Shimon Peres and Ariel Sharon confer in Tel Aviv

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Israeli and Palestinian peace delegations began marathon meetings in Washington, in an effort to reach an outlined agreement before Clinton's departure from the White House In. Prime Minister Ehud Barak`s estimation the presentation of an agreement prior to the elections set for February 6, can help him win the election.

According to President Clinton's framework proposal, Jerusalem will be divided such that those areas in which Jews live will be under Israeli sovereignty, while Arab neighborhoods will be under Palestinian sovereignty; this territorial arrangement will be based on a compromise between the Israeli proposal, which is based on withdrawal from 90% of the Territories, and the Palestinian demand that the entire area captured from Jordan in 1967 be transferred to them. As for the refugee issue - a mechanism will be determined enabling a practical solution, without changing Israel's demographic character. There is no detailed proposal for resolving the Temple Mount issue. Clinton intends to conclude the negotiations by January 10th 2001, at a summit in Washington with the participation of Barak and Arafat who will sign the agreement, resulting in the end of Palestinian claims.

US sources believe that Arafat is approaching the time of truth and is liable to take a decision under the threat of a change in leadership of Israel's government. Palestinian sources reduce expectations and warn that Arafat is not authorized to strike a deal without receiving full sovereignty in Jerusalem and over Temple Mount and without reaching an agreement concerning the right of return of Palestinians to their homes inside the Green Line.

It is necessary to point out that this week, for the first time after a long period, there were no fatalities on the Israeli side in spite of the continued shooting. At a meeting in Ramallah two days ago, the Commander General of Palestinian Intelligence in the West Bank, Tawfik Tirawi, called for more Israelis to be killed. According to him, casualties in the settlements and by-pass roads were the only reason for the renewal of negotiations.

Peace efforts are taking place against the backdrop of a continuing struggle over the leadership of the government.

This week the proposal to dissolve the Knesset was rejected. As a result, Netanyahu withdrew his candidacy in spiteof his lead in the polls. This in spite of the unique support to allow Netanyahu to run for office without his being a member of the Knesset displayed by Shas, One Israel,Meretz and the Arab Parties. At Netanyahu's request, the Likud and the right wing parties voted against the proposal. Shinui opposed it as well.

Following Netanyahu's announcement retracting his candidacy, Barak and Sharon remained the only contenders, although yesterday Peres announced his intention to join the race as the left wing`s challenger.The Shas leader Eli Yishai announced that the ultra orthodox bloc was also considering fielding a candidate in light of the new situation.

On 15th December the Hamas held a mass rally in Gaza's Yarmukh Stadium (with 30,000 participants) to mark the 13th anniversary of the movement's founding. At the rally, which was attended by PA members, led by the parliament's first deputy chairman Ibrahim Abu Alanja, extreme anti-Israel speeches were made expressly calling for the perpetration of terror attacks against Israeli targets, the assassination of Prime Minister Barak and the murder of Jews.

Hamas activists bore an Israeli flag and picture of Israeli opposition leader Arik Sharon to the center of the rally, as well as a sheep on which a Star of David had been painted and a picture of Prime Minister Barak had been placed. The activists announced that this sheep represented the Prime Minister and asked the crowd whether to slaughter it. After the crowd unanimously cried - "Slaughter Barak", the sheep was slaughtered and its blood sprayed on the picture of Barak, which was then displayed, drenched in blood, to all those present.

Hamas founder, Salah Shahad, delivered the keynote speech and declared that "the Palestinian people needs guns rather than (political) compromise, that the Jihad is a Divine command which cannot be violated". To illustrate their commitment to the Jihad against Israel, a symbolic ceremony was held during which a rifle and the Koran were handed over by armed Hamas activists to the movement's leader Ahmed Yassin. He then gave them to a boy and a girl, symbolizing the on-going armed struggle by the younger generation of the Hamas.

During the rally, which as mentioned was held with PA permission, the traditional burning of the Israeli flag took place as an expression of the movement's desire to free "all of Palestine" through Jihad. Activists in the Hamas' terrorist wing marched armed with Kalachnikov rifles and hand grenades, gave a "military" demonstration which included climbing down a building with a rope and firing in the air. Palestinian media reported the event but did not print any condemnation of reservations from its messages encouraging terror.

