What I’d Tell My Dad
I’ve never known a time when there was not an Israel. As a child I’d look up at the big map on my Hebrew School wall and knew it was the country that belonged to…
Israel in the News
Jordan’s Disengagement Connection
As the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in August forcibly evacuated Jewish settlers and their families from the communities where they had lived, many of them for more than 30 years…
The Staggering Cost of Disengagement
The cost of family relocation alone is estimated to be nearly $1 billion of the country’s annual $59 million state budget. In addition, the Israel Defense Forces will spend some $500 million to remove military…
Eye on the Middle East Nov/Dec 2005
For Israelis, Gaza is history—it’s over. The tears have been shed, and lingering, bitter memories still distress many of the displaced. For example, the evacuees from Kfar Darom will not forget the heavy price exacted…
Israel in the News Nov/Dec 2005
ARUTZ-7—As the Israeli flag was being lowered over Gaza to mark the end of Israel’s 38-year-presence in the area, teenaged Arabs threw rocks at Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops near the demolished Neveh Dekalim community.
Myths/Facts: Israel & the Middle East Sep/Oct 2005
In March 2005, Israel announced the intention to build 3,500 homes on a strip of territory that has been declared state land between the community of Ma’aleh Adumim and Jerusalem (Jerusalem Post, March 20, 2005).
Red Skies Over the Temple Mount
The most hotly contested piece of real estate in the world is the Temple Mount. Today three ominous trends threaten the area.
Slated for Destruction: Life in Gush Katif
When Israel abandons Gush Katif in the Gaza Strip, it will walk away from 21 communities that house schools, businesses, farms, and 900 acres of high-tech hothouses that yield nearly 70 percent of all Israel’s…
Eye on the Middle East Sep/Oct 2005
In the quest for peace and survival in the Middle East, a little history and a few questions may be to our benefit. Following Britain’s defeat of the Muslim Ottoman Turks in 1917, the Mandatory…
Israel in the News Sep/Oct 2005
ARUTZ-7—An outstanding issue in the ever-so-complicated disengagement/expulsion is what to do with the residents’ property. “What-ever we can fit into two large containers, we will take,” army Brig.-Gen. Guy Tzur told the people of Gush…
A Hand of Help for Gaza
Although the context is far removed from the essence of that ancient encounter, if you have ever ventured into the Gaza Strip you have likely thought something similar. On my last visit…
Myths/Facts: Israel & the Middle East Jul/Aug 2005
Long before 1967, when Israel captured the West Bank, Arabs used violence to try to first prevent the establishment of a Jewish state and then to destroy Israel. Anti-Jewish riots began in 1920 and were…
The Flip Side of Disengagement
Israelis are being expelled from the land they worked so hard to cultivate. Will this bring peace to the region? You be the judge.
Eye on the Middle East Jul/Aug 2005
In this troubled world, it’s always a plus to live in a safe place where the neighbors are friendly and always ready to lend a helping hand. Good neighbors are even more important…
Israel in the News Jul/Aug 2005
Police detectives searched the IDF soldier’s vehicle after they deemed his behavior suspicious. Heroin was found, and he was arrested. During his arrest, the soldier told the police officers that he was a neo-Nazi…
From Bill Sutter’s Desk May/Jun 2005
The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose (Isa. 35:1). With the founding of the modern State of Israel in 1948 followed…
You Only Get One Mistake
I have a friend who spent his military career in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) as a sapper—a military demolitions specialist. His job was to defuse land mines and other lethal explosives. Upon being inducted…
Can Abbas Deliver?
