Why was this night different from other nights?

By Marnus Schoeman, BFP Group & Guest Relations Manager

{image_1}This has been a question asked for centuries from generation to generation among the Jewish people during the Pesach (Passover) seder meal. You might wonder, why ask this question so long after Passover, which is celebrated in March–April? In August, The Land of the Bible Experience—an educational ministry of Bridges for Peace that provides Hebraic teaching through dramatic presentations—seized a wonderful opportunity to enact our Passover play to a  tour group of 585 Nigerian Christians!

Tops in Technology

FIVE ISRAELI FIRMS have been chosen as examples of companies whose clean technology investments are shaping tomorrow’s world. The Cleantech Group together with the British newspaper The Guardian announced the Global Cleantech 100—the first ever awards to highlight the most promising clean technology startup companies around the world. The five companies made Israel the only country in the Middle East to have firms nominated and placed the country in fourth place overall in its total number of companies, coming after the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany.

Back to the Wall

 WHILE ON A TOUR IN ISRAEL, a tourist from the Philippines, Ruth Castro (71), found out that her house had been totally demolished by a typhoon—including a much-loved grand piano. Was she devastated? Not the least bit. The unflappable pilgrim was convinced that her “cup runneth over.” Where did she run to thank Jesus for sending her on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land at such a perilous hour, saving her from certain death? 

Don’t Boycott—BUYcott

UNOFFICIAL BOYCOTTS OF ISRAELI PRODUCTS or Israeli culture are a global issue, but if one Canadian group has its way, each new boycott will have the opposite effect. The Buycott Israel initiative, launched by the Canada–Israel Committee and their partners, is attempting to submit notices wherever a boycott of Israel is occurring, through the Internet and a global email list, so people can support Israel by purchasing the boycotted product.

September Rainfall, Most in 50 Years

Israel Lauded for Managing Recession

FINANCE MINISTERS and central bank chancellors attending the International
Monetary Fund’s annual meeting in Istanbul commended Israel’s financial
policies, stable banking system, and relatively low unemployment rates
during a time of global recession.

Carob:  Drumsticks in Carob Syrup

Good things come in small packages, they say, but sometimes the unattractiveness of the package belies the goodness of its contents. Take, for instance, the carob pod. Although the carob tree is quite majestic, reaching heights of 33 ft (10 m) with long leaves, sturdy branches, and cascading reddish flowers, the pods themselves are another story. Growing up to eight inches (20 cm) long, they are deep brown in color and filled with a thick mucous-like liquid that surrounds flat, bony seeds. Also called locust fruit, the pods are dried as food for both animals and people. They may not sound very appetizing, but their contents are amazing.

This Little Light of Mine

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Growing up, I attended Sunday School, and I often remember singing a little song which said, “This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine.” Perhaps you remember this simple song as well. I believe it is based on the words of Yeshua (Jesus) when He said, “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14−16).

I “GHOTIT” RIGHT!

{image_1}Ofer Chermesh, a dyslexic, made a very unfortunate error in an email to a prospective business partner and decided it was time to do something about it. After partnering with Israel’s Weizmann Institute, they came up with Ghotit, a “super speller assistive technology” that enables dyslexics to dramatically improve their writing, according to their Web site. Besides catching outrageous spelling errors, the software spots out-of-context words, provides definitions and sentences to help choose the correct word, and even has a text-to-speech service so the user can hear if the word chosen is what was intended.

Netanyahu… Rules Out More Evictions

{image_1}“My government will not participate in increasing the number of evacuees…” The nation “will never make the same mistake [of evacuating citizens as it did from the Gaza Strip in 2005] again…The withdrawal from the Gaza Strip brought us neither peace nor security. The territory has become a base for the pro-Iranian Hamas movement.”

—Announced before his cabinet on August 9, 2009

Glory—Kavod

{image_1}“Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle” (Exod. 40:34).

We Won’t Recognize Israel

{image_1}“We will maintain the resistance option in all its forms, and we will not recognize Israel. Not only don’t we demand that anyone recognize Israel; we don’t recognize Israel ourselves. However, the Palestinian Authority government is required to do it, or else it will not be able to serve the Palestinian people…I am certain that we will hinder all the traitors who wish to remove the resistance option from the movement’s charter.”

—Senior Fatah official Rafik al-Natsheh, prior to the sixth General Assembly for the Palestinian Fatah party in August