VAST MAJORITY OF AMERICANS STILL SEE ISRAEL AS ALLY: Despite President Barack Obama’s overtures to the Arab world and his perceived coldness to the Jewish state, a full 70 percent of Americans say Israel is a US ally in a new poll by Rasmussen Reports. Eight percent see it as an enemy and 16% see it as something in between. The survey’s authors say: "None of the Islamic countries comes close to the positive feelings most adults here have toward Israel." Eighty-one percent of American adults also believe Palestinian leaders must recognize Israel’s right to exist as part of any Middle Eastern peace agreement. (INN)

GAS FIELD NEAR HAIFA EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS AGAIN! The capacity of natural gas fields off the coast of Haifa have exceeded the most optimistic expectations - for a second time. The natural gas reserves are 16% more than estimated, according to a report released by Noble Energy, which owns 36% of the field under exploration. The group plans to "determinedly seek additional reserves along the coast," pointing out the discoveries will free Israel from dependence on foreign energy sources. (Arutz 7) "The wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come." Is 60:5

ISRAEL’S REAL ESTATE MARKET REMAINS HOT: Industry experts say Israel's real estate market is healthy, as it is not plagued by the overvaluation and mortgage problems that have hit the US and Europe with such severity. Unlike most places in the world right now, Israel's real estate market is thriving. Home sales in Israel jumped 57% in June of this year, compared to the same month in 2008. June 2009 saw 1,540 homes sold nationwide, compared to just 980 a year earlier. (INN) 

ISRAEL RAILWAYS COMPANY PLUGS IN TO ELECTRIC CAR PROJECT: Israel Railways is hooking up with the electric car project "A Better Place" and will provide battery rechargers for "park ‘n ride" passengers. The national railroad company will soon install more than 200 charging terminals at its parking lots at nearly a dozen train stations where railway commuters can charge their cars while commuting on the train. (INN)

ISRAELI INTRODUCES NEW WAY TO TRACK MEMORY & DETECT ALZHEIMER’S: Dr. Yaniv Assaf of Tel Aviv University is pioneering a new way to track the effect of memory on brain structure. "With a specific MRI methodology we can investigate the microstructure of the tissue without actually cutting into it," he explains. "We can measure how much capacity the brain has to change structurally, what our memory reserve is and where that happens." His study has been pivotal to the way scientists view the effect of memory on the brain. (INN)

PROTECTING PELICANS IN ISRAEL, FISHERIES BENEFIT: The Agriculture Ministry, the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, and the national Fish Breeders Association are collaborating for the second time this year to provide food for migrating pelicans passing through the country. By providing the birds with designated feeding stations, the breeders and government agencies hope to reduce the numbers of fish snatched from commercial fishponds along the pelicans' migratory path. About 30,000 to 40,000 pelicans pass through Israel in spring and autumn, stopping along the way to eat before continuing migration. (INN)

ISRAELI DOCTOR SAYS MORE DIE FROM ROUTINE FLU THAN H1N1 VIRUS: Although the swine flu has become a global pandemic, infecting hundreds of thousands of people worldwide, an Israeli doctor says it’s time to put it in perspective. Dr. Yuval Rabinovich, medical director of the Leumit health clinic in Arad, said this week the swine flu is relatively mild, as influenza viruses go. "More people die each year in Israel from routine influenza than have died from the H1N1 virus," he said. (Arutz 7) Continue to pray against the increasing spread of swine flu in Israel.

PETAH TIKVA ORTHODOX SCHOOLS REFUSE ETHIOPIAN STUDENTS: At least 100 students of Ethiopian origin in Petah Tikva do not know what school they will be attending with the opening of the school year just two and a half weeks away. The uncertainty stems from the city's private schools with an ultra-Orthodox bent having refused to accept children of Ethiopian origin. Much of the funding for the private schools comes from the Education Ministry and the city. Education Ministry director general Shimshon Shoshani said Wednesday the schools that continue to refuse to enroll the children will be fined and may have their licenses suspended. (Ha’aretz) "He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker." Prov 14:31 Pray these children will be welcomed into Israeli schools.

FATAH ELECTS VIOLENT NEW LEADERS: Once again, Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party, the Palestinian faction the international community wants everyone to view as "moderate," has proved itself to be anything but. At the conclusion of the Fatah convention in Bethlehem on Tuesday, party members voted out most of the "old guard" Central Committee members and replaced them with younger party activists whom the international media is trying to paint as "reformers." But these "fresh faces" are some of Fatah's most violent and blood-soaked personalities. Additionally this week, all of the new members of the Central Committee voted in favor of a new Fatah party platform that officially places the option of renewed terrorism against Israel back on the table, in violation of the PA's signed peace agreements. (Israel Today)