EU MILITARY WANTS LINKS

1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS.2-Stormy Thursday looms for Midwest. 3-Residents of erupting Stromboli told to avoid coast. 4-North Korea urged to end nuclear plans. 5-Sanhedrin Conference, Business Expo, Music - All in One. 6-MKs Examine Desecrated Ancient Mt. of Olives Cemetery. 7-EU Military Chief Wants Strong Links with UN, AU and NATO. 8-Israeli Arab group proposes new multi-cultural constitution.

EARTHQUAKES

MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.

LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS (USGS)

Update time = Thu Mar 1 12:00 AM EDT

FEB 28,07
MAP 4.2 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 6.2 SOUTH SANDWICH ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.3 NORTHERN YUKON TERRITORY, CANADA
MAP 3.9 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 4.8 EASTERN TURKEY
MAP 5.0 KORYAKIA, RUSSIA
MAP 4.8 MINDANAO, PHILIPPINES
MAP 2.9 NEVADA
MAP 3.5 NEVADA
MAP 3.3 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.6 YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, WYOMING
MAP 5.1 CELEBES SEA
MAP 2.5 YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, WYOMING
MAP 2.9 YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, WYOMING
MAP 2.7 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 2.7 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 3.5 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA

FEB 27,07
MAP 2.5 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.8 GULF OF CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 GULF OF ALASKA
MAP 2.6 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.5 GULF OF ALASKA
MAP 5.3 SAMOA ISLANDS REGION
MAP 2.5 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 2.6 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 2.6 PUERTO RICO
MAP 4.2 GULF OF CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.0 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 5.1 ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA REG, LEEWARD ISLANDS
MAP 2.8 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 4.8 ICELAND REGION
MAP 4.7 ICELAND REGION
MAP 2.5 SOUTHEASTERN MISSOURI
MAP 3.5 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC REGION
MAP 3.3 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.4 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 5.0 VANUATU REGION
MAP 2.5 SOUTH OF ALASKA

STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES

LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

Stormy Thursday looms for Midwest, South James Bryant, Senior Meteorologist, The Weather Channel FEB 28,07

Midwest

Blizzard or near-blizzard conditions will buffet the eastern Dakotas and much of the Upper Midwest tomorrow as a powerful storm center swirls into the upper Mississippi Valley. Heavy, wind-driven snow is likely in Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and northern Michigan. Rain changing to snow will bluster eastward across Iowa and northern Missouri as the day goes on. Along the southern periphery of the snow shield, freezing rain and sleet will ice southern Wisconsin and central Michigan. As if all this weren't enough, heavy rain will soak eastern Indiana and Ohio while severe thunderstorms with potentially damaging wind gusts rumble through Missouri, southern Illinois, southern Indiana, southwest Ohio and Kentucky. Isolated tornadoes can't be ruled out, either. High temperatures, meanwhile, will encompass a broad range: from the 20s in much of the Dakotas, northern Minnesota, far northern Wisconsin and the U. P. of Michigan to the 60s in the Ohio Valley and Kentucky.

South

Cloudbursts and severe thunderstorms, including the threat of tornadoes, will make for a nasty day in the South tomorrow as a potent cold front charges eastward. Residents from Arkansas and eastern Texas eastward will watch the storminess slash toward the Southeast coast and Florida, maybe not quite making it to eastern North Carolina by sunset.

The heaviest rain is expected to unload on the Southeast where there could be some localized urban and street flooding. Farther west, however, conditions in Oklahoma and Texas will be sunny or turn sunny. High temperatures are forecast to range from the 50s in the Texas Panhandle, Oklahoma, northwest Arkansas and western North Carolina to the 80s in far south Texas and most of the Florida Peninsula. Much of the region will be rather breezy, too.

Northeast

Precipitation, the vanguard of a powerhouse storm in the Midwest, will push into portions of the Northeast tomorrow, mainly from New York state southward into Virginia. The precipitation should be mostly rain from Pennsylvania southward, but a mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain may launch an attack into New York. Strong southeasterly winds will whip over the region as the precipitation slogs in. High temperatures are expected to range from the 20s in far northern New York and northern New England to the 60s in southeast Virginia.

