Former president Jimmy Carter, who has garnered much criticism in recent years for his harsh words about Israel, will address the Democratic National Convention in prime time.
Muslims can't agree on what Islam is. What they can agree on is that most other forms of Islam are heresy and, depending on the severity of the heresy, their practitioners may be killed. "Big fleas have little fleas, Upon their backs to bite 'em, And little fleas have lesser fleas, and so, ad infinitum." Islamic revolutions have countless smaller fleas who interpret Islam more strictly and are even more determined to turn society into an exact ideal replica of 7th Century Arabia.
JERUSALEM – A new phase in the covert war between Israel and Iran’s proxy Hizbullah militia is taking place within the borders of the Jewish state, as Hizbullah has recruited scores of Palestinians and Israeli Arabs for missions ranging from arson to suicide bombings.
By Ron Kampeas
WASHINGTON – Anointing Paul Ryan as his running mate, Mitt Romney attached a name and face to his fiscal policy.
By Lauren Schmidt, Israel Campus Beat
Many campus Israel groups have brought Israeli soldiers to speak at their schools in recent years because they value the insights and perspectives IDF veterans bring to the campus Israel dialogue. But some people who have had life-changing experiences serving in the Israel Defense Forces later earn their college degree in the United States. These students offer a unique view on Israel, based on their experience, and their advocacy on campus conveys that.
By Moshe Herman
Yishai and Malkah broadcast live from Ben Gurion Airport where they welcome a 747 full of new immigrants to Israel.
Right now the Obama administration is being very, very careful about saying what it thinks about Israel, not wanting to upset the electoral applecart. But the New York Times isn’t afraid to let it all hang out, as it did in today’s editorial on Israel and Iran. The Times is important because its positions are so closely correlated with those of the administration. At least on foreign affairs, the Times is Obama’s Pravda.
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said at the Pentagon news conference on Tuesday that he doesn't believe that Israel has made a decision to attack Iran's nuclear sites, adding that international sanctions are increasing pressure on Iran to make concessions, the Pentagon has announced. Negotiations with Iran have stalled, with the latter still refusing to give the global powers access to all its nuclear facilities.
To a packed Council Chamber, the Sacramento City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday night to name Ashkelon as a sister city.
By Tzvi Fishman
About a month ago, I received an email from a 16 year-old girl from Europe, saying that she was on the way to the airport to fly to Israel. She said that her mother read my blogs at The Jewish Press and hoped that maybe I could help her, not knowing where else to turn. She wants to finish high school in Israel, make aliyah, and go into the army. Her present high school is all gentile and Moslem and very anti-Semitic. Could I help her, she asked?
An EU directive will impose customs duty on products made in the cities of Modiin and Maccabim-Reut, built on what was no-man's land between 1949 and 1967.
Against the background of the expiration on August 1 of the Tal Law, which attempted to manage Haredi recruitment, the Moetzes Gdolei HaTorah (Assembly of Torah Sages), the supreme rabbinical policy-making council of several Haredi organizations in Israel convened Monday night in Bnei Brak at the home of leader of the Lithuanian sector, Rav Steinman, to solidify the policy of military conscription.
By JTA
A world renowned philanthropist, Wolfson helped spread Torah through kollel and outreach programs with many catering specifically to secular Jews in an effort to bring them closer to traditional Judaism.
By Anav Silverman, Tazpit News Agency
Donnelly: “It was actually an Israeli cartoonist, Nurit Karlin, who made me think that I could draw for The New Yorker. I saw her work published in the magazine in the early 1970s—she was the only woman working as a cartoonist at The New Yorker at the time.”
By Moshe Herman
Yishai presents a recent class given by Rabbi Zev Reichman about the sanctity and power of physicality and its center in Israel.
An Islamic group's request to mark International Al-Quds Day on Aug. 18 has been approved by the Ontario Legislature.
Log on to watch the festive welcome ceremony where we celebrate their Aliyah together with hundreds of guests and dignitaries.
