Apples of Gold Jan/Feb 2025
From time to time, I enjoy long discussions with my Arab neighbors. They often speak to me hatefully. But we who believe in the Lord cannot respond with hate…
ISRAELI LIFE
Apples of Gold Nov/Dec 2024
Christmas is coming soon. So, many of the ultra-Orthodox tell me, “Have a great birthday!” They mean to insult me because they know I believe in Christ…
Jewish World Update Sep/Oct 2024
Israeli institutions have until April 1, 2025, to comply with the country’s Supreme Court ruling to draft ultra-Orthodox men…
Apples of Gold Sep/Oct 2024
I recently had an encounter that was hard even for me to believe. But as we say here in Israel, “When God wills it, anything is possible…
Apples of Gold Jul/Aug 2024
Many elderly people in Israel go door to door collecting money for blind children. Recently, I heard a knock on my door. When I opened it, two kind, elderly, ultra-Orthodox men…
Apples of Gold May/Jun 2024
My Arab neighbors often come to my home to speak about spiritual matters. When they cannot answer my questions, they tell me they will…
Apples of Gold Mar/Apr 2024
Though we seek peace with our neighbors, we know it will not come easily. They call themselves righteous Jews while they tell me to keep quiet…
Apples of Gold Jan/Feb 2024
This week I went to the hospital for a doctor’s appointment. While there, I saw some of the hospital workers who remembered what I had shared…
Apples of Gold Nov/Dec 2023
Many immigrants live in the neighborhoods around us. Most of them have come from Russia. When we celebrated the Feast of Hanukkah recently…
Walking the Fine Line
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas recently visited China at the invitation of President Xi Jinping. Last year, the Chinese Communist Party leader promised…
Apples of Gold Sep/Oct 2023
People from nations all over the world come to visit Israel. It is written in Isaiah 34:1, “Come near, you nations, to hear” and in Isaiah 49:6…
Let’s Get Back to Basics!
The Netanyahu government’s judicial reform proposal caused political gridlock in Israel earlier this year…
Apples of Gold Jul/Aug 2023
The ultra-Orthodox often find new ways to attract new followers. Recently, they hosted a big, public meeting with a well-known rabbi. Like many rabbis, he felt he could convince…
Who Rules the Roost?
The Israeli government’s proposal to reform its judiciary drew wide-ranging international criticism earlier this year. In an article titled “Israel unveils…
Apples of Gold May/Jun 2023
We live very close to our Arab neighbors, so we see each other almost every day. A few months ago I had a long conversation with some of them…
Inside View Mar/Apr 2023
At our farewell dinner for our Up to Jerusalem tour to Israel in October, I was touched by the comments of our Israeli guide. We honored him for skillfully leading…
Apples of Gold Mar/Apr 2023
It is written in Jeremiah 6:14, “‘Peace, peace!’ when there is no peace.” It is also written, “I will give you assured peace in this place” (14:13)…
Apples of Gold Jan/Feb 2023
The ultra-Orthodox are always looking for 10 men to form a minyan, a quorum necessary for synagogue prayer. So I wait outside the synagogue, watching them call people…
Apples of Gold Nov/Dec 2022
Through God’s miracles, the Jewish people have survived; and now we live in the Promised Land. At this time of year, we enjoy celebrating Hanukkah…
Apples of Gold Sep/Oct 2022
We recently enjoyed a most important holiday—the feast of Simchat Torah, Hebrew for “rejoicing over the Law.” Many of the Orthodox dance in the synagogues…
Apples of Gold Jul/Aug 2022
There are many ultra-Orthodox organizations here in Israel. Each one is filled with people who want to show how faithfully they work against those…
Israel: Trip of a Lifetime
Pick up a tour brochure touting journeys to places far or near and you’ll likely see the claim, “The trip of a lifetime!” A promise…
Apples of Gold May/Jun 2022
People in Israel are always trying to find something new and interesting. For a long time, the ultra-Orthodox Jews promoted as messiah a man from New York City…
Jewish World Update Mar/Apr 2022
The Jewish and non-Jewish political left has wildly denounced U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett…
Apples of Gold Mar/Apr 2022
Many dictators, like Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin, have called themselves righteous; and people, like sheep, worship them. Such people persecute the Chosen People…
Inside View Jan/Feb 2022
In the book of Ruth, we see the practice of gleaning in action. Boaz first sees Ruth when she goes to his field to glean grain for herself and her mother-in-law…
Apples of Gold Jan/Feb 2022
Many people do not want to talk about the Holocaust, especially the elderly, who suffered in the death camps as I did. Our young people know of the…
Apples of Gold Nov/Dec 2021
The ultra-Orthodox in Israel try to milk people out of their money. They always find something new to sell. Lately they have been…
Like William Henry Hechler
