Purim has all of the kid flare of Halloween: treats, costumes and permission to be super loud, but with none of the darkness that Halloween brings out. Purim is the holiday when Jews (and many Christians) remember the story of Esther. Esther was an ordinary Jewish girl who became Queen of the Persian Empire. God…
DetailsBy Raphael Ahren, Times of Israel— US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is scheduled to visit the Western Wall on Thursday afternoon together with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in what could be seen as a tacit recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Jewish holy site. The visit would mark the first time that Washington’s top…
DetailsBy Yochanan Visser, Israel Today— Iranian leaders are very outspoken about their plans with Israel and have repeatedly warned that the ‘Zionist project’ or the Zionist ‘cancer tumor’ will be erased very soon. Already for a long time Israel’s political establishment realizes that this is not merely rhetoric but a very important part of Iran’s…
DetailsBy Tsvi Sadan, Israel Today— The Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court has ordered the state to immediately shut the Bab el-Rahma structure that is facing the Golden Gate, or Gate of Mercy. A month ago, the Islamic Trust (Waqf) that oversees the Temple Mount decided to reopen the structure and turn it into yet another mosque, the…
DetailsBy Michael Friedson, The Media Line— That skin gets thinner and nuance more pronounced when elections are imminent is apparent once again with Israel’s general election less than a month away. Arguably, the theme of the April 9th race is “Can anyone beat Bibi?” — the incumbent for the past decade. A recurring theme in…
DetailsThink on this “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and…
DetailsBy Majid Rafizadeh, Gatestone Institute— Iran’s military activities and clear public threats to annihilate Israel continue to grow in frequency and intensity. These moves not only instill fear, as they are doubtless meant to do; they also threaten to disrupt the international community. With such dire promises of conflict, it would be expected that the…
DetailsBy Times of Israel— A Jerusalem court on Sunday ordered the temporary closure of a building at the center of rising tensions on the city’s Temple Mount in recent weeks. The Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court said the building known as the Gate of Mercy or Golden Gate on the Temple Mount should be closed while legal…
DetailsBy Israel Hayom—- The war of words between Turkey and Israel continued Friday when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan rebuked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s son for suggesting Istanbul — formerly Constantinople — was under Turkish occupation. The Turkish and Israeli leaders have been trading barbs this week, with Netanyahu calling Erdoğan a “dictator” and criticizing…
DetailsTorah: Leviticus 1:1-6:7, “Vayikra” (And he called … ) Haftorah: Isaiah 43:21-44:23 New Testament: Hebrews 13:10-15 Gospel: John 17:11-12, “Beshimka” (Your Name …)
DetailsIn 69 CE, Roman legions circled the walls of Jerusalem, poised to attack. Nervous Jewish factions fought among each other, clashing over the best way to prevent a violent end to their four-year rebellion. Amidst the turmoil, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar approached, Yom Kippur. On this day, nothing was more important for…
DetailsBy Samuel Smith, Christian Post— Evangelical leaders gathered last week at the White House to offer their concerns as the Trump administration will soon unveil its Israeli-Palestinian peace proposal that reportedly could give the Palestinians a capital in parts of East Jerusalem. Last Thursday, a group of conservative evangelical leaders met with Jason Greenblatt, President…
DetailsBy Gary Willig, Arutz 7— US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo released the 2018 Human Rights Reports on Thursday. The report included a section on Israel, the Golan Heights, Judea and Samaria, and Gaza. Notably, the report referred to the Golan Heights as “Israeli-controlled” instead of “Israeli-occupied,” and drops the words “occupied” and “occupation” from…
DetailsBy Eric Cortellessa, Times of Israel— For the first time, the Trump administration referred to the Golan Heights on Wednesday as “Israeli-controlled” and ceased to refer to the West Bank as “occupied” in the State Department’s annual report on human rights around the world. While last year’s report marked a departure from years of American…
DetailsBy Yochanan Visser, Israel Today— On Tuesday, Israeli police finally decided to close the Temple Mount in Jerusalem after a Muslim terrorist threw a firebomb at a station of the Border Police near the Al-Aqsa Mosque. One police officer was seriously wounded by the firebomb while Muslim worshippers engaged in a violent confrontation after police…
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