Jewish World Update Jan/Feb 2025
Jerusalem’s Old City, in addition to Judea and Samaria, must be Judenrein—“free of Jews”—by September, according to…
Jerusalem’s Old City, in addition to Judea and Samaria, must be Judenrein—“free of Jews”—by September, according to…
If you’ve never been to Jerusalem, it’s time you made the trip. But if you can’t go in person, I suggest you relax, put your feet up, and come with me…
The traditional route Jesus traveled to His crucifixion, known in Latin as the Via Dolorosa (Way of Sorrow), is debated. We know Jesus appeared before…
There is a distinctive, rocky outcropping north of Jerusalem that, in 1842, Otto Thenius, a German preacher, proposed to be the actual place of Christ’s crucifixion…
Nothing compares to taking communion while sitting on the benches in the picturesque setting of the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem. Considered by many…
The Mount of Olives is the best place to stand in Israel to get a bird’s-eye view of Bible prophecy. Perched “on the mountain, which is on the east side of the…
King Solomon’s reign has been called Israel’s Golden Age. Under him, the Israelites possessed almost all of the land God promised them…
The UN General Assembly recently passed a resolution that calls Jerusalem’s Temple Mount by its Muslim name only…
Have you ever gone to the grocery store and found the shelves empty? Until the recent pandemic, that would have been…
I’ve had the privilege of visiting Israel 28 times since my first trip in 2003, most often to lead tours. It has been a rich blessing to see the land of the Bible…
Among the many things God cares about, three stand out: Israel, Jerusalem, and the Temple. During my Hebrew-school days, I learned about these things in multiple ways. From the Jewish Scriptures, I learned God set Jerusalem in the midst of the…
Why is it so important for the United States to acknowledge Jerusalem as the capital of Israel? Why does Jerusalem mean so much to the Jewish people and the Jewish state?
When God confirmed a covenant with Abraham (Gen. 12:1), He issued a divine proclamation: He vowed to give all the land He was promising Abraham to both Abraham and his descendants forever (13:15). God bequeathed the land through…
As we all know, President Donald Trump in December officially recognized Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel. Why it took seven decades for the United States to do so can easily…
Sounds of gunfire, soldiers singing “Jerusalem of Gold,” and the faint sound of a shofar were heard over the army wireless. It was June 7, 1967, and the Israel Defense Forces paratroopers had just liberated the Temple Mount and Western Wall.
The Six-Day War begot the hackneyed catchphrase Israeli-occupied West Bank. Mindless talk of the “occupation” generally goes hand-in-hand with unvarnished ignorance or a willful disregard of the area’s strategic value.
How important is Jerusalem to the Jewish people? Their souls have been intertwined with it for more than 3,000 years. Unfortunately, their heartache is not over. This article was written shortly after Six-Day War and ran in the…
A city’s significance is often measured by its commercial importance, the height of its skyscrapers, or the grandeur of its architecture. But Jerusalem is not like any other city. Jerusalem’s significance comes from the One who chose to dwell…
It is probably the best known and most fought over city in the world. The Jewish people cherish it. The Muslims want to take it. The United Nations wants to divide it. Nations are willing to go to war over it. But the Jerusalem of today is not the…
Israel is the only country in the world where the U.S. Embassy is not situated in the capital, close to the center of governmental affairs. In fact, virtually all embassies are situated outside Jerusalem as a bold political statement…
“Next year in Jerusalem!” As they have since the Jewish people were scattered around the world in AD 70, these words will ring out on the evening of April 10 at the close of Passover seders everywhere. Yet, if the United Nations…
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…
What goes around comes around. That means you can’t get away with doing wrong because eventually, wrong will be done to you. Biblically, it is the law of sowing and reaping, something the Judean leaders…
Why is it so important to know exactly where the Jewish Temple stood? Would it not be easier simply to agree with people who claim the Temple was in the City of David and give the Muslims exclusive rights to…
For years scholars have argued about the precise location of the first and second Jewish Temples on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Nevertheless, almost all archaeologists agree they were…
I saw Israel for the first time when I moved my family to Jerusalem in 1979 to study at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Even though I had a master’s degree in biblical studies, I learned quickly I was not…
Psalms 120 through 134 are referred to as the Songs of Ascents due to the superscription at the beginning of each psalm. The term ascent carries the notion of step or degree. The interpretation of…
Sung by ancient pilgrims making their way up to Jerusalem to observe the primary feasts of Israel, Psalm 120 is the first in a series known as the Psalms of Ascents. It begins with a…
Psalm 122 is the third of the 15 pilgrim songs known in Hebrew as Psalms of Aliyah, meaning “going up.” Traveling to Jerusalem, especially for the three annual Jewish festivals…
On Wednesday, June 7, 1967, the wail of a ram’s horn blown at the base of the Western Wall in Jerusalem shook the world. Surrounded by young paratroopers with tear-stained faces, Rabbi Shlomo Goren raised…
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…
Psalm 132 is the longest of all the Songs of Ascents and focuses on worship, which the nation of Israel modeled after the experience of its greatest king and worship leader…
Hine ma tov u’ma-nayim, shevet ach-im gam ya-chad. These Hebrew words are familiar to anyone who attends synagogue regularly. “Behold, how good and how pleasant…
