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Israel UpdateConsulate General of Israel to the Midwest




In This Issue:
Featured Article
Israel-US Relations
Israeli Blog
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Upcoming Events
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Israeli Cellist Plays at Ravinia
Gavriel Lipkind


Highland Park, IL
Friday, November 7 - 8:00 PM
Bennett-Gordon Hall
Israeli-born cellist Gavriel Lipkind has performed with such orchestras as the Israel Philharmonic, the Munich Philharmonic and the Baltimore Symphony. For more information, click here to visit the Ravinia website.

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Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra
Chicago: Tuesday, November 11 Click on the photo for details



Chicago Festival of Israeli Cinema


Two More Nights
Click here to go to the website
Upcoming Events
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Skokie
Beyond Milk & Honey: Israeli Environmentalism Presented by (JUF) Jewish United Fund
Thursday, November 13 7:30 p.m. The North Shore Center for Performing Arts 9501 Skokie Blvd. Skokie, IL Admission is free, but reservations are required. To register, please go to www.juf.org/brown or for more information, contact 312.357.4675.


Chicago: November 20 - Yael Munk at Columbia CollegeContemporary Israeli CinemaThe Social and Economic Aspects of Today's Israel








It's Never Too Early - Or Too Late - To Plan Your Child's Israel Experience... and Israel Experience Can Help!
Taglit-Birthright Israel... Your child's Jewish Education will reach new heights on an Israel Experience program. Learn about
new trends in the field and find out about ways to make your child's Israel Experience program more affordable.
Israel Experience Parent Receptions:
Thursday, November 20, 7:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Chicagoland Jewish High School 1095 Lake Cook Road, Deerfield
Tuesday, December 2, 7:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Solomon Schechter Day School
9301 Gross Point Road, Skokie
R.S.V.P. for the most convenient reception by sending an e-mail to IsraelExperience@juf.org by November 14, 2008

THE WORK OF ISRAELI ARTISTS WILL BE EXHIBITED AT INTERNATIONAL ART FAIR AT CHICAGO'S NAVY PIER THIS WEEKEND


Artwork from Artist Lucio Bubacco and Eden Gallery in Jerusalem,which specializes in Israeli sculptures, will be featured at SOFA CHICAGO 2008, the critically acclaimed Sculpture Objects & Functional Art Fair at Navy Pier's Festival Hall, November 7-9. The Fair features art from 100 international galleries and dealers from 16 countries. For more details, click on the photo.

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******************************** Please forward this publication to anyone who shares your interest in Israel. The articles in this newsletter (with the exception of Israeli Government statements) reflect the opinions of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Consulate General of Israel to the Midwest.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs website - Click for the latest news, official statements, videos, and presentations relating to the current conflict as well as views of the Israel behind the headlines.


Israel - U.S. Relations

Israeli Officials Congratulate President-Elect Barack Obama

President Shimon Peres:
(Communicated by the President's Spokesperson - abridged remarks)

"It was an American election and a worldwide choice. I don't recall any other election that practically all of humanity was following with hope and concern. I want to congratulate the newly-elected President: young, fresh, promising, representing a change and introducing change. The changes that I can mention - it is an opportunity to escape the present world crisis and enter into a new era of cooperation, of productive economy and of human solidarity...
... When President Obama was here, he asked me what he can do for Israel. My answer was: be a great President of the United States of America. If you will be a great President of the United States of America, you will have great promise for Israel as well, and for all of the region and for all of our neighbors... I think that all of us are excited and hopeful and send our best wishes from the eternal capital of Jerusalem."

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert:
(Communicated by the Prime Minister's Media Adviser - abridged remarks)

Prime Minister Olmert said that the special Israel-US relationship is based on shared values and interests and is characterized by ties of close cooperation. Israel and the US have a common desire to advance peace and stability in the Middle East. We have no doubt that the special relations that prevail between the two countries will continue to strengthen during the Obama administration.