None should have any illusions about newly elected Palestinian Authority (PA) president, mahmoud Abbas. He was the number two person in the Palestine Liberation Organization and a founder of the Fatah terrorist …
Eye on the Middle East May/Jun 2005
The Palestinian leadership has proven its ability to keep the situation under control. It has also proven its ability to coordinate the activities of all Palestinian organizations, including those who hold tough positions…
Israel in the News May/Jun 2005
Two sisters who had not seen each other since the start of World War II have been reunited through the Yad Vashem database. Hannah Katz, 78, and Klara Blire, 81, were separated in 1939…
Myths/Facts: Israel & the Middle East Mar/Apr 2005
“Hamas as a political organization does not mean that every member is a militant and we do not do political vetting and exclude people from one persuasion against another.” Although Hansen makes specious distinctions between…
The Children Who Remain
My friend brenda Giles is no stranger to suicide bombings. An evangelical christian who spends about as much time on her knees as she does on her feet, brenda lives in the Jewish neighborhood…
On the Way to Canaan Land
George W. Bush had just won the presidential election for a second term. The confetti was still lying on the floor of GOP headquarters when Britain’s prime minister Tony Blair jumped forward…
Israel in the News Mar/Apr 2005
Israeli security figures show that Palestinians nearly doubled the number of Kassam rockets they fired from Gaza after the Israeli cabinet approved the disengagement plan. And their smuggling operations have netted them a Strella missile…
School’s Out for Aviel
Three-year-old Aviel Atash was excited as he boarded the bus with his mother headed for his first day in school. Aviel never made it. A short distance from where he and his mom boarded…
Israel in the News Jan/Feb 2005
As Palestinian mortar shells and rockets continued to pound the Jewish settlement of Gush Katif at the rate of over three per day, destroying homes and sending people to the hospital…
Eye on the Middle East Nov/Dec 2004
If oil is properly termed black gold, then one would suppose water could properly be termed liquid gold. Today the search is on for…
Israel’s Significance Is Insignificant
Geo-political Israel today is not to be understood as God’ s promise to Abraham and Joshua. IT IS NOT! …It is fair to say, the world owes them a homeland. But, and this is important…
The Courage to Fight On
Yoni was two years old when Israel was created. He was born on March 13, 1946, less than a year after the most extreme and horrendous attempt—out of a long, almost unending line of attempts…
Israel in the News Jul/Aug 2004
ARUTZ-7—The United States has determined that Yasser Arafat approved the terrorist attack on a U.S. embassy convoy in which three Americans were killed in October 2003. Middle East Newsline reported in the name of U.S.
The Cell Phones Wouldn’t Stop Ringing
A friend of mine who lives in Jerusalem was on his way to work on the morning of January 29. He was suffering the usual heavy morning traffic, three cars behind an Egged bus…
Goose-Stepping Americans?
An influx of Muslim immigrants is changing the face of Europe. Suddenly, Americans are being called the new Nazis; and Bush, the new Hitler.
Islam’s Suicide Solution
As if it were not already enormous, the gulf between Islam and Christianity grew even greater in January when Reem Rayashi, a 22-year-old Palestinian mother of two, blew herself up at the Erez Crossing…
Myths/Facts: Israel & the Middle East May/Jun 2004
Arab leaders have repeatedly made clear their animosity toward Jews and Judaism. For example, on November 23, 1937, Saudi Arabia’s King Ibn Saud told British Colonel H.R.P. Dickson: “Our hatred for the Jews dates from…
Israel in the News May/Jun 2004
Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposed the deal, saying it was too expensive. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, however, said that the importance of the deal surpasses merely the water issue and affects the strategic relationship with…
Only in Israel!
For example, in November 2002 a suicide bomber boarded an Israeli bus in Jerusalem that was so packed with Jewish schoolchildren no one noticed him. He waited until the bus was full, then exploded himself…
Pondering Life in the ‘New Jerusalem’
That’s the dream. But dreams rarely reflect reality. And nocturnal pleasantries inevitably vaporize when exposed to the harsh light of morning. Such will be the case when foreign interlopers, dreamers, and wishful thinkers impose..
