Russian billionaire Arcadi Gaydamak has decided to back a new political party based on social and economic issues. He has coordinated his plans with Likud chairman Binyamin (Bibi) Netanyahu and apparently will run the party without becoming a candidate. Gaydamak became a household word last year by setting up a tent city for Galilee residents fleeing Hizbullah rockets. He also has helped Gush Katif expulsion victims and residents of Sderot who have been under constant Kassam rocket fire.

His platform will not include security issues. Instead, he wants to promote a free-market economy, higher taxes for the wealthy and more aid to the poor.

--The Council to Save the People and the Land greeted Police Commissioner Moshe Karadi’s announcement that he was stepping down from his position with satisfaction and without surprise. According to the rabbis of the council, all those responsible for the expulsion of Jews from their homes in Gaza and the northern Shomron are facing imminent Divine punishment if they do not atone for their immoral behavior.