No. 144
£ 2.50
The Domino Effect
February 2011 |
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Mar Saba Monastery
www.israeltoday.co.il
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‘Jesus Was a Palestinian’
printed in Israel
Cover Story
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Politics
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Shalom Haverim, Dear Friends,
Aviel Schneider and the israel today editorial staff
The Domino Effect The Fish Stinks from the Head Down Free Jonathan Pollard!
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Arab Press
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Al-Jazeera Clashes with Israeli Security
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Palestinians
10 The Palestinians and the Nazis Focus on Jerusalem
11 Jerusalem in 2111 Islam
12 Muzzling Freedom of Speech in Switzerland Jesus in Modern Hebrew Culture
13 Ariel Journal: Jesus Was a Faithful Jew Jewish Affairs
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14 Ethiopian-Born Rabbi Brings ‘Revival’ Bible Study
15 The Difference Between Religion And Faith The Land
16 A Visit to Mar Saba Monastery Debate COVER - ZIONISM IN CRISIS: A poster featuring Theodor Herzl, the founder of modern Zionism
Life goes on pretty much as usual in Zion, amid Israel’s growing unpopularity abroad and the continuous political bickering here at home. People in foreign countries may think they know about Israel, but they don’t know the Israeli. They judge Israel from a political perspective but have no idea what goes on in the souls of its people. We get a peek inside from Yehuda Poliker’s Hebrew song, Who, What and How Is an Israeli: He loves his land but dreams of emigrating; he’s abroad for a week and wants to come home. He loves the army but hates reserve duty, sings the national anthem but does not know the words. He surfs the beaches in his four-wheel drive, bargains over every shekel while wasting thousands. Between a charming country and everchanging governments, we dream of surviving with no thought for tomorrow. We are angered by corruption but practice deception; we honor dedication, but are afraid to give blood. We celebrate life with songs of mourning; standing at the end of the line, we are the first after all. No one is perfect, not even the Chosen People of Israel. Yet a growing number of Christians today are denying that Israel is the Chosen People. They make a distinction between the State of Israel and the Jewish people, criticizing Israel’s polices toward the Palestinians as “anti-biblical.” They do not see a link between present-day Israel and the Israel prophecied in the Bible. These apolitical, nominal, and politicallycorrect Christians criticize Israel with all of their hearts, while those believers who support the nation are condemned as “political” or “Zionist” Christians. But the Almighty has a different set of standards and He is faithful to his covenant with His people. We thank you who are faithfully standing with Israel, even if there are Israelis who don’t know the words of their own national anthem.
Without a Vision the People Perish
18 Carmel: The Mountain of Decision Prophecy
19 Valid or Invalid?
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Christians
20 ’Jesus Was a Palestinian!’ MESSIANIC jEWS
21 Blazing Controversy
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ARCHAEOLOGY
23 2,000 Year-Old Stone for PM’s Office Culture
24 Israeli Comedy Wins Emmy Behind the Scenes
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25 The Seal of the First Believers Nature
28 Get Rid of Pests without Pesticide Economy
29 Israeli Solar Energy in California In Brief
30 Anti-Semitism on Belgian TV 31 Gorillas to Africa
Publisher: nai – israel today | Founder of nai: Ludwig Schneider | Editor-in-Chief: Aviel Schneider | Co-Editor & Art Director: Michael Schneider | Senior Editor/Correspondent: Shlomo Mordechai | Editor: Barry Rosenfeld | Website/Staff Writer: Ryan Jones | Managing Editor/Director of Marketing: Lorraine Rubinow | Administrator: Daniel Goldstein Biblical Commentary, Word from Jerusalem, Debate, Prophecy: Ludwig Schneider | Politics, Focus on Jerusalem, Arab Press: Aviel Schneider, Ryan Jones | Messianic Jews, The Land, Profile, In Brief: Michael Schneider, Tzvi Sadan | Military, Tourism, Nature, Archeology, Jewish Affairs: Netanel Doron | Christians, Diaspora, Culture, Economy: Judith Jeries | Islam: Victor Mordechai | Text Advisor: Dov Chaikin | Financial Director: Anat Schneider | Translator: Judith Jeries, Beverly Bayliss | Graphic Designer: Pavel Permyakov, Larisa Kaplan Israel Today magazine – a monthly publication from Jerusalem | 1 Year Subscription: $43 US, IL ,CAD/ £30 UK / $49 US all other countries • 2 Years: $75 US / £53 UK / $86 US all other countries • 3 Years: $99 US / £70 UK / $115 US all other countries • IT Electronic Edition (1 Year): $25 US / £18 UK /$25 US all other countries | Contact information: Israel Today, 1 Shmuel HaNagid St. P.O. Box 7555 Jerusalem 91074, Israel | Tel: +972.2.622.6881 | Fax: +972.2.622.6882 | TOLL FREE ORDERING: 1.866.854.1684 (North America) | 00.800.60.70.70.60 (UK/Norway/) | www.israeltoday.co.il | www.jerusalemdepot.com (subscribe online)
Politics
RABBINIC MAVERICK: Haim Amsalem
Jesus and Rabbi Amsalem
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oday’s theological differences among the leaders of ultra-Orthodox Jewish movements are similar to those that Yeshua (Jesus) had with the scribes and Pharisees. Just as in His time, when the rabbinical leaders were suspicious of and did not trust the Messiah, today anyone why dares to criticize rabbinical practices and thinking falls quickly out of favor with the ultra-Orthodox community. To put it simply, anyone who disagrees with the head rabbis is out. One may question the entire world, but not his own rabbis, the wise men of the Torah and Halacha (Jewish Law). One example of this is the plight of Knesset (parliament) member and Rabbi Haim Amsalem of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party. He has brought down upon himself the full ire of Shas and its wide following among Israel’s Sephardic Jews (Oriental Jews whose origins are mostly in Arab countries). His “crime” is that he publicly criticized Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, a revered sage who is widely regarded as a tsadik (saint). He also described Shas political leader Eli Yishai as “an embarrassment” to Israel who causes people to cringe when he speaks and who acts like the head of a crime family.
In so doing Amsalem antagonized the Shas leadership just as Yeshua did the Pharisees. In Amsalem’s opinion, the party line is too strict and does not make sense biblically. This became a hot topic in the ultraOrthodox media, which labeled him “Amalek,” Israel’s biblical archenemy. That comparison ultimately brings a curse: “You shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven” (Deuteronomy 25:19). Some blamed Rabbi Amsalem for Israel’s seven-year drought. In one article, he was compared to Korah, who revolted against Moses and was swallowed up by the earth (Numbers 26:10). The media attack became so bitter that the authorities had to provide the maverick rabbi with bodyguards. At one point Amsalem was given what many would interpret as the ultimate insult. He was compared to Jesus when a headline read: “Amsalem is like oto ha’ish.” The term, which means that man, is a common reference to Jesus in Orthodox circles. Orthodox Jews avoid pronouncing the name of Jesus because the Bible says not to “mention the name of other gods nor let them be heard from your mouth” (Exodus 23:13).
Amsalem is accused of doing what Jesus did—putting love of one’s neighbor, charity and compassion above rabbinical Law. “I don’t care if I’m being compared to that man,” the Rabbi said with regard to Jesus. “I am holding on to what I believe to be the truth and I’m trying to awaken the people.” Jesus brought a new message, so he posed a threat to the religious establishment of his time. He taught that people should not follow the letter of the Law but have a relationship with the living God; the Law could be summed up by loving God and your neighbor as yourself. Of course, one cannot compare Rabbi Amsalem with Jesus, but the hatred directed toward both of them is similar. Both are accused of being apostates, traitors and false messiahs. As ultraOrthodox commentator Ron Halevy put it: “Religion deniers and Torah haters see in that man [referring to both Jesus and Rabbi Amsalem] a messianic figure, hoping he can save the people from the threats to Israel’s national existence.” In ultra-Orthodox circles, those who express independent, nonconformist ideas are excommunicated by the establishment. Jesus was attacked for his revolutionary teachings, so it should come as no surprise that religious mavericks are compared to Him. “We need to pray for Haim Amsalem and ask God to grant him safety, wisdom and strength,” Ofer Amitai, the head of a Messianic Jewish congregation in Jerusalem, told israel today. “Amsalem is experiencing the rage and curses of his party, only because he spoke out openly for morality and justice. It’s about time that such a voice rises up from the Orthodox Jewish world in Israel.” Indeed, the Israeli public at large thinks quite differently from the ultraOrthodox religious establishment. According to a Ynet poll, only 17 percent believe that Rabbi Amsalem should obey the demand of the Shas Council of Torah Sages and resign from the Knesset. So 2,000 years after Jesus clashed with the religious authorities of his time, He remains very much a part of the political discourse in Israel today. Y B y Av i e l S c h n e i de r
www.israeltoday.co.il | February 2011 | 3
politics FROM SOUTH AMERICA TO EUROPE: One country after another is recognizing a Palestinian state
The Domino Effect B y Av i e l S c h n e i d e r
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he paralyzed peace process has created an awkward equation in which the Palestinians are proactive and the Israelis are passive. The Palestinian leadership under President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad is implementing a strategy against Israel that is both old and new: “diplomacy instead of terror.” This approach is more acceptable to the West, which opposes violence and fears instability, and there is a much greater reward in terms of international pressure for concessions from Israel. The late PLO leader Yasser Arafat used this tactic effectively when he ostensibly abandoned terror and opted for peace with Israel. Under the Oslo Accords of 1993, Arafat established a foothold in the Land of Israel, moving into Jericho and the Gaza Strip. Since November, when the Obama administration publicly admitted that it had failed to break the deadlock in the peace process, the Palestinians have been trying to convince the world to recognize a Palestinian state unilaterally, without the approval of Jerusalem or Washington. And the Palestinians have already achieved resounding success in South America. Brazil was the first South American country to recognize an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, and then the dominos started falling: Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Chile and Guyana followed suit. This raised concern in Jerusalem; and the Foreign Ministry, which is headed by the nationalist Israel Beitenu (Israel Is our Home) party, responded with contempt. The “State of Facebook is more real than the State of Palestine,” wrote Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon in a blog, comparing recognition of 4 | February 2011 | www.israeltoday.co.il
this entity with clicking on the “Like” button on the social networking site. “Irresponsible governments are quick to ‘Like’ the Palestinian state without actually checking out its profile: an authority without sovereignty, with no borders or territorial continuity, no economic ability or democratic culture.” Fayyad responded in kind. “I am not looking for a ‘Facebook State,’ or as I call it myself, a ‘Mickey Mouse State,’” the Palestinian Prime Minister said. “If it doesn’t matter, why did [Ayalon] bother to write a comment on it?” The US rejects unilateral moves and says peace can only be reached through negotiations. But some officials in Jerusalem believe the kingpin will fall sooner rather than later. “I would not be surprised if within a year the whole world will support a Palestinian state, including the United States,” said Cabinet Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer of the dovish Labor Party. “Then we will ask where we were and what we did.”
