Israel Update

Senator Edward Kennedy, a Great Friend of Israel
Sen. Edward Kennedy (1932-2009) was a lifelong supporter of the U.S.-Israel relationship and a true friend of America's pro-Israel community. During his more than four decades in the Senate, Sen. Kennedy consistently supported U.S. security assistance to Israel. He led the fight against U.S. arms sales to Israel's enemies, spoke out forcefully against the Arab League boycott of Israel and fiercely criticized the United Nations' isolation of the Jewish state. He also urged his colleagues to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's undivided capital and warned of the dangers of global terrorism. Sen. Kennedy was a champion of persecuted Soviet Jewry, advocating on behalf of refuseniks and demanding that the United States provide loan guarantees to Israel to absorb Jewish refugees. Sen. Kennedy's legacy of leadership on these issues and his lifelong support for one of America's closest allies are hallmarks of his historic career. He will be sorely missed.
Sarkozy Slams Iran, Threatens Stronger Sanctions
French President Nicolas Sarkozy threatened on Wednesday to press for tougher sanctions on Iran if the Islamic Republic refuses to halt its illicit nuclear work, Reuters reported. "It is the same leaders in Iran who say that the nuclear program is peaceful and that the elections were honest. Who can believe them?" Sarkozy said. The French president's warnings echoed those of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who earlier this week said world powers are discussing sanctions targeting Iran's energy sector. President Obama has given Iran until mid-September to take up his offer of engagement. Obama administration officials and leading Democrats and Republicans have called for heightened sanctions if Iran continues to rebuff the president's overtures. Learn more about Iran's quest for a nuclear weapons capability.
Ahmadinejad Nominee Wanted in Bombing of Jewish Center
The man nominated by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to serve as Iran's defense minister is wanted by Interpol in connection with the 1994 bombing of a Jewish cultural center in Buenos Aires, The New York Times reported. Ahmadinejad last week nominated Ahmad Vahidi to serve in his cabinet. Vahidi is one of five Iranian officials sought by Interpol on charges of "conceiving, planning, financing and executing" the 1994 attack, which killed 85 people and wounded about 300 others. Vahidi was also the head of the secret Quds Force, an arm of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the United States for aiding attacks on U.S. soldiers in Iraq.
Hariri: Hizballah to be Part of Lebanese Government
As his bid to form a government entered its eighth week, Lebanese prime minister-designate Saad Hariri said on Wednesday that Hizballah will be part of the country's next cabinet "whether Israel likes it or not," Agence France Presse reported. "The national unity government will include the (ruling) March 14 alliance, and I also want to assure the Israeli enemy that Hizballah will be in this government whether it likes it or not because Lebanon's interests require all parties be involved in this cabinet," Hariri said. Earlier this month, Israel warned that the Lebanese government would be held responsible for any attack from Lebanese territory if Hizballah was part of the new government. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has said that the terrorist army's weapons supply "dwarfs the inventory of many nation-states." Learn more about Hizballah.
PA Leader: Jews Have No History in Jerusalem
The Palestinian Authority's (PA) chief Islamic judge said Wednesday that there was no evidence that Jews had ever lived in Jerusalem or that the Temple had ever existed there, The Jerusalem Post reported. "Jerusalem is an Arab and Islamic city and it always has been so," Sheikh Tayseer Rajab Tamimi said. His declaration came in response to statements made earlier this week by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said that Jerusalem "is not a settlement," and that "the Jews built it 3,000 years ago." The PA has consistently denied the Jewish connection to Jerusalem. The city is home to the Temple Mount and the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest sites. There are more than 800 mentions of Jerusalem in the Hebrew Bible, and literally thousands of references to the city throughout more than 2,000 years of rabbinic literature. Learn more about the Jewish people's historic connection to Jerusalem and the Land of Israel.
Israeli Researchers Find New Way to Treat Heart Disease
In a major breakthrough in the treatment of heart disease, Israeli researchers have for the first time demonstrated the possibility of rejuvenating a heart that has suffered a heart attack, the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reported. The Israeli team, led by Dr. Tal Dvir, seeded cardiac cells from newborn rats with a growth agent, eventually growing heart muscle. That muscle was then implanted in a rat's abdomen, where it continued to grow and developed a network of blood vessels. After about a week, the new tissue was removed and used to patch the damaged heart of a rat that had suffered a heart attack. Not only did the implant survive—the first time such a procedure was successful—but it actually appeared to improve the damaged heart, preventing typical deterioration that occurs after a heart attack. Learn more about the breakthrough.