Armed Hamas members in Gaza

Israel must invest considerable thought in building a deterrence against terrorist activity since it has never prepared itself for low-intensity conflict. This is the conclusion presented this week by the think tank headed by former Israel Air Force chief,Maj. Gen. (Res.) Eitan Ben Eliyahu, at the conference on "Assessing Israel`s National Strength" which is currently being held by the Lauder Inter-Disciplinary Center in Herzliya.

Attending the conference are leaders from Israel's defense and intelligence establishments, including Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Shaul Mofaz, Mossad headEphraim Halevy, head of the National Security Council Maj. Gen. Uzi Dayan, IDF generals, senior officials from the economy and Israel's diplomatic service.

Jewish Agency Chairman, Sallai Meridor, will conduct the session discussing The Zionist Enterprise and the Jewish People and will deliver a lecture entitled - "The Jewish People`s Component in Israel`s Strength". Representing the Jewish Agency at the conference are JAFI Treasurer Chaim Chesler, Executive vice chairman. of the Conference of Presidents - Malcolm Hoenlein, Prof. Art Neferstack from Cleveland, Julie Koschitzky from Toronto and Dr Jacob Yukeles from New York.

The Conference is being sponsored by the Ministry of Defense, the National Security Council, the Jewish Agency, Baron Edmond de Rothschild's "Caesaria Fund" and the American Jewish Committee.

Lecturers include leading political figures including President Moshe Katsav, Prime Minister Ehud Barak, opposition leader Ariel Sharon, former PM Binyamin Netanyahu and Chairman of the Conference of Presidents, Ron Lauder.

The initiative for the convention came from Dr. Uzi Arad, a former Mossad official. He believes that the conference could provide a response to the urgent need to establish a forum of leading figures from the different sectors in Israel who will address the country's security problems in a comprehensive fashion thus improving its ability to cope in times of future crises. Dr. Arad intents to turn the convention into an annual meeting of people who are the most influential on the character of the State of Israel.

Prior to the conference think tanks on a variety of issues were formed which will present their findings to the participants. Issues such as Israel's defense and deterrent balance (including conclusions and recommendations), the demography of the Jewish people in Israel and the Diaspora, fostering the human element in the hi-tech era, and more, will be discussed.

Amos Hermon,co- chairman of the Jewish Agency's Education Committee yesterday appealed to the leaders of Jewish communities and organizations and to JAFI emissaries around the world to ask the governments of their countries to organize petitions and make every effort to help release the kidnapped MIA's.

In conjunction with the official bodies dealing with this issue, Hermon suggested that the activities organized by the communities, organizations and universities, at schools and youth movements should be part of the Hanukkah festivities, since this is the "Festival of Miracles" which this year also coincides with the Christian Christmas and the Moslem month of Ramadan.

The Jewish Agency's request comes following a meeting with the families and isolated activities which have already been organized by various communities.

The Jewish Agency hopes to receive reports of the activities from the Jewish organizations over the next few days.

A delegation from Great Britain's United Jewish Israel Appeal (UJIA) - which is partnered with the Confrontation Line along Israel's border with Lebanon - visited the family of Omar Souad, one of the three soldiers taken captive by the Hizbollah terrorist organization last month. Members of the UJIA's Partnership 2000 steering committee spent time with the missing soldier's family - his wife, parents and two young children - in their Bedouin village as a token of their support. Stefan Kerner, Chairman of Partnership 2000 and UJIA board member, who addressed the family on behalf of the group said: "Our visit to the family at this sad and tragic time was to make a simple statement: "We care, and our thoughts are with you."

• $12,000 - Jewish Agency support in the year 2000 for a special project of the Association for the advancement of the mentally challenged in Israel (Akim). The project establishes a mixed soccer team of children who are mentally challenged and fully able children.

• $305,000 - Jewish Agency support in the year 2000 for the WUJS Arad Institute that was established to encourage immigration and absorption of young academicians, particularly from the west. The study program of the youth is comprised of five and a half months of study and six months of work in Israel.

• $225,000 - Jewish Agency budget for the year 2000 for the operation of cultural, heritage, and religious programs for Ulpan students studying the Hebrew language and residents of absorption centers across Israel.

• 500 immigrants from Ethiopia were absorbed in the past few weeks in two absorption centers in Tiberias.

• 1008 olim arrived in Israel this week, 1008 of them from the FSU and Eastern Europe, and the rest from France, Belgium, Turkey, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, England, South Africa, Australia, Germany, the US, Canada, India and Ethiopia.