Myths/Facts: Israel & the Middle East Mar/Apr 2004
In the case of Israel, the necessity for checkpoints has been created by the Palestinians. By pursuing a violent campaign of terror against Israel’s citizens, they have forced Israel to set up barriers to make…
Eye on the Middle East Mar/Apr 2004
Last December thousands of Palestinians flocked to the home of a family whose newborn son caused a sensation. Muslims are revering the boy as the “miracle baby” of Bethlehem. The designation was given because…
Suicide Bombers
As part of its promotion of suicide terrorism, the Palestinian Authority (P A) has repeatedly taught its population the Islamic tradition that the Shahid (martyr) who dies for Allah will receive numerous heavenly rewards…
Israel’s Peculiar Position
The Jews are a peculiar people: things permitted to other nations are forbidden to the Jews. Other nations drive out thousands, even millions of people and there is no refugee problem. Russia did it…
Israel in the News Mar/Apr 2004
The growing alliance between Christians and Jews has prompted Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, to create a Christian Allies Caucus to maintain that relationship and support it. Said Knesset member Yuri Stern…
An Interview with David Bar-Illan
In 1998 David Bar-Illan was the policy and planning director for the administration of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel. He also was a primary spokesman for the prime minister. Below are portions of an…
Eye on Middle East Jan/Feb 2004
Following the brutal suicide bombing that took twenty-one lives and wounded sixty others at the Maxim restaurant in Haifa on October 4, 2003, Israel went on the offensive. The terrorist group Islamic Jihad quickly claimed responsibility…
Israel in the News Jan/Feb 2004
Forty-eight veteran Israel Air Force (IAF) pilots held captive in Syria or Egypt last year have petitioned Prime Minister Ariel Sharon not to free terrorist Mustafa Dirani, who tortured IAF navigator Ron Arad, still in…
Mahmoud Abbas: One More Victim of Terror
Is the Road Map just another “college try”? Israelis think so. They also think Arafat still holds all the power.
Fighting ‘World War IV’
Former CIA Director R. James Woolsey has an interesting slant on world events. As far as he’s concerned, World War III is over.
Eye on the Middle East Nov/Dec 2003
Israel has been under intense pressure by the United States, Europe, the Arab nations, and others to stop construction of a security fence in areas that have exported suicide bombers and assorted terrorists bent on…
Israel in the News Nov/Dec 2003
What is the Palestinian fascination with the Kassam rocket, an imprecise weapon containing 10 to 15 kilograms (22–33 pounds) of explosives with a range of six to eight kilometers (3.73 miles)? Caroline Glick of The…
From Bill Sutter’s Desk Sep/Oct 2003
Recently The Friends of Israel joined the Jewish community in a solidarity rally for Israel in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. By our presence we sought to demonstrate that, as Bible-believing Christians, we are loyal friends…
How Important Is the Temple Mount Controversy?
Irrefutable evidence validates Judaism’s claim to the Temple Mount. But Muslims are rewriting history, and the final result could be devastating.
Eye on the Middle East Sep/Oct 2003
When Israel, in accordance with its agreement with the new Palestinian government, pulled Israel Defense Forces troops out of Bethlehem recently, many residents of the Jerusalem suburb of Gilo feared the worst. And they…
Israel in the News Sep/Oct 2003
Had she been Palestinian, the entire world would be up in arms. But she was Israeli, so no one even noticed when seven-year-old Noam Liebowitz was shot to death while riding in her family car…
Potholes in the Road Map
Just how difficult it will be to negotiate the much-ballyhooed “road map” to peace in the Middle East was summed up by Israel’s prime minister, Ariel Sharon, after the Israeli cabinet recently approved the plan…
Serving the Double Standard
An issue is festering in the road map process that cannot be overlooked and certainly should not be honored. It is the insistence of the Palestinians and their Arab mentors that millions of “refugees” be…
Israel in the News Jul/Aug 2003
“I’m telling you frankly, the attitude of Islam is not to accept a foreign state in this area.” So said senior Hamas spokesman Mahmoud a-Zahar on the BBC. He later met with Palestinian Authority (PA)…
Israel in the News May/Jun 2003
Palestinian Authority (PA) Arabs made no bones about whose side they were on during the recent war in Iraq as tens of thousands took to the streets waving flags and pictures of Saddam Hussein and calling…
From Bill Sutter’s Desk Mar/Apr 2003
Israelis were proud . . . and so were we. Then they grieved; and we grieved with them. For a fleeting moment, the beleaguered Jewish state forgot its bitter sorrow as it watched its first astronaut…
Show Us the Map
During the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, President Ronald Reagan stood in front of the infamous Berlin Wall and issued a challenge. “Mr. Gorbachev,” he said, “Tear down this wall…
Eye on the Middle East Mar/Apr 2003
Recent polls taken in a broad range of countries have revealed that many nations view the United States with increasing distaste. This situation…
Israel in the News Mar/Apr 2003
ARUTZ-7-The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported that Arab residents of Yesha have found a new way to take advantage of…
From Bill Sutter’s Desk Jan/Feb 2003
It was a trip none of us will forget. As our group of 45 landed in Tel Aviv, we did not realize that, for the next ten days, we would be the largest…
The Awful Price of Terror
We hear about Israelis killed by terrorist bombs. But what about those who survive—and are crippled for life? Here is a story you won’t soon forget.
