Computer Imaging Allows Reading of Ancient Scroll

Bible scholars and archeologists were abuzz Thursday at news that a badly burnt scroll, part of a group of ancient writings unearthed at Ein Gedi in 1970 and believed to have been damaged when the synagogue it was in was burned in the year 600 AD, had been deciphered using state of the art imaging technology. Analysis shows that the scroll contains part of the Book of Leviticus.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, routinely referred to as a “moderate” by Western diplomats, gave a surreal address to the UN General Assembly Thursday saying, among other things,  that continued sanctions insisted upon by “Zionist pressure groups” in the US were responsible for the continued poor performance of his country’s economy. He also accused the US and the Sunni Arab neighbors of Iran for various “crimes” against his country, including the promotion of terrorism worldwide.

In another blow to the effort to Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS) Israel, the London Stock Exchange Group’s ELITE international program signed a Memorandum of Understanding this week with Israel’s largest financial institution, Bank Hapoalim. “Israel is the start-up nation of the world, a powerful hub for entrepreneurial ambition, innovative investment activity and wealth creation,” said Nikhil Rathi, CEO of the LSE and its director of international development.

Two Ultra-Orthodox (haredi) judges were elected to the Supreme Rabbinical Court Thursday, giving the haredi camp the balance of power on the courts appointments committee. The elections prompted alarm from several secular and feminist groups over the implications it had for, in particular, adjudications of divorce and related family issues.

Team Israel won it’s opening game at the World Baseball Classic Qualifier tournament in Brooklyn Thursday, beating the UK 5-2 at MCU Park on Coney Island after trailing for much of the game. Entering the 7th inning down 2-1, Israel scored four runs and held on to clinch the victory. Israel is set to take on perennial powerhouse Brazil in their next game at noon Eastern Time.

The volatile instability of the Middle East in general, and the Palestinian Authority in particular, would seem to make a new American initiative for Palestinian-Israeli negotiations to be out of the question. But some U.S. officials and analysts still suggest that President Obama may “lay out the parameters” of how he views a settlement.

Former IDF Chief of Staff, Minister for Strategic Affairs and Defense Minister Moshe “Bogie” Ya’alon addressed issues of Israel’s national security and strategic position at a recent event held by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.