Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, president of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, received an annual salary of $824,000 last year, according to a tax return that the nonprofit organization filed in the United States.
The IFCJ, founded by Eckstein in Chicago 27 years ago, raises millions of dollars each year from the evangelical Christian community, mostly in the U.S., for Israel and Jewish communities worldwide.
By Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz, October 2, 2008
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PALESTINE \ Sep 29, 2008
3842
The young John Lennon may have once irreverently boasted that the Beatles were more famous than Jesus. But not, it seems, in Jesus's birthplace and among some Palestinians at least.
Before Sir Paul McCartney turned up genuinely unannounced at the Church of the Nativity here yesterday, a bemused policeman, Mohammed Itmazi, 26, confessed that he hadn't heard either of him or of the band that made him world famous. Yes, there had been many famous people coming through, such as Nicolas Sarkozy and, he added, prompted by a companion, Gordon Brown. But Sir Paul, well no, he was not sure who he was.
Donald Macintyre in Bethlehem, the Independent, Sep 25, 2008
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ISRAEL \ Sep 26, 2008 3334
Violence against Christian evangelical and Messianic Jewish communities in Israel increased significantly during the period between July 1, 2007 and June 30, 2008, according to the US State Department's Annual Report on International Religious Freedom.
The report, released last week, put blame for the "tensions" on "certain Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities."
By Matthew Wagner, The Jerusalem Post, Sep 23, 2008
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FEATURES \ Sep 19, 2008 9676
“Why did you come back?” It’s a question people ask my wife and I when they find out that we used to live in the U.S. until we came back to live in our hometown, Nazareth.
If I put a dollar into my savings account every time someone asked us this question, we would not be millionaires, but at least a $1,000 richer. I always try to tell them in a way or another that living abroad is not all that simple and fun. My wife Gosayna tells them that the fact we came back says something!
But why did we come back?
by Habib Karam and Gosayna Karam, Special For "Come and See"
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OTHER \ Sep 17, 2008 5105
The need to "re-frame the religious dimensions" of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a key goal of a 4-day international theological conference starting today in the Swiss capital, Bern. The conference involves some 65 theologians and church leaders from all over the world who are focusing on the issue of "Promised Land".
World Council of Churches Web site, Sep 17, 2008 -
FEATURES \ Sep 17, 2008 4317
“Ramadan is the biggest TV viewing time in the Middle East and North Africa. As soon as sunset comes and Muslim families break their day-long fasts, many sit for a big meal and watch TV. Local TV channels compete to capture the biggest audience share, and they know that violent and controversial films can help,” says David Harder, SAT-7’s Communications Manager.
SAT-7 is offering Christians a positive alternative of Bible-based programmes, 80 per cent of which are made in the region by Middle Eastern Christians.
Christian Today, Sep 4, 2008
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FEATURES \ Sep 11, 2008 4184
The Mar Elias campus, a complex of Christian educational institutions in the village of Ibillin near Shfaram, covers a steep slope. It includes a kindergarten, an elementary school, a high school and a university, which, according to information provided by the Council of Higher Education, is likely to soon become the first Arab academic campus in Israel.
The senior vice president of these institutions, Dr. Raed Mualem, knows no rest. His main project at the moment is expanding studies to branches in Nazareth and Mi'ilya, a Christian town in western Galilee, at a planned investment of tens of millions of dollars. About 1,300 students are now studying in the various educational frameworks in Ibillin. "We are apparently the first in the country to offer pedagogical continuity, from kindergarten through high school and university," says Mualem.
By Ora Kashti, Haaretz, Sep 8, 2008
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OTHER \ Sep 01, 2008 5972
President of the Evangelical Association for the Promotion of Education writes to Senator McCain:
I am part of that Evangelical community that will provide massive support for your candidacy as the November election approaches. What I hope you do is recognize that our commitments as Evangelicals go beyond the two hot-button issues of gay marriage and abortion.
I would ask you to develop a Middle East policy that not only guarantees safety and security for the Israeli people, but also provides the same for the Palestinian people. So many Christian Zionists within the Evangelical community are anti-Palestinian in their desire to see the fulfillment of what they believe to be biblical prophecies. Please note that an overwhelming majority of us believe that God loves the Palestinian people every bit as much as He loves the Jewish people.
Tikkun, August 30, 2008
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TOP STORIES \ Aug 19, 2008 5948
It is amazing how such a rediculous and unresponsible person was considered a serious candidate for US presidency.
Mike Huckabee came to Israel with an invitation from the ultra-fanatic Israeli group "Ateret Cohanim" who supports giving the Moslem Quarter in Jersualem to Jews. Huckabee came to Jerusalem and praised a former follower of Jewish extremist Meir Kahane. Read the unbelievable news item from Haaretz.
Cnaan Liphshiz, Haaretz, Aug 19, 2008
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