Theodor Herzl, the father of modern Zionism, considered William Henry Hechler the first Christian Zionist…
A Conversation with Joel Rosenberg
As part of The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry’s mission to teach about Israel and the Jewish people, our North American…
Apples of Gold Sep/Oct 2021
Deuteronomy 16:19 says, “You shall not . . . take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.” Therefore, it is written…
Apples of Gold Jul/Aug 2021
Israel is filled with many false teachers. They grow like mushrooms after the rain. They are extremely active, and every few days we see a new “holy one.” Many people here believe…
From Death to Life
Population 4.18 million. Situated like a jewel by the beautiful Mediterranean Sea, it beckons to tourists from around the world to enjoy its nonstop nightlife…
Apples of Gold May/Jun 2021
As we say here in Israel, “Le roi est mort, vive le roi,” which is French for “The king is dead, long live the king!” Apparently, a new “king” is coming—a rabbi…
Apples of Gold Mar/Apr 2021
In the spring we celebrate Purim here in Israel. Not everyone knows the meaning of this great day. Many think it is merely a festival of joy…
Apples of Gold Jan/Feb 2021
It is written in Proverbs 9:10, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” But some people are…
Jewish World Update Nov/Dec 2020
Jewish journalist Bari Weiss’s recent resignation from The New York Times has fueled a long-running controversy…
Apples of Gold Nov/Dec 2020
Today I went to the office of the Ministry of the Interior, where most of the workers are religious and wear long beards and cover their heads…
Report Tells Israel, ‘Beware of China’
A Chinese company, Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings, recently lost a bid to build a $1.5 billion water desalination plant…
Jewish World Update Sep/Oct 2020
If a large percentage of Jewish people in America are liberal and don’t support President Donald Trump, why is Trump…
Apples of Gold Sep/Oct 2020
We have been living in our neighborhood for many years and have developed good relationships with our neighbors. Some of them know I believe in Jesus…
Annexation Now Looms Large
The coalition agreement between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his main rival, Blue and White party leader…
Israel’s Will to Remember
I am more of a doer than a thinker. It takes discipline for me to think before I act. Spending two weeks in Israel…
Israel’s Precarious Situation
On the night of October 24, 2019, all of Israel’s television news programs led with the same foreboding report: Israel’s…
Relentless
“I felt so alone,” my Israeli friend said with tears in her eyes. We had just finished a delicious Shabbat meal in her home with her family when…
Jewish World Update May/Jun 2020
Israel’s Ministry of Tourism and Land Authority recently announced the winners of two tenders for the construction of four…
Apples of Gold May/Jun 2020
A few days ago here in Israel, there was a big celebration and demonstration for equal rights for women. Even men from the Orthodox community participated…
Unifying Israel
Israel Railways recently christened the King David Line, a new fast rail connecting the country’s two metropolitan cities: Tel Aviv and Jerusalem…
Jewish World Update Mar/Apr 2020
Orthodox Jewish communities in New York and New Jersey are reeling from two deadly attacks in December…
Apples of Gold Mar/Apr 2020
Most countries are against Israel. I am sure that if any other country had as many enemies as Israel does, it would not exist anymore…
Apples of Gold Jan/Feb 2020
Psalm 115:2 says, “Why should the Gentiles say, ‘So where is their God?’” It is our obligation before God to tell others about Him…
Dispute Over Temple Mount Intensifies
Israeli Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan recently called for changing the status quo on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount…
Jewish World Update Nov/Dec 2019
Extreme pressure by various groups has forced the California State Board of Education to reject a proposed…
Apples of Gold Nov/Dec 2019
This week we received a phone call that a friend of our family was very sick in the hospital, so my wife and I went to visit her. Visiting a hospital is different from…
The Ultra-Orthodox Dilemma
Teens in the Western World usually have the luxury of choosing to attend a college or university, join the workforce, or enter military service after graduating from high school…
Innovative Companies Love Israel
More than 500 multinational corporations (MNCs) representing 35 countries are now active in Israel, according to a landmark study of multinational activity…
Jewish World Update Sep/Oct 2019
The vast majority of media coverage of anything involving Israel includes false accusations, distortion or omission of facts, or some combination thereof…
Apples of Gold Sep/Oct 2019
In Ezekiel 33:11 it is written, “Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways…
Is Israel’s ‘Left’ Dead?
