In the early hours of Monday morning, Jihadist terrorists attacked an Egyptian army base in the Sinai Desert, killed some of the soldiers and made off with two armored vehicles. They then made their way to the Israeli border. As they attempted to cross and carry out a major terrorist attack, the IDF responded … Read more
Yesterday was a fast day, the 17th of the Hebrew month of Tammuz, which ushers in a 3-week mourning period for the first and second temples, thousands of years ago. Our sages have long laid the blame for the destruction of the Second Temple and the subsequent exile from the land, in the first and … Read more
The major story in Israel today is one that affects the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria directly. It is the story of the Ulpana neighborhood in Bet El, a relatively large community in the Benjamin region of Samaria. Many years ago, the community of Bet El purchased land adjacent to the community from a … Read more
What a topsy-turvy week this has been for Israeli politics. Just a few days ago, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu made it clear that he was moving towards early elections, and initiated legislation in the Knesset to send Israel to the polls the first week of September. Then just this morning, Netanyahu announced a new unity coalition … Read more
Today is the day after Passover and everything goes back to normal. Last night we were up late washing and drying dishes, putting away the Passover dishes and taking out the regular dishes, stripping the beds from the company that stayed with us for the holiday, and starting on the mounds of laundry that always … Read more
Prime Minister Netanyahu just completed a very important visit to the US. He addressed AIPAC, the important pro-Israel lobby organization, and met with President Obama. Commentators have seen Obama’s speech at AIPAC as very pro-Israel, although some have questioned whether that was a function of pre-election strategy. But the overriding issue of this visit was … Read more
These past few weeks have included a number of significant events, seemingly unrelated, and yet all bear watching for their inevitable affect on current affairs in Israel. In early September, Mahmoud Abbas began the process of obtaining UN recognition for a Palestinian State. Just a few days ago, UNESCO voted to accept “Palestine” as a … Read more
Today the four women who make up CFOIC Heartland’s Israel office went on an outing, to recharge our batteries and learn something new about our wonderful land of Israel. We chose the Palmach Museum in Tel Aviv which tells the story of the pre-State underground group which did so much to protect the Jews in … Read more
Just two days ago, on Saturday, Jews all over the world marked the holiest day of the year, Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. I wanted to share some thoughts with you that were part of my Yom Kippur experience this year. The fast began just before 5 pm on Friday. Clothed in white, our … Read more
Tomorrow is Tu B’Shvat, the annual holiday of trees. Although this day was well known in Jewish sources for centuries, since the beginning of the 20th century, when Jews began returning to the Land of Israel in large numbers, this day took on greater significance. The early Zionist pioneers found a desolate land, with a … Read more