Sorrow and Hope

Dispatch from Jerusalem

Hamas: Thirty Years of Terror

Rome. The Nazis. Pharaoh and the Egyptians. Assyria, Greece and the evil Haman. The chronicles of times gone by are littered with ancient regimes and rulers determined to annihilate the Jewish people. History teaches that those who led the charges to destroy the Jews were themselves ultimately destroyed, while Israel remained. History also teaches that

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The Earth Moves

Israel has in centuries past experienced some severe earthquakes. Testimony of this is found not only in archaeological and geological records, but also in the ancient biblical text. Scripture teaches that several significant past events were accompanied by great shakings in the natural world and it is foretold that future events will be also. While

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From Rosh HaShanah to Sukkot: Three Weeks of the Holy, Joyous and Awesome

The rhythm of life in Israel is governed by an annual cycle of feasts. The year flows from Passover through Shavuot (Feast of Weeks) and on to Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles), infusing the everyday with the holy, joyous and awesome. Yet even amidst a calendar marked with times set aside to celebrate, the three-week period

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Rosh HaShanah Apple-Honey Rose Tart

Jewish tradition teaches that Rosh HaShanah (Jewish New Year) is a time to dip apples in honey in celebration and expectation of a sweet year to come. This rose-shaped tart also hearkens back to Song of Solomon 8:5, “Who is this coming up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? I awakened you under the apple tree.

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The Kites that Set Southern Israel Ablaze

Hundreds of burning terror kites and balloons launched. More than 3,035 hectares (7,500 ac.) of forest and agricultural land turned to ash. Flocks of wildlife suffocated or burnt. Tens of millions of shekels in damage. A terror regime set on death and destruction… “The Islamist rulers of Gaza aren’t clamoring for a two-state solution. Hamas’s

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Israel to the Rescue

When the earth shakes anywhere on the globe, Israel is one of the first countries to spring into action and lend aid. Maybe it’s because Israel herself sits atop a massive fault line and understands all too well the destruction caused by a major earthquake. Or it could be that Israel’s swift response arises from

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Why Trump Had to “Nix” the Iran Nuclear Deal

All that was at stake was world peace—or at least, nuclear peace. The question hanging before the United States (US) and Europe—and of critical interest to Israel—was whether it was better to keep the flawed nuclear Iran deal or to have no deal at all. In May this year, the US President Donald Trump administration

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Turning Trash into “Mines of the Future”

Stinking trash heaps are traditionally not the first place one would expect to find anything of use. Israeli firm, UBQ Materials, begs to differ. In fact, according to Christopher Sveen, chief sustainability officer at UBQ, rotting landfills are the “mines of the future.” The company operating from Israel’s Negev desert is currently perfecting waste-conversion technology

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2,000-Year-Old Burial Cave Found

A fine and complex burial cave, dating back some 2,000 years from the Roman period, came to light recently in Tiberias. A mechanical digger, excavating the site for a new neighborhood in the municipality, exposed the cave entrance, and the contractor informed the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) of the discovery immediately. The rock-hewn cave comprised

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Seventy Years of the State and the Scrolls

Researchers from all over the world and experts in many fields of knowledge, including archaeology and other sciences, gathered in Jerusalem to discuss different aspects of the Judean Desert where the Dead Sea Scrolls were unearthed, both as the physical site of desert communities and as the symbolic place where biblical events and stories were

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