From South America to Europe The Palestinian strategy is: South America first, then Europe. And it is an attainable goal. European countries are already upgrading the diplomatic status of the Palestinian Authority. “The level of representation will be developed to a diplomatic mission and the head of the mission will be called an ambassador,” said Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki. Spain, France, Portugal and Norway have already taken this step and Britain has announced plans to do so as well. At this point, however, the European Union does not plan
Politics to recognize a Palestinian state or upgrade Palestinian representation offices to the status of embassies. Buoyed by these diplomatic advances, the Palestinians are considering a resolution to the UN Security Council calling on all United Nations members to recognize a Palestinian state by the end of the year. The trump card is whether the US would veto such a resolution. Considering the hostility of the Obama administration, it is not beyond the realm of possibility that the US would abstain, effectively bringing international recognition of “Palestine” to fruition. Israel was caught sleeping as the dominos began to fall in South America. When Brazil recognized a Palestinian state, Israel was distracted with the catastrophic Carmel forest fire, and it failed to launch an effective counterattack. It was only four weeks later that Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman sent a letter to all Israeli embassies and diplomatic missions abroad. Israeli diplomats were told to warn their host countries that “unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state was taking away any incentive for the Palestinians to return to peace talks with Israel.”
1988: First Declaration of a Palestinian State There has been a Palestinian declaration of independence before, on November 15th, 1988, accompanied by fireworks and celebrations. Yasser Arafat declared the state in Algeria, nearly a year after the start of the First Intifada (Palestinian uprising). Subsequently, more than 100 countries officially recognized the State of Palestine. But without sovereign control of the territory, there is still no Palestinian state. Today, 22 years later, the Palestinians are trying for a second time to declare a state. But this time, they already have 45 percent of the biblical heartland of Judea and Samaria and all of the Gaza Strip. And with South America leading the way and Europe joining the bandwagon, Israel fears the domino effect will continue around the world. Israel accused the Palestinians of conducting political warfare. “Even if we offer the Palestinians Tel Aviv and a withdrawal to the 1947 borders, they will find a reason not to sign a peace agreement with us,” said Foreign Minister Lieberman. “Under today’s political circumstances a peace treaty with the Palestinians is not possible; that’s why Israel has to turn to Plan B”—i.e., a long-term interim agreement dealing primarily with economics and security. “Final decisions have to be delayed for one generation,” Lieberman said. “We have to tell the world the truth, just as WikiLeaks told the world.” At the same time, Lieberman admits that the Palestinians have been much more successful than Israel diplomatically. The Foreign Ministry dubs it the “Smooth Intifada.” “The Palestinians are not fighting Israel with weapons, but rather with diplomacy and international law on the world stage,” says former Israeli general Shalom Harari, an expert on Palestinian affairs.
From Arafat to Gandhi and Back Palestinian tactics change with the times, and there is a thin line between diplomacy and violence. “As long as words are sufficient—fine,” Mohammed Dahlan, a senior official of the ruling Palestinian Fatah faction, told israel today. “If not, we will take up our weapons again.” The Palestinians are drawing parallels with the nonviolent resistance of Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948), who sought to end British rule in India. “Arafat’s strategy to bring Israel to its knees through violence failed,” says Dahlan. “We received more land through negotiations than through armed struggle. Nonviolent resistance makes it much easier for us to win the world over to our cause. We will convince one country after the other until they all stand behind a Palestinian state. It’s the domino effect. But if Gandhi’s strategy should fail, we will turn back to Arafat’s strategy of using force against Israel.” Abbas said the same thing to 2,200 Fatah delegates at a conference in Ramallah in August. “Although peace is our choice,” he said, “we reserve the right to [armed] resistance, which is legitimate under international law.” Y
THE RUSSIAN DOMINO: Medvedev (left) with Abbas in Jericho
Russia Recognizes ‘Palestine’
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ussian President Dmitry Medvedev visited the biblical town of Jericho and endorsed a Palestinian state. In fact, he said [Communist] Russia recognized Palestinian independence in 1988. “Russia’s position remains unchanged,” he told senior Palestinian Authority officials. “Russia made its choice a long time ago...We supported and will support the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to an independent state with its capital in East Jerusalem.” Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat described the statement as “an historic move to make the Palestinians proud for a very long time to come.” Medvedev had to postpone a visit to Israel because of a Foreign Ministry strike, which has harmed Israeli efforts to stop the dominos from continuing to fall. Y
www.israeltoday.co.il | February 2011 | 5
Cover Story
‘Without a Vision the People Perish’ (Proverbs 29:18)
Iran Looms Large in 2011
B y Av i e l S c h n e i d e r
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sraeli governments have no political vision for the people in Zion. No goal, no ideology, no plan or revelation for the future. Knesset speaker Reuven Rivlin of the ruling Likud party said Israel’s leaders are being led by the people instead of leading the way themselves, like a dog leading his master. He compared it to his beloved dog Stephan. “He would always run ahead of me with his tail up…until he would reach a junction where one path led left and the other right…Then he wouldn’t know where I wanted to go,” Rivlin said. But once the master chose a direction, the dog “would immediately overtake me and again raise his tail and head, as if he was leading me.” “Today, the leaders look back at the people to see what they want,” Rivlin explained. “If public opinion on one day wants peace, we say peace. If public opinion wants us to get tough with the Arabs, we’re tough with the Arabs that day…If they want us to be communist or Bolshevik, we do that too.” He concluded that the leaders do what the people want to win votes and keep themselves in office.
But what does God say? “Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock?” (Ezekiel 34:2). A poster near our office in downtown Jerusalem (see cover) may have said it best. It features Theodor Herzl, the founder of modern Zionism, in a construction helmet, with the caption: “DANGER! Vision Closed for Renovations.” If there is a lack of vision, there is also a lack of effort, which results in apathy. In the pioneering days, the vision was to build a nation, a homeland for the Jews in the biblical Land of Israel. After succeeding and surviving all wars, with God’s help, the people of Israel are striving for a new goal: peace. But that vision is hard to realize without leadership and direction. Imagine if Moses would have conducted polls among the grumbling children of Israel, like today’s politicians, in order to maintain the support of the people: “Do you want to go back to slavery or forward to the Promised Land?” No doubt, the majority would have chosen to go back. Now as then, Israel needs a leader like Moses who follows God and not the whims of the people. Y CRISIS IN LEADERSHIP: Rivlin (smiling) with Netanyahu and opposition leader Tzipi Livni
his could be a crucial year with regard to Israel’s looming confrontation with Iran. At first, the chances for an Israeli pre-emptive strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities seemed to dissipate when the timetable for Iranian nuclear capability was revised downward. The outgoing head of Israel’s Mossad spy agency, Meir Dagan, said that Iran could not acquire the atom bomb before 2015, in contrast to previous assessments of 2011 or 2012. Dagan attributed the slowdown to international sanctions and technical difficulties—no doubt a reference to the Stuxnet computer virus which invaded Iran’s nuclear program and which many believe was planted by Israel. Nevertheless, the military option is still very much on the table, according to the Israeli daily Ha’aretz. The newspaper reported that outgoing Army Chief Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi objected last year to an attack on Iran proposed by Defense Minister Ehud Barak. “This had a fatal impact on [Ashkenazi’s] relationship with the Defense Minister,” the report said. As a result Ashkenazi was forced to step down a year early and leaves his post this month. He will be replaced by the general who conducted the Gaza War, Yoav Galant. “The impression is that Galant is more aggressive on Iran and will not block [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and Barak, who are eager to go into battle,” Ha’aretz said. The year “2010 went by without a war with Iran,” the report concluded. “But in 2011, a conflict is brewing.” Y B y S h l omo Mor de c h a i
6 | Januarz 2011 | www.israeltoday.co.il
politics
‘The Fish Stinks from the Head Down’ B y Av i e l S c h n e i d e r
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nd the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord.” Many chapters in the Bible start this way. They continue with what evil deeds were done and the inevitable punishment of God. Enemies threaten Israel, it cries out for help and God saves. In the end the people turn back to God: “…and the land had rest for 20, 30, 40 or more years.” There is a cycle of evil deeds, repentance and rest, back in those times and nowadays as well. This is what rabbis in the Land believe. A political and spiritual tension exists between God and the people, with national leaders playing a key role. How much can you expect from the people when their leaders, kings, judges, prime ministers, presidents, Cabinet ministers and Knesset (parliament) members are not role models and do evil in the sight of the Lord? At the same time, these politicians are a product of Israeli society. When former President Moshe Katsav was found guilty of two counts of rape as well as sexual harassment of former employees, it was yet another blow to public confidence in the government and national leadership. While it is a ceremonial office, the President is supposed to be the moral voice of the nation. Now, Katsav faces up to 16 years in prison. Katsav claimed innocence and accused the media of conducting a “witch hunt.” The court, however, said the victims’ statements were credible while Katsav’s testimony was “riddled with lies.” The sexual offenses against the three women took place when Katsav was Tourism Minister from 1996 to 1999, and during his term as President from 2000 to 2007. Katsav is the latest in a long list of public officials convicted on corruption charges and for sexual harassment:
GUILTY! Former President Moshe Katsav is convicted of rape
September 2009: Former Finance Minister Avraham Hirschson of the Kadima party is sentenced to five years in prison for embezzling 2 million shekels ($565,000).
March 2001: Former Defense Minister and General Yitzhak Mordechai of the Likud is sentenced to 18 months in prison for sexual harassment.
November 2008: Former Knesset member Ofer Chugi of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party is sentenced to three years in prison for fraud.
September 2000: Former Interior Minister and Shas leader Arie Deri is sentenced to three years in prison for bribery and fraud.
April 2008: Former Health Minister Shlomo Benizri of Shas is sentenced to four years in prison for corruption and fraud.
1997: Former Cabinet minister and founding member of Shas Rafael Pinchasi is sentenced to 12 months in prison for bribery.
March 2006: Former deputy Cabinet minister Noami Blumenthal of the Likud party is sentenced to eight months in prison for bribery.
1993: Former Knesset member Yair Levy of Shas is sentenced to five years in prison for fraud, forgery and embezzlement.
March 2005: Former Cabinet Minister Gonen Segev of the Tzomet party is sentenced to five years in prison for smuggling 32,000 Ecstasy pills into Israel. February 2006: Former Knesset member Omri Sharon of the Likud (former PM Ariel Sharon’s son) is sentenced to nine months in prison for illegal campaign financing.