Southern Region Consortium spent time in the Hadera-Eiron region, visiting a children's home and day care center for Ethiopian children; meeting students from kibbutzim and the Gvanim High School, and engaging in a dialogue with doctors at the Hillel Yaffe Medical Center.

Southern New England Consortium visited Afula/Gilboa and received and overview of recent events on the functioning of the city at the crossroads of Israel. At Ha'emek Medical Center they learned how the hospital serves as a microcosm of Jewish-Arab relations.

MetroWest/Bergen County visited Ofakim/Merchavim where they talked with residents of Gush Katif. They toured Ofakim and met with youth.

Atlanta/St. Louis met with the mayor of Yokneam and toured the region, visiting schools, a center for the elderly, and an afternoon program for children.

New York spent time with its Jerusalem partner, meeting with young adults on the Jewish Agency's Selah program and participants of the Solomon Schechter/New York exchange program. They visited a Beit New York memorial art project devoted to the memory of victims of a bus terrorist attack in Jerusalem.

Several days ago, during an educational visit to the Babi Yar monument near Kiev, capital of the Ukraine, Jewish youngsters were surprised to find that not far from the Menorah commemorating the site, a giant gross had been positioned, and cemented into the ground. This is the second cross, after the first was found last summer with a notice stating that several Ukrainian priests had been executed at the site. The angry youths removed the cross, only to discover a few days later that it had been erected again, and this time the adjacent Menorah had been desecrated.

"For several months there have been contacts between Jewish organization leaders in the Ukraine and the authorities in connection with moving the cross to another location", said Eli Itzhaki, head of the Jewish Agency's Ukrainian delegation. "However, the authorities seem to have difficulty in preventing Christian organizations from erecting the crosses at Babi Yar, on the grounds that members of other religions were also murdered at the site".

This week Itzhaki met with Ilia Levitas, Chairman of the Jewish Committee of the Ukraine and with local government representatives to discuss ways of settling the issue. The local government representatives promised that in preparation for the coming year, during which there will be official ceremonies marking 60 years of the terrible murder, they will attempt to settle the issue to the satisfaction of both sides.

Amos Lahat, director of the Jewish Agency's FSU Department, says that the Agency will continue to remove the crosses: "We will spare no effort to remove this insult from this place which is holy to the Jewish people. We hope that the problem will be resolved before the official ceremonies due to take place in 2001. These incidents are somewhat reminiscent of crosses which were placed at the Auschwitz concentration camp by the Polish Catholics, and which resulted in Jewish protests all over the world", said Lahat.

During the holocaust, the Nazis murdered 40,000 Jews at the Babi Yar. After Kiev was conquered by the German army in 1941, the Nazis ordered all the city's Jews to come to this area, where there was an ancient Jewish cemetery. The German soldiers cordoned off the area with barbed wire, packed the Jews into the compound and shot them all. The Nazis would throw the bodies into the valley, cover them with a layer of soil and throw in the rest of the corpses. During the two days of 29-30th September 1941 alone, 33,771 Jews were murdered at Babi Yar. During the ensuing months, thousands more Jews were brought to the site and murdered.

In July 1943, when the Russian army began to approach the area, the Nazis made a concerted effort to cover their trail and conceal the valley of death with all it contained. For 40 days, the Nazis methodically removed the bodies from the valley and burnt them, using 327 prisoners - 160 of whom were Jews - to do the work for them. The horrendous story was uncovered immediately after the war by the few survivors. But it was only in the 1990's, after the collapse of the Communist regime, that the monument in the form of the Menorah was erected on the site after an official request by the government of Israel.

Crosses at BABI YAR

At the Jewish Agency's Ulpan Meir in Tel Aviv nearly half of the 500 new immigrants currently enrolled in Hebrew classes came to Israel after the current violence began during Rosh Hashanah at the end of September. In fact, nearly 5,000 Russian-speaking new immigrants reached Israel during the month of October, and a similar number arrived in November.

Natalya Grukhova, 30, from Odessa, Ukraine immigrated to Israel in October with her six-year old son Zhenya. "Everything in the Ukraine is chaos," I started thinking about the sort of life I want for my son, and decided that despite all the problems in the Middle East, Israel can offer him a far better future."

Grukhova recently received her doctorate in architecture from the University of Odessa and hopes to work as an interior designer in Israel. She had never been to the country before and therefore had no expectations. The warmth of the people and the beauty of Tel Aviv, however, pleasantly surprised her.

