A Daily Analysis
By Marc Schulman

February 14, 2008- Israel Braces for Possible Retaliation

The news from Israel has been centered on the possibility of retaliation for the assassination of Imad Mughiniyah. His funeral was held today in Beirut. At the funeral, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah promised the end of Israel and guaranteed that there would be retaliation in the coming days. Observers saw a Nasrallah who was clearly rattled, and whose threats seemed similar to the threats that Hamas made after their leaders were killed. The Foreign Minister of Iran attended the funeral

Israel has warned Israelis throughout the world to be on guard. Israeli analysts believe that the most likely scenario would be an attempt to kidnap an Israeli who is not protected abroad. There are also concerns that Hezbollah might try to down a plane. Israel has warned that it will hold Teheran responsible for any terror attack.

The evening news showed children of Sderot who have joined the protest in Jerusalem. The city is sending four classes a day. The kids who were interviewed were simply thrilled to be out of the city.

It turns out that Iran's recent much heralded missile test last week was not as successful as advertised. In fact, the missile blew up soon after taking off.

A new report by the Beituch Leumi (Israelís social security administration) reported a rise in the number of Israelis living in poverty. There are now 1,674, 800 people living below the poverty line. Of that, 805,000 are children (1/3 of the children). While poverty continues to hit hardest in the Haredi and Arab populations, according to the report there is a growing number of working poor. There are more and more people being hired by private contractors who barely pay the minimum wage and do not provide and social benefits.