Dispatch from Jerusalem

Next Lebanon War Will Be Different

{image_1}Israel Defense Forces [IDF] officials painted a bleak picture of a future conflict between Israel and Lebanon, saying that it will probably entail a massive response by the IDF, including the deployment of ground forces. On the eve of the sixth anniversary of the Second Lebanon War, IDF officials expressed grave concern over the future of the relative calm noted on the Lebanese border [to date].

Nuts about Nut and Fruit Cake

{image_1}Dried fruits and nuts are standard fare on the Middle Eastern table and have been for millennia. Figs, dates, and apricots were delicious, nutritious staples in the ancient Israeli diet, and drying them insured they could be eaten year-round. Today, many a holiday menu is augmented with colorful dishes of these tasty delights, and generations of Israeli cooks have come up with literally hundreds of creative ways to use them in main dishes, salads and desserts.

Lighting Up Jerusalem

{image_1}Crowds descended on Jerusalem’s Old City for the third annual eight-day Festival of Light in June. This year, the festival was even larger than previous years and included ten international artists who displayed their best artistic work in the field. Light was used to create statues, live performances, and truly elaborate artwork. Standing just outside the Jaffa Gate was a massive cupola. The 82-foot-high (25-meter) domed structure by Italy’s Luminarie De Cagna was magical, as 63,000 electric candles came alive with tiny points of colored light.

Netanyahu Forms Huge Coalition

{image_1}Israelis woke up on the morning of May 8th to find that during the night a deal had been struck between Prime Minister Netanyahu's Likud party and Shaul Mofaz's Kadima block in the Knesset [Israeli Parliament]. It means that the new coalition has a guaranteed 94 seats in the Knesset's 120-seat forum. The nation was shocked and conversation was dominated by political analysis.

Majority of Israeli Arabs Prefer Israel

{image_1}The vast majority of Israeli Arabs are reconciled to the existence of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state and even exhibit a degree of patriotism, according to a poll released in June. The survey by Haifa University found that nearly seven in ten (68.3%) preferred to live in Israel than anywhere else, even a future Palestinian state. It found that 57.7% are reconciled to Israel as a Jewish democratic state whose day of rest is the Sabbath on Saturday and Hebrew is the main language.

African Wild Ass Born in Israel

{image_1}Once again the Ramat Gan Safari Park has participated in the preservation of one of the world's most endangered species. The African wild ass is found in the wild only in Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and the immediate region. It is thought that there are only about 570 individual animals in the wild all together. There is no present danger of extinction, but the wild species is listed as critically endangered. Early in June, a female wild ass, with its distinctive leg markings, was born at the Ramat Gan Safari Park near Tel Aviv.

On Jerusalem Day

On Jerusalem Day

{image_1}To a Knesset [Parliament] plenum on May 20: “We need to stop for one day every year and realize that we are witnessing and experiencing the fulfillment of a prophecy, the yearning for Zion, the return to Zion and the revival of Zion.” Referring to Theodor Herzl, the father of modern Zionism and the visionary of the State: “He foresaw the problem and the solution, but he didn’t give up on Zion. He raised his right hand and said—‘If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand wither.’ Today we are raising our hand with the same oath. We are taking an oath for a built-up Jerusalem, the eternal capital of Israel.”

Christian Exodus from the Holy Land

Is Israel the oppressor or protector?

{image_1}Throughout their history, regardless of where they have lived, the Jewish people have been blamed for everything from the plague to the high cost of automobile insurance. They have been accused of poisoning wells, intentionally spreading the HIV virus, killing Christian children to use their blood to make Passover matzah (unleavened bread), and attempting to take over the world through their alleged control of its finances. No matter how ludicrous some of these may sound, there have always been anti-Semites at hand ready to believe the current rhetoric and incite the local populations to hatred, violence, and even murder.

The Geography of Israel

{image_1}Have you ever wondered why God asked Abraham to move? Why couldn’t he have served God in Ur? Moving his household was a major event. Remember, they didn’t have moving trucks, so moving took weeks, maybe months. There is a very good answer, and it has to do with geography.

IDF Celebrates 64 Years of Defending the State of Israel

{image_1}Facts about the Israel Defense Forces [IDF] you have never heard before:

—When the IDF was formed on May 26, 1948, its structure was based on that of its predecessor, the Haganah.