All posts tagged: Israel

Stopping COVID … in Israel?

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I remember this time last year, when we were told that COVID 19 would be gone by now. We had a spike in the number of infections in March of 2020, and then the numbers declined. I was one of many people who were told to stay home from work, in March of 2020. My employer was good to us, and kept us on the payroll for weeks; and then, when everyone thought that COVID-19 was disappearing, we were sent back to work, with safety precautions. And now here we are. Where I live, the virus is active and now we have mutations of the virus, that may or may not respond to vaccines. The medical authorities are warning us that the mutations, variants, are spreading rapidly. Also, there is growing concern about vaccines that are not fully tested, and are only permitted for emergency use, and are not widely available. Where I live, people are arguing in public places. A man tried to correct some strangers who were not wearing masks in a shop, …

Sorting Out the Israeli Elections

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By Dr. Michael L. Brown Do you have your scorecards ready? We’re going to do our best to sort out the results of this week’s elections in Israel, the fourth in a period of just two years (can you imagine that?). But first, a disclaimer: by the time you read this article, the outcome may have changed. That’s how inconclusive the final voting turned out to be. A shift in affiliation by one of the many parties receiving votes could change things overnight. Plus, on Friday, 450,000 double-sealed votes will be counted (including military votes, votes from abroad, and votes sent in because of COVID). That could shift things as well. Let’s start with an overview of how a government is formed in Israel. The Knesset (Parliament) has 120 seats, and so, to form a government, you need 61 seats. The problem is that there are many parties in Israel, quite the opposite of our two party system in America, in which smaller parties are virtually meaningless. And in Israel, although the parties are led …

First example of the ancient ‘Royal Purple’ found in Israel

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According to report in the Daily Mail, archaeologists working in the Timma Valley in Southern Israel have discovered the remains of a fabric that was coloured in royal purple. This was the first time an example of this expensive and rare colouring has been discovered. It was apparently preserved because of the area’s dry climate. This ancient purple was reknown for its ability to hold its colour for long period of times. According to radio carbon testing the fabric was 3,000 years old. Purple was extremely rare because it was produced in small amounts from a gland inside the mollusks found in the Mediterranean Sea. Each gland produced the equivalent of a single drop of the dye and according to reports it took about four million mollusks to produce a pound of dye. At times, the purple dye was so expensive, it cost more than gold. As a result of its rarity and expense, the colour quickly became associated with royalty in Biblical times. Speaking for the Israel Antiquities Authority, Naama Sukenik stated: ‘This is …

Dozens of Muslims mourn death of Jewish man

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Hundreds of Jews and Muslims attended the funeral of a Jewish man, Michael Ben Zikri, 45, who died after saving a Bedouin woman and her three children from drowning after a sinkhole opened beneath them in a shallow lake near Tel Aviv, Israel. United with Israel writes: The 40-year-old woman and her three children hail from the Bedouin town of Hura, just north of Beersheba, and had joined other Israeli families at the popular swimming area on Friday. Ben Zikri rescued the mother, two girls, aged 14 and 7, and their 10-year-old brother. The exhausted Ben Zikri apparently slipped under the water himself and his body was found later by Magen David Adom rescue workers, but it was too late and he could not be revived. “Today it’s hard to find a hero like this,” one of the Bedouin family members said in a TV news interview. “The entire family apologizes for what happened.” Even though limited by the coronavirus pandemic, scores of Bedouins from Hura attended the funeral, holding posters with slogans praising Ben …

Israel and Egypt: The future does not look good

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While the whole world is focusing on the Coronavirus Pandemic, there is other news. Some interesting things are happening in the world, and there are lessons that we could miss. As I write this, Muslims are in their month of Ramadan which according to the information I have runs this year from April 23 to May 23. About 1.8 billion people are counted as Muslim, and this year’s Ramadan is complicated with the restrictions of a pandemic lock down. A few years ago, I worked as a trainer for a bus company, and that meant I drove a school bus when a driver phoned in sick; and someone always phoned in. One morning I drove some children for a bilingual Arabic-English program, so they were from immigrant families from the Middle East. I heard two little girls talking behind me, about ‘those people’ which meant people like me. One little girl said “and they don’t have Ramadan!” They both seemed shocked by this information. That was a lesson for me; these people take their beliefs …

Is the Age of the Gentiles About to End?

