Passover is for freedom

By CAROLINE GLICK— Passover, which begins on Monday night, is the festival of freedom. The holiday reminds us of the brutal enslavement of the Jews by Pharaoh and the Egyptians. We recall their midnight flight from Egypt, pursued by the mighty Egyptian army, and God’s miraculous rescue of the Jews at the shores of the…

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Who is responsible for the suffering of the Palestinians?

By MICHAEL BROWN— There is no doubt that there is real suffering among the Palestinians living in Gaza and the West Bank (which is actually ancient Judea and Samaria). The question is who, precisely, is most responsible for their suffering? Certainly, Israel is far from blameless in its treatment of the Palestinians, and it helps…

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In Bethlehem, the wrong kind of Christian festival

By LUKE MOON, JUICY ECUMENISM— Over the past several decades, some of the most steadfast backers of Israel have been Christians, particularly in the United States. But opponents of Israel are well aware of this and, not content with working against the Jewish state in other institutions, they have changed their tactics accordingly, working overtime…

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Blood moons and prophetic confusion

By AVNER BOSKEY, FINAL FRONTIER MINISTRIES— The prophetic significance of the four lunar eclipses occurring on Jewish biblical feast days in 2014-15 has become a recent focus on the internet and even a best seller on Amazon. A few voices are suggesting that the so-called ‘blood moons’ are a portent of earth-shaking prophetic significance regarding…

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Wish I’d said that

“One can reformulate and restyle the festivals to a certain extent, but one cannot create something from nothing… Celebrate the festivals of our ancestors and add to them something of your own… those who do not find meaning in the festivals and holy days have empty, non-spiritual souls.”—Hayim Nahman Bialik, Famous Jewish poet, 1930

PM orders ministers to halt cooperation with Palestinians

By ISRAEL HAYOM— Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday ordered Israeli government ministries to cut off high-level contacts with the Palestinian Authority on non-security related issues. The Prime Minister’s Office said the move was a response to the recent Palestinian decision to submit applications to join 15 international organizations and conventions. The order does not…

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God’s divine retribution against those who are against Israel

By EARL COX, JPOST— A group of Israeli rabbis has issued an open letter warning that the United States Secretary of State John Kerry’s reckless peace efforts, if they should come to fruition, “will result in divine retribution” against those involved.  Kerry’s “incessant efforts to expropriate integral parts of the Holy Land and hand them…

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Kerry’s folly

BY CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER— When has a secretary of state been involved in so many disastrous, self-initiated negotiations? First, John Kerry convenes — against all advice and holding no cards — Geneva negotiations to resolve the Syria conflict and supposedly remove Bashar al-Assad from power. The talks collapse in acrimony and confusion. Kerry’s response? A second…

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‘Even the Koran claims Israel belongs to the Jews’

By TOVA DVORIN, ARUTZ 7— Middle Eastern affairs professor Nissim Dana spoke to Arutz Sheva Monday about his upcoming book, To Whom Does This Land Belong?: New Insights into the Koran, and revealed that Islam absolutely does not have a claim to the Land of Israel – even by its own standards. The Professor explained…

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Abbas takes defiant step, and mideast talks falter

By JUDI RUDOREN, MICHAEL GORDAN, AND MARK LANDER, NY TIMES— The Middle East peace talks verged on a breakdown Tuesday night, after President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority defied the United States and Israel by taking concrete steps to join 15 international agencies — a move to gain the benefits of statehood outside the…

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The passing of Pat Mercer Hutchens

Dear friends of The Jerusalem Connection, On Monday night at 11pm, Pat Mercer Hutchens went to be with her Savior in Heaven. After enduring a grueling battle with ovarian cancer for many years, the doctors informed Pat and Jim two weeks ago that they no longer had any treatment options. Her earthly body was rapidly…

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Kerry arrives today in Israel

By HERB KEINON, JPOST— US Secretary of State John Kerry met in Jerusalem Monday evening with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, amid reports the US may release Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard by mid-April as part of a wider package designed to resuscitate the negotiations. Reuters, citing sources close to the negotiations, said that under the plan…

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