by Jonathan Milner
My spiritual journey of a thousand miles began with a single click.
I fondly remember my first Google. The summer of 1999. It was a typically balmy Australian afternoon. Well, probably. I don't recall even glancing outside that day. Or for weeks afterwards, to be honest.
Our shiny new family computer had just been installed, and the world was at the fingertips of a inquisitive 16 year old. Of all the knowledge mankind had collected throughout our existence, there was practically nothing out of reach. What were my most innermost desires?
"C-H-E-A-T-S F-O-R N-I-N-T-E-N-D-O G-A-M-E-S"
And there they were, like magic. Nice one, Google.
We became the best of friends. He'd help me through school biology essays, no matter how late at night (or early in the morning!). Choosing the right university was simple -- he knew all about them! My adventures through South American jungles would have been a mess if it wasn't for his advice. And graduate opportunities? No problem. He even suggested the quickest ways to the interviews.
Life was running smoothly. For a typical 22 year old male, all the boxes were ticked. Career? Check. Car? Check. Fun in the sun? Check, check. ...   more »

Ancient ruins, beachfront views, interactive sound-and-light shows, conversations with historical figures, and even great food: Caesarea has it all
The year is 22 BCE. Herod, crowned King of the Jews by the Romans, aspires to expand his realm. He begins by building a port, punctuating the ambitious enterprise with finely wrought structures.  
In order to prove his loyalty to his Roman masters, Herod calls his dream city “Caesarea” and incorporates Roman monuments and motifs  מודעה    
throughout.  
When he reconstructed the Jewish Holy Temple in Jerusalem, Herod did so – ostensibly, at least – in the service of God and as a means of acquiring a religious image. But in Caesarea, a gleaming Mediterranean port city, the omnipotent king designed a private playground, which reflected his keen admiration of Roman culture, adding a pagan temple for good measure.  
The port was a model of engineering ingenuity which took 12 years to complete. Built in the same style as the Holy Temple, Caesarea was considered one of the major cities of the ancient world.  
Today, vestiges of the port, the temples, the hippodrome, the amphitheater, and more are all part of the well-preserved Caesarea National Park.
King ...   more »

Millions of dollars in donations from Evangelical Christian supporters of Israel raised in the United States have been earmarked to renovate bomb shelters, but much of the funding has been held up for months due to bureaucratic wrangling, officials said Sunday.
The money, raised by the Chicago-based International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, includes $10 million allocated to refurbish more than 2,500 private building shelters in northern Israel, and $1.5m. to repair all 60 public shelters in Sderot, which has been hit by thousands of Kassam rockets from the Gaza Strip over the last six years.
While the funding earmarked for Sderot shelters was accepted last month by municipal officials, the funding allocated for the shelters in the North is still pending final agreement with officials in the Prime Minister's Office, the officials said.
"The situation in terms of the government's relationship with the home front is a failure," said IFCJ founder and president Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein.
After months of negotiations, an agreement was announced last month whereby the government allocated NIS 55 million to repair over 3,000 public shelters in northern Israel, while the IFCJ was charged with fixing more than 2,500 private building shelters for NIS 45m.
However, ...   more »

Haredim clash with police; 8 injured
10,000 haredim rally on Jerusalem street in protest of upcoming gay pride parade in city. Protestors confront police, seven officers and one protestor lightly injured; at least 10 people arrested
About 10,000 haredim took to Jerusalem’s streets Sunday evening in protest of the gay pride parade scheduled to take place in the city Thursday. At least eight people, seven of them policemen, were injured in clashes between the protestors and the police; 10 people were arrested.  
About 1,300 police officers secured the scene of the rally. According to rally organizers, dozens of elite police unit officers dressed as haredim were planted inside the crowd.  
Rabbi Yitzhak Weiss warned participants of the rally, “Anyone who helps the evil will be judged.” Another rabbi told the crowd, “If we protest with all our hearts, maybe some of the evil will be dissuaded from doing their evil.”
During the demonstration, a few haredim torched a dumpster, and dozens confronted police forces after the rally ended.  
In recent nights, haredim were caught burning trash bins and stoning police officers in haredi neighborhoods. On Sunday afternoon, police caught four 10-year-old haredi children stoning private vehicles.  ...   more »

Two rockets fired at northern town of Kiryat Shmona Sunday afternoon; no injuries reported, one rocket hits car. Hizbullah denies responsibility, Palestinian group may be behind attack. IDF: Rockets launched from area close to UN outposts
Two 107 millimeter-diameter Katyusha rockets landed in the northern town of Kiryat Shmona Sunday afternoon. No injuries were reported.  
At around 5:20 pm, residents of the northern town reported the sound of explosions. Rescue teams were dispatched to both locations where the rockets landed. It remains unclear who launched the rockets towards Israel.
One of the rockets hit a car in the town's northern industrial area, and the other landed in the southern part of town.  
IDF officials said that the rockets were apparently launched from an area very close to UN outposts in southern Lebanon.   
Residents were instructed to carry on with their day following an IDF evaluation, which concluded there appeared to be no further threat. 
The Lebanese media reported that the rockets were launched from villages in the Marjayoun
District in south Lebanon. Hizbullah’s Al Manar television station briefly reported the attack based on Israeli news outlets; Hizbullah denied it was behind the attack.  
Al Manar also ...   more »