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GOD TV, an evangelical organization out of England, has just received approval to preach the Gospel of Jesus in Hebrew on a cable channel in Israel. GOD TV recently signed a seven-year deal with HOT to distribute a new Christian channel entitled “SHELANU TV” (translated “Ours TV” in English). HOT controls about 50% of the Israeli cable market. Before this could happen, HOT had to receive permission from Israel’s Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Council that regulates cable TV in Israel. According to Ward Simpson, GOD TV’s CEO, their organization believes this will be the first time, that this type of broadcasting has been allowed. While other Christian channels are broadcasting on cable channels in English, this will be the first one that broadcasts in Hebrew. The English broadcasts are largely watched by the thousands of English-speaking Christians in Israel. The significance of a Christian organization broadcasting its message in Hebrew has certainly caught the attention of the media, as it showed up on several major Israeli news site. Haaratz reported the new with this headline: …

A photo of a Gilgal site revealing its distinctive sandal shape. Photo: Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel

¿De dónde vienen las huellas gigantes de Israel?

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English version: Where did Israel’s giant footprints come from? En el valle del Jordán en Israel, los arqueólogos han descubierto un fenómeno curioso: seis enormes huellas hechas por el hombre. Estas estructuras, donde el muro de piedra exterior inferior tiene una forma distintiva del pie, son bastante grandes. Uno conocido como el-‘Unuq tiene 228 pies de ancho y 816 pies de largo, aproximadamente dos campos de fútbol de tamaño. Quizás el más famoso de estos sitios con forma de sandalia es uno que se encuentra en el monte Ebal descubierto en 1980, su característica más singular es un enorme altar que se encuentra en el centro y mide aproximadamente 23 pies por 30 pies de tamaño. También es una historia alta – 10 ′. Por supuesto, este altar, creado de piedra no tallada, requería una enorme rampa para llegar a la cima. También encontraron huesos de animales carbonizados y cenizas en y alrededor del altar. Aparentemente era un sitio religioso donde la gente hacía sacrificios de animales. Aquí es donde se pone interesante. Adam Zertal, el …

The Temple Mount Credit: Ben and Ash/Flickr/Creative Commons

Discovery of three small coins confirms the Jews ancient connection to the Temple Mount

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Archaeologists working on the remains from the Temple Mount have discovered five small coins that speak of an incredible time of religious freedom in Israel’s history. Though only three of the coins are legible, they are dated to the fourth century. This puts them at the time when King Cyrus of Persia allowed the Jews to return their homeland from their Babylonian captivity and rebuild Jerusalem and the Jewish temple in 538 BC. The archaeologists believe the other two similarly sized undecipherable coins are from the same set. Seven millimeters wide, the coins have an image of a barn owl on one side. The Jews basically copied the Athenian Abol, a Greek coin used in ancient times. It is curious that they used the owl because it was considered unclean under Jewish law and it also represented the goddess Athena to the Greeks. Instead of having the Greek letters ΑΘΕ used to signify Athens, the three legible coins had the Aramaic word YHD. According to an article on ynetnews, this is the shortened version of …

Old Jerusalem Credit: Ronan Shenhav/Flickr/Creative Commons

The US accelerates its decision to move embassy to Jerusalem

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On Saturday, Feb 24, 2018, US President Donald Trump announced that the plan to set up the American embassy in Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, made late last year has been moved up. With expectations that the move would not be made until 2019, Trump stated the embassy will begin its transfer to Jerusalem in May this year. The first step will see American Ambassador David Friedman and a small support staff set up an office in the Jerusalem neighborhood Arnona giving it official American status. Over the next several months, the rest of the staff will be moved over as facilities are prepared for their arrival. A new building will also be constructed at a different location. In his February announcement, Trump said it was an anniversary gift for the Israelis. May 14th is Israel’s Independence Day and this years marks the 70th anniversary of Israel’s restoration as a nation. Shortly after Trump made his May announcement, Guatemala stated it would be moving its embassy in mid-May as well. For security reasons, the government …

