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Chris Mitchell, Middle
East Bureau Chief
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Jerusalem Dateline
Join CBN News Middle East Bureau Chief Chris Mitchell
as he brings you the latest analysis on developments
in Israel.
january 30, 2006
The results of last week’s Palestinian elections were staggering. When the scope of the Hamas victory became known, it was clear a new era had dawned on the Middle East, and in fact the world. This political earthquake was a major turning point for the region. For the first time in the history of the Middle East, an Islamic group had assumed power through a democratic election.
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january 23, 2006
It’s easy to see why some people think this is one of the most dangerous times for the modern nation of Israel since its foundation in 1948. It’s an assessment Pat Robertson made in January 2005, and the analysis seems just as appropriate for 2006.
Here are the major threats facing Israel...
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january 5, 2006
The news stunned Israelis and sent shock waves throughout the Middle East. Israel’s old military and political war horse, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a debilitating stroke. The massive cerebral hemorrhage left the presumptive candidate for prime minister near death and on life support. Even for Israelis, used to news at a breathtaking clip, it was hard to process.
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december 27, 2005
I thought it would be interesting as 2005 is drawing to a close to look at what I felt was one of the more important stories of the past year.
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december 23, 2005
This Christmas season it’s exciting to realize that the scene of the second coming is just a few miles away from the scene of the first. The Mount of Olives, where Jesus will one day come back to is just down the road from Bethlehem where Luke tells us he was born in a manger. Just a few miles separates ...
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december 22, 2005
As chaotic as Israeli politics have been lately, they still don’t compare to Palestinian politics. Its parliamentary elections are scheduled for January 25, but don’t be surprised if Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pulls the plug once more on these elections. While he will almost undoubtedly blame Israel, the real reason is the meteoric rise of Hamas in Palestinian politics.
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december 21, 2005
On Tuesday, December 20, just five days before Christmas, Bethlehem’s Manger Square once again became the scene of a stand off. This stand off lasted less than two hours, but reminded some of the stand off in Manger Square during the depths of the intifada in April and May 2002. For 39 days, a bitter stalemate pitted the Israeli army against Palestinian gunmen who barricaded themselves in the church of the nativity.
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december 9, 2005
Terror struck the Israeli city of Netanya once again this week, the scene of several terror attacks in the past few years. It didn’t last in the world’s news cycle very long. In fact, my impression was it didn’t last very long at all. Yet, the bombing in an Israeli coastal town can yield insight into the world we are living in today.
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November 23, 2005
On November 25, the Palestinian Authority (PA) plans to celebrate the opening of the Rafah Terminal linking Egypt’s Sinai peninsula and the Gaza Strip. Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the PA will speak as well as top officials from Jordan and Egypt. For the Palestinians, it’s a reason for celebration but according to many Israelis, the opening could be a disaster in the making.
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November 18, 2005
The shock waves began late last week and since then they’ve swelled into a massive political earthquake here in Israel. When Amir Peretz defeated Shimon Peres for the head of the Labor Party on November 9, it was unexpected and like the proverbial pebble in the pond, sent shock waves through Israel’s political landscape.
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November 11, 2005
What a week in the Middle East. On Wednesday, three simultaneous suicide attacks in Amman, Jordan – the latest salvos in the global jihad campaign – shook the small but strategic nation and reverberated around the world. King Abdullah and his loyal populace defied the attackers, and he pledged to “pull them from their holes and bring them to justice.” Their implacable enemy, Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi of al-Qaeda Iraq masterminded the attacks.
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November 8, 2005
One of the major events coming up in the next few months here in the Middle East is January’s Palestinian elections. The big question being discussed within in Israel is whether or not Hamas should be allowed to participate in those elections. The question puts the United States on the horns of a dilemma. Dore Gold, the former Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations boiled this quandary down to one simple question: “What happens if a terrorist group runs in a democratic election?”
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October 28, 2005
When you go to your church this weekend, you probably won’t have to wade through an angry mob or be concerned about your safety or the safety of your family or your friends. However, many Coptic Christians in the land of Egypt have been facing that kind of danger and hostility for a long time. The International Christian Union (ICU) and the American Coptic Association (ACA) released video this week of mass riots as well as the destruction of churches and Bibles. According to the ICU, recent riots against the Coptic Church in Alexandria, Egypt left four dead, over 80 wounded and seven churches defaced. ICU and the ACA called on the U.S. government and the United Nations to take immediate action to stop both the bloodshed and destruction of churches.
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October 27, 2005
Hadera, Israel, and Tehran, Iran are hundreds of miles away, but one blast from a suicide bomber knit them together on Wednesday. A member of Islamic Jihad on his deadly mission killed five Israelis and wounded dozens. Few of them knew when they went to the market or lined up for a falafel death was standing with them. When you ask Israeli officials about the bombing, they say you can follow the trail from the falafel stand in Hadera, wind your way through the terror cells of Islamic Jihad in the West Bank, hop through the electronic communications from Islamic Jihad headquarters in Damascus, and ultimately end up in the inner sanctums of the Iranian government in Tehran. There you will find the kind of rhetoric that blasted the air waves on Wednesday with vitriol seldom heard from a national leader.
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October 25, 2005
It’s Simchat Torah here in Israel, the last Jewish holiday of the fall season. There are so many holidays in the month of October, some people joke here that you can skip October and head straight for November if you want to get anything done. Many businesses close for days at a time and many of services like banks or the post office have abbreviated schedules. The holidays include Rosh Hashanah, the Ten Days of Awe, Yom Kippur, the Feast of Tabernacles, and Simchat Torah. They fill the month.
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October 20, 2005
Thousands of Christians have come to Jerusalem to celebrate the biblical Ffeast of Tabernacles, also known as succot. While the feast finds its roots in the Old Testament book of Leviticus, many Christians believe it holds a special prophetic significance for the future and for the church.
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October 12, 2005
On October 13, Jews around the world will celebrate the holiest day of the year, Yom Kippur.
Yom Kippur is an unforgettable experience in Israel. By law, everything shuts down. No driving (except for emergency vehicles), no television or radio stations broadcast, and all businesses are closed. For the only time of the year, you can walk down the middle of the street throughout the day. It’s an amazing thing to behold. Silence pervades the land and some describe it as a holy hush. Jews throughout the nation flock to their local synagogues to celebrate the day that is also known as the Day of Atonement.
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october 5,
2005
Shanah Tovah! That’s the Hebrew greeting heard in Jerusalem these days. It’s Hebrew for “Happy New Year.” While most of the world celebrates the new year on January 1, the Jewish world heralds the new year on Rosh Hashanah, which means the “head of the year.” Since Jerusalem is a walled city, the celebration here lasts two days, on October 4 and 5.
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