West

The West from the Pacific Northwest and northern California eastward to the Rocky Mountains will remain unsettled tomorrow. A mix of rain and snow showers will fall west of the Cascades while exclusively snow showers should prevail over and east of mountains. Snow levels west of the Cascades will remain extremely low, probably down to the surface early in the day in western Washington and northwest Oregon. The most frequent showers are likely in western Oregon and northern California. Farther east, the precipitation will be more scattered and found primarily in mountain locations (as far south as northwest New Mexico). High temperatures will be well below average for the first of March with highs ranging from the teens in the higher Rockies to the 60s in Southern California, southwest Arizona and southeast New Mexico. Most of the Great Basin will top out only in the 20s and 30s.

EARTH DESTROYED WITH THE EARTH

GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

Residents of erupting Stromboli told to avoid coast By Antonio Parrinello Wed Feb 28, 11:18 AM ET

STROMBOLI, Italy (Reuters) - Residents and tourists have been told to move away from the coast of an Italian volcanic island in case its spectacular eruptions cause tidal waves, emergency services said on Wednesday.

Two big lava flows burst out of Stromboli's side on Tuesday, sending up vast plumes of steam as they plunged into the Mediterranean below. Authorities said there was no immediate risk to people living on the island, off the coast of Sicily.The eruption (lava flows) are very well fed, said Enzo Boschi, head of Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Vulcanology.

But there's no reason to think that anything extraordinary will happen in the short term. The population is not at risk.Residents fear a repeat of the events of December 2002 when a similar upsurge in volcanic activity caused a massive chunk of rock to fall into the sea, causing a 10-meter (33-foot) tidal wave that ruined houses close to the shore.Emergency sirens sounded on the island when the new
eruption began and local authorities ordered residents to move at least 10 meters above the water line.

We've done evacuation drills, one resident told Sky Italia television. We were ready yesterday when that siren went off, we all gathered in the piazza.The lava was flowing down an uninhabited part of the island and the risk, of a greater eruption or of a tsunami, was not considered serious enough to prompt a full-scale evacuation.In winter only a few hundred people live on Stromboli, but the population swells to several thousand in the summer.

Tourists are drawn to climb to the 924-meter (3,000-ft) summit of the volcano and peer into its crater as molten rock is blasted high into the sky.The island was the setting for a 1950 movie starring Ingrid Bergman and, with other islands in the Aeolian archipelago, has become a favorite location in recent decades for holiday homes for the rich and famous.Designers Dolce & Gabbana, writer Umberto Eco and Italian President Giorgio Napolitano are all reported to have homes on Stromboli.(Additional reporting by Antonella Ciancio in Milan)

North Korea urged to end nuclear plans swiftly By Jack Kim
Wed Feb 28, 6:44 AM ET

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea urged North Korea on Wednesday to act quickly to end its nuclear arms programme when the rival states met for their first high-level talks since Pyongyang's missile and nuclear tests last year. North Korea in turn proposed to resume stalled talks on expanding commercial ties and reopen humanitarian projects, South Korean official Lee Kwan-se was quoted as saying in
Pyongyang, according to South Korean media reports.But the North made no specific request for food and fertilizer aid, and it was not yet clear what humanitarian work it had in mind, Lee said.

There was no word on rice and there was no word on fertilizer, Lee said after the morning session in Pyongyang.In the past humanitarian projects have covered reunions of families separated since the 1950-53 Korean War as well as regular shipments of rice and fertilizer aid to North Korea, which suffers chronic food shortages.No details of the humanitarian cooperation were mentioned in an official North Korean media account of the meeting.Kwon Ho-ung, North Korea's chief envoy to the talks, called the cooperation a beautiful trait peculiar to the Korean nation, the North's KCNA news agency said.South Korea proposed that family reunions resume immediately and stalled projects to link railroads and highways across the border be completed before the end of the year.

