"I immigrated from Iran as a child, with my parents, after the establishment of the State. My story is the story of the State of Israel. I entered public life, served as a government minister, as deputy Prime Minister, and now I am the President. You too can choose this path!" These were President Moshe Katsav's words to the parents and children that he met at the Jewish Agency's facilities in Kiev, capital of the Ukraine, and in Moscow, capital of Russia.

The President was the guest of the Jewish Agency at meetings with the Jewish community. In both capitals, children at the Hebrew ulpanim and Jewish identity classes received the President and his wife with Hebrew singing and dancing. He talked with heads of the Jewish Agency delegations Karol Ungar in Russia, Eli Yitzhaki in the Ukraine and Meir Tal in Central Asia and met with parents whose children are studying in Israel and intend to make aliyah in their children's footsteps, despite the present situation. The President and his wife were extremely emotional, almost brought to tears, and encouraged the Jews to take an interest in their Judaism and make aliyah.

Jewish Agency chairman, Sallai Meridor, was invited to accompany the President's entourage and participate in meetings with President Leonid Kuchma in the Ukraine and President Vladimir Putin. At these meetings he presented the Jewish aspect of the trip. Meridor addressed the Jewish communities together with the president and discussed the challenges facing the Jewish people and the Zionist movement. He referred to the Knesset's declaration hailing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel 51 years ago and the words of Israel's first Prime Minister, David Ben Gurion, who - on that very occasion - determined that Jerusalem would be the capital of the Jewish people for ever.

At a festive dinner held in honor of the Israeli delegation, President Putin said : "We look forward with certainty to our relations with Israel. We are willing to stand together in the face of the threats against humanity in the 21st Century, including the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, international terror and regional disputes".

Treasurer Chaim Chesler accompanied President Katsav on his visit to Georgia, and participated in events with the Jewish community and President Eduard Shevernadze.

To mark the eleventh anniversary of its founding (December 11th), George Habash's Popular Front organized ceremonies in Ramallah, Bethlehem and Gaza, with the approval of the PA, boisterously voicing extreme anti-Israel slogans such as:

• The Popular Front, Abu Ali Mustafa, called a convention in Ramallah to consolidate the struggle based on creative planning, to refrain from parades displaying weapons, so that these weapons should be in the right place (i.e. - attacks against Israel) and avoid firing into the air.

• Kis Abed Alkarim (Abu Leilah), member of the political office of the Popular Front, said in his speech: "The Intifada is the only way to take Palestinian rights by force". Abu Leilah mocked Israeli marches along traffic routes and said: "The Palestinian People, men women and children, will pursue the settlers with fire".

• Approximately a hundred Popular Front activists (some of them armed) marched through the center of Ramallah, burnt Israeli and American flags as well as an effigy of Prime Minister Barak. During the march, slogans such as "Thanks to the armed struggle against the settlers and forces of occupation and to the acts of martyrdom (i.e. - terrorist attacks) (Alhiya al-Jadida and Alayam, 12th December)."

Armed Fatah Tanzim Militiamen in Manger Square, Bethlehem

In June 1998 the government decided to establish a new community settlement - "Haruv", in the eastern Lachish region (close to Shekef and Amatzia - on the "seam" with the Territories), as part of the "Yishuv Hakovshim" program.

360 residential units are planned for the first stage of community. The Ministry of Housing and the Jewish Agency are together preparing the construction program.

At this very moment, a steering committee, including all the settlement bodies, has been formed in an effort to promote the establishment and population of this community.

Jewish Agency Chairman Sallai Meridor, paid a visit to the Negev in order to take a close look at preparations for establishing the settlement this week. He also toured the Nizana area, and together with Shmuel Reifman - head of the Ramat Hanegev Regional Council, examined the detailed design currently underway for the establishment of Beer Milcah and recruiting a nucleus of residents for the community.

The WZO Settlement Division opened an absorption center for new olim in Hinanit, a settlement in Samaria, two weeks ago. The opening ceremony was attended by Avraham Duvdevani - Chairman of the Settlement Division, Yehiel Shimshoni - Director General of the Division, MK Marina Solodkin - formerly deputy Minister of Absorption, Benzi Lieberman - head of the Samaria Regional Council, veteran olim and residents of the area.

The center includes several residential units, classrooms and public buildings and is designed to absorb the families of olim immediately after they have made aliyah. Some 60 olim from the northern Caucasus currently live at the center and the Department is preparing to absorb an additional 120 olim from this region.

