Israel is a tiny miracle-nation. Its 9.1 million citizens have in a mere 71 years rebuilt their country into a thriving technological powerhouse at the vanguard of scientific, medical, agri-tech, bio-tech research, the envy of other states. It is generous to nations and people in need, saving thousands of lives each year. Although 2,000 rockets […]
The Middle East has been the proverbial schoolyard where for centuries the great powers have fought for control. The Americans, British, French and Ottomans have had large roles in the history of the region. More recently, two nations with huge populations, China and Russia, have been active in exerting influence in the region. Both are […]
A visit by 10 journalists from Germany on July 3 in our Jerusalem home. Deutschlandradio, Westdeutscher Rundfunk and major print media (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Der Spiegel, Stern, Die Zeit, Süddeutsche Zeitung, and others) were represented. The group was led by Carsten Ovens (center), Executive-Director of ELNET Deutschland (European Leadership Network). Dr. Herbert Hillel Goldberg shared […]
When Stephen Harper, 60, served as Canada’s prime minister (2006-2015), he shocked the diplomatic world with his outspoken support for Israel. That stand likely cost Canada a seat on the UN Security Council in 2010. It was a controversial stand, and not one that yielded much political capital domestically, either. Out of Canada’s population of […]
On June 20 this year, Jonathan Sacks, the former chief rabbi of the United Kingdom (1991-2013), addressed the upper house of parliament, the House of Lords. Eloquently and in few words, the famous British theologian, author and politician drew on a great irony of modern history and warned against Europe’s rapid descent into moral bankruptcy. […]
Forty years ago, I opened a book by the Christian theologian Francis Schaeffer and was struck by a quotation from the British journalist William Norman Ewer (1885-1977): How odd of God To choose the Jews The mocking tone of the epigram seemed to suggest God had made a mistake. Schaeffer added these words, which are […]
The saying above is by the Jewish sage Shammai (Pirke Avot 1:15), who lived in Israel at the time of Jesus. It’s akin to the English expression, “actions speak louder than words.” German Chancellor Angela Merkel has visited the Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem in Jerusalem on several occasions and participated in official wreath-laying ceremonies there. […]
At around three in the morning on June 10, fifty heavily armed Fulani Islamists on motorbikes and in pick-up trucks rode into the mostly-Christian Dogon village of Sobame Da in the West African nation of Mali and began to burn everything in sight. Straw-thatched huts, shops and sheds were set ablaze. Any of the helpless […]
When I was decades younger, I recall older people lamenting how the “world today” had changed from when they were young. Now I’m one of them and grumble about change the same as they did. Then again, some things haven’t changed. Perhaps I’m just more aware of contradictions, absurdities and outrages. • Opening a social-media […]
In all areas of human existence, God led His chosen people to superlatives through their readiness to serve, perseverance and mission. That applies worldwide in the proclamation of faith, in science, medicine and technology, and in agriculture. This even became a proof for the reliability of the Bible. The devout Prussian General Hans Joachim von […]