ISRAEL...

Hamas rejects Red Cross appeal to give proof Schalit alive... By Reuters and JPost.com. June 23, 2011

... ICRC: "Because there has been no sign of life from Mr. Schalit for almost two years, we are now demanding that Hamas prove that he is alive"; Abu Zuhri: Red Cross "should not get involved in Israeli security games."

Netanya blast... Jerusalem Post, June 17 2011

Remand of suspects in Netanya blast extended by 5 days. Gas explosion rocks building in Netanya; 4 dead, 90 hurt; alleged thief and gas technician suspected of manslaughter, death by negligence.

ANTI-SEMITISM

Holocaust Memorial in Thessaloniki, Greece, desecrated... EUropean Jewish Press. June 21, 2011

Athens: The Holocaust Memorial of Thessaloniki, in northern Greece, was vandalized with swastika and anti-Semitic slogans.

Unidentified perpetrators daubed the bronze plaque in memory of the 50,000 Jews killed during the Holocaust with the words "That's a lie", a Star of David and a swastika.

This act coincides with the decision of the City Council of Thessaloniki to bestow on Monday the City’s highest decoration to 30 Holocaust survivors still living in Thessaloniki.

The Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece (KIS) and the Jewish Community of Thessaloniki issued press releases condemning this anti-Semitic attack and urging the authorities to take all necessary measures in order to apprehend the culprits.

Greek Education Minister, Anna Diamantopoulou, the City Council of Thessaloniki as well as the local Mayor Giannis Boutaris issued public statements condemning the vandalism.

The city's memorial service for the about 30 survivors still living in Greece's second city was said to be the first in 65 years.

Thessaloniki's new mayor Yannis Boutaris, who defeated the conservative candidate in local elections last year, is seeking to highlight the city's multicultural and religious past at the crossroads of the southern Balkans.

Lithuania to compensate Jews who lost property during Nazi and Soviet occupations... Haaretz, June 22 2011

Under the bill, which still has to be signed into the law, the government would pay 51.93 million euro between 2013 and 2023 to a special fund.

Vilnus- Lithuania's parliament on Tuesday passed a long-awaited bill to compensate the Jewish community for communal property taken during the Nazi and Soviet occupations of the country.

The United States and world Jewish organizations have long called on the Lithuanian government to reach a settlement, though some property has already been returned.

"With this bill we demonstrate good will and an understanding of the tragedy the Jewish community suffered during the Holocaust," Lithuania Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius told public radio.

More than 90 percent of Lithuania's 220,000-strong Jewish community were wiped out during the Holocaust. Under the bill, which still has to be signed into the law by the president, the government would pay 125 million litas (51.93 million euro) between 2013 and 2023 to a special fund. A further 3 million litas would be paid directly to Holocaust survivors in 2012.

The bill, which says it aims "to restore historical justice", was backed by 82 lawmakers in the 141-seat parliament with 18 abstentions.

Lithuania's Jewish Community group, the biggest Jewish organization in the Baltic state, welcomed the move, though it had reservations. "We have backed the bill ... because this is what the state can afford at this stage," Faina Kukliansky, deputy chairwoman of Lithuanian Jewish Community, which has about 3,000 members, told Reuters.

She said the community has been negotiating for compensation with the government since 2002. "What is important is not even the sum of money, but that the principal of matter has been solved," Kukliansky said.

First Temple Period Archeological Site Unveiled in Jerusalem ... By Melanie Lidman. Jerusalem Post, June 22 2011

A large complex of ruins from the First Temple period called the Ophel City Walls site was inaugurated on Tuesday in the Walls Around Jerusalem National Park, showcasing one of the most complete excavations from the First Temple period and the area believed to be the Water Gate mentioned in the Bible.

The site, which was uncovered by Hebrew University's Dr. Eilat Mazar, contains ritual baths, store rooms, a watchtower, and royal buildings, where archeologists found dozens of large clay pots of various sizes. Mazar believes the site includes remnants of the walls built by King Solomon.

Avi Mashiah, a conservation expert with the Antiquities Authority, noted that some of the pots and stones were still blackened from the fires set in the destruction of the First Temple (586 BCE).