Police Dismantle Bomb

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private vehicle wired with
explosives and parked outside the Lev
HaMifratz shopping mall in Haifa was neutralized by security forces on
the evening of March 21, preventing a potentially deadly attack. The
bombs were found after a partial explosion occurred, alerting local
security. Sappers alerted to the scene worked for a lengthy period of
time to dismantle the remaining explosives, which were concealed in a
bag. According to the police, the largest of the explosive devices
detonated partially, leaving the rest of it intact. A number of smaller
charges spread around it also did not explode. Officers later said that
current estimates put the weight of the explosives involved at nearly
100 pounds [45 kilograms].

The Right Thing To Do

{image_1}Our Jewish speaker spent over an hour explaining the efforts of his team to bridge the gaps between disparate groups living in Israel: Jews and Arabs, religious and secular, and Ashkenazi and Sephardi (Jews from European background or from Middle Eastern background). I found his talk fascinating because just like him, Bridges for Peace is working to bring reconciliation. During the question-and-answer time, I asked for his opinion on how we could improve our efforts to build relationships between Christians and Jews.

His response was simple, but profound: “You know the right thing to do.”

The United Nations “Tower of Babble”

On September 8, 2001, Durban I voted to label Zionism as racism. The United States and Israel walked out. Those nations who had their delegates remain, in one way or another, gave their approval to declaring Israel the only racist nation on earth. That such an indictment was possible under the covering of a United Nations sanctioned event makes the organizing body appear to be out of touch, biased, and manipulated—out of touch with the reality in the world today and biased towards the single goal of stigmatizing the name and reputation of Israel.

A 21st-Century Stretcher

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Since WWI, the stretcher has been the most effective method of transporting wounded soldiers from the battlefield. Updating it for the 21st century, Herzliya’s Fisher Institute for Air and Space Strategic Studies has designed MedUAV, an unmanned air vehicle that can hover, land, and take off vertically without needing a runway or landing pad.

Leaven—Chametz

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Although the word technically means “to make sour,” most dictionaries define chametz as any flour of the five species of grain, which is mixed with water and allowed to ferment before being baking. The five species of grain are wheat, spelt, oats, barley, and rye. Some dictionaries define chametz simply as yeast or leaven. The word is mentioned over a dozen times in the Old Testament, and it traditionally takes on the most significance during the feast of Pesach (Passover). The Torah (Gen.–Deut.) requires that chametz not be eaten nor found in one’s home or among one’s possessions during Pesach (Exod. 12:18–20). The sages go so far as to teach that it should not even be looked upon during the festival season.

The Arab World Needs Israel – for Now

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Hamas is a constant irritant to Israel, but it is also a major problem for national leaders in the Arab world. No longer can journalists, analysts, or commentators look at the Israel–Hamas conflict and describe it as an isolated war between two ancient rivals. The contest is much more widespread, embracing Washington, Cairo, Tehran, Moscow, Baghdad, and even Mecca.

El-Al – A Soaring Success!

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A surge of Jewish pride greeted the latest award bestowed on the national airline, El Al. For the second successive time, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) awarded El Al the highest rating on strict safety standards. “The IOSA [International Operation Safety Audit] standards are the most stringent airline safety criteria. El Al is proud to be the first Israeli airline to pass IATA’s stiff audit, for the second successive time,” said Capt. Lio Yavor, El Al’s vice president of Operations

Helping Dreams Come True

{image_1}The Jewish people have been coming back “Home” to the Promised Land since the 1880s by the millions…and they are still coming. Sometimes they don’t really know why. It’s like a great shofar (ram’s horn used in Bible times to assemble the people) has been blown by God in the heavens, and His people are following the sound back home. For others, it’s a life-long dream, not just for themselves but one that has been dreamed for generations in their family.

A Second Chance for Netanyahu

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On February 10, Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party won 27 seats in the election, one less than the Kadima Party headed by Tzipi Livni. However, because Israeli President Shimon Peres believed Netanyahu was more able to form a coalition government than Livni, Peres appointed him with this task on February 22, giving him six weeks to do so. As we went to press, Netanyahu had five weeks left to form his government.

More Rare Coins

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Not far away, and about the same time, two other rare coins were found from the siftings of the Temple Mount rubble across the Kidron Valley on Mount Scopus. For the past four years, over 40,000 volunteers have found a total of 3,500 coins. In December, a 14-year-old volunteer found a silver half-shekel coin used for the biblical Temple tax (Exod. 30:11–15). Minted in AD 66–67 during the Jewish revolt against the Romans, these coins, wherever found, are considered the rarest of finds.

Unique Marble Figurine Discovered

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If finding gold wasn’t enough, in late January, the City of David excavation team also unearthed Israel’s one-of-a-kind 1,800-year-old Roman marble figurine. Though many others like it have been found throughout various parts of the Roman Empire, this one is a first for Israel. Similar statues in Israel have been made of bronze.

777,400 Children among the Poor

THE NATIONAL INSURANCE INSTITUTE'S poverty report published in January showed worrying trends. While the overall number of people living under the poverty line remained relatively stable, the outlook predicted in the report shows their situation will only get worse.