Monday, October 06, 2014
Forget the past, says Arab refugee's son
It's been billed "The best speech an Israeli diplomat ever gave.""The best speech an Israeli diplomat ever held" George Deek in Oslo
Whatever its merits, what makes this 30-minute speech unusual is the giver: A Christian Arab-Israeli from Jaffa. George Deek is an Israeli diplomat posted in the prickly, if not downright hostile environment of Norway. Thankfully, the country still retains pockets of sympathy to Israel, such as the organisation MIFF, which hosted Deek's talk.
Deek's father was a Palestinian refugee in 1948 and his family are scattered all over the Arab world and the West. They responded to calls to flee Israel because of Arab warnings that the Jews would perpetrate a new Deir Yassin massacre. Deek sets his personal story in its context - the creation of millions of refugees as a result of 20th century conflicts. He is careful to mention the 850, 000 Jews forced out of Arab lands, most of whom were resettled in Israel.
Deek's speech is a call for Palestinian refugees to stop harping on about past grievances and rebuild their lives. He asks for a humanitarian solution to their plight rather than the solution favoured by Arab states who have forged out of the misery of Palestinian refugees a political weapon against Israel.
Russell Tribunal on Palestine is Just as Wrong as Russell Was in 1938
We live in strange times when it is becoming fashionable to criticize the Nuremberg Trials as unfair “victors’ justice” for condemning Hitler’s surviving high command. And now there is the Russell “people’s tribunal” dedicated to disarming Israel so that Hitler’s posthumous allied murderers can finish his work.Massive blast reported at suspected Iranian nuke facility
There is some historic symmetry here. Bertrand Russell is remembered as a human rights icon who campaigned for nuclear disarmament and was an early critic of the Vietnam War. What many have chosen to forget however, was a letter he wrote back in 1938, wherein he saw no reason to go to war with Hitler. A better idea would be to invite him to dinner! (The letter is now part of the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s archives)
“If the Germans succeed in sending an invading army to England we should do best to treat them as visitors, give them quarters and invite the commander and chief to dine with the prime minister,” Russell wrote to British critic Godfrey Carter.
“We may win or we may lose,” Russell added, referring to the looming conflict with Nazi Germany.”If we lose obviously no good has been done. If we win we shall inevitably during the struggle acquire their bad qualities and the world at the end will be no better off than if we had lost.”
Russell later changed his tune, but in 1938, one of the great “moral” voices of his day was dead wrong about evil when it counted and the “eminent” members of the “people’s court” who invoke his name today are dead wrong about Israel and Hamas.
Two people were killed in an explosion at a defense ministry plant east of Tehran for the production of explosives, Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported Monday.
The Defense Industries Organisation, quoted by IRNA, said the fire broke out at the plant on Sunday night but it gave no further details.
The BBC, citing a report from the semi-official Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA), reported on Monday that the incident happened in an “explosive materials production unit” at the site south-east of the capital Tehran.
According to ISNA the blast was so powerful it shattered windows up to 12 kilometers away and the glare from the explosion lit up the night sky.
Several arms facilities and military bases are located east of the Iranian capital, including Parchin. UN nuclear inspectors have been seeking to visit the site to answer concerns about Iran’s atomic program.
Review: Thirteen Days in September by Lawrence Wright
Finally accepting a deal built upon careful wordplay and a few fundamental compromises, Sadat got the Sinai, and Begin received a durable peace. At the signing ceremony, Begin remarked that the deal was “the greatest document in Jewish history”.Rutgers Univ. Paper Publishes Pro-Hamas Article
Even then, the storm clouds of extremism were gathering. As Wright notes, many of Sadat’s delegation refused to attend, fearing their presence would make them terrorist targets—justifiably, considering that such an end came soon for Sadat himself.
How did peace happen? Wright’s unambiguous conclusion is that President Carter’s leadership was the key: “Carter made it clear to both men that if either of them deserted the process they would have a problem with the United States—a problem neither man could afford. By taking an aggressive stance as a full partner to the negotiations, Carter allowed each side to make concessions to the U.S. that they couldn’t make to each other.”
This is true, but only to a degree. Carter worked hard for the deal—but ultimately, it was the willingness of both Mr. Begin and Mr. Sadat to take extraordinary risks that achieved the peace that lasts until this day.