The projects were suspended after the last round of talks in July when Seoul roundly criticized Pyongyang for test-firing a series of missiles. North Korea stormed out of the meeting insisting that, as a sovereign state, it had a legitimate right to conduct those tests.Relations took a further turn for the worse after North Korea's October 9 nuclear test. But their ties have gained fresh impetus after Pyongyang agreed two weeks ago to take steps to end its nuclear arms programme in return for up to 1 million tonnes of fuel oil or aid from five countries.North Korea's chief nuclear envoy, Kim Kye-gwan, was expected in Washington in the next few days for discussions provided for under that agreement on improving ties with the United States.Officials from North Korea and Japan were also to hold separate talks in Hanoi next week on normalizing ties, all part of steps agreed in a February 13
agreement in Beijing.

Analysts said the North's recent diplomatic actions, coming after the U.N. Security Council imposed sanctions in response to its nuclear test, were encouraging but it was best to be cautious until Pyongyang actually delivered on its pledges.James Schoff of the Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis in Cambridge, Massachusetts, said the vast range of steps needed from all parties to fulfil the agreement needed complicated intra-agency work not only by the North but by other countries involved in those talks.This is not a recipe for success, Schoff wrote in a report.The inter-Korean meeting in Pyongyang began on Tuesday and was scheduled to end on Friday. Foreign media are barred from covering the talks.

Sanhedrin Conference, Business Expo, Music - All in One
by Hillel Fendel FEB 28,07 (INN)

A triple day-long event - featuring the Sanhedrin Conference, a front-lines business fair, and a concert by Aharon Raz'el and Yehuda Glanz - is underway in Jerusalem, sponsored by a new grassroots movement. The event, with the participation of hundreds of people, is being held today(Wednesday) at the Jerusalem Gate Hotel adjacent to the Central Bus Station. The Sanhedrin Conference includes rabbis, academics and politicians such as Rabbi Moshe Tzuriel, Moshe Feiglin, Rabbi Adin
Steinsaltz, Prof. Hillel Weiss, and Rabbi Yisrael Ariel. It is dedicated to Erez Levanon, who was murdered by Palestinian terrorists while praying in a forest near his home in Gush Etzion this week. Among the lectures are: Calling for Peace - A Prerequisite for Victory by Rabbi Menachem Fruman.The Danger of Lack of Education & the Remedy of Jewish Identity by Sanhedrin chairman Rabbi Yoel Schwartz.

The Writings of Shabtai Ben Dov A Torani-Political-Existential Program. by Yehuda Etzion, and The Israeli Economy Perils and Hopes by Prof. Aharon Tziner.

One of the speakers, Temple Institute head Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, was detained by police yesterday and questioned for several hours on suspicion of having called IDF Maj.-Gen. Ya'ir Naveh a rodef. A rodef is one who directly endangers Jewish life and is thus eligible for death. Rabbi Ariel explained to Arutz-7 several weeks ago that he had written a private letter to Naveh to this effect, but that he did not publicize it.

Naveh, an observant Jew, has been censured for having signed administrative orders distancing over 20 young Jews from their homes in Yesha, taken active part in the Disengagement and the Amona destruction, and even for having signed orders giving lands in southern Judea to Arabs.The Yesha Rabbis Council sharply condemned the arrest, terming it religious persecution, shutting of mouths, and a witch-hunt reminiscent of dark periods in our history when rabbis were persecuted for their Torah rulings that did not please the rulers.The Sanhedrin is an organization that says it has re-established the Land of Israel Sanhedrin of the Mishnaic period nearly 2,000 years ago. The Sanhedrin was a council of 71 sages who constituted the supreme court and legislative body in Judea during the Roman period. It continued to function for more than 400 years after the destruction of the Temple in 68 C.E. The current attempt to re-establish the Sanhedrin is generally referred to as the nascent Sanhedrin, or the developing Sanhedrin,according to the Sanhedrin's website. At the same time, in another part of the Jerusalem Gate Hotel, a business expo entitled Business at the Forefront: Supporting Business on the Frontlines is being held today.

