Some recent Israeli news

As always, the Middle East is in flux and a focus of differing opinions and controversy.  Here’s some recent news regarding Israel:

“As U.S. Jews Cool To Israel, Evangelicals Flock There As Tourists”

The baptismal site shown in the photos accompanying the article above is known as “Yardenit” and is located on the River Jordan just south of Lake Kinnereth. (Lake Kinnereth, also called “the Lake of Tiberias” is known among many Christians — though typically not among local Israelis or Palestinians — as “the sea of Galilee”).  I’m very familiar with it.  It’s quite pleasant.  But if Yardenit is the site of Jesus’ baptism at the hand of John the Baptist, I’m a leprechaun.

The article below takes issue with the article above:

“Tourism to Israel is up, and it’s obviously because of President Trump, right? Well, let’s talk about that …”

Here’s a piece that will certainly (and quite understandably) displease many American Jews.  And, in fact, it’s pretty outspoken:

“Let’s Drop The Pretense: American And Israeli Jews Have Little In Common Share No Destiny And Don’t Even Like Each Other: It is time to acknowledge the self-evident fact that American Jews and Israeli Jews are not part of the same people”

Wow.

And then there’s this:

“Is Trump Destroying Bipartisan Consensus on Israel?  Two weeks of outrage and head-spinning news show that institutional unification on Israel has gotten much weaker under President Trump.”

And here, I think, is an important caution:

“The ‘King of Israel’: The Caesar strategy or cultural renewal?”

An election is coming up in Israel, and it could be of historic significance:

“Israel faces a possible turning point on 17th of September, with religion at the heart of it”

Benjamin Netanyahu (b. 1949) is the longest-serving prime minister in Israeli history, and the first Israeli prime minister to have been born in Israel after the establishment of the Jewish state.  He has been a dominant presence in Israeli politics for the past quarter of a century.  He first served as prime minister from 1996 to 1999.  At his accession to the prime ministership, he was the youngest Israeli prime minister in history.  He regained the office in 2009 and has been prime minister since then.  But this looming election may be very close and, in fact, some are predicting that Netanyahu will lose.  We shall see.