Animosity toward Israel is playing a significant role in the Egyptian presidential race, according to a report by Reuters.
By Rachel Henderson, Israel Campus Beat
Summer break brings countless ways to become a more skilled advocate for Israel. Many organizations, including The David Project, StandWithUs, Hasbara Fellowships, the Israel on Campus Coalition and others offer students opportunities to learn how to strengthen their skills on campus.
The Jewish birthrate per capita of Jewish mothers in Jerusalem is now higher than that of Arab women in Israel’s capital city.
For many American Jewish students who want to study medicine, studying at the Technion American Medical School in Haifa is an attractive option.
By J. E. Dyer
For the United States, issuing attack threats in the manner of Hugo Chavez is not a convincing posture. I don’t know if the Israelis will find it reassuring; I suspect the Europeans and Iranians will find it annoying, and decide to ignore it.
By Anav Silverman, Tazpit News Agency
Minister of Diaspora and Public Affairs Yuli Edelstein: “For me, Jerusalem is more than just a capital to be proud of. As the former Minister of Immigrant Absorption, I can say that for Jews who immigrated to Israel--from as far as Ethiopia-- making aliya to Israel always meant returning to Jerusalem, to Zion."
Israel's American football team took the field last Thursday in Petah Tikva, and lost its first international match by a score of 49-6 to Maranatha Baptist Bible College Crusaders from Watertown, Wis. According to AP, Israel's 10-team amateur league is gaining audience interest. Last year's Israel Bowl attracted more than 1,000 fans and was broadcast […]
By JTA
Nothing suggests that Iran is ready to stop its nuclear weapons program, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said ahead of talks between Iran and a U.S.-led negotiating coalition. "Nothing would be better than to see this issue resolved diplomatically," Netanyahu said Friday during a state visit to the Czech Republic. "But I have seen no evidence […]
According to the Ramban, the verse "your foes who dwell upon it will be desolate" (Vayikra 26:32) is a partial blessing within the curse that guarantees through all generations that the Land of Israel will not receive any foreign nation in place of her true indigenous people.
By Tzvi Fishman
This blog is not coming to reject, or condemn, any practice of Judaism which is based on a sincere fear of Heaven, nor to reject or condemn any Jew, or Jewish community, God forbid. The blogs we write come to reject only the misunderstanding of Judaism which negates the centrality of the Land of Israel to the Torah and to the vitality of Jewish life.
Ampal-American Israel Corp decided to write off its entire 12.5 per cent investment in East Mediterranean Gas, the company that sold Egyptian natural gas to Israel before Egypt called off the exports. Ampal is controlled by Israeli tycoon Yossi Maiman, who put his yacht up for sale this week, as a belt tightening measure.
By JTA
The Obama administration said it would rush $70 million to Israel in order to enhance its Iron Dome missile defense system, with more money in the pipeline. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said Thursday, after meeting with his Israeli counterpart Ehud Barak, that he was directed by President Obama to meet Israel's needs for the […]
Ezra, who was serving as a Kadima MK at the time of his death, was born in Jerusalem in 1937. He served in the IDF's Nahal Paratrooper brigade, and joined the Shin Bet in 1962. Over a career that spanned 33 years, he rose to become the Deputy head of Israel's domestic intelligence organization. Throughout his political career he variously served as Minister without Portfolio, Minister of Internal Security, Minister of Tourism, and Minister of Environmental Protection.
The bolstering of Jewish sovereignty generates negative world opinion - except in the U.S. and a few other countries - but enhances respect toward a conviction-driven Jewish state. On the other hand, when Jewish sovereignty retreats and Israel submits to world opinion, it merely projects weakness. Israel will never satisfy world opinion, and such action only further fuels global pressure.
By Soeren Kern
According to a survey of 10,000 French voters conducted by the polling firm OpinionWay for the Paris-based newspaper Le Figaro, an extaordinary 93% of French Muslims voted for Hollande on May 6. The French vote marks the first time that Muslims have determined the outcome of a presidential election in a major western European country; it is a preview of things to come.
By Barry Rubin
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan once said that democracy was like a trolley. You ride it until you get to your destination and then get off. Presumably that’s at the point where you have consolidated power to the point you can do whatever you want and have turned Turkey into an Islamist state.
Minister of Finance Yuval Steinitz signed a directive on Wednesday enabling foreign lawyers to work in Israel, and enabling collaboration between Israeli and foreign law firms.