The fair provides a unique opportunity for over 60 businesses owned by Israel's front-liners - residents of Sderot, Yesha, and the north, as well as expellees from Gush Katif - to sell their products and make business connections. The expo runs from 10 AM to 10 PM. The event will end this evening with a musical concert featuring Aharon Raz'el, Yehuda Glanz and Harpo. They will perform, inter alia, compositions written by the late Erez Levanon.

The event is being coordinated by Tzibur Bnei Yisrael (The Community of the Children of Israel), a new grassroots movement dedicated to Jewish unity and to realizing the collective dreams of the Jewish people.A conference participant, Meir Lapid of Kiryat Arba, told Arutz-7, This is a very important initiative - the start of the filling of the vacuum of the past 2,000 years, in the sense that rabbinical leaders in the Diaspora always led their communities, while now we are seeking national religious leadership that must deal with our national challenges. The Sanhedrin is a type of open organization that unites outlooks and tries to turn them into an answer for the challenges of today - not like the superficial approach that we see reflected in the media.Another participant, Avi Lowell of Tekoa, told Arutz-7 that he was excited to see Jews of all backgrounds, from outwardly not religious to hareidi, coming together to discuss critical issues, and in the Expo, purchasing goods of all types from different areas of the country - including organic wine, Purim food baskets, books, jewelry, paintings, artwork, and much more.

Heres an awesome place because this Mount of Olives is were JESUS and the Raptured Christians return to EARTH at the end of the future 7 year peace treaty of DANIEL 9:27.

MKs Examine Desecrated Ancient Mt. of Olives Cemetery
by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz FEB 28,07 (INN)

Legislators serving on the Knesset's State Control Committee were given a tour Tuesday of the ancient Jewish cemetery on the Mt. of Olives, overlooking Jerusalem's Old City. The purpose of the tour was to examine first-hand the many complaints registered with the authorities over extensive desecration of graves at the site, including graffiti and smashed headstones. MK Zevulun Orlev (National Religious Party-National Union), chairman of the Knesset State Control Committee, expressed bitterness over the destruction he saw at the ancient cemetery: If such vandalism as the smashing of headstones and the desecration of graves had occurred in a Jewish cemetery in Europe, I am convinced that the entire Jewish world would be shocked and the law enforcement authorities would attempt to capture the guilty parties.MK Orlev noted that, in contrast to the case of a European Jewish cemetery desecration, such shocking phenomena are taking place in the heart of the capital of Israel, adjacent to the Western Wall, [yet] the sovereign Jewish regime remains apathetic.

Representatives of the Development Authority responsible for eastern Jerusalem, who accompanied the parliamentarians on their fact-finding tour of the Mt. of Olives, promised to implement government decisions to preserve and restore the desecrated Jewish cemetery.

Among other measures, the development authority is to establish effective security arrangements for the area, repair the damaged headstones, and assure general cleanliness, waste collection and disposal.MK Orlev announced that the committee he heads will request State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss to examine the conduct of the relevant state authorities responsible for the Mt. of Olives site. In three months, Orlev said, the State Control Committee would hold a follow-up meeting on the issue. The cemetery on the Mt. of Olives includes approximately 150,000 graves, dating from the First Temple period through modern times. Among the many graves there are those of many famous Jewish historical figures such as Rabbi Moshe Ben-Nachman (Ramban), former Prime Minister Menachem Begin, Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook, Chief Rabbi of the State of Israel Shlomo Goren, the codifier of modern Hebrew Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, author and Nobel Prize laureate S. Y. Agnon, British Chief Rabbi and Lord Immanuel Jakobovits, and media mogul Robert Maxwell. Many Jews through the ages have sought burial on the Mt. of Olives because the site is mentioned in the Bible as the first spot from which the dead will be revivified.

EUROPEAN UNION ARMY

DANIEL 7:23-25
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast (EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADING BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings(10 NATIONS) that shall arise: and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.( BE HEAD OF 3 NATIONS)
25 And he (EU PRESIDENT) shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.(3 1/2 YRS)DANIEL 8:23-25
23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king (EU DICTATOR) of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences,(FROM THE OCCULT) shall stand up.
24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power:(SATANS POWER) and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes;(JESUS) but he shall be broken without hand.

