Sorrow and Hope

Featured Stories

Festivals of Summer

Celebrating life to the fullest and maximizing the opportunities to have fun, are two of the things Israelis do best. Israel has cultivated a few unique festivals which are hosted during summertime, catering to a wide variety of tastes. From festivals you can actively participate in, like the Karmiel Dance Festival; to those that tickle

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Living Next to Gaza

Israel is a tiny nation whose citizens all live short distances from her borders with neighboring countries. Of course, some live closer than others and two of those borders—Gaza in the southwest, and Lebanon–Syria in the north—are very hostile. What is it like to live within sight of the Gaza border? This autumn, the Bridges

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A Memoir of Miracles: The Joseph and Rebecca Bau Story

A petite, Israeli woman named Clila Bau-Cohen is telling us the story of her parents, Joseph and Rebecca Bau. Her accented English is animated and frequently tinged with delight as her parents’ story unfolds. This is a love story—with all the joy and optimism that embodies true love. But the romance between Joseph and Rebecca

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Renewal of Nature

“For there is hope for a tree, if it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its tender shoots will not cease.” Job 14:7 Traveling through the lush, forested areas of the Jerusalem hills, it is difficult to imagine the dry, barren landscape that the pioneers of the State of Israel found

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The Language of Destruction

My friend, Henry, (not his real name) was in his early teens when the Nazis came to power in his native Germany. Although Jewish, he was extremely popular in his German school, elected president of his class, a football hero and a star pupil. One morning as the school day began, Henry’s teacher called him

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Tastes of the Promised Land

I never expected to fall in love with Israeli food. The Promised Land, I presumed, was famous for echoes of events of times gone by, the footprints of biblical characters and locations made famous by Scripture. Tasty treats and mouthwatering meals, I reasoned, did not fit into such a mental picture. Of course, I hardly

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Israel–Arab States’ Relationship Status: It’s Complicated

For years, Arab nations have kept Israel at an arm’s length and avoided public moves that would imply there was any relationship between them at all. But during the last year, a former Saudi Arabian general actually visited Israel, the Egyptian foreign minister paid an official visit to Jerusalem—and those were just two of the

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Africa and Israel: a Match Made in Heaven?

  In times past, Africa was known as the “dark continent,” a mysterious, romantic place filled with tribal cultures, exotic wildlife and beautiful landscapes. It was a destination for Christian missionaries as well as those who dreamed of the adventure of the big-game safari. For many decades, however, violence and turmoil reigned throughout much of

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Frankincense and Myrrh—Along Israel’s Spice Route

The Spice and Incense Route—those words conjure images of long camel caravans ferrying trade goods across the Negev desert to Jerusalem and points beyond. On this exotic desert road connecting the Orient with the Roman Empire, the precious commodities of frankincense and myrrh were transported over vast distances to satisfy the insatiable Roman appetite for

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The Lie of Occupation

In May of 2015, South Carolina became the first state in America to adopt modernized legislation regulating against the problem of commercial discrimination and boycotts of Israel. The bill passed unanimously, and was the result of nearly two years of legal research, policy development and educational resourcing by the Israel Allies Foundation (IAF) and its

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