I’ve been wavering back and forth on this, but more and more people I’ve proposed this theory to are beginning to say that there might be something to it. Last week’s Sinai attack is still a mystery. A bunch of Palestinian terrorists kill the soldiers of a Muslim Brotherhood run country, all to get 2 […]
PM Benjamin Netanyahu: "The index sheds light and helps us prepare ourselves and avoid the mistake of not understanding with whom we are dealing with, who cooperates with and initiates this awful incitement. The Palestinian leadership is bequeathing this incitement to the coming generations and...it itself is incapable of adopting a dialogue of peace."
Jews across America, in the privacy of their own computer screens, are scanning the internet for job opportunities which will enable them to make the leap toward life in Israel.
The State Department wont let the Jerusalem-born children of US parents, to list Jerusalem, ISRAEL on their US passport for fear of upsetting the Arab world, yet you criticize Israel for not allowing Jews freedom of prayer on the Temple Mount?
Tears don't protect against murder. They don't stop killers from killing. They don't prevent the authorities from looking the other way when the killings happen because there is something in it for them. They don't bring the terrorists to justice. They don't even ensure that the truth will be told, rather than the lie that rationalizes the crimes.
The Egyptians are finally learning that terrorism is a double-edged sword, and that those who approve of terror activities will one day find themselves targeted by the same terrorists.
Focusing on the relations between Israel and the Palestinians turns the conflict inside out. In fact it is driven by the absolute rejection of a Jewish state in the Middle East by all the Muslim nations in the region, which dates back to the beginning of Zionism, before the founding of the state of Israel, before the development of specifically Palestinian nationalism, and long before the 1967 war.
By Moshe Herman
Yishai is joined by Rabbi Yochanan Danziger to discuss American Jews being stuck in the United States, the importance of the Land of Israel to Jewish life, and how Tu B'Av is about marriage rather than love.
The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday began a week-long drill of a text-message warning system that sends alerts to cellphones about imminent missile attacks in particular areas. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: "All of the threats that are currently being directed against the Israeli home front pale against a particular threat, different in scope, different in substance, and therefore I reiterate that Iran cannot be allowed to have nuclear weapons."
I wonder if anyone in the Olympics has thought of the reality that people in Israel's south live with every day.
The circumstances that were created after the murder of the Egyptian soldiers and the failure of the terror act against Israel proves the truth of the saying: "Success has many fathers, but failure is an orphan." We can only imagine how great would be the cries of joy in Gaza if 18 Israeli soldiers had been killed, heaven forbid, instead of Egyptians.
Tom Friedman’s pro-PLO stance dates back to his active involvement, while at Brandeis University, in the pro-Arafat radical-Left “Middle East Peace Group” and “Breirah” organizations. It was intensified during his role as the AP’s and NY Times’ reporter in Lebanon. There he played down Arafat’s and Abbas’ rape and plunder of Lebanon and their strong ties with international terrorism, while expressing his appreciation of the PLO’s protection of foreign media in Beirut.
“Israel’s moral standing” is not necessarily enhanced by failing to stand up for its legal rights and by, in effect, selling out the Jewish people.
For years the Egyptians have been trying to erode the Sinai force restrictions set in the peace treaty they signed with Israel. Force restrictions that were a necessary condition for Israel agreeing to restore the Sinai to Egyptian control. The Egyptians see the force restrictions as impinging on their sovereignty. Israel always considered the force restrictions as critical for the Jewish State’s national security.
By Rotem Sella
When four of out four newspapers in Israel deal with any single subject one can count on the fact that there is a deliberate effort by some personnel to set the headlines on fire.
At 11:53 PM on Saturday night, a rocket was launched from Gaza at the Eshkol region in Israel. The rocket fell in an open area.
By JTA
Gold-winning American Jewish gymnast Aly Raisman has accepted an invitation from Israel Diaspora Affairs Minister Yuli Edelstein for her and her family to make their first visit to Israel. Raisman, who performs floor routines to the melody of “Hava Nagilah,” won an individual gold medal in her floor exercise last week and a bronze on […]
By JTA
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu berated U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon for agreeing to attend a Non-Aligned Movement summit in Iran. "Even if it is not your intention, your visit will grant legitimacy to a regime that is the greatest threat to world peace and security," Netanyahu's office quoted the prime minister as saying Friday in […]
Although Shia and Sunnis do not pray together, as both sects have the same goal – hostility to Israel – the Shia cleric, to set a precedent, recently asked the Sunni Imam to lead a prayer service attended by both congregations.