The student paper on the campus of Rutgers University published a pro-Hamas article late Sunday evening. Titled, "Hamas is not ISIS, ISIS is not Hamas: UN speech misleading," author Margarita Rosario took to the Daily Targum to attack Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defend Hamas. The article comes just days after the paper published an article peddling racism towards Jews.Protesters gather outside Cavaliers’ exhibition
Rosario then launched into a defense of Hamas, an internationally recognized terrorist organization which recently lobbed over 3,000 rockets at Israeli men, women and children over the summer:
Hamas' primary goal is to kill Jews. Not Israelis, Jews. Though no state of Palestine exists today, Hamas is not concerned with Israel's alleged "expansion into the West Bank," but rather Israel's existence at all.
Rosario then attempted to blame Israel for Hamas' failure to murder more civilians, citing civilian death counts as a means to argue that Israel used disproportionate force:
Several dozen anti-Israel protesters, many of them waving Palestine flags, gathered outside Quicken Loans Arena before the Cavaliers hosted Maccabi Tel Aviv.Swastikas in Georgia: AEPi House at Emory Vandalized
Holding signs that read: “Hold Israel Accountable” and “Boycott Israel,” the protesters peacefully chanted behind barricades set up across the street from the downtown arena. Cleveland police, including several on mounted horseback, kept a watchful eye as fans made their way into the building Sunday for Cleveland’s first exhibition game.
First-year Cavs coach David Blatt spent six seasons coaching Maccabi Tel Aviv, which won the Euroleague championship last year.
The Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi) house at Emory University was vandalized with swastikas shortly after the conclusion of Yom Kippur. The offensive symbol, a reference to Nazi Germany and the attempted extermination of the Jewish people, was painted on two pillars on the front of the house of the historically Jewish fraternity.Woolworths Hits Back at BDS with Lawsuit Threat
“We are outraged at the insensitive display of prejudice that occurred at the Alpha Epsilon Pi house at Emory University,” the fraternity said in a statement to Business Insider. “We are working alongside Emory to ensure that intolerable acts of hate, such as this, will never occur again. We are thankful for the community around us that has shown tremendous support throughout this time.”
In an email to TruthRevolt AEPi Executive Director Andrew Borans reported that some of the AEPi brothers were "visibly shaken...some even crying." Borans also noted that a few years ago a molotov cocktail was thrown at the house in an anti-Semitic attack.
The South Africa-based Woolworths retail chain is threatening to sue the Boycott, Divest and Sanction group over customer and staff safety.Return of the Arab Olive Tree 'Blood Libel'
“Our employees, of all faiths and cultures, are telling us that they are feeling increasingly threatened by the protests,” Woolworths spokesman Babs Diamini said this week, according to South Africa’s Times Live.
“What’s more, the families of our employees have reported being abused and sworn at by BDS. If this continues we will consider taking further precautions, including legal action against the individuals involved,” Diamini said.
Just as BDS has the right to protest, said Diamini, the chain’s employees have the right to work, and its customers have the right to shop without being intimidated.
The phenomenon was exposed to Arutz Sheva in January, when a Jewish resident of Samaria investigated and provided photographic evidence of how Arab residents stage "price tag" vandalism attacks on their own olive trees.Qaradawi fan invited to discuss extremism on BBC radio
"Every year before the Sukkot holiday, they (the left-wing groups) send residents of the village Burin and the environs in the heart of the night to cut down olive tree branches in the area, and in the morning claim that it was done by Jews from the region," said Mesika.
Mesika concluded by saying "I call on the police to investigate the incident to the end, and (call) on the legal system to exercise steep punishments against those behind these provocations each year so that they will not be repeated."
The epidemic of olive tree framing has gotten so bad that Jewish residents have taken to arming themselves with cameras to document the phenomenon. Those efforts payed off in October 2012, when an Arab man and foreign leftist activist were caught on film cutting down olive trees near the community of Elon Moreh.
The British Home Secretary’s plan to introduce measures to curb the media appearances of extremists was the subject of an item on a BBC Asian Network radio programme hosted by Nihal Arthanayake which was broadcast on October 1st.When NPR Overlooked Anti-Palestinian Discrimination
Curiously, BBC producers apparently thought that a meaningful contribution to the debate on that topic could be made by a man introduced as “a social commentator” who has previously promoted the racist, misogynist and homophobic Yusuf Qaradawi as a source of “nuanced understanding” on the BBC’s airwaves. And that, as is well known (although apparently not to BBC Asian Network producers), is just part of Mo Ansar’s repertoire.