There are no racial barriers in God’s church

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I don’t think we fully appreciate the significance of what happened when the Holy Spirit fell upon a group of gentiles as Peter was preaching in the house of Cornelius (Acts 10:44-48). It took a vision for Peter, where God declared a number of animals clean, and an angelic visit for Cornelius to get these two groups together. After the Holy Spirit fell, it caused such a controversy in the early church they called a meeting to figure out what do to with the hundreds of gentiles becoming Christians. But a few Bible verses and even archaeology provide a hint of what a radical change this was for the early church that was initially made up of solely Jews. In 1871 a stone slab from the Jewish Temple that existed in Jesus day was discovered by archaeologist Charles Clermont-Ganneau. On the slab written in Greek was: “No foreigner is allowed to enter the courtyard and enclosure surrounding the temple. Whoever is caught will be responsible to himself for his death, which will ensue.” Greek was …

Roof of booths set up in Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles Credit: Yoninah/Wikipedia/Creative Commons

Converging end times prophecies of Orthodox Jews and Christians

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Breaking Israel News (BIN) has always been a source of interesting articles. Published by a group of Orthodox Jews, I find that they have much in common with Christians. They believe the Old Testament is the inspired Word of God and though they reject Jesus as the Messiah, they nevertheless are looking ahead to the coming Jewish Messiah. And while we look at events taking place on earth as a sign of Jesus second return, they interpret many of those same signs as evidence of the Jewish Messiah’s coming. Recently BIN published an article listing five Biblical prophecies fulfilled in 2017 that pointed to the soon arrival of the Jewish Messiah. In her article, Eliana Rudee the first one she discusses is: “Jerusalem as a place of assembly for non-Jews.” There were a number of Old Testament prophecies that spoke of the gentiles pouring into Israel at the end of the age. In her article, Rudee cites a verse out of Zechariah: 16 Then it will come about that any who are left of all the …

Wailing Wall in Jerusalem Credit: Fernando+Merced/Flickr/Creative Commons

Is the church actually the continuation of Israel?

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It’s an age-old question. Is the church the continuation of Israel or something completely new that God started after Israel failed to fulfill God’s will? The church under this latter scenario is God’s second choice, an afterthought. To bring some perspective on this I was intrigued by an article on Breaking Israel News about a sermon recently preached by a famous Hasidic Jewish Rabbi Alon Anava. He was speaking at the 23rd anniversary of the death of another renown orthodox Rabbi, Menachem Schneerson. In his sermon Anava spoke of the coming of the Jewish Messiah. Though the Jews rejected Jesus as the Messiah, orthodox Jews still believe in a promised Messiah. In fact, many believe signs suggest that the Jewish Messiah will be revealed very soon. But Anaya said in order for the Messiah to come, the Jews must first preach the Torah to the gentiles: “You know what is missing? The nations of the world. Now all we need to do is involve a couple billion people from the other nations to be part of the redemption.” …

¿Un antiguo papiro habla de las plagas del Éxodo desde una perspectiva egipcia?

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English version: Does an ancient papyrus speak of the Exodus plagues from an Egyptian perspective? Hay un antiguo papiro egipcio que algunos creen dice de las plagas que Dios envió a Egipto durante la liberación de Israel de esa tierra bajo Moisés. Curiosamente, el antiguo documento no ha captado la atención de muchos cristianos simplemente porque no encaja en su calendario de quien fue el Faraón del Éxodo en realidad. La mayoría cree que el Éxodo ocurrió bajo Tutmosis III o Ramsés II, pero este documento lo pone mucho antes que estos faraones. Pero encaja perfectamente con mi teoría de cuándo tuvo lugar el Éxodo y creo que este papiro, escrito desde la perspectiva Egipcia, describe los días caóticos y las plagas asociadas con la liberación de Israel. El documento oficialmente llamado Leiden I 344 está en exhibición en el Museo Nacional Holandés de Antigüedades en Leiden, Holanda. Fue descubierto en 1828, pero no fue traducido hasta 1909, cuando el profesor Alan Gardner descubrió que era un lamento hablando de un momento muy caótico en la …

Streets of Pyongyang, the capital city of North Korea Credit: Keith Martin/Flickr/Creative Commons

Did a mystical Jewish rabbi foresee 22 years ago the rising threat of North Korea?

