update from Aipac

Party Platforms Affirm Bipartisan Support for U.S.-Israel Relationship
The 2008 Democratic and Republican national platforms emphasize the strength of the U.S.-Israel alliance and reaffirm America's commitment to ensuring that Israel maintains its qualitative military edge in the Middle East. The Democratic platform was ratified in Denver last week; the Republican platform was ratified on Monday in Minneapolis-St. Paul. The parties each declare that Jerusalem should remain the undivided capital of Israel. In addition, the platforms underscore the danger of Iran's nuclear program, noting that stronger diplomatic and financial sanctions against the Islamic Republic are needed. For decades, the U.S.-Israel relationship has transcended partisan divisions and has enjoyed the support of the overwhelming majority of the American people. Click here to learn more about the importance of American support for Israel.
Iran Says 4,000 Atomic Centrifuges Working
A top Iranian official said Friday that Iran has 4,000 working nuclear centrifuges, in line with a number verified by the U.N. atomic watchdog, The Washington Post reported. "There are currently close to 4,000 centrifuges active at Natanz enrichment facility... Another 3,000 centrifuges are being installed," Deputy Foreign Minister Alireza Sheikh Attar told state television. Iran says it plans to move toward large-scale uranium enrichment that will ultimately involve 54,000 centrifuges that could churn out enough enriched material for dozens of nuclear weapons. Tehran's continued enrichment activity violates multiple binding U.N. Security Council resolutions demanding that the Islamic Republic suspend its illicit atomic work. Click here to learn more about the need for tougher sanctions against Iran.
Pro-al Qaeda Fighters Train in Hamas-Run Gaza Strip
Jaysh al-Ummah, a Palestinian terrorist group active in the Gaza Strip and modeled on the ideology of al Qaeda, is training for battle with Israel, Reuters reported. "We are coming, Jews," read graffiti daubed on a wall inside its private training base in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. The group's leader, Abu Hafss, said Muslims worldwide were obliged to fight the Israelis and the "infidels" until only Islam rules the earth. "The sons of Zion are occupiers and they must be uprooted completely," Abu Haffs said, in reference to the entire state of Israel. "We will fight them as we are ordered by God and the Prophet Mohammad." Israel has long been on the frontline of the war against radical Islam.
Israel Thwarts Hizballah Kidnapping Attempts
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak last week confirmed that Israeli security forces had recently foiled two attempts by the Lebanon-based terrorist army Hizballah to kidnap Israeli businessmen abroad, the Associated Press reported. The revelation follows an unusual warning issued last month by Israeli counterterrorism officials that the group planned to attack and abduct Israelis overseas. In addition, Hizballah leader Hassan Nasrallah recently declared an "open war" against Jews and Israelis worldwide. Hizballah has been responsible for attacks against Jews around the world, including a string of bombings in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in the mid-1990s that killed 115 people. Click here to learn about Hizballah's threatening behavior.
Israel Opens Gaza Crossings for Access to Medical Care
Israel re-opened several border crossings with the Gaza Strip last week and permitted Palestinians requiring medical treatment to enter Israel via the Erez crossing, the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reported. Fuel, merchandise and humanitarian aid were also brought to Gaza via the Karni, Sufa and Kerem Shalom crossings. The crossings were temporarily closed following a Palestinian rocket attack on southern Israel, a violation of Hamas' commitment to halt all violent activity in and around the coastal strip. Israel routinely looks for ways to facilitate humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza.
NASA Scientists Help Israel Preserve Dead Sea Scrolls
To mark the 60th anniversary of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Israel Antiquities Authority is initiating a project designed to document and provide worldwide access to the scrolls. NASA scientists who are experts in imaging technology will join top Israeli archaeologists in an effort to make images of the scrolls available on the Internet. This will be accomplished by imaging the scrolls in color and infrared, allowing the reading of scores of scroll fragments that were blackened or ostensibly erased over the years and which were not visible to the naked eye. The Dead Sea Scrolls were buried 2,000 years ago in the caves of the Judean Desert and include the oldest written copies of Biblical documents ever discovered.