If Muslim fanatics cannot tolerate moderate and secular Muslims, why should they be expected to accept those who belong to other faiths?
The battle is being waged on the internet and phone lines, in the lead-up to a Sacramento City Council meeting on the topic which will take place on August 14.
By Tzvi Fishman
After finishing a meal in which we ate bread, we are to thank God for the food and for the Land which He has given us, as we say, “Blessed are Thou, O Lord, for the Land and the sustenance,” and even if a Jewish astronaut were to eat a pastrami sandwich on the moon, or on Mars, he would still thank God for the pastrami sandwich and the Land of Israel.
Channel 2 reports that the Israel's cabinet approved the entry of 6 Gunships (helicopters) in the Sinai. The vote to allow them in was done hastily over the telephone, but not fast enough, as Egypt had already sent them the gunships in without waiting for Israeli approval. Egypt also sent in 60 tanks and 400 […]
There is one great truth that all Israelis know; that all Jews have accepted. Today's modern Jew, at least in Israel, is different than the Jew of yesteryear.
Numerous Americans in Israel have received their $1000 tax credits per child. Now Uncle Sam wants to make sure you deserved to get it.
Egypt has demanded that Hamas terror chief Ismael Haniyeh hand over 3 of his Hamas leaders who were involved in the attack on the Egyptian military base in the Sinai this week. According to to the Arab paper, Al Quds, Israel handed over the names of 9 terrorists that were involved in the attack. The […]
US President Barack Obama has in recent days received an National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) which upgrades the current view of the progress achieved by Iran's nuclear program to more critical, according to Western diplomats and high level Israeli officials. The new evaluation was conducted because of concern within the Administration that Israel would unilaterally attack Iran's nuclear facilities.
Imagine this: two Jews, one opinion! Who accomplished this miracle? None other than former US president Jimmy Carter.
The US has passed a message on to Israel that Saudi Arabia informed them they will shoot down any Israeli planes that flies over their territory on the way to attacking Iran's nuclear weapon development facilities. Some Israeli officials believe the idea for the message was instigated by the US in order to place additional […]
By JTA
An El Al spokesperson said the airline had not decided whether or not to honor round-trip tickets to Israel that were offered erroneously for prices as low as $330. On Wednesday afternoon, the airline issued the following statement via Twitter: "Thanks for your patience. Details/decisions re incorrect fares that were briefly sold on Monday are […]
The Levy Report on the settlements in Judea and Samaria was like cold water on a parched landscape. The committee members who drafted the report and dared to publicly say what every child in Israel can and should know deserve credit and appreciation. The report factually states that there never was an occupation in Judea and Samaria because no entity there was ever occupied.
By Jason Maoz
Several years ago the Monitor ranked the U.S. presidents (from Truman through Clinton) in terms of their relationship with Israel. Since then, readers occasionally have asked whether time and added perspective have had any effect on the list and where Barack Obama would place on it.
It was not a necessary part of our busy itinerary. It was not even a noble errand. But the craving for a tasty lunch led our group to experience a moment never to be forgotten.
By Goel Jasper
As a child in the 1970s and ‘80s in the United States, I used to define Zionism in blunt, simple terms. If you wore a white shirt with blue pants on Yom Ha’atzmaut, you were behaving like a Zionist. If you had pictures hanging in your home with Israel themes, such as the famous June 1967 photo of the three soldiers standing by the Western Wall or the one of Begin, Carter and Sadat shaking hands at Camp David, that made you a Zionist.
By Ron Kampeas
WASHINGTON – Call it the Adelson conundrum: What happens when the guy who acts as if he owns the room really does?