"To be honest we hardly feel the situation in Tel Aviv," she said. "It looks much worse on television." Victoria Kravitz, 38, has a similar story. She, too, immigrated to Israel recently from Kharkhov, Ukraine despite the problems. Kravitz, an accountant, arrived with her husband Vadim, an engineer, her 16 year old Stanislav, her parents and her husband's parents. "We have always wanted to live here," she said. "But my husband's parents did not want to come. We finally persuaded them because the situation in Ukraine is so bad. There is no electricity, no gas, and no water. But there is anti-Semitism. Now you can feel it in the street. People blame the Jews for the economic and political breakdown."

Miri Rosenbaum, director of Ulpan Meir, observed that the newcomers are naturally concerned about the renewed Israeli Palestinian violence but not unduly so." We have held discussions about the situation, and there has been a reluctance to travel to Jerusalem and other places."

In the former Soviet Union, just a few days after the current outbreak of violence, a large number of Jewish community leaders, individuals and parents who had sent their children to study in Israel began contacting the Jewish Agency's offices in an effort to receive details of the situation. In response to this concern, Jewish Agency emissaries have begun organizing meetings in Jewish communities throughout the former Soviet Union.

Yelena Belinski, who lives in Siberia in eastern Russia, will today have the privilege of lighting the first Hanukka candle with her son Gregory, who is serving in the IDF. Yelena who manages a photography store in Irkutsk, is visiting Israel with a group of 26 Jewish businesswomen from Russia, which has been organized by the Jewish Agency's Israel Department.

The Business Women's conference is designed to strengthen social and business ties between Jewish women from the FSU and Israeli women. During the five-day conference, the Russian women met with Israeli businesswomen and women in senior management positions, and visited small business development centers, technological incubators and small businesses run by new immigrants.

Yelena's elder son Gregory, made aliyah in 1995 through the Naaleh program. Two years ago, he enlisted in the IDF. Gregory's younger sister Anastasia, made aliyah two years ago, also through Naaleh and was absorbed at Kibbutz Baram.

The parents and younger brother remain in Irkutsk. Yelena manages a photography store in the city, the father runs a charity organization which provides the Jewish community with humanitarian help. The 11-year old younger brother attends a Jewish Sunday school. In two years time, the rest of the family also intends to make aliyah following in the footsteps of their older children.

16 youngsters from South Africa, including two girls from Zimbabwe, will arrive in Israel in the middle of next month, within the context of the Naaleh program - youngsters making aliyah before their parents. The program is geared towards 15-17 year olds who have completed at least 9 years of schooling in their country of origin and wish to complete their matriculation (bagrut) in Israel.

More than 8,000 Jewish teenagers have come to Israel over the last decade from the FSU through this program, which is run jointly by the Jewish Agency and the Ministry of Education. Recently, following the success of the Naaleh program in the FSU, the program has been expanded to other countries in Eastern Europe and South America.

Ronda Kasriel, director of the Jewish Agency's British desk, says that this is the first group to come from South Africa. The youngsters will live at Kibbutz Tzora and will study at the Beuer High School in Jerusalem. They have been located by Jewish Agency shlichim in South Africa in Pretoria, Durban, Capetown and Johannesburg. The two girls from Zimbabwe hail from Harare the capital, and Bulawayo. Kasriel added that at this very moment, the Jewish Agency is organizing a group from among FSU emigrees in Germany as well as from the French Jewish community.

90% of Naaleh graduates obtain a matriculation certificate. After the program, many of them go on to higher education or enlist in the IDF. There are currently more than 1800 Naaleh graduates serving in all branches of the IDF, including in elite and regular combat units. In addition another 100 girls who have graduated from the program are serving in the National Service framework. 95% of the program's graduates decide to stay in Israel after their studies, and 50% of the parents make aliyah following their children's footsteps.

The national project to ensure the successful absorption of Ethiopian Jews into Israel that is currently being developed by the Jewish Agency, the Government of Israel, JDC, UJC, Keren Hayesod was one of the central issues discussed at last weekend's meetings of the UJC ONAD committee in Los Angeles. The Jewish Agency was represented by Alex Grass, Chairman of the Board of Governors, Sallai Meridor, Chairman of the Executive, Chaim Chesler, Treasurer and Aaron Abramovich, Director-General. The ONAD committee also heard from Absorption Minister, Yuli Tamir. The UJC-designed ONAD process allows US federations to interact directly in funding decisions for overseas programs.