Politicians, judges, rabbis and ordinary people described Katsav’s conviction as a sad day for the nation, a tragedy and a disgrace. The question many people are asking is: How could Israeli society sink to such a low point? In the past decade alone, nine Israeli politicians have been sentenced to prison terms. At the same time, people are proud of Israel’s justice system because it shows that no one is above the law. Y
www.israeltoday.co.il | February 2011 | 7
Politics SPACED OUT: Is Tel Aviv a Mideast capital?
Firefighting Planes at Last
I Tel Aviv From Outer Space
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talian astronaut Paolo Nespoli took a picture of Tel Aviv from the International Space Station, 240 miles (400 km.) above the earth, and posted it on the photosharing network Flickr. Then he challenged his followers with the inscription: “A Middle East city. Which one?” The answers followed shortly, with many recognizing the city as Tel Aviv. “Well done!” answered Nespoli. “Bravo! Tel Aviv.” However, the astronaut needs a history lesson, or perhaps he’s been learning history from the Arabs. He mistakenly gave the picture the title of “A Capital in the Middle East!” Y
srael has reached an agreement with Canada to purchase six state-ofthe-art firefighting aircraft and other equipment for $200 million. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu closed the deal with Canadian Defense Minister Peter Gordon Mackay. However, the planes won’t be ready for delivery for two years. Until then, Israel will lease other aircraft which will be flown by Canadian pilots. AMPHIBIOUS AIRCRAFT: This Canadian-made plane will be the backbone of Israel's new aerial firefighting force
Free Jonathan Pollard!
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rime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a letter to President Barack Obama asking him to release Jonathan Pollard, the US Navy Intelligence analyst who was convicted of spying for Israel in the 1980s. “On behalf of the people of Israel, I am writing to you to request clemency for Jonathan Pollard,” wrote Netanyahu, who expressed remorse over the affair. “Since Jonathan Pollard has now spent 25 years in prison, I believe that a new request for clemency is highly appropriate…Jonathan has suffered greatly for his actions and his health has deteriorated considerably.” A number of prominent American figures have backed Israel’s call, including former Secretary of State George Shultz and Harvard Law Professor Charles Ogletree, Obama’s former teacher and mentor. “I have written President Obama seeking a pardon CONVICTED SPY Jonathan Pollard for Jonathan Pol8 | February 2011 | www.israeltoday.co.il
CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST Charles Ogletree
lard,” Ogletree said. “I hope the President grants the wishes of many who have supported a pardon for Mr. Pollard.” The US was lukewarm to the request, even though Pollard has been punished more harshly than other spies responsible for far more serious offenses. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley sarcastically referred to Netanyahu’s demand for Pollard’s release when he was prime minister in 1996, as part of a peace deal with Yasser Arafat. “This is an issue that Prime Minister Netanyahu has raised from time to time, both in his current incarnation and in his previous incarnation,” Crowley said. “All I can tell you is Jonathan Pollard remains in prison.” Y
Netanyahu decided to establish the airborne firefighting force after the catastrophic Carmel Forest fire in December destroyed 15,000 acres of rare natural woodlands and left 44 people dead. Israel was caught woefully unprepared for the disaster, with a shortage of firefighters, chemicals and not a single firefighting aircraft. Israel will make its pilots and firefighting planes available to other nations in the area, so the new force could also play a role in regional diplomacy. Y BETTER LATE than never
C ompiled by Mich a el Sch n eider
Arab Press
Al-Jazeera Clashes with Israeli Security
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he Foreign Press Association (FPA) in Israel expressed “outrage” after a female reporter for the pan-Arab TV station Al-Jazeera was forced to undergo an extensive security check at a news conference with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Shin Bet security service asked the reporter to remove her bra (in a private room with female agents), but she refused and left the event. “I felt I was being humiliated for the sake of humiliation,” said the reporter, Najwan Simri Diab. “I’m being treated like an enemy.” It’s hard to see Al-Jazeera as anything but an “enemy,” considering the vitriolic anti-Israel propaganda it spews out daily from its Qatar headquarters to the Arab world. And considering that an Israeli Prime Minister (Yitzhak Rabin) was assassinated in the past (albeit by a religious Jew), it’s understandable that there is massive security around the nation’s leader. Furthermore, it is quite conceivable that an Arab reporter could turn suicide bomber and “martyr.” That reasoning, however, did not appease the FPA. “The Foreign Press Association is outraged over the treatment members received at the hands of Israeli security personnel,” a statement said. “It is incomprehensible that anyone would think such humiliating treatment is necessary at such an event.” The Shin Bet responded that “all guests were subjected to a security check in accordance with the customary security procedures in such events.”
arab Political cartoons
BITE THE HAND of peace Arriyadh (Saudi Arabia)
‘Palestine’: Land of Destitution or Prosperity? ’60 YEARS of Holocausts’ Akhbar al-Khaleej (Bahrain)
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he world media often portrays the Palestinians as living in destitution thanks to a repressive Israeli “occupation.” And not just in the Hamas-ruled Gaza. The Palestinian Authority-ruled “West Bank” is also depicted as an impoverished territory devoid of modern comforts and prosperity. A Palestinian journalist, however, unwittingly exposed that media coverage as a fraud. Upon returning to the de facto Palestinian capital of Ramallah after working for many years in Dubai, the journalist told a Palestinian TV host about her positive experience strolling the streets and a meal at a swank restaurant. She acknowledged that the traditional portrayal of the area had fooled even her. “The main picture [of Palestine] is the picture we see on TV, and in the media bad news is good news,” she noted. “[But] I felt like I was in Europe!” Translation: Palestinian Media Watch
Jihad in Jerusalem
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amas TV broadcast a video featuring an Islamic school in the Tsur Baher neighborhood of East Jerusalem where Arab kids are taught to be “martyrs” (a euphemism for suicide terrorists). “May our blood be shed!” the children sing. “How strong is the army of Al-Aqsa [the mosque on the Temple Mount]. “I am a soldier defending its protected area…I will give up my life for its sake.”
LET THE BABY have its bottle Al-Raya (Qatar)
TIC-TAC-TOE M. Youssef (Syria)
C om pi l e d by S h l omo Mor de c h a i a n d Rya n Jon e s
www.israeltoday.co.il | February 2011 | 9
P A LESTI N I A N S
The Palestinians and the Nazis UNHOLY ALLIANCE: Hitler and Husseini in 1941
Husseini was the Mufti, the Muslim spiritual leader of Jerusalem and the most prominent Palestinian leader of his time. According to the report, he was paid an enormous salary for fomenting hatred of the Jews in British Mandate Palestine and for helping to recruit Muslims as Nazi soldiers. In exchange, the Nazis promised that Husseini would rule Palestine after the successful conclusion of the war. One document cites Adolf Hitler as telling Husseini that Nazi Germany’s only aim in conquering Palestine was to eradicate the Jewish presence there. During a later recruitment trip to a Muslim region of Croatia, Husseini praised new conscripts to the Nazi military and stated that “the entire Muslim world ought to follow their example.” Y
azism and Islam share common values and, more imN portantly, a common enemy in the Jews. That was what the World War II-era Palestinian leader Haj Amin al-Husseini
told his German benefactors, according to the latest declassified US wartime documents. Prepared by the UN National Archives, a report titled Hitler’s Shadow references thousands of intelligence and diplomatic documents detailing Husseini’s cooperation with the Nazi leadership in its quest to exterminate the Jewish people.
MUSLIM NAZI TROOPS Husseini in Bosnia in 1943
Palestinian State Will Be Judenrein t is instructive that while the world Iheid, accuses Israel of racism and apartthe ones really practicing these
things are the Palestinians. While 20 percent of Israel’s population is Arab, not a single Jew will be allowed to live in the future Palestinian state. The Nazis called this Judenrein—no Jews allowed! As Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas put it: “We have frankly said, and always will say: If there is an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, we won’t agree to the presence of one Israeli in it.” At the same time, Abbas is a proponent of the right of return of millions of Palestinian “refugees” and their descendants to their former homes in Israel. All Israeli governments have categorically rejected this
pillar of Palestinian nationalism because it would mean the demographic destruction of the Jewish state. Abbas’ comments reveal the real Palestinian strategy: The eastern portion of the Land of Israel (Judea and Samaria) will become a Palestinian state without a single Jew, while the western portion (the State of Israel) will be f looded with Palestinian refugees, in addition to the 1.5 million Arabs who are currently Israeli citizens. This would create a huge Palestinian majority in the Holy Land that would ultimately force the Jews out. This exposes the concept of “two states living side by side in peace and security” for what it really is: a figment of the Western imagination. Y
10 | Fabruary 2011 | www.israeltoday.co.il
C ompiled by Ryan Jones
SIEG HEIL! Palestinians today
Palestinian Terror Begins in School mong most nations or peoples A engaged in conflict, male adults will take up arms while
everyone else, especially children, are kept as safely behind friendly lines as possible. Not so with the Palestinian Arabs. For them, indoctrination to violence begins in the classroom. “The teachers were the main agitators of the intifada [violent Palestinian uprising against Israel],” said a host on governmentcontrolled Palestinian Authority TV. “Therefore it is our duty to honor them more.” Y
Focus on Jerusalem
Jerusalem in 2111
SURREAL VISION: Jerusalem 100 years from now
DIVIDED city
STEEL DOMES protect Jerusalem from missile attacks
alestinian and UN soldiers patrol the P streets of East Jerusalem, separated by steel walls from Israeli-controlled West Je-
SPACECRAFT patrol the skies
rusalem. Steel domes protect the city from missile attacks while spacecraft fly overhead. An enormous Jewish Temple stands David Gidali beside the golden Dome of the Rock. That is the surreal vision of Secular Quarter #3, the winner of the International Animation Competition. The Israeli contest asked directors to submit one to three-minute films that portray an “urban sci-fi vision of the city of Jerusalem” 100 years from now. There were nearly 100 submissions from 10 countries, though most came from Israel. Secular Quarter #3 was created by Israelis David Gidali and Itay Gross, film students in Los Angeles, who took home a $10,000 prize. Gidali said the message of the film is “to start a thought process and to get people to…lift the walls between us.” Y By Shl omo Mordechai
www.jerusalem2111.com
www.israeltoday.co.il | February 2011 | 11
Islam
Muzzling Freedom of Speech in Switzerland I
BLARING MINARETS: Speaking out against Islam can land you in jail
To order Victor Mordecai’s books, call this toll free number (in the US) 1.800.540.0828 or visit www.vicmord.com
n 2009, I spent several weeks in Switzerland during the Minarets Initiative of the EDU Christian Conservative Party, lecturing in 23 German-speaking cities and towns. The purpose of the campaign was to block the Muslims from building minarets throughout Switzerland with the effect of noise pollution disrupting the lives of non-Muslim Swiss citizens. Often, the blaring sound of the muezzin calling the faithful to prayer prompts residents in the general vicinity of the loudspeakers to sell their homes and move to quieter areas, away from Muslim population centers. In effect, the minarets enable the Muslims to stake a claim over a certain area in the name of Allah and the Islamic agenda. As Christians, Jews and others leave these neighborhoods, Muslims move in, creating “pure” Islamic enclaves or ghettos where non-Muslims dare not enter. Over 10,000 Swiss attended my meetings in June and October of 2009, but many more heard and saw me on Swiss TV Channel 1 (www.sf.tv/avilipkin). I was criticized so severely in the television story that many Jews and Christians came to my remaining meetings to say that they were so outraged by the one-sided report that they were going to vote against the minarets. Praise God, on November 29th, 2009, the Swiss population voted by a margin of 57 to 43 percent against the minarets, taking the Swiss “establishment” by total surprise. Judeo-Christian Western civilization and democracy won out in Switzerland against political correctness and an Islamic takeover of Europe in stages. It was an honor for me to be part of the victory. However, I have now received documents informing me that I have been convicted by a Swiss Court in Berne of “racial discrimination” and breaking the laws of “freedom of religion and worship.” The court decision allows me to pay 600 Swiss francs ($618) for a speech I gave in Wichtrach (near Berne) to avoid incarcer-
