According to the Jerusalem Post, the IDF is changing the name of the operation to pull the settlers out from Gaza. The original name, chosen randomly by a computer, was "Zohar ha-rakia," "glory of the firmament," and is a line from a prayer for the souls of the dead. Not a good sign, given all of the tensions that the pullout is causing in Israel.
Tommy Lapid, the leader of the militantly secularist Shinui Party, is agitating against the "Judaism for everyone" government project, in which seminars on general Jewish knowledge are held after Yom Kippur prayer services in 195 locations across the country. He's comparing it to proselytizing and missionizing. This is yet another example of the struggle between those who see Israel as a "Jewish State" and those who see it as a "State of Jews." The truth is that in twenty years or so, the secularists are going to be swamped by the religious Jews anyway because of the difference in birth-rates. Secular Jews have fewer than two children per couple, while religious Jews have more than five. Some communities average more than ten children per couple. It's only a matter of time.
Of course, the Arab population growth is higher than the total Jewish growth, at least for the moment…
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