A think-tank affiliated with Jewish Democrats led a U.S. bloggers tour of Israel. Influential progressive bloggers on the Solomon Project tour of Israel this week include writers for Daily Kos, MyDD and the Huffington Post. “It is important that progressive bloggers and leaders of progressive organizations learn first-hand about the current situation in Israel,” said a statement from the Solomon Project, which is affiliated with the National Jewish Democratic Council. “We also want to provide them with an eye-opening experience that will help them better understand the complexity of the Arab-Israeli conflict.” The tour will meet with Israeli bloggers and journalists, as well as senior Israeli and Palestinian lawmakers and officials. Republicans have in recent elections depicted such Web sites as anti-Israel, although most of the hostile comments cited in such critiques appear in the comments sections of the blogs.
Israel has been quietly collecting army-issued firearms from some West Bank settlers.
Over recent weeks, military officials have visited settlements in the Binyamin district to collect firearms issued to residents by the army, Israel Radio reported Tuesday.
The settlements’ security officers, emergency-response units, and residents with private gun licenses have been allowed to keep their guns.
Military officials said the collection was for purposes of maintenance and to ensure the guns are properly deposited. But settlement representatives said the having fewer firearms on hand could make them more vulnerable to Palestinian terrorist attacks.
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