Dispatch from Jerusalem

Syrian General: Assad Ordered Me to Gas People

{image_1}Brigadier-General Zaher al-Sakat, a former chemical weapons chief in Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's army, says he was ordered three times to use chemical weapons against his own people, but could not go through with it and replaced chemical canisters with ones containing harmless bleach. The general insisted that all such orders had to come from the top—President Assad himself—despite insistent denials by the regime that it has ever used chemical weapons.

A Sweet New Year

{image_1}Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, falls on September 4–5 this year. All over the globe, Jewish people will be celebrating with prayers and repentance at the synagogue and family get-togethers with lots of delicious food at home. As is true for most Jewish holidays, traditional foods are eaten that relate to the event that is being commemorated. Passover recalls the tears of slavery with salt water while a Hanukkah table remembers God’s miracle with foods fried in oil. And of course, these traditions often vary from community to community, having been influenced by local cuisine and the availability of ingredients, especially spices.

Remote Control

{image_1}Geva Tzin found a unique vehicle to keep an eagle eye on his goats without being constantly
sleep-deprived. For those familiar with the popular online game FarmVille, which allows urbanites to
“play virtual farmer,” the moshavnik from Beer-Tuvia set up a surveillance camera on the roof of his
goat pen and set up a Facebook account called Geva the Domestic Goat Grower, calling on surfers to
help keep an eye on his livestock, saying “the only things that deters rustlers is the thought someone
is actually watching them.”

Pest-Free Veggies without Chemicals

{image_1}Farmers in Israel’s largest vegetable-growers’ marketing cooperative use a unique cocktail of four predatory insects to protect their crops from getting eaten or infested by harmful bugs.

A Jewish Festival of Sport

{image_1}Thirty-thousand spectators filled Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem to welcome over 9,000 Jewish athletes who came from every corner of the world, including Israel, to participate in the 19th Maccabiah Games. The games are held every four years. The opening ceremonies were attended by President Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, and several government ministers.

Iran—New President—Unchanged Vision

New Iranian Leader's Rant Shows His True Colors

{image_1}NEW YORK—The president of the World Jewish Congress (WJC), Ronald S. Lauder, called remarks made by Iran’s incoming President Hassan Rouhani “proof that he is not the moderate many in the West believe he is” and that “he is more likely to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.” On the regime’s annual “Palestine Day,” Rouhani reportedly called Israel “an old wound on the body of the Islamic world for years” that “should be removed.” He had also questioned the need for peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians.

Soreq Cave—The Wondrous World Beneath

{image_1}Considering its tiny size, the land of Israel is amazing in its diversity. God made the Land beautiful—a “land of hills and valleys,” choosing it as a dwelling place for Himself and His people. And it must give Him pleasure, for Deuteronomy 11:12 says that “…the eyes of the Lord your God are always on it.”

Righteous Women of the Holocaust

{image_1}“Attitudes towards the Jews during the Holocaust mostly ranged from indifference to hostility. The mainstream watched as their former neighbors were rounded up and killed; some collaborated with the perpetrators; many benefited from the expropriation of the Jews property.

With Friends Like That…

{image_1}There is an old saying, “With friends like that, who needs enemies?!” If it ever applied to anyone, it certainly does to Israel. Throughout the short history of this tiny nation, wars have been fought with precious few allies, international pressure handled with minimal partners, and an almost constant onslaught of terror endured with very few supporters. The international community has frequently refused to acknowledge Israel’s right to conduct its affairs in like manner to other sovereign nations, and often countries that seemed like friends one day, turned out to be foes the next. And it all began in 1947.

TORAH: The Center of Jewish Learning

{image_1}Torah is one of the pillars of Judaism: “The world stands on three things: on Torah, worship, and loving deeds of kindness” (Pirke Avot: Ethics of the Fathers 1:2). Studying Torah should be a pleasure and sweetens one's life. To emphasize this sweetness, Jewish children may begin their study of Hebrew with letters that have been written in honey. As they learn the letters and enjoy the honey, it is an object lesson to teach them that the study of Torah is sweet, which we read in Psalm 119:103: “How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”