Foreign Minister Tzpi Livni also expressed her esteem for the honorable campaign conducted by Senator John McCain. "We thank Senator McCain for his long-standing friendship and look forward to continuing our close cooperation with him." New U.S. Approach to Foreign Policy? - David Ignatius (Washington Post)
Conversations over the past few days with several members of the president-elect's inner circle yielded some basic outlines of the new administration's approach to foreign policy. Obama wants to make an early push on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, despite political turmoil in Israel. He has learned from watching Presidents Clinton and Bush that you can't wait until the eleventh hour to be an active mediator. On Iran, Obama wants to open the door to a process of engagement and dialogue, even though his advisers aren't confident it will succeed. They think Iran may not yet have found the language of "yes," but that's no reason not to explore areas of possible common interest.
For Israel, No News Is Good News - Michael Oren (Ha'aretz) Israel is no longer in the news in Washington. For the past month, at least, Israel - indeed, the entire Middle East - has been knocked out of the newspapers and from television screens by the financial crisis and the presidential election. Israeli events that once would have made headlines in America are now relegated to the back pages, if not unreported altogether. This is good news for those who felt that the Jewish state is unfairly placed under a media microscope intent on magnifying its faults. In spite of Obama's pledge to personally and vigorously pursue an Arab-Israel accord, the president-elect is likely to lack both the time and financial resources to take on a time-consuming and potentially expensive peace initiative. Nor will he, with domestic newspapers crammed with stories of layoffs and foreclosures, be under immediate pressure to embark for the distant Middle East. The falloff of coverage of Israel in the U.S. is almost certain to be temporary. The writer is a senior fellow at the Shalem Center in Jerusalem and a visiting professor at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service.







Iran Israel Cautions Against Dialogue with Iran
Israel said Thursday U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's stated readiness to talk to Iran could be seen in the Middle East as a sign of weakness in efforts to persuade Tehran to curb its nuclear program. "We live in a neighborhood in which sometimes dialogue - in a situation where you have brought sanctions, and you then shift to dialogue - is liable to be interpreted as weakness," Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told Israel Radio. Asked if she supported any U.S. dialogue with Iran, Livni replied: "The answer is no." Livni also said "the bottom line" was that the U.S., under Obama, "is also not willing to accept a nuclear Iran." (Reuters/Washington Post) The Treasury Department's War with Iran - Robin Wright (The New York Times Magazine)
Diplomacy is, at the moment, going nowhere. Efforts in the UN and the IAEA have done little to prevent Iran from growing ever closer to acquiring the capacity to manufacture nuclear fuel. At the same time, there is very little genuine enthusiasm in Washington today for a military option in Iran. Last year, Congress approved an astonishing $400 million for intelligence operations against Iran, but senior officials acknowledge that covert actions - primarily aid to ethnic proxies and broadcasts into Iran - are only an irritant. In Iraq and Afghanistan, U.S. Special Forces have focused on the Quds Force, Iran's covert military wing, and its local agents. Dozens have been detained; truckloads of Iranian arms have been uncovered




Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and Gaza Hamas praises Obama, hopes for 'new page' in relations with U.S. By Yoav Stern, (Haaretz Correspondent, and The Associated Press)
Hamas strongman Mahmoud Zahar says he hopes the election victory of Barack Obama will open a new page in relations between the U.S. and the Muslim world. However, Zahar says he does not expect immediate change in U.S policy toward Hamas. The Bush administration is boycotting the Islamic militants, along with most of the international community.
Israel Preparing for Hamas Attacks after Gaza Operation - Hanan Greenberg (Jerusalem Post)
Tuesday night's successful Israel Defense Forces operation in Gaza, to blow up a tunnel to be used in a kidnapping attempt, thwarted a concrete terror threat, but military officials admitted Wednesday that this was only one of many threats to Israel which still exist in Gaza. The "operation conveyed a message to Hamas that the IDF will not turn a blind eye when a tunnel is being dug near the fence," a military source said. "We proved that we know about it and do not hesitate to operate when needed." (Ynet News)
See also Both Hamas and Israel Want to Continue Ceasefire - Amir Mizroch (Jerusalem Post)
Despite the recent flare-up, neither Hamas nor Israel has announced the end of the ceasefire. Hamas has no interest in sparking a war with Israel that would threaten its hold on Gaza. In the meantime, Gaza has turned into the world's largest terrorist base; it has not become the Middle East's Singapore.





Lebanon, Syria & Hizbollah
IDF Drill Simulates War with Syria and Lebanon - Amos Harel (Ha'aretz)
The Israel Defense Forces Northern Command concluded a large-scale exercise Thursday which simulated a two-front war with Syria and Lebanon. The exercise drilled the Israel Air Force and the Home Front Command in dealing with the simulated firing of thousands of rockets and missiles into the heart of Israel's population centers. The exercise entailed the deployment of troops on the ground, comprising mainly reservists. During the drill, the striking aircraft were under orders to focus on long and medium-range missile launchers. The responsibility for knocking out shorter-range rockets lay on ground troops that were ordered to carry out an on-paper invasion into Syrian and Lebanese territory.