While the global economy deteriorates and its ripple effects erode Israel’s economic indicators (e.g., unemployment increased to 7%), there is cause for optimism in the Holy Land.
By Barry Rubin
You will be reading a lot of accounts of this event mostly saying the same things. But what’s really important?
Early Wednesday morning, Egyptian security forces launched an attack in the Sinai, killing more than 20 Islamic terrorists. The forces, comprised of army and police units, clashed with masked gunmen in different areas in the peninsula. The attack came in response to three armed gunmen who opened fire at roadblocks earlier in the night.
By JTA
Was the only Israeli on the International Olympic Committee instrumental in stopping a tribute to the Munich 11 at the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Games? In the past few weeks, a war of words has erupted between the official, Alex Gilady, and the families of the 11 Israeli athletes and coaches murdered by […]
The Islamic movement to which newly-elected Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi belongs, released a statement on Monday claiming the Sinai border attack that left 16 Egyptian security officers dead “could be attributed to the Mossad," according to Egyptian daily Al-Masry Al-Youm.
By JTA
Jewish Voice for Peace members said its members were rebuffed as they attempted to deliver a letter to the Boston headquarters of Mitt Romney. A half-dozen members of the group attempted to deliver the letter on Monday calling on Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate, to apologize for saying in Jerusalem that the differences between […]
By Anav Silverman, Tazpit News Agency
Suhila Abd el-Salam, the sister of Hamas Prime Minister in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, accompanied her husband for treatment in an Israeli hospital four months ago. According to Israel’s Ynet News, the sister’s husband was admitted to Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikva, for immediate medical treatment following a serious heart condition.
Yesterday, Gaza supporters began tweeting that Israeli helicopters were randomly firing... I saw the video. It does not look random to me.
By Tzvi Fishman
If Moshe were alive today, I’m certain he would prefer living in the Land of Israel rather than living in Brooklyn. What do you think?
By Barry Rubin
Israel’s “friends” abroad simply can’t seem to get out of their minds the idea that the country faces such terrible threats that it must make big concessions and beg for peace with the Palestinians on just about any terms, or try to appease hostile surrounding countries in order to stave off their wrath.
By JTA
More than a dozen Iranian citizens arrested in connection with the assassination of several Iranian nuclear scientists have confessed, Iranian state television reported. The Iranians were shown in a television report describing how they were trained at an Israeli military camp near Tel Aviv. One of the suspects said the operation was being sponsored by […]
By JTA
Romney, the presumptive GOP nominee, has said he needs to see the relevant intelligence material accessible to a president before deciding.
By J. E. Dyer
India has just conducted an unprecedented four-day port visit in Haifa, during which Indian sailors roamed Israel as American sailors have for many years, and joint ceremonies were held with the local population. A naval visit to Israel is a big political signal; India would not be sending it lightly.
By Tamar Shmaryahu, Israel Campus Beat
In past years, students turned to the people they knew for advice or strived to build creative plans on their own. While these approaches can yield strong results, imagine what could be achieved with a nationally networked resource that provides the best of all worlds -- tested, proven programming ideas and step-by-step details of best practices for impacting the campus environment.
Egypt deploys helicopter gunships to the Sinai peninsula after President Mohamed Mursi directed the military to take “complete control” of the Sinai. Israel Defense Minister Ehud barak: "I hope that this will be a wakeup call for Egypt regarding the necessity to be sharp and efficient on their side."
The IDF is currently investigating how the terrorists in Sunday's’ attack managed to drive one of their commandeered armored vehicle 2 kilometers into Israel until the IAF blew it up. In the strike, six terrorists, armed with suicide belts, were killed, while an additional two, who tried to escape on foot, were shot by IDF […]
Sunday's attack on Jewish worshippers at Joseph's Tomb in Nablus needs to be understood as something more significant than just another unfortunate instance of violence between Jews and Arabs. It is nothing less than a warning of what will happen once Palestinians achieve full sovereignty, as the Obama administration appears to be demanding, over all of the West Bank.
I will vote for the presidential candidate who I believe is best for America and for the world, and in making that calculation I will consider their policies toward Israel because I believe that strong support for Israel's security is good for America and for the world.