DANIEL 11:36-39
36 And the king (EU DICTATOR) shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.
37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers,(THIS EU DICTATOR IS JEWISH) nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.(CLAIM TO BE GOD)
38 But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces:(WAR) and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.
39 Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god,(DESTROY TERROR GROUPS) whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many,(HIS ARMY LEADERS) and shall divide the land for gain.

REVELATION 19:19
19 And I saw the beast,(EU LEADER) and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse,(JESUS) and against his army.(THE RAPTURED CHRISTIANS)

Defense | 28.02.2007
EU Military Chief Wants Strong Links with UN, AU and NATO

Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: The EU says it wants a global military role, but with help from partners.The European Union's drive for a stronger global military role includes upgrading ties with the United Nations, NATO and the African Union, the bloc's top military official said on Wednesday.General Henri Bentegeat, head of the influential military body which advises EU foreign and security chief Javier Solana, said the 27-nation European Union was determined to tackle flashpoints in all parts of the world. He made the remarks in an interview with the German news agency dpa ahead of a meeting of EU defense ministers in the German city of Wiesbaden on March 1-2.

With 16 civilian and military missions currently deployed across the world - including in Bosnia, Darfur, the Palestinian territories and Iraq - slowly but surely, the EU is preparing, organizing itself to play a global role, said Bentegeat.Bildunterschrift: General Henri Bentegeat.However, EU governments want to do this in partnership with the UN, the 26-nation NATO military alliance and the African Union.Bentegeat, who was previously French Army chief of staff, said all EU operations required the legitimacy of a UN mandate. Having worked closely with the UN during last year's military operations supervising national elections in Congo, the bloc is determined to improve coordination with the global body, he said.

NATO vs. EU?

Close cooperation with NATO is also a priority, said Bentegeat. Referring to rivalries between the two organizations, the general said both the EU and NATO had to go beyond unease and frustrations and focus on the resolution of problems in Afghanistan and Kosovo.Fears that a powerful NATO would suffocate Europe's nascent defense identity or that Europe's security ambitions were a threat to the alliance were unfounded, said Bentegeat.In reality, the EU's military capability was modest and not comparable to NATO, he said.

Also, the EU's military role was now well-established enough to withstand any so-called risk of suffocation from NATO.While formal EU-NATO contacts were hampered by a dispute between Turkey (in NATO but not in the EU) and Cyprus (in the EU but not in NATO), the two organizations were engaged in a real dialogue at all levels, including staff-to-staff contacts, said Bentegeat.Regular discussions between EU security chief Solana and NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer were also a guarantee of a strong partnership between the two organizations, he said.This is important for the Balkans. Working in Kosovo will require practical agreements between NATO forces and a future EU civilian mission, he said.NATO currently has an estimated 16,000 troops in Kosovo as part of the UN administration of the breakaway Serbian province. The EU has said it will help police reform and rule of law projects in the territory once there is a UN resolution confirming Kosovo's future status.

African Union

Bentegeat said the EU was determined to help the African Union's efforts to tackle a growing number of crises on the continent.African governments want to do this themselves. But they need our help ... the EU cannot ignore the impact of these crises on the (economic) development of Africa, he said.

In addition to last year's military mission in Congo and logistical help for African Union forces in Darfur, Bentegeat said the EU wanted to help an ambitious AU program to create a standby force for peacekeeping missions.What made the EU's role as world security actor unique was its capacity to combine military and civilian operations when tackling crises, he said.The EU's main advantage compared to other international organizations is its capacity to simultaneously mobilize a range of components - military, financial, law and order and administrative, said the general.This capacity to act in parallel on the military and civilian fronts gave the EU a special role and force on the global stage, he said.

