Free Republic

The Arabic-speaking (though ethnically Aramean) Christian community in Israel celebrated on Monday the promotion to the rank of Major of one of its own in the Israel Defense Forces. More and more local Christians have been volunteering for the IDF in recent years as groups like the Israel Christian Community (ICCI) encourage military service as the best way to integrate into the Jewish state. In a Facebook post marking the promotion of Maj. Eddie Jamalia, the ICCI told “everyone who tried (and is trying) to prevent our integration into Israeli society, in the IDF and the security forces (in particular),...

Aramaeans Call Upon the Justness of the President-elect Barack Obama Dr. M. Shamsaddin Megalommatis published December 29, 2008 Aramaeans have been for millennia the moving force of vast empires, like the Achaemenidian Persian, the Arsacid Parthian, and the Sassanid Iranian empires, as well as the Islamic Caliphates, particularly the Abbassid empire of Baghdad. Great Central Asiatic empires like the Kushan and the Uighur empires owe their strength and socio-economic interconnectedness to the use of Aramaic writing and language that helped diffuse many, different backgrounds´ religions, notably Mithraism, Manichaeism, other Gnosticisms, Buddhism, and Nestorian Christianism. Due to their extensive islamization, the...

The Hebrew Bible views Egypt as the location of both slavery and refuge. The “wandering Aramean” ancestor mentioned in Deuteronomy 26:5 was a slave in Egypt, whereas the prophet Jeremiah and others chose to flee there after the fall of Samaria/Israel and Judah. This presentation offers a look at the evidence for diaspora life in Egypt found in Papyrus Amherst 63, a long and difficult text written in Aramaic but using the Demotic Egyptian script. The many compositions in the papyrus reflect the religious traditions and collective cultural memory of a group of Aramaic speakers in Egypt, including Samarians and...

Stunning stone etching of two horned individuals at prayer found at mouth of rare circa-11th century citadel in Israel’s north; could predate famous Geshur site, Tel Bethsaida Dating to around the time of King David 3,000 years ago, what may be the earliest fortified settlement in the Golan Heights was recently discovered during salvage excavations ahead of the construction of a new neighborhood. Incredible rock etchings of two figures holding their arms aloft — possibly at prayer with what could be a moon — were uncovered inside the unique fort, which was dated to circa 11th-9th century BCE. The striking...

The archaeologists consider that the fort was built by the kingdom of Geshur, the ally of King David, in order to control the region. The excavation was undertaken prior to the construction of a new neighborhood in Hispin, and funded by the Ministry of Housing and Construction and the Golan Regional Council, with the participation of many residents of Hispin and Nov, and youth from the pre-military academies at Natur, Kfar Hanasi, Elrom, Metzar and Qaztrin. According to Barak Tzin and Enno Bron, excavation directors on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, "The complex we exposed was built at a...

Arameans, an ancient people with a distinct culture, have been severely persecuted throughout Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria for more than 1,400 years.Faded-green plants grow alongside dusty roads in the Aramaic-Maronite village of Jish. Pink and red potted flowers decorate the doorsteps of most homes, and the intensity of the midday sun enhances their color. It’s been several months since I returned from a trip I took to Israel with an organization called Passages. During the trip, my group visited this particular village in the Galilee region to meet with a community of Arameans, an ancient people with a distinct...

Sitting in front of the family Christmas tree dressed in military fatigues, Amir Shalayan seemed in no doubt about his identity. “When you go back back in religion, I consider myself a real Jew,” he said, unabashed by the non-Jewish festive decorations in his living room. “Jesus was Jewish and he was observing the Shabbat (Jewish sabbath).” Mr Shalayan is in fact an Arab Christian, a category he refers to as “Aramean”, but his strong identification with the Jewish faith is offered as explanation for his keen army service. It also accounts for his vocal support of legislation that envisages...

The law instituting the Aramean nationality passed on September 18, creating an officially recognized Christian minority group. The first Israeli to register under the new Israeli Aramaean nationality is two-year-old Yaakov Halul, the son of Aramaic leaders in Northern Israel. The child’s parents, Sha’di and Oxana Halul, waited two years after their son's birth to register his nationality, so he could officially register as Aramaean, as opposed to Arab. They finally registered the child as Aramean earlier this week. Sha’di Halul serves as a captain in an IDF reserves paratroopers unit and is head of the Aramaic Masonite Heritage Center,...