Advent feels paradoxically heavy and elusive this year. Jan. 20 looms large on the horizon beyond Dec. 25. Many people I know, including myself, are hoping against hope things won’t be as bad as we fear. That Trump’s retributive, hate-filled…
October 7 may have shifted some American Jews’ political loyalties
The 2024 presidential election may have uncovered a shift in American Jewish voting trends due to the political fallout from the Israel-Hamas war, pollsters and other experts have observed. While Jewish voters backed Democrat Kamala Harris over Republican Donald Trump…
Evangelical leaders challenge Christianity Today on coverage of Gaza War
Disagreement over the Gaza war among evangelicals is no surprise given the complicated history in Israel/Palestine and Christians’ deep engagement with the Holy Land. Christianity Today, a flagship evangelical publication, has covered the situation in the Holy Land since its…
Here’s a Mike Huckabee connection with the Holy Land you didn’t know
President-elect Donald Trump named Mike Huckabee as his choice to be the United States ambassador to Israel. Huckabee, of course, was a Southern Baptist minister before getting involved in rightwing media and politics. His faith has been a central feature…
Trump taps Mike Huckabee as ambassador to Israel
Former Southern Baptist pastor Mike Huckabee will be nominated by Donald Trump to serve as U.S. ambassador to Israel, according to The New York Times. Huckabee recently was named one of the most influential Zionists in America by The Jerusalem…
How will Trump’s victory influence the Israel-Gaza conflict?
Kamala Harris mainly evaded the Israeli-Gaza conflict during her presidential campaign, largely because anything she said would invite harsh criticism from one segment of the diverse Democratic coalition. Now that Donald Trump is headed back to the Oval Office, how…
People are dying in Africa, but the world doesn’t notice
There’s a perception that numbers matter, and so, the more problems there are in a place, the more interest they arouse. Not so in the case of disasters in Africa in the last year compared to what’s seen of the…
Evangelical groups call for ‘unequivocal’ support for Israel on October 7 anniversary
Since Hamas fighters attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages, Israel’s military has responded in force, killing an estimated 40,000 Palestinians and injuring nearly 100,000 more in Gaza while ramping up attacks on…
A prayer for peace in the Holy Lands
On Oct. 7, 2023, the American Airlines flight I was on landed at Tel Aviv Airport at about 5 p.m. local time. I’d slept most of the flight and was completely oblivious to what was happening in the world. Imagine…