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News from the Land

A Comment on the Recent Knesset Fiasco

I stayed up past midnight to watch the Knesset vote to disband itself.  And the entire time I could not believe what I was seeing.  I could not understand how it was that leaders of this country would go to elections, for the second time in less than a year, with the enormous expense to the taxpayer, and not find a way to avoid it.  What became inordinately clear is that too many politicians care more about their seats than they do about their country.

As we Remember All Those We Lost

There are two different kinds of sirens in Israel.  An urgent rising and falling sound warns of an attack and is the signal to flee to the nearest bomb shelter or safe room.  A mournful steady sound is for remembrance. 

When Missiles Land Too Close for Comfort

Imagine being woken up at 5 in the morning by a wailing and threatening siren whose menacing tone rises and falls with the known signal of impending attack. It is the same sort of feeling that is experienced by families living near Gaza — those families have been experiencing sirens like this for years.

A Friendship Based on Respect

Kim Sondra Shmuel

We are all children of an Awesome G-d Who has enabled us to witness the fulfillment of prophecy in our own lifetimes.  We have seen the restoration of the Jewish people after the Holocaust and the establishment of the State of Israel in fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. G-d is orchestrating the final redemption and we have been invited to take part.  Let’s let Him run the show and we will all be blessed in the process.

A Different Sort of Politician

Yehuda Glick meets CFOIC tour group

Rabbi Yehuda Glick is a special man indeed.  I have not known him long — just a few years actually.  But as our paths have crossed more and more in recent years, I have come to appreciate him as a very special person and a unique advocate for the Jewish people.

The Day After Netanyahu

Just two months ago, I wrote about elections that took place in the US and in Israel — national elections in the US and municipal elections in Israel.  And now Israel has entered its own national elections season.  But in Israel, there is always drama surrounding elections.

The Meaning of Chanukah – Then and Now

As I write this newsletter, we have just learned that the IDF has launched a military campaign to identify and destroy a series of tunnels along Israel’s northern border that have been dug by Hezbollah to enable them to invade Israel and wreak terror and destruction.  We must constantly be vigilant against ongoing threats to our lives and our very existence as a nation. 

Voting For Israel and in Israel

As Republicans battle Democrats for control of the Legislative Branch, Israel is looking at these elections as well.  It is no secret that Trump has been unusually supportive of Israel in these past two years and that his natural tendency is pro-Israel.  Republican representatives and senators have also usually been pro-Israel although there have also been some outstanding pro-Israel Democratic legislators as well.  We cannot begin to comment nor understand the ins and outs of domestic issues in these American elections, but I can turn to you, our American friends, and ask that you consider Israel when casting your vote today.

Celebrating the Covenant of Abraham

Feast Tour Sondra Baras Sukkah

But beyond the joy that we all feel in the birth of a new baby, the Brit itself has such a special significance to us as individuals and as a people.  Some 4,000 years ago, an old man named Abraham heard the call from  G-d to leave his home and go forward to the Land of Israel.  Some years after his arrival in the land, G-d commanded him to circumcise himself as an act of covenant between him and G-d, an act of covenant that would be repeated by his descendants forever.  At the original covenant with Abraham, G-d changed Abraham’s name from Abram to Abraham.

Yom Kippur

On Tuesday night and Wednesday, we will be observing Yom Kippur, otherwise known as the Day of Atonement, the holiest day of the year. It is a time when Jews all over the world spend the day in fasting and prayer.