Hinanit is situated in the Reihan region in Samaria, close to Katzir and Nahal Eron. The community currently has some 400 residents, 70% of whom are olim from the Caucasus region in the FSU. Shai Lavi, director of the Central Region office at the Settlement Department, says that the veteran olim, who live at Hinanit, encourage the new olim to immigrate directly to the settlement and help them take their first steps in Israel: "This is a great success story of the direct absorption of new olim by veteran olim, who simply adopt all the new families and encourage them to become part of the community as quickly as possible."

The United Jewish Israel Appeal of Great Britain recently helped put a smile on the faces of Christian Lebanese children living in the youth hostel in Shlomi, in northern Israel. According to UJIA representative in Israel, Sefton Bergson, the organization presented each of the 61 children with gift packages containing candy, chocolate, and cookies at Christmas. "Happy Holiday" was written on the packages in Hebrew, English, and French.

The youngsters are children of South Lebanese Army soldiers, who fled with their families across Israel's northern border following the withdrawal of the Israel Defense Forces from Southern Lebanon following the Hezbollah takeover of South Lebanon this past May. Forty families are living in the youth hostel. Most are waiting to get into other countries.

• $ 25,000 - Jewish Agency allocation for the year 2000 to the Adam Institute for Democracy and Peace - Here and Now Civic Education Calendar - within the framework of projects that foster "Unity, Tolerance and Mutual Respect."

• $ 19,000 - Jewish Agency allocation for the year 2000 to Beit Issie Shapiro for the integration of children with developmental delays within the framework of support of "special needs populations."

• $ 24,000 - Jewish Agency allocations for the year 2000 to the El-Ami Association in Jerusalem for Challenge of secular Israeli Lifestyle within the framework of allocations "Enhancing Jewish Identity for Israelis."

• 2,516 Olim arrived in Israel since the beginning of 2001. 1,823 are from the FSU.

• 911 new immigrants arrived in Israel this week. 705 from the FSU and Eastern Europe; the balance from France, Tunis, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, England, South Africa, Australia, the Netherlands, the USA, Canada, Ethiopia and India.

The Canadian Jewish community, together with the Jewish Agency and Zionist youth movements, this week held two protest rallies for the release of the MIA's being held in Lebanon, attended by two brothers of abducted soldier Adi Avitan. The first rally was held at the beginning of last week in Toronto, and on Tuesday another rally was held in Montreal.

Following the abduction of the three IDF soldiers on the Lebanese border in October last, the Jewish Agency, in conjunction with the Ministries of Defense and Foreign Affairs, decided to put pressure on the international community, through Jewish communities all over the world. Amos Hermon, chairman of the Jewish Agency's Education Committee, that coordinates the activity on behalf of the Jewish Agency, reports that in addition to the rallies held in Canada, so far large demonstrations have taken place in Moscow and Paris and there have been dozens of events all over the Jewish world.

The brothers Eyal and Avi Avitan were flown out to Canada and the US by the Jewish Agency and Ministry of Defense, to meet with representatives of the administration and government as well as Jewish community representatives. According to Hermon, the brothers met with Canadian Defense Minister, Art Egelton, at the beginning of the week, in an effort to exert diplomatic pressure on the governments of Iran, Syria and Lebanon to obtain information on the MIA's and demand that the Red Cross be immediately allowed to visit the MIA's.

Hermon added that the Avitan brothers also met with Bill Gramm, chairman of the Committee for Foreign Affairs in the Canadian parliament. The two also traveled to Chicago in the US where they met with American members of Congress and members of Amnesty International. During their visit to Canada, the brothers also met with Jewish community leaders and students.

At the end of the month the Jewish Agency will hold an education fair in Paris, in conjunction with representatives of Israeli Universities. The fair will be held within the context of special efforts by the Jewish Agency to encourage aliyah among France's Jewish community, following an increase in the number of persons who have shown an interest in aliyah, particularly among young people. Following the outbreak of disturbance in France, the numbers interested in aliyah have grown 20%.

The fair will last 2 days, 28th and 29th of January. During the fair, students and teenagers will be able to examine the possibilities of absorption in Israel, academic studies and a variety of education programs, including the study program in the French stream and for the first time, Na'aleh (youngsters before parents). In March a similar fair will be held in outlying French cities.

The fair will host representatives of the Hebrew University, the Technion, the Ariel College, the Rishon LeZion College of Management, the Jerusalem College of Technology (Machon Lev), ORT Karmiel, the Ashkelon College, Hemdat Hadarom College, and representatives of the Student Administration and the Center of Vocational Training at Tel Arza.