Last week, NPR once again turned its attention to the alienation and segregation of Palestinians. This time, though, the Palestinians in question are residents of fragmented Beirut, not the West Bank. Unlike the July 2014 broadcast focusing on alleged Israeli restrictions against Palestinians as the culprit behind separation, the most recent report completely covers up the anti-Palestinian discriminatory Lebanese legislation and policies which relegate Palestinians in Lebanon to a status of something far less than second class citizens.When stone-throwing at vehicles does interest the BBC
The Oct. 2 "Cities Project" report on Beirut ("Ghosts of the Past Still Echo in Beirut's Fragmented Neighborhoods"), focusing on how the "ghost's of a city's past affects its neighborhoods," ignores how Lebanon's very real, concrete and longstanding laws impact those very same communities.
Foremost on the anti-Palestinian discriminatory policies ignored by NPR is the Lebanese ban on granting citizenship to Palestinian "refugees," including those who were born in Lebanon and have lived there for decades.
We have not infrequently had cause to note on these pages the BBC’s general lack of coverage of terror attacks against Israelis in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria, including the issue of attacks on Israeli vehicles. In 2013, more than 2,400 such incidents took place with 116 civilians injured as a result of stone-throwing.Economic Campaign Launched Against ISIS
Last month, for example, two such incidents took place on one evening alone.
“A two-and-a-half-year-old infant was lightly wounded by glass shards after unknown perpetrators hurled rockets at a bus in a Jerusalem street. Earlier in the evening, a Molotov cocktail was thrown at a bus on Route 505 between Tapuach and Sha’ar Shomron. The bus driver suffered light wounds from glass shards from the windshield of the bus.”
BBC audiences, however, are not informed of the overwhelming majority of the many such incidents taking place just a short drive from the corporation’s Jerusalem offices and do not see photographs such as the one below.
The Western world has sought to physically hinder Islamic State (ISIS), the terrorist organization too extreme for Al Qaeda which has burst the Middle East asunder, through a series of targeted airstrikes.US Marine Becomes First American Casualty of ISIS Campaign
But last week, an additional campaign was launched to break the terror organization's hold on the region: an economic one.
ISIS is widely known as the richest terror group worldwide, revealed earlier this year to have roughly two billion dollars from looting alone. According to a Huffington Post expose, the group makes - on average - three million dollars per day.
The Counter Extremism Project seeks to change all that. The project, which was launched in New York last week, aims to expose the inner economic workings of ISIS and related groups and to stop its campaigning through social media networks.
A US Marine became the first American soldier to lose his life in the fight against the "Islamic State" terrorist group (ISIS) Saturday.Pakistan's Taliban to Islamic State: 'We Are with You'
On Wednesday, 21-year-old Cpl. Jordan L. Spears and another, unidentified crew member, bailed out of his MV-22B Osprey aircraft over the Persian Gulf when it experienced severe technical problems and looked likely to crash. Pilots later managed to stabilize the aircraft and a search and rescue operation was launched to find the men.
The second crew member was successfully located, but the military announced Spears' death on Saturday after rescue teams were unable to locate his body.
The Pakistani Taliban has pledged support for Islamic State jihadists in Syria and Iraq.Biden Apologizes Again, This Time to UAE
On October 4, BBC reported that Maulana Fazlullah, the leader of Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), directly addressed the Islamic State (IS, also known as ISIS and ISIL) in a statement.
“We are proud of your conquests against the enemies. We are with you in good and bad times,” said the Pakistani Taliban leader.
"In these troubled days, we call on you to be patient and stay united as your enemies are now united against you,” he added.
The White House said Biden telephoned Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi and the most prominent Emirate leader, to say that the vice president did not intend to imply that the UAE supported terrorists, according to The Washington Post.Shiite rebels hostile to US and Israel are new masters of Yemen
The call followed an angry statement from the UAE’s Foreign Ministry earlier in the day expressing “astonishment” at Biden’s remarks and demanding a “formal clarification.”
Biden had described the United States’ allies as the “biggest problem” in the fight against terrorism, then went on to name Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
The capital of Yemen, the Arab world’s poorest and perhaps most chronically unstable nation, has new masters. Anti-American Shiite rebels man checkpoints and roam the streets in pickups mounted with anti-aircraft guns. The fighters control almost all state buildings, from the airport and the central bank to the Defense Ministry.Is Iran Conquering Yemen?
