During the week covered by this review, we received 6 articles on the following subjects:
Christian Tourism
Archaeology
Political Issues
Israeli / Jewish attitudes concerning Christians / Christianity
Christian Tourism
Shishi BaGolan, July 2, 2021
A group of 35 American Christian pilgrims taking part in the pilot trial run by the Israeli Ministry of Tourism was the first group to stay in the holiday resort of Ein Gev since the pandemic halted tourism. The group was welcomed with excitement.
Archaeology
HaModia, July 9, 2021; Yeted Ne’eman, July 9, 2021; Iton Shacharit, July 9, 2021
The Western Wall Heritage Foundation announced that it had uncovered a structure built around 20 or 30 CE, during the Herodian period, a few decades before the Second Temple was destroyed. The structure includes two ornate halls that likely served as a place to host visiting delegates. The structure is said to be the most lavish finding outside of the Temple Mount dating to the Second Temple period in Jerusalem. A new trail leading through the structure has been added to the tour.
Political Issues
Matzav Ruach, July 9, 2021
A new law proposal put forward in the Knesset will grant the Catholic Church the right to manage land deals of local Catholic holdings in Israel, according to this report. The pope will have the authority to approve or veto sales if the law passes. The author expressed concern that this would make it more difficult for Jews trying to take back land in Jerusalem to accomplish their goal, as the Vatican may prevent smaller Catholic churches from selling off assets even if they desired to do so.
Israeli/Jewish attitudes concerning Christians/Christianity
Makor Rishon, July 9, 2021
This piece argued that because the West still lives under the shadow of the Christian “mythos”, it struggles to confront the phenomenon of evil in international politics. The centrality of the doctrine of original sin to Christianity, which leads to existential despair over the human ability to overcome evil, has resulted in a loss of personal responsibility and giving up ownership over one’s own life and actions. Historically, this existential despair correlated with anti-Semitism, because Christians projected their struggle with sin onto Jews whom they blamed for the suffering of Christ. Today, democracies are crumbling because Westerners do not know how to take personal responsibility or confront evil at its root because of the latent Christian belief that evil cannot ultimately be eradicated by human beings. The author concluded that Jews can offer a new humane vision to the world, by advocating that human beings take responsibility for their life and actions, and by promoting the idea that sin can be tackled at its root.