When Benjamin Netanyahu squeaked out his fifth victory in April, making him the longest-serving prime minister in Israel’s history, eclipsing even legendary leader David Ben-Gurion…
How God Turned the Foolish Into Fantastic
As a frequent traveler to Israel, I know enough to go to a specially designated area for taxis located outside the terminal at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv…
Jewish World Update Jul/Aug 2019
A 2,600-year-old clay bulla (seal impression) bearing the name of a servant of King Josiah was uncovered inside a public building…
Apples of Gold Jul/Aug 2019
My wife and I often take the bus to the market. The bus is a wonderful place to meet new people and reconnect with people you have not seen in a long time…
A Look at Life in Israel
Many of our readers have asked us what life is like in Israel, especially for Jewish believers in Jesus. So we asked Meno Kalisher to answer a few questions for us…
The Great Divide
Why should Israelis and American Jews see eye to eye? Americans and Israelis are not alike. They have different concerns, interests, lifestyles, and even a different calendar…
Israel’s Broken Political System
Many Americans scratch their heads trying to figure out Israel’s political system. Here’s an overview of it from someone who truly understands it…
Helping Israel’s Lone Soldiers
What do you do when you have no place to go for Shabbat? That’s when the Lone Soldier Center in Memory of Michael Levin becomes a lifesaver—in more ways than one…
Jewish World Update May/Jun 2019
U.S. technology giant Intel Corp. has announced it will invest an unprecedented $11 billion to expand its operations in Israel…
Inside View Mar/Apr 2019
It was troubling to watch the video of Rafi’s Jeep going up in flames, the victim of an incendiary balloon launched in Gaza and carried by the wind into Israel. Within seconds, the entire Jeep was aflame…
The Gaza Problem
The Israeli cabinet’s decision to accept a cease-fire with the Islamist terror group Hamas after Palestinians fired more than 450 rockets and mortar shells from the Gaza Strip into Israel within a two-day period set off a heated debate…
Inside View Sep/Oct 2018
In the book of Deuteronomy, God told the Israelites to teach His Word diligently to their children—when they were in their homes, when they went out, when they were lying down, and when they rose up so that all may be well with them (6:1–7). The psalmist said the Word of God will guide us in truth…
Israel Has the Right Idea
Universities have become a hotbed of anti-Israel, anti-Semitic activity. Students call Israel a “terrorist state” and encourage others to engage in “intifada” and violence. Professors compare Israel to Nazi Germany and peddle the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement…
Jewish World Update Sep/Oct 2018
“You are the ammunition for Hamas’s guns; you are the warheads for its missiles,” Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon told the UN General Assembly when it recently condemned Israel for…
Happy Birthday, Israel!
For years I had a dream. I wanted my hometown baseball team (the Cleveland Indians) to play the Chicago Cubs in the World Series. I had adopted the Cubs when I lived in Chicago. Both teams excelled at losing…
Israel in the News Mar/Apr 2018
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries—the world’s largest manufacturer of generic drugs and one of Israel’s largest employers—has announced its decision to lay off…
Bible Museum Opens Soon in Washington
If you love God’s Word and Israel, you won’t want to miss the Museum of the Bible’s grand opening in November in Washington, DC. Located only three blocks from the United States Capitol Building and…
What Shall We Eat?
When the ancient Israelites arrived in the Promised Land, it was “flowing with milk and honey.” But when the Jewish pioneers arrived in the 19th and 20th centuries, it was as barren as a stone. This article, written in 1953 when the State of Israel was just 5 years old…
Israel in the News May/Jun 2017
If you’re a runner and love Israel, you may be interested in signing up for the third annual Bible Run on October 6, a reenactment of the first-ever recorded marathon—the trek of a Jewish man from the tribe of Benjamin who ran from…
Stories from the War—Asher Yuval
The day the war broke out, my unit of reservists had already been mobilized for three weeks. Those weeks came to be known as the “waiting period.” I was in Reserve Battalion 161 of the Jerusalem Brigade (Hativa) under Lt. Col. Asher Dreizin.
