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…
By 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…
By 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…
By 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…
By 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…
By 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…
By 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…
By 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…
Torah: 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 …)