Only a few police officers and soldiers are left on the streets. Rebel fighters have plastered the city with fliers proclaiming their slogan — “Death to America, death to Israel, a curse on the Jews and victory to Islam” — a variation of a popular Iranian slogan often chanted by Shiite militants in Iraq and supporters of Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
While the world has been focused on the fight against Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq, Yemen — located at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula — has seen its own sudden, seismic upheaval when Shiite rebels known as the Houthis overran Sanaa two weeks ago.
As in Lebanon via its proxy-terror group Hezbollah, Iran is expanding its grip over the strategically located state of Yemen via another proxy group, this time the Shi'ite terrorists known as the Houthis.Sen. Kirk: Conference Shows That Rouhani is “No Less Extremist” Than Ahmadinejad
The terrorists, backed by both Iran and Hezbollah, have begun conquering vast swathes in the country since late September, most significantly in the capital city of Sana'a.
Houthis have taken over most of the state buildings in the city, including the governmental buildings, the parliament, the defense ministry, the air force building, the sixth military command region headquarters tasked with the Amran area north of Sana'a, and other important sites.
The conquest of the capital led to international flights being cancelled last Friday, and in the vacuum of power and chaos, Al Qaeda-linked terrorists took advantage of the situation to fire a rocket at the US Embassy in the city.
On Friday, Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill) released a statement condemning last week’s “New Horizon” conference in Tehran, which was attended by Western anti-Israel activists, conspiracy theorists and 9/11 “truthers.” According to its itinerary, the conference included sessions titled, “The Gaza War & BDS Movement Strategies against the Zionist Regime,” “The Israeli Lobby vs. the U.S. National Interest (especially as it relates to Middle East Policy)” and “The Mechanisms of Action of the Israeli Lobby and their Effects in Western Capitals.”Don’t Let Iran Off the Hook on Nuclear Talks
The senator’s statement read in part:
"The so-called ‘New Horizon’ conference in Tehran proves why the current Iranian regime under President Hassan Rouhani is, at its core, no less extremist and dangerous than the regime under Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The conference’s participants promoted anti-Americanism, anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial, and were even greeted on day one by high-ranking Iranian cleric Mohsen Ghomi, a close advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who falsely alleged that “American officials are puppets of the Zionist lobby.”
As world leaders have turned their attention to fighting the “network of evil” that is the Islamic State, the powers negotiating with Iran are perhaps considering easing their pressure on the Islamic Republic, thinking that “the enemy of the enemy is my friend.”Jailed UK-Iranian woman begins hunger strike in Tehran
This thinking is wrong.
Not only is the enemy of my enemy still my enemy when it comes to the Middle East, but in these negotiations the Iranians are under far greater duress than their suave demeanor and presentations of being an ally of the West portray.
Leaders of the P5 + 1 negotiating powers should not underestimate or underplay their hand. They are in an excellent negotiating position and should be able to secure an agreement that leaves Iran far from being able to pursue a military nuclear program.
A British-Iranian woman imprisoned in Tehran after trying to attend a men’s volleyball match has gone on hunger strike to mark her 100 days in custody, her mother said.CBS Highlights Muslim Immigrants Fueling Anti-Semitism In Germany
Ghoncheh Ghavami was arrested on June 20 near the Azadi (“Freedom” in Persian) stadium in the capital, where the national volleyball team was due to play Italy in a World League game.
She was released within hours but then rearrested a few days later. Iranian officials have since said that Ghavami, from London, was detained for security reasons unrelated to the volleyball match but no charges have been formally stated.
However, the 25-year-old, a law graduate, has decided to stop eating as a protest, her mother said in an emotive Facebook post late Sunday, which outlined fears for her daughter’s health.
Once again, CBS has proved that it is the lone “big three” network that attempts to be a real news network. Friday’s CBS Evening News w/ Scott Pelley actually reported on the rise of anti-Semitism in Germany primarily caused by Muslims immigrating into the country.Vicious tweets scare Jewish community
Anchor Scott Pelley highlighted how “tonight, armed guards have been posted at synagogues throughout Germany for the start of Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement. Mark Phillips reports anti-Semitism is once again on the rise in Europe, especially in Germany.”
As the segment continued, reporter Mark Phillips pointed out how “the tensions have been building in Germany since demonstrations against last summer's Gaza War exposed a clear anti-Jewish sentiment. Chants were heard that echoed from Germany's darkest times. “Jew, Jew, cowardly pig,” they say.”
