A new initiative called the Gideon Project is enlisting Israel Defense Forces lone soldiers, referring to soldiers without immediate family in Israel, as volunteers to combat the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, and Sanction (BDS) movement in the United States, Canada, and Europe. The Gideon Project aims to pull the rug out from under the BDS strategy of garnering support for its cause by evoking values such as minority and human rights. The project is headed by the Reservists at the Front organization and the Lone Soldier Center, which issued a joint statement describing the project as a “challenging and unique Zionist…
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In hopes of offering a blueprint for ramping up constructive Israeli and Jewish relations with the Islamic world, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week made historic visits to Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, two Muslim-majority nations in Central Asia. Netanyahu’s trip to the former Soviet Republics was part of an ongoing push by the Jewish state to forge closer ties with many non-traditional allies in Africa, South America, and Asia. The Israeli leader visited several countries in East Africa earlier this year, and has plans to return to the continent for visits to West African nations. While giving remarks at the Great…
A controversial bill to limit the volume of Muslim calls to prayer from mosques across Israel pits freedom of religious expression against the right to be protected from unwanted religious intimidation. The bills supporters contend that the noise of the calls negatively affects the quality of life of nearby residents of all faiths, including some Muslims, that are not interested in the five-times-a-day ritual, particularly the midnight and pre-dawn calls that often wake adults and small children. Opponents of the bill suggest that the measure was offered specifically to discriminate against mosques. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who supports the…
The Palestinian Authority has threatened to “make life miserable” for US President-elect Donald Trump if he follows through on his election campaign promise to move America’s embassy to Jerusalem. “If people attack us by moving the embassy to Jerusalem, it means they are showing belligerence towards us,” stated the Palestinian Authority’s envoy to the UN, Riyad Mansour. “If they do that, nobody should blame us for unleashing all of the weapons that we have in the UN to defend ourselves, and we have a lot of weapons in the UN.” In remarks carried by the Israeli daily Ha’aretz, Mansour acknowledged…
Sandra Solomon is the niece of Saher Habash, one of the founders of the ruling Palestinian party Fatah, as well as a leader in the Second Intifada campaign of terror. Sandra was born in Ramallah and later lived in Saudi Arabia. In both places, Solomon was raised to seek violence against Jews. As a child, she was taught to “hate the Jews, hail Hitler, and praise the Holocaust,” Solomon said in an interview with Israel’s Channel 2 News. Speaking at an event in Canada, where she now resides, Solomon confirmed why genuine peace between Israel and the Palestinians is slipping further…
The election victory by Donald Trump has left many wondering about the future direction of U.S. foreign policy. Supporters of Israel are immediately focusing attention on Trump’s approach to the much-discussed Iran nuclear deal, which was approved by the Obama administration and five other Western governments in July 2015. As a presidential candidate, Trump made a variety of comments regarding his opposition to the Iran nuclear deal, ranging from calls for stronger inspections, to entirely nixing the Obama administration’s signing of the pact. “You’d have to have onsite inspections anytime, anywhere, to start off with, which we don’t have at…
The Israel Police recently stated that evidence in their possession justifies charging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife, Sara, with fraud and misuse of public funds. For more than a year, police have been investigating claims that Sara Netanyahu used taxpayers’ money for personal matters. Among the accusations are that the prime minister’s wife employed a live-in assistant for her late father and ordered exorbitantly-priced catering for Israeli friends, all at the public’s expense. Sara Netanyahu was questioned by police for nearly 12 hours at the beginning of December. The result of that session being that police feel confident that the accusations are…
The Masorti Foundation for Conservative Judaism in Israel put out an international call for donations to help the Moriah synagogue rebuild from the ashes after the recent week-long wildfires that raged across Israel. However, it was two small, local initiatives that put the damaged synagogue into the headlines. On November 30, a group of worshipers from all faiths attended a special prayer service for the new Hebrew month of Kislev and to show support for the rebuilding of the community. A local member posted Facebook photos of the service. One of the photos showed 20 saplings donated by a man…
Democratic and Republican lawmakers are vowing to challenge a limit on U.S. defense aid for Israel that President Barack Obama included in the recently signed Memorandum of Understanding between the two nations. The agreement, that was reached in September, guarantees Israel $38 billion in aid over 10 years, but it also states that if Congress increases the aid, Israel is obliged to return the extra funds. U.S. Reps. Paul Gosar (R-Texas), Randy Weber (R-Ariz.), and Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) said at the Agudath Israel of America’s annual legislative luncheon in New York City that the restriction is “unconstitutional” because it would…
After Israel was miraculously restored from oblivion in the last century, Jews began to return from every nation to their ancient homeland. But they weren’t the only ones rushing to set foot on that storied land. Christians began flocking to the Holy Land as well. At first, we came as tourists to visit the ancient churches and to walk where Jesus walked. Then God awakened us to see this reborn nation was a fulfillment of biblical prophecy. But as the years passed, God showed us something else. We saw His everlasting love and compassion for His people who had suffered…