Why Israel is an amazing place for a holiday, and far more than a bible story

The Holy Land has never been more accessible. It's a must-see for 2014!

Temple Mount Sifting Project Suffers Major Damage from Snow Storm

The heavy snow storm in Israel caused major destruction to the Sifting Project site. The greenhouse frame structure could not hold the weight of the snow and it collapsed. Much of the equipment and infrastructure installations were destroyed.

Renown Israeli archaeologist and Sifting Project founder Dr. Gabriel Barkay toured the US and Canada from September through November, giving over 40 presentations about the importance and findings of the Sifting Project.

Whether you attended one of his the presentation and saw the value in the unique work of the Temple Mount Sifting Project, or have just read about it for the first time, now is the time to offer your support for this important work.

Donations to support the project can be made online at www.gabrielbarkay.com/donate.html or templemount.wordpress.com/contributions-to-the-sifting-project.

Visit the Sifting Project web site to learn more.

Fundamental Rights Agency spotlights rising anti-Semitism, then buries its own working definition of anti-Semitism

Europe’s Fundamental Rights Agency, which last month released a study on rising anti-Semitism in Europe has now discarded its own definition of anti-Semitism and removed the definition from its website.

The FRA study reported that:

• 76% of survey respondents said the situation had deteriorated over the last five years
• 66% consider anti-Semitism to be a major problem in their country
• 38 % said they avoid displaying symbols identifying them as Jews in public
• 23 % said that they occasionally avoid visiting Jewish events or sites because they do not feel safe there or the way there because they are Jewish
• Fear of rising anti-Semitism in Europe has prompted nearly a third of European Jews to consider emigration because they do not feel safe in their home country

“We are not aware of any official definition [of anti-Semitism],” Blanca Tapia of the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency told JTA after the definition was removed from the FRA website.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry called on the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency to return the working definition of anti-Semitism to its website.

With European Jews facing increasing difficulty, the Jerusalem Post published an editorial in October calling on Israel to “prepare both operationally and conceptually to absorb thousands of European Jews.”

A paper published in March by JPPI titled European Jewry – Signals and Noise, reported on the situation and trends facing European Jewry and proposed ways to improve Israeli capabilities to welcome and absorb large numbers of Jews fleeing Europe.

You don’t have to visit Washington to lobby your government – do it now

If you’d like to express your displeasure to your elected representatives about the low state of US relations with Israel and Saudi Arabia, the proposed (there appears to be some confusion about whether the agreement was actually signed) agreement with Iran that would allow it to maintain its nuclear capabilities in exchange for reduced US sanctions, the deal allowing the Syrian government to continue is massacre, or Egypt’s turn to Russia for a new military alliance, you can do it right from your telephone and your computer. Find your Representative in the House and find your Senators, then email, write, fax or call their offices. Here’s a suggested letter that you are free to use:

Dear <Senator or Congressperson’s name>

Please support the Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act.

I am deeply concerned about the way the President and Secretary of State have been damaging US relationships with our allies in the Middle East. They have betrayed Israel and Saudi Arabia and other allies in negotiations with Iran. I urge you to pass new and stronger sanctions against Iran, and I urge you to call this administration to account for turning back the clock on over 50 years of American diplomacy.

Why is our country sacrificing its relationships with its allies so that it can free Iran to at the very least always remain on the edge of nuclear weapons development, and at worst develop a stockpile of nuclear weapons? Have we learned nothing from Pakistan and North Korea?

Why have we turned Egypt, a critical ally for peace in the Middle East, back to an alliance with Russia that last ended in the 1970s?

Why in Syria have we redeemed a war criminal who used poison gas from punishment, while at the same time allowing him to continue his massacre by other means?

You must work with Congress to act before it is too late. Before Iran has the capacity to develop nuclear weapons. Before other countries in the Middle East embark on a nuclear arms race to counter Iran.

Sincerely,

<your name>

Israel, the Pilgrims and the Maccabees

Israel, the Pilgrims and the Maccabees - Caroline Glick

The Festival of Lights is a celebration of Jewish religious freedom and national liberation. The Maccabees freed the Jews from the tyranny of Greece, the world’s greatest superpower, which denied them their right to remain Jewish. The Maccabees, a small band of heroically tenacious Jews who suffered extraordinary hardship in their war against the far superior Greek forces, took strength and comfort in their faith. It was their faith in God that empowered them to face impossible odds and emerge victorious. It was their faith in God that gave them the ability to stand up not only to the Greeks, but to the Jewish elites who preached submission and appeasement as the better part of virtue, castigating them as warmongering zealots for refusing to bow before false gods.

Fitch revises Israel rating outlook to positive | Reuters

Fitch revises Israel rating outlook to positive | Reuters

The issue ratings on Israel's senior unsecured foreign and local currency bonds have also been affirmed at 'A' and 'A+' respectively. The Outlook on the Long-term foreign currency IDR has been revised to Positive from Stable. The Outlook on the Long-term local currency IDR is Stable. The Country Ceiling has been affirmed at 'AA-' and the Short-term foreign currency IDR at 'F1'.

In Israel, a Dream Made Real

Ari Shavit: In Israel, a Dream Made Real - WSJ.com

Against all odds, Zionism has allowed an almost extinguished people to renew itself

In Israel, centuries of pain have burst out into gaiety and creation. Here is the demography of hope: an almost extinguished people renewing itself. Unlike the affluent societies of Europe, Israel's affluent society reproduces and grows—we have babies in great numbers.

Israel is no utopia, but it is an amazing expression of vitality.

Once one steps back from the ongoing friction of a conflict reported daily around the world, one can see the transformation of the Jews in the Zionist century. We had to come here, and once we came, we did wonders.

The Jewish nation state has brought neither peace nor peace of mind to the Jews. But it has provided us with the intensity of life on the edge—the adrenaline rush of living dangerously. Threatened with death, we have built a spectacle of life. We have converged on this shore and cling to this shore, come what may.

'Washington Post': White House omitting facts about Iran nuclear deal

The Washington Post's editorial board says The White House is omitting key facts about the nuclear deal signed with Iran. According to the Post's Editorial Board, "the United States and its partners have already agreed that Iranian enrichment activity will continue indefinitely. In contrast, a long-standing US demand that an underground enrichment facility be closed is not mentioned." According to the editorial, the most troubling aspect of the Geneva interim deal is that Iran could return to uranium enrichment and plutonium production at some point in the future after sanctions have been removed.

Read the analysis on the Jerusalem Post and The Washington Post's full editorial.

Quiet revolution afoot as reforms sail through Knesset

A slow-moving legislative revolution is taking place that may dramatically change how Israelis live their lives. Electoral change, pay equality, raised marriage age, rabbinical competition — a stream of liberal legislation is moving with unexpected ease through the Knesset.