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Breaking Israel News (BIN) is reporting on the strange prediction that Rabbi Levi Sa’adia Nachamanii made in a 1994 speech, one month before he died. In it, he discussed who would be the greatest threat facing Israel. He said it would not be Arab countries, but in fact North Korea. “Not Syria, not Persia (Iran), and not Babylon (Iraq), and not Gaddafi (Libya),” Nachamanii said, adding that “Korea will arrive here.” Nachamanii is from a mystical branch of Judaism called Kabbalah. It is a centuries-old tradition in Judaism that is derived from two ancient texts — the Zohar and Sefer Yezirah. They tend to spiritualize every word and number in the Bible. Some believe they stray into the occult through magical rites such as using amulets for healing, the belief that lost souls can inhabit people requiring deliverance that Kabbalists perform and forcing oaths on demons. But Kabbalists also have an intense interest in the end times and the coming of the Jewish Messiah. Perhaps one of the strangest stories to come out of this …

The Temple Mount Photo: Jordan Pickett/Flickr/Creative Commons

Shocking news: Jewish Sanhedrin appoints a High Priest

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Breaking Israel News reports that Israel’s “Nascent Sanhedrin” has just appointed a high priest. His name is Rabbi Baruch Kahane, a prominent Jewish scholar knowledgeable in Jewish sacrifices. The announcement was a bit surprising considering there is no Jewish Temple. But a spokesperson for the ‘Nascent Sanhedrin’ explained that they wanted to have a High Priest in place in case there is a sudden change in policy on the Temple Mount. The ‘Nascent Sanhedrin‘ also called the developing Sanhedrin was set up in Israel in 2004. It is considered a national court of Jewish Law. Over the last 500 years, there have been six failed attempts to establish a Sanhedrin. This is the most successful so far. The major obstacle to constructing a Temple is that the Temple Mount with its Al-Aqsa mosque and Dome of the Rock is controlled by the Muslims. Because of this, the Israeli government limits Jewish access to the site and forbids prayer on the Temple Mount. When Jews visit they are not allowed to pray including bowing their heads …

Christ the Redeemer statue overlooking Rio De Janerio Photo: Artyominc/Wikipedia

Bad Idea: Keep the Jews off the Bus

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A story has recently come from the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Lebanese participants blocked Israeli Jews from getting on a bus. Lebanese athletes were already on the bus and they refused to share. The Lebanese team in these Olympic games will always be remembered as the people who kept the Jews off the bus, and that will overshadow anything else they do. It’s all about a brief conversation at the door of a bus. This is one of those issues that will never go away. In our times, stories are recorded and published, and the interesting ones stay with us forever. Nothing can be done in a corner anymore because informal news comes from cameras in cell phones, and it travels quickly to the whole world, through venues like Twitter and You Tube. For official journalism, this incident happened at the Olympics, while the whole world was watching. The popular saying is ”all eyes are on Brazil.” The Olympics always attract large numbers of news reporters who desperately need something to write about. …

Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount, Jerusalem Photo: jordan Pickett/Flickr/Creative Commons

UNESCO to vote if Jews have any connection to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem

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This week the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) announced it is postponing a vote that would put Jerusalem’s Temple Mount firmly in the hands of the Muslim. Whether Israel would actually implement UNESCO’s recommendations is anther issue. But if the motion passed it undoubtedly would embolden the Muslims in their attempts to control the site. The vote is part of a Palestinian-Jordanian initiative that would declare the Temple Mount  a “Muslim-only” site. The vote would see the Temple Mount returned to its status before the 1967 Six Day war. Prior to the Israel Arab conflict, the Jordan Waqf that operates the two Muslim buildings on the site — the al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock — controlled every aspect of the Temple Mount including who could visit the site. But perhaps the most disturbing part of the motion is that it would deny any historical Jewish connection to the Temple Mount. The original motion also referred to Israel as an “occupying force.” When Israel protested the motion later revisions tried to …

