Free Republic

Shrine in Jesus’ boyhood home caused much friction JERUSALEM, — Israel decided Wednesday to halt construction of a mosque next to a major Christian shrine in Jesus’ boyhood home of Nazareth, an Israeli official said, a project that had caused friction between Christians and Muslims. THE MOSQUE WOULD stand next to the Basilica of the Annunciation, the largest church in the Middle East, built on the spot where tradition says the Angel Gabriel foretold the birth of Jesus. Construction on the mosque was approved by previous Israeli governments and began several weeks ago. Its foundation has already been completed. The ...

Is this where Jesus bathed? A shopkeeper running a small souvenir business in Nazareth has made a sensational discovery that could dramatically rewrite the history of Christianity. Jonathan Cook reports Wednesday October 22, 2003 The Guardian (UK) Elias Shama's small souvenir shop in Nazareth, the town of Jesus's childhood, barely catches the eye. Tourists usually pass by it on their way to the neighbouring Mary's Well church, claimed by the Greek Orthodox church as the site where the Archangel Gabriel revealed to Mary that she was carrying the son of God. Before the Palestinian intifada erupted three years ago, the...

Since 2009, archaeologists have been slowly excavating the ancient town of Magdala—thought to be the home of Mary Magdalene—near the Sea of Galilee. Among their finds has been a first-century synagogue where, experts say, Jesus likely preached. Image: Israel Antiquities Authority Although Jerusalem and Bethlehem are the sites most commonly associated with Jesus, Father Eamon Kelly—vice president of Israel's Magdala Center and vice chargé of the Pontifical Institute Notre Dame of Jerusalem Center—points out that Jesus spent almost his entire life in what is now northern Israel. "Eighty percent of Jesus' public life was here," he tells the Israeli...

The New Testament says Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, but one rogue Israeli archaeologist says it is far more likely the Christian savior was born in Bethlehem of the Galilee, more than 60 miles from Jerusalem. Aviram Oshri spent nearly eleven years excavating artifacts in Bethlehem of the Galilee — an ancient biblical village near Nazareth that was later settled by German Templers — which he believes show that the traditional account of Jesus’s birthplace may be wrong. But when he produced his findings for his employer, the Israel Antiquities Authority, he found his proposal dismissed and called...

It sounds like the plot of a novel. A Jewish tour guide who survived a Palestinian terror attack that left her Christian friend dead helped shelter an Arab teen who got death threats after voicing support for Israel’s summer operation in Gaza. Pic British-born Kay Wilson said that she helped hide Mohammad Zoabi throughout the summer war in Gaza, before he was able to flee to the United States in fear of his life. Seventeen-year-old Zoabi, an Israeli Arab from Nazareth, was forced to leave the country after receiving death threats for posting a YouTube video harshly condemning the kidnapping...

State Attorney Shai Nitzan on Tuesday evening was said to support submitting an indictment against pro-Hamas Arab MK Hanin Zoabi (Balad), according to Channel 10. According to the report, the indictment will be on charges of threatening police officers, after Zoabi verbally abused two Arab Israeli police officers in Nazareth, and urged Arab youths to attack them. […] The indictment apparently will not be served for other notorious incidents, which include her defending the Hamas terrorists who abducted and murdered three Israeli teens on June 12, saying they weren’t “terrorists” and justifying their actions as a “legitimate” way to “fight...

Police have been showing less patience for extremist Arab MKs' antics lately, MK Mohammed Barakeh (Hadash) learned Monday in Nazareth when he attempted to storm the local police station. The video shows Barakeh, who has been inolved in numerous scuffles with authorities over the years, trying to storm the Nazareth police station together with an Arab mob. The police form a wall and push the crowd back, and Barakeh eventually finds himself on the ground. Police arrested two of Barakeh's sons, and 21 other citizens, following the large scale demonstration in Nazareth on Monday, which was attended by thousands. The...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GtK1OLhqEk#t=114

Three relatives of a Muslim Arab youth Mohammed Zoabi from Nazareth, who expressed his support for the abducted yeshiva students in a Facebook video, planned to abduct him to the PA-controlled city of Jenin and harm him there, according to police. Three suspects were arrested Tuesday and brought before a judge for arraignment. They claimed they never meant to carry out their threats, but said they only wanted to "warn" the youth not to continue expressing opinions that are seen as controversial in his family and in Arab society in general. Zoabi, who defines himself as a Zionist, was not...

As Christians of every stripe in Jesus' hometown of Nazareth begin to again take a real stand for their faith, local Muslims are warning them not to overstep the boundaries of their traditional place in the Middle East (hint: they must remain dhimmis, or second-class). A large billboard hanging at a central point in Nazareth features a picture of an Israeli stop sign, along with the English translation of a verse from the Koran cautioning Christians (and Jews) to speak only the "truth" regarding Allah. The poster (and Koran 4:171) reads: "O people of the Scripture (Christians)! Do not exceed...