The PLO and PA
If these organizations confuse you, read this article. It will untangle the web that Yasser Arafat has spun over the eyes of the Western world.
Arafat
Yasser Arafat is not a Palestinian. He was born in Cairo, Egypt, in 1929. His real name is Muhammad Abdel Rahman (first name) Abdel Raouf (father’s name) Arafat (grandfather’s name) Al Qudua…
Israeli-Palestinian Peace Accords
Israel has (1) recognized the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the representative of the Palestinians; (2) allowed complete Palestinian autonomy in certain areas and civil autonomy in others; (3) allowed Palestinian…
The Intifadas
The word intifada is Arabic for “shaking off.” It refers to two violent Palestinian-Arab uprisings in Gaza and Judea/Samaria (West Bank). The first occurred from December 1987 through September 1993; the second began…
The Key Resolutions
Israel will be 55 years old in May. The country was established under sanction of inter national law after the United Nations General Assembly passed Resolution 181 in 1947, dividing the remaining 23 percent…
Twenty Facts About Israel and the Middle East
The world’s attention has been focused on the Middle East. We are confronted daily with scenes of carnage and destruction. Can we understand such violence?
Eye on the Middle East Nov/Dec 2002
Reading the news reports that flood the airways and Internet these days, one often tends to conclude that searching for good news is a vain pursuit. That certainly applies to what is taking place in
Israel in the News Nov/Dec 2002
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Web site has reported a new children’s outdoor game being played these days in the Palestinian Authority (PA) city of Ramallah. The name of the game was not reported…
Standing Tall in the Rose Garden
When George W. Bush strode into the White House rose garden in June, much of the world waited somewhat eagerly to hear what the U.S. chief executive would say. He said a mouthful. Some likened…
Peace in Two Sentences
Why is it so difficult to find the formula for peace in the Middle East? What’s the problem, anyway? The problem and solution are two simple sentences.
America’s Perplexing Diplomacy
Israel is America’s most faithful ally in the Middle East, if not in the world. Yet U.S. policy toward this tiny democracy often leaves us scratching our heads.
Legacy of a Terrorist
Dictators make bad neighbors. And make no mistake; before he is an Arab, before he is a Palestinian, even before he is a Muslim, Yasser Arafat is a dictator. When he founded the Palestine Liberation Organization…
A Terrorist by Any Other Name
If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck. And if Nobel Peace Prize-winner Arafat funds and preaches terrorism, he’s every inch a terrorist.
Dateline: Jerusalem
The West Bank? The West Bank of what? Subtly slanted journalism is shaping the thinking of people around the globe—and it is not pro-Israel.
What Events in Israel Mean to the United States
Israel has a role unlike any other nation in the world. This outstanding article explains what America’s response should be to events in the Middle East.
Eye on the Middle East Sep/Oct 2002
One of the most exciting aspects of a return trip to Israel is seeing the magnificent changes that take place in relatively short periods of time. Riding through the Galilee and Judean hills and seeing…
Israel in the News Sep/Oct 2002
Yasser Arafat’s Fatah terrorist organization is signed on posters throughout Judea, Samaria, and Gaza that threaten terrorism against Americans. The posters say attacks will take place if the United States continues to support Israel…
From Bill Sutter’s Desk Jul/Aug 2002
For almost two years, the State of Israel has been under unusual pressure. She has suffered mercilessly at the hands of Arab-Muslim mobs and has been treated as an outcast by many countries…
Rachel Is Still Weeping
They stormed the Church of the Nativity and held nuns and priests hostage. Are these peacemakers? What is the truth behind the Muslim-Christian alliance?