The project developed out of the Jewish Agency's strategic initiative on special population immigrant groups. It seeks to ensure that the necessary efforts and resources are invested in the absorption of Ethiopian Jewry and to coordinate these efforts fully so that the community does not remain on the fringes of Israeli society. The need for the project is incontrovertible. Despite the extensive support that Ethiopian Jews receive in Israel - some 190 million dollars was invested in their absorption this year - the community is in social and economic distress. Lacking suitable measures, the situation will become the destiny not only of the immigrating generations but of the Israeli-born generations as well.

Absorption activities - since the immigration of Ethiopian Jews began with Operation Moses in 1984-1985 - have clearly shown the impact of intensive, one-on-one projects, in helping the Ethiopian community adapt from the subsistence farming way of life they knew in Ethiopia to living and working in a modern, industrialized society.

Among the obstacles that must be overcome are how to teach another language to people who are illiterate in their native tongue and how to help parents help their children with their school work when they themselves had little or no formal education. Only 28 percent of Ethiopian high school students pass their matriculation diplomas when the rate within the general population is 50 percent, though there has been a dramatic increase in this field in recent years. The percentage of students who drop out of school between the ages of 14-17 is twice as high among the Ethiopian community as among the veteran population, while a significantly higher percentage of Ethiopian youth are in special educational frameworks.

Unemployment rate in the Ethiopian population is significantly higher than the national average. There is a high percentage of single parent families - 18 percent compared to eight percent within the Jewish population in Israel. About half of the families with children are cared by the social service departments as compared to 14 percent in the overall population and as many as 80 percent of the families are defined as having financial difficulties.

The challenges also include keeping the traditional family structure intact when many of the older generation are unemployed and have a poor grasp of Hebrew, so that their children often serve as the parents' linguistic and cultural interpreters.

Among projects developed and supported by the Jewish Agency are after-school tutorials that offer intensive intervention to 5,000 Ethiopian school students. The program includes assistance with homework and strengthening of parent-child relationships; exposure to Israeli culture; and a hot meal - for many of the children the only hot meal they receive. Jewish Agency budget for this program is three million dollars; 14 million dollars are contributed by the government.

More than 1,600 young members of the Ethiopian community are currently studying in institutions of higher education. They receive scholarships, an assortment of social and cultural activities, a stipend including living expenses and remedial assistance. Many of the students are on scholarship paid by the educational and cultural net and stipends for subsistence and medical insurance.

The ONAD committee asked for the submission of a detailed assistance project within 90 days. At a recent meeting in Los Angeles, the allocations committee concluded its work regarding the 2001 programming and set the guidelines for submissions in the year 2002.

President Moshe Katsav recently hosted the Schechter Institute's fourth annual Liebhaber Prize for Religious Tolerance at his residence. The prize was awarded to Rabbi Roberto Arbib, rabbi of Tel Aviv's Kehilat Sinai, and director of its learning center, Midreshet Iyun.

In his address, the President called upon Conservative Jews around the world to strengthen ties to Israel and the Jewish people and lead the fight against assimilation. In the first official ceremony of the Conservative Movement to be held at the President's Residence, Katsav thanked members for their efforts to bring Jews closer to Judaism and promote the unity of the Jewish people.

The prize was established four years ago by Rabbi Marc and Henia Liebhaber, to promote religious tolerance in Israeli society in the wake of the Rabin assassination. Rabbi Liebhaber, in Israel for the ceremony and the Schechter Institute's International Board of Governors, commended the President. "Before you were the president of Israel. Now you are really the president of all streams," he said.

Rabbi Roberto Arbib received ordination from the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies in 1991. He was born in Rome in 1959 and immigrated to Israel alone at the age of with a Youth Aliyah program. Arbib is very involved in bringing Israelis closer to their Jewish sources, as well as forging ties between Israelis and their Arab neighbors.

Rabbi Joseph (Joe) Wernik, member of the executive of the World Zionist Organization and Jewish Agency Board of Governors since 1987 has ended his term of office as head of the Department for Zionist Activities. He will be replaced by Dr. David Breakstone as representative of the Conservative movement.

Rabbi Wernik has served in various positions in the WZO Education Department, he was national Director General of the AACI and active in Young Judaea and the World Hadassah organization.

