Mark Twain in the Holy Land

Mark Twain visited Israel in 1867, and published his impressions in Innocents Abroad.  He described a desolate country – devoid of both vegetation and human population:
“….. A desolate country whose soil is rich enough, but is given over wholly to weeds… a silent mournful expanse…. a desolation…. we never saw a human being on the [...]

In a Few Years, The Dead Sea Scrolls Will Be Online

The Dead Sea Scrolls are in the process of being digitally photographed.  The main purpose of the photography is for conservation purposes, but the Israel Antiquities Authority intends to make all of the photographs available online.
Today’s digital technologies make previously illegible letters on the scrolls suddenly readable, helping scholars further their research into the Dead [...]

What Does Joe Biden Have to Say about Zionism?

Vice Presidential candidate Sen. Joe Biden on Zionism, Israel and Iraq:

UPDATE: Gil Troy comments on Biden’s claim that he is a Zionist:
Regarding the Middle East, Biden is equally conventional – and unimaginative. In a reflection of just how standard it remains to embrace Israel from both sides of the aisle, Biden [...]

Jesse Owens Beat the Nazis at their Own Game

The Olympics have always been about more than sports.  Never was this more true than in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.  By 1936, Hitler had already put into practice racial policies.  He used the Olympics in order to legitimize his regime and show off the power of Germany.  The Germans did not allow “non-Aryans” to [...]

The Six-Day War and Ammunition Hill

Efforts to embed this interesting video about the battle at Ammunition Hill have failed.  But you can watch it at wejew.com.  Michael Oren says the significance of the Six-Day War was in the transition from an urban society to a society connected to its ancestral land.  The video shows soldiers talking about the battle and [...]

Another Review of Golda

The Forward has another review of Elinor Burkett’s Golda.  This paragraph is particularly interesting:
The tragedy of her life story was that she took charge of Israel just at the moment when the first threads in the slow unraveling of the Zionist dream could be seen. She had arrived not because she was a thinker on [...]

Controversy on Mount Zion

Construction on the ancient monastery where the Last Supper was supposed to have been eaten is causing controversy in Jerusalem.
The Institute for the Study of the Family and Family Laws in Israel owns the building and is conducting what it calls routine renovations. Tancredi, a Catholic organization, is petitioning the Court to stop [...]

First International Jewish Bloggers Convention

Last night in Jerusalem I attended the First International Jewish Bloggers Convention. There were 200 people in the room and up to 1300 on webcast! Apparently the Jewish blogging world is quite large.
Some of the highlights were:
Benjamin Netanyhu spoke – briefly – about his blog, and then about why he should be Prime [...]

Discoveries at Ramat Rahel

A video about the newest discoveries at Ramat Rahel is available at infolive.tv.  See where the coins were discovered, hear about the dig experience and why the coins would have been hidden in niches.

Tunisia

Asaf Romirowsky has written a fascinating article about Tunisia’s ability to serve as a bridge between America and the Moslem world.  Although anti-Zionism is strong in Tunisia, the Tunisian government and people are proud of their Jews and practice cultural and religious tolerance.  If moderate Islam is the answer to radical Islam, Romirowsky claims it [...]