Rehavia!

Jerusalem is one of the oldest inhabited cities on earth and for most of its long history it has been contained within the walled Old City. However, in 1860 the first Jewish neighborhood, Mishkenot Sha’ananim—Hebrew for peaceful habitation—was built outside those ancient walls. In the ensuing 150 years, the city has continued to expand its

Against All Odds

The 2009 bestseller, Start-up Nation: the Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle, hails the Jewish state as “the greatest concentration of innovation and entrepreneurship in the world today.” The Economist agrees. “Adjust for population and Israel leads the world in the number of high-tech start-ups and the size of the venture-capital industry.” Unlikely Incubator Israel’s lightning

The (Nuclear) Race Is On

It’s a pretty common thing in most societies to acknowledge events of communal importance with parades, picnics, somber gatherings, or some combination thereof. The United Nations has even created a list of such days to encourage the recognition of events and concepts that have international relevance. For instance, there is a specific day set aside

Deciphering a Burnt Scroll

A piece of the burnt scroll Advanced technologies have made it possible to read parts of a scroll that was completely burnt c. 1,500 [years ago], inside the Holy Ark of the synagogue at Ein Gedi. The parchment scroll was unearthed in 1970 in archaeological excavations headed by the late Dr. Dan Barag and Dr.

Ancient Mikveh Discovered

A two-thousand-year-old mikveh (ritual bath) was discovered during renovations carried out in a private house in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Ein Kerem. Archaeologists of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) were amazed to discover that a pair of wooden doors beneath a stylized rug concealed an ancient ritual bath. The large mikveh, which is complete, has

Who Are You, Eshba’al Ben Beda?

An aerial view of Khirbet Qeiyafa, where the sherds were discovered A rare inscription from the time of King David was discovered at Khirbet Qeiyafa in the Valley of Elah. A ceramic jar c. 3,000 years old that was broken into numerous sherds was discovered in 2012 during excavations carried out by Prof. Yosef Garfinkel

Advanced System Increases Rocket Warning Time on Gaza Border

Photo by IDF/wikipedia.org The IDF [Israel Defense Forces] is in the process of installing a new radar system that would significantly increase the warning time given to Israelis to take cover when a mortar shell is fired from the Gaza Strip, a senior Southern Command official said recently. One year after Operation Protective Edge, the

French Aliyah Increases in 2015

Photo by ChameleonsEye/shutterstock.com By July 31, 4,260 French immigrants had reached Israel, up 11% from the 3,830 who moved to Israel over the same period a year earlier, according to the Jewish Agency for Israel, which facilitates immigration. The figures mark the first time that more than 1% of a Western country’s Jewish population has

Report: Assad Retained Chemical Arsenal

PhotoSerg/ shutterstock.com United States intelligence agencies have confirmed that Syria’s President, Bashar al-Assad, remains in possession of chemical weapons, The Times of Israel reported. In 2013, Assad capitulated to international demands that he relinquish Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal after his regime used sarin gas against civilians in Damascus. The Times referenced a report in The

Building Bridges

Once in a while a Jewish person will say to one of us, “Don’t tell me what you believe! I’ll follow you around and then I will tell you what you believe.” After centuries of negative interaction between Christians and Jews, God has called us to build bridges of understanding, love and respect. We sorrow

Israeli Dream Doctors bring smiles to Nepalese Children

When David Barashi heard about the earthquake in Nepal, he filled a suitcase with wigs, face paint and a red clown’s nose, and boarded a plane for Kathmandu. Jaffa resident Barashi, 39, a street theater artist and a medical clown at Hadassah Medical Center in Ein Kerem, Jerusalem, and Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, went

Israel in Nepal—Bridges for Peace Joins the Effort

Devastated communities. Unimaginable injuries and fatalities. A disaster of unspeakable dimension and magnitude. These are the words that Israel’s Magen David Adom paramedics used to describe the situation in earthquake-ravaged Nepal. Almost immediately after the disaster, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) dispatched a 747 jet carrying medical personnel, search and rescue teams, medical equipment and other

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