Lessons from international military operations show that military solutions alone cannot solve modern crises, said Bentegeat. This was currently the case in Afghanistan where the US and NATO were demanding a better coordination of military action and aid, he said.The EU also realized the importance of contributing to the long-term reform of the security sector in crisis zones, said Bentegeat. The end of the EU military operation in Congo for instance had been followed up by efforts to reform the Congolese police force and army.Such actions would be boosted by the setting up of rapid civilian crisis response teams allowing the swift dispatch of EU police officers,magistrates and administrators to crisis zones, he said.

EU battlegroups

Bentegeat said such teams would be in addition to EU battlegroups aimed at taking on crisis-management tasks worldwide.Two battlegroups, including an estimated 1,500 soldiers, each are currently operational. The general said Germany, Portugal and Slovenia had suggested that the ground forces should be backed up by marine and air forces to improve the deployability and sustainability of EU military operations.We realized that in real life, one cannot just act with ground troops - we need air and navy forces to transport them, protect them, and provide logistical support, said
Bentegeat.DW staff / dpa (jam)

Israeli Arab group proposes new multi-cultural constitution
by Yoav Stern Feb 28, 2007 http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/831400.html

A proposed constitution written by the Israeli Arab advocacy center, Adalah, states that Arab Knesset members will be able to bring about the disqualification of bills that impinge on the rights of Arabs, and classifies the State of Israel as a bilingual and multicultural country rather than a Jewish state.

The proposal, entitled The Democratic Constitution, also calls for majority and minority groups to split control of the government in such a way that will strengthen the Arab minority on issues relating to the character of the state.Adalah's version of the constitution essentially abolishes the Jewish
elements of Israel, but allows the Jewish majority to maintain its character through educational and cultural institutions. The proposal invalidates the Law of Return, which grants automatic citizenship to people with at least one Jewish grandparent, and states that citizenship will be granted to those who come to Israel for humanitarian reasons, regardless of their religion.

The document states that the internal refugees Arab residents and their descendants expelled in 1948 and whose number is estimated at about a quarter of today's Israeli Arab citizens will return to the area where they used to live and receive compensation. The introduction to the proposed constitution demands that Israel recognize its responsibility for the historical injustices that it caused the Palestinian nation in its entirety, withdraw from the territories and recognize the Palestinian people's right to self-determination. The proposal sets the state's borders along the 1967 cease-fire lines.The proposed constitution grants citizenship to all descendants of Israeli citizens, whether they were born here or abroad, as well as to all spouses of Israeli citizens thereby undermining Israeli efforts to limit marriages between Israeli Arabs and Palestinians living in the territories. Instead of dealing with the issue of who is a Jew, says Adalah, the proposal deals with the issue of who is a citizen.

Adalah's constitution is the first one proposed by an Arab institution, though there have been many proposed by various Jewish ones. Adalah chairman Prof. Marwan Dwairy said the other proposals are not based on democratic values.

They relate to Arab citizens like foreigners in this homeland, in which history, memory and collective rights are the legacy of Jews alone, he wrote.Adalah hopes that its proposal will spur public discourse on the legal and cultural standing of Israeli Arabs.If this Democratic Constitution succeeds in highlighting the large gaps that exist between it and the other proposals, and generates dialogue and topical public discussion on the nature of the freedoms and rights in the this country, we will see it as an important step, wrote Dwairy.According to the proposed constitution, all assets of the Waqf (the Muslim religious trust) that were expropriated after 1948 and all assets seized by the state from Arabs will be returned to their original owners, who will also receive compensation for the period of expropriation. The state must also immediately recognize all unrecognized Arab villages, the proposal states.

The document does not state what the symbols of the country should be, but says that they will be determined either by a Knesset committee, half of whose members will be Arab, or by agreement of 75 percent of Arab MKs.All official publications, court rulings and media reports will be in both Hebrew and Arabic, according to Adalah. The proposal states that every cultural group, whether religious or ethnic, will be able to run their own institutions, and that national minorities can choose their own representative body, at the state's expense.The proposed constitution grants the judicial system the authority to overturn any laws that contradict the constitution. Adalah says that many of its sections are based on international declarations of human rights, and has consulted with legal experts from around the world, including some who were involved in South Africa's changeover from an apartheid state to a democratic one.