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Newsletter : 9fax0505.txt
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>PD
>Israel Faxx
>JN May 5, 1999, Vol. 7, No. 84
Hundreds Demonstrate in Hebron
By The Voice of America
There were clashes in the West Bank Tuesday between hundreds of Palestinian protestors and Israeli security force as the interim period for Palestinian autonomy under the Oslo Accords expired. More than 12 Palestinians and an Israeli TV cameraman were injured by rubber-coated metal bullets fired by Israeli soldiers in Hebron, with crowds calling for immediate Palestinian statehood.
Armageddon: Will It Happen This Year?
Israel Faxx Staff Report
When it comes to the biblically predicted "battle to end all
battles," modern doomsayers are often obsessed with the question
of when it will take place. Some believe it could happen as soon as
year's end. But University of Cincinnati adjunct assistant
professor of classics Eric Cline is more preoccupied with where the
Bible says that it will happen: Armageddon.
Cline is writing a book on this fated site in Israel's Jezreel
Valley, which, his research shows so far, has been the site of at
least 23 historical or biblically recounted battles. His upcoming
book, "The Battles of Armageddon," is under contract for a December
2000 release through University of Michigan Press.
"Twenty-three battles in 3,500 years it's no wonder the writers of
the New Testament concluded that the final battle between good and
evil would take place there," said Cline, who serves as senior
staff archaeologist for an excavation project that Tel Aviv and
Pennsylvania State universities have operated at Armageddon every
other summer since 1994.
Conflicts at Armageddon have been waged by some of history's most
recognizable warriors: Napoleon Bonaparte claimed victory over the
Ottomans there in 1799, Saladin engaged in a stand-off with the
Crusaders there in 1182-83, and Amenhotep II took the valley in
1430 B.C.E.
Don't expect to look at a map of Israel to find "Armageddon." You
will find "Megiddo." The word, "Armageddon," is a corruption of the
Hebrew "Har Megiddo," with Har meaning "hill" or "mount."
Dominating the Plain of Esdraelon, a green, fertile valley of about
15 by 5 miles, the ancient city of Megiddo existed as early as the
fourth millennium B.C.E.
Today, Armageddon lies about 18 miles southeast of Haifa in
northern Israel, but historically its location held strategic
importance, lying at the crossroads of two military and trade
routes. One of these byways was the Via Maris, which Cline
describes as one of the most important roads in the ancient world.
"It ran between Egypt in the south and Syria, Phoenicia, Anatolia
and Mesopotamia in the north and east. Megiddo had great strategic
significance for whoever controlled the city. Whoever maintained an
army there would dominate this vital international route. That's
part of the reason this city has been witness to so many military
engagements.
"The ancient city of Megiddo is easily the richest archaeological
site in Israel, and it is widely regarded as one of the most
important sites in the entire Near East."
In more recent times up to the 19th century, when its ruins were identified as Megiddo, the city was known by another name: Tell el-Mutesellim. Today it is a popular tourist stop and home to a modern kibbutz with a bed-and-breakfast.
The biblical writers who wrote about its final destiny in the Book
of Revelation probably would have been familiar with Megiddo's
voluminous war history. Cline has identified 13 battles that
happened or were said to have happened in the vicinity of Megiddo
up to the time when the Revelation author was writing (first
century C.E.).
Tracing the facts behind the 23 reported battles is a task that has already kept Cline busy for more than two years. "It's like trying to find 23 needles in 23 haystacks, he acknowledged. And although there is little external corroborating evidence, I am dealing with biblical battles in the same manner as non-biblical battles."
Christian Walkers Making Amends for the Crusades
Israel Faxx Staff Report
A group of western Christians who have walked from Europe to the Middle East, retracing the steps of the Crusaders 900 years ago, have arrived in Israel.
Along the way, the participants in the symbolic Reconciliation Walk are attempting to apologize to the descendants of the Crusaders' victims - Jews, Muslims and Orthodox Christians.
The Crusades were a series of medieval military expeditions aimed at recovering the Holy Land from Jewish and Muslim "infidels." Perpetrated in the name of Christendom, they wreaked havoc and killed many in pursuit of their goal.
Over the past three years, a total of 2,000 volunteers from 27
countries have taken part in walks from Cologne, Germany - origin
of the first crusade - to Turkey, Lebanon and now, Israel.
Co-ordinator Mike Niebur was quoted in the Jerusalem Post as saying
the walkers had encountered some suspicion since arriving in
Israel, from those suspecting their purpose is to missionize. He
said Israel's chief rabbis have agreed to accept an apology from
the walkers when they reach Jerusalem, probably in mid-July.
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