Near the road running from Jerusalem to Bethlehem is a field that has stood empty since the late 1980s. The United States designated it as the site for the U.S. Embassy. Since…
Although I don’t do it much anymore, I love traveling. I remember the first time I saw Paris. All I wanted to do was sightsee. I had studied French for what seemed like forever, thanks to…
Few songs have epitomized the soulful pull of Jerusalem better than Naomi Shemer’s “Jerusalem of Gold.” Its debut at the Israel Song Festival was broadcast live on the country’s…
History tells tales of many amazing cities. There was the splendor of ancient Athens, the magnificence of Rome, the wonder of Babylon, and the astonishing Colossus that once stood…
Most people know Jerusalem is important to three major religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. What many may not know is that the city is referenced in the holy writings of Christians…
The adage “A picture is worth a thousand words” is truly apropos since a photograph can instantly tell a complete story. I’ve always thought it would be spectacular to study a picture of…
In 1917, during World War I, the British captured Jerusalem from the Ottoman Turks and governed it from December 1917 until May 1948 when, depleted and detested by Jews and…
On June 30, 1967, the first Friday after the official reunification of Jerusalem, Muslim and Christian Arabs—whom Jordan had banned from the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque, and…
Jerusalem occupies a chosen place in the divine plan of the ages, being distinguished as such in the praise of the psalmist: “The Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of…
Suha Arafat, widow of the late terrorist and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, said recently, “We need to clearly express the recognition of Israel; no one can doubt…
Though I’ve lived in Jerusalem almost 17 years, sometimes I still find the place bewildering. People who don’t live here probably think primarily of the Old City and its…
When we bring visitors to the Sherover-Haas Promenade in our Talpiot neighborhood, with its magnificent vista of the old and new Jerusalem skyline, they often ask…
Above ground the Western Wall, or Kotel, measures around 187 feet long. But it actually runs another 1,350 feet underground, beneath homes in Old City Jerusalem. For centuries…
Many people journey to Israel as pilgrims to visit the only place the Lord calls the “Holy Land” (Zech. 2:12). Others go there to see the reality of the Zionist dream birthed…
One of the most spectacular places to visit in Israel is the Mount of Olives. The view from this elevation is breathtaking, and people gaze in awe at the Eastern Gate and…
For hundreds of years, the Roman Empire ruled much of the known ancient world. Most of that time, Jewish people remained in their land. Then two major events occurred that resulted in their…
Whether or not the Jewish people were faithful to God, their behavior never invalidated their rightful ownership of the land of Israel. Disobedience cost them possession of it from time to…
On November 29, 1947, the UN General Assembly approved Resolution 181, a plan to partition what was left of British Palestine into two states: one Arab, one Jewish. Seventy-seven percent…
Is a ruin still a ruin when it is rebuilt? It is when the ruin is a synagogue located in the Old City in what today is called East Jerusalem. The Hurva (Hebrew, “ruin”) Synagogue was dedicated on…
Now even Palestinians are fighting a recent European Union (EU) decision to boycott all Israeli businesses in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. A senior Palestinian Authority (PA) official who…
In March our Up to Jerusalem tour visited The Jerusalem Great Synagogue. It was a highlight of our trip to the only city in the world where God has chosen to place His name. Even Jesus…
Jewish groups held a mock Passover sacrifice in March opposite the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The ritual slaughter, they said, was practice in advance…
When U.S. presidential candidate Mitt Romney visited Israel in July, he called Jerusalem the undivided capital of Israel and vowed to move the U.S. Embassy there if elected. It was the first…
In an attempt to comply with the U.S. State Department, an Israeli Knesset member has proposed legislation to let Christians and Jews pray on the Temple Mount. But the bill has ignited…
The United States talks a lot about being Israel’s friend. But actions speak louder than words. And America’s actions are saying plenty, with little appearing pro-Israel.
A new computer virus with Persian words in its programming code has infected sensitive computers across the Middle East, including Israel, and gathered information on critical national infrastructure, an Israeli security…
Few people know more than Jimmy about what’s happening in Israel today to prepare for the third Temple. Excitement is in the air, as you’ll see here.
There has been much speculation over the location of the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark—whose design was given by God to Moses—was constructed of acacia wood plated with gold and contained…
Ever been to an outdoor market or a museum in Jerusalem? Journalist Elliot Jager takes you on a stroll through the city to see what everyday life is like for people who live there.
Professor Ronny Reich of Haifa University, who oversaw excavation of a 2,000-year-old clay seal, spoke to the press, giving more details about the amazing discovery in Israel…
“Thus says the Lord Gᴏᴅ: ‘This is Jerusalem; I have set her in the midst of the nations and the countries all around her’” (Ezek. 5:5). Every trip to Israel is a life-impacting…
I remember well when a group from Israel’s Knesset launched the Christian Allies Caucus in 2004. Spanning a spectrum of Jewish political parties in Israel, these Members of the Knesset (MKs) hoped…
Doing the right thing is not always easy. It often requires courage and involves standing up for what you believe despite opposition. Recently two men have done the right thing regarding Israel.