Hundreds of Orthodox Jews turning to Christ. Photo: Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem Claudius Prober/Flickr/Creative Commons

Report on Israeli website states hundreds of Orthodox Jews are accepting Jesus

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An article published on a Hebrew website, MyNet, intended to warn Jews living in Petach Tikva, Israel of Christians/Messianic Jews preaching Jesus has instead revealed hundreds of Orthodox Jews are accepting Christ as the Jewish Messiah. Kehila News, a Messianic website, was the first to report on the curious article on MyNet which functions as a news portal for the Israeli City of Petach Tikva.  Kehila describes the reaction among Orthodox Jews as a “spiritual meltdown.” Located in Central Israel, Petach Tikva has a population of 225,00, of which 70,000 are considered Orthodox Jews or haredim. The strength of the Orthodox population is seen in the 300 synagogues and eight ritual baths in the city. MyNet accused Christians/Messianic Jews of sharing propaganda. Even the city’s acting Mayor Uriel Boso waded into the controversy voicing his concern. Boso specifically cited Jews for Jesus as one of the main offending groups. According to Kehila, Boso described the number of Jews becoming Christians as a “dire phenomena.” The article on MyNet is in Hebrew, and below is a rough …

The Temple Mount and Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem seen from the Mount of Olives. Photo: Boris G./Flickr/Creative Commons

If you want to be a Temple priest in Israel, make sure you weren’t born in a hospital

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Jerusalem’s Temple Institute has just announced it is accepting applications for priests to serve in a yet to be built Jewish Temple. The Institute, which started in 1987, is dedicated to seeing a third temple built in Jerusalem replacing the Temple destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. Over the years, it has completed a number of items in preparation for this third Temple. This includes constructing 70 pieces of temple furniture part of which one is a massive altar, that can be taken apart and moved to the Temple once it is constructed. Everything was meticulously prepared according to Biblical instructions.  They have also ordered the architectural drawings for a third temple. This is a tricky task because it must meet Biblical specifications as well as modern building practices. The Institute is even creating a herd of red cattle using imported embryos from red Angus beef in America. An unblemished red heifer is necessary for some of the Temple sacrifices. Recently the Temple Institute announced it is now accepting applications for positions of Temple …

Old Jerusalem Photo: Eugene Kaspersky/Flickr/Creative Commons

As the Jewish population returns to pre-holocaust numbers, a Hitler clothing store opens in Cairo

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According to a report released by the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI), in 2015 the number of Jews in the world has nearly returned to population numbers seen in the 1930s before World War II. During World War II, as part of his final solution, Nazi leader Adolph Hitler slaughtered an estimated six million Jews in his death camps –Auschwitz, Auschwitz–Birkenau, Treblinka, Bełżec, Majdanek, Chełmno and Sobibór. The Jewish population in Europe was decimated with 66% of European Jews murdered between 1941 and 1945. By the end of the war, the Jewish population was estimated at about 11 million. According to its annual report, JPPI states the Jewish population has been steadily increasing since the War and today sits at 16.6 million. This includes 14.2 million with two Jewish parents and the remainder made up of people with one Jewish parent, who nevertheless identify themselves as Jewish. The fastest growth spurt took place between 2005 and 2015 which resulted in an 8% increase attributed largely to orthodox families. Averaging three children per family, Jews typically have larger …

One of Jacob's lambs in England. Photo: Paul Blakeman/Flickr/Creative Commons

‘Jacob’s Sheep’ returning home?

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Sheep have played an important role in Israel’s economy and religious life for centuries. However, the sheep that cover  Israel’s fields today are not the same sheep that existed in Old Testament times. Today’s white and brown-faced sheep are part of  a breed known as Awassi that originated in Syria. However, the ancient breed of sheep that the Patriarch Jacob developed and cared for still exist today and a family from British Columbia, Canada has one of the world’s few remaining flocks of this rare breed. And over the past few years, they along with a non-profit society have been working to send this flock to Israel. Going by their name Jacob’s Sheep, they are on the endangered list and are considered one of the oldest sheep breeds in the world. They are officially listed as an ‘heirloom” breed meaning there is stock alive today that is basically unaltered from the time it first existed in the Middle East. They still have the same characteristics mentioned in the Bible: Speckles and spots (Genesis 30:32); Horns …

