e w Saying 11_ 5769 In Israel from page 47 goodbye is hard. We'd like to tell you about the people who make it easier. The people at Hospice of Michigan are highly trained professionals who bring the resources, knowledge and experience of Michigan's largest hospice. When care is under control, you and your loved ones can spend time on the things that are most important — talking, remembering, just being together. Israel Scouts carried the flags of 60 nations at the opening of the Maccabiah Games in July. - Photo by Uri Lenz/Flash 90/JTA all Hospice of Michigan. Our staff is available 24 hours-a-day. Every day. • HOSPICE of Michigan 888 247 5701 - - 1 www.hom.org Ruth & the Staff at House of Renew ivish their customers a Happy & Healthy New Year! HOUSE OF RENEW CUSTOM REPAIR & CONSIGNMENT CALLEHY 251 Merrill - 2nd level Birmingham 248-642-0363 Closed Mondays • In Business Since 1976 .C.Shanah Torah! etv ear from Mayor Brenda L. Lawrence City of Southfield Wishing you and yours a very joyous and prosperous New Year 1532980 48 September 17 2009 The disproportionate death toll and the widespread destruction in Gaza led to claims that the Israel Defense Forces' response to Hamas rocket attacks had been disproportionate and indiscriminate. The debate extended into the summer with the release of numerous reports about the brief war. Israel argued that its soldiers oper- ated strictly within the laws of war and that strenuous efforts had been made to warn civilians of impend- ing attacks. The U.N. Human Rights Council established a fact-finding commission under South African Judge Richard Goldstone that heard testimony mainly from Palestinians. Israel refused to cooperate, claiming the commission's mandate was inher- ently biased. In late July, the Israeli Foreign Ministry issued a 164-page rejection of claims made against it by groups such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. The report found that "Israel's resort to force in the Gaza operation was both a neces- sary and a proportionate response" to the more than 12,000 rockets and mortars fired by Gaza militants between 2000 and December 2008. It also said that Israel was conduct- ing its own investigation of about 100 alleged violations by soldiers in the field and had opened 13 criminal probes. From an Israeli point of view, the Gaza operation had two major impli- cations. Although it hurt Israel's image overseas, the operation appeared to establish a strong deterrent balance, at least in the short term. Six months after the war, rocket fire from Gaza had nearly stopped; and Israel and Hamas were negotiating a deal behind the scenes for the release of captured IDF soldier Gilad Shalit that would include opening border crossing points into Gaza. Iranian Threat The Gaza operation also marked a rare setback for Iran and its proxies in Gaza, further unifying relative Arab moderates like Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and some Gulf states against Iran's nuclear weapons' drive. For Netanyahu, stopping Iran from going nuclear remained a historical imperative in 5769. Israeli officials both under Olmert and Netanyahu made frequent trips to Washington to press the issue, and in late July a parade of top U.S. officials went to Jerusalem to coordinate policy on the issue. Netanyahu's other major preoccu- pation in 5769 was dealing with the impact on Israel of the global econom- ic crisis. He passed a two-year budget with increased government spending to counteract growing unemployment, and the Bank of Israel lowered interest rates to encourage business activity. By mid-summer, the economy was showing some signs of a recovery, including strong gains on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, where the main indexes were up by 45 to 57 percent over the lows of December 2008. One of the main worrying factors, however, was a rise in the national debt-to-GNP ratio, which was pro- jected for the end of 2009 to be at 84 to 84.4 percent, up from 78.3 percent at the end of 2008. I I