Dispatch from Jerusalem

Adding Insulin to Baby Formula

{image_1}In the first 24 hours of life, a nursing baby gets a big zing of power from its mother’s milk, especially insulin. “Insulin is 100 times more concentrated in the first milk a mother gives her baby than in the blood,” says Professor Naim Shehadeh, head of the Pediatric Diabetes Clinic at the Rambam Medical Center and on the faculty of the Technion Institute Medical School.

MK Elon’s Palestinian Solution

{image_1}Israeli Knesset (Parliament) Member Benny Elon has a new way of approaching the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, and his plan has received international endorsement from US Senator Sam Brownback, a Republi-can presidential hopeful from Kansas. Elon’s “Israeli Initiative” would provide humanitarian aid for the Palestinian refugees, as well as Jordanian citi-zenship for Palestinians in the West Bank (Judea and Samaria). This would eliminate the political solution of a Palestinian state and would place the West Bank under Israeli sovereignty.

Second Temple Quarry Uncovered

{image_1}A large 1.23-acre quarry has been discovered in Ramat Shlomo, a north Jerusalem neighborhood. The Israel Antiquities Authority believes that stones from the quarry were used in the construction of the Second Temple. The stones reach up to 26 feet (7.9 meters) in length and are consistent with stones found in the bottom layers of the walls surrounding the Temple Mount, known to be placed there by King Herod. Several clay objects, tools, and coins found at the site confirm that it was in use during the first century AD, when the new Temple complex was still being built.

Gold in the Negev?

{image_1}Geological explorations conducted in deserted mountainous areas north of Israel’s southernmost city of Eilat have shown high concentrations of gold—0.14 ounce [4 grams] per ton of earth. The find could attract investors to open a gold mine there. The explorations were conducted by KiTov Resources, a company owned by Jewish Australian businessman Abraham Rod Salfinger.

Vladimir Putin—A Czar in the Making!

{image_1}By the time author Joel C. Rosenberg published his nonfiction book Epicenter, his earlier fictional works had already caused a stir. Though Rosenberg has never claimed to be a prophet, he wrote about a kamikaze-type attack on the United States, war with Saddam Hussein, and the death of Yasser Arafat before any of them happened. Their ultimate fulfillment attracted the attention of the major US TV and news networks, which suggested that he had “inside information.” He also wrote about a nuclear threat against Israel.

Beehives at Tel Rehov

{image_1}A recent discovery at Tel Rehov near Beit Shean in the Jordan Valley shows that as far back as biblical times, Israel really was a “land of milk and honey.” Archaeologists from Hebrew University found three rows of beehives totalling more than 30 hives, all dating back to the 10th–9th centuries BC, the time of the biblical kingdoms of Israel and Judah. The hives are made of baked clay and straw and are about 15.75 inches (40 centimeters) in diameter. Remains of several bees, as well as pollen and beeswax, were found inside the hives and are being examined by experts.

“I Am Deeply Worried”

“There are thousands of people across this planet who get up every morning actively seeking to destroy the United States. They are spreading their poison by sermons, by the Internet, by a variety of recruiting devices. Tony Blair said it very well. The people who did the London subway bombings spoke English, were British citizens, lived in British housing and had jobs, and had decided, because of their relationships, that they were engaged in a war against the very country which had given them prosperity, freedom, and safety.”

—Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Israel/Middle East Friday Watch Fire, August 31, 2007

Temple Mount Drama

{image_1}In the September/October issue of the Dispatch, we briefly covered this issue on our Archaeology page. Since then, we have interviewed two archaeologists, who gave us more detailed information. The extent of the damage far exceeds what we previously understood.

Bar Mitzvah: A Boy’s Aliyah

{image_1}We non-Jews understand that the word aliyah (ah-lee-AH), literally “going up,” is used when a Jewish person immigrates to Israel, but it is also used in a Shabbat (Sabbath) service when a Jewish man is called “up” (uh-LEE-uh) to read from the Torah (Gen.–Deut.). This is one of the privileges a 13-year-old boy assumes at his bar mitzvah when he becomes a man and is deemed old enough to be held accountable for his actions. Hopefully, there is a spiritual aspect to his aliyah, as he “ascends” to a new plane in his personal relationship with God.

Bar Mitzvah: A Boy’s Aliyah

{image_1}We non-Jews understand that the word aliyah (ah-lee-AH), literally “going up,” is used when a Jewish person immigrates to Israel, but it is also used in a Shabbat (Sabbath) service when a Jewish man is called “up” (uh-LEE-uh) to read from the Torah (Gen.–Deut.). This is one of the privileges a 13-year-old boy assumes at his bar mitzvah when he becomes a man and is deemed old enough to be held accountable for his actions. Hopefully, there is a spiritual aspect to his aliyah, as he “ascends” to a new plane in his personal relationship with God.