A team from the Na'aleh program will also be present, in order to enlist French teenagers in the program which is run by the Jewish Agency in conjunction with the Ministry of Education. The program allows Jewish teenagers to complete their matriculation studies in Israel. Representatives of the "French Stream", which enables Jewish youngsters to complete the French matriculation certificate in Israel, will also be present.

A detailed work plan and time frame for overseeing the restitution of Polish Jewish communal property from the Nazi era was agreed earlier this week at the second meeting of the Management Committee of the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland. The Property Foundation which brings together the World Jewish Restitution Organization and the Polish Jewish communities under the chairmanship of Ronald Lauder, is working to ensure the retrieval of the maximum amount of Jewish community property in Poland before May 2002. According to Polish law, this is the cut-off date for submitting claims for Jewish property restitution.

Meeting in Warsaw, the committee accepted the suggestion of Jewish Agency Treasurer, Chaim Chesler, who represents the WJRO, that former US ambassador, Henry Clark, be appointed the CEO of the Foundation.

"Our timeframe is short. We must make every effort to retrieve the synagogues, cemeteries, and other Jewish communal structures that will otherwise be lost to us forever," said Chesler. "The plan that was just approved pushes the process forward into action."

Among the archivists who will be working for the Foundation is Yoram Mayorek, former chief archivist for the Zionist Archives in Jerusalem, who has successfully completed a two-year project for the International Commission on Holocaust-Era Insurance Claims (ICHIEC), during which he identified 30,000 previously unlisted names of insurance holders.

Amos Lahat, Director of the FSU Dept.at the Jewish Agency in conjunction with JDC representatives in Kazakhstan concluded the recruitment of Jewish youth active in Jewish Agency frameworks to provide assistance to elderly in the care of the JDC, in their homes. The youth who are active in the Jewish Agency frameworks will help the JDC distribute food and look after these elderly.

Upon his return on a visit to Alma Aty, capital of Kazakhstan, Amos Lahat recounts: Heavy snow welcomed us to Alma Aty following a 6-hour flight. The visit was designed to review our activity there and our cooperation with other Jewish organizations.

The country is impressive in size but sparsely populated. It is attempting to rehabilitate its past history and where possible, to free itself of the Russian bear hug.

Two emissaries work in the community of 10,000 Jews, which is widely dispersed, in some cases more than 2,000 km. away from the capital.

The meeting with the Jews was warm and friendly. The Jewish Agency is warmly received as is now customary in peripheral areas. At a meeting with Jewish representatives they made it clear that despite the difficult situation in Israel, their home is here, their children are here and they want to make aliyah and live in their own country.

The meeting with the educated young generation revealed that they were open, with a love of Israel. The meeting was exciting as well as painful, since several youngsters stated that they would be emigrating to other countries (Germany, Canada, the US) and some had yet to decide whether or not to make aliyah. The compensation - the majority were on their way to Israel.

The visit to the JDC was friendly and warm. The JDC office is active mainly among the older population, distributing food and medicines. It was agreed that youngsters affiliated with the Jewish Agency would be encouraged to help the elderly in their homes giving out food, providing assistance and supervision and simply showing that they have a warm heart.

The new synagogue is run by Habad rabbis who provide religious services and also help distribute food for the elderly and those in need.

Our two emissaries in the area, Haim Gedulin and Martha Shemer operate extensively in the areas of education, immigration and the community in unbelievable ways. In the freezing cold they travel by air and train to any city and town where there are Jews.

Jewish Agency Treasurer, Chaim Chesler, addressed this week the regional presidents of the Conservative movement in the United States who were in Israel on a visit arranged by the World Zionist Organization Department for Zionist Activities in cooperation with the Conservative movement in Israel. The meeting was attended by the new chairman of the Department for Zionist Activities, David Breakstone.

In discussing how to build a bridge between Israel and the worldwide Jewish community, Chesler urged the participants in the mission to increase their activities in Israel three or even four fold. "There is immense potential for your activism here," he said, and praised the fact that the group had traveled to Israel. "Your visit is testimony to your solidarity with events in Israel; your solidarity is testimony to your sensitivity for what we are going through here."

He also urged the leaders of the Conservative Movement to increase their participation in the upcoming elections for the World Zionist Congress which is due to be held next year.

Ehud Barak's election staff reported to the State Comptroller's office that last week alone another 52 people had donated sums of more than a quarter of a million shekels to his campaign. The donors include: Benny Gaon, Leon Recanati, Yekutiel Federman, Aharon Dovrat, Ruthie Wertheimer and Nimrod Novik.

