Israel to open exhibit on biblical King Herod
(JNS.org) The Jerusalem-based Israel Museum is scheduled in February to open an exhibit on the infamous biblical Jewish king, Herod the Great, the Associated Press reported.
King Herod plays a significant role in Christianity, appearing in the Gospel of Matthew as the bloodthirsty tyrant behind the Massacre of the Innocents. According to that account, Herod, fearing for his throne, ordered the execution of all young male children near Bethlehem after receiving word from the “wise men of the East” who were inquiring as to the whereabouts of the newly born “King of the Jews” or Jesus.
The exhibit, one of the largest ever held at the Israel Museum, will feature artifacts recovered from is believed to be Herod’s Tomb, which was discovered by Israeli archaeologist Ehud Netzer in the Judean Desert near Bethlehem in 1997.
“It’s a monumental tomb out in the middle of nowhere in a place he built for himself,” archaeologist Joe Zias said. “It’s as authentic as one could ask for.”
King Herod, who was reviled by many of his Jewish subjects for his cooperation with the Roman Empire, was known for his lavish building projects, including the desert fortress Masada and the expansion of the Second Temple complex in Jerusalem.
Today, a remnant of the Second Temple expansion, the Western Wall, is the holiest site in Jerusalem where Jews are permitted to pray, and Masada is revered by Jews as the location of Jewish fighters’ last stand against the Roman Empire following the destruction of the Temple.
Online archaeological archives include architectural plan for Church of the Holy Sepulchre
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) The archaeological archive of Israel, administered by the Israel Antiquities Authority, has digitized and uploaded all of Israel’s archaeological archives to the Internet, slated to be publicly available this month.
The archive allows visitors to view the impressive and original architectural plan for the Church of the Holy Sepulchre following renovations, British espionage maps from World War I and blueprints for buildings on the Temple Mount.
Because these documents are delicate and susceptible to decay, they were scanned individually and by hand. The documents in the online archive include texts, photographs, maps, and architectural plans.
Uploading the precious material demanded special preparation. The first group of documents, which includes tens of thousands of items from Acre and Jerusalem, mostly in English and dated between 1919 and 1948, is already available for viewing at http://www.iaa-archives.org.il/
Imprisoned Iranian-American pastor to face Iran’s notorious ‘hanging judge’
(JNS.org) A 32-year-old Iranian-American pastor who is being held at Iran’s notorious Evin Prison because of his Christian faith will go on trial next week before a judge known for handing out harsh sentences, Fox News reported.
The Reverend Saeed Abedini, a naturalized U.S. citizen and Christian convert, was arrested in September while visiting his family in Iran. Abedini will face one of Iran’s most notorious “hanging judges” on Jan. 21 on charges of compromising national security.
Abedini is one of the leaders of the underground church movement in Iran. Made up of Christian converts, the movement claims to operate more than 100 churches in 30 Iranian cities, with more than 2,000 members.
In a recent letter to his wife, Abedini described the mixed signals he is receiving during his imprisonment.
“One day there are intense pains after beatings in interrogations, the next day they are nice to you and offer you candy,” he wrote.
Under Shariah law, a Muslim who converts to Christianity in some cases can be punished by death. The Iranian government is known to be especially harsh on Muslims who have converted to other faiths.
The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) is working with the U.S. government to secure Abedini’s release.
Netanyahu responds to Obama: Only Israel’s citizens will decide
(JNS.org) “No one decides for the citizens of Israel,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday, in an exclusive interview with Israel Hayom. The prime minister was responding to a recent article by Jeffrey Goldberg in Bloomberg View that quoted U.S. President Barack Obama as saying that “Israel doesn’t know what its own best interests are.”
Netanyahu said he did not know whether Obama was behind Goldberg’s article, but he stressed: “I think that President Obama knows that the ones determining Israel’s vital interests are the citizens of Israel, and they will be the ones to choose who will protect those interests in the best possible way.”
The prime minister also touched on alleged tensions with Obama during a tour of a Gaza Division base on Wednesday, telling soldiers that “everyone understands that only Israel’s citizens will determine who faithfully represents the vital objectives of the State of Israel.”
Speaking to Israel Hayom, Netanyahu said: “I can see three main objectives. Preventing Iran from arming themselves with nuclear weapons, not going back to the indefensible 1967 borders, and keeping Jerusalem united. These are fundamental objectives.”
“Many people want to support me as prime minister,” he added. “So I am asking them to give me the power to succeed and to lead. We have begun changing things. The horizon is in sight.”
White House condemns Morsi calling Zionists ‘descendants of apes and pigs’
(JNS.org) The White House has condemned the recently revealed anti-Semitic remarks made by Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi in 2010.
