This was recorded live from Bush's arrival in Israel and his grand welcome at the airport. I particularly enjoy watching the great detail and level of protocol involved.

I was surprised to see Rafi Eitan there to greet Bush, and Bush shook his hand, though he did not really pass words with Eitan as he did with almost all the other ministers.



The second video is of Bush's visit to Shimon Peres at the President's residence. To me it looked like he was not listening to a single word Peres said. The newscasters, at the end, focus on the image of the security detail cleaning every speck off the presidential limo. They are very amused at the level of detail.

Shas is announcing that Rav Ovadia Yosef and the Council of Torah Sages (of Shas) are declaring a rally of Selichos in light of the disastrous situation in which the nation of Israel finds itself. Selichos will take place today at 6:00 pm in Rav Ovadia's shul and be broadcast by satellite to various locations.

On the other hand, maybe the issue is the general political and security situation which is pretty bad, especially with what has been going on in Gaza the past few days. If that is the case, is it not ironic that Shas is largely responsible (not completely, but largely) for crowning as king the man, Shimon Peres, who is vastly responsible for the horrible situation in which we find ourselves? Peres is the architect of the Oslo accords, which led to everything that is happening now. Yet Shas felt he was worthy of being the President of Israel, despite his being a rabid left-winger.

Ahhh, the irony of pushing Peres as President and then declaring a day of selichos to daven for the situation.... gotta love it!

Today Shimon Peres was elected President of Israel. That is a fairly prestigious position, despite the damage done by the previous president, albeit largely ceremonial.

The exact job description of the President of Israel is difficult to pin down. He will host the championship soccer team in his office and congratulate them, along with congratulating the winner of the hot dog eating contest. In addition, he will go out to pay condolence calls to the families of victims of terror. He will reach out to the various communities in Israel and try to foster unity, while at the same time reach out to the world and attempt to raise the standing of the Jews and Israel among the international community (in a non-political way). He will spearhead the fight against anti-semitism, while raising the level of Zionism and patriotism.

It is ironic that Shimon Peres has been entrusted by his friends in the Knesset to be responsible for all this.

An alert reader (YR) sent me this article. It turns out that this very week - at the same time that Shimon Peres is being elected to the position of President of Israel - the Peres Center for Peace - yes, run by none other than Shimon Peres, is involved in extremely anti-zionist activities.

The Peres Center for Peace has organized a conference of European NGO's where they will spend three days bashing Israel.

The keynote speech at this week's NGO event is being given by Avram Burg, described by the conference program as an “Israeli political personality,” despite Burg’s revealing interview with Haaretz (June 1) in which he calls for Israel to cease being a Jewish entity.

Each of the Israeli organizations invited – Betselem. Combatants for Peace, Israeli Coalition Against Home Demolitions, Machsom Watch, Parents' Circle, Rabbis for Human Rights and Yesh Din – carries a uniquely venomous message which describes Israel’s very presence in Judea and Samaria as a criminal violation of international law. One of those groups, the Israel Committee for Home Demolitions (ICHAD), goes so far as to compare Israeli law with Nazi law. In a presentation in March 2000 on a Boston affiliate of National Public Radio, ICHAD head Jeff Halper alleged that Israel's zoning and building regulations are not ordinary laws, and that Israel's legal system resembles the Nazi Nuremberg Laws. Halper has never retracted that comparison.

Arab speakers at the conference include Fatah leaders Yassir Abed Rabo and Jibril Rajub, who are unlikely to mention that Fatah continues to conduct terror operations against Israelis. No one at the conference will remind participants that Fatah's Al Aksa Brigades is defined by the US, the EU and Israel as a terrorist organization that has not renounced its ways.

We are in for a long 7 years, if Shimon Peres keeps up this type of work....

It is looking more and more like Shimon Peres actually has a decent chance to win his first election ever in the presidential campaign this week. Whether he does or does not actually win remains to be seen, but his chances look good.

On an optimistic note, a good aspect of Shimon peres winning the presidency will be the fact that he will not be able to become Prime Minister when Kadima is forced to remove Olmert in order to avoid new elections. Peres will be stuck as President and we will not have to suffer with him as PM.

Peres with Speaker of the House Dalia Itzik after Peres formally announced his candidacy for President... Does Sonia know about them?

Shimon Peres, "Israel has invested some 60 billion shekels in the territories [Judea, Samaria and Gaza]. Instead of this, we must invest in the sea, and stretch our western border in that direction by building artificial islands."

He brings new meaning to the old desire of the Arabs surrounding us to "throw the Jews into the sea".

I assume that just like in the '70's Peres was a supporter of the settlements and even established settlements over the Green Line as Minister of Defense and then later changed his position and supports dismantling the settlements and handing that land to the Arabs as a token of goodwill for the possibility of future peace, the same will hold true with this idea. He will build artificial islands and eventually advocate handing them over for potential peace.

