Rabbi Chaim Richman shows me into a darkened room, strokes his beard and pulls out his smartphone. He has a specially designed app that works the lights. The room illuminates. He taps the screen again, and a heavy curtain slides open. There, resplendent in brilliant gold – and rather smaller than I expected – lies the Ark of the Covenant. Continue reading
Category Archives: News Articles
Menachem Begin (1913-1992)
“War is avoidable; peace is inevitable.”
Diplomacy: The Oslo reversal
In the last 20 years, the Oslo Accords have turned from a dream into a nightmare for their main architect, Israeli left-wing politician Yossi Beilin. Continue reading
Middle Israel: The last war
It started at 2 p.m. As if echoing the thunders that once paralyzed their forebears at Mount Sinai’s foothills, 436 Israeli troops scattered in 16 outposts along the Suez waterfront were showered out of the blue with 10,000 shells spewed from 2,000 artillery barrels, while 8,000 Egyptian troops emerged from the water and 240 warplanes descended from the sky. Continue reading
Syria chemical weapons proposal is Putin’s masterstroke
White House spokesman Jay Carney on Wednesday asserted that Russian prestige was now “on the line” regarding Syria. Continue reading
Ancient Golden Treasure Found at Foot of Temple Mount
In summer excavations at the foot of the Temple Mount, Hebrew University of Jerusalem archaeologist Dr. Eilat Mazar made a stunning discovery: two bundles of treasure containing thirty-six gold coins, gold and silver jewelry, and a gold medallion with the menorah (Temple candelabrum) symbol etched into it. Also etched into the 10-cm medallion are a shofar (ram’s horn) and the image of a Torah scroll. Continue reading
What would an Iranian-Israeli nuclear exchange be like?
After constant exposure to critically important news, it begins to lose all meaning and sense of urgency. Hearing the same warnings over and over again – especially when the status quo seems static – can cause a certain desensitization, a resigned apathy that ignores the warnings in the wishful hope that they won’t materialize. This hope becomes more optimistic (and passive) with each passing day that the warnings do not materialize. Continue reading
Pope Francis Launches Anti-War Campaign
Catholic leader Pope Francis has voiced his staunch opposition to a US-led strike on Syria, calling for reconciliation in Syria on Saturday as he led a mass “peace vigil” on St Peter’s square, and as millions of Catholics worldwide were joined by other faiths in a day of fasting and prayer. Continue reading
Areas of anxiety: 9 New Year challenges for the IDF
In the run-up to Rosh Hashanah, Israel Radio was previewing an end-of-Jewish-year round-up program by broadcasting various news clips from the past 12 months. One of them features President Barack Obama, during his visit here in March, breaking out of English and essaying the Hebrew phrase, “Atem Lo Levad” — you are not alone. Continue reading
Israeli ‘web prophet’ maps the past to predict the future
Prophecy may still be restricted to those qualified to appear in the Bible, but modern technology has given us the next best thing – the ability to make a very accurate educated guess about what may happen in the future. Work in that area is being led by Dr. Kira Radinsky, an Israeli web technology researcher, and for her accomplishments, Radinsky has been added to a prestigious list of top technology figures under 35 years of age, recently published by an official publication of MIT. Continue reading