Free Republic

Tsunami or melting glaciers: What caused ancient Atlit to sink? By Ofri Ilani At the bottom of the sea, some 300 meters west of the Atlit fortress, lies one of the greatest archaeological mysteries of the Mediterranean basin. About 20 years ago, archaeologists discovered a complex of ancient buildings and ancient graves with dozens of skeletons at the underwater site of Atlit-Yam. The team of marine archaeologists that excavated the site, headed by Dr. Ehud Galili of the Israel Antiquities Authority, came to the consclusion that an ancient settlement once existed there, but sank beneath the surface of the sea...

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel should prepare for the possibility of a missile attack from Iran, a cabinet minister said on Tuesday. "We are liable to face an Iranian missile attack. The Iranians have said very clearly that if they come under attack, their primary target would be Israel," Rafi Eitan, a member of the decision-making inner cabinet, told Israel Radio. Iran could fire missiles at the Jewish state "therefore we must prepare for what could come, and prepare the entire country for a missile strike attack, to prepare all the civilian systems so they are ready for this," Eitan said....

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has proven correct the portrayal of him as a weakling by the authors of the book Boomerang, which details the theory that the prime minister's proposed disengagement/expulsion policy was meant to take off the pressure of criminal investigations against him. Regardless of the correctness of the theory, Sharon indeed is weak, a man whose idealism is to stay in power, regardless of which side of an argument he takes. American President George W. Bush, along with a few other world leaders, convinced him that he would not stay in office very long if he didn't follow...