Sorrow and Hope

Life in Israel

Surprising Customs, Cultures and Traditions

Israel is like no other place on earth. The history of the Jewish people stretches back thousands of years, yet the modern nation is only 71 years old. Almost 30% of Israelis are olim (immigrants), coming from all across the world and bringing some of their own culture with them. Israel is thus a wonderful

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Like the Garden of Eden

“So they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the Garden of Eden…’” Ezekiel 36:35 It was just a 25-minute drive from Jerusalem, but I felt like I had entered another world. A small group of friends had embarked on a day trip to the biblical heartland of Judea. When we arrived

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Choosing Life in Israel

“For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land.” Ezekiel 36:24 Some two-and-a-half millennia after God made this pledge, we are seeing the prophecy come to pass in front of our eyes as Jewish people from America to Australia and South Africa to

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They Are Returning to Zion

Millennia ago Isaiah prophesied “And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion…” (Isa. 35:10). Today we use a specific term for this return—aliyah. It’s a Hebrew word whose root is from the verb meaning “to go up.” Conversely when Israeli citizens decide to move to another country for a while, they

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Educate for Life—or Death?

Since the early 19th century, summer camp has been a part of life for virtually every Jewish child worldwide. It began as an effort to provide a place for children living in poverty to spend some restful time enjoying the great outdoors, away from crowded apartments and teeming, sweltering cities. Today, summer camp has become

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Extreme Measures

Riots in Ramallah, the Palestinian Authority (PA) capital, just north of Jerusalem. Palestinians are throwing rocks and explosives. A 21-year-old Israeli captain and his soldiers must calm the violence. The situation could turn deadly in an instant. Someone hands a Molotov cocktail to a six-year-old boy. Despite warnings shouted in Arabic, the boy inches toward

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The Gaza You Don’t See

A 2017 report from the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) revealed that nearly one in three of the 2.1 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip lives below the poverty level, and 33.7% of the population lives in a level of deep poverty, which the PCBS defines as being unable to meet “the minimum required

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The Season of Rejoicing

Jewish people often jest that the “why” and “what” of all their festivals can be summarized in three pithy sentences: “They tried to kill us. We survived. Let’s eat.” The tongue-in-cheek statement holds more than a kernel of truth. Nearly every Jewish feast either tells the tale of miraculous salvation from a seemingly insurmountable foe

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A Road Well Traveled: The Pilgrimage Road to the Temple Mount

“That is where the tribes go up—the tribes of the LORD—to praise the name of the LORD according to the statute given to Israel.” (Psalm 122:4 NIV) It was described as the beating heart of Jerusalem—a place of bustling commerce, braying donkeys, chattering children playing hide-and-seek among the robe-clad legs of pilgrims; a politician bellowing

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Hundreds of New Immigrants Arrive in Israel

On a hot July afternoon, Bridges for Peace was present at the airport to welcome new Jewish immigrants from Russia, Argentina, Brazil, France and Venezuela. The tarmac was teeming with hundreds of people who were there to welcome the arrivals with music, flags, ice cream and joy. Religious leaders, political leaders, the heads of the

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