Middle East / Levant

A heavy firefight has broken out in a main district of the Syrian capital Damascus, between Free Syrian Army rebels and forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad. On Monday the sound of heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades echoed throughout the night from the most heavily guarded neighborhood of the capital, which is home to a number of security facilities.

the Canadian Supreme Court has accepted the appeal of Iman Musa and Majida Mugrabi, an Israeli Muslim lesbian couple who sought refugee status in Canada. The judge ordered further hearings on the request due to the possibility that they would be honor-murdered if deported to Israel

JERUSALEM – Life in south-central Israel began returning to normal as the fragile cease-fire, brokered by the Egyptian military junta, appeared to take hold.

JERUSALEM – Egypt announced that a cease-fire it brokered between terrorist groups in Egypt and Israel went into effect at 1 a.m. Tuesday, but several rockets and mortar shells fired from Gaza exploded in Israel after the announcement.

The Obama administration has begun "serious discussions" about directly arming the opposition, deploying troops to secure a humanitarian corridor, or establishing a no-fly zone in Syria.

Ex Mossad chief Meir Dagan often adds flare to his public statements. But don't let that fool you, he is a cool and reliable thinker, who undoubtedly was behind the sabotage efforts which caused Iran's nuclear program numerous mishaps and delays. But his flare and colorful speech are fodder for eager editors who misrepresent what the retired spy is actually saying. In fact, they often not only twist his words, they go as far as to invent new words for him, born by nothing more than wishful thinking and an agenda.

A resident of Israel's central region driving last night on the Ayalon Highway spotted two unidentified objects glowing in the sky, and decided to pull over and capture the strange phenomenon. "It was unusual, I was shocked and could not stop myself," he told News 2. "I never believed it but now I think again." Watch the documentation: an illusion or a discovery?

Anonymous diplomatic and intelligence sources tell Israeli paper that the Obama administration would supply Israel with weapons that would extend its time-line for military action – like advanced GBU-28 bunker-busting bombs and long-range refueling aircraft, so that Israel could wait till after the 2012 presidential election to launch a strike.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may no longer be as popular with Iran's powers that be as he used to be. The Majlis, Iran's parliament, has approved a proposal calling for the removal of the President from the general assembly of representatives of shareholders of major companies affiliated with the Oil Ministry, including the National Iranian Oil Company. Meanwhile, the President will appear before the parliament to answer questions on March 14 about irregularities in his administration.

MK Zeev Bielski, chairman of the Knesset subcommittee on Israel’s home defense: “The home front is not ready. We have made improvements over the situation since the Second Lebanon War in 2006, when the home front was completely unprepared, but the situation is not good.”

After the recent attacks on Israeli embassies in India and Georgia, Jewish institutions in the U.S. are asking a question that is much closer to home: Does Iran pose a local terror threat?

If the reports are accurate, North Korea is playing a direct role in helping Tehran create the infrastructure to assemble nuclear warheads that can be mounted on missiles aimed at Israel, American military bases in the Persian Gulf and pro-Western oil sheikhdoms in the Middle East.

At a speech before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference, coinciding with the Super Tuesday primaries, Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum accused President Barack Obama of appeasement of Iran and urged an ultimatum demanding that it put a stop to its nuclear production immediately, or the US will "tear down" its plants. Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich took a break from their race for votes in the high-stakes primaries to speak to the pro-Israel lobby.

Berlin-based researcher Benjamin Weinthal argues that Israel is militarily capable today of launching a successful attack on Iran's nuclear facilities. It would require successive strikes, using GBU-28 bunker busters to knock out Iran's entire nuclear program. Those devastating bombs were delivered to Israel by President Obama, who made good on a promise made by President Bush.

Obama sought to assure Netanyahu that the United States was keeping the military option against Iran open, and "has Israel's back," and at the same time urged Israel to wait patiently for the sanctions and, possibly, diplomacy, to do their job. Netanyahu, for his part, concentrated on Israel's undeniable right to defend itself against Iran, and reiterated that Israel sees Iran’s nuclear program as a threat to its existence. The problem is, both leaders had held precisely the same positions before and after their meeting. So why meet?

After immigrating to Israel from England in 1999 at age 50, Susan Nathan has become an outspoken pro-Palestinian advocate, appearing in the Swedish Human Rights festival and the Stockholm Olof Palme Centre, as well as forums sponsored by the Arab American Association. She came to India for medical treatment, but her visa expired and the government wants her out on suspicion of contact with extremist Muslim organizations.

