Authority [PA] Arabs were caught Sunday night on their way to carry out a suicide bombing in Jerusalem. They were discovered during a night patrol near the village of Burin, south of Shechem [in the region of Samaria]. Israeli Defense Force [IDF] soldiers have been covering a wide area around the Arab city after the Shin Bet had received an intelligence alert of the impending attack. IDF soldiers ordered the two PA Arabs to stop, but they ran down an off-road path, tossing away a bag containing an explosive belt as they fled. The belt was equipped with a fifteen pound bomb along with nails and bolts added to maximize damage to victims. After the two were interrogated, an IDF official said the plot was a joint Islamic Jihad/Fatah/Popular Front scheme. Fatah-affiliated Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades terror organization was quick to claim credit for the attempted attack. Jewish Organizations Plan Huge Demonstration at World Cup Jewish and pro-Israel Christians in Europe are preparing a stormy welcome for Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during the World Cup, opening in Germany June 9. Ahmadinejad is expected to attend the opening match of the Iranian team against Mexico scheduled for June 11 in Nuremberg. Jewish organizations are planning to bring thousands of demonstrators who will be waving huge Israeli flags and attempting to prevent the Iranian president from entering the stadium. "The days are over when the Jews of Europe are afraid to speak out. We will embitter the life of the Iranian president even if we have to oppose the German police," said one of the pro-Israel leaders in Europe. The German government has said that it will not prevent Ahmadinejad from attending the World Cup since it is an athletic event and not political. Research Breakthrough May Help Women Conceive Recent and completely unexpected results of biopsies performed on women with fertility problems have led to a new path of scientific discovery that may hold hope for women trying to conceive. Professor Nava Dekel, with her team at the Weizmann Institute's Biological Regulation Department, began investigating a protein they suspected plays a role in the implantation of a fertilized egg in the uterus, which is a crucial, yet sometimes failure-prone process. The team took biopsies at several stages in the menstrual cycles of twelve women with long histories of fertility problems and unsuccessful In Vitro Fertilization [IVF] treatments to see if levels of this protein changed over the course of the cycle. In their research they found evidence pointing to the protein's role, but the surprise came soon after: of the twelve women participating in the study, eleven became pregnant during the next round of IVF! The idea of biopsy incisions [small wounds involving the removal and examination of tissue from the living body] leading to such a positive outcome was counterintuitive. Dekel realized something interesting was happening. She and her team repeated the biopsies, this time on a group of forty-five volunteers, and compared the results to a control group of eighty-nine women who did not undergo biopsy. The results were clear that this procedure doubled a woman's chances of becoming pregnant. On the basis of this and other evidence obtained from previous studies, the team members suggest that some form of mild distress, such as a biopsy, may provoke a response that makes conditions in the uterus favorable for implantation. Ex-CIA Head: Gaza Pullout was the Worst, Olmert's Plan Even Worse Ex-CIA Director James Woolsey condemned Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's plan, which, he says, represents a determination to reinforce failure. Woolsey summed up Olmert's plan as "the withdrawal of 50,000 to 100,000 Israeli settlers from 90% to 95% of the West Bank and major portions of Jerusalem," together with a redeployment of the IDF near the security fence currently under construction. He objects to the plan for the following reasons: This approach Bank was tried in Gaza and has failed utterly, "producing the worst set of results imaginable." Creating a West Bank that looks like today's Gaza would be many times worse, including rockets and shelling into virtually all of Israel. Not only Israel, but also moderate Jordan, would be threatened by a terrorist state. Israeli concessions make the U.S. look weak, and suggest that the U.S. is fleeing from terrorism once again instead of fighting it. Three Israeli attempts at accommodation with the Arabs - Oslo, Lebanon, and Gaza - have failed in the past thirteen years because they were based on the premise that only Israeli concessions can displace Palestinian despair. "But it seems increasingly clear that the Palestinian cause is fueled by hatred and contempt." Israeli concessions indeed enhance Palestinian hope, Woolsey wrote, "but not of a reasonable two-state solution - rather a hope that they will actually be able to destroy Israel ... When they speak of 'ending Israeli occupation' they mean of Tel Aviv." "Terrorists Shot at Me, I Was Saved by Miracle!" The well-planned terrorist attack occurred at around 10:00 Thursday morning. Yisrael Jarmon was on his way to Jerusalem, about a half-kilometer [north of] Ofrah, when two Arabs standing on the side of the road attacked his car. One threw a large rock, forcing him to slow down, while the other one opened fire. "I continued to drive, even as they fired at me," he said, "and miraculously made it safely to Ofrah." He had emerged without a scratch. Yoav Finkel of Ofrah, who arrived on the scene just after the gunfire, agreed that it was a miracle. "When you see where the bullets hit, you understand what happened here," he said. "Three bullets hit the car, including one in the steering wheel itself, and another one crashed through the driver's door. I saw two exit holes - one above the front passenger seat, and another one in the passenger-side door." Shavuot After Passover, the next biblical pilgrimage feast is the festival of Shavuot [or literally "weeks" – seven weeks], was celebrated Friday. "And you shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks, that is, the first fruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year" (Exodus 34:22). Traditionally on Shavuot, Jews eat of the seven species (wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates) which grow abundantly in Israel. Observant Jews stay awake all night on Shavuot studying the Torah because, according to tradition, thunder and lightning kept the children of Israel awake on the night Moses received the Law on Mount Sinai (see Exodus 20:18). The Book of Ruth is also read at this time since the Moabite woman helped her mother-in-law Naomi at the "harvesting of the wheat." The exact date of the passing down of the Torah (Exodus 19 and 20) is not specified in Scripture, Shavuot, the 3rd of Sivan, has been the traditional Jewish commemoration of receiving the Law. Many Christians also celebrate Shavuot, butmost still use the Greek term "Pentecost" [fifty days]. Tour Israel for Hanukkah Join us as we explore Israel from a genuine Biblical Zionists perspective. Meet the people who are continuing the Biblical narrative in the Land today. See for yourself how ancient prophesies are being fulfilled. Discover how you too can participate in the ongoing process of Biblical Redemption. Join us for an opportunity of a lifetime, to see the real Israel from the viewpoint of those who are living the Bible today. The experience will change your life. The tour has been coordinated and will be guided by Associate Pastor Jon Klein [pictured left]. More information | Questions Tzemach News Service [TNS] is a ministry of: Tzemach Institute for Biblical Studies This week's sources: Arutz Sheva, FIFAworldcup.com, GAMLA, Ha Aretz, Israel National News, Israel Today, pregnancy-info.net.