Soldiers with Israel's defense forces praying at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. Photo: Mor/Flickr/Creative Commons

Described as unprecedented: Orthodox Jews call for three-day fast in Israel

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Describing it as unprecedented, Breaking Israel News (BIN), a Jewish news site, is reporting the Orthodox Jewish group HaTzom is calling for Israelis to fast for three days commencing Sunday night, March 20. The fast, which will end 72 hours later, will be done during the Jewish feast of Purim, held annually this time of year. The feast of Purim is derived from the Book of Esther when Queen Esther called for Jews to fast for three days before she entered the throne room of her husband, the Persian king, to expose a planned massacre of the Jews organized by a senior bureaucrat in the Persian administration. HaTzom, whose name in English means “The Fast,” has over 22,000 participants agreeing to join in the three-day fast. They organized the fast because of the unrelenting terrorist attacks in Israel and the growing hatred around the world to their country. BIN recently reported three attacks that took place on March 8 and 9. On the first day, Palestinians riding motorbikes opened fire on Jerusalem police guarding a …

Mt Gerazim on the left and Mt Ebal on the right. Photo: Tom Miller/Flickr/Creative Commons

Where did Israel’s giant footprints come from?

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Español: ¿De dónde vienen las huellas gigantes de Israel? In Israel’s Jordan valley, archaeologists have discovered a curious phenomena — six huge man-made footprints. These structures, where the low outer stone wall is distinctively foot shaped, are quite large. One referred to as el-‘Unuq is 228 feet wide and 816 feet long — about two football fields in size. Perhaps the most famous of these sandal-shaped sites is one found on Mt. Ebal. Discovered in 1980, its most unique feature is a massive altar found in the center measuring about 23′ by 30′ feet in size. It is also a story high — 10’. Of course, such an altar, created of unhewn stone, required a huge ramp to get on top, which this one had. They also found charred animal bones and ash in and around the altar. It was apparently a religious site where the people made animal sacrifices. This is where it gets interesting. Adam Zertal, the archaeologist who discovered this site, believes this is the altar Joshua created when Israel first entered …

Game-changing oil discovery in Israel? Photo: Brennan Browne/Flickr/Creative Commons

Game-changing Promise of God? Oil found in Israel

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Israel is a bit out of sorts with the rest of the Middle East. While huge quantities of oil have been found in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iran among others, Israel has not found any and has been forced to import oil. Some Israelis blame Moses for the lack oil, joking if he had turned right instead of left, Israel would be swimming in black gold. But that was not the direction to the Promised Land. However, this may have all changed. This past fall, Afek Oil and Gas (AOG) announced a major oil discovery in the Golan heights found in Israel near the border of Syria. Israel took this land from Syria during the 1967 Six Day War started by the Egyptian President Gamal Nasser who was attempting to unite the Arab world to wipe out Israel. Though this Arab coalition suffered a disastrous defeat, the area is still a bone of contention with Syria. Speaking on behalf of AOG in an interview with Foxnews, geologist Yuval Bartov said: “We are talking about …

Neriyah Youtube capture One for Israel

An Orthodox Jew’s journey to faith in Jesus

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On his interesting website, God Reports, Mark Ellis writes about the conversion of another Jew to Jesus in Israel. When 17-year-old, Neriyah Arabov immigrated with his family from the Soviet Union to Israel, one of the first things he noticed was no one was calling him a “dirty Jew” anymore. He was the only Jew who attended his school in Uzebeki, Russia and his unusual name and olive skin made him standout. Though he didn’t understand why his parents had moved, after he joined the army for his obligatory Israeli military service his appreciation for his new country began to grow. He realized his journey to Israel was prophesied as the Old Testament prophets spoke of the rebirth of the nation of Israel and about Jews from around the world returning to the Promised Land. 21 Say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I will take the sons of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and I will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; 22 and …

The Bible predicted a time when the Jews would return to Israel. Jews at the Western Wall wearing their tradition Kippah or skullcap. Photo: delayed gratification/Flickr/Creative Commons