ation. The one-page Swiss court document was accompanied by an official letter from the Israeli Ministry of Justice, which said that I could not be extradited from Israel, but if I traveled to Switzerland, I could be arrested unless I paid the fine—which is an admission of guilt. A lawyer friend of mine in Switzerland warned me that if I paid this fine, I could receive another 22 summonses to be paid for the other 22 lectures I gave around the country. I could also be permanently banned from Switzerland. Therefore, I have notified the EDU Party that I am ready to come to Switzerland and fight this decision even if it might mean being arrested and jailed. This is very similar to the court case in Holland against Geert Wilders, the Dutch politician and leader of the Party for Freedom (PVV), which seeks to stop the “Islamization of the Netherlands.” We must not remain silent in the case of this Islamic threat to muzzle freedom of speech in Switzerland and we must prevent it from spreading. I have also spoken in many other places in Europe. Am I to be banned from those EU countries as well? President Barack Obama has also gone on record as wanting these same “hate laws” passed in the US Congress, making any criticism of Islam a crime. This seems to be becoming the fashion throughout the “enlightened” world, as Judeo-Christian values and democracy are getting flushed down the tubes. Since Swiss parliamentary elections are scheduled for October 2011, it could be that my court case will be incorporated into the election campaign. My prediction is that the conservative EDU as well as the VP (Volks Party) will gain many more votes in these elections. Just as the minarets were banned in Switzerland, maybe so too, this could be the beginning of a conservative and Christian revival, something Switzerland and the rest of Europe need so much.Y B y Vic t or Mor de c a i
Jesus in Modern Hebrew Culture
Ariel Journal: Jesus Was a Faithful Jew B y Ts v i S a d a n
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he Ariel Publishing House was established in 1975 with the goal of distributing literature about the Land of Israel. The publisher has its own journal, also named Ariel. Since Christianity is part of the history of the Land of Israel, articles also deal with the origin, history, and sacred sites of Christianity. The 2002 issue of the Ariel Journal was dedicated to Christianity and Christians in the Land of Israel. The preface in this edition—written by editors Gavriel Barkai and Eli Shiller—presents Christianity as a religion founded by a Jew named Jesus but heavily influenced by Egyptian, Roman and Hellenistic religions and mythology. “There are many examples of foreign influences [on Christianity],” they write, “including esoteric religions that were widespread in the East: the Egyptian god Osiris and the [Greek] gods Atis and Adonis who rise from the dead remind us of Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified and rose from the dead.” Barkai and Shiller paint an ambiguous picture of Jesus. While they assert that the New Testament is a mixture of fanciful legends, they admit that “everyone acknowledges its historical value.” Jesus, they go on to say, “is considered one of the most influential figures in the history of humanity. At the same time, our knowledge of Jesus the man, his origins and worldview, are shrouded in mystery because the sources about him are filled with legends and myths and even internal contradictions.” The little that can be known about Jesus, according to the writers, is that he “lived like every faithful Jew of his generation, and there is no clue that he intended to change the religion of Moses and Israel…Despite the Gospels’ tendency to create the impression that Jesus negated the Halachah [Jewish Law] and attacked it continuously, he in fact meticulously followed the Law both in word and deed.” At the same time, Barkai and Shiller suggest that when Matthew puts the words “Verily I say unto you” into Jesus’ mouth, he may have intended to show that “the Sermon on the Mount was meant to take the place of the old laws.” What can be learned from this issue of Ariel is that in the 21st century, there are still those who are working hard to distill an image of Jesus from the New Testament that is less offensive and more palatable to contemporary Jewish taste. Y
Stand in the Gap Intercession for Israel
‘For the vision is yet for the appointed time; it hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries wait for it; for it will certainly come, it will not delay.’ Habbakuk 2:3
*אבינו שבשמייםAvinu She’BaShamayim – We pray that you would accomplish Your ultimate purposes for Israel. Thwart the plans of the nations to divide Your land to appease the Arabs and the Islamists. Help Israel withstand international pressure to relinquish the Land and divide Jerusalem. May all Your promises to Israel regarding possession of the Land be fulfilled. (Pages 4-5, 10, 11, 19)
*אבינו שבשמייםAvinu She’BaShamayim – Bring to light the true intentions of the Palestinians so the world will not be deceived by lies about “peace.” Expose the Palestinian Nazi connection and the plan to destroy Israel demographically. May Palestinian efforts to rewrite history fail. (Pages 4-5, 10, 19, 20)
*אבינו שבשמייםAvinu She’BaShamayim – Remove corruption from the people and the Land, and grant that the nation will repent and turn back to God. Raise up leaders who will fear God and have a vision. (Pages 3, 6, 7)
*אבינו שבשמייםAvinu She’BaShamayim – Give Israel wisdom about if and when to launch a preemptive strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Protect the nation from terror and war. (Page 6)
*אבינו שבשמייםAvinu She’BaShamayim – Reveal the Messiah, Yeshua (Jesus), to Israelis and Palestinians alike. Grant that Israel will no longer waver between God and the nations. Bring Jesus into the political discourse and bring Him to the attention of the people. (Pages 3, 13, 18, 19, 20)
*אבינו שבשמייםAvinu She’BaShamayim – Heal the rifts in the body of Messiah in Israel. Bless the leaders of congregations. Remove false doctrines, propagate truth, bring love and unity. And let our numbers grow. (Page 21)
*אבינו שבשמייםAvinu She’BaShamayim – Remove drought from the Land. Bring massive storms in what is left of the winter rainy season (February and March). Fill the Sea of Galilee to the brim and restore the aquifers and reservoirs. (Page 18) * Our Father in Heaven
J e w i s h A ffa i r s
Ethiopian-Born Rabbi Brings ‘Revival’ BLACK AND WHITE: A black rabbi with a white congregation
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orn Zaoda Tapsai in a small village in the Tigray region of Ethiopia 37 years ago, Rabbi Shalom Sharon describes his boyhood job as an “assistant shepherd.” Arriving in Israel on his own 25 years ago as part of “Operation Moses,” Zaoda was given his Hebrew name by the Mossad intelligence agents who accompanied him on the trip. Married to a native-born Ashkenazi (Jews of European descent) Israeli and the father of four, Sharon serves as rabbi of Kdoshei Israel, an Ashkenazi synagogue in the southern town of Kiryat Gat. When Sharon was appointed to the synagogue two years ago, it seemed like a strange fit. An Ethiopian rabbi serving a congregation made up mostly of Holocaust survivors was a unique situation.
But the rabbi has managed to accomplish the impossible, turning a lifeless congregation into a thriving community. The synagogue is often packed. On Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, 300 worshippers showed up, double the building’s capacity. Today it is a diverse congregation. While most members are immigrants from the former Soviet Union, there are three families of Ethiopian origin as well as some from Morocco and Tunisia. Having studied Yiddish at Bar Ilan University, Rabbi Sharon often injects it into his prayer service, creating something of a surreal effect. “I received a dying synagogue,” he says. “The congregation was aging, and sadly, the congregants were passing away. So I decided to adopt the ‘Tzohar’ approach—to turn the synagogue from a place whose sole purpose is prayer to a community with various activities. I organize trips, meals and social evenings. All of a sudden our halls filled with children and even secular Jews, who were attracted by our program.” Tzohar is an organization founded by Zionist Orthodox rabbis that stresses the integration of Jews of all backgrounds into religious practices and an observant lifestyle. Therefore, head coverings are not required. “The synagogue is not a place for religious people, it is a place for Jewish people,” says Sharon. He says that the most important thing he learned from his mentor, the late liberal Rabbi Yehuda Amital, is that a man must be a mensch first, Yiddish for a respectable, ethical person. This, in turn, has won him the respect and loyalty of the community.
Remembering Rachel
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ven though UNESCO demanded that Israel remove Rachel’s Tomb from its list of National Heritage Sites, the burial place of the biblical matriarch remains an important place of pilgrimage for the Jewish people, and especially women. UNESCO recognized the Jewish holy place as a Palestinian mosque since it lies in the “West Bank” town of Bethlehem. The tomb in 1978
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Nevertheless, because of the sanctity of the place, Israel held on to Rachel’s Tomb when it handed Bethlehem over to the Palestinian Authority in 1995. It is here, according to the Bible, that Jacob’s second wife, one of the four matriarchs, was buried after giving birth to her second son Benjamin (Genesis 35). FORTRESS OF PRAYER Rachel’s Tomb is a place of pilgrimage
For centuries the site was marked by a small domed structure, but armed Palestinian riots forced construction of a more fortified structure after the Second Intifada (uprising) erupted in 2000. Last year, 60,000 people visited the tomb, including many pregnant women who pray for an easy delivery. “Jacob set up a pillar over her grave; that is the pillar of Rachel’s grave to this day” (Genesis 35:20). Y
BIBLE STU D Y
The Difference Between Religion And Faith
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he fact that a person belongs to a particular religion does not necessarily make him a believer, in the sense that he has had a personal experience of God. As Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). In other words, you must be reborn or born anew. For those people who are certain that they have been “born again,” religion and tradition have little to do with true faith. At the same time, adherents to religion and tradition don’t know how to deal with born-again believers. The word religion comes from the Latin religio, which means “bond” or “attachment.” It can be traced back to the first century BC Roman statesman and philosopher Cicero, who used it in reference to man’s bond to the gods. It was of no importance to him to which gods one was attached, which is understandable in light of the many gods at that time. Today the concept “religion” often refers to the melting pot of the ecumenical movement that seeks to unite all world religions. In the view of the ecumenists, any adherence to a personal faith, and a revelation which is seen as absolute, contradicts the one world religion. Nowadays, religion is generally understood as the totality of all supernatural revelations, teachings and practices that
JERUSALEM TRADITION The faithful place prayers in the ancient crevices of the Western Wall
have to do with the relationship of man to a higher being, the supernatural world and the divine. Religion is a universal phenomenon that defines both the life of the individual person as well as his nation and people. This expresses itself in the various folk and ethnic religions with their many temples, as well as churches, synagogues, mosques, rituals and clergy. “Tradition” is part of religion. As early as the 2nd century, the Church Father Irenaeus spoke out against those who believed that they could interpret the Bible however they wanted, without holding to the traditions of the Church and its doctrines. Since the Jewish faith and people emerged as a result of the will of God (Deuteronomy 7:6-7), it is not a religion in the conventional sense, but rather an am segula, a Chosen People. Therefore, the choice of whether or not to be a Jew does not exist. One can only choose whether to be a good Jew who follows God, or a bad Jew who does not. God brought Abraham out of Mesopotamia with its many gods in order to establish a new nation in Eretz Israel (the Land of Israel), a people that would serve Him, the one and only God. This is known as monotheism, the belief or faith in one God. Therefore in modern Hebrew, there is a distinction between dat (religion) and emunah (faith).