Stories from the War–Cecilia Stark
I was born in London and came to Israel in 1963. When I arrived in Jerusalem, the city had a small-town feel. There were around 165,000 people in western Jerusalem. There was one traffic light—at the intersection of King George, Strauss and Jaffa Streets.
Stories from the War—Naomi Paynton
I arrived on June 10, 1967, on a special El Al flight for war volunteers. It came from Paris, where I lived at the time. It was packed and quite frightening. We did not know what we were coming to. They did not give us the usual meal, but just a packet…
Stories from the War—Rosie Gordon Elkana
I immigrated to Israel from Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1964. By then, I was already a registered nurse, having trained at Manchester Jewish Hospital in England. Right away, I got a job at Hadassah Hospital Ein Karem.
Stories from the War—Uzi Eilam
The day the war broke out, along with my fellow paratroopers, I was at the Tel NofAirbase located not far from Rehovot. At age 34, I was the commander of a battalion of paratroopers, though I was not a full-time army man.
Israel in the News Mar/Apr 2017
Following the UN Security Council’s vote condemning Israel’s presence in eastern Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu showed his resolve by going to the Western Wall to light the second candle of…
Israel in the News Jul/Aug 2016
An online petition has been launched calling on UNESCO to reverse its recent “insulting” resolutions that deny any Jewish connection to the Temple Mount or Western Wall…
Inside View Mar/Apr 2016
One of my responsibilities as executive director of The Friends of Israel is to lead our Up to Jerusalem tours to Israel. It’s something I enjoy immensely. I’m often asked…
Sirens of Silence
People stood shoulder-to-shoulder under the Jerusalem morning sun—still, respectful, and mindful of the solemn communication for which they had assembled. The only sound was that of…
Eye on the Middle East Nov/Dec 2015
Seventy percent of all the children living in the southern Israeli city of Sderot suffer from at least one symptom of post-traumatic stress, and 50 percent continue to relive…
Inside View Sep/Oct 2015
Do you ever feel like you want to do something to help Israel in addition to praying? That was how we felt when we started the Israel Relief Fund many years ago.
Psalm 128: Our Source
A steady stream of families paraded across the stones and steps that marked the path to the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City. I sat nearby as they carried canopies, banners, and balloons…
Eye on the Middle East Jul/Aug 2015
“It’s the economy, stupid!” That was the phrase coined by James Carville, chief strategist for Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign, to help his team focus on the recession…
Touring Ariel
Ariel is an amazing success story. It is a story of struggle against all odds, of immigrant absorption, international outreach, and dynamic growth. As you travel through Ariel…
Ariel University Helps Students Overcome Autism
Udi, a graduate of Ariel University, never dreamed he’d be able to address a crowd. When he was young, he was diagnosed with autism, a developmental disorder that affects…
Remembering Gush Katif: 10 Years Later
On Wednesday morning, August 17, 2005, some 10,000 Israeli soldiers fanned out across 21 Jewish communities in the Gaza Strip. Their mission, following the Israeli army’s order eight days earlier, was…
Israel in the News May/Jun 2015
The world accuses Israel of being an apartheid state, but it was Arab-Christian Israeli Supreme Court Justice Salim Jubran who oversaw the recent elections in Israel.
The Genesis 12:3 Principle Obadiah 10—14
Obadiah 10—14: Imagine having to sleep with a gun under your bed. I am not talking about Detroit, New York, or Philadelphia. I am talking about Haifa, Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem. This…
Inside View Jan/Feb 2015
When high school graduates in the United States head off to college or work, Israeli graduates enter the military. Men are required to serve for three years and women for two. Men remain…
Israel’s Government Today
In May 1948, the Jewish people became sovereign in their land for the first time in more than 2,500 years. Spearheading the modern government was the venerable David Ben-Gurion, who…
Mechina Academies: Israel’s Gap-Year Phenomenon
It’s still dark in Upper Nazareth as Nadav Cohen, 19, delivers a pithy, inspirational talk to his comrades—choosing Bob Dylan’s The Times They Are A-Changin’…
Creative Lawyering
His dark eyes brimmed with sincerity and love for his people. Having grown up in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, the man who sat across from me in the…
Discovering Our Biblical Roots in Modern Israel
Israel is a thoroughly modern country with major cities, modern highways, and mass transit. But have the picturesque sites and ancient customs from…