All Articles

X

NEW FEATURE

You can bookmark articles to Read Later

Israel Tourism Becomes Casualty of War

Israel Eilat Camel ranch tourists

Even though a ceasefire has been in place since August 26th, Israel’s tourism industry continues to suffer. Prior to the war with Gaza, tourism was on the upswing. Although everything indicated that the 2014 tourist season would be record breaking, hopes were dashed when the 50-day Gaza war caused cautious travelers to cancel their trips, leaving hotel rooms empty and tourist sites barren. The loss is estimated to be hundreds of millions of dollars.

more
X

NEW FEATURE

You can bookmark articles to Read Later

WCC Demands, “Let My People Go!”

Fruit stalls Mahane Yehuda market Jerusalem

Last week, jailed Palestinian terrorists found an ally in the World Council of Churches (WCC) when it met in East Jerusalem to hold its annual “World Week of Peace in Palestine Israel.” The WCC called on Israel to release Palestinian terrorists, with no concern for the violent crimes they committed against civilians. The group classed these terrorists as “political prisoners.” Material produced for the week revealed this inaccurate, one-sided definition, which characterized such prisoners as “any Palestinian resident of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, or Israel—arrested in relation to the occupation.” (NGO Monitor)

more
X

NEW FEATURE

You can bookmark articles to Read Later

Father Gabriel Nadaf Calls on UNHRC to Stand with Israel

Nadaf and Netanyahu

On Tuesday, Father Gabriel Nadaf, a Greek Orthodox priest and a leader of the minority Aramean Christian community in Israel, addressed the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), calling on the world to stand by Israel in its fight against Islamic terrorism. Nadaf told the UNHRC that Israel is the one country in the Middle East where Christians are not persecuted, but rather “affectionately granted freedom of expression, freedom of worship and security.”

more
X

NEW FEATURE

You can bookmark articles to Read Later

Parasha Ha’azinu (Listen): Finding Victory in the Song of Moses

A Jewish man wearing tefillin (phylacteries) recites selichot (prayer for forgiveness and mercy) at the Western (Wailing) Wall during the Days of Awe.

Parasha Ha’azinu is read on the Shabbat during the ten-day period of repentance (teshuvah) between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement). Because the Hebrew word "shuva," which means "return!" is the first word of Hosea 14:2-10, this week's Haftarah (prophetic portion), this Shabbat is commonly known as Shabbat Shuvah (Sabbath of Turning). Ha’azinu, which may be translated as give ear, meaning listen attentively, consists primarily of the 70-line long Song of Moses, which is both a love song to God and a chastisement of the people. In this song filled with poetry, prose and metaphor, Moses recounts the blessings that God has bestowed upon the people and the wicked deeds they have committed, as well as God’s just response to those deeds.

more
X

NEW FEATURE

You can bookmark articles to Read Later

Israel Rights Historic Wrong for Aramean Christians

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu greets Father Nadaf.

Israel officially recognized Aramean as a separate population group last week after Interior Minister Gideon Saar instructed the Population, Immigration and Border Authority (PIBA) to allow Christian Arabs to register as Arameans, an ancient people group that Encyclopedia Britannica says ceased to exist centuries ago. Many of Israel's 160,000 Christians who had been registered as Arabs are now eligible to re-register as Arameans. The decision reflects a growing demand on the part of some Christian Arabs to not be identified as Arabs. In fact, some Aramaic Christians applied as a group of a status change to the Interior Ministry as far back as 2010. MK Yariv Levin, who has been arguing for such a move said, “I don’t try to change the reality; the reality is there. There is a big difference between Christians and Muslims, and they deserve recognition and separate representation.”

more
X

NEW FEATURE

You can bookmark articles to Read Later

Increased Number of Israeli Families Need Food for the High Holy Days

As the High Holy Days approach, Israeli food distribution centers are reporting a sharp increase in the number of Israeli families in need of help just putting food on their table. One NGO reports that distribution of holiday food basket requests is up to 12,300 from 10,500 a year ago. Many of the needy are senior citizens from the former Soviet Union. Long lines have formed with many waiting hours to receive their holiday basket.

more
X

NEW FEATURE

You can bookmark articles to Read Later

Archaeologists Uncover Sobibor Gas Chambers

On Wednesday, Israel's official museum for the victims of the Holocaust, Yad Vashem, and Poland’s Majdanek State Museum announced the discovery of the gas chambers at the Sobibor death camp, which was located in what was German-occupied East Poland. As many as 250,000 Jews were murdered at Sobibor from April, 1942 to October, 1943 when the 600 remaining prisoners revolted. They killed about a dozen German officers, allowing about 300 prisoners to escape, even past the 50-foot wide strip of landmines that surrounded the site.

more
X

NEW FEATURE

You can bookmark articles to Read Later

UN Peacekeepers Flee Syria to Israel

UNDOF checkpoint

The United Nations has ordered its peacekeepers to abandon positions in Syria and flee to Israel in the face of terrorists. This decision comes after the Al-Nusra Front, a UN-designated terrorist group, in August seized the Quneitra crossing into Syria from Israel and kidnapped more than 40 Fijian UNDOF troops which they later released. The same rebel group also clashed with 75 Filipino members of the force, who fled to a nearby outpost. Rebel forces are still in control of the Quneitra crossing and most of the 510 square km (196 square miles) of the Syrian side of the 1974 ceasefire line, forcing both Syrian government forces and civilians from the area.

more
view Related articles

Article Categories