Articles By Holy Land Moments

It seemed in so many ways to be a day just like any other. Here in the Midwest, September 11, 2001, began as a crisp, clear, perfect day — the sort of day that signals that summer is drawing to a close and autumn is just around the corner.

For both Jews and Christians, this is a season to celebrate — and marvel at — miracles. For Christians, there is Christmas, celebrating the birth of Jesus.

On Monday, Americans will celebrate Independence Day. Throughout the U.S., we will congregate in our neighbor’s yard to share a meal, on Main Street to watch a festive parade, or at a nearby school or community center to watch the local fireworks. This holiday takes place in the very heart of our neighborhoods.

Prime Minister Netanyahu knows what democracy looks like. And, in both his public appearances in Washington, the prime minister also showed us what real leadership looks like, both by his willingness to compromise to make peace with his neighbors and his ability to stand firm on matters deeply rooted in principle.

Several minutes into New Year's Day, a bomb exploded at a Coptic Christian church in Alexandria, Egypt. Twenty-three people were killed and scores more were injured.

On Monday, America observes Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. It is a time to remember a great man whose heroic leadership and tireless work helped secure equal rights for African-Americans.

The New Year promises to be tumultuous for Jewish communities around the world. We recently saw this powerfully illustrated in the northern African country of Tunisia, where Tunisian President Ben Ali fled the country in the wake of rioting against his dictatorial rule.

January 27 is set aside by the United Nations as a day to honor victims of the Holocaust. The date was chosen for a reason — on January 27, 1945, Russian troops liberated the notorious Nazi death camp at Auschwitz.

In recent months, the Arab world has been immersed in chaos. In Lebanon, Israel's neighbor to the north, the terrorist group Hezbollah has moved to solidify its hold over the government.

Humans have an innate desire to see justice done. We see this desire playing out every day in our own lives. When a child runs to a parent to complain about being wronged by a brother or sister, or an employee approaches his supervisor to air a grievance about a co-worker, they are all seeking justice.

As you may know, The Fellowship has offices in Chicago and Jerusalem. This was not always the case. Prior to the year 2000, donations raised through our offices in Chicago were distributed directly to the needy in Israel through trusted partner organizations working in the Holy Land.

Unrest in the Arab world continues to escalate. In Libya, thousands may have been killed in recent weeks for challenging the reign of longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

This week, an astonishing event has been taking place in universities around the world. The aim of this event, "Israeli Apartheid Week" (IAW), is, according to its organizers, to "educate people about the nature of Israel as an apartheid system."

They were a family of eight: a husband and wife, Udi and Ruth Fogel, and their six children, Tamar, 12, Yoav, 11, Roi, 8, Elad, 4, Yishai, 2, and Hadas, 3 months. They lived in the West Bank town of Itamar, located in the Samarian Mountains near the Palestinian city of Nablus.

According to a new U.N. report, Iran appears to be preparing to ramp up its production of enriched uranium. Russia's foreign minister also called recently for the resumption of talks on Iran's nuclear program in order to address continued international concerns about the country's nuclear ambitions.

On Wednesday, March 23, a terrorist bomb exploded near a bus stop in central Jerusalem. One person was killed in the attack, and scores more injured.

From October 29-November 8, The Fellowship will host its annual Journey Home to Israel Tour. Participants will travel the Holy Land, walking in the footsteps of the patriarchs, the apostles, and Jesus.

From Gaddafi and Mubarak to Assad and Ahmadinejad, dictators have been in the news a lot lately. We see the evidence of their cruelty, and we are staggered by their ability to make life unbearable for so many people.

Beginning at sundown on Saturday, April 30 through sundown on Sunday, May 1, Jews around the world will observe Yom Ha'Shoah — Holocaust Remembrance Day, which commemorates the most terrible chapter in modern Jewish history.

On May 14, 1948, the 5th day of the month of Iyar on the Jewish calendar, Jewish leaders gathered in Tel Aviv to sign the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel — Israel's Declaration of Independence.

Last month, Fatah, the governing body of the Palestinian Authority (P.A.), signed a unity agreement with the terrorist group Hamas.

Last Sunday, just days after Israelis joyously celebrated Israel Independence Day, many Palestinians, along with other Arabs in the countries neighboring Israel, commemorated Nakba Day.

Prime Minister Netanyahu knows what democracy looks like. And, in both his public appearances in Washington, the prime minister also showed us what real leadership looks like, both by his willingness to compromise to make peace with his neighbors and his ability to stand firm on matters deeply rooted in principle.

A little over a year ago, a fleet of six ships sailed toward the Gaza Strip. The so-called “Gaza Freedom Flotilla” included members of the Free Gaza Movement and the Turkish Foundation for Human Rights and Humanitarian Relief (IHH) — self described “peaceful activists” — who were challenging Israel’s blockade of the region that guards against the infiltration of terrorists and weapons into Gaza.

Memory is a funny thing. We can experience something so moving, or hear or see something so beautiful, that we are sure we’ll remember it always.

The fall is shaping up to be a crucial time for Israel. In September, Palestinian leadership plans to present a resolution for Palestinian statehood to the United Nations Security Council. If the Security Council approves the resolution, it would then go before the U.N. General Assembly for a vote.

Last weekend we celebrated America’s founding, and the precious values of democracy and individual liberty that are embodied by this great country.