Today, Judaism, Christianity and Islam are all considered monotheistic religions. But while Jews and Christians believe in the God of the Bible, Muslims believe in Allah, the god of the Koran. Despite what the ecumenists teach, the God of Israel and Allah are not one and the same. The Holy One of Israel is supreme, for He is the first and the last (Isaiah 41:4; Rev 1:8) Y B y Lu dw ig S c h n e i de r
Torah Portions
February 2011
(from 27th of Shvat to 24th of Adar-A 5771) The Sabbath (Shabbat) Readings February 5th February 12th February 19th February 26th
Shabbat Terumah – Bring Me an Offering Exodus 25:1-27:19; Isaiah 66:1-24 Shabbat Tetzaveh – You Shall Command Exodus 27:20-30:10; Ezekiel 43:10-27 Shabbat Ki Tissa – Take a Census Exodus 30:11-34:35; 1 Kings 18:1-39 Shabbat Vayak’hel – Assemble Exodus 35:1-38:20; 1 Kings 7:40-50
A Visit to Mar Saba Monastery VOW OF ABSTINENCE No women, no meat, no apples
SHADES OF LIGHT in the desert
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ounded by Saint Saba of Cappadocia in 439 AD, Mar Saba is the oldest, continuously-inhabited monastery in the Holy Land and one of the oldest monasteries in the world. The Greek Orthodox cloister is located in the Judean Desert, about 9 miles (15 kilometers) east of Bethlehem. It is carved into the rock overlooking the Kidron River and is surrounded by a high wall and towers. In the 7th century, it was home to some 4,000 monks, including hundreds who lived in nearby caves. Today, there are only 16 monks from Greece, Serbia and Romania as well as one American who has not left the monastery in 60 years. The monks live in small, stark cells and rise for prayer at 2 a.m. At 6 a.m., they share a simple meal and continue on to their daily chores, such as cleaning the rooms and meeting halls, working in the kitchen or guard duty at the gate. Women are barred from entering but may view the monastery from the so-called “Women’s Tower.” Mar Saba also forbids any meat products or apples. The ban on apples is rooted in the story of Eve and the apple in the Garden of Eden. The atmosphere is defined by the deep silence. Nighttime is mystical, with the brightly shining moon and stars softly illuminating the craggy landscape. In monastic tradition, the silence of the desert is where one can hear the still, small voice of God (1 Kings 19:11-13). Y Photos: A. Sultan
CARVED IN THE ROCK: The monastery is nearly 1,600 years old
RISE AND SHINE: The monks rise for prayers at 2 a.m.
ICONS AND ANGELS in the chapel
THE TOLLING BELL breaks the desert silence HUMBLE CELL: A life of prayer
THE SCEPTER AND THE CROSS Shepherding the flock TWILIGHT TIME in the caves
THE JUDEAN DESERT has a long monastic tradition
D EB A TE
‘HOW LONG WILL YOU WAIVER?’ Elijah confronts the priests of Baal on Mount Carmel
Carmel The Mountain of Decision
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he catastrophic Carmel forest fire (see israel today, January 2011) reminds us of one of the most famous events of Scripture, when the prophet Elijah confronts the priests of Baal on Mount Carmel. It was there that Elijah called on the people of Israel to return to the Lord: “How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him!” (1 Kings 18:21). Then as now, Israel was ravaged by drought. Elijah charged that the godless king Ahab and his wife Jezebel were responsible for the crushing, three-year drought because they served the idols Baal and Asherah instead of the God of Israel. The situation is very similar today. The people of Israel think it is cool to pursue foreign religions and gurus, or materialism, instead of worshipping the God of their fathers and serving Him. The Torah warns, “If you do not obey the Lord your God…to do all His commandments and His statutes, then all these curses will come upon you…The Lord will make the rain of your land powder and dust” (Deuteronomy 28:15, 24).
The forest fire places Elijah’s appeal before us once again. What does it mean, “How long will you hesitate [or skip] between two opinions?” This skipping back and forth, changing one’s mind to conform to the latest trend, is the thing that God denounces, both in biblical times as well as today. Nowadays there are also people who pride themselves on neutrality; in other words, both sides are right and everyone can do their own thing. The prophet Elijah did not tell the people to decide in favor of the God of Israel. He gave them the freedom to choose whether they would serve the God of their fathers YHVH, or the pagan god of the Canaanites, Baal. The point was that they should at long last make up their minds about who they really wanted to serve, follow and obey. Elijah wanted them to break free from this skipping back and forth, from wavering between God today and Baal tomorrow. This same issue is raised in the New Testament when God speaks to the last of the seven churches, the Church of Laodicea, saying: “I wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are luke-
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warm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth” (Revelation 3:15-16). The Greek word for “spit out” is emesai—which means “to vomit.” Just as a nauseous person cannot avoid throwing up, so God cannot keep those who are undecided in His presence. God gave the first human couple, Adam and Eve, the freedom to choose. Elijah did likewise on Mount Carmel, and the same was true for the Church of Laodicea—up until the present day. Man can choose between good and evil, but there is no middle ground: this lukewarm skipping back and forth must stop. Even Bible-believing people pride themselves on being neutral. But they may not know what “neutral” means, or perhaps they confuse neutrality with justice. The word neutral means: colorless—lacking character—faceless—genderless—neither the half nor the whole— neither fish nor fowl (not one thing or the other)—nonpartisan—lukewarm—unfeeling and indifferent. God will throw out those who are lukewarm and lacking character. Elijah understood this when he called on the people to make their minds up for God or for Baal. What was important to him was that they should finally give up skipping back and forth from one side to the other. It is terrible that 44 people lost their lives in the Carmel fire, yet this tragedy has spotlighted Elijah’s appeal from the past. It is high time for Israel to make a clear decision. Israel cannot continue to hesitate or “skip between two thoughts” or political opinions, with regard to a two-state solution. Either the Jewish people are convinced that this land was promised to them by God or they believe that their right to exist depends on the opinion of the UN, and in turn, on that of the Arabs, Muslims and Gentiles (nations). Today Elijah would call out to the Israelites, “Choose between God and the UN!” In Elijah’s case fire fell from heaven, which prompted the people to reaffirm their dependence on the God of Israel. May the flames on Elijah’s Carmel let loose a restorative move toward God in Israel and an end to wavering between the world and the Word. Y By Ludwig S chneider
Prophecy
Valid or Invalid?
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ast October, by invitation of Pope Benedict XVI, 180 bishops from various Middle Eastern churches met for two weeks at the Vatican. During the synod, Benedict appealed to these Arab Christians to become an instrument of reconciliation with regard to the political conflict in the Middle East. It was for this purpose, he explained, that Christ had called them. Yet in spite of these good intentions, the Archbishop of the Greek Melkite Church, Cyril Salim Bustros, declared: “The Holy Scriptures cannot be used to justify the return of Jews to Israel and the displacement of the Palestinians, to justify the occupation by Israel of Palestinian lands. We Christians cannot speak of the ‘Promised Land’ as an exclusive right for a privileged Jewish People. This promise was nullified by Christ. There is no longer a Chosen People—all men and women of all countries have become the Chosen People.” Consequently what was intended as a synod of goodwill turned into a platform for Arab propaganda against Israel under the motto: Israel no longer has any biblical justification for its existence. It is no coincidence that the head of the Melkite Church lives in the US, where President Barack Obama has systematically sought to appease the Muslims at the expense of Israel. It was widely reported how much Obama was influenced by a briefing of General David Petraeus, who warned that Washington’s inability to force concessions from Israel was endangering the lives of American troops in Afghanistan. Yet what does Afghanistan have to do with Israel? After all, these two countries are neither politically nor physically connected. Neither does Israel have anything to do with the fact that Christians are leaving the Middle East in droves. On the contrary, Israel is the only Middle Eastern country where the number of Christians is increasing. In 1990 there were 107,000 Christians in Israel; in 2000 there were 132,000; and this year the number of Christians stands at 151,700. The Christians in Turkey or Iraq can only dream of such an increase. Archbishop Bustros’ attack on Israel and the Jews contradicts the statements of the most recent popes, John Paul II and Benedict XVI, who have expressed solidarity with Israel and emphasized that the Jews are indeed a Chosen People who represent God’s unalterable covenant with Israel. The Middle East Churches’ harsh criticism of Israel betrays their patent fear of the Muslims. In Israel, the Christians do not fear persecution, but in Egypt, Iran, Iraq and Turkey they most certainly do. The deadly terrorist attacks on churches in Baghdad and Alexandria are the most recent proof. This criticism also reflects traditional Catholic Replacement Theology, which is prevalent in many Orthodox and Protestant Churches as well. Therefore it behooves us to hear what God has to say about whether or not the Jewish people are still the Chosen People:
Judges 2:1 “I [the Lord] brought you up...and led you into the Land which I have sworn to your fathers; and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you.’”
1 Chronicles 16:14-18 “He is the Lord our God…Remember His covenant forever…The covenant which He made with Abraham, and His oath to Isaac. He also confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant, saying, ‘To you I will give the Land of Canaan as the portion of your inheritance.’”
Isaiah 14:1 “The Lord will have compassion on Jacob, and again choose Israel, and settle them in their own land.”
Isaiah 45:17 “Israel has been saved by the Lord with an everlasting salvation.”
Isaiah 41:9 “You [Israel] are My servant, I have chosen you and not rejected you.”
Jeremiah 11:4-5 “I will be your God, in order to confirm the oath which I swore to your forefathers, to give them [the] Land.”
