Posts in Israel
‘Accepting The Other’: Arab Christian Paramedic In Nazareth Promotes Unity

As a 15-year-old high school student in Nazareth, Arab Christian Yasmeen Mazzawi wanted to learn the history of the Jews she met volunteering as a paramedic with Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel’s national emergency medical services. Her decision to visit Auschwitz with a team of MDA volunteers challenged her friendships with Muslim and Christian classmates at Nazareth Baptist School, founded by Southern Baptist missionaries in 1935.

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The Moral And Ethical Challenges Posed By Artificial Intelligence

The speakers that took to the stage at MIT this past week addressed a series of issues surrounding AI, including how it impacts a number of areas such as communications, entertainment, healthcare, politics, climate change and the military. In fact, speakers talked about the numerous potential pitfalls in a world where AI is becoming more ubiquitous.

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5 Notable College Commencement Addresses That Featured Faith

College students across the country are graduating this month. As is custom, famous people are invited to speak to students about the future. Sometimes, religion and faith comes up — especially at Christian colleges — and it’s not always something that resonates with the U.S.’s broader, more secular culture. Here are five that stood out this spring.

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ICC Prosecutor Seeks Arrest Warrants For Hamas And Israeli Leaders

(ANALYSIS) On May 20, the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan filed applications for warrants of arrest before Pre-Trial Chamber I of ICC in the “Situation in the State of Palestine.” This follows the March 2021 opening of the investigation into the situation in the state of Palestine and a statement from Oct. 10, 2023, to confirm that the recent escalation of the situation is within the mandate of the ICC.

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As Classes End, Colleges Take Down Encampments With Cops Or Concessions

As spring semesters around the country end, pro-Palestinian encampments — at least 10 in the past few weeks — are coming down, sometimes as a result of agreements between protesters and administrators, sometimes as a result of forceful action by police. Most agreements have involved amnesty for protesters and given them an opportunity to have input in university investment decisions.

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When Being Pro-Palestinian Means The End Of Israel

(OPINION) It is important to remember that many of those protesting Israel’s war in Gaza are not simply advocating for a ceasefire or for a two-state solution. They are advocating for the end of Israel. This, of course, is the obvious meaning of the “river to the sea” chant. But what is implied in the chant is now being stated explicitly by anti-Israel protesters and their allies. They, in turn, are simply articulating what has always been the fundamental position of Hamas.

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God’s Sovereignty And The Chosen People Of Israel

(OPINION) Israel was chosen because of the sovereignty of God, not because of Israel’s own merit. He set His love on Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and determined to bless the world through their offspring, meaning through the people of Israel and, ultimately, through the seed of Abraham par excellence, Jesus the Messiah. And because He made unconditional promises to the patriarchs, He has kept His word through the generations, preserving the people of Israel, disciplining them, scattering them and regathering them.

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Gaza’s Christian Presence Dwindles Following 7 Months Of Israel-Hamas War

An estimated 25 percent to half of the 900 to 1,000 Christians who lived in Gaza before the war have fled, and that an additional 25 percent are applying to leave. Israel’s occupation of the Rafah border crossing threatens safe passage to Egypt. Thousands of displaced Palestinians are fleeing Rafah for Deir el-Balah about 12 miles north and were straining a scant supply of fresh water.

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Palestinian Journalists Receive Pulitzer ‘Special Citation’ For Gaza War Coverage

The Pulitzer Prize committee awarded a “special citation” to journalists covering the war in Gaza. In addition, “A Day in the Life of Abed Salaman: Anatomy of a Jerusalem” Tragedy by Nathan Thrall, which documents the experience of a Palestinian father whose 5-year-old son was killed in a bus crash, won the prize for general nonfiction.

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Nearly Half of US Voters Believe Colleges Should Ban Pro-Palestine Protests

A new survey found 47 percent of U.S. voters believe colleges should ban pro-Palestinian protests, compared to 30 percent who say the demonstrations should be permitted. A slightly smaller number — 41 percent — would ban pro-Israel protests. The vast majority of voters — 76 percent — also said they support colleges asking police to protect campuses from violence.

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Crossroads Podcast: Why Jewish College Students Are Headed To The Bible Belt

No doubt about it. Quite a few students up north are taking their talents, and tuition dollars, to Southern states. For a conservative take on the statistics, see this Daily Mail piece: “Why college kids are abandoning Ivy Leagues to go to Southern schools.”

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Violence Erupts At UCLA As Pro-Israel Group Tries To Dismantle Encampment

A quiet weeknight at UCLA descended into mayhem after hundreds of pro-Israel protesters descended on the campus and began trying to dismantle a pro-Palestinian encampment. Violence raged outside the encampment for nearly three hours — from around 11 p.m. Tuesday to a little before 2 a.m. Wednesday — before police officers arrived at the scene and began dispersing them.

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Why I Don’t Believe American Students Care Deeply About Palestinians

(OPINION) No, I don’t believe for a split second that suddenly, college students all over America really care about the plight of the Palestinians. I don’t believe this anymore than, a few years ago, people around the globe were suddenly concerned about the plight of Black Americans when they marched for BLM. Not a chance.

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Israelis See Antisemitism — And Foreign Interests — Behind US campus protests

News about the demonstrations spreading at colleges in the United States has been dominating the headlines here. All of the 21 Israeli Jews we spoke with perceive protesters’ rally cries as attacks on Jews writ large. Most also said, without evidence, that American college kids are being manipulated, if not also paid, by Hamas, Qatar, Iraq or China to undermine Israel and Jews.

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Christian Activists Stage ‘United for Israel March’ At Columbia University

As pro-Palestinian protests spread to college campuses across America and around the world, three conservative Christian activists staged a “United for Israel March” at Columbia University on Friday night. The group of a few dozen people carrying American and Israel flags gathering before marching to Columbia’s gate, accompanied by a snare drum.

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How Passover Haggadahs — And Their art — Have Been Evolving For Centuries

The Jewish festival of Passover recalls the biblical story of the Israelites enslaved by Egypt and their miraculous escape. During a ritual feast known as a Seder, families celebrate this ancient story of deliverance, with each new generation reminded to never take freedom for granted. Every year, a written guide known as a “Haggadah” is read at the Seder table.

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Universities Directly Responsible For the Rise of Campus Antisemitism

(OPINION) It is not so much that our elite universities have allowed a spirit of vile Jew hatred to take root on their campuses. Instead, they have cultivated that very spirit, fueling its fires and finetuning its ideologies. The universities are complicit.

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Biden Signs $95 Billion Foreign Package, Includes Aid For Ukraine And Israel

President Joe Biden signed a $95 billion foreign aid package on April 24 that drew bipartisan support for Israel, Ukraine and other allies, and pledged to begin sending weapons and military equipment to Ukraine within hours.

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Evangelical leaders Lobbied House Speaker For Israel And Ukraine Aid

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson heard from select evangelical leaders in a press call in advance of the chamber’s weekend passage of a $95 million foreign aid package. The U.S. must support Israel, Ukraine and other allies in a battle that threatens democracy and religious freedom beyond Europe and the Middle East, the leaders said.

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