Free Republic

Any lover of peace longs for the day when tensions in the Middle East abate. If only the three major religions in the world could find at least some respectful common ground, they say, one might see a faint light at the end of the long tunnel of even the Arab-Israeli conflict. Where did the discord begin, and is there any hope it might subside? In many parts of the world, Christians and Jews have achieved mutual respect leading to congenial dialogue — even where they might disagree theologically. Neither, however, seems to have succeeded in finding the same level...

CNA Newsroom, Jan 7, 2023 / 09:00 am The excavation site of the Pool of Siloam in Jerusalem, the place where Jesus restored sight to a blind man, will be open to the public for the first time. The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), the Israel National Parks Authority, and the City of David Foundation announced the start of excavations that will allow the complete exposure of the Pool of Siloam. Visitors will be able to see the stage of the excavation of the pool that in the coming months will form part of the tourist route from the City of...

UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Association, announced a number of resolutions just before the weekend started. One, submitted by the Russian Federation, called for defining UNESCO’s role in safeguarding and preserving Palmyra and other Syrian World Heritage sites. Another was about “Enhancing UNESCO’s contributions to promote a culture of mutual respect and tolerance.” A third was simply entitled “Occupied Palestine” and addressed the Jerusalem Old City hotspot that Jews refer to as the Temple Mount and Muslims call Haram Al-Sharif, the Noble Sanctuary. Except that the Jewish link to the site, considered the holiest place for Jews,...

Were it not for its proximity to Christmas, Hanukkah would be unknown to most non-Jews and it would not be celebrated by most non-religious Jews. The proof is that the other post-Hebrew Bible holiday, Purim, while very popular in Israel, where it is sort of a Jewish Mardi Gras, is essentially unknown to non-Jews and largely ignored by most American Jews. Too bad. Hanukkah is actually of seminal importance both to Judaism and to the world. SNIP To understand why Judaism so bothered Antiochus, one needs to understand that no pagan religion completely rejected Hellenism. Judaism did. If Antiochus wanted...

JERUSALEM – Israel displayed for the first time Wednesday a collection of rare coins charred and burned from the Roman destruction of the Jewish Temple nearly 2,000 years ago. About 70 coins were found in an excavation at the foot of a key Jerusalem holy site. They give a rare glimpse into the period of the Jewish revolt that eventually led to the destruction of the Second Jewish Temple in A.D. 70, said Hava Katz, curator of the exhibition. The Jews rebelled against the Roman Empire and took over Jerusalem in A.D. 66. After laying siege to Jerusalem, the Romans...

The quarter shekel coin, dated to 69 AD, is one of only four of its kind known to exist It took nearly 20 years of dogged detective work and a trail which crossed continents before the case of the missing $1m relic could be closed. "A cherished piece of history [is] finally going home," said a US official at a ceremony marking the occasion. That piece of history is a small silver coin rich in symbolism, minted during a Jewish revolt nearly 2,000 years ago. Looted in Israel in 2002, it was eventually tracked down, seized and is being returned...

"This is the third coin of this type found in excavations in Jerusalem, and one of the few ever found in archeological excavations," said the researchers.During the Great Revolt against Rome, the Jews in Jerusalem minted bronze and silver coins. Most of the silver coins featured a goblet on one side, with ancient Hebrew script above it noting the year of the Revolt. Depending on its denomination, the coins also included an inscription around the border noting either, "Israel Shekel," "Half-Shekel," or "Quarter-Shekel." The other side of these coins showcased a branch with three pomegranates, surrounded by an inscription in...

The Azerbaijani parliament on Friday announced its historic decision to open an embassy in Israel. The embassy will be located in Tel Aviv, and will be the first embassy in Israel of a country with a Shi’ite majority and a Shi’ite government. Outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said: "I welcome the decision by the National Assembly of Azerbaijan to open an embassy in Israel. Azerbaijan is an important partner of Israel and home to one of the largest Jewish communities in the Muslim world. The decision to open an embassy reflects the depth of the relationship between our countries."...

After the revolt of Bar Kokhba against the Roman Empire (132-135 C.E.), the Judea province was renamed Syria Palaestina by the Roman Emperor Hadrian to detach the Judean province from Jewish identity. In recent history, the area called Palestine includes the territories of the present-day Israel and Jordan (see the map). From 1517 to 1917 most of this area remained under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. During World War I, in 1917, the British army occupied Jerusalem. On November 2, 1917, the British foreign secretary Arthur James Balfour issued the Balfour Declaration for "the establishment in Palestine of a...

"I pursued my enemies and overtook them..." [sefaria.org/Psalms.18.38]. Remember the Arab who shouted over the loudspeaker at the leftist demonstration "Khaybar, Khaybar, Ya Yahud" and called on Mohammed's army to kill Jews? I met him today. Spoiler: he doesn't like cameras.

