Dispatch from Jerusalem

Ashkelon Desalinization Plant Up and Running

The much anticipated Ashkelon water desalinization plant is up and running, with treated seawater already being supplied to the Negev from the Mediterranean Sea.

Wheels of Success

For college students, living close to campus is important, but Jerusalem’s Hadassah College’s School for Industrial Design student, Elisha Wetherhorn, is actually delighted that he didn’t find a close place to live––otherwise the Rider, his invention designed to ease the plight of commuters, might never have been born.

Now he’s hoping his urban tricycle––a lightweight (14kg. or 30lbs.) folding bike with an electric motor that you can take on the bus––will soon be a common sight in centers around the world with potential investors in Tel Aviv, India, London, and the United States.

Earthquake Shakes Israel

Israelis preparing to see out the old year and welcome in the new with the sound of shofar blowing on October 3, the eve of Rosh Hashanah (the biblical Feast of Trumpets) felt their country shaking, as a 4.3 scale earthquake struck the region.

Originating just after 7:00 a.m. near the northern Jordan Valley town of Bet She’an, the quake shook beds and buildings, momentarily frightening people, before subsiding as quickly as it had begun.

Israel Likely to Keep 180,000 Settlers

Israel expects at least 180,000 of the current 240,000 settlers in the occupied West Bank will be able to stay in their homes with approval from the United States. Just before the Gaza evacuation, Dov Weisglass, senior adviser to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, said that Israel expects the evacuation of 8,500 Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip and a small area in the West Bank (Judea and Samaria).

Gaza’s Synagogues- Only the Latest

Despite the fervent claims of Palestinian Authority (PA) officials that the Muslims living under their rule have the utmost respect for Judaism, the synagogues of Gaza were burned and desecrated even before the last Jew had left the strip.

A cursory check of recent history would seem to contradict the PA’s assertions and make these scenes from Gaza very much expected.

Brothers in Arms Israeli Soldier Discovers Christian Love

My story doesn’t begin with me; it actually begins with my grandfather. In 1916, at age 15, he walked from Russia to Israel. It took him over a year. He sought new life and hope in what would hopefully become the new Jewish state.

My father was born in Jerusalem and grew up hearing wonderful stories. When he was growing up, Jews were forbidden to enter the Old City during the holidays. My grandfather would take his small family close to the Old City walls—as close as he could possibly get—and describe the Western Wall to my father.

Like a fish underwater

Israeli inventor Alon Bodner has developed a breathing apparatus that allows divers to breathe underwater without cumbersome, compressed air tanks. The new invention uses relatively small amounts of air that already exist in water to supply oxygen to both scuba divers and submarines.

Iran president- Israel to be destroyed”

Israel should be wiped off the map” Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in October, dampening hopes Iran could temper its hostility towards the Jewish state.

Anti-West Religious Hatred in PA

“Allah, punish our enemies! Your enemies, the enemies of the religion [i.e.Islam]…Allah, punish America and those who set an alliance with it…

Israel’s Eventual Destruction

“Nothing compares to this joy, the oppressed overcomes the oppressor. But our happiness will be complete only with the return of all of our lands––the [West] Bank, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Jaffa, Haifa, Safed, and other stolen cities.”