Good News

Indonesia to Play Tennis in Israel

In a major diplomatic milestone, Indonesia’s government says it will allow its women’s Fed Cup tennis team to compete in Israel. Indonesia is the most populous Muslim nation and has been a vocal critic of Israel, which is scheduled to host the World Group II playoff in July. The Indonesian tennis federation had originally asked for a change of venue, but Israel would not yield its right to host the event.

Tourism Jumps 30%

In January-April 2006, 695,000 tourists entered Israel, a 30% rise over the same period last year. Tourist traffic from North America surged 34% compared to the first four months of 2005. Arrivals from the United States came to 174,000 (up 42%), making that country the largest source of tourism to Israel.

Israel First in Strategy Games

Israel may not be taking part in the World Cup, but in thinking games, its students are world champions. In June, four Israelis won first place in the first Olympics for thinking games, which took place in the University of Oxford in Britain.

Unusual Trade: Israel Exports Surplus Apples To Syria

For the second straight year, Israeli apple growers expanded their customer base
to include an unlikely, but eager purchaser of their surplus produce–Syria.

Lost Cousins Reunite After 66 Years

For 66 years, Ella Friedvald, 82, and her 79-year-old sister Lila were sure that their cousin Krystyna had been killed in the Holocaust, just as she was convinced they were long dead.

After all, the three women were barely teenagers when the Germans invaded Poland and their families were separated. After the war, Ella and Lila settled in Israel, while Krystyna, 79, made her home in the United States. But a faded postcard sent from a German labor camp 60 years ago and the determination of a very persistent octogenarian to claim her family’s pre-war life insurance benefits led to their reunification.

First Techelet Robe in 2,000 years!

“You shall make the robe of the ephod all of blue. There shall be an opening for his[High Priest’s]head in the middle of it; it shall have a woven binding all around its opening, like the opening in a coat of mail, so that it does not tear. And upon its hem you shall make pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet, all around its hem, and bells of gold between them…And it shall be upon Aaron when he ministers, and its sound will be heard when he goes into the holy place before the Lord and when he comes out, that he may not die.” Exodus 28:31–33, 35, NKJV)

After much hard work and research, the techelet (azure blue) robe of the High Priest has been completed by the Temple Institute in Jerusalem. It is hoped to be fit to be worn in the Third Temple. The blue coat, or me’il techelet as it is called in the Torah (Gen.–Deut.), sports 72 golden bells alternating with 72 pomegranates, woven of blue, purple, and scarlet wool and attached around its hem.

Our Daily Bread

“Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may becomepoor and steal and so dishonor the name of my God. ” Proverbs 30:8–9

Poland Israel’s Friend

Today, Poland is one of Israel’s best friends. Now, this once anti-Semitic country has few anti-Israel demonstrations, enjoys US $2 billion worth of Israeli investments, buys Israeli missiles, and has allotted substantial funds to build a Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw––slated to become one of Europe’s largest Jewish museums.

Economy Grows 5.2% in 2005

Israel’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 5.2% to nearly NIS 523.9 billion (US $113.3 billion) in 2005, its biggest gain in five years and well above the Bank of Israel’s most recent forecast, according to preliminary figures released January 1 by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS).

Christians Track Israel Support

In an unprecedented move, a major conservative Christian advocacy group in the United States will include the voting records of American legislators on Israel in its biennial Christian voting guide.

The Christian Voter Guide—put out by right-wing Christian Coalition of America every two years ahead of American congressional and presidential elections—has previously only included American domestic social issues. Now the guide is branching out to deal with American’s foreign relations for the first time.