Life in Israel

A Garden of the Prophets and Sages

{image_1} Have you ever tried to imagine what the Land of Israel looked like when David sat on a hillside with his sheep or what it was like to be a shepherd boy? Have you ever been around sheep, walked in an olive grove, or seen a sycamore tree? I remember the thrill of first seeing a real shepherd with his sheep and walking down a dirt path that wound through a quiet olive grove. It was so easy to imagine Jesus and His disciples walking just up ahead.

Yemin Orde: A Home for Life

{image_1} The first week of December 2010, a raging fire, lasting 82 hours, swept across the Carmel mountain range overlooking Haifa. Yemin Orde, a youth village which is home to 500 Israeli students, was directly in its path and was quickly evacuated. Staff returned but when they saw a fire ball approaching, they too left with the feeling that everything would be burned down. In the end, 40% of the buildings were destroyed, including two dozen houses (for 58 staff members), classrooms, the library, and dormitories. For a month, students were housed elsewhere.

Israel’s Biblical Zoo

{image_1}Anyone traveling to the Holy Land and visiting Jerusalem will find an amazing commemoration of two biblical events at Israel’s 62-acre (25-hectare) zoo: creation and Noah’s ark. Both of these events have something in common—animals. Situated amidst the bustling, modern neighborhood of Manahat, the Tisch Family Zoological Gardens, or better known as the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo, is an ideal picture of God’s love for creation. Here, the theme of creation and the miraculous account of the ark are beautifully woven together.

The Battle for Israel’s History

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As long as there have been historians, there have been those who would rewrite their stories, and for a myriad of reasons. On the positive side, re-examining history has long been accepted as a means of keeping our understanding of the past current. Developments in science, technology, archaeology, etc, have shed new light on old stories, sometimes adding a new dimension to a particular historical period or event and sometimes even modifying the mainstream view. Allowing for the reinterpretation of longstanding views based on new evidence is, in fact, good scholarship, providing that adherence to accuracy is central to the review.

Israel’s Water Crisis

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Almost every winter we cover the topic of drought in Israel. After seven years of drought in a row, it is certainly justified. Israel’s water crisis is looking even worse this winter. November 2010 was the driest in the North in 48 years with some forecasters saying this winter might be the driest of all seven years.

Bio-Bee Bumblebees

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Bio-Bee mass-produces the earth bumblebee, Bombus terrestris, for natural pollination of various crops. Greenhouse tomato is the major crop, and added to this are sweet pepper, eggplant, strawberry, melon and courgette (zucchini). Outdoor fruit crops such as pears, cherry, plum, blueberry and avocado are also successfully pollinated by bumblebees.

Killing Pests—Naturally

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Of all the pest-gobbling insects and spiders Dr. Shimon Steinberg encounters as research and development manager for Bio-Bee Sde Eliyahu, he's particularly partial to the predatory mite. It may not sound lovable, but this minuscule “very handsome, nice orange spider” is a highly efficient enemy of the spider mite, a devastating agricultural pest. It's also fast moving, a trait much admired by Steinberg, a marathon runner. Besides, Steinberg tells ISRAEL21c, the two-millimeter-long, pear-shaped creature is Bio-Bee's top seller worldwide. “Sixty percent of California strawberries since 1990 are treated with this predatory mite from the Holy Land,” he says like a proud papa.

Praying at the Wall

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Recently, I learned about the Jewish tradition of praying at the Western Wall in Jerusalem for 40 consecutive days. Having some special needs at the time, I decided it would be a good thing to try. Any thoughts of merely following a “tradition” dissolved as I walked to the Wall reciting Psalm 122: “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go into the house of the Lord.’ Our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem!” (vv. 1–2ff).

Cycle for Hope

I’m a young adult volunteer for Bridges for Peace. When asked if I would like to represent Bridges for Peace in a cycling event in Israel, I jumped at the opportunity. I love to cycle and because it would be a three-day event, it poised a challenge that I could not pass up.

Israel’s Kibbutz Movement Celebrates 100 Years

{image_1}One year after Tel Aviv celebrated its 100-year anniversary, Israel’s communal kibbutz movement—in many ways the opposite of Tel Aviv’s modern mega-city—is celebrating their 100^th birthday. In March, Israel’s first kibbutz, Degania Alef, hosted the kick-off ceremony for the year’s celebrations, as they gear up for the big, national celebration of the kibbutz on October 4. While the kibbutz community’s founding principles of egalitarianism, communal living, and an agriculture-based society are by no means unique to Israel, the kibbutz movement’s role and significance in the creation of Israel’s modern state help set it apart from similar movements around the world.