Jeremiah 31:35-37 “If this fixed order [of the sea and the heavens] departs from before me…then I will also cast off all the offspring of Israel for all that they have done.”
Amos 9:14-15 “I will restore the captivity of My people Israel…I will also plant them on their land, and they will not again be rooted out from their land which I have given them.”
Zechariah 8:7-8 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Behold…I will bring them back, and they will live in the midst of Jerusalem, and they shall be My people and I will be their God.”
Matthew 21:43; Romans 11:25-36 “The kingdom of God will be taken away from you and be given to a people producing the fruit of it”…“until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved.”
Romans 3:3-4 “If some [Jews] did not believe, their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it? May it never be!” Y By Ludwig S chneider
www.israeltoday.co.il | February 2011 | 19
C h r i s t i an s
‘Jesus Was a Palestinian!’
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uring the Christmas season there were discussions in the Palestinian media regarding the “Palestinian roots” of the Jewish Messiah. For instance, author Samih Ghanadreh of the Israeli Arab town of Nazareth was interviewed about his new book, Christianity and its Connection to Islam, on government-run Palestinian Authority TV. “The Shahid [martyr] President Yasser Arafat used to say: ‘Jesus was the first Palestinian Shahid,’ said Ghanadreh. “I heard him say that sentence many times. He [Jesus] was the first Palestinian Shahid.” “Jesus was a Palestinian,” the host responded. “No one denies that.” KING OF THE PALESTINIANS? Crucified on a Palestinian flag
“This is simply unbelievable! The Palestinians are the absolute masters at the art of propaganda,” Messianic Jewish evangelist Yaakov Damkani told israel today. “It’s not enough that the Palestinians have come out of nowhere and crowned themselves as a people. Now they even want to take Jesus away from us. So Jesus is no longer King of the Jews; instead He has become King of the Palestinians!”
“How can someone believe that the biblical Redeemer comes from a Palestinian people, a people who don’t even exist historically?” asks Damkani, who owns and manages the Gilgal Hotel in Tel Aviv. “It is written that the Messiah comes from the Jews, a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and King David. A Messiah descended from any other people would not be the biblical Messiah of Israel.” As if claiming Jesus was not enough, the Palestinians also assert that the Virgin Mary is one of their own. The Education Authority of the ruling Palestinian Fatah faction issued this statement on its official website: “If we are proud of the holiness of our land, then we are proud and pride ourselves that the first and most important holy woman among the nations and peoples is from the Holy Land: The Virgin Mary—the woman of love and peace—is of the nation of Palestine.” The Mufti (Muslim spiritual leader) of Jerusalem, Muhammad Hussein, went even further on the Fatah TV channel: “Jesus was born in this land; he took his first steps in this land and spread his teachings [of Islam] in this land. He and his mother [Mary], we may say, were Palestinians par excellence.” The Palestinians are trying to build a legend around the figure of Jesus because it helps support their claim that the Jews have no historical ties in the biblical Land of Israel. “It won’t be long until the Palestinians start telling the world that they also wrote the Bible,” said Damkani. It is instructive that as world public opinion lambasts Israel over every action, it says nothing about these blatant attempts to rewrite history. And if Jesus came from the Palestinian people, is He then, in their view, a descendant of the Philistines, the Jebusites or the Canaanites? After all, the Palestinians themselves cannot agree on whose descendants they are. They have claimed, at different times, to be descendants
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MUSLIM CHRISTMAS: Arafat said that ‘Jesus was the first Palestinian martyr’
of the Philistines, the Canaanites and the Jebusites, peoples whom the Bible identifies as inhabitants of the Land. Yet they reject the same biblical accounts that place the Jews in the Holy Land and that identify Jesus as a son of Israel. Meno Kalisher, the leader of a Messianic congregation in Jerusalem, says it’s all political. “The Palestinians present the biblical Messiah as a Palestinian in order to convince the world that they are the rightful guardians of the holy places pertaining to all religions in the Holy Land,” he said. “In doing so they are trying to pave the way to finally take over sovereignty of the holiest place of all: the Temple Mount.” Ultimately, this is about the right of inheritance. To seize the God-given birthright of Israel, it makes perfect sense to steal the identity of the world’s most famous Jew and turn Him into a Palestinian. Y B y Av i e l S c h n e i de r
ARAB INFLUENCE: Latin Patriarch Fouad Tawal
M e s s i an i c J e w s
BLAZING CONTROVERSY The debate continues
National Committee Statement
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he body of Messiah in Israel, as represented by the National Conference of its leadership, has taken in recent years, several times, a stand against false doctrines. In each case these issues were foundational to our faith in Yeshua [Jesus]. We have confronted some fringe voices in the Israeli Messianic body which rose up to question or deny the deity of Yeshua or His humanity. In response, we proclaimed our faith in His complete deity and humanity. Then we took a stand against those who claimed that we are under the authority of the Oral Law, pulling us under rabbinical Judaism. This Oral Law has its roots in the Pharisaic teachings of the days of Yeshua, and our Lord warned us against this “leaven” in Matthew 16: 6-12. The leadership proclaimed that we only recognize the Bible as the authoritative word of God over our lives. In its Dec 2010 issue, israel today chose to criticize the National Conference for confronting a teacher who denies that: Yeshua was human, that He died on the cross, that He was the Son of David and that the writings of the apostles are inspired by the Holy Spirit. If Yeshua was not human, fully identifying with us, if He did not die on the cross, then we have no atonement for our sins, we have no righteousness, and no salvation. We must raise up the banner of truth of God’s word and protect the body from false teachings (see Acts 20:28-30). Our authority to act comes from God’s word (see 2 John 7-11). It is a shame that such an important publication as israel today has chosen to criticize us for doing so without even talking to us. Pastors and Committee Members: Daniel Yahav (Tiberias); Howard Bass (Beersheba); Daniel Sayag (Haifa); Israel Pochtar (Ashdod); Sasha Seriapov (Rechovot); Tony Sperandeo (Kfar Saba); Marcel Rebiai (Jerusalem, No Committee Member)
israel today’s story ‘Excommunication Feud’ (Dec 2010, page 23) stirred up emotions in the Messianic community. Below is the response of the ‘National Committee’ and our response to their statement:
israel today Statement
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s a news agency, it is the job of israel today to go behind the scenes and bring information to light. News involving Israel’s Messianic community is no exception. Yet it is as if we are being told that we are free to report on anything except theological disputes within the Messianic congregations. It is not our intention to enter a theological debate but to report the news. To set the record straight, we distance ourselves from the teaching that Yeshua [Jesus] was not human and did not die on the cross. The article in question deals with the debatable behavior of certain leaders who are excommunicating Messianic Jews who do not agree with their theology. The response of members of the “National Committee” supports the article’s assertion that this group is indeed exceeding its authority. They admit that they do not have the right to excommunicate someone or to label him a heretic. Yet the committee continues to emphasize its right to stand against false teachings because “we derive our authority from the Word of God.” The National Committee claims to represent the entire Messianic body. However, the Leaders’ Conference (from which the National Committee originates) only represents those who participate in their meetings—not the many other Messianic congregations and groups which do not take part. These nonparticipants are not just “outsiders” as they are often portrayed abroad (by committee members). The Messianic movement is versatile though still young. So judging and condemning people can do more harm than good. No one has authorized the National Committee to act as an ecclesiastical court. I often meet Jews who love Yeshua and follow Him. But because they think differently than the National Committee, they are afraid to express their views and keep to themselves. As Editorin-Chief of israel today, I owe it to our readers at home and abroad to report the news that others leave out. Y B y Av i e l S c h n e i de r
www.israeltoday.co.il | February 2011 | 21
Military
Missile Defense for Tel Aviv
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THE ‘LEOPARD’ stalks the prey
IDF Orders Improved Armored Vehicle
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he Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has awarded production of the new Namer (Leopard) armored personnel carrier (APC) to the American defense giant General Dynamics. Based on the Israeli-made Merkava (Chariot) MK4 battle tank, the Namer contains a high level of reinforced steel and cutting-edge technology, making it one of the most advanced APCs in the world. Included are state-of-theart machine guns, rocket launchers and reconnaissance devices. The advanced air-conditioning unit will enable the vehicle to operate in battle conditions contaminated by nonconventional weapons. This vehicle is crucial for the battlefield survival of IDF troops. The need for an improved APC became clear during the Lebanon War in 2006 when IDF armor suffered heavy losses from Hezbollah anti-tank missiles. The contract calls for 600 Namers to be manufactured over the next eight years at a cost of $400 million. Y
A Muslim, Jewish, Arab, Israeli Soldier HIDDEN IDENTITY: Private ‘A’
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rivate “A” recently joined the Nachshon unit of the IDF, which specializes in urban warfare and serves as guards for Arab prisoners. “A” has remained anonymous in order to protect her family. She was born in Iraq to Muslim parents who later converted
to Judaism in order to join their Arab relatives in Israel. At the age of four she immigrated to Israel only to see her parents divorce two years later. Her mother remarried a Muslim from northern Israel, where she still lives today. “A” was surprised when she received her draft notice since Arab citizens are automatically exempted from the military. But she is considered a Jew due to her mother’s conversion. Now, she says, she has become a part of army life and is enjoying the opportunity to be exposed to the world outside of her village. “I know both sides, the Jewish and the Arab,” she said. “And I understand both of them because both are a part of me.”Y
22 | February 2011 | www.israeltoday.co.il
C om pi l e d by Neta n e l D oron
onvinced that Iran has no intention of curtailing its nuclear arms program, the Israeli military has begun construction of a third battery of Arrow anti-ballistic missile interceptors near Tel Aviv. Designed to stop incoming missiles, the battery will contain Arrow 2 missiles and will function in combination with the Citron Tree fire-control center, which also operates the other batteries deployed throughout the country. Currently there are two batteries in operation, one in the south and one to the north of Tel Aviv near the city of Hadera. The Arrow is designed to bring down long-range missiles such as the Iranian-made Shihab and Sejil and the Russian-made Scud. These are the missiles most likely to be used by both Iran and Syria. The Israel Air Force (IAF), which operates the system, says this represents the third phase of a multilevel program established over five years ago, with additional levels planned for the future. “The new battery provides another layer of protection and gives the air force the ability to launch more than one interceptor at an incoming target,” said a senior IAF officer. In conjunction with Boeing, Israel Aerospace Industries is now developing the Arrow 3. This improved version is capable of intercepting missiles at a greater distance from Israel and at higher altitudes.Y
REMOTE CONTROL interceptors
Archaeology the Sea of Galilee. Migdal was a first-century fishing village believed to be the birthplace of the New Testament figure Mary Magdalene. The excavation uncovered the remains of study rooms with colorful frescoes and mosaic floors, and the stone was found at the center. Its five sides contain reliefs of oil lamps, rosettes, ivy wreaths, columns, arches with corn sheaves, two goblets, TOUCHSTONE: Did Jesus touch this stone? geometric symbols and, at the center, a seven-branched menorah (candelabrum) like the one that stood in the Temple. The presence of the stone in the Prime Minister’s Office serves as a reminder that in Temple times, as today, the menorah was the emblem of Israel and Jewish nationhood. It is likely that Jesus visited the synagogue in Migdal and may have taught there. If so, as He stood before the congregation reading from the scroll of the Torah, this very stone would have been at His feet! Y
ROMANCING the stone
2,000-Year-Old Stone for PM’s Office
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stone dating back to the Late Second Temple Period (200 BC-70 AD) will be placed in Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s office in Jerusalem. The stone, which was part of an ancient synagogue, was discovered during excavations at Migdal on the northwest shore of
Roman Bathhouse in Jerusalem
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2nd century AD Roman bathing pool has been uncovered in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City, during excavations conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority. The 1,800-year-old pool is believed to have been part of a bathhouse used by the Tenth Legion, the same Roman unit which destroyed the Temple. The find gives some indication of the scope of Aelia Capitolina, the city built by the Emperor Hadrian on the ruins of Jerusalem. The excavation was ordered by the Jerusalem City Council prior to the construction of a new men’s ritual bath (mikveh). “During the excavation we uncovered a number of plastered bathtubs,” said archaeologist Ofer Sion, the project’s director. “In the side of the pool there is a pipe used to fill it with water and on the floor there is a simple white mosaic pavement. The bathhouse tiles are marked with the symbols of the Tenth Legion of the Roman army: ‘Fretensis – LEG X FR’…The hundreds of terracotta roof tiles that were found on the floor of the pool indicate it was a covered structure.” “We know that the Tenth Legion’s camp was situated within the limits of what is the area of the Old City today, more exactly in the Armenian Quarter,” Ofer continued. “Probably the soldiers lived there after suppressing the Bar Kokhba Uprising in 135 CE, when the pagan city Aelia Capitolina was established.” The Antiquities Authority plans to incorporate the remains of the ancient FOOTPRINTS Roman bathhouse into the new mikveh to be built at the site. Y in the sand TAKE A BATH: The pool is 1,800 years old
C om pi l e d by Michael Schneider & Neta n e l D oron
www.israeltoday.co.il | February 2011 | 23
Culture
Weekend Festival in Jerusalem
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ake the Hebrew slang for the long Israeli weekend from Thursday through Saturday night— hamshush, and add the Hebrew name for Jerusalem—Yerushalayim, and you get Hamshushalayim. You also get three winter weekends of culture, food, and enSTREET FEAST: Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat (right)
DANCE to the music!
