Israel in the News

The Home Front

Maj.-Gen. Yair Golan is the recently appointed commander of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Home Front, replacing Yitzhak Gershon who stepped down following harsh criticism of his command’s performance during the Second Lebanon War in 2006.

Israeli Economy Gallops Ahead

As Israel turns 60, its economy is moving ahead more rapidly than anyone would have guessed. Here are some facts and figures that probably will astound you.

You’ve Come A Long Way, Israel

Israel may be small, but it ranks high when it comes to education. Such regard for learning is rooted in Scripture. Nehemiah 8:8 states, “They read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God…

Making Medicines That Help the World

Seventy-one-year-old Iowa resident Ruth Brown may have no idea that she owes a debt of gratitude to an Israeli company located south of Haifa. Doctors had probed Ruth’s stomach and performed a colonoscopy…

Israel: A Technology Power House

When E. F. Hutton talks, people listen.” So says the investment firm of E. F. Hutton, anyway. The company’s slogan made the point that it is so good at what it does that everyone…

Jewish World Update - News

Israel in the News Mar/Apr 2008

January was one of the worst months for Kassam attacks in Sderot. Arutz-7 reported many straight days of more than 40 hits per day. Parents keep their children home from school…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Jan/Feb 2008

This year—2008—marks the 60th anniversary of the rebirth of the nation of Israel. On May 14, 1948, the Jewish People’s Council assembled at the Tel Aviv Museum to approve the historic proclamation…

Map of the Middle East.

Eye on the Middle East Jan/Feb 2008

A man identifying himself as a “missionary in Jerusalem” wrote a scathing response to an op-ed piece I wrote recently for The Jerusalem Post. The writer castigated me for my apparent lack of love…

Jewish World Update - News

Israel in the News Jan/Feb 2008

ARUTZ-7—The Jewish state’s first Arab minister, Raleb Majadle, has declared that Israeli sovereignty over the Temple Mount is nonexistent and that he will always give his allegiance to Islam over Israel…

Map of the Middle East.

Eye on the Middle East Nov/Dec 2007

A recent report out of the Middle East could provide a formula for how not to run a war. Following the cease-fire that interrupted the battle between Hezbollah and Israeli forces in Lebanon…

Pulling the Plug on Christian TV in Israel

When Israelis turn on their televisions, they can choose from a sophisticated array of programming: educational, live political debate, ESPN and FOX sports, the History Channel, home shopping, and much more. But if one…

Jewish World Update - News

Israel in the News Nov/Dec 2007

Intense rocket fire from Palestinian Gaza into Jewish Sderot has led Defense Minister Ehud Barak to declare a state of emergency in the western Negev communities, thereby transferring authority over local councils…

Map of the Middle East.

Kissing Freedom Goodbye

For years realists on Middle East affairs said a Palestinian state would become a platform for radical Islamist terror and that the most dangerous merchants of death would populate the ministate…

Jewish World Update - News

Israel in the News Sep/Oct 2007

Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel must learn from Hamas’s takeover of Gaza. “Every piece of land that we unilaterally evacuate becomes a place where rockets are deployed against us. We must ensure…

Jewish World Update - News

Israel in the News Jul/Aug 2007

Former Knesset member Azmi Bishara faces allegations that he sold intelligence information to Hezbollah for several hundred thousand dollars during Israel’s Second War in Lebanon last summer. He is also suspected of stealing millions…

Jewish World Update - News

Israel in the News Mar/Apr 2007

American rifles supplied to the Palestinian Authority (PA) may be used against Israel if PA President Mahmoud Abbas has his way. WorldNetDaily’s Aaron Klein reported that Abbas has called on Arab…

Map of the Middle East.

Eye on the Middle East Jan/Feb 2007

Unity is not a word often bandied about in Middle East circles. For whatever it’s worth, however, there has been a rare occurrence of unity in a coalition of Conservative…

When Israel Sins

It was one of those truly soul-rattling moments (metaphorically speaking). In the heart of Jerusalem, the Israeli Supreme Court rendered a ruling that seems to betray one of God’s clearest…

Jewish World Update - News

Israel in the News Jan/Feb 2007

In a move presented as an effort to counter the growing strength and influence of Hamas, the United States has been arming and training Fatah fighters, headed by Palestinian Authority…

Map of the Middle East.

Eye on the Middle East Nov/Dec 2006

The late Yasser Arafat and his Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) cronies made a big mistake years ago when they chose to line their own pockets with the loot garnered from the benevolent West, rather…

Jewish World Update - News

Israel in the News Nov/Dec 2006

The father of an Israeli soldier abducted and killed in 2000 says he has proof the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) filmed the kidnapping, sold the film to Hezbollah, and then denied…

Map of the Middle East.

Eye on the Middle East Sep/Oct 2006

Over a year ago, in a good-faith attempt at conciliation to Palestinian and international demands, Israel left the Gaza Strip. Eight thousand to 10,000 Israeli citizens were expelled from their homes…

Dancing with the Devil

Like it or not, Hamas now controls the Palestinian Authority. Does this mean Israel must negotiate with terrorists? This lawyer says no.

China & Israel: Inscrutable Relations

Which way does China swing when it comes to Israel? In the past, China has fully supported the Arabs. But it may be moving in another direction.