The CBS reporter went on to note how “much of the more incendiary street rhetoric has come from German Muslims, many recent immigrants” before turning to a professor from Berlin’s technical university who acknowledged that much of Germany's anti-Semitism “come[s] from the middle of society, and many of them are highly educated.”
Johannesburg - He calls himself Montero. But that’s all that’s known about him – that and his “vicious” anti-Semitic posts on Twitter. And his hate speech has been singled out as one reason that the country’s Jewish community is on high alert during Yom Kippur this weekend.Two Jewish rescuers who operated in German-occupied Hungary to receive reward for their bravery
Montero, says Mary Kluk, the Jewish Board of Deputies national chairman, “is probably one of the most vicious individuals we have ever come across”.
He is untraceable. His Twitter account leaves no clue as to who he is, what he does or who he works for.
On Thursday alone, he posted 50 anti-Semitic pictures, and he regularly makes reference to the board, she reveals.
These messages include: “F*** the Kikes,” and “Jew parasites should all be killed and wiped off the earth.”
Others profess: “Keep calm, kick a kike,” and “I like my Jews like I like my bread… toasted.”
“I support Isis and all other Muslim freedom fighters who kill Jews… Every Jew they kill is one less I have to kill.”
Synagogues around the country have increased their security – and are now guarded by 24-hour security teams, concrete barriers and the Joburg Metro Police, who have closed roads during worship.
Seven decades after the end of the Second World War, two Jewish rescuers will be rewarded for their efforts to save their fellow Jews during the Holocaust.Pro-Israel rally in Washington attracts thousands
The B’nai B’rith World Center in Jerusalem and the Committee to Recognize the Heroism of Jews who Rescued Fellow Jews During the Holocaust (JRJ) have decided to confer their joint Jewish Rescuers Citation on Berta Davidovitz Rubinsztejn and Gyorgy (Yitzhak) Gyuri, rescuers who operated in German-occupied Hungary.
Rubinsztejn, 92, was born in Poland and fled with her family across the Carpathian Mountains into still-unoccupied Hungary. In 1942, Rubinsztejn made her way to Budapest, where she joined the Zionist youth movement Habonim Dror, volunteering to participate in its underground rescue activities. She and other Habonim Dror members assumed a Gentile identity, and met in a park to plan operations and weapons smuggling. As Rudolf Kastner – a leader of the Jewish Aid and Rescue Committee – negotiated the departure of a train-load of Jews from German-occupied Hungary to neutral Switzerland in 1944 with SS officer Adolf Eichmann, the goal of the organization became to put as many orphaned children onto the train after identifying them in the streets of Budapest. One of these children was eight-year-old Meir Brand.
Thousands of people turned out Sunday to demonstrate in support of Israel in front of Capitol Hill in Washington. The rally was organized by former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, a Republican who may run for president in 2016.Wounded IDF Soldiers Cheered in NBA-Israeli Exhibition Game
Huckabee initiated the event after expressing his disappointment at the White House's stance during Operation Protective Edge, which Israel launched in July to stop ongoing Hamas rocket attacks against Israeli civilians and eliminate the terror tunnels Hamas had dug under the border into Israeli communities.
According to Huckabee, the Obama administration did not give Israel sufficient backing during the operation, which aroused international criticism.
Israeli coach David Blatt led his new team, the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers, to a 107-80 victory over the visiting Maccabbi Tel Aviv, in a pre-season exhibition basketball game on Sunday that marked Blatt's NBA debut.Jerusalem prepares for the return of Formula 1 Road Show
The game pitted the team expected to contend for NBA Championships with the Israeli team Blatt led to victory in the Euroleague Championships in May - a victory that was welcomed in the host nation of Spain by a storm of anti-Semitic Twitter comments.
Some of the most exciting action on the court actually came before the match, which was expected by many to end in a Cavs' victory, when 16 IDF reserve soldiers who were wounded in Operation Protective Edge were met with resounding applause for many long minutes.
The outpouring of support reached a peak when Noam Gershony, a Gold medalist Israeli wheelchair tennis player and war veteran, addressed the audience in the presence of the 16 soldiers and the Israeli basketball team to thunderous applause.
The Jerusalem Formula Peace Road Show returns for its second year on Monday and Tuesday (October 6 and 7), with drivers to perform stunts and complete a circuit showcasing some of the world’s most exclusive vehicles.Israeli President Visits Arab Village in Honor of Muslim Festival
In a municipality press release, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat hailed the success of last year’s Formula Peace Road Show that attracted over 250,000 spectators, saying that the event significantly contributed to the city’s tourism economy.