tertainment along with street theater, interactive night tours and free museum visits. The festival included an a cappella concert at the Scottish Church; Russian folk songs at the Tower of David; a Turkish music concert at the Museum of Islamic Art; and sacred music at the Convent of the Sisters of Zion. “It’s a lot of fun,” said Haim Gutin of the Tourism Ministry. “Hamshushalayim highlights the long-standing Israeli tradition of weekend entertainment and brings excitement to the winter season in Jerusalem.” Y
Israeli Comedy Wins Emmy
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he Israeli sitcom Ramzor has won an International Emmy Award for Best Comedy Series of 2010. Ramzor, which means “traffic light,” is about three male friends in their mid 30s in Tel Aviv. Each reflects a different type of lifestyle. Itzko (played by Lior Halfon) represents a red traffic light since he is married and the father of a seven-yearold daughter; Amir (played by creator Adir Miller) is the yellow light who lives with his girlfriend Tali and their dog; Hefer (played by Nir Levy), who is single, is the green light. Asked about the awards ceremony, Miller said, “I went up to the stage
FROM ‘TRAFFIC LIGHT’ to ‘Mixed Signals’
Israeli Band in Iran!
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he Israeli heavy metal band Orphaned Land has appeared on the cover of the popular Iranian rock music magazine Divan. The band continues to break records (pardon the pun) throughout the Middle East and has a wide fan base in the Arab world and Turkey. Its music is a mixture of different religions and cultures, fusing together Israeli and Arab traditional and contemporary melodies. “It’s a great accomplishment and I am still in shock,” said lead singer Kobi Farhi. “I am amazed again to see the power music has to break down walls and barriers that politicians put up.” Y trembling and gave a speech, and it felt like something out of a movie.” The show will air in the US on FOX beginning in February with American actors, under the title Mixed Signals. Y
24 | February 2010 | www.israeltoday.co.il
ORPHANED LAND breaks down cultural barriers
B e h i nd t h e S c e n e s
The Seal of the First Believers
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THE MESSIANIC SEAL
combines three t was the spring of 1994. I was It combines the Temple sacred passing through Mount Zion, menorah, representing the symbols outside the walls of Jerusalem’s Old Jews, with the Ichthys, the fish City. At that time there was an open sign of the early Christians; the two area of dense undergrowth to the east merge in the form of a Star of David, of the Dormition Abbey. While taking symbolizing the Davidic Messiah. a shortcut to Zion Gate, I noticed a In other words, the Jews and the cistern partly covered with a green Gentiles are unified in the Messiah iron grate. Peeking inside, I saw an Yeshua (Jesus). unusual symbol on the wall, overSince then a numgrown with moss. I climbed over the ber of originals have sharp iron rods, exposed the symbol come into my posand took some photos. session, including Not knowing what to make of my a stone of anointing find, I contacted a good friend, Bene(symbolizing the stone dictine monk Bargil Pixner, who was one on which Jesus’ body of the country’s leading archeologists on was prepared for burial), Jerusalem’s early Christian sites. When ceramic oil lamps and he saw the symbol he told me that it was jars, and the capital of a the one used by the first believers in Jecolumn dating to the 2nd rusalem. century AD.
Yossi, many South American countries have recognized a Palestinian state, and Europe and Asia will be next.
Hmm…Nation after nation lining up to create a new state in Palestine—don’t count on it…On second thought, what does this reminds me of?
In 1999 we published the symbol in israel today, which brought an unexpected avalanche of response. Experts have written articles on the subject while people we do not know have been spreading it all over the world. Wherever I go, I see it. It appears on T-shirts, perfume bottles, silver lockets, gold and diamond pins, watches, ties, refrigerator magnets, and recently even on tallitot (Jewish prayer shawls) and mezuzahs (a tube placed on doorposts containing Deuteronomy 6:4-9). Sometimes, I catch myself thinking that I should have applied for a copyright. But that would be misappropriating third-party property, for in the end this symbol belongs to the first Messianic Jews and the early Church. Y By Ludwig Schneider SEALED PRAYER shawl Available at www.jerusalemdepot.com
Then we will go to the UN, then to the US, until all the nations help us establish our state.
Oh yes, 1948!
Purim Holidays March 20-21 The wonderful occasion known as Purim commemorates the deliverance of the Jews in Persia from the evil royal advisor Haman about 2,500 years ago. Purim is a festival for Jewish families. Children dress up in costumes, food baskets are given to friends and there are many charity events. It is a time of merrymaking over the bravery of Queen Esther and the survival of the Jewish people! israel today invites you to participate in giving Purim Treats to needy Israeli youth. In your name israel today will go to schools and organizations that serve the needs of children to deliver your Purim Treat. Please join us in the JOY OF GIVING a Purim Treat to the needy children of Israel.
Pu r im con Trea tai Noi ns: t se P Lo ar
Tha 1-866-854-1684 - US & Canada 00-800-60-70-70-60 - UK & Norway
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tourism
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Barcelona in Tel Aviv
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replica of Barcelona’s famous Las Ramblas Boulevard boardwalk, considered one of the most beautiful in the world, will be constructed on the Tel Aviv beachfront. Running 1,800 meters (a little over a mile), it is packed with tourists, restaurants and markets. The Tel Aviv version will pass over the shoreline and into the sea. Visitors will be able to enjoy shopping, entertainment and sidewalk cafés right on the Mediterranean. “The breakwater built way back when in the 1970s, across from the Tel Aviv Marina, will become a new boardwalk,” said Itamar Shimoni, CEO of the Atarim construction company that is jointly owned by the Tourism Ministry and the Tel Aviv Municipality. “The entire marina area will get a facelift to bring it up to international standards.” Y
ON THE BOARDWALK: A popular European attraction will have a counterpart in Israel
From 3 Million to 4 Million Let u s go to the house of Our feet are standing in the Lord. O Jerusalem (Psalm 122:1, 2) the gates, 8, Ha Hoshen St., Mevasseret Zion 90805 | Tel: 972-2-533 8000 Fax: 972-2-579 02 03 sarel@sareltours.com | www.sareltours.com
‘The Messiah Comes to Israel’ by Gerald Rowlands is a hit! “This is a book that should be read by all,” says David Wright, an elder in Congregation Adonai Roi in Tel Aviv and soon-to-be pastor of Messianic Congregation Yeshua HaMaschiach in Mesa, Arizona. Order your postage paid book today at: ht t p : / / w w w. b o o kd e p o s i to r y. co. u k / book/9788889127995/The-Messiah-Comes-to-Israel
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fter setting a record last year with 3.4 million tourists, 700,000 more than in 2009, Israel has set a new goal for 2011: 4 million tourists. In 2010, the 3 millionth tourist arrived on November 22nd. It was Pastor Ribamar Araujo Ladislau of Sao Paulo Brazil (center), who led a group of 120 Evangelical Christians. He was greeted by Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov (right). “It is symbolic that the three millionth tourist arrived from Brazil, a country that we opened tourism ties with only two years ago,” said Misezhnikov. “It represents the achievements that can be accomplished when the government and private enterprise join hands.” Y THE 3 MILLIONTH TOURIST was an Evangelical Christian
Nature
Haifa Tunnel Eases Traffic
TIME TUNNEL The tunnel will save commuters many long hours on the roads
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srael’s longest underground passageway, the Carmel Tunnel, has opened in the northern port city of Haifa. Creating a new traffic route that crisscrosses the city, a drive that used to take as much as 50 minutes is now reduced to just 6 minutes. The 6-kilometer (3.5-mile) route operates as a toll road, connecting Haifa’s eastern and western exits. To get from one side of the city to the other, it is no longer necessary to
pass through the congested downtown area or to traverse the Carmel Mountain itself. This is a boon for commuters since traffic in downtown Haifa can slow to a snail’s pace during rush hour. The tunnel provides a quick route to eastern, central and western parts of the city, Haifa Bay and the suburbs. The Ruppin interchange near Haifa’s Grand Canyon shopping mall divides the tunnel into several sections. Construction of the tunnel lasted three years at a cost of 1.2 billion shekels ($336 million). Approximately 50,000 vehicles pass through the tunnel each day. The one-way toll is 5.70 shekels (about $1.60). Building a tunnel avoids the severe environmental damage that would have been caused by an overland road. As part of the project to rehabilitate the landscape, soil has been returned to the slopes surrounding the interchange and will eventually be planted with a sea of white lilies, a native flower. “We tried to preserve the character of the cliffs and crags in the region as much as possible,” said landscape architect Margalit Suchoy. In 10 years, a forest will surround the interchange. “We will give it the first push by planting and watering,” said agronomist Hanoch Berger, “and nature will do the rest.” Y
Underground tunnel passage At Tirat HaCarmel
Checkpost
THE TOLL ROAD is worth the price
Get Rid of Pests without Pesticide
DON’T BUG me!