Israel’s regathering hitting record levels

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One of the sign posts on the second coming of Christ was the restoration of Israel as a nation. People who study end-times prophecy, such as Isaac Newton (1642-17260), believed it was necessary.  Though Israel did not exist in Newton’s day, from his study of the Bible he said it needed to happen before Christ’s second coming. There are several verses that spoke of the nation of Israel being restored (see Amos 9:14-15; Ezekiel 37:10-14; 37:21-22; 34:13; Deuteronomy 30:3-5). The prophet Isaiah writes: “Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land be born in one day? Can a nation be brought forth all at once? As soon as Zion travailed, she also brought forth her sons. (Isaiah 66:8 NASV) That event predicted in the Old Testament miraculously happened on May 14, 1948. But along with this, the prophets also predicted that the Jews would pour back into the promised land from nations around the world. They would literally flood in: And He will lift up a standard for the …

Photo: Stefans_Box/Flickr/Creative Commons

Is ‘Facebook’ anti-Israel?

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Over the past few years, Shurat Hadin-Israel Law Center (SHILC) has received numerous complaints that Facebook is allegedly allowing pro-Palestinian groups to post hateful articles and comments against Israel and Jews. SHILC is a legal civil-rights group based in Tel Aviv, Israel dedicated to fighting terrorism and protecting the rights of Jews around the world through legal means. On December 28, 2015 it launched a social media experiment to find out if Facebook had a bias when it came to Israel. Called “The Big Facebook Experiment,” the organization created two Facebook pages. It called one page “Stop Palestinians” and the second “Stop Israelis.” Launched simultaneously, SHILC began to post essentially identical articles inciting hatred towards Palestinians on the “Stop Palestinians” page and hate messages against Israel on the “Stop Israelis” page. Over the next couple of days, they posted similar articles, images and comments while slowly increasing vitriol against the two groups eventually culminating with posts calling for “Death to all Jews!” and “Death to all Arabs!” on the respective pages. At the end of …

Israeli officers saluting their flag Photo: Israel Defense Forces/Flickr/Creative Commons

Who does ISIS really fear?

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As ISIS works to set up a Muslim Caliphate in the Middle East with hopes of extending its influence into even Europe, there is only one country it fears — Israel. This is according to a German reporter who spent 10 days with ISIS in 2014. Because of a unique relationship he had developed with ISIS leaders, Jurgen Todenhofer received permission to embed with the Islamic extremists. During this time he was able to interview several Jihadi fighting in Iraq and Syria. Though several countries such as America and Britain have military in Iraq, Todenhoffer said in an interview with Jerusalem News that ISIS is not scared of them because they lack the commitment and experience needed for city guerrilla warfare. As one fighter pointed out, Mosul, Iraq has 1.5 million people and ISIS has 10,000 fighters scattered throughout the city and Western armies lack the experience for that type of urban fighting. ISIS’s headquarters is based in Mosul. In addition, ISIS fighters are prepared to die for their cause, and they do not believe …

All of Israel will be saved. Photo: Haifa, Israel at sunset -- Dan Zelazo/Flickr/Creative Commons

What is the Biblical relationship between Israel and the church?

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According to an article in Israel Today, just before Christmas the second most visited Hebrew internet site in Israel, Walla! News, started running a series of interviews with Messianic Jews. They had planned upwards of 24 interviews including one with a well-known Israeli actress. Even as the series started there were those such as Eitan Bar, who was also being interviewed, asking for prayer as they expected a strong reaction from Ultra-Orthodox Jews. Perhaps not surprisingly just after Christmas, Walla! News stopped the series after threats of a boycott and law suit by Ultra-Orthodox Jews. It is illegal in Israel to advertise any missionary activity and some believed these interviews broke this law. The website removed any reference to Messianic Jews as well as interviews previously posted. In many ways it represents the strained relationship that remains to this day between the Church and Israel. What is the Church’s position on Israel? One of the more prominent views, Replacement theology, believes the church replaced Israel as God’s chosen people. When Israel refused to accept Jesus …

Orthodox Jews walking down a street in Old Jerusalem. Photo: Rico Grimm/Flickr/Creative Commons 21millimeters.ricogrimm.de

Are Orthodox Rabbis changing long-held opinions on Jesus?