In 2004, Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh was heading to work in Amsterdam. On his way, he was stopped in the street by a man — a Muslim fundamentalist angered by a film van Gogh had produced titled Submission, on the oppression of women in the Muslim world.

As part of the 5th year anniversary of the Second Lebanon War, the Walla Website (a very popular Israeli Hebrew-language website), asked eight well-known Israeli personalities to share their personal recollections of this tumultuous time.

Norway is still reeling over the despicable, cowardly attacks last week that left more than 70 people dead.

The Jewish fast of Tisha B'Av, the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av, begins this year at sundown on Monday, August 8.

Last weekend, the U.S. suffered a painful blow in Afghanistan when terrorists shot a rocket-propelled grenade at a helicopter carrying 30 members of U.S. special operations forces.

Israel is reeling from terrorist attacks that took place near the southern city of Eilat earlier today. At least seven people were killed and another 26 injured in a three-stage attack that included gunmen firing on a bus, a series of bombs detonating near an IDF patrol, and anti-tank missiles fired at a car.

Every year, I lead a group to Jerusalem to deliver prayers before God at the Western Wall, the holiest site in all Judaism.

Last week’s terror attacks in Israel were tragic — and telling. In the week since, I have watched the funerals of the eight innocent victims with grief and prayer. And I have also been paying attention to the Palestinian Authority’s response to this brutal violence.

In 1949, the United Nations voted to adopt General Assembly resolution 273, which stated, "…Israel is a peace-loving State and is able and willing to carry out the obligations contained in the (United Nations) Charter." With this, Israel became a member of the United Nations.

In 1949, the United Nations voted to adopt General Assembly resolution 273, which stated, "…Israel is a peace-loving State and is able and willing to carry out the obligations contained in the (United Nations) Charter." With this, Israel became a member of the United Nations.

With all that's been going on at the U.N. over the past weeks, Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year), which begins tonight at sundown, seems especially well timed this year.

Tuesday was a joyous day for all of Israel and her friends. After being held captive for five years by Hamas terrorists, kidnapped Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit was returned home.

Earlier this year, the world was abuzz with news of the “Arab Spring.” As protesters took to the streets in great numbers, and as one oppressive Arab regime after another fell, it seemed to many that a new branch of liberty was flowering in this troubled part of the world.

It’s hard to believe that just two short weeks ago the state of Israel was filled with joy and celebration inspired by the Jewish holidays of Sukkot and Simchat Torah and the long-anticipated homecoming of captured IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.

It was a memorable week in the Holy Land. Early Tuesday morning, participants in our Journey Home Tour returned to the U.S. What an amazing time they had — and what an amazing time I and other Fellowship staff had traveling with them through this land that we all love so dearly.

A disturbing movement is making inroads in the evangelical Christian world. A recent op-ed in the Jerusalem Post summed it up: “Evangelical and conservative Christians — Israel's most important allies — are increasingly targeted for conversion from Christian Zionism to Christian Palestinianism.”

I wish you a happy and blessed New Year! As we work to support Israel and serve Jewish people in need around the world, all of us at The Fellowship are deeply grateful to the faithful friends who make our work possible. During 2011, thanks to God's blessing, The Fellowship's lifesaving assistance was extended to more people than ever.

Israel is often in the news — but a recent controversy has drawn the world’s attention to the Jewish state for reasons that have nothing to do with the Arab-Israeli conflict.

In a memorable essay on Israel, British writer Charles Moore once praised the Jewish state as “robust in its legal and political institutions, free in its press and universities a noisy democracy.”

In November 2005, the United Nations designated January 27 as a day to honor victims of the Holocaust. This date was chosen for a reason — on January 27, 1945, Russian troops liberated the notorious Nazi death camp at Auschwitz, where more than one million people were murdered as part of Hitler's evil plan to exterminate the Jewish people.

What began with Naama Margolese, an eight-year-old Orthodox girl in Israel, and a handful of overzealous, ultra-Orthodox men who began harassing her has grown into an ongoing international discussion about women’s rights.

As I write this, I am jetlagged but excited. Earlier this week I returned from a long trip through Asia and the Pacific Rim. My final stop was Seoul, South Korea, where we recently began working. The Christian community is thriving — and growing — there, and many of these people of faith support Israel and the Jewish people.

It happened again this week — our Stand for Israel and Fellowship Facebook pages were flooded with virulently anti-Semitic comments. Our staff spent hours on Sunday clearing them of the hateful remarks. This isn’t the first time we’ve experienced this kind of attack, and we know that it won’t be the last. In the age of social media, words have greater power and reach than ever before.

While he’s in Washington, D.C., for the AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) policy conference next week, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu will get together with President Obama for what will undoubtedly be a critically important discussion.

It was a week filled with impassioned leaders and strong words.

To look at southern Israel today, you wouldn’t know that just a few days ago it was a war zone.

After the initial horror of the massacre last week in Toulouse, France subsided, many began to ask: Could it have been prevented? Is there any way we could have stopped Mohamed Merah, the French citizen later killed in a gun battle with police, from murdering a rabbi, his two young sons, and an eight-year old girl?

Every time the phone rings these days, I’m filled with anticipation. You see, my daughter, Yael, is expecting her third child any day now, and I’ll soon have another grandchild, my fifth! I couldn’t be happier or more eager to meet the newest member of our family – and I couldn’t feel more blessed.

Tomorrow, on Thanksgiving, Americans will gather with family and friends to share a meal and give thanks to God for our many blessings.