Sorrow and Hope

Life in Israel

Israeli Flag in Space as NASA Shoots for the Moon

Tuesday, 29 November 2022 | The deep-space flight via Orion spacecraft in the mission called Artemis I, which was launched just less than two weeks ago from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is currently orbiting the moon with two mannequins aboard—both sporting an Israeli flag. If successful, the experiment may lay the foundation for

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Israeli Doctors Help African Children Smile

Wednesday, 23 November 2022 | Two Israeli doctors are making a difference for children in Equatorial Guinea by performing complex surgeries and providing local doctors with support and technology to perform the operations by themselves. Drs. Oded Nahlieli and Michael Abba recently returned from another trip to the central African nation, where they performed dozens

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‘Naval Iron Dome’ Successfully Passes Final Test

November 18, 2022

Friday, 18 November 2022 | Israel’s Navy and Defense Ministry as well as Rafael Advanced Defense Systems completed a C-Dome system advanced interception test, the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] announced on Thursday, marking a significant step toward introducing the naval version of the Iron Dome aerial defense system. The C-Dome is a more advanced version

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Solar Energy for Desalinated Water: Israel, Jordan, UAE Ink New Agreement

Thursday, 10 November 2022 | Israel signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) yesterday with Jordan and the United Arab Emirates [UAE] to progress a year-old agreement to provide Israel with clean energy and Jordan with water. The three nations signed the agreement yesterday at the COP27 climate conference in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. A previous MOU

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The Battle for the Heartland

“Judea and Samaria—the name Judea says it all—is territory that historically had an important Jewish presence,” former US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman said in 2020. “As they say, it is the biblical heartland of Israel. It includes Hebron, where Abraham purchased a burial cave for his wife Sarah; Shiloh, where the Tabernacle rested for

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Rules of Engagement

In the past months, the State of Israel has come under fire regarding the Israel Defense Force’s (IDF’s) Rules of Engagement (ROE). ROE are simply the internal rules or directives afforded military forces that define the circumstances, conditions, degree and manner in which the use of force may be applied. Open-fire policies determine those instances

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Meet My Israelis

“What are the Israelis like?” It’s a question I get asked often. Friends and family who have never visited Israel are naturally a bit curious about the people who call the Promised Land home. It’s a difficult question to answer though. How do you summarize an infinitely diverse melting pot of a nation with some

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One Way to Remember

When mailing letters I often ask the postal clerk, “I’d like some pretty stamps, please.” With the advent of email and free video calls via WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger, handwritten letters are becoming things of the past, with less and less need for postage stamps—never mind pretty ones. But in Israel, more than any other

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The Quirks of Israel—Gastronomic Delights

From the pen of Peter Fast, national director of Bridges for Peace Canada and the future CEO of Bridges for Peace International, comes the fifth installment of the Quirks of Israel. Join Peter on a journey through the wonderfully peculiar culture, traditions, heritage and daily life of this singular nation as he unpacks, introduces and

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Bouncing Back

As the sun set on 2021, Israel—along with the rest of the world—was eager to return to a sense of normalcy after nearly two years of lockdown, social distancing and isolation. There were, however, a few nagging questions. Was the fallout of COVID-19 so severe that the repercussions would paralyze us for years to come?

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