Before killing seven CIA agents in a suicide attack in Pakistan in 2009, the terrorist Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi took a video of himself, in which – among other things – he expressed satisfaction with the fact of soon meeting his victims, when he is in paradise and they are suffering in hell. The planned […]

“Religious media” is much like “religious university” – sort of oxymoron. The purpose of media in general and newspapers in particular is to convey information and opinions about the world around us. Religiously-oriented media and newspapers often convey information and opinions, but about another world. Want some examples? Sure you do. Here are some references […]

The Wailing Wall is considered as one of the most sacred Jewish places. Historically it is said to be the western wall of the ancient Jewish temple, known also as the Western Wall “It is a remnant of the ancient wall that surrounded the Jewish Temple’s courtyard, and is arguably the most sacred site recognized […]

Once upon a time there were priests. They served the public in “holy” places, mediating between the audience and the divine gods. This is how they actually made their money. This was their “job”. And the legal and educational systems made sure that this should be a steady job. Priests were to stay “pure”. At […]

So the Israeli elections are behind us, or so it seems. The media is super-busy with coverage, providing occupation for tens of local analysts and commentators, not to mention hundreds of comedians and other jokers making fun of our elected representatives, often rightfully. Most of the statistics we hear about refer to allegedly “important” things: […]

Whad’ya know, it’s election time again in Israel. And in election time, the rules of nature change. While nearly everyone tends to look at things from the traditional “political left and right” point of view, it seems that almost every major political party tends to place at least one religious figure in its list of […]

How do you teach “History”? Israeli Ministry of Education apparently solved this puzzle. The solution: It’s not the contents, but rather the title, that matters. I’ve been volunteering for several months, helping small children in the age of 10 years or so with their homework from school. Many of them attend what is known as […]

Today is the Jewish “Yom Kippur”. It’s a day full of contradictions, some of which are rather odd. According to the Jewish “Halacha” (religious laws and tradition), it used to be a happy day, in which men chose women for the purpose of establishing a family. According to the same “Halacha” it is now a […]

I have often been asked how the State of Israel will look when its Haredi (ultra Orthodox) people are the majority of Jewish people. I admit this is a bit like asking for a prophecy, but in practice I can identify two conflicting trends. One trend is in favor of an increasing Haredi population and […]

Three major things differentiate ‘Israel Railways’ from most of the modern world: – The train still uses diesel fuel. – The train suffers constantly from malfunctions, accidents and worker strikes. – The service is offered only 5.5 days a week. No trains in the weekends. Those with sharp observation skills may come up with theories […]