In a video that was circulated by Egyptian media, Morsi is seen describing Zionists as “blood suckers,” “warmongers” and “descendants of apes and pigs,” according to the translation provided by Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI). Morsi made the comments when he served as the Muslim Brotherhood’s official spokesman in 2010.
When asked by reporters about the Morsi video, White House spokesman Jay Carney condemned the video and said the White House has addressed the remarks with Morsi.
“We have raised our concerns over these remarks with the government of Egypt,” Carney said. “We completely reject these statements, as we do any language that espouses religious hatred. This kind of discourse has been acceptable in the region for far too long and is counter to the goal of peace.”
In another video posted MEMRI, Morsi also in 2010 mocks President Barack Obama and calls for further indoctrination of hate against Zionists.
Morsi said, “One American president after another—and most recently, that Obama—talks about American guarantees for the safety of the Zionists in Palestine… He uttered many lies…”
“Dear brothers, we must not forget to nurse our children and grandchildren on hatred towards those Zionists and Jews,” he said, according to MEMRI.
Many in Egypt fear the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood. Last month huge protests erupted in Egypt over fears of Islamic influence on the new constitution and a controversial decree by Morsi giving him nearly absolute power.
Israel’s new Jewish Home party turning to Arab Christians for support
(JNS.org) With its support rising rapidly amongst many Israelis in polls, the new HaBayit HaYehudi (Jewish Home) party is now turning to an unlikely place, Israel’s Arab community, to continue its ascendance.
Political activists from Jewish Home have been reaching out to Arab Christians, and the Druze and Bedouin communities, for support in the upcoming Israeli general election.
A rally for HaBayit HaYehudi in the Israeli town of Nahariya, drew dozens of new representatives from Arab Christian and Druze towns in the northern Galilee region. Many of the new representatives previously served in the IDF or in civilian national service.
While most of Israel’s 1.6 million Arab population are Muslim and shun the IDF and national service, Arabs from minority groups such as the Christians, Bedouin and Druze are generally more supportive of the Jewish state and serve in the military, which is seen as a key component of integration into Israeli society.
Although appealing to Arab-Israeli groups may seem surprising to some, HaBayit HaYehudi’s leader Naftali Bennett has made national integration a core component of his party’s platform.
“The Jewish Home party is an open home to any Israeli citizen who loves his or her country and is willing to perform national service, whether military or civilian,” Bennett said at the rally in Nahariya, Israel National News reported.
Arab-Israeli reporter’s Facebook profile shut down after posts criticizing PA
(JNS.org) The Facebook profile of Arab-Israeli Jerusalem Post reporter Khaled Abu Toameh was terminated “for security reasons” because, according to Facebook, he had posted an item that violated their terms of service.
Just prior to the termination, however, Abu Toameh shared a post about the corruption trial of a former Jordanian intelligence chief and a link to a blog entry critical of the Palestinian Authority that he had written for the Gatestone Institute.
“The truth sometimes hurts,” Abu Toameh wrote for Gatestone. “That is why the Palestinian Authority has been working hard to prevent the outside world from hearing about many occurrences that reflect negatively on its leaders or people.”
Abu Toameh was inundated with hate mail and death threats, and his Facebook account was disabled shortly after. Although his account was reopened 24 hours later, the two posts were deleted.
“Some people posted a picture of me with a Star of David on my forehead. This time it looks like a concerted campaign against me,” Abu Toameh said, according to the Jerusalem Post. “I find it strange that Facebook rushes to close [my profile] down without checking. Especially as a journalist, it really harms me, that’s my way of being in touch with my sources and my readers… Now we have to be careful about what we post and what we share. Does this mean we can’t criticize Arab governments anymore?”
Facebook did not respond to requests for comment.
Vatican reiterates church support for Jews despite St. Pius controversy
(JNS.org) The chief official responsible for Vatican-Jewish relations said that the Catholic Church will not go back on its “Nostra Aetate” declaration, which says that Christians and Jews have a close bond.
Cardinal Kurt Koch made that statement prior to the upcoming Day of Jewish-Christian Dialogue in Italy on Jan. 17, and in response to concern that the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) does not accept the 1965 declaration. The society’s Bishop Bernard Fellay recently referred to Jews as “enemies of the church.”
According to the World Jewish Congress, Koch told the Italian religious news service SIR that the SSPX does not “accept ecumenical dialogue, relations with Jews or religious freedom.”
“But these are central to the Holy Father’s teaching and if a group does not accept the Council and does not accept a magisterium, they need to ask themselves how they see themselves as Catholic,” Koch said. “This is the fundamental problem.”
Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, a Vatican spokesman, had already called Fellay’s comments “absolutely unacceptable.”
*
Preceding provided by JNS.org