Dispatch from Jerusalem

Eighty Hours of Terror

{image_1}Israel Responds in Kenyan Crisis

On September 21, 2013, the African nation of Kenya experienced one of the worst terror attacks in recent history. The death and destruction shocked the world and devastated the country as pictures of injured and dying hit the internet. After the four-day siege ended, the UK and the United States were quick to send aid to the reeling country, but first on the scene was Israel.

Up In the Air, a Bird’s-eye View of Israel

{image_1}Israel has a number of cable car systems that not only provide transportation but make for some memorable aerial adventures as well.

Green Lung in Dimona

{image_1}If Israel's first Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion were to pop by the city of Dimona today, he'd be thrilled to see this Negev community bringing his vision to fruition. Construction of a new green oasis in the desert is now underway.

A High-Tech Pillbox

{image_1}Chronic diseases are expensive to manage, and one of the reasons is that patients forget to take their pills, says Gil Margalit. He’s the founder of a new Israeli company, Vaica, which is developing a solution to help young and old alike remember to take their medication.

Music on the Mind

{image_1}Musicologists and brain researchers, who don't usually attend the same conferences, recently attended a Jerusalem conference. They shared a common language: music. The conference, “Music and Brains: The Surprising Link,” was presented by the Interdisciplinary Center for Neural Computation (ICNC) at the Hebrew University [HU]. Prof. Naftali Tishby, director of the ICNC, was one of the conference organizers.

Disarming Syria Can Be Done—But Will It?

{image_1}The worst chemical weapons attack in decades…US warships sent to the region…the brink of war, again. And then, an eerie calm. A historic agreement to disarm Syria of their chemical weapons brought the entire US war campaign to a halt before it started. The deal saved the Americans from a fight they didn’t want, the Syrians from a sizable blow and made the Russians look good. It was all winners and smiles. But will it work? Is this a victory for diplomacy, or a villainous deception? In recent history, there have been multiple situations in which a nation has signed a deal to give up weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). Some have resulted in massive success stories. But sometimes it has been a giant disaster—evil regimes have reneged on deals in explosive ways. Here’s a look at how the world can disarm Syria of its WMDs and what to watch for in order to prevent another nightmare.

Netanyahu Remains Strong

{image_1} “We have to be very responsible, buck the trends, don't go by fashion. If you govern by fashion and you govern by the kind of editorials you're going to get, you'll get good editorials and later you'll get good eulogies. My responsibility is to ensure the survival, security, longevity of the one and only Jewish state.”

1,000 Year Old Hospital Revealed

{image_1}Part of an enormous structure dating to the Crusader period (AD 1099–1291) has currently been revealed to the public. The building is situated in the heart of the Christian Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem, in a region known as “Muristan” (a corruption of the Persian word for hospital). The building is similar in appearance to the Knights Halls in Akko.

History Comes to Life

{image_1}Three complete cooking pots and a small ceramic oil lamp were uncovered inside a recently discovered small cistern in a drainage channel that runs from the Shiloah Pool in the City of David to Robinson’s Arch. 

Intriguing Inscription

{image_1}Archaeological excavations conducted in the area of the Gihon Spring in the City of David have unearthed a layer of rich finds including thousands of broken pottery shards, clay lamps and figurines. Most intriguing is a ceramic bowl with a partially preserved inscription in ancient Hebrew. While not complete, the inscription presents archaeologists with the name of a 7th century BC figure, which resembles other names known from both the biblical and archaeological record, as well as providing a connection to the people living in Jerusalem at the end of the First Temple period.