During the week covered by this review, we received 7 articles on the following subjects:
Jewish / Christian relations (including Catholic relations)
Archaeology
Book Reviews
Jewish / Christian relations (including Catholic relations)
Shavua Israeli, November 17, 2021
This article was about Israel’s Christian Media Summit, on which we reported last week. It was written by Ari Bussel, a.k.a. “The Jewish Voice on Christian Radio”, who hosts a weekly radio program called “Conversations Eye to Eye” on KBRT, the largest Christian station in southern California.
Bussel described the importance of the connection between Israel and its Christian supporters – for political and financial reasons, and because they support Israel unconditionally – and claimed that a yearly conference is much too little. The love of Christians for Israel is one-sided, and must be nurtured for it to survive, according to Bussel. The Israeli government must take the Christian world seriously, and invest effort in this vital relationship.
Yad Vashem Jerusalem, November 22, 2021
The Director of International Relations Division at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum, Sari Granitza, visited the USA and met with Christian supporters of Yad Vashem. Christian supporters also visited the museum, and participated in the annual “Mashiv Haruach” concert of Jewish soul music, which took place at the museum’s Warsaw Ghetto Square.
Jerusalem Post, November 25, 2021
Christian supporters of Israel from around the world have donated another 36 portable bomb shelters to Israelis living on the country’s borders. The shelters were delivered through the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ) in coordination with Operation Lifeshield. The funds have been raised over the last six months in the aftermath of the latest Hamas-Israel war that ended with 13 Israelis dead. Donations came from Christians in Brazil, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Fiji, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, South Africa, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States, among other places.
Archaeology
Various articles
Various articles reported about major recent archeological findings:
Israeli archaeologists have found the ruins of a stronghold on a hilltop 6 km (3.7 miles) from the ancient city of Maresha, which they believe was destroyed by the raging Judean forces en route to conquering Maresha under the command of Hasmonean King and High Priest John Hyrcanus in 112 B.C.E. “The ash in the destruction layer is half a meter thick,” said Saar Ganor, co-director of the excavation on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, adding that he had never before seen anything like this. “This discovery proves all the Hanukkah stories,” he said. Embedded in the ash were a wealth of archaeological finds, from half-burned roof timbers to pottery and weapons, as well as stone equipment such as flour-grinding wheels, and coins, which were crucial to dating the site.
A rare 2,000-year-old silver shekel coin, thought to have been minted on the Temple Mount plaza from the plentiful silver reserves held there at the time, has been uncovered in Jerusalem. If it had indeed been minted there, it would make the coin one of the very few items uncovered that were manufactured at the holy site. The coin, found by an 11-year-old girl during a sifting project of dirt removed from an archaeological dig at the City of David National Park, was engraved with “second year,” i.e., the second year of the Great Jewish Revolt against the Romans (67-68 CE). Dr. Robert Kool, head of the Coin Department at the Israel Antiquities Authority, suggested that the coin may have been minted at the plaza of the holy site by one of the priests who worked in coordination with the rebel leaders.
Book Reviews
Haaretz, November 26, 2021
Award-winning journalist Janine di Giovanni published a new book earlier this month documenting Christian persecution in the Middle East. Di Giovanni’s new book, “The Vanishing: Faith, Loss and the Twilight of Christianity in the Land of the Prophets”, is her ninth publication. The book chronicles how the birthplace of Christianity in the Middle East is becoming inhospitable to the Christians living there. Di Giovanni’s book comes after four years of intensive field work and 35 years as a war journalist in the Middle East, including time as a senior foreign correspondent for The Times of London.
“When you’re there, you’re just struck by the extraordinary passage of time: the land you walk on is so rich with thousands of years of the people who have walked there before,” di Giovanni said. “These Christian communities have managed to hang onto their identity for 2000 years despite so many armies that have tried to conquer them and laws that have tried to restrain them, and that to me was just extraordinary.” Faith and resilience are core themes of the book. Di Giovanni explained that faith amounts to more than just a belief in Jesus Christ for these communities; it’s also a “deep-rooted belief in themselves and their communities and their ancient ways of life”. According to di Giovanni, the peril faced by these communities threatens the rich cultural and social fabric of the countries in which they live.