Dispatch from Jerusalem

“Peace, Peace!”  But…There Is No Peace

{image_1}It’s around 8:30 p.m. in Jerusalem on March 6. A group of men in an upstairs classroom at the Mercaz HaRav Yeshivah (religious school) are just finishing evening prayers. The night commences the start of the Jewish month of Adar, the festive month in which Purim is celebrated, the festival that rejoices in the bravery of Queen Esther and the salvation of the Jews from destruction at the hands of their enemy Haman. But unbeknown to the men completing their prayers, an enemy of the Jewish people is walking into the yeshivah, armed with an AK-47 assault rifle. The bullets begin firing. The men in the classroom can hear the incessant shots. Jose can see into the study hall below, a separate area from where the shooting was taking place, through a window, as students are running. Jose and the other men turn off the lights, barricade the doors, and lay on the floor.

Golf Coming to Mount Arbel

{image_1} Israel will soon have a five-star luxury golf course resort on Mount Arbel [overlooking the Sea of Galilee near Tiberius]. Developer Joseph Bernstein first got the idea to open a luxury golf course in Israel when he realized that Israel is a prime market because there are nine months of great weather. It has taken 15 years, but the dream is about to become a reality. The Israel Land Authority has given the final agreement necessary and now construction can begin.

Robots Square Off in a Technological Tournament

{image_1} “Three, two, one, it’s robot fighting time!”

Thirty-six Jewish and Arab teams from various high schools and technical colleges recently gathered in Tel Aviv for a competition to display their technical prowess. Each of the teams was given six weeks to design and build a robot for entry to the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science) Israel Robotics Competition, sponsored by Microsoft, GM, Chevrolet, and other industry heavyweights. The goal of the competition was to promote excitement and interest in young people for studying technology.

Shackled Warrior – Israel and the Global Jihad

{image_1} While our Dispatch commentaries normally are written by our own staff, occasionally, we use commentary written by guest writers. We are pleased that Caroline Glick gave us permission to publish the preface of her new book (same as the title of this article). Caroline Glick is an American Jew, who immigrated to Israel in 1991 with a degree in political science from Columbia University. She served in the IDF for five and a half years, as Assistant Foreign Policy Advisor to former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 1997–1998, and has been working as Deputy Managing Editor of The Jerusalem Post since 2002. To access her articles, go to www.carolineglick.com.

“No Terrorist Country alongside Israel”

{image_1} Israel Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni threatened a stalemate in the peace process if a Palestinian unity government is formed that does not recognize the right of Israel to exist. The comments came after Yemen attempted to restart dialogue between the Gazan government of Hamas and the Palestinian Authority led by Fatah.

Valley of Elah – Park Opens

{image_1} The Valley of Elah, the site of the biblical epic battle between David and Goliath is the site of a new park with some very old features. Situated between modern-day Tel Aviv and Jerusalem in a picturesque valley, visitors in the spring are greeted by a carpet of red anemones and multicolored lupins. Vineyards and viticulture are one of the main valley industries, adding to the beauty. Tour groups often stop to imagine the battle between David and Goliath and to visit the hand-carved underground city of Beit Guvrin, which dates back at least 3,000 years.

Latest City of David Find – A First Temple Period Inscription

{image_1} An inscription from the First Temple Period was found recently by Professor Ronny Reich of Haifa University and Eli Shukron of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) in their excavations near the Siloam Pool at the southern tip of the City of David. According to Reich, “We can date it to the eighth century BC through the shape of the letters and the pottery with which it was found.” Reich said that the inscription consisted of only six Hebrew letters found on several 2 to 3-inch (5 to 7.6-centimeter) fragments of white stone that was “broken from all sides.” He also said that it was still too early to know exactly what the inscription is and that more fragments would need to be found. However, Reich did agree that inscriptions from this period are indeed rare.

“We Will Eliminate Israel”

{image_1} “The time has come to see the weakness and collapse of the Zionist regime and its supporters. They are doing everything in order to save it, but they will not succeed.

Dollar’s Decline Hurting Israeli Economy

{image_1} The American dollar’s value against the Israeli shekel has dropped more than 20% since last summer, at around 3.5 shekels to the dollar. On March 18, the exchange rate hit its lowest point since 1997 at 3.38 shekels. In response to the decline, the Bank of Israel took the unusual move of buying American dollars for the first time since 1997.

Globetrotting with Cellular Translation

{image_1}Most of us have been at a business conference or traveling when we meet a great person, but run into a language barrier. We can share no more than a simple “Hello,” “Shalom,” or “Bonjour” before parting ways. Israel’s CelloTrip plans to change that and open the world to multilingual “street talk,” by letting people send a one-line text message and receive a translation seconds later with its phonetic pronunciation.