Israel

The Land of Israel is the sacred inheritance of the Jewish People.  That we have been able to return after 2,000 years of exile is a modern day miracle. I see with clarity the protection of Heaven hovering over us.  I see it in the way we thrive as a …

Recently, my five-year-old son started asking me about soldiers. It all began when we were visiting my husband’s family in Israel last year. He saw a soldier walking to the bus stop early one morning and grabbed my hand and moved to hide behind me: living in Australia he is certainly not used …

Haredis to Hold Ceremony Commemorating Fallen Haredi Soldiers Amind Growing Anti-IDF Incitement Within the Community . The Likud’s haredi faction will be holding a special memorial ceremony this Wednesday on Yom HaZikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day, commemorating the Haredi members of the IDF who were killed in Israel’s wars. Haredis, or …

Or, in the Israeli vernacular, Kol Hakavod! It was Shabbat here when President Trump announced the strike on Syria we had been waiting for; I did not access the news until Saturday evening. Friday evening, 9:00 E.T., (4:00 AM Saturday morning here), the president spoke to the nation. “My fellow …

On this date 70 years ago April 13th 1948, a convoy comprising of doctors, nurses, patients, students, and a few Haganah soldiers set out to bring humanitarian aid to Hadassah Hospital, which had been cut off and besieged from the western half of Jerusalem. Due to the blockade, the only …

Ani Ode Chai! The English translation—I am still alive!—doesn’t quite have the same impact. It is Yom HaShoah here in Israel today: The Holocaust Martyrs and Heroes Remembrance Day. Last night, the official ceremony was held at Yad VaShem. Every year I write about this ceremony, and the stories of …

Israel will celebrate 70 years in existence this May. And for her entire existence her right to exist has been questioned by some and denied by many. The San Remo Conference in 1920, following in the footsteps of the Balfour Declaration of November 2, 1917, under the auspices of the Supreme Council …

The imperative to counter libelous statements and untruths about Israel is always with us. But at this moment in time the situation—in terms of libels, distortions and untruths—has intensified as a function of the “protest” at the Gaza border. One way in which the Palestinian Arabs and their supporters attempt …

Just as I did a week ago, I turn again to report on what happened at our border with Gaza on Friday, a day that Hamas called “Friday of the Tires.” They had warned that they would bring massive quantities of tires close to the border and set them on …

Israel has been in for vicious criticism recently over its response to the violent Arab March of Return.   Hamas sent about 30,000 soldiers, and families of soldiers, to challenge the integrity of the fence between Israel and Gaza. They have also burned thousands of tires near that fence creating a …

Israel must convey that it will consider the continuation of the “March of Return” an overt act of war, and all the participants in it, enemy combatants—who must expect to face all the risks that entails.  … this wasn’t a fight against the occupation. This wasn’t a march for peace. This …

Had I not been busy with Pesach, I would have written this sooner.  Now that I am at my computer, it is my intention to get this out today: It is imperative to move past biased media reports and Hamas PR, so that everyone can understand with some clarity what …

Last Wednesday I was invited to a Jewish Day School to spend an hour with their Year 12 students to talk about issues related to Israel.  One aspect we discussed were the Land Day protests planned by Hamas that would be coming out of Gaza two days later. It was …

The Jewish population of Israel was preparing for Passover, and the Christian population was in the midst of their Good Friday activities,  on Friday March 30th, whilst approximately 30,000 Palestinians marched to the border of Gaza to take part in what were supposed to be peaceful demonstrations. The ABC – …

Friday night begins the week of Pesach. This holiday, enormously rich in symbolism, has universal elements regarding freedom and human dignity. But at its core, its powerful message is Jewish: The Almighty brought us out of slavery, in order to be his people, receive his Torah, and then make our …

Press Release from  the Im Tirtzu and Israel Is Forever. Demonstrators Outside French Consulate: “Stop Subversive Activities Against Israel”   Dozens of  demonstrators gathered today (Friday) outside the French Consulate in Jerusalem and called on the consulate to stop its “subversive activities against Israel.” The demonstration, organized by the Im …

According to Ronald Lauder, Israel must be either perilously insecure; or demographically untenable. This is an utterly false dichotomy.  …the Jewish democratic state faces two grave threats that I believe could endanger its very existence…The first threat is the possible demise of the two-state solution…The second, two-prong threat, is Israel’s …

  Matters are certainly not smooth. Not here – and I’ll come to that. But worse, on the other side of the Atlantic. America is in a great deal of trouble. And so I begin by recommending Gloria Greenfield’s latest film, “The Fight of Our Lives.” The film addresses the …

Which is to say: it hurts! In my last post I focused on news of two terror attacks in recent days, and I had hoped to move on from there to other matters. But it is not to be. When I wrote yesterday, I reported on a terror attack in …

In pursuit of bipartisanship AIPAC should strive to persuade “progressives”, not pander to them”; to convert them, not co-opt them.  The progressive narrative for Israel is just as compelling and critical as the conservative one – AIPAC PresidentMort Fridman, March 5, 2018. Almost two weeks have passed since the last …