Pope Francis praises Jews for keeping their faith in God

By JTA and AARON KALMAN, TIMES OF ISRAEL— Pope Francis praised Jews for keeping their faith despite the Holocaust and other “terrible trials” throughout history, and reaffirmed Judaism as the “holy root” of Christianity. Francis made the statements in an unprecedented open letter to Eugenio Scalfari, a prominent Italian atheist and founding editor of the…

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Nearly half of Syrian rebels are hardcore Islamists

By ARIEL BEN SOLOMON, REUTERS— Almost half of Syrian rebel fighters are jihadists or hardline Islamists, according to a new report by London intelligence and defense consultancy IHS Janes. On Sunday, Britain’s Telegraph newspaper cited the report as putting the number of opposition forces at 100,000, broken up into around 1,000 groups. The study said…

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Muslims impose tribute on Egypt’s Christians

By RAYMOND IBRAHIM, ISRAEL TODAY— Now that the attacks on Egypt’s Christian churches have subsided, stage two of the jihad — profiting from the fear and terror caused by stage one — is setting in: reports are arriving that the Muslim Brotherhood and its supporters are forcing the roughly 15,000 Christian Copts of Dalga village…

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Thousands of Christian pilgrims expected for Feast of Tabernacles

By TRAVELUJAH— Despite the recent tensions in Syria, over 5,000 Christian pilgrims from nearly 100 nations will descend on Jerusalem for the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem’s annual celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles. The festival begins Friday evening (20 September) in Ein Gedi at the Oasis Hotel and continues to Jerusalem’s International Convention Center for…

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Western strike force for Syria disperses

By DEBKAFILE— Russian President Vladimir Putin, while engaged in active cooperation with President Barack Obama over Syria, was not averse to going over his head to push his agenda with “the American people” in an article he published in The New York Times Thursday, Sept. 12. He continues to protest against all the evidence that…

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Netanyahu: Message to Syria will be heard clearly in Iran

By ISRAEL HAYOM— Ever since U.S. President Barack Obama surprised the world by seeking congressional approval for a military strike on Syria, concerns have grown among Israeli government officials in Jerusalem about a decline of America’s status in the Middle East and the implications for Iran’s nuclear program. No Israeli spokesperson has made an official…

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Reviving an ancient Temple Mount tradition

By ARI SOFFER, ARUTZ 7— The Jewish festival of Sukkot will soon be getting underway, just a few days after Yom Kippur, capping off the festive Hebrew month of Tishrei. Sukkot commemorates God’s protection of the Jewish people during their 40 year stint wandering the desert, following the dramatic Exodus from Egypt. It is also…

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