Wernik made aliyah in 1969 after years of Zionist activity in the US. His greatest contribution in Israel was to consolidate the Conservative Movement, which he directed in recent years.

Jewish Agency Chairman Sallai Meridor addressed Rabbi Wernick warmly at the farewell session of the Board and wished him continuing activity in those areas in which he chooses to engage in the future.

The Kibbyutz Aliyah Desk in New York recently embarked on an effort to recruit volunteers for work on kibbutz. The volunteers will be sent to various kibbutzim around the country in safe locations to work in the service, industrial or agricultural branches - depending on where the need is greatest. "Volunteers are needed to wash vegetables in the kitchen, work on the assembly line in the factory, and sort eggs in the chicken house," says Dr. Joel Magid, Director of the Kibbutz Aliyah Desk. "Prepare yourself to do relatively menial work and/or tiring physical labor, but don't underestimate the value of your work. You will be making an important contribution to the kibbutz economy," he adds.

Twenty per cent of Israelis live below the poverty line. These findings were published in the annual report of the National Insurance Institute and the Ministry of Employment. The report states that 25% of the children in Israel live below the poverty line. The poorest cities in Israel are Jerusalem, Bnei Brak and Ashdod. The percentage of Arab residents living below the line poverty is three times higher than the percentage in the Jewish population.

The bill of equal rights for persons with disabilities was approved in the first reading at the Knesset. According to the new law, it will be imperative to provide physical accessibility to persons with disabilities in every public place: tourist sites, banks, swimming pools, sea shore, cemeteries, cinemas, public washrooms, etc. The bill also states that the government should fund a disabled person's studies and professional training.

New judges at the Peace Court will get a personal trainer in order to eliminate errors during the initiation period.

Yair Ben Ami from Neveh Tzuf, suspect in the murder of a Palestinian boy this week when he fired following a stone throwing attack on his car, is still held in detention.

Academicians initiated a pilot project for the treatment of sex offenders. The goals of the project are to promote public and social awareness for the need of treating sex offenders following their release from jail and the need for centers to provide assistance, counseling and treatment for families who maintain silence regarding sexual assault.

"We're on the 'second line' of defense," says Madeleine Lavian, principal of the TALI elementary school in Gilo. TALI, which is attended by 470 students, in on Vardinon Street, several blocks from what has become Jerusalem's confrontation line." The school's schedule and activities reflect the new reality. To help the children act out their fears, the school has added hours in drama and art. Since the outbreak of the violence, it has also provided extra hours in a "therapy" class, where among ;other exercises, special breathing and relaxing techniques are taught.

Psychological help has also been given to several children in need. "Our overriding concern is to maintain a sense of calm and quiet at the school, in spite of the constant presence of soldiers and police patrolling the grounds and vicinity," adds Lavian. "I am also on constant alert for anything suspicious, and I tour the school grounds throughout the day. When leaving the school, the children go out in small groups, never in large gatherings, like in the past. This is clearly not a normal situation." Many of the children live directly in the line of fire and their lives have definitely been turned topsy-turvey. Some of them aren't able to sleep at night. One child sleeps in a single bed with the entire family. Others go to neighbors, or find safer rooms - even the kitchen - to sleep in.

TALI is a Hebrew acronym describing an enriched program of Jewish studies which operates within Israel's secular state schools. It is a network of 30 state schools where Jewish tradition, history and religion are taught to some 10,000 pupils in the atmosphere of respect and tolerance. TALI schools are supported by the Jewish Agency for Israel.

Thousands of Jews from the UK, Israel and other communities around the world - including singles and married couples, religious and secular - will meet at the annual "Limmud"(Study} convention due to take place at Nottingham University in England, between December 24-28 .

The "Limmud" conference has been an annual event for the last 20 years, taking place between Christmas and New Year. Participants come to enjoy an emotional Jewish study experience. At the convention there will be hundreds of lectures on Jewish subjects including Bible, religion, Jewish philosophy, Jewish history, medicine, the history of the Jewish people and the Land of Israel, Zionism and the State of Israel.

Dubi Bergman, head of the Jewish Agency's UK office, said that this year the convention will take place during Hanukka. One of the main subjects to be presented by the Jewish Agency will be the story of the aliyah of silent Jewry, as befits the miracle of Hanukka. Since the gates were opened and up to the present time, 900,000 olim have come to Israel from the FSU.