Barkat is confident that the road shows give the world a different perspective of Jerusalem. “The pictures of the Formula 1 cars racing through our streets sent an international message that Jerusalem is an open, welcoming city in which sport and entertainment are enjoyed by residents and tourists alike,” the mayor and former race-car driver said in his press release.
Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin made a festive visit to the northern Israeli town of Kfar Yasif near Acre, in honor of the Muslim Feast of the Sacrifice, Eid al-Adha, which coincided with Yom Kippur this year. Rivlin took part in an event that brought together hundreds of participants, among them local Arab mayors, religious and community leaders, judges, and academics.Pulse Secure acquires BYOD specialist MobileSpaces
Commenting on his father’s work in bringing different cultures together, Rivlin spoke personally with the participants about building bridges during his visit to Arab village made up of Druze, Muslims, and Christians.
“The education I received from my father, taught me that the keys to partnership between us, Jews, Muslims, Druze, and Christians, are not floating somewhere above us, but right here, waiting for us to seize them. These keys are not only in the hands of the political echelons, or of law enforcement officials, they are in our hands, the hands of each and every one of us,” said the President of Israel.
Pulse Secure recently acquired MobileSpaces, the Israel-based leading provider of mobile security for the app-centric enterprise, in a deal reported to be worth over $100 million.Israel Sending 3 Field Clinics, Advisors to Fight Ebola
MobileSpaces is a specialist in the BYOD (bring your own device) market, meaning it helps organizations guard sensitive information even when employees bring their private laptop computers, smartphones or tablets from home to the office. The company offers a BYOD policy-managed workspace that protects mobile enterprise apps and data against loss and leakage.
“The MobileSpaces BYOD solution helps complete Pulse Secure’s leading solutions to provide seamless, secure access from anywhere and any device,” according to a press release.
MASHAV, Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation, will send three mobile emergency clinics to areas in western Africa where there is a high risk of infection with Ebola, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said Sunday.Rare ‘Four Species’ Coin from Bar Kochba in Display in Israel
“In response to requests by many governments, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) as well as Israeli and international aid organizations, the Foreign Ministry has decided to increase Israel’s contribution to the international effort to prevent the spreading of the Ebola epidemic,” according to the ministry.
The Israeli-made portable clinics, were built according to WHO standards for treating Ebola, according to the ministry.
Additionally, each clinic will include an expert medical team that will train local practitioners how to use the clinic and its equipment.
A rare silver coin with an inscription form the period of the Bar Kochba revolt is on display at the Israel Museum through the week-long Sukkot holiday, which begins Wednesday night.Can you dig it? Volunteer Archeological Opportunities in Israel
The rare cache of Byzantine-era antiquities discovered in 2013 will be on display through the Sukkot holiday.
The writing on the coin with a depiction of the Four Species used on Sukkot indicates that it was written by Bar Kochba or in his name and illustrates the effort spent to supply the Four Species to Bar Kochba’s soldiers in the rebellion against the Roman conquerors.
The exhibition includes the largest gold medallion with Judaic symbols known in existence. Among the archaeological finds on view are gold coins and silver and gold jewelry, in addition to the sizable medallion, measuring four inches in diameter.
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs lists opportunities for lay people to participate in archeological digs in IsraelParents of the Three Martyred Teens Partake in PM's Bible Lesson
From the MFA website (More information on the nature of the excavations is also available through the MFA)
The excavation details have been published by the archaeologists in charge of the individual expeditions. This is a preliminary list. Additional digs will be added as the information becomes available.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu hosted a traditional Bible study class in his official residence Sunday. The Bible classes were first held by Israel's founding prime minister, David Ben Gurion. They were discontinued, then renewed by Menachem Begin, then discontinued again, and renewed once more by Netanyahu two years ago.
The class is named for Netanyahu's father in law, Shmuel Ben-Arti z”l, and is held in cooperation with the Begin Heritage Center.
This evening, in the sixth session held since the class was renewed, the class focused on the Biblical portion of Bereshit, which opens the Bible. It was held with the participation of Education Minister Shai Piron and the parents of the three teens who were abducted and murdered by Hamas – Uri and Iris Yifrah, the parents of Eyal hy”d; Avi and Rachel Frenkel, the parents of Naftali hy”d; and Ofir and Bat Galim Sha'ar, the parents of Gilad hy”d.
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