An Israeli team left for Istanbul for discussions on importing water from Turkey. Members of the team, representatives of the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Water Commission and Mekorot, will discuss importing 50 million cu.m. of water over a 5 or 10 year period. Mekorot officials said that the Israeli economy is suffering a serious water shortage, which has deteriorated over the last two years.

On the 40th anniversary of the sinking of the ship "Egoz", with 44 olim on board, the families of the olim this week called to renew the search for the wreckage of the ship and the bodies. The ship set sail from Morocco in the winter of 1961 and sank off the coast of Gibraltar. This week's memorial ceremony was attended by dozens of relatives and friends of those who drowned, as well as Minister Shimon Peres and Chief Rabbi Meir Lau.

The Supreme Court this week recommended raising the age of retirement. The judges' opinion said that the time has come to review the age of retirement as 65, since it no longer reflects the reality in which people wish to carry on working after this age.

The Ministry of Health's National Food Service announced that it is banning the import of beef and lamb products due to the sharp increase in instances of "mad cow" disease in Europe. The ban also applies to the import of products which had received an earlier import permit.

Unbelievable: This week a day-old baby was found in a travel bag at the entrance to a private house in Herzliya. The infant was transferred to the ICU, suffering from low body temperature. The police began an investigation and it transpired that the mother is a foreign worker, who claimed that she had no means with which to raise the child.

A Palestinian Arab doctor, resident of East Jerusalem, this week claimed that he was a relative of the famous author Shai Agnon. He claimed that his grandmother's name was Esther, nee Weiner, and that she had been a cousin of Agnon. According to the halacha, claimed the Arab, his grandmother's daughter - that is, his mother - is Jewish and therefore he is too. The Ministry of Internal Affairs responded that it was strange that the man had suddenly remembered that he was Jewish.

And Finally: Crying "wolf" was genuine this time. Several members of Kibbutz Kfar Szold in the north of Israel, shouted when they saw a wolf wandering near the kibbutz children's houses. Eventually a kibbutz member managed to track the wolf down, shot and killed it.

A show of solidarity on behalf of residents of the areas of conflict living in Jerusalem's Gilo neighborhood and the settlements in Judea and Samaria, will take place this coming Saturday evening at the Tel Aviv Sports Arena. The event is being organized by the "Israel Solidarity" movement, together with the Jewish Agency and Tel Aviv City Hall. Participating will be singers Naomi Shemer and Rami Kleinstein, and the audience will be addressed by Jewish Agency Treasurer Chaim Chesler.

The Israel Solidarity movement was established when the disturbances erupted, in an effort to show solidarity with residents in the areas of confrontation. The movement initiates large-scale volunteer operations on behalf of the residents of these areas, in part through volunteer activity in agricultural work and protecting traffic routes.

At the initiative of the Israel Solidarity movement, the Jewish Agency, Ministry of Education and Tel Aviv City Hall, 17,000 children and teenagers from the areas of confrontation - first to eighth graders, will be hosted over the next few days at the Tel Aviv "Luna Park" entertainment park. In recent weeks the Jewish Agency has hosted 650 residents from "confrontation-line" settlements in Judea & Samarea for a "quiet weekend" at the Nizana Youth Village.

Thursday, January 25 is Rosh Hodesh Sh'vat, the first day of the Hebrew month of Sh'vat, the eleventh month in the Hebrew calendar year. The "New Year for Trees," known as Tu B'Sh,vat, is celebrated on the 15th of Sh'vat. "Tu" is constructed from the Hebrew letters "tet" and "vav," which total 15). The new year was established to calculate the age of trees, and for tithing of fruit. Leviticus 19:23-25 states that fruit may not be eaten during the first four years of the tree's life. Fruit which has reached one third of its full growth is attributed to the previous year.

The Mishnah relates that the School of Shammai set the New Year for Trees on Rosh Hodesh Sh'vat; the ruling of the School of Hillel, which became standard practice, placed it on the 15th of the month.

Tu B'Sh'vat was traditionally observed as a minor holiday; Eastern European Jews would eat 15 types of fruit, especially the "fruits of the Land of Israel": olives, dates, grapes, fig and pomegranates. The eating of fruits was accompanied by the recitation of various Psalms.