Occupy AIPAC is a weekend long series of events to coincide with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's annual Policy Conference, going through March 6. The Occupy AIPAC website says the group is gathering in Washington DC for a policy-style summit on the issues of Iran, the Arab Uprising and Palestine and "the affects of AIPAC in determining US foreign policy around those topics."

So who are the Megillah characters in this round? We definitely have our Hamman in President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. King Achashverosh should be President Barack Obama. Benjamin Netanyahu would be Esther, given his direct dealings with the ruler of the free world. And, if you ask me, I'm voting in favor of Amos Yadlin for the role of Mordechai. On June 7, 1981, Amos Yadlin, who later became chief of Israel's military intelligence, was one of eight Israeli fighter pilots who bombed the Iraqi nuclear reactor at Osirak.

Republicans see a political opening in the disagreements between Washington and Jerusalem over two major issues: Jewish settlements and their influence on the peace talks with the Palestinians, and the Obama administration's pressure on Israel to hold off on a military strike against Iran. A House Budget Committee pressed Panetta on reduced budget requests for Israel's missile defense program against ballistic missiles and rockets.

Once we recognize that the enemy is not acting against us based on rational reasons, but out of a pathological hatred, it is our duty to act on our conclusion and strike at the enemy, disregarding world opinion.

Burhan Ghalioun, head of the Syrian National Council indicated that - despite the blood of over 7000 Syrian citizens on the hands of Hizbollah's patron Assad - political expedience alone will dictate its policy: "There are no permanent enmities in politics as there are no permanent friendships. Alliances are built on goals. We want to achieve our goals."

Malkah and Yishai discuss Canadian dedication to Israel, and simple but deeply important aspects of distinctly Jewish life, experts from Brookings get real on Middle East dynamics, and, finally, Rebbitzin Mizrachi teaches how to be truly happy.

In pre-Oscar television interviews, actors Shlomo Bar-Aba and Lior Ashkenazi, stars of the Israeli Oscar nominated "Footnote," which last night became the tenth Israeli nominee to not win the big prize – were telling anyone who would listen that it was definitely going to be Iran this year. And they were right. The Hollywood elite which decides these things gave the nod to Iran's "A Separation," from what we hear a fantastic family drama, and Director Asghar Farhadi has taken home the Oscar for best foreign language film. While Director Joseph Cedar, an observant Jew, went home empty handed for the second time in his career. Bummer.

Why would Saudi Arabia support Israel instead of attacking it? Forbes' Peter Cohan argues that Saudi Arabia is dominated by Sunnis, while Iran’s ayatollahs are the Sunni's sworn enemies, the Shi’ites. Saudi Arabia’s rage against the Shi’ites exceeds its dislike of its Jewish neighbors.

The Syrian military continues to pound opposition strongholds as voting stations opened around the country to decide on a new constitution.

A rock throwing Arab mob attacked on Friday a group that included Congressmen Elliot Engel and Jerald Nadler. The two legislators from New York State were on tour of the Mount of Olives Cemetery, along with Executive Vice Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations Malcolm Hoenlein, and Rabbis Abraham and Menachem Lubinsky, founders of the International Committee for the Preservation of Har HaZeitim. Their tour was guided by JewishPress.com Managing Editor Yishai Fleisher.

Qatar is going all out to assemble a major conference next week, with 350 representatives from Arab and Islamic countries, who will discuss "the legal status of Jerusalem before and after the Israeli occupation." The funny thing is that Palestinian Knesset members who will be spewing their venom at the conference, decrying Israeli crimes against humanity, yada, yada, yada, will be the only democratically elected officials. Is this a fun region or what?

Some days you just have to love Israelis, who take time out of their busy schedules to express their love thine enemy thing online.

The AP reported that the European Union is working on regulations that would shut out Iran's banks from the financial clearinghouse SWIFT, which is...

The Syrian army's assault on Homs enters its 20th day and resulted in the deaths of 80 people on Wednesday, including 3 journalists...A UN report accuses "officials at the highest level of government" of committing "crimes against humanity and other gross human right violations"...Egypt recalls its ambassador...Saudi Arabia blasts Syria and Russia...Free Syrian Army is turning away jihadists...Republican presidential hopefuls join growing chorus of voices that support arming the opposition.