For centuries Bible students have been fascinated by the details surrounding the Temple revealed in Ezekiel 40—46. In fact, a major section of the book of Ezekiel is given over…
So prolific is Muslim propaganda that many Westerners today question the Temple’s historicity. So it’s time to review the evidence.
Surrounded by trouble and enemies, Nehemiah forged ahead to repair and rebuild Jerusalem. If you think times have changed, you’re in for a surprise.
In 2008 building remains from the first Temple period (eighth and ninth centuries B C.) were discovered in the northwest part of the Western Wall plaza that runs adjacent to the Temple…
Today’s Muslims claim the Jewish Temple of Jehovah never existed in Jerusalem. The Bible says differently, as you’ll soon see.
When Israeli statesman Ariel Sharon visited the Temple Mount in Jerusalem in 2000, he was surrounded by 1,000 Israeli police. His visit, along with the announcement that the complex would…
Millions of people today fail to grasp the differences between Jewish and Muslim claims to Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. But the differences are enormous. Jewish claims are based on Scripture…
The Western Wall belongs to Muslims and is an integral part of al-Aqsa mosque and Haram al-Sharif (Islamic term for the Temple Mount complex), according to an official paper published…
“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)…
The grand inauguration of the Messianic Age will begin when Jesus Christ returns to Jerusalem as promised (Zech. 14:4; Acts 1:10–12). The remnant of Israel that will have withstood the Time…
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…
God ordained that four Gentile kingdoms will rule the earth before His Kingdom comes. He gave this amazing prophecy to Daniel, and everything is playing out exactly as Daniel wrote it.
Babylon was surrounded by Medo-Persian troops, yet the palace rocked as King Belshazzar hosted a riotous banquet for more than a thousand. Believing the city was impregnable and the food…
Apparently Harvard graduate Barack Obama has trouble with the English language. Or he says one thing when he speaks to Jewish people and another when he speaks to CNN.
Jerusalem. The mere mention of it evokes a response. Many love it and passionately desire to visit this ancient city of King David. Or they long to walk where Jesus walked.
Muslims now claim the Western Wall was a hitching post for Muhammad’s horse! Their claims are preposterous, but they will stop at nothing to rewrite history. And they have two main reasons for doing so.
My youngest daughter has just completed her sophomore year at a secular university. It took her almost the entire two years to find a church where she could worship that did not consider…
With Christmas around the corner, we invite you to tour four cities in firstcentury Israel that testify to the Savior’s power. Two of them are still there today.
Although idol worship saturated Rome, the Jewish people had rights that many of them did not want jeopardized. Thus arose a difficult conflict for Judaism.
Zechariah 14:8–15: As Zechariah’s prophecy neared its conclusion, the prophet described a number of physical changes that will take place in Israel immediately prior to the establishment of the Millennial Kingdom. Israel’s topography…
Concrete jungle or luxury high-rise? The million-dollar digs going up in Jerusalem mean different things to different people.
Speaking from firsthand experience, Dr. Price explains why archaeology and the Temple Mount will always take center stage in the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Zechariah 12:1–14: Will Israel survive the hatred and unceasing persecution that has plagued it for centuries? Although it faces a cauldron of unrelenting conflict, Israel will survive the world’s attempts to annihilate it. The last…
Some people have integrity; others don’t. Now is a good time to consider what flag you want flying over Jerusalem.
Was Gaza enough? Not on your life. Now Abbas is beating the drum for a move on Jerusalem, while archaeologists uncover something wonderful.
A top Jerusalem Post writer gives you an insider’s look at Jewish life in Israel’s City of Gold and what many feel is the only viable way to protect it.
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…
The most hotly contested piece of real estate in the world is the Temple Mount. Today three ominous trends threaten the area.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you. Peace be within your walls, prosperity within your palaces” (Ps. 122:6–7). Jerusalem. The very word stirs the hearts of Jews and Christians alike.
Zechariah 8:1–23: In the previous chapter, a delegation from Bethel questioned the necessity of continuing to fast over the destruction of Solomon’s Temple. Zechariah did not address the issue directly; instead, he used the question to reflect…
Sin has dire consequences, both for individuals and nations. This insightful article on Lamentations 1 examines what Judah’s sin wrought.
Lamentations 2 reveals three areas of Judah’s destruction and paints vivid word-pictures of the torment the Jewish nation endured as it went into captivity.
They called it the dungeon of malchiah, but it was actually an abandoned cistern near the center of the prison courtyard in Jerusalem (Jer. 38:6). The floor was a slimy quagmire covered…
The southern kingdom of Judah was in trouble with God. About a century earlier, the Lord had allowed the Assyrians to destroy the northern kingdom of Israel. That event should have served as a graphic…