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Treasure Trove recalls the challenges of travelling to the Holy Land
We were spoiled when both Air Canada and El Al flew directly from Canada to Israel and hope they will resume these flights soon. Now, if you are travelling to Israel, you must fly through the United States, Europe or even Dubai. As much as a hassle as that is, it is nothing compared to what people did to get to the Land of Israel before air travel.
This postcard from the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis promotes the services of Thos. Cook & Son to Palestine and to Egypt. Thomas Cook (1808-1892) was an English businessman who was one of the initial developers of the “package tour” which included travel and accommodations, starting with an excursion train from Leicester to Loughborough in 1841.
Thos. Cook & Son started tours to Palestine in the 1870s. By 1904, the company had its own offices in Jaffa, Jerusalem, Haifa and Beirut –Tel Aviv did not exist yet: it was founded only in 1909—and prided itself in employing no outside contractors. Tours to Palestine ranged from 32 to 100 days, with an optional add on of a Nile voyage.
The company made all the arrangements for German Kaiser Wilhelm II’s trip to Palestine in 1898 which included 1,430 riding horses, mules and pack camels; 116 carriages and baggage carts; special trains; 300 tents and 290 servants, excluding the Kaiser’s own valet and cook who accompanied him.
After 178 years in business, Thos. Cook went bankrupt in 2019 stranding 140,000 customers who were outside the UK when the collapse occurred.
The figure in the postcard is “One of Cook’s Palestine Dragomans”. A dragoman is an interpreter and guide. The term comes from the same root as the Hebrewword metargem, translator.
The conditions applying to a Thos. Cook camping trip in Palestine included that each passenger will be provided with a good horse and English saddle. Any passenger objection to the horse must be made before leaving Jerusalem or Beirut “in which case the dragoman will do his best to meet the views of the passenger; but it must be distinctly understood that horses cannot be changed after the passengers have left Jerusalem or Beyrout for the long tour.”
On our next flight to Israel, we should remember that even if we are stuck in a middle seat beside a crying baby, that’s much better than being on an objectionable horse for a long tour.
The post Treasure Trove recalls the challenges of travelling to the Holy Land appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.
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Iran’s Supreme Leader Says Trump Is Lying When He Speaks of Peace
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting with government officials in Tehran, Iran, April 15, 2025. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused Donald Trump on Saturday of lying when the US president said during his Gulf tour this week that he wanted peace in the region.
On the contrary, said Khamenei, the United States uses its power to give “10-ton bombs to the Zionist (Israeli) regime to drop on the heads of Gaza’s children.”
Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One after departing the United Arab Emirates on Friday that Iran had to move quickly on a US proposal for its nuclear program or “something bad’s going to happen.”
His remarks, said Khamenei, “aren’t even worth responding to.” They are an “embarrassment to the speaker and the American people,” Khamenei added.
“Undoubtedly, the source of corruption, war, and conflict in this region is the Zionist regime — a dangerous, deadly cancerous tumor that must be uprooted; it will be uprooted,” he said at an event at a religious center in Tehran, according to state media.
Earlier on Saturday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Trump speaks about peace while simultaneously making threats.
“Which should we believe?” Pezeshkian said at a naval event in Tehran. “On the one hand, he speaks of peace and on the other, he threatens with the most advanced tools of mass killing.”
Tehran would continue Iran-US nuclear talks but is not afraid of threats. “We are not seeking war,” Pezeshkian said.
While Trump said on Friday that Iran had a US proposal about its nuclear program, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in a post on X said Tehran had not received any such proposal. “There is no scenario in which Iran abandons its hard-earned right to (uranium) enrichment for peaceful purposes…” he said.
Araqchi warned on Saturday that Washington’s constant change of stance prolongs nuclear talks, state TV reported.
“It is absolutely unacceptable that America repeatedly defines a new framework for negotiations that prolongs the process,” the broadcast quoted Araqchi as saying.
Pezeshkian said Iran would not “back down from our legitimate rights”.
“Because we refuse to bow to bullying, they say we are source of instability in the region,” he said.
A fourth round of Iran-U.S. talks ended in Oman last Sunday. A new round has not been scheduled yet.
The post Iran’s Supreme Leader Says Trump Is Lying When He Speaks of Peace first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hamas Confirms New Gaza Ceasefire Talks with Israel in Qatar on Saturday
Doha, Qatar. Photo: StellarD via Wikimedia Commons.
A new round of Gaza ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel is underway in Qatar’s Doha, Hamas official Taher al-Nono told Reuters on Saturday.
He said the two sides were discussing all issues without “pre-conditions.”
Nono said Hamas was “keen to exert all the effort needed” to help mediators make the negotiations a success, adding there was “no certain offer on the table.”
The negotiations come despite Israel preparing to expand operations in the Gaza Strip as they seek “operational control” in some areas of the war-torn enclave.
The return to negotiations also comes after US President Donald Trump ended a Middle East tour on Friday with no apparent progress towards a new ceasefire, although he acknowledged Gaza’s growing hunger crisis and the need for aid deliveries.
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Report: ICC’s Khan Goes on Administrative Leave Amid Sexual Misconduct Probe
International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan speaks during an interview with Reuters in The Hague, Netherlands, Feb. 12, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw
i24 News – Chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Khan has stepped down temporarily as an investigation into his alleged sexual misconduct by United Nations investigators is nearing its final phase, Reuters reported on Friday citing sources from the international court.
Khan allegedly forced sexual intercourse upon a member of staff on multiple occasions, the Wall Street Journal reported last week, linking the allegations to Khan’s decision to issue arrest warrants for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-defense minister Yoav Gallant.
A statement is expected later today announcing that Khan is going on administrative leave, according to a source in the prosecutor’s office.
The post Report: ICC’s Khan Goes on Administrative Leave Amid Sexual Misconduct Probe first appeared on Algemeiner.com.