On Tuesday, April 17, some fifty Rabbis, students, and laymen staged a sit-in protest calling on the United Nations Secretary General to expel Iran from the international body for its threats to wipe the State of Israel off the map. The protest began with a demonstration at the Iranian mission to the UN, and continued with a march through the streets of New York to the Isaiah Peace Wall. Under this wall, bearing Isaiah's prophecy of world peace, the group of distinguished Jewish leaders acted on the prophet's declaration: "For Zion's sake I will not be silent and for Jerusalem's sake I will not be still." In a glaring act of civil disobedience, the US Jewish leaders sat down on the busy New York City sidewalk obstructing pedestrian traffic.

New York City police warned the activists to voluntarily clear the way or face arrest and charges of disorderly conduct. The Rabbis chose the latter. One by one, they were handcuffed and hauled away. Three paddy-wagons of rabbis, students, and lay leaders were brought to Central Booking where they joined together in a spirited afternoon Mincha prayer service. They were later released. The event was organized by Rabbi Avi Weiss' Amcha Coalition for Jewish Concerns.

All streams of American Judaism were represented. Participating Rabbi, Mark Ankcorn said, "There were Orthodox, Conservative, Traditional, and Reform rabbis all in custody for protesting at the UN, and I was proud to be with them."

The Jews of Peace House in Hevron feel they are there to stay. Defense Minister Amir Peretz announced last month that he plans to evict the Jewish purchasers of a building in Hevron, because the sale had not been approved by his Ministry. Attorney General Menachem Mazuz then put the brakes on this plan, saying the Jews had to first be given a right to appeal. Saturday night, Peretz's office announced that the purchasers' appeal had not been received, and that it would therefore issue eviction orders the next morning (Sunday) reported Haaretz.

A phone call to Hevron Jewish Community spokesman Noam Arnon, however, produced an entirely different story. "We sent our appeal last Thursday, but apparently the Civil Administration office neglected to inform the Defense Minister's office. But Peretz, instead of investigating further, rushed to announce that we had not appealed and that he was evicting us." "This just shows another example of the irresponsibility of Peretz and his people," Arnon said, "just as the Winograd Commission found. Peretz is interested only in throwing us out of our home - as if he has nothing else to worry about..."

Efrat's Chief Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, who immigrated together with many members of his congregation in New York City to Gush Etzion, took part in the event. "Our presence in this place is required in order to rectify the mistake of the expulsion that took place two years ago, and also due to security and settlement needs," Riskin told those gathered. Activists made the necessary preparations at the site for foundations to be poured for a permanent structure there. Others planted trees. Women in Green Director Nadia Matar said that the event was but the first step in the settlement of the site, as well as a return to the norms of settling Judea and Samaria openly and with pride. The new building is in a critical location as far as the Jewish presence in Hevron is concerned. It stands on the street that links the large Jewish suburb Kiryat Arba with the Jewish neighborhood of Hevron - and thus connects the two areas. Some fifteen families, along with several dozen yeshiva students, are now living in the large four-story building, which has 3,500 square meters of floor space. The Jews originally moved into the building some six weeks ago, after it was purchased by a Jewish American businessman through a Jordanian real estate agency for $700,000. The house has become a cultural center of sorts, hosting post-wedding Sheva Brachot celebrations, extracurricular activities for children, and the like. The new Jewish owners immediately announced the building's name as Beit HaShalom - Peace House. However, much of the Israeli media, taking their lead from the ultra-leftist Peace Now group (which has set as its goal the erasure of all Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria), has referred to the building only as "Conflict House." Spokesman Arnon said that this was typical of the "fascist press that rules in this country."

Previously archived reports on the "Peace House": April 14; April 7; March 24, 2007.

Justice Eliyahu Winograd read aloud the findings of his government-appointed commission's partial report on the Second Lebanon War late Monday afternoon; many said that they were even harsher than had been expected. Winograd explained that the findings are limited to the days just prior to the beginning of last summer's war against Hizbullah. The commission found that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert bears the ultimate and overall responsibility for what it called the "faulty and improperly-judged decisions" made regarding the outbreak of the Second Lebanon War. "There was a weakness in strategic thinking... They went into war without thinking how they would get out of it."

