North American Aliyah (immigration to Israel) will reach a 25-year record high this year. Immigrants will be arriving on twelve flights this summer. The number of Jews moving to Israel from North America has steadily climbed for the past five years, with 3,200 in 2006. Some seventy percent of North American immigrants are under age 35 (forty percent under eighteen). Nefesh b'Nefesh flights of immigrants are expected on July 8 (from Canada), 9 (US), 11 (UK), 30 (US), 31 (UK), August 6 (US), 12 (Canada), 13 (US), 14 (UK & US), 20 (US) and September 3 (US). The Jewish Agency will hold a send off reception in New York City Monday for three hundred area residents who are making the move in the coming weeks. Similar farewell receptions have already been held in Toronto, Boston, Miami, and Rockville, Maryland. The farewell reception in New York City will take place on Monday at the American Israel Friendship House, 136 East 39th Street, at 5:00 p.m.

Nefesh B'Nefesh has launched a new web site called LettersFromHome.co.il aimed at allowing olim to reach out and let those back in the 'Old Country' know how the Aliyah process is going and what life is like in Israel. The steadily growing roster of immigrants outlines motivations for Aliyah, struggles to overcome and options for professional pursuit following Aliyah. Their email addresses are also included, allowing potential immigrants to contact directly individuals who can answer specific questions from a first-hand perspective.

The Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and police revealed Monday morning a sting operation that resulted in the arrest of eleven Hamas officials who led an effort to take over the Temple Mount from the Jordanian Wakf. Ten of those arrested possess cards identifying themselves as Israeli citizens. One of the detainees is thirty-nine-year-old Nasser Yaakuv Abu S'oud, who carried out money transfers for Hamas and other activities for the group on the Temple Mount. Abu S'oud was not directly involved in weapons-related activities, nor was forty-seven-year-old businessman Amin S'wini. He was also involved in funds transfers and other Hamas activity in the capital. "Their goal is to gain full control over the Temple Mount," a security official said, adding that the Hamas terrorist party has built a bathroom and expanded its library and prayer rooms at the Temple Mount.

Hamas, funded by Syria, Iran and other Arab nations, has invested millions of dollars in the Temple Mount site, where it has conducted tours and preached Hamas ideology. The terrorist organization has provided social services support to low-income Arabs living in eastern Jerusalem neighborhoods, thus cementing its support in the population. Shin Bet sources reported Hamas terrorists have used the identity cards to operate throughout Israel, gaining grassroots support among the "Palestinian" Authority and Israeli Arab population, which it uses to recruit new members. Covert surveillance by security personnel has revealed that the terrorist organization, which took over Gaza in a bloody civil war with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah organization, is working actively to consolidate its control over the Temple Mount complex. "If it wasn't for this operation, Israel could have been dealt a harsh blow," said a senior Shin Bet official.

"We have to replace the conception of a two-state solution – it is not relevant anymore," said former Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General (res) Moshe Yaalon Thursday morning. "This is not pessimism, but realism. It is not practical to keep assuming it is the answer."

"We are trying to find answers for the situation in Gaza without diagnosing the problem," the previous Israeli Defense Force (IDF) chief said. "What we are witnessing in Gaza is the establishment of a Jihadist Islamic society."

Yaalon said that any talk of negotiations and withdrawing to the 1967 borders pushes peace farther away. "These are movements that are not interested in territorial issues between us and the Palestinians, but in other issues altogether. This was proven with the Disengagement and now is our opportunity to look and learn. It was a victory in their eyes for the global Jihad and gave strength to Hizbullah, Hamas and all the other Islamist groups."

Yitzchak Herskovitz fought in court against Arab squatters from Bethlehem for fifteen years over his property. An initial victory was followed by an appeal, during which the squatters promised to pay him rent and later refused. Police told Herskowitz he had one day to pay for police protection in order to remove the squatters and take control of his land, which is located on Jerusalem's Derech Hevron Street, just past the Sonol station on the right, before the turn to Givat HaMatos and then to Gilo.

The land was purchased from the estate of an Armenian Christian in 1972 by a Jewish man who lived in Los Angeles and bought it while visiting Israel. He sold it to Herskovitz, who researched the ownership and deeds extensively before buying the property in 1992. An Arab from Bethlehem's infamous Tamra clan invaded the property, which was unoccupied at the time by the owner, and moved into the area with his three sons. The squatters then refused to budge, claiming that the original owner had defaulted on a loan from him. Herskovitz brought in handwriting and document experts who proved that the loan document was a fraud – that the date had been tampered with and that the writer of the document was the same as the one who had signed it. Police refused to evict the occupants without court order. "I spent over fifteen years in the court battle to obtain a judgment and order of eviction," Herskovitz said. "But now that I've won, the Arabs are attempting to turn this into an emotional and political battle."

The Land of Israel Faithful Organization is planning to establish five new settlements in Judea and Samaria in the coming weeks and months. Yehudit Katzover, a group official, explained that the new communities will not be small hilltop outposts like the ones the Israeli government is under US pressure to remove, but rather will be large neighborhoods with permanent housing and thousands of residents. The organization is already recruiting families to live in the new communities. "We have forgotten the basics. Everything now has become checkpoints and fences and retreats. We must be connected with the Land of Israel, and not let our enemies take it over," stressed Katzover. Another Land of Israel Faithful spokesperson, Datia Yitzhaki, said that Israelis have "had enough of hiding behind protective walls and defensiveness and withdrawals. It's time to reclaim the pioneering spirit we once had, and start populating the Land again."

The first community to be built will be a 2,500-home suburb of the Judean town of Efrat. The hill where the homes are to be built is within the municipal boundaries of Efrat, but is slated to be outside of Israel's "West Bank" security fence, effectively surrendering it to the Arabs living in Israel. Construction on another community south of Efrat on the road to Hebron and three more in Samaria will follow shortly after.

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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