According to the Israeli government, the quick actions last night of Israel's soldiers prevented a greater tragedy from happening. According to those who support the Palestinians cause...well, they're stuck. They have to lie because they can't possibly work with the truth. So, here's how it goes, according to the twisted logic of the other side.
All of Israel’s wars involve the US as a silent ally or silent not-so-much-ally. The question of “what will the US allow Israel to do?” is almost as important as “what is Israel capable of doing?” And the timing of any action with regard to the upcoming election is very relevant to US behavior.
A serious attempt by Gaza terrorists to breach the Israeli border, and the launch of dozens of rockets and mortar shells on the Eshkol Regional Council in southern Israel on Sunday evening, has led to exchanges of fire on the Israeli border, the slaughter of 15 Egyptian soldiers by Gaza terrorists, and warnings to residents of Kibbutz Kerem Shalom to remain in shelters and lock their doors for safety reasons. Despite fear and concerns for security, a long-time activist for the western Negev region said the attacks come as “no surprise” to residents of the region.
By Moshe Herman
Yishai and Malkah talk about Tisha B'Av in Jerusalem along with the recent visit of American presidential hopeful Mitt Romney's trip to Jerusalem.
By Anav Silverman, Tazpit News Agency
The festival's founder, Perry Farrell of the alternative rock band, Jane’s Addiction, conceived the idea in 1991 and subsequently held several Lollapalooza tours across the US. Farrell revealed on Saturday that the franchise would perform in Israel from August 20-22 in Tel Aviv’s Yarkon Park.
By Tzvi Fishman
We learn from Moshe that the true meaning of Haredi is someone whose fear and reverence of God so fills his being that he rushes to do every mitzvah as speedily and completely as he can. We also find this Haredi quality in Moshe’s great desire to live in the Land of Israel. Moshe wanted to make aliyah more than anything else. This is a sign of a true Haredi Jew – a towering love for the Land of Israel and a passionate desire to live there.
Every few months, when the Israelis sense that US resolve in the sanctions department is weakening, or the Iranians enrich uranium to new levels, they ratchet up the rhetoric without any proper coordination, and cause political problems for the US President. This trick works because it forces Obama to prove that he is strong by pushing harder for stronger sanctions or else face the ire of potential voters and donors.
By Soeren Kern
Israel should be under no illusion that the recent "upgrading" of bilateral relations with the European Union will end European hostility toward the Jewish state. Quite to the contrary; Israel should be expecting an increase in European meddling in its internal affairs.
More than sixty-five American Jewish leaders urged Netanyahu to adopt Levy's findings that the “settlements” in Judea and Samaria are legal.
The Palestinian Authority will likely bid in September to become a UN “non-member observer state.” A document prepared by the PLO’s negotiations support unit, says both Israel and the U.S. have an arsenal of punitive measures at their disposal. It says the U.S. could close the PLO mission in Washington, suspend aid to the Palestinians or withhold contributions to any UN agency the Palestinians try to join. The Arab League last month gave Abbas its backing for a new General Assembly bid, but did not specifically recommend its timing.
In the days of Shmuel Hakatan a terrible drought held the land in its deadly grip. The wheat withered in the field and the grass dried and died. Day after day, the skies remained leaden and no clouds appeared to bring rain and salvation to the parched land.
By Anav Silverman, Tazpit News Agency
Over 3,000 years ago, an ancient Jewish holiday was celebrated by the maidens of Israel. Dressed in white, soon-to-be brides would dance in the community of Shiloh in Samaria, the temporary capital of Israel before the first Temple was built in Jerusalem.
Joining Romney in the announcement of this new coalition were House Majority leader Eric Cantor and former US Senator Norm Coleman from Minnesota, two out of a short list of Honorary Chairmen. In the announcement itself there was one concrete pledge made. Coleman said that, if elected, Mitt Romney pledged he would make his first foreign trip as president to Jerusalem.
