The Desert Will Blossom

{image_1}“The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom…” (Isaiah 35:1, NIV)

After seeing photos of the lush, green Galilee, an astonished friend once told me that she thought Israel was all desert. Well, Israel is not exactly all desert, but desert does make up almost 60% of the nation’s land mass. I expect she envisioned camel caravans making their way across endless dunes of sand, but, in fact, the desert of Israel is comprised primarily of rocky outcrops and mountains, deep craters, and dry riverbeds.

The Biblical Feasts

{image_1}The Bible talks about a number of special holidays called ”feasts.” Today, these biblical feasts continue to be celebrated in Israel and around the world by Jewish people and an increasing number of Christians as well. Christians often refer to them as “Jewish” feasts, but what does the Bible say? “And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: “The feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts”’” (Lev. 23:1–2).

All Quiet on the Hizbullah Front

{image_1}Turmoil in the Middle East has captured the attention of the entire world over the past year as nation after nation has experienced uprisings among its citizens. Called the “Arab Spring,” some thought these events might lead to a democratic Middle East with a more positive disposition toward the West. Unfortunately, that was not to be. Although much of this unrest may have begun with a sincere desire for positive change, the nations responded in very different ways. From programs that provided people with generous financial benefits to military action, each nation has struggled to find stability. And radical Islamists were on hand to take advantage of every opportunity.

Creating Pure Water without Chlorine

{image_1}”Clean” isn't always as clean as you think. While the chemicals in cleaning solutions and water purification systems do away with germs, they dirty the environment and aren't healthy for humans. An Israeli company is offering an alternative: an ozone-based cleaning system to purify tap water. The system, says Ittai Weissberg, CEO of Greeneng Solutions, is better at getting rid of germs and is a lot safer than chlorine- and ammonia-based cleaning solutions. And it does the job cheaply.

Introducing the Invisible Keyboard

{image_1}It's always easy to see who chose typing class at high school when watching grownups in the boardroom. Those who didn't learn how to type properly stumble over laptop keyboards with two fingers or thumbs. Today's smart phones have made most of us just as awkward. Our fingers feel like big fat sausages as we aim for the tiny letters. Could there be another way?

Rescue Me…Israel Style

{image_1}If you've got a heavy load to haul, carrying it in a backpack will be easier than lugging it by hand—whether it's camping gear or an injured person. And that's the simple reason why Jerusalem-based Agilite has gotten thousands of inquiries about its recently introduced IPC (Injured Personnel Carrier). The patent-pending, trademarked IPC weighs in at three-quarters of a pound, yet it can bear 5,000 pounds [2,268 kilograms] and enables a rescuer to carry someone on his or her back. The unit's 12.5-foot [3.8 meter] length folds down to just 10 inches [25.4 centimeters].

Rain, Floods, and Snow…in Israel!

{image_1}What a refreshing assignment to be able to write about water in Israel instead of drought! We’ve been waiting seven years for this! Last year about this time, I wrote an article entitled “Israel’s Water Crisis,” featuring pictures of forest fires, over-ripe rotten fruit, languishing cows, and a depleted Sea of Galilee. This year, however, the skis opened up and God poured out an abundance!

Cleaving—Dabak

{image_1}Intimacy—we all want it; we all desperately need it. Some of us, however, have been so hurt in life that we fear it, or we have been so denied it that we don’t know how to pursue it. Yet, it is something we must have to survive. People commit suicide because they either lose it or can’t find it. The good news is God has the recipe for it. It’s His desire that we have it with Himself and with man.

Protecting the Home Front

{image_1}Israel has had to adapt to many threats and challenges: from tanks to terrorists, from plane hijackers to missile launchers. And that work never ends. Israel’s Home Front Command, a division of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), has an ongoing role to prepare Israel’s civilians for a wide range of dangers. Included among those are nonconventional attacks such as chemical, biological, and nuclear threats.

Israel’s Missile Defense System Taking Shape

{image_1}The “Color Red” alert siren sounds as another terrorist missile heads towards the coastal city of Ashdod in Israel’s south. More than 200,000 Israelis are at risk. Cars, businesses, homes, schools, synagogues—any one of them could be the target for the blindly-fired Gaza rocket. An explosion is heard by people in the city, but there’s no shattered glass, blazing buildings, or injuries. The Iron Dome missile defense system has successfully managed to intercept the incoming projectile, literally blowing it out of the sky with a missile of its own.

Smarter Digs with Mobile Archaeology Lab

{image_1}Under the hot sun in southern Israel, the Philistine city of Gath, archaeologists have been puzzling over how it was plundered and destroyed. “It was like a mini-Pompei, a frozen record in a moment of time,” says Prof. Steve Weiner, director of the Kimmel Center for Archaeological Science. Kimmel's unique onsite laboratory helps archaeologists piece together the events of the destruction.

Fortress from Jonah’s Time Uncovered

{image_1}Remains of massive walls more than one meter (3 feet) wide were found in an archaeological excavation by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA). They were dated to the First Temple Period and uncovered on Giv'at Yonah (the Hill of Jonah) in Ashdod prior to some development work.