"The entire government supported the decisions," the report states, "but it must be emphasized that these decisions were made in a faulty manner - mainly by Olmert, Peretz and Halutz... Responsibility for these decisions is shared by others, but is chiefly theirs - and primarily that of the Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert." The report's main points include the following:

• "The decision to carry out an extreme military operation [in response to the kidnapping of the two Israeli soldiers on the Lebanese border] was not based on a careful analysis of the situation in Lebanon... It was rather overly-ambitious and unrealistic... The capacity to attain genuine accomplishments was limited... Olmert said he would fight until the objectives were achieved, but the fighting was not done in a manner designed to achieve these goals... He did not ask for a detailed plan from the army..."
• "Olmert bears the ultimate responsibility... He is responsible for the fact that the goals were not clearly or cautiously set, and for the fact that there was no coordination between these goals and how they might be achieved... He acted without organized consultation with other bodies, such as the National Security Council and the mini-security Cabinet... Even after he saw that the initial assumptions were not practical or implemented, he continued on. All of this adds up to a grave error and great misjudgment."

The report also castigated Defense Minister Amir Peretz and ex-IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General (retired) Dan Halutz. Winograd said the Defense Minister "did not have the required knowledge or the experience in security or diplomatic matters, or in how to use military strength to achieve objectives. Despite this, he made decisions without consulting others, and did not give sufficient weight to differing opinions... He did not take into account the army's lack of readiness... His influence on decisions was only on local matters; he did not try to grasp or deal with the overall picture. His lack of experience and knowledge weakened the government's ability to deal with the challenges."

The Winograd Commission did not find fault with Olmert for appointing the inexperienced Peretz as Defense Minister, leaving this "political issue" to be judged by the public. Winograd termed the Chief of Staff as the top officer of the army and the man responsible for presenting military options to the government. "His involvement was dominant, but he was not ready when the kidnapping occurred; he acted impulsively and did not accurately present the complexity of the situation to the government. He gave the impression that the army was ready... He did not present plans to the government, nor the fact that the army was not prepared for a ground operation, and the fact that this might be critical to its performance in a war situation. His responsibility is multiplied because of the lack of experience of Olmert and Peretz..." "At the same time," Winograd said, "though the responsibility of the above three is supreme, many others were partner to the above problems." He noted that Hizbullah's readiness was not dependent on Israel, and its ability to "sit on our border and build up its military capabilities" was the result of our unilateral withdrawal from Lebanon in May 2000. In addition, the lack of readiness was the responsibility of previous governments, and the fault of false and out-dated conceptions that did not take into account the entire realm of threats against Israel.

Justice Winograd blamed the Cabinet of Israel for not fulfilling its duty and not trying to understand the threats, not delving into the issues, and wrongly depending too much on those who made the decisions. The Commission also found fault with officers in the IDF General Staff who knew the problems but did not warn of them sufficiently. The Winograd Commission recommended that Cabinet ministers be more fully informed and involved in decision-making; that the Foreign Ministry be more involved in issues that could have diplomatic ramifications; improvements in the National Security Council; and the formation of a Crisis Management Center in the Prime Minister's Bureau.

Prime Minister Olmert "appointed the committee and will honor its conclusions," an aide said, while emphasizing that Olmert has no plans to resign. Upon receiving the report this afternoon, Olmert thanked the Commission members for their hard work, and said, "I will study the report in order to be able to learn the lessons and correct the faults and ensure that the faults will not repeat themselves."

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni (photo with Olmert right) says that she told Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in a private meeting Wednesday that in light of the severe conclusions of the Winograd Commission report, he should step down from office. Livni clarified that she is not resigning from her position as foreign minister and will not act to bring down the government. "The decision whether to resign is Olmert's, and I am merely expressing my opinion in public." Livni said that her ruling Kadima party should select another person to lead the party and take over as prime minister if and when Olmert steps down. She said that she has nothing personal against Olmert, and is not joining those who wish to oust him. Livni clarified that she will not vote in favor of Knesset no-confidence motions designed to bring down the government. "General elections are not what the country needs right now," she said.

Thursday evening organizers of a Tel Aviv rally against the continued leadership of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that more than 150,000 Israelis attended the event. While a number of prominent politicians were also in attendance, the gathering was addressed only by normal Israelis, who expounded on why Olmert and his government cannot continue to lead the nation in the wake of the Winograd Commission's damning review of its performance during last summer's Second Lebanon War. The organizers, who include bereaved families and Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reservists, said the rally was just the opening shot of a public campaign that will continue until Olmert steps down or is removed.

The Tzemach Institute has joined forces with the Christian Friends Of Israeli Communities (CFOIC) in planning a special tour of the heartland of biblical Israel. 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 with Sondra Baras of CFOIC and will be guided by Associate Pastor Jon Klein [pictured left].
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