Dispatch from Jerusalem

With Friends Like Egypt

A lot of attention has been given in the press lately to Israel’s enemies, and rightly so. The growing Hizbullah–Syria–Iran alliance is a clear threat to Israel, as demonstrated by the conflict in southern Lebanon in the summer of 2006. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s Holocaust denials, threats to “wipe Israel off the map,” missile tests, and nuclear ambitions certainly all give Israel plenty to worry about. But what about Israel’s friends in the Muslim and Arab world?

Byzantine Arch Discovered

The Hurva Synagogue was the largest in the Old City of Jerusalem until it was destroyed by the Jordanians after the 1948 War of Independence along with almost every other Jewish synagogue, home, and building. Shortly after Israel captured the Old City in the 1967 Six Day War, a small portion of the synagogue was rebuilt: a single arch that became a familiar sight on the Jewish Quarter skyline. That arch was recently removed when builders began the complete restoration of the synagogue to its former glory.

Coming—Great War to Wipe Out Israel

Iranian newspapers Kehyan and Resalat have urged Muslims around the world to prepare for a “great war” to destroy the State of Israel. “Hizbullah destroyed at least half of Israel in the Lebanon war…now only half the path [to its destruction] remains,” an editorial in the conservative Keyhan newspaper declared.

Give Up the Golan—A “Reasonable” Compromise?

An expert advising the Baker–Hamilton special bipartisan committee on Iraq believes that it is better for Iraq’s security and stability to engage Iran and Syria rather than to further isolate them. Former CIA employee Raymond Close believes that the best way to engage the Arab Muslim states surrounding Iraq is by pressuring Israel.

The Nations Come to Learn How the Desert Bloomed

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev hosted a major international conference last November on combating desertification, with experts coming to study Israel’s successes in “making the desert bloom.” The conference was sponsored by the Blaustein Institute of Desert Research (BIDR), Ben-Gurion University, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The conference was part of international activities marking 2006 as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification, as declared by the United Nations in recognition of the acute problem of desertification or land degradation worldwide.

Preventing Coronary Artery Obstruction

Israeli researchers at Technion-Israel Institute of Technology have developed a new approach to prevent the obstruction of coronary arteries following balloon angioplasty and stent insertion. Professor Noah Lotan explains that “balloon angioplasty damages the blood vessels. The new tissue created around the wound can cause a new obstruction.” This happens within the first six months of the angioplasty in 30–40% of patients and is caused by tissue growing from blood vessel walls.

Searching for the Treasures of the Copper Scrolls

Bridges for Peace reported on a trip to a mysterious location in an Israeli military firing zone to investigate a series of tunnels found there in the November-December issue of the Dispatch from Jerusalem. We could not reveal the location then because it was not officially published yet. Information about that site was published in the September-October 2006 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, so we are now happy to share the full story.

A Reader’s Point of View

We received the following letter from a Jewish reader in Jerusalem in response to our October 2006 Israel Teaching Letter. We thought you would enjoy it as much as we did.

Laser Destroys Roadside Bombs

Rafael, Israel’s leading developer of arms-related technology, and American defense contractor General Dynamics have produced and deployed the system called Thor. It uses the concentrated energy of a high-powered laser to clear unexploded bombs and improvised explosive devices.

Moroccan Jewry: Moroccan Chicken Tagine

By Charleeda Sprinkle

Jewish people have been living in Morocco, on the northwestern corner of Africa, since before the Roman Empire. Before 1948, there were over 265,000 Jews in Morocco; now there are only 5,000 to 7,000. However, approximately 600,000 Moroccan Jews live in Israel today!