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News from the Land

In Memory of Ted Beckett

Ted Beckett

November 2, 2020by Sondra Baras I am often asked about the origins of CFOIC Heartland.  People are particularly intrigued at the thought of an Orthodox Jew heading up an organization called Christian Friends of Israeli Communities. I always respond that the idea was a Christian one but I launched the organization’s Israel office and turned … Read more

In Memory of my Father: Joseph Oster זצ״ל

October 6, 2020by Sondra Baras My father passed away three weeks ago.  He was 94 years old and during his final months, he had sunk into the depths of dementia and no longer recognized me.  It had been many months since I had been able to have even the most rudimentary conversation with him.  In a … Read more

Reflections while sitting on the beach

Even though summer weather continues in Israel until well into October, as August draws to a close and September begins, we mark the end of summer. Probably because school begins on the 1st of September. So last night, a few friends of mine got together to mark the end of summer by going out to the beach in Herzliya. We were five middle-aged women, at the shore of the Mediterranean Sea, sitting on blankets or beach chairs, chatting. We watched and listened to the waves crashing onto the shore, we got our feet wet in the water, and we breathed the fresh sea air.

A Statement Regarding the UAE Announcement

Yesterday, we were all surprised to learn that the United Arab Emirates, a key Gulf State, is planning on signing a peace treaty with Israel to include full normalization of relationships. The White House was very involved in the process and announced that in exchange for this recognition by the UAE, Israel had agreed to suspend any moves towards applying sovereignty in Judea and Samaria.

The Thanks Belong to You!

A few weeks ago, we held our first annual CFOIC Heartland Conference of Judea and Samaria communities. This was a dream of mine for some time — to gather together in one room the representatives of all the communities we work with as well as the various mayors, to share experiences and ideas and just interact with one another.

Ordinary People can do Extraordinary Things

The world is in crisis. The COVID19 pandemic has not only not gone away but in many places, including in Israel, the situation has become more serious. While draconian measures helped ensure that the spread of the virus would be maintained at relatively manageable levels, the economy suffered immeasurable harm. And today, as the economy has begun to open up, we are witnessing the rise, once again, of the numbers of those infected.

NOW IS THE TIME FOR SOVEREIGNTY IN JUDEA AND SAMARIA!

Message-from-Sondra

I was a child in the US in 1967, but I remember vividly the excitement that we all felt when Jerusalem was liberated. And the talk in my house, school and synagogue, was all about the new / ancient places that Jews were now free to visit – Hebron, Shiloh, the mountains of Judea and Samaria. But the excitement was immediately muted by widespread international criticism of Israel for “occupying” Arab territory.

Bridging the Distance – Connecting to Israel

Message-from-Sondra

For those of you who wanted to come and visit with us, or are seeking a more intimate, direct connection to Israel and to us, the people of this wonderful land, we created this film for you.  We can’t visit with you in person but we wanted to stay in touch.

ISRAEL: The 72 Year Miracle

There are many statistics that I love to remember on Israel Independence Day — that we are the only western country with a growing birth rate, that we are the only western country that has more trees today than we had 100 years ago, that we consistently rank as one of the countries with the highest happiness index, that we have one of the best air forces in the world — imagine that only 72 years after that rickety four-plane group.