Gilad Shalit - Free at Last!

   This past Tuesday Gilad Shalit finally came home! After 5 years of being held by Hamas in captivity cut off from the world, Gilad has been reunited with his family, friends, and Israel. In Israel and around the world, people celebrated his safe return. This excellent video, made by a friend of mine, is very meaningful because of the background music. She used this same background music in other videos of Gilad Shalit that were advocating his release. Praise God "dream[s] really do come true"! (Please enjoy and share with your friends.)

   Another great video and this one is from United with Israel:

   May God bless Gilad with a restful recovery and rapid progress as he returns to his life in Israel!

   God bless and Shalom,
   Nili

Announcing Sunday's Special! (A Day Early.)

   Announcing Sunday's Special...a day early! Even if you are only able to watch one these videos in a single sitting,  please consider watching all of them over the next week. The first video went viral on the Internet (a couple years ago, I think.) I wanted to share something truly special, so here are several videos that I highly recommend:

 

God bless and Shalom,
Nili Smit

America's Hatikvah on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/pages/Americas-Hatikvah/250897508280121
America's Hatikvah on Twitter: @AmericasHatikva

Blog post of the week: http://liveaction.org/blog/fourth-trimester/
Movie of the week: http://www.180movie.com/

180 Movie Has Over 338,000 Views!

   If you have not watched the 180 Movie, please take the time to watch it today. So often in our fast paced world we forget to take the time to consider what really matters. History matters. Life matters. Eternity matters.

   We often take the time to argue over History and its influence on our lives today. We sometimes take the time to argue over Life and what are called the prolife and prochoice positions. We less often take the time to argue about Eternity and the afterlife. In all our arguing, we too often forget to consider the ramifications of our positions and the logic or lack of logic behind our arguments.

   The 180 Movie is a way to remind ourselves: History matters; Life matters; and Eternity matters. It is a way to reconsider our view of History, Life, and Eternity.

   Please watch the 180 movie below and please visit the website and Facebook page listed below the movie.

http://heartchanger.com/  

https://www.facebook.com/180moviecom

   During the course of our arguments, we toss around words like Holocaust, Hitler, Nazis, Germany, United States, World War II, abortion, adoption, prolife, prochoice, pregnancy clinics, life, death, God, eternity, Heaven, hell, and Judgement. From now on, let us toss another couple words into our arguments: "180 Movie."

God bless you today as you contemplate History, Life, and Eternity, 

Nili

Announcing @AmericasHatikva! Please follow us on Twitter!

   America's Hatikvah is now on Twitter. Unfortunately, our last "h" seemed to go over the number of characters allowed in a handle. Please follow us on Twitter for exclusive America's Hatikvah updates in the days and weeks to come.

   Shana Tova!
   Nili

Announcing Wonky Wednesdays -- A Very Interesting Article!

   I am pleased to announce "Wonky Wednesdays." Starting today I will begin focusing on policy wonk articles and sharing  my thoughts on public policy on Wednesdays.


   This article by Jeffrey Lord at the American Spectator is very fascinating. I found most interesting this line from the article: "The too-cute-by-half cleverness in this current argument over the newest appearance of anti-Semitism as an anchor of Neoliberal philosophy is the use of the term 'neoconservative' as a euphemism for 'Jew.' ": http://spectator.org/archives/2011/08/23/ron-paul-and-the-neoliberal-re


   While is is a long article, I hope you take the time read it to better understand the current Libertarian movement.


God bless and Shalom,
Nili

What Changes People's Mind in a Matter of Seconds? Watch This Documentary to Find Out!

   This is the documentary of the year in my view. The arguments made in this film are convincing and powerful! Please take the time to check it out and share with all your friends! What changed these people's minds in seconds?

http://www.180movie.com/

http://heartchanger.com/

Check out their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/180moviecom

   God bless and Shalom,

   Nili Smit

Announcing Shabbat Shalom Saturdays!

    In the future, Saturdays will focus on current news related to Israel and the Jewish people. While I blog about Israel regularly, I want a specific day set aside to devote to an important Israeli news article for the week.

   The big story of this week was the Palestinians' bid for statehood at the UN. Here is the link to an article that explains the time schedule the Palestinians want for a recognition of a Palestinian state: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4126774,00.html

   God bless and Shalom,
   Nili Smit