President Shimon Peres expressed on Tuesday his confidence that Israel's anticipated membership in the Organization of Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) would provide an opportunity for the Jewish state to show its other face, that of technology, innovation and care for all its citizens.

The only synagogue on the Greek Island of Crete caught fire for the second time in ten days, in what is believed to be an arson attack.

The Web site of Britain's flagship Jewish newspaper has been attacked by Turkish-speaking hackers, its editor said Monday.

Six months after a clandestine, 10-hour trip to Moscow, details of which have not been revealed to this day, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is planning a trip to Moscow in mid-February, according to Russian sources.

Members of Fatah's Central Committee told Ma'an on Sunday that President Mahmoud Abbas will not meet with senior-most Hamas leader Khaled Mash'al until Hamas signs the Egyptian reconciliation document.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior ministers in his cabinet arrived in Berlin on Monday for an historic joint cabinet meeting between the governments of Germany and Israel. The meeting will be held in the office of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The Israeli field hospital in the earthquake-stricken Haitian capital reflects the streets of the city, fluctuating between despair and hope amid the looting, violence and stories of miracles. Each account takes on great importance against the background of the earthquake that devastated the Western hemisphere's poorest country.

Eleven Palestinian human rights organizations have called on the Palestinian Authority and the Hamas government in Gaza to endorse the Goldstone report by investigating Palestinian violations of international law allegedly committed during operation Cast Lead.

More than 100 Israeli security officers raided the West Bank settlement of Yitzhar before dawn on Sunday. Officers arrested 10 settlers in the crackdown, include five allegedly involved in burning down a nearby Palestinian mosque last month.

Following is an English version of the address given by Pope Benedict XVI at Tempio Maggiore in Rome, on 17 January 2010.