Let’s explain what is usually considered a major paradox: the US provides billions in military aid to Israel, enabling it to keep its enemies at bay. But at the same time its diplomats claim that they don’t know what the capital is, and the major thrust of US policy since 1973 has been to force Israel to withdraw to indefensible boundaries, despite the obvious damage to its security.
By Tzvi Fishman
And so it was, every 9th of Av, the men would enter the mass grave for the night and another 15,000 would perish by the morning. The night of the living zombies. 15,000 men for 40 years. In the 40th year, the remaining men entered the mass grave but nothing happened. They remained there through the 15th of Av, when they realized that nothing was going to happen. The decree of the plague had ended! So they climbed joyously out of the grave. This was on Tu B’Av.
With great emotion and to the joy of Jewish foodies throughout the world, the Queen of Kosher cooking is coming home to rule the roast/roost.
By JTA
A bipartisan slate of 58 members of Congress signed a friend of the court brief in a case involving a 9-year-old boy who was born in Jerusalem but was denied a request to have Israel listed on his passport as his place of birth. Menachem Zivotofsky was born in western Jerusalem. Neither President Obama nor […]
By dvora
JERUSALEM – "It is not just Israel's right to apply sovereignty to Judea and Samaria," said Eran Bar-Tal, economics reporter for Makor Rishon, "but its obligation."
By dvora
The day following our oldest daughter’s wedding in Eretz Yisrael was the day we had planned for my husband to return to his job in the U.S. I was staying for another week in Israel with the rest of our children and my dear mother in order to participate in the remaining wedding celebrations.
By Dov Shurin
I sleep every Tisha B’Av night on a narrow cushion in front of the Me’aras HaMachpelah in Hebron. I do this because the following chiddush came to me many years ago: When the spies went to Israel, the pasuk says “vayavo ad Chevron” – “and he came until Hebron.” He instead of they. Rashi says only Calev ben Yefuneh went to Hebron, to pray to Avraham Avinu that he not fall for the plan of the spies.
To put it mildly, GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney’s trip to Israel didn’t go over well with spokesmen for the Palestinians, the Obama administration and a number of columnists and commentators who echoed their criticisms.
I am in shock. A friend of mine was visiting the United States and his ride to the airport for his return flight to Israel fell through. At the last minute he needed to find a ride to a terminal that was 50 minutes away in order to catch a bus to New York City where he would then take a shuttle to the airport.
By Ed Lion
Half a century ago in May, Israel hanged Nazi war criminal Adolph Eichmann for overseeing Germany’s extermination of six million European Jews, fully one-third of the world's prewar Jewish population. The murder of the six million staggers the mind. Such a vast breadth of our people, each of them with his own individual dreams, loves and aspirations, exterminated.
By Mitt Romney
To step foot into Israel is to step foot into a nation that began with an ancient promise made in this land. The Jewish people persisted through one of the most monstrous crimes in human history, and now this nation has come to take its place among the most impressive democracies on earth. Israel’s achievements are a wonder of the modern world.
JERUSALEM – Despite public displays of support for Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from presumed Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, who recently visited Israel, several local polls show that the Israeli leader is rapidly losing support among his own Likud Party voters. Many of those surveyed believe that his meandering political adventures, as well as his fiscal and social measures, are unfairly burdening the middle class.
By Ben Sales
JERUSALEM – Mitt Romney’s policy speech in Israel covered plenty of bases: The presumptive Republican presidential candidate spoke about the status of Jerusalem, the threat of a nuclear Iran, the “tumult” of the Arab Spring and the “enduring shared values” that bedrock the U.S.-Israel relationship.
By JTA
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak ordered the Israeli Defense Forces to draft Haredi men as it does other Jewish Israelis. The order came as the Tal Law, which allowed many Haredi men to defer army service, expired on Wednesday. Israel’s Supreme Court overturned the law in February. Israeli law mandates that Jewish Israelis enter the […]
A few years ago, Rabbi Michael Broyde wrote an analysis of the Halacha requiring married women to cover their hair. Although he in no way said that a married woman may uncover her hair he suggested that it is possible to say that there were Halachic sources that may have permitted it in certain social circumstances.