Every visit to Israel is special, but this one was extraordinary.
I had never traveled through Israel with committed Christians before, and when that was the purpose of their visit. It was like experiencing a completely new dimension of someone you already love with all of your heart.
I learned a great deal about the New Testament, and the Christian holy sites; I experienced the joy of Christians from a variety of denominations, in their encounters with the Holy Land; and I found new beauty in familiar landscapes.
I was also present in Israel -- again -- for another event of profound strategic importance, in this case the Hezbollah attack on Majdal Shams and the Israeli response. Hard to believe that just a day later, I was on the coast of California.
I miss the trip already. I also missed my family, and wish I had been here for all of their adventures at home. There is much to do now -- to savor the end of the summer, and work toward a successful book launch and momentous election.
This week's show will be slightly different from the norm: we'll focus on clips and topics, rather than guests -- and that, hopefully, will mean more input from the callers (unless you are all watching football on opening weekend).
Topics:
- The state of the economy
- The fight against crime
- The midterm election fight
- The struggle for peace between Russia and Ukraine
- The airstrike on the Venezuelan drug cartel
- The attempt to sink Kennedy
- The war in Gaza
- The case against Harvard
- The Trump presidency
Tune in: SiriusXM Patriot 125, 7-10 p.m. ET / 4-7 p.m. PT
Call: 866-957-2874
This week's Torah portion includes several laws about conduct in civic and personal life, the common theme of which is boundaries -- setting bounds to what one may do at home, at work, and even in the battlefield.
One noteworthy passage concerns Amalek, the evil nation that attacked the Children of Israel as they made their Exodus from slavery to freedom. Deuteronomy 25:17-19 commands Jews to obliterate Amalek's memory.
The South African government accused Israel of genocide on the basis of a story about Amalek in the Book of Samuel, in which King Saul was commanded to wipe out the entire evil Amalekite nation.
Because Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quoted this week's portion -- "Remember what Amalek did to you" (25:17), the South African government claimed he was commanding soldiers to commit genocide.
It was an absurd and malevolent misreading of the Bible and of Jewish tradition. The commandment, as observed by Jews today, is to remember the evil of Amalek and fight ...