Those addressing the participants will be Jewish Agency Chairman Sallai Meridor, Karol Ungar - head of the Jewish Agency's Russian delegation who will discuss his period as manager at the Budapest transit camp; Uri Bar Ner - deputy director of the Department for Aliyah from the West, who will speak about the adjustment of olim from the FSU to the Israeli economy; and Aniah Mintz who will relate the story of her own aliyah.

Bergman added the Jewish Agency delegation to the conference is made up of representatives of all JAFI departments operating in the UK, including the education and aliyah departments, according to the cultural activity reorganization prepared by the Jewish Agency. The delegation will be joined by representatives from the front line, organized by the Partnership 2000 program, in conjunction with the UJIA in England and the Jewish Agency's Israel Department.

Hanukka celebrates the Jewish people's struggle for religious freedom. This year, it begins at sunset on Thursday, 21 December and continues through Saturday December 30.

The holiday commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 164 BCE after its desecration by the ruling Seleucid (Syrian Greek) Kingdom, under Antiochus IV - and the re-establishment of religious freedom in Judea after a period of harsh repression.

After the death of Alexander the Great, who had conquered the Persian Empire, Judea was ruled by Ptolemies of Alexandria. Many of the Jews came under the influence of Hellenism. Antiochus IV, who acceded to the throne in 175 BCE, instituted, with the support of many Jews, a policy of forced Hellenization. Jews were forced to eat pork, and the death penalty was leveled again those who observed the Sabbath and circumcised their sons. In 167 BCE, the holy Temple in Jerusalem was defiled and dedicated to the Greek god Zeus. Harsh decrees were issued against those Jews who refused to adopt Hellenistic culture.

A popular revolt against Seleucid rule with its policy of religious repression broke out in 165 BCE. It was led by Mattathias, an elderly priest from the town of Modi'in and his five sons joined by other loyal Jews, mostly farmers and shepherds. Upon Mattathias' death shortly thereafter, he was succeeded by his third son, Judah, known as the Maccabee (meaning "the Hammer"). Following a brilliant guerrilla campaign -- as well as several victories over far larger, regular Seleucid armies -- Judah's forces liberated Jerusalem. They cleaned the Temple which they found in ruins, and, on the 25th of the Hebrew month of Kislev, rededicated it. (The word "hanukka" means "dedication" in Hebrew).

When they sought to relight the candelabra in the Temple, the Jews found only enough pure, undefiled olive oil for one day. This small quantity miraculously burned for the eight days until new oil could be obtained.

To commemorate the miracles, on each day of Hanukka a candle or oil menorah is lit starting with nightfall. The candle is placed on the right side of the menorah (facing the lighter) and each night an additional candle is lit until the eighth night when the menorah is completely lit. The shamash (meaning servant) stands apart from the others and is used to light them. Two blessings are said upon lighting the menorah: one acknowledging the mitzvah of lighting the menorah, and one that thanks God for performing miracles for our ancestors. On the first night, the blessing of "shehechiyanu" is added, which thanks God for sustaining us up to this time. The menorah should be placed in a window or doorway where it can be seen to publicize the miracle of the oil.

"Al hanissim" (upon the miracles) and Hallel are added to the prayers during Hanukka.

Foods fried in oil, potato pancakes or jelly doughnuts are eaten. Children - and adults - traditionally play with the "dreidel" during Chanukah. In the Diaspora, the sides bear the Hebrew letters "nun, gimel, heh, shin" - the first letters of the words "nes gadol hayah sham" ( a great miracle happened there). In Israel, the letter "shin" is replaced by a "peh" for "poh" - here, because "a great miracle happened here."

Ingredients for doughnuts:

3 cups flour
1 packet dry yeast
1 tsp. sugar
2+ cups tepid water

Ingredients for Syrup:

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. rose-water

Preparation:

• Mix all the ingredients to form a sticky dough and leave to rise for 1 ½ hours.

• To ensure that the doughnuts are light and airy, knead the dough well and leave to rise again. This process should be repeated several times.

• Using a pastry bag, squeeze snail-shaped blobs of pastry into hot oil.

• While doughnuts are frying, prepare the syrup by combining all the ingredients in a small pan and cooking until light syrup forms. When ready, leave to cool.

• Remove the golden doughnuts from the oil and drain on kitchen roll. Dip them in the syrup while they are still hot. (Icing sugar may be sprinkled over the doughnuts instead of the syrup).