The Islamic State terror militia in Iraq and Syria has rocketed to the forefront of world concerns in recent weeks, with the United States frantically trying to put together an international coalition to combat its violent rise. But Washington is encountering a lot of reluctance among Western leaders, while regional players like Turkey and Qatar are also not willing to go along. Yet Egypt, Saudi Arabia and several other key Arab states are offering their cooperation, since they realize these jihadists are a threat to them as much as to the West. Now Israel also is a target of the militant Muslim group and the IDF is the strongest and most effective military force in the region to deal with it. The Israelis also are already sharing their first-rate intelligence on ISIS. But joining the coalition outright might complicate Jerusalem’s battle against other radical Muslim militias like Hamas and Hizbullah, as well as Iran’s growing nuclear threat. So which radical Islamic movements present the biggest threat to Israel right now? Should Israeli security planners still focus on traditional enemies such as Hamas and Hizbullah, or the new threat posed by the Islamic State terror militia? Is military might alone enough to contain the jihadists, or must there also be an ideological component to the Western campaign against radical Islam? And what role does Shi’ite Iran play in the long-term strategic picture in the region? Israel and the Islamist Threat! That’s our focus this week here onFront Page Jerusalem. We’ll look at the multiple challenges Israel faces from radical Muslim militias both old and new. Our guest will be Lt. Col. Reuven Ben Shalom, a retired Israeli air force pilot who serves today as a security analyst and advisor on counter-terrorism challenges in the Middle East. And on our Word From Zion segment next week, we’ll look at how the fate of Jerusalem plays into radical Islamic thinking.
On this week’s program, we’re focusing on the many complex challenges which Israel currently faces from radical Muslim militias. Is ISIS becoming a bigger danger to Israel than Hamas or Hizbullah? Here to help us understand the complexities of the radical Islamist threat to Israel is former Israeli air force pilotLt. Col Reuven Ben Shalom. He is a national security analyst who recently participated in a major policy conference at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya and came away with fresh insights and information from his peers in the field of counter-terrorism. Front Page reporter Aaron Hecht spoke with this week’s guest…
Word From Zion
This week’s Word From Zion segment focuses how radical Muslims see the importance of Jerusalem in their ‘end times’ thinking, and how that differs from the way this city is viewed by Jews and Christians. Here’s Front Page senior producerDavid Parsons in Jerusalem with more…
Join hosts Earl Cox, Ben Kinchlow and David Parsons for this week’s Front Page Jerusalem, on a radio station near you or visit our website to download the MP3 and to subscribe to program podcasts
Next weekend, Israelis will mark the holiest day in Judaism, Yom Kippur, also known as the Day of Atonement. This holiday marks the end of the ten-day period known as the Days of Awe, when Jews examine their lives in preparation for the day when the nation must present itself for judgment before God. Now the Lord actually commanded in the Book of Leviticus that every Israelite must “afflict their souls” on this day. So Jews in Israel and around the world all fast together on Yom Kippur and deny themselves other earthly pleasures. They also dress in white to symbolize that this is a time of repentance and humility before God. So just what is the biblical significance of Yom Kippur? What are some of the traditions that have built up around this Jewish holy day? Is the Day of Atonement just for Jews to observe? Or does it find its way into the New Testament, so that Christians should also be more aware of this biblical holiday? The Fast of Yom Kippur! That’s our focus next week here on Front Page Jerusalem. We’ll look at the meaning and traditions surrounding the biblical holiday of Yom Kippur. We’ll have a teaching on this special holy day by Rev. Juha Ketola, the international director of the Christian Embassy in Jerusalem. And, we’ll also speak about Yom Kippur with MK Dov Lipman, an Orthodox rabbi originally from the United States who today is a member of the Israeli Knesset.