Eye on the Middle East Jul/Aug 2002
When the Israelis decided to go into the refugee camp at Jenin in order to ferret out terrorists and their weapons-making factories, a fateful decision was made. Instead of using massive, indiscriminate bombing campaigns as
Israel in the News Jul/Aug 2002
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have been accused of massacring Palestinians in the Jenin refugee camp when soldiers went after terrorists there. Dr. David Zangen, a senior pediatrician at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, was in Jenin…
Eye on the Middle East May/Jun 2002
Late last winter a flurry of peace proposals began floating through the air of the Middle East. The situation in Israel was desperate. Palestinian terrorists were murdering innocent civilians at an alarming rate. In…
Israel in the News May/Jun 2002
The Israeli High Court of Justice has ruled that converts to Reform or Conservative Judaism inside Israel must be registered as Jews. The ruling overturns Israel’s long-standing policy that only those who convert under Orthodox…
Palestinian Flags Over the Churches of Jerusalem?
Hours before Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Yasser Arafat made his December pledge to stop the suicide bombings and terrorist attacks on innocent Israeli civilians, he made another promise. Speaking in a mosque in Palestinian-held Ramallah…
Israel in the News Mar/Apr 2002
Plans by the terrorist organization Hamas to produce homemade Katyusha rockets in the West Bank were foiled after the Shin Bet, Israel’s security agency, arrested a Hamas operative at the Rafah border crossing as he…
When Terror Is Not ‘Terror’
Does abhorrence of terrorism depend on the nationality or religion of the victim? Are some lives less precious than others, so much so that the word terrorism would not apply to murderous attacks on these…
Eye on the Middle East Jan/Feb 2002
According to a report in The Jerusalem Post, Israeli Cabinet minister Dan Meridor hailed a recent Palestinian statement as “a major breakthrough.” Apparently the Palestinian Authority (PA) has offered to resettle Arab refugees in the
Israel in the News Jan/Feb 2002
The deputy chairman of Iraq’s Revolutionary Command Council told about 350 Islamic clerics recently they should support a holy war against Israel to “expel the sons of apes and pigs from Palestine.” Speaking to representatives…
Duplicity: The PA Strategy to Destroy Israel
“Say one thing, do another.” Such is standard PA procedure. This insightful article is chock-full of facts that reveal the inconsequential value of PA promises.
Israel’s Internal Battle
Religious vs. Secular. Likud vs. Labor. Hawks vs. Doves. For a country fighting to stay alive, little Israel has more than its share of domestic troubles.
Israel in the News Nov/Dec 2001
Engineers have found that sections of the southern wall of the Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest site, are in “intermediate” danger of collapse, possibly due to the Moslem Wakf Authority’s significant construction work directly above…
U.S. Embassy–Closing the Door Once More
Early in June the current administration opted to follow the lead of former President Clinton, at least temporarily, by closing the door on moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Citing security interests…
When Silence Says It All
The pope’s recent visit to Syria spoke volumes. But the loudest message appears to have been what he wasn’t allowed to say.
Eye on the Middle East Sep/Oct 2001
As if the world were not in enough trouble already, we now learn that Iraq has all of the basic components necessary to assemble a nuclear bomb. The Jerusalem Post reports that Dr. Khidhir Hamza,
Israel in the News Sep/Oct 2001
According to an Internet report on Yahoo!® News, the poll was conducted by the Palestine Center for Public Opinion from May 24 through 26 and showed 76 percent of respondents favored “operations like the May…
The Voice of the Devil
It started in the Garden of Eden. His voice was soothing and persuasive; the objects of his intentions, receptive; and, as a result, we live today with some very regrettable consequences.