Maoz Israel Podcast

Your family story matters - whether it's a beautiful story or a crazy one. Here's why

We'll take a break from politics in this month's Maoz Israel Report and discuss the most powerful ingredient for a prosperous nation - and that is the family dynamic. Enjoy the beginning of Ancient Jewish Family Secrets - and stay tuned for the rest in the coming weeks.

Do you know what the Jewish holiday of Shavuot and the Day of Pentecost have in common? Listen in to find out along with a few updates on Israel's political home front on this edition of Israeli Insiders

While Israelis spent the evening around bonfires, as is tradition during Lag Ba'omer – the IDF surprised the Islamic Jihad in Gaza with Operation Shield and Arrow taking out three top terrorists in the organization in their hideout apartments. The following day all public events and educational outlets were closed and Israelis told to stay close to bomb shelters as Israel awaited the expected response from Gaza.

The temporary break Israelis took from protests is over and the streets are once again full of protesters for and against the judicial reformation. The coalition is under pressure to pass a budget or Israel goes to automatic reelections. But members of the coalition are threatening not to pass a budget if their proposed laws aren't passed first. Of course, none of this happens in a vacuum as just this week 100 rockets were fired on Israelis from Gaza in 24 hours.

In this episode we report about the temporary break Israel took from protests to enjoy God's Feasts, mourn our lost and celebrate our independence. Then it was full force back to protests - for and against the reform. However, the unrest in Israel is not just about the politics in Israel, it is about how our surrounding enemy nations perceive the unrest - and whether it offers them an opportunity to attack Israel at a vulnerable time.

It's Passover and Israelis momentarily abandoned their protests to honor what we refer to as the Freedom Holiday. But it's also Ramadan and we're under attack on virtually every front. Rockets from the north and Gaza as well as riots on the Temple Mount. And also terror attacks from rural roads to the popular Tel Aviv boardwalk.

Israel was supposed to have a constitution. But since it's rebirth in 1948 Israel has been fighting off numerous armies and in the midst of it, Ben Gurion was afraid that if they sat and debated all the contentious issues regarding the nature of the state, this would cause an irreparable division. They decided to wait until a later date when circumstances on the ground were better. And now 75 years later, we're reaping the consequences.

Why the protests? What is this judicial reform everyone is upset about? Why are pilots refusing orders? And most jarring - is the Gospel going to be banned in the Holy Land?

Over the past decades, Messianic Jews have immigrated to Israel from all over the world. They fought through discrimination, stigmas and immigration barriers and earned reputation of being loyal and good citizens. Now millions of Jews living abroad who don't fit into the category of ultra-orthodox are facing the real possibility of no longer being eligible to immigrate to the land promised to their forefathers. But why?