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he Mediterranean fruit fly is a menace to citrus growers in the Negev in southern Israel, but steps are being taken to get rid of it without the use of chemicals. Farmers have been releasing sterile male fruit flies into the region which mate with females but produce no offspring, thus preventing further generations of the pests.
The environmentally-friendly sterile males are the product of Bio-Fly, a company committed to the reduction of chemical pesticides in agriculture. The company is located at Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu, an Orthodox farming community in the Beit She’an Valley near the Sea of Galilee. The effort is part of a joint project of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Citrus Growers Association and Bio-Fly. It is aimed at encouraging farmers to replace pest-control substances with this new method known as Sterile Insect Technique, in which the sterile male flies compete with their wild counterparts. “A large percentage of the females mate with them, producing eggs that are infertile, leading to a gradual reduction of
28 | February 2011 | www.israeltoday.co.il
CLEAN science
the pest population,” said project director, Gal Yaakobi. Studies have shown that customers prefer this “green” approach since it leaves the fruit fresher and free of insecticides. There is a cost involved however, so the Agriculture Ministry is subsidizing research and development. “In time, this technique will succeed and the price will fall significantly,” Yaakobi said. “And then the subsidies can be abolished.” Y
Economy
OECD Head Visits Israel ECONOMICS AND POLITICS: Gurría (center) meets the Cabinet
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osé Ángel Gurría, secretary-general of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), visited Jerusalem to welcome Israel as the group’s 33rd member. The OECD represents the world’s most advanced economic nations, so Israel’s acceptance shows how far this small country has come as a financial power.
Clean-Tech Investment
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nvestments in clean technology worldwide were up 28 percent in 2010 over the previous year, totaling $7.8 billion. While most of this investment was in California, the largest deal—$350 million—involves the Israeli electric car infrastructure company Better Place. Better Place provides urban infrastructure for electric cars including battery charging and switching stations. Founded by Israeli-American entrepreneur Shai Agassi, the company has set up pilot projects in such diverse locations as Japan, Hawaii and San Francisco. Better Place is also deploying a network of charging stations for electric cars across Israel, to be in place later this year. Agassi says that Israel’s small size and dense population, along with the support of the Israeli government, makes it an ideal testing ground for the electric-car infrastructure of the future. He predicts that by 2015 about half of Israel’s cars will be electric. At a business conference in Tel Aviv, about 1,000 companies from around the world came to study Better Place’s product. “When China comes to Israel to learn about electric cars,” Agassi said, “then something amazing is happening in Israel.” Y C om pi l e d by Ba r ry Ro s e n f e l d
Gurría was welcomed at the weekly Cabinet meeting by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “Our acceptance to the OECD was a product of many difficult reforms in Israel carried out over the years,” Netanyahu said. Gurría gave high praise to Israel’s economy, saying its achievements are outpacing those of other OECD members. “You are growing faster,” he said. “You have a lower deficit; you have a lower unemployment [and] lower accumulated debt.” Y
WELCOME TO THE CLUB: Gurría with President Shimon Peres
Israeli Solar Energy in California BrightSource, an Israeli solar energy company, has begun construction of its Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System in California. Three utility-scale solar thermal units will generate 400 MW of electricity. That is enough power for 140,000 homes, nearly double the amount of solar energy being produced in the US today. The project, located in the Mojave Desert, uses “Power Tower Technology,” employing mirrors on poles built around the natural contours of the land. The design is eco-friendly, allowing vegetation to coexist within the solar field. Y SOLAR FIELDS: Israel is exporting one of its few natural resources—the sun
Congratulations! Karen Sommerfeld-Forge of San Marcos, California, is the winner of israel today’s 2010 Free Trip to Jerusalem! “I was thrilled to hear the news because I had forgotten about entering my name for this trip,” she said. “I am literally blown away by God’s goodness and the generosity of israel today.” Karen will be accompanied to Jerusalem by her husband—because the trip is for TWO!
In B r i e f
tid bits
DIPLOMATIC GYMNASTICS in Denmark
44 CANDLES: The catastrophic Carmel Forest fire in December claimed 44 lives, which coincides with the 44 candles that are lit during the eight days of Hanukkah. The fire broke out on the second day of the lighting of the holiday candles. ‘ALIYAH’ IS UP! Immigration (aliyah) rose 16 percent in 2010. The Ministry of Immigration reported that last year, 19,130 new immigrants found a home in Israel. This compares with 16,465 in 2009 and 15,452 in 2008. In 2010, some 40 percent of immigrants came from the Former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and Germany, while 20 percent came from North America.
Proposal on a Nano Chip
Names and Numbers
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ccording to the Central Bureau of Statistics, the most popular name in Israel for boys is Noam, and for girls Noa. With regard to population: 2,469,000 Israelis are under 17 years old, or about one third of the country’s populace. Of these, 1,179,000 are Jewish. In Jerusalem, 40 percent of the population is 17 years of age or younger. In Tel Aviv and Haifa, only 20 percent fall into this category. Regarding finances, the average family with two or more children spends about 15,000 shekels ($4,200) a month. This is 34 percent higher than households without children. Y
Anti-Semitism on Belgian TV
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sraeli tech student Elad Dekel has found a unique way to make it into the Guinness Book of Records. He proposed marriage using the smallest means ever, printing it on a gold-coated chip, one-ten thousandth of a centimeter thick. The nano chip includes the proposal and a photo of the couple. Dekel is a student at the Technion, the Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa. When girlfriend Chen came to visit him at the university, he sat her down at a microscope and let her read the chip, which said, “Chen, will you marry me? Elad.” Y MARRIAGE under the microscope
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he popular Belgian quiz show de Pappenheimer featured a controversial contestant: Flemish politician Jan Peumans, who is known for his anti-Semitic remarks and for his family’s former ties to the Nazis. The question was, “What was the French philosopher Voltaire’s opinion regarding which nation was the most disgusting on the face of the earth?” Peumans answered, “The Turks!” causing the audience to break out in laughter since the obvious answer was “the Jews.” “The Jews are so sensitive, it would have been better to ‘liquidate’ this question,” Peumans said. The show’s host joked that it is dangerous to connect Jews with the expression “to liquidate.” Israel’s ambassador to Belgium, Tamar Sam-Esh, said that this is “further evidence of the banality with which anti-Semitism is treated in Belgium.” About 50,000 Jews live in Belgium, 20,000 of them in Antwerp. Jokes about Jews and the Holocaust are accepted and tolerated in Belgium, both in public and in the media. Y
What a Flip
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srael’s Deputy Ambassador to Denmark Dan Oryan has found a unique way to represent Israel. On YouTube, the diplomat performs all kinds of gymnastics, including leaps, splits, and flips, while fully dressed in suit and tie. The Danes, who are more accustomed to seeing Israeli diplomats debating the Mideast conflict, find it very amusing. Oryan also writes children’s books and has published one in Danish.
ARAB BEAUTY QUEEN: 17-year-old Niveen Khayo of Jaffa was chosen as the most beautiful Arab woman in Israel.
Submariners and Survivors
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mong the hundreds of guests attending the graduation of the prestigious IDF Submarine Divers’ Course were 10 Holocaust survivors, residents of Haifa. They had participated in a project of the Haifa-based organization Amcha, “one of your people,” the code word that helped survivors identify fellow Jews in warravaged Europe. The 10 survivors held meetings with the cadets, documenting their experiences in the ghettos and death camps. The Divers’ Corps decided that in addition to submarine training, the cadets would work with the survivors to record
their memories. Ten cadets were paired with 10 survivors. “We have been through a tough course,” said one cadet, “but hearing what the survivors went through, we realize it was nothing in comparison.” The cadets trained by day, and at night they met with the survivors. The results have been mutually rewarding. “They are our new grandchildren,” said Sarah Meirovitz, 70, a Holocaust survivor from Romania. Referring to ‘her’ cadet, she declared: “I’m so proud to be seeing him graduate the course. He heard about my story and was very touched.” Y
MONKEY BUSINESS: Israeli and Swiss gorillas strengthen bilateral ties
Gorillas to Africa
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here is a saying, “Like carrying coals to Newcastle.” Well, what about carrying gorillas to Africa? South Africa that is, and sabra (native-born Israeli) gorillas. In a joint project with his Swiss counterpart, Israel’s Ambassador to South Africa Dov
Web Addresses Now in Hebrew
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ebsite addresses can now use Hebrew letters; anyone can register a website in Hebrew using the .il ending. The Israel Internet Association (ISOC-IL) hopes this will make it easier for users who have difficulty with Latin letters, especially immigrants from the former Soviet Union. In the past, Hebrew character addresses were only available to government offices and some organizations. Y
Segev-Steinberg arranged for two gorillas born at the Ramat Gan Safari near Tel Aviv, together with two from the Zurich Zoo, to be flown to the South African National Zoo in the capital, Pretoria. The Israeli gorillas were facing extinction until the European Endangered Species Program stepped in to assure their survival. In their new home, true to their Israeli character, the sabra gorillas are described as being very outgoing and showing chutzpah, while their Swiss counterparts are more reserved. The zookeepers are even studying Hebrew; after all, one should speak to gorillas in a language they understand. Y Compiled by Michael Schneider HUMAN BUSINESS Israeli and Swiss ambassadors at the zoo
www.israeltoday.co.il | January 2011 | 31
A big ‘Thank you’ to israel today readers israel today has distributed the many donated food packages to Ethiopian immigrants. The joy of the needy is great. It can be seen on their faces! You can continue to help by donating to Israel’s most needy during these long winter months.
For only $15 you can be a blessing to an Ethiopian family!
The food package includes: - 2.5 lbs. red lentils - 2.5 lbs. flour - 2 large cans corn - 1.5 lbs. pasta
Order code: KOI015 Price: $15
www.jerusalemdepot.com 1-866-854-1684 - US & Canada 00-800-60-70-70-60 - UK & Norway P.O. Box 7555, Jerusalem, 91074 ISRAEL orders@israeltoday.co.il