Jerusalem Notebook: A New Year in a Broken World
Those who have the healthy habit of working out at a gym several times a week will soon be complaining about the massive – and often annoying – “New Year’s resolution crowd” that throngs every fitness center starting on Jan. 2. They will be equally relieved, on about Feb. 3, when the entire mass of newcomers are virtually all gone – their New Year’s resolutions broken and forgotten. Instead of working out, their time will soon be consumed with other distractions like Netflix.
Palestinian Industrial Zone?
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman have approved the construction of 2,500 new homes across Judea and Samaria. Most of the world calls this biblical heartland the West Bank, referring to the 1948 - 1967 when Jordan occupied the area west of its Jordan River boarder; hence, "West Bank." "We are building and we will continue to build," Netanyahu said. Lieberman added, "We are going back to normal life in Judea and Samaria." (Read Mo

Evangelical Experts Oppose Trump's Refugee Ban
Despite previous plans to admit the highest number of refugees in decades, the United States will shut its doors to thousands displaced by conflict in the Middle East—at least temporarily—under an executive order President Donald Trump signed Friday. Christian aid groups responsible for resettlement mourned and criticized the president’s decision to stop accepting any refugees into the United States for the next four months. The order puts an indefinite ban on refugees coming

Israel Bringing in 100 Children Orphaned in Syrian Civil War
Prime Minister Netanyahu, Interior Minister Aryeh Deri approve framework to enable foster families in the Arab sector to care for the children • Once the children are safe in Israel, authorities will try to bring their close families to Israel as well. (Read More...)
Yatom Says US Should Give Israel Bunker-Busting Bombs
Few people have walked the labyrinths of power for as long as Danny Yatom, the former Mossad director, IDF general and chief of staff, and military secretary to multiple prime ministers. (Read More...)

Re-set to Proceed at Slower Pace?
Three days after the inauguration of US President Donald Trump, the US-Israeli reset appears to be taking shape. Trump called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, and invited him to visit the White House early next month to further cement what both sides proclaim will be a new golden age of bilateral relations, devoid of the wedge of “daylight” that split the alliance for the last eight years. Trump promised to consult closely with Netanyahu on addressing the threats

Thousands of Israeli Arabs Protest Home Demolitions
Thousands of protesters gathered in the Arab town of Arara in northern Israel on Saturday to protest the recent wave of government-ordered home demolitions in the Bedouin and Arab communities. (Read More...)

Exploring the Family of Jesus
Did Mary of Nazareth, Jesus’ mother, have other children? A number of biblical texts suggest an affirmative answer. Among them one finds the following: (Read More...)
FOX Biased, Too?
Fox News correspondent Conor Powell is at it again, substituting balanced reporting and informed analysis with partisan, parroted phrases and biased, unsupported assertions. Reporting on the January 15th Mideast peace conference in Paris, Powell editorialized: Trump is an avid supporter of Israel's building settlements on Palestinian land, and he's vowed to shift the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a move that would undermine any hopes of a negotiated two-state a

Khalidi Warns of Jewish Infiltration
A Columbia University professor who has campaigned for boycotts of Israel said in a radio interview on Tuesday that supporters of Israel are going to “infest” the United States government after Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration. (Read More...)