During the week covered by this review, we received 10 articles on the following subjects:
Israel
Jewish-Christian Relations
Christian Tourism
History
Miscellaneous
Archaeology
Israel
Israel Hayom, February 10, 2016
Adv. Raz Nazari, speaking at a recent BeSheva [religious newspaper] conference, stated that “the Duma murderers have Jewish blood on their hands as well as Arab,” and that, as a religious Jewish Zionist, he believes that “Jewish Zionist values don’t belong only to the right-wing” and that “citizens’ rights don’t belong only to the left-wing.” Nazari defined the recently arrested “rebellion group” as a group that “is likely to endanger the state.”
Jewish-Christian Relations
Gal-Gefen, February 4, 2016
The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews has recently been assisting senior citizens in Ramle with money for winter heating. This assistance comes as part of the “Warming in Fellowship” drive to give funds for heating to 25,000 senior citizens in 100 towns and cities in Israel. These seniors are not eligible for assistance from the state due to the fact that they live in places that are not included in the national insurance’s list of cold cities.
The funds distributed in the drive come from donations from Israel-loving Christians all over the world.
Christian Tourism
HaChayim HaTovim, February 4, 2016
A tour concentrating on ancient monastic life in the desert between Jerusalem and Jericho will take place on February 26. Among other places, the tour will visit the Good Samaritan Inn, the Qasr al-Yahud baptismal site, the ancient monastery of Gerasimus, Wadi Qelt, and the cliff-side Saint George Monastery. The tour will be run by Bishvil HaMetaylim (for reservations and further information please call 09-8783138 or 050-7834001).
Esra, February 8, 2016
This article reports on the author’s recent tour of Magdala with a group. It focuses on three main points of the tour: the first-century synagogue remains on the site, and especially the replica of the white stone presumed to be a Torah reading lectern; the priestly quarter of the town, and especially the ritual baths and fishing piers; and the new church built by the land’s Christian owners, which takes care to incorporate elements from the ancient synagogue into its design.
It is of particular note that Magdala, having been established in the third or fourth century BCE, predates Tiberias, which was established in 20 CE.
History
Yom L’Yom, February 4, 2016
This four-page interview with Rabbi Moshe Baruch of the Ethiopian community in Ashdod covers the history of the Ethiopian Jews. Among the topics discussed are the 15th-century persecution of the community, particularly the imperial edict that only Christians could inherit land, and the widespread killing that resulted in many forced conversions. Another topic is the attitudes of various rulers to the Jewish community, such as the Italian governor giving ceremonial golden robes to the community leaders, and Emperor Haile Selassie’s repealing of the ancient edict regarding inheriting property. The article pays particular attention to the various ways in which the Jewish community attempted to get to Israel in the 1970s and 1980s, such as paying smugglers to get them over the border in Sudan, where Mossad personnel would smuggle them into Israel (Operation Moses), or the operation in 1991, when the Israeli government paid the unstable Communist government to allow the Ethiopian Jews to come to Israel, and in 36 hours brought more than 14,000 of them out of the country (Operation Solomon).
Miscellaneous
Maariv, February 7, 2016
HaTzorfim reports a 20% increase in the sale of silver Judaica items in the US in 2015, due to the drastic drop in the price of silver during the last four years.
The Jerusalem Post, February 12, 2016
Shelli and Martin Kalson, originally from Ottawa, Canada, are sellers of “decorative historic art” and are acknowledged experts on historic maps, documents, and land deeds, especially from the early days of Zionism. However, they have recently added other items to their inventory, such as old typewriters with Hebrew keys and early radio sets, which are restored to working order before being sold. The oldest item the Kalsons have sold, states the article, is a Dutch map of the Holy Land divided into the twelve tribal areas, dating from 1648.
Archaeology
Kochav Yizra’el, February 5, 2016
Three 1,700-year-old burial inscriptions have recently been found in the ancient Tzippori cemetery, two of which refer to “rabbis” and one of which describes the decedent as “from Tiberias.” The Hebrew words “forever” and “shalom,” and the name “Yosei,” common in the period, appear in the inscriptions as well. Archaeologists are not of one mind as to the meaning of the word “rabbi” in the context of the period, and consider it possible that the many Jewish graves on the site may be due to Rabbi Judah the Prince’s work there in the Mishnaic period. “The importance of the burial inscriptions is in the fact that they reflect the everyday life of the Jews of Tzippori,” said Dr. Moti Aviam of the Kinneret Institute for Galilean Archaeology.
Yediot Tverya, February 5, 2016
Dr. Katya Tzitrine of the Hebrew University has recently begun a new dig in the Tiberias area, in an attempt to find the roads of ancient Tiberias, destroyed in the 1068 earthquake. Remains of two buildings have been found as well, which may prove to have been a Roman temple and a Christian church.
Haaretz, February 12, 2016
This article is an obituary of Prof. Truda Dotan (1922-2016), winner of the Israel Prize for archaeology in 1998. A student of Prof. Eliezer Sukenik, Lior Mai, and Benjamin Mazar, Dotan wrote her doctoral dissertation on Philistine artifacts and later became an expert in the subject, being particularly noted for having found the remains of the biblical city of Ekron.
Having been predeceased by her husband, archaeologist Prof. Moshe Dotan, she leaves behind two children, four grandchildren, and a great-grandchild.