Sephardi communities in Turkey, Italy and Greece, and later in Europe, Asia and North Africa celebrated a special seder service, modeled on the Passover seder. It included drinking four cups of wine with varying percentages of red and white wine, eating fruits, and reciting poems and readings from Torah and Mishnah. Pri Etz Hadar (Fruit of the Goodly Tree), a compilation of these readings, was published in 1753.

In contemporary times, Tu B'Sh'vat has come to symbolize the revival of the Jewish settlement in Eretz Yisrael and the redemption of the land. In Israel Tu B'Sh'vat is marked by the tree-planting ceremonies by schoolchildren, in conjunction with the Jewish National Fund. Jews the world over, mark Tu B'Sh'vat by eating the fruits of the Land of Israel. In recent years, many communities have also begun to celebrate a Tu B'Shvat seder.

Teenage science buffs can now apply for entry in the 2001 "Olympi-yeda - Olympics of the Mind" - the highly popular international science contest for boys and girls, to be held in Israel this summer. February 2 is the deadline for submitting applications.

The competition is sponsored by the Israel National Museum of Science - Daniel and Matilde Recanati Center in Haifa and is open to 8th and 9th graders in Israel, the United States, Canada, England and Australia. The final stage of the competition will be nationally televised on Israeli TV.

Olympi-yeda was created to promote interest in science and to encourage youngsters to pursue careers in science and technology, according to Zvi Jankelowitz, Executive Director of the Boston-based American Friends of the Israel National Science Museum. Now 12 years old, Olympi-yeda is a four-stage event, designed to offer fun, excitement and challenge, as well as cash prizes, to the participants.

Eighth and ninth graders who enter are given a multiple-choice general science examination online. The top-scorers qualify for a second-stage multiple-choice exam to test their knowledge and understanding of a particular science subject. Study materials are provided by the Israel National Museum of Science. In salute to the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney, the 2001 Olympi-yeda examines diverse scientific phenomena and principles underlying sport and engagement in it.

This August, as many as 25 delegation members from the United States, Canada, Great Britain and Australia will travel to Israel to take part in a science summer camp, where they will join their 25 Israeli peers in a science and technology workshop, meet with Israel's leading scientists. They will also travel around Israel, visiting the country's historic, cultural and artistic sites and institutions.

At the conclusion of the camp, 8 finalists will be chosen from the 50 contestants to participate in the competition's nationally televised finals.

The Olympi-yeda is a joint project of the Museum, the Jewish Agency, Israel's Ministry of Science, Culture and Sport, Israel's Ministry of Education, the Municipality of Haifa, the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, and the Weizmann Institute of Science.

The Israel Lexicon edited by Elana Shamir, brings together in one volume a variety of information on hundreds of entries relating to Eretz Israel and the State of Israel in various areas from the end of the 19th Century to the end of the 20th Century.

The lexicon also contains information on unemployment, Yigal Alon, Ashdod, the State Attorney, Yiddish, the Jezreel Valley, the War of Attrition, Henrietta Szold, Hebrew literature, the Hebrew language, the immigrations to Israel, the Karaites, Rosh Pinah, the IDF Chiefs of Staff, settlements, Israeli authors, historical and military information, the Middle East and much more.

The book that was recently published by the Aviv Encyclopaedia, has a very efficient key of names and subjects, numerous tables, data, maps, and pictures providing an excellent tool for those involved in leadership and training, education in the Jewish and Israeli cultural world and for anyone looking for information on current affairs and backgrounders.

Ingredients (for 8 portions):

4 coarsely grated carrots
100 gm. of sliced mushrooms
2 chopped onions
4 celery stalks, sliced finely
1/2 root of parsley sliced finely
6-7 cups of water
1 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
2 tbsps. chicken soup powder
250 gm. minced meat
2 tbsps. Vinegar
2-3 tbsps. soy sauce
2-3 tbsps. Tabasco sauce
1 tsp. Sugar
1/2 tsp. Ginger
1 egg or 2 whites
1 spring onion cut into small slices

Preparation: (for 20 pieces)

• Place vegetables, herbs, water, salt, pepper and soup powder in a pot and cook for 20 minutes on a low heat.

• Make small, nut-sized balls from the minced meat and place them into the same one after the other. Continue to simmer for a further 15-20 minutes.

• Add the vinegar, soy sauce, sugar and ginger to the soup and bring to the boil. Taste and add Tabasco sauce (optional), salt and pepper to taste.

• Beat the egg or egg whites in a bowl with a tablespoon of water and pour slowly into the boiling soup, so that "threads" are formed in the soup. Sprinkle the spring onion on the soup.