M E N O R A H

Lion's Den: Netanyahu's quiet success

Almost unnoticed, Binyamin Netanyahu won a major victory last week when Barack Obama backed down on a signature policy initiative. This about-face suggests that US-Israel relations are no longer headed for the disaster I have been fearing.

Four months ago, the new US administration unveiled a policy that suddenly placed great emphasis on stopping the growth in Israeli "settlements." (A term I dislike but use here for brevity's sake.)

Surprisingly, American officials intended to stop not just residential building for Israelis in the West Bank but even in eastern Jerusalem, a territory legally part of Israel for nearly 30 years. More

Withdrawals in the future would not be carried out at the "whim" of an American administration

MK Danny Danon (Likud) said Tuesday he would have the interim report on the state of Gush Katif evacuees translated and sent to Washington, to put out the message that Israel had learned the lessons of 2005's disengagement.

"They need to understand that this is what Israel did on the basis of the Bush letter - we turned our own citizens into refugees. And now the Obama administration says that that act has no weight. So why should we consider another evacuation, in light of the costs described in the report, if the next administration down the line can decide that it too has no significance?" Danon asked. More

The Feast of Tabernacles begins Friday evening at Sun down

The Feast of Tabernacles is a week-long autumn harvest festival. Tabernacles is also known as the Feast of the Ingathering, Feast of the Booths, Sukkoth, Succoth, or Sukkot (variations in spellings occur because these words are transliterations of the Hebrew word pronounced “Sue-coat”). The two days following the festival are separate holidays, Shemini Atzeret and Simkhat Torah, but are commonly thought of as part of the Feast of Tabernacles. More

The UN Blood Libel

The Goldstone mission will go down in history as the 21st century’s equivalent to the Protocols of the Elders of Zion – a notorious work of fiction which spun a conspiratorial web of deceit and distortion that has fueled hatred of Jews ever since.

At its core, the Goldstone report repeats the ancient blood libel against the Jewish people – the allegation of bloodthirsty Jews intent on butchering the innocent. Or as the Goldstone mission casts this abomination for a modern audience: Israel “deliberately…terrorize[d] a civilian population;” Israeli “violence against civilians w[as] part of a deliberate policy.” (paras. 1211, 1690) More

Jewish Brain Power Fuels Israeli Technology

HERZLIYA, Israel - Israel may be one of the smallest countries in the world, but it is a global leader in technology. A ground breaking new book explains why and points out the implications for the United States.

Just north of Tel Aviv in Herzilya is an area that some people call Israel's Silicon Valley. Israel's technology has become an economic powerhouse. A 2008 survey showed that Israel ranks second only to the U.S. in six key areas of technological innovation. More

APOCALYPTIC STORM FORMING OVER MIDDLE EAST

Joel Rosenberg set to address 10,000 at Liberty University on Wednesday. Events are moving so quickly in the epicenter it can be difficult to keep track of, much less understand the big picture. So here it is in a sentence: An apocalpytic storm is forming over the Middle East.

Consider the data points: More

Architects choose Israel's most beautiful synagogues

After last year's festive project, in which we presented special temples in Israel selected by leading architects, this year we bring you the 10 prettiest synagogues recommended by our readers ahead of Yom Kippur. More

Obama Leads International Effort to Divide Jerusalem

Speech to American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) June 4, 2008. Barack Obama told AIPAC members in June that Jerusalem should remain the capital of Israel and must remain undivided:

But, that was just a campaign speech. He needed the Jewish vote. Now President Obama is leading the charge to divide Jerusalem. More

Israel Daylight saving time draws to end

Daylight saving time will be drawing to an end for this year early on Sunday. At 2 am, clocks will be moved back one hour, making it 1 am and giving us all an extra hour's sleep. This also means that the sun will set as early as 5 pm as of Sunday.

 

“ISLAM ON CAPITOL HILL” EVENT ATTRACTS FAR LESS THAN EXPECTED: Evangelical Christians use opportunity to share gospel with thousands of Muslims

Islamic leaders predicted 50,000 Muslims would arrive on Capitol Hill today to provide a show of Islamic solidarity. It didn’t quite turn out that way.

Less than 3,000 Muslims showed up, according to the Washington Post and other eyewitnesses. And those who did got more than they had bargained for. The followers of Muhammad came for a day of prayer and Islamic sermons, which they got. But they also found dozens of followers of Jesus Christ — some of them evangelicals from from Arab countries — eager to share the gospel with them and pray for them to find the love and forgiveness found in the Bible. More