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…
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 journalist Bari Weiss’s recent resignation from The New York Times has fueled a long-running controversy…
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…
A Chinese company, Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings, recently lost a bid to build a $1.5 billion water desalination plant…
If a large percentage of Jewish people in America are liberal and don’t support President Donald Trump, why is Trump…
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…
The coalition agreement between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his main rival, Blue and White party leader…
I am more of a doer than a thinker. It takes discipline for me to think before I act. Spending two weeks in Israel…
On the night of October 24, 2019, all of Israel’s television news programs led with the same foreboding report: Israel’s…
“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…
Israel’s Ministry of Tourism and Land Authority recently announced the winners of two tenders for the construction of four…
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…
Israel Railways recently christened the King David Line, a new fast rail connecting the country’s two metropolitan cities: Tel Aviv and Jerusalem…
Orthodox Jewish communities in New York and New Jersey are reeling from two deadly attacks in December…
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…
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…
Israeli Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan recently called for changing the status quo on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount…
Extreme pressure by various groups has forced the California State Board of Education to reject a proposed…
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…
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…
More than 500 multinational corporations (MNCs) representing 35 countries are now active in Israel, according to a landmark study of multinational activity…
The vast majority of media coverage of anything involving Israel includes false accusations, distortion or omission of facts, or some combination thereof…
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…
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…
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…
A 2,600-year-old clay bulla (seal impression) bearing the name of a servant of King Josiah was uncovered inside a public building…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
U.S. technology giant Intel Corp. has announced it will invest an unprecedented $11 billion to expand its operations in Israel…
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 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…
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…
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…
“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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.
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.
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…
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.
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.
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.
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…
“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…
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…
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…
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…
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.
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…
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…
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…
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’…
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…
Israel is a thoroughly modern country with major cities, modern highways, and mass transit. But have the picturesque sites and ancient customs from…
A few months ago, a young ultra-Orthodox man whom I did not recognize came to our home with some of his friends. He was not nice or friendly. In fact…
I have lived in the same neighborhood in Jerusalem for 37 years, and now I am becoming important to my Arab neighbors here. Why? Because I speak Arabic and am willing…
I am always looking for a chance to speak with people about our Savior, Yeshua Hamashiach (Hebrew for “Jesus the Messiah”). And often people are looking for me, but they…
Many Orthodox people here in Jerusalem have known me a long time. Sometimes it seems they almost have a competition to see who among them can put me down and become …
Living in Israel is like living on an active volcano. It has been this way ever since I came here more than 65 years ago. More than 150 million Arabs…
I have lived in the same neighborhood in Jerusalem for 37 years. Most of the people here know me, and we are good friends. But some people do not like me because…
Miracles do not happen every day. But one happened recently while I was in a clinic waiting to see a doctor. Usually there are long lines, and it is difficult to speak to people.
Anyone who remembers our War for Independence in 1948 knows about Latrun. It is an area in Israel located on a hilltop on the road from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem…
Something happened recently that was hard even for me to believe. But as we say here in Israel, “When God wills it, everything is possible.” Not long ago my wife was in the hospital.
This May it is 63 years since Israel became a state. I remember it well. Much time has passed, and I have grown much older. After everything I endured in my life…
Never has anyone come to our church to investigate those attending. Yet so it was recently. An elderly woman came because she had heard about me and that I am a Holocaust survivor.
As it is written in Proverbs 19:21, “There are many plans in a man’s heart; nevertheless the Lᴏʀᴅ’s counsel—that will stand.” A few years ago, a religious school invited me to speak about…
Before Benjamin Netanyahu began his current term as prime minister of Israel, he spoke about Iran at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. I’ll never forget hearing him declare with conviction…
Journalist Mitchell Prothero said Hamas is confiscating humanitarian goods donated by the international community and forcing Gaza Arabs to pay for them. Prothero spoke to a commander of Islamic Jihad…
We live in a special situation in Israel. Most of the world is against us, particularly the Muslim countries that surround us. I have lived in this part of Jerusalem…
I recently had a big surprise. From time to time I go to the ultra-Orthodox synagogues where I have long, involved discussions about faith in the Lord. You cannot go…
A recent Arutz-7 headline read, “Ex-US Envoy Indyk: Bibi’s Refusal to Obama ‘Threatens Alliance.’” Martin Indyk apparently has left Israelis wondering just how much is actually at stake in Israel’s decision…
I think it is. There are three components to it. The first is demographic. Indigenous Europeans are not having enough children by about one-third. You need 2.1 children per woman…
“For Zion’s sake, I will not be silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be still, until her righteousness emanates like bright light, and her salvation blazes like a torch” (Isa. 62:1)…
For many days I had been asking myself, How do I find people like me, who survived the Holocaust, so that I may bring them the gospel of Christ? Speaking…
Dr. Hagai Ben-Artzi, Prime Minister Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu’s brother-in-law, has called U.S. President Barack Obama an anti-Semite. Netanyahu immediately rejected the remarks. “The time has come to tell the truth,” Ben-Artzi…
It is written in Proverbs 19:21, “There are many plans in a man’s heart, nevertheless the Lᴏʀᴅ’s counsel—that will stand.” We cannot know what tomorrow will bring, so we must…
We often have many surprises in life. And so it was one week when a neighbor came to my home to confront me about my faith in Christ. He was not friendly…
A dynamic factor in the Jewish people’s prophetic return to Zion is a special group of several thousand young men and women designated as “lone soldiers.” Leaving everything behind, including their families…
When Ya’akov Teitel was arrested for multiple criminal acts in Israel last fall, the Ortiz family in the town of Ariel in Samaria breathed a sigh of relief. For nearly…
Young female athletes from Israel’s fencing team swept top medals at a 28-nation European tournament in Austria in November, but when they received their medals, the organizers did not play…
In Proverbs 27:10 it is written, “Better is a neighbor nearby than a brother far away.” We have lived in this neighborhood in Jerusalem for more than 35 years. I know…
Raslan Abu Rukun. His name is more Arabic than Jewish. Yet a few months ago, 33-year-old Raslan Abu Rukun was welcomed to his new post as Israel’s deputy consul general…
The Financial Times headline read, “US Attacks Israel Over West Bank Settlements.” Startling on the surface, the article merely confirmed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ruffled some feathers when he announced…
Inferior status, limited opportunity, and heavy restrictions. These are characteristics of ghettos. And they seem eerily like what the world is trying to impose on the free and democratic nation of Israel.
Virulent anti-Semitism thrives on a Dutch social media Website used by nearly half of the entire population of Holland, according to a recent report. And many of the online instigators…
In Psalm 94:3 it is written, “How long will the wicked triumph?” There are many wicked people in this world, but it is especially sad when one of them is your neighbor…
“Our goal has never been peace,” a Fatah official admitted on Palestinian Authority (PA) TV. “Peace is a means; the goal is Palestine,” meaning the conquest of Israel. “It has been said…
Now we are approaching the most important holidays of the year: Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Many people in Jerusalem where I live are going to the rabbis asking for help…