How China Shifted Toward the PLO

Almost as soon as Jerusalem’s foreign policy apparatus was up and running after the 1948 War of Independence, Israel sought diplomatic relations with China. Since Washington didn’t establish formal ties with Beijing…

Jewish World Update - News

Israel in the News: Special Report

Brigitte Gabriel is a survivor of Islam’s jihad against Lebanese Christians. Her story will astound you. Reared in an Arab country that taught her to hate Israel, her love for the Jewish state…

The Lowdown on Hezbollah

Hezbollah makes no secret of its objective, namely, the destruction of Israel. It committed an act of war by crossing the international border and attacking soldiers in Israel and kidnapping two…

Map of the Middle East.

Eye on the Middle East Jul/Aug 2006

Speaking before the British House of Commons on June 8, 1982, President Ronald Reagan gave his famous “evil empire” speech in which he affirmed the reality of evil in the world and insisted…

Jewish World Update - News

Israel in the News Jul/Aug 2006

A senior Palestinian Authority (PA) religious leader has said on a PA-affiliated Web site that Christian Zionists worship “Satan as God.” So reports Palestinian Media Watch (PMW). The author of the PMW article…

Bulldozing Caterpillar

The Church of England’s vote to divest from companies doing business in Israel is causing a stir, even among Anglicans. But it has made a few things crystal clear.

These Are the Facts

Israel became a nation around 1450 B.C., some 2,000 years before the rise of Islam. Jewish people have lived in the land continuously since the days of Joshua—some 3,000 years. The Jewish…

JNF Blueprints the Negev

More than 6 million Israelis live on 8,000 acres less than Nebraska plants in wheat alone. With Israel’s population now at 6.6 million, the Jewish National Fund (JNF) is looking toward the Negev…

Jewish World Update - News

Israel in the News May/Jun 2006

The Palestinian Authority’s ruling Hamas terror group has launched a Web site for children, using cartoons and children’s stories to preach the moral desirability of being a suicide terrorist. The Hamas-run Al-Fateh.net…

Map of the Middle East.

Eye on the Middle East Mar/Apr 2006

When Israel’s prime minister, Ariel Sharon, was stricken with a devastating, career-ending stroke in January, an era came to an end. Sharon was the last of the giants who have fallen…

Silhouette of man speaking.

The Day Rose-Colored Glasses Turned Green

On January 25 things looked pretty good for wishful thinkers who perpetually see the world through rose-colored glasses. The Palestinian election polls were showing a 10-point spread between Palestinian President Mahmoud…

The Beginning of the Reckoning

The Islamic Center in Munich, Germany, was founded by Muslim Nazis. But that link is only one of many in a surprisingly strong Muslim-Nazi connection.

Jewish World Update - News

Israel in the News Mar/Apr 2006

As the government declares “war” on unauthorized Jewish communities, Arabs, funded by the Palestinian Authority (PA), are deciding Israel’s future borders through unhindered illegal building. Unauthorized Arab building…

Myths/Facts: Israel & the Middle East Jan/Feb 2006

Myth: Egypt is no longer a military threat since signing a peace treaty with Israel. Fact: While Egypt remains formally at peace with Israel and honors its Camp David commitments, Cairo has nevertheless amassed…

What a Difference a Flag Makes

Some people have integrity; others don’t. Now is a good time to consider what flag you want flying over Jerusalem.

The Anti-Terror, Pro-Israel Sheik

Few Muslims these days have the courage to support Israel and condemn terror. Sheik Abdul Hadi Palazzi, a highly educated imam, professor, co founder and cochairman of the Islam-Israel Fellowship…

Jewish World Update - News

Israel in the News Jan/Feb 2006

The Palestinian Authority (PA) wants the United States to pressure Israel into allowing PA polling stations and campaigning in Jerusalem, enabling the Hamas terrorist organization pledged to Israel’s destruction to campaign…

Myths/Facts: Israel & the Middle East Nov/Dec 2005

In Gaza, Israel’s intent was always to withdraw completely, and no settlements were viewed as vital to Israel for economic, security, or demographic reasons. The situation in the West Bank is completely different.

Never Miss an Opportunity

Was Gaza enough? Not on your life. Now Abbas is beating the drum for a move on Jerusalem, while archaeologists uncover something wonderful.

They Must Start Over—Again

Nisanit was the second largest of the 21 Gaza Strip Jewish communities destroyed in August. The oldest was Kfar Darom, erected in 1946, two years before Israel became a state.

Traveling the Fence Route

On a hot, dry, Friday morning in July, my wife, Lisa, and I traveled the entire length of the route of the fence that will envelop metropolitan Jerusalem. Starting in Gilo, we headed east toward…

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…

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…

Map of the Middle East.

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…

Jewish World Update - News

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…

Map of the Middle East.

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…

Jewish World Update - News

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…

Silhouette of man speaking.

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.

Map of the Middle East.

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…

Jewish World Update - News

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…

Silhouette of man speaking.

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 …

Map of the Middle East.

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…

Jewish World Update - News

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…

Jewish World Update - News

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…

Silhouette of man speaking.

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…

Jewish World Update - News

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…

Map of the Middle East.

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…

Silhouette of man speaking.

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…

Jewish World Update - News

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.

Silhouette of man speaking.

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…

Jewish World Update - News

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…

Silhouette of man speaking.

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…

Map of the Middle East.

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…

Jewish World Update - News

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…

Map of the Middle East.

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…

Jewish World Update - News

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…

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.

Map of the Middle East.

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…

Jewish World Update - News

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…