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Maybe the time predicted by the Apostle Paul is nearer than we think. Quoting from Isaiah 59:20, Paul stated one day that all Israel would be saved:  “and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, ‘The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.’” (Romans 11:26 NASV) In the Old Testament verse that Paul cited, the Deliverer is none other than Jesus and His removal of the ungodliness from Jacob speaks of the nation accepting Jesus as the Jewish Messiah, a belief they have rejected for two centuries. But in what may be another step towards this acceptance, Israel Today is reporting that just before Christmas 25 prominent Jewish rabbis issued a statement calling for a remarkable change of attitude towards Jesus. Though they have not reached the point of accepting Christ as the Messiah, it is nevertheless significant. The group is made up of prominent rabbis of congregations, seminaries and Jewish institutions in Israel and around the world including the UK, Canada and the US. Since its …

Orthodox Jews Photo: Arnoffoto/Foter.com/ CC BY

Is Paul’s prediction that all of Israel would be saved on the verge of happening?

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Sid Roth is an American Messianic Jew. He started a ministry focused on the super natural working of the Holy Spirit. Though he ministers to all ethnic groups, his focus has been to the Jews first (Romans 1:16). He recently reported on a major move of God among the Jewish community in Odessa, Ukraine. With a population of one million, Odessa is the Ukraine’s fourth largest city. Located on the Baltic Sea it is the provincial capital of Odessa Oblast. There are about 12,400 Jews living there today. But historically, Odessa was home to a large Jewish population. Prior to the start of World War II, the city had 201,000 Jews — then about 30% of the population. Thousands died in Nazi concentration camps during the war and after it ended most remaining Odessa Jews immigrated to Israel. According to his website, Roth described the recent one-day event as the most successful outreach he has ever experienced in evangelistic meetings geared towards a Jewish audience. He reported that nearly 1,000 Jews accepted Jesus as their …

Images of Kristallnacht -- Left to right: Destroyed Jewish owned shop, buring synagogue, Image appearing in a Nazi newspaper depicting Kristallnacht

Is there a connection between the Jewish festival of Purim, Kristallnacht and ‘Umeå Against Nazism?’

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Israeli media outlet, Artutz Sheva 7, reports that organizers of Sweden’s Umeå Against Nazism have told Jews not to attend this year’s memorial held last week.  Umeå is the 12th largest city in Sweden and the event is sponsored by its city council. It was intended to remember Nazi Germany’s Kristallnacht (in English the Night of the Broken Glass), when Nazi Brown Shirts initiated a coördinated attack against Jews in both Austria and Germany over the night and morning of November 9-10, 1938. Many believe this marked the start of the Nazi holocaust where they exterminated six million Jews in concentration camps. The Swedish event has been celebrated for years to protest antisemitism. However, for the first time this year’s organizers have decided not to invite the Jews. Pro Palestinian groups — Muslim extremists, leftist and union organizations — have hijacked the event and are using it to promote their antisemitic and anti-Israel opinions. Over the years an increasing number of Palestinian flags have showed up at the rallies and last year there was one banner …

Archaeologists digging into Gath, the hometown of Goliath Photo: Flickr/orientalizing

The giant gates of Gath, Goliath’s home town, found

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Archaeologists say they have discovered the ancient Philistine city of Gath, home to one of the Bible’s most notorious characters — a giant named Goliath. King David’s slaying of the Philistine Giant in 1 Samuel 17 with a sling is a metaphor today of overcoming incredible odds. And today archaeologists are also uncovering evidence the city and the giants living there were very real. Perhaps it was just a coincidence, but archaeologists from Bar Ilan University working at the Tell es-Safi site have not only uncovered pottery at the site with the name of Goliath etched on it, but recently announced they have found the massive gates to the city. They are considered the largest set of gates ever found, perhaps fitting for a city known for its giants. At this point they have just uncovered the top of the gates and massive walls and it will take several years to fully uncover the gates. However, the size of stones at the top suggest the walls were massive. Archaeologists have been working at the Tell …