Introduction An epithet began in using it on Jews reciting the Biblical verse in Deuteronomy, 6:4 "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one..." Though Haredim, their Rabbis believe it's forbidden now days to ascend the mountain where the Temples stood and visit rather the Western Wall. However, those that are religious-Zionists and follow their masters that permit access, recite the above verse at the Temple Mount. (Some bow, as in Isaiah 27:13). Upon those scenes, the PA and Hamas, etc. came up with the phrase as supposed "talmudic", which is false, as it is Biblical. Since...

Arresred: Arab "Palestinian" who sexually assaulted a girl in Jerusalem and uploaded a video to TikTok. [While his friends laugh (Clip).

Prime Minister Yair Lapid met Wednesday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York with UK Prime Minister Liz Truss, who reportedly said she is considering moving the British embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Lapid expressed “his deepest condolences, on his own behalf and on behalf of the people of Israel, on the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, ” congratulated Truss on taking office, and expressed “confidence that under their leadership, ties between Israel and the United Kingdom will reach new heights in various fields, in particular the economy, innovation and...

The National Jewish Monthly, Volume 77, B'nai B'rith., 1962, p. 1 Review Of The Month Anti Semitism at UN Arab delegates spouted the most vicious kind of anti-Semitism ever heard in the halls of the United Nations during a debate on the Arab refugee issue in the General Assembly's special political committee. The worst statement was made by Ahmad Shukairy, of Saudi Arabia. He said, Argentina "should be saluted" because of its violently anti-Jewish youth organization, Tacuara, and added: "Tacuara has proclaimed a crusade... we propose that Tacuara be adopted by the United Nations." This was too much even for...

Arabs Read Hitler "My Struggle" Becomes Best Seller Among Anti-Semitics. BERLIN. November 26 (AP). -- Arabs, who join with Nazi Germany in antagonism to Jews, are reading Adolf Hitler's book "My Struggle." The Fuehrer's autobiography, with its anti-Semitic theroies, has been translated into Arabic and already is a best seller in Palestine, German newspapers say. The German edition once was barred in Palestine during the high point of Jewish immigration there, but Arabs who fought the Jewish influx, are reported much interested in the new translation.Nebraska State Journal Archives, Nov 26, 1936, p. 2 - NewspaperArchive

Syria may not only be to blame for the refusal of Palestinian factions to accept a cease-fire with Israel, but also for the terror attack which killed eight Yeshiva students in Jerusalem on Thursday, the London-based newspaper Al-Hayat reported on Saturday. According to the report, a senior Egyptian official told the paper that "Syria may be interested in focusing the international attention on the situation in Gaza and the West Bank, instead of the situation in Lebanon." Asked whether Hizbullah was responsible for the Jerusalem shooting spree, the official responded that "there was not enough evidence, but that an investigation...

The discovery of the remains of a fortified city was shown to be the first archaeological site in the region verified to be from the era of King David.Excavations performed 14 years ago at Khirbet Qeiyafa have proven to be a point of contact between archaeology, biblical studies, and ancient history. The discovery of the remains of a fortified city was shown to be the first archaeological site in the region verified to be from the era of King David. Excavations at Khirbet el-Eika dating from the mid-second century BCE have yielded fascinating insights into a prosperous Jewish community in...

The Jewish–Roman wars was a series of uprisings against the Roman Empire that started in AD 66 during the reign of Emperor Nero.The seeds of the revolt were in response to increasing religious tensions and high taxation, leading to reprisal attacks against Roman citizens. In retaliation, the Roman Governor of Judea plundered the Second Temple and launched raids to arrest senior political and religious figures within the Jewish community.This led to a wide-scale rebellion, resulting in the Roman officials abandoning Jerusalem to the rebels.Nero tasked Vespasian, a Roman general (who would succeed to the role of Emperor during the "Year...

The installation of a new elevator led to the ancient finds.Archaeological excavations beside Jerusalem's Western Wall have unearthed thousands of years of the city's history — including an ornate 2,000-year-old villa with a private mikveh, or ritual bath.The Western Wall is one of the holiest sites in Judaism and it's visited by millions of worshipers and tourists each year. But visitors typically have to descend 142 steps or make a long detour around the city walls to reach the holy site.Permission was given to a development company in 2017 to build two elevators for better disabled access to make the...

Hitler smiles in the photo, leans slightly forward and returns the handshake on both sides of the car. Over this photo was a text in Arabic (at Hitler's chest level), which Samir and Hassan translated for me as follows: "Hitler said in his book (Mein Kampf): It was in my power to kill all the Jews in the world, but I have..." The picture seems to be relatively common, I found it later after a short internet search on other sites than Samir's closed forum; if you entered "Hitler" in Arabic letters in the Google image search, it was among...