A Daily Analysis
By Marc Schulman
January 15, 2008 Gaza Heats Up
The border with Gaza heated up considerably today. Israel continued its ongoing attacks along the border region. Todayís attack was more successful than some of the previous attacks, and as a result 19 Hamas fighters were killed. The deaths included the son of one the Hamas leaders. Hamas has responded with renewed Qassam fire on Sderot, as well the firing of a rocket at Ashqelon. This time, Hamas has taken direct responsibility for the attacks. Over twenty rockets fell in the Sderot area. Are we heading into an ever-worsening circle of violence with Gaza? Maybe. It's not clear what Hamasí current policies are. Those policies are in a box. It probably is in their interest to try to upset the Apple cart anyway they can.
The Israeli government, together with Nefesh BíNefesh (an organization that promotes Aliyah) has announced a package of grants to doctors from North American and the UK who immigrate to Israel. The total grant comes to $60,000 per doctor. The decision to offer these grants is a realization of a pending doctor shortage in Israel. Of course, Israeli doctors who leave Israel and come to the US have created much of that shortage.