A Christian Arab is working on his plan to build a statue of Jesus in Nazareth, the childhood home of Jesus which is now dominated by Arab Muslim citizens of Israel. It will be, he says, larger than the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. "Slowly, but surely, the Christian identity in Nazareth is beginning to disappear," said Bishara Shlayan, a Christian merchant seaman from Nazareth who has come up with the plan, according to Fox News. Shlayan told The Jerusalem Post he is raising funds for the project from both Israeli Arab Christians and Jews....

HAIFA, Israel – As Christians from across the globe flock to the Holy Land in time for Christmas prayers and ceremonies, some in the community in Nazareth are seeking to reaffirm the historical importance of their town by erecting a statue of Jesus that would tower more than 100 feet above the city. The idea for the statue comes from Bishara Shlayan, a Christian merchant seaman who lives in Nazareth, the childhood home of Jesus. Shlayan has seen the demographics of Nazareth change considerably in recent years, with the Christian community becoming a minority while the Muslim population has grown...

At Christmas we celebrate Jesus’ birth because no more important human being has ever been born. Jesus is the first-born of all creation, the one individual for whom everything else exists. Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords, who will rule the coming age as our sovereign ruler. Jesus is more than just a man; he is the translation of the very nature and sovereignty of God Himself into human form—the image of the invisible God, the fullness of God dwelling in human form. Jesus is the supreme prophet, the one whom God sent into the world to...

NOTE: THIS IS THE NEW ISRAEL-RELATED THREAD Note The following news brief is a quote: Report: IDF attacks targets in south, central Gaza Strip Published: 08.17.10, 23:45 / Israel News Palestinians reported that the IDF had fired towards open ground in Khan Younis and attacked the smuggling tunnels in the south of the Gaza Strip. No injuries were reported. Two IDF soldiers were lightly wounded Tuesday morning from shells fired into the western Negev. (Ali Waked)

Note: Photos included. SNIPPET: "Shin Bet arrests eight men from northern city of Nazareth, local council of Yafa an-Naseriyye over weapons offences, discussing possibility of murdering soldiers, Pope Benedict XVI" SNIPPET: "The eight indicted men were identified as Bader Salah, 33, of Yafa an-Naseriyye; Suhil Salah, 26, of Yafa an-Naseriyye; Misara Yaad, 28, of Yafa an-Naseriyye; Abdel Rahman Abu Salim, 19, of Nazareth; Ibrahim Muhammad Abu Aaqab, 27, of Nazareth; Bilal Ubeid, 29, of Yafa an-Naseriyye; and Sabri Narni, 29 of Yafa an-Naseriyye. The ninth defendant, who was a minor when he committed the alleged acts. was not named due...

"Gaza flotilla: 2 dead, dozens injured in navy boarding." By JPOST.COM STAFF AND YAAKOV KATZ 05/31/2010 07:00 SNIPPET: "Passengers tried to wrest weapons from soldiers, Army Radio reports; Turkish leadership in emergency meeting to discuss response to attack at sea. Passengers tried to grab weapons away from soldiers boarding the Gaza protest flotilla, starting the violence, Army Radio reported Tuesday morning, responding to accusations that Israeli commandos assaulted the ships guns blazing."

The remains of the first dwelling in Nazareth that has been dated back to the time of Jesus have been unveiled - just days before Christmas. The find that could shed new light on what the hamlet was like during the period the New Testament says Jesus lived there as a boy, Israeli archaeologists said. The dwelling and older discoveries of nearby tombs in burial caves suggest that Nazareth was an out-of-the-way hamlet of around 50 houses on a patch of about four acres. It was evidently populated by Jews of modest means who kept camouflaged grottos to hide from...

Just in time for Christmas, archaeologists on Monday unveiled what may have been the home of one of Jesus' childhood neighbors. The humble dwelling is the first dating to the era of Jesus to be discovered in Nazareth, then a hamlet of around 50 impoverished Jewish families where Jesus spent his boyhood. Archaeologists and present-day residents of Nazareth imagined Jesus as a youngster, playing with other children in the isolated village, not far from the spot where the Archangel Gabriel revealed to Mary that she would give birth to the boy. Today the ornate Basilica of the Annunciation marks that...

NAZARETH, Israel — Israeli archaeologists say they have uncovered remains of the first dwelling in Nazareth that can be dated back to the time of Jesus.They say the find sheds a new light on what Nazareth might have been like in Jesus' time — probably a small hamlet with about 50 houses populated by poor Jews.Archaeologist Yardena Alexandre of the Israel Antiquities Authority says remains of a wall, a hideout and a cistern were found after builders dug up a convent courtyard.Alexandre said Monday archeologists also found clay and chalk vessels used by Galilean Jews of the time — an...

During the days of Abraham people believed that their lives were governed by powerful spirits gods. So they made models of these spirit gods out of gold and silver – and these gods were given names and the people were fearful of these gods, and made sacrifices to them. They thought that by making animal sacrifices, and in some instances, virgin child sacrifices that these gods would be pleased and bring forth a good harvest. The people that God talked to Abraham about in Genesis 12 however would be different. These people would not have idol gods, or spirits, or...