I have a number of points to make regarding the situation with President Katzav:

1. President Moshe Katzav must resign.

Saying the above does not mean I presume him to be guilty. He has the right and the responsibility to defend himself and prove his innocence. I hope that he did not do what he is accused of, simply because of the disgrace it would be if it is found out to be true. But if he is guilty, it will be proven in court with him having an opportunity to defend and he will then suffer the consequences.

Regardless of whether he is innocent or guilty he needs to resign from the presidency. He needs to and will concentrate the immediate future to defending himself in a court of law and in the court of the minds of the Israeli and world public. Being that he will be busy doing so, he should not be sitting in the seat of the Presidency. Israel needs a president who can dedicate his time and energies to the job. Moshe Katzav will not be able to do so.

That is aside from the disgrace this has brought to Israel and the presidency. For this, too, he should resign.

2. PM Olmert called on Katzav to resign. He declared in no uncertain terms, "In these circumstances there is no doubt in my heart that the president cannot continue to fulfill his role and must leave the President's Residence,".

Talk about calling the kettle black! The President has not yet been indicted. His situation is not that different from the one in which Olmert himself is found, other than the crimes under discussion and the stage of the investigation. Katzav's investigation is nearer the end with recommendations having been made, while Olmert's is only close to that point.

Olmert would do well to not stick his foot in his mouth and put himself in a precarious position later. When any of the investigations come to the point where they recommend he be indicted, will Olmert follow his own advice and resign? I would hope so but nothing indicates that he will. His style until now has been to publicly ignore all things going on in those regards and simply spin things to distract the people.

His bold statement yesterday will probably come back to bite him in the tush when his time comes and he refuses to step down.

3. The race to replace Katzav has (more) officially begun. The candidates are lining up. They include Shimon Peres, Collete Avital, Dalia Itzik, Reuven (Ruby) Rivlin and possibly Rabbi YM Lau.

My position on this is that the President needs to be elected by the people, not by the current system of the Members of Knesset voting. Voting open only to MK means they are subject to political pressures, coalition pressures, personal relationship pressures and the like and only we, the people, lose out because the limited number of voters do not have the courage to vote for the best candidate.

Another position I have on this is that the candidates need to be taken from the general public. People who have contributed to society in various realms. Not politicians, and for sure not currently active politicians.

This would mean the only candidate I would support in the above list of front runners would be Rabbi Lau. I think Rabbi Lau is a wonderful and inspiring person and he is deserving of the Presidency and would bring back honor to Israel if he filled the position. That being said, I would like to see more candidates from the general public - accomplished scientists, professors, mathematicians, men of spirit, etc. who would challenge Rabbi Lau for the spot. I do not know that Rabbi Lau is the best man for the job, but in the list of candidates above I consider him the only worthy one.

Another position I have on the elections for president is that the ballot remain secret. if we are already limiting the voting to 120 MKs who are subject to political pressures and other pressures, at least the voting should remain secret and closed ballot, so at least to keep the slightest vestige of honest voting and not one big political deal and maneuver shafting the rest of the country.
Which leads us to....

PM Olmert and the Kadima Party is going to be pushing perennial candidate Shimon Peres as its candidate for the presidency. Supporters for Shimon Peres are pushing to change the voting system to an open ballot. They fear that the only way Peres can win is by open ballot, where pressure will force a majority of the 120 voters to vote for him. They are probably right, which is the greatest example of why the voting must remain closed. Not to ensure Peres does not get elected. Rather, to ensure that the limited 120 voters get to vote for who they think is best, not just the candidate who can put the most pressure on them. If in a closed ballot they vote for Shimon, that is fine.

Of all Olmert's mistakes, this one might be his biggest. His pushing Peres as the candidate, if Peres wins, is definitely a major mistake. The president is an honorary position in Israel. The president is not meant to discuss or get involved in politics. He is meant o be dignified and develop relations around the world and represent Israel to the world.

Shimon Peres would be great at that. He is dignified. He is respected. He is probably more or less clean from the various criminal activities plaguing Israeli politicians nowadays. However, Shimon Peres is a man of action, not a man fitting for an honorary position. He would immediately make the presidency one from which he pushes whatever political agenda he has on his mind at the time.

Peres is famous for his backstabbing and political maneuvers, and he would use the presidency for the same goals he has used politics for until now. Why would a man like Peres want this position anyway? He cannot get involved in the peace process, his baby, and other national interests from the Presidents Mansion. It is not in the job description.
The only reason is because he wants it in order to further his goals and ideals. he wants to use the power of the presidency to push his agenda in the political sphere.

Ehud Olmert should beware of Shimon Peres and not be so eager to push him into the presidency. the first person to be back stabbed by Peres will be Olmert.