Jerusalem Watchman

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‘Ware the spider’s web

The eruption of violence that occurred on the high seas in the early hours of May 31, when criminals and terrorists masquerading as peace activists attacked and tried to kill Israeli soldiers, had at least one positive outcome - though I can think of more than one.
It caused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cancel his [...]

Recipe for a new blood libel

I love watching Israel being exonerated. It has happened time and again over the years: Israel’s enemies falsely level blood libels against the Jews, the reflexively anti-Israel news media snatches and runs – exhilarated – with the story, spreading the perverted version of events far and wide. Sooner or later their “reporting” is shown to [...]

‘Rejoice with Jerusalem!’

God commands it:
“Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all you who love her; Rejoice for joy with her, all you who mourn for her; That you may feed and be satisfied with the consolation of her bosom; That you may drink deeply and be delighted with the abundance of her glory.”
For thus says [...]

Back among the most hated

On August 27 my family and I returned to Jerusalem from a summer vacation in central Europe. For a few glorious weeks we relished the cool days, the occasional, dramatic thunderstorm and bucketing rain that left the lush, deep-green vegetation streaming and dripping for hours.

With the drought, heat waves, grime and crush of Jerusalem far [...]

Christmas in Israel, and rockets fall like the rain

I’m sorry to disturb your Christmas celebrations, but something is happening in the land in which Jesus was born, and to the people God chose to send Him to, that I really believe you should know about..
In the past few hours, as millions of Christians have been gearing up for Christmas, many turning their attention [...]

Where terror brings traffic jams

Two traffic jams brought commuters to a stop in Israel today (Tuesday, December 2).
The first, a massive snarl-up, began building in the early hours of the morning on the ring roads around Tel Aviv. Tens of thousands of people on their way to work in the “White City” found themselves at a standstill. Israel’s Internal [...]

How can I keep this death alive?

How can I keep this alive in me,
This death, this horror:
By saturating my soul with
Their pain?
Immersing myself in the black hole of
Their agony?
So that my pen, my tongue
Is driven by the stark and tearing images of
Their suffering,
So that my dreams overflow with
Their torture
And my waking hours deeply breathe the aroma of
Their sacrifice,
That truly I may [...]

Who were you?

Who were you, dark and
Beautiful girl,
Your limpid pools unplumbable?
What did you see; what images rushed upon your fear-filled gaze
To stay, indelible in your mind
Until erased by death?
Who were you? What joy was robbed
And wrenched from those who loved you,
Those whose hands had once stroked your soft,
Sweet hair. And who you once
Made smile?
[Thoughts provoked on a [...]

Rockets, tears and trauma

Jerusalem has safe skies - for now.
I remember the welcoming feeling, 18 months ago, on returning to the capital after two days in the north during the Second Lebanon War. Up there - standing on Haifa’s hillsides, ears filling with siren screams and eyes straining out across the bay to where invisible and deadly rockets [...]

En route to Sderot

Dear readers and friends
I am going down to the Negev town of Sderot in the morning Monday to spend the day. I want to get a taste of what the Israelis there are having to endure day in and day out, and more importantly, to bring some words of encouragement to some of those I [...]