Prof. Ada Yonath, who was informed last week that she would become the ninth Israeli winner of a Nobel prize for her work in chemistry, went on the record on Saturday regarding an entirely different subject, stating that Israel should release all Palestinian prisoners, regardless of whether it would be part of a deal to secure the release of kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Schalit.

Use of the graphic displays is being strongly urged by the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which Israel has ratified. Putting such images on packets has been proven in scientific research to lower smoking rates significantly, with many smokers getting the message and their children, spouses and friends demanding that they kick the habit. mages appearing around the world include a mouthful of yellowed, rotten teeth; blackened lungs; gangrenous feet; a dead fetus lying near cigarette butts; a hole in the throat, in addition to bold texts such as "WARNING: Smoking can kill you," and "Tobacco smoke can harm your children." Although the US has now joined 30 countries in requiring all cigarette packets to display gruesome images of the results of diseases caused by smoking, Deputy Health Minister Ya'acov Litzman has "not yet decided his position," an aide said. - JERUSALEM POST

OPINION - We were reminded this past week of the biblical injunction against idolatry as we listened to the Ten Commandments in synagogues around the world. This commandment was preceded by the proclamation that our nation, the Jewish people, has been liberated from such slavery. The adoration afforded Obama that has propelled him to the highest office in his country - nay, the world - borders on idolatry. That American Jews have contributed to Obama's rise is not surprising. Israeli Jews may not vote for the US president, but they suffer from a neurotic side-effect of this "adoration-bordering-on-idolatry" syndrome. They display a neurotic anxiety at every manifestation of presidential approval or disapproval. How many presidents have been described sycophantically by Israeli representatives as "the best friend Israel has ever had." Or conversely, how many Israeli prime ministers have been lamented as having "gotten off on the wrong foot" with this or that president? Such manic-depresssive reactions are inappropriate for a nation - no matter how small - that is truly free. When are we Jews going to get off our idolatrous merry-go-round vis-à-vis American presidents and realize the consistently confirmed proposition that in international relations there are no "friendships" - only interests! - JERUSALEM POST

The security establishment had some scathing criticism for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) on Wednesday after the IDF claimed that three ambulances that were transferred to the organization some two weeks ago were seized by Hamas. According to the army, a short time after the ambulances arrived in Gaza via the Kerem Shalom border crossing, Hamas gunmen overpowered the drivers and took control of the vehicles. The IDF noted that UNRWA failed to report the incident. A military source told Army Radio that the incident indicated a double standard toward Hamas, and UNRWA's discrimination concerning Israel. "When Israel deviates a little from procedures in Gaza, there is a massive world outcry, but when UNRWA, as an organization, doesn't even declare that Hamas is causing great damage in Gaza, the world doesn't even open its mouth," he said. - JERUSALEM POST

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu welcomed a planeload of olim on Tuesday at Ben Gurion Airport, telling them "we're close to a tipping point." According to the prime minister, "for the first time in 2,000 years, there are going to be more Jews in Israel than outside it." Speaking to a terminal full of olim from the United States and Canada, who came with Nefesh B'Nefesh on the organization's 38th chartered aliya flight since the first one in July 2002, Netanyahu noted that Israel's Jewish population was nearing the six million mark. Netanyahu told the 238 new immigrants that aliya to the state of Israel had given the Jewish people "our ability to control our fate and our destiny." - JERUSALEM POST

Children in Hamas summer camps reenacted the abduction of IDF soldier Gilad Schalit in the presence of top Hamas officials, according to pictures obtained by The Jerusalem Post. According to Israeli defense officials, more than 120,000 Palestinian children are spending the summer in Hamas-run camps. In addition to religious studies, the children undergo semi-military training with toy guns. In contrast to the Hamas summer camps, the United Nations has been running summer games throughout the Gaza Strip for 240,000 children. These games, run by UNRWA, are being held at over 150 locations. The participants are mostly between the ages of six and 15 and engage in sports, arts and crafts, swimming and other cultural activities. Last week, senior Hamas official Dr. Younes al-Istal told Al-Arabiya TV the UNRWA summer camps were part of a plan to corrupt the younger generation and prepare it for normalization with Israel. - JERUSALEM POST

Jesus supports the IDF and he wants his believers to be the best soldiers they can be. That was the message conveyed by members of the local Messianic Jewish community via sacred texts, prayer and talks, to a group of 18-year-olds who took part this week in a premilitary program called Netsor. "I am a soldier of God," said Boris, an intense redhead accepted to an elite combat unit, who is one of the 28 young men and women who participated in Netsor. "I will do my best during my service in the IDF to serve God spiritually and physically. Not for the sake of state authorities but for the sake of God and Jesus," added Boris, as we sat in the dining room of a guest house that overlooks Lake Kinneret on Wednesday. - JERUSALEM POST

In testimonies collected by Breaking the Silence, an organization of Israeli army reservists, 26 soldiers who participated in the three weeks of Gaza fighting describe demolishing homes and using firepower beyond what was necessary given the relatively light resistance they encountered. The Israeli military accused the group of "defaming and slandering the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) and its commanders." In one of the new testimonies, a soldier said his unit used Palestinian civilians as human shields — a practice outlawed by Israel's Supreme Court — forcing them to enter buildings suspected of housing militants and to break down walls using sledgehammers. "Sometimes the force would enter while placing rifle barrels on a civilian's shoulder, advancing into a house and using him as a human shield. Commanders said these were the instructions and we had to do it," the soldier said. - THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

OPINION - When Obama visited Cairo, he sent a clear message by not visiting Israel and in his speech uttered words that pose a grave danger to Jews everywhere. The immediate danger posed by Obama’s speech is in its incredible re-writing of the history of Jews, Christians and Muslims from Medieval times to the present. “For centuries, black people in America suffered the lash of the whip as slaves and the humiliation of segregation,” Obama told his audience, citing a litany of American shortcomings. He failed to mention that Arab Muslims were the greatest slave traders in the history of humanity. Isn’t it odd an American president would go to a foreign country and slander his own country and its long-time ally? He added, “And throughout history, Islam has demonstrated through words and deeds the possibilities of religious tolerance and racial equality.” Does he not know that a Jew or Christian would be beheaded in Saudi Arabia for practicing their religion today, now, this minute? He proudly told his audience that in every state of the union and throughout the U.S. there exist more than 1,200 mosques. But why, Mr. President, is there no Christian Church or Jewish synagogue operating within the borders of Saudi Arabia? Not even one. - NEWSMAX.com