Sorrow and Hope

Featured Stories

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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“Emperor” Putin’s Middle East, Russia’s Ongoing Role in the Region

When term limits threatened to end the reign of Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2008, he deftly changed his title from president to prime minister while still giving himself the most powerful position in the country. When he was legally allowed to hold the presidency again, he used that position to maintain control. Yet, his

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A Dangerous Precedent: Poland’s New Holocaust Law

“For the dead and the living, we must bear witness.”—Elie Wiesel In January 2018, Poland passed a controversial bill making it a crime to blame Poland for the atrocities of the Holocaust. The bill, proposed by the country’s ruling Law and Justice Party (PiS), calls for up to three years in prison or a fine

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Hebrew: The Sound of Prophecy Fulfilled

It wasn’t love at first sight for me and Israel. Oh no. I fell in love with the Promised Land, her people, history and significance long before I caught my first glimpse of the strip of land between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. My relationship with the Hebrew language started off differently. Even

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Guatemala and Israel—Closer than Brothers

In a global climate that often sees Israel isolated and maligned on the international stage, there is a country that has consistently shown itself to be Israel’s friend. Some may be surprised to learn that the country is the small Latin American nation of Guatemala. Scarred by civil war, numerous coups and drug violence, Guatemala

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The Big Cut

While it is increasingly becoming a divisive issue, circumcision is one of the world’s oldest rites of passage and vitally important to Judaism. The topic was once considered taboo, but in modern times rigorous debate has flared up in Western nations about whether this tradition could be a violation of young boys’ human rights. The

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Circus of the Absurd, The UN Human Rights Council

  In March 2018, the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) held its 37th session in Geneva, Switzerland, with the purported goal of identifying human rights violations around the globe and making recommendations to UN member states on how they should be addressed. When looking at the world situation, one would think the Council would have

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Israel and the War on ISIS

In 2017, ISIS had plans to blow up a passenger plane flying from Australia. However, with the scheme nearing completion, the suspects behind the plot were instead arrested—and the key piece of intelligence that foiled the bombing came from Israel. The Ha’aretz newspaper, in reporting on the prevented attack, said a high-tech Israeli intelligence unit

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Abbas’ Failed Government, Living on Borrowed Time

Mahmoud Abbas is entering his 14th year as leader of the Palestinian Authority. At the outset, both the West and his own people saw him as the ideal leader, a reformer who would get the parties back to the negotiating table and usher in the longed-for two state solution. Today, after alienating the West and

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