The US Senate will consider a new sanctions package against Iran on Thursday, in which oil and economic embargos will be considered in order to force Iran to abandon its nuclear development program. In the meantime, the US and Israel prepare for the possibility of a military strike on Iran.
Follow Me: The Yoni Netanyahu Story is a documentary about the life of a true Israeli hero. But the film is not a mere recounting of the famous Entebbe Raid, it is an honest retrospective of the life of the young, academic, passionate and poetic son, brother, friend, boyfriend, and husband Lt. Col. Yonatan Netanyahu. And it shows a side of Israel that a 'Hasbara' campaign can't capture.
By Tibbi Singer
Our JBlogs Chief Reviewer Tibbi Singer brings you fresh recommendations on 12 new articles, plus reader mail and words of wisdom about sticking magnets under your skin (you shouldn't).
Israel and Japan celebrated 60 years of diplomatic relations on Tuesday, kicking off a series of special events commemorating the occasion. On May 21, the Israeli embassy in Tokyo will stage a special gala concert marking the occasion, joining the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra with leading Israeli musicians.
Israeli security authorities including the IDF Military Intelligence Formation, closely monitored the Google Street View Project, first launched in Israel just last month, giving a close look of streets in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa. The inspection prevented publication of pictures revealing classified information and locations of security facilities operating in Israel.
One of Israel’s leading universities seems to have lost its way. In a move that is as incomprehensible as it is shameful, Tel Aviv University (TAU) agreed to allow a student group to hold a ceremony commemorating “Nakba Day,” when Palestinians bemoan the establishment of the state of Israel.
Two weeks ago, in my weekly column on the NRG website, I wrote, “Nobody really understands why Israel is going to early elections.” So when I heard that the election merry-go-round had been cancelled, I was pleased.
Washington prefers the diplomatic option and stated as much time and again – but it seems that beneath the surface, an attack is ready to roll on command. An unusual moment of candor on the part of U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro at a closed meeting in Tel Aviv, reveals the planning behind the scenes. "The military option is not only possible, it's ready," he says.
The truth is sometimes unpopular or uncomfortable. Thus, people who wish to dismiss the Hand of Hashem from history and human affairs may be taken aback by the assertion of Rabbi Avigdor Miller, zt”l, based on the beginning of this parshah, that the suffering that befalls Israel comes for a Divine purpose. Rabbi Miller finds this purpose explicit in the opening words of Bechukosai, and observes that this “wish” (to dismiss the Hand of Hashem from history) is not a Jewish way of thinking.
Last week we called attention to the extraordinary reports that the Obama administration had taken to scrubbing references in official documents to Jerusalem as part of Israel.
By Rory Lancman
Last year’s Arab Spring is quickly becoming an Islamic Spring, with dire consequences for Israel. Israel, already surrounded by enemies, now faces a newly empowered Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt to the west and a wave of new protests and opposition tactics in Jordan to the east. To the north, Iran’s regional proxy, Syria – along with its allies in Hizbullah – continues to suppress its people, contributing to destabilization just across the Golan Heights.
We’ve been hearing a lot from Jewish Democrats and the administration itself that Barack Obama is the best friend Israel has ever had or, as in Joe Biden’s fractured fairy tale version of history, “has done more for Israel’s security than any president since Harry Truman” – a president who actually did nothing for Israel’s security.
With tears flowing, a phalanx of top American TV stars recounted various personal and religious revelations they gained during last week’s weeklong visit to Israel. They expressed admiration for the Jewish people’s vitality and for their willingness to create a better society in the midst of political and religious upheaval in the region.
In poll conducted by the Israel Democracy Institute in conjunction with Tel Aviv University, 90% of Israeli Arab respondents said that it was unsuitable for 'Hatikvah' "to serve as the national anthem of the State of Israel," compared to 80% of Israeli Jews said that it was suitable.
Israel had no intention of capturing Jerusalem’s Old City when the Six-Day War began 45 years ago. Many of its government ministers, especially the religious ones, opposed the idea, warning that the world would never accept Jewish rule over Christianity’s holiest places. Although the army had numerous contingency plans regarding targets in the region, a plan for taking the Old City was not among them.
The United States Tour Operators Association, the largest tourism wholesalers association in America, will hold its 2013 annual conference in Israel as guests of the Tourism Ministry. The decision was made in February during a meeting in the US between Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov and USTOA management. The organization’s last annual conference in Israel occurred in 1995.
By Tzvi Fishman
All of the directors and presidents of the Jewish organizations and federations and committees and leagues and unions who didn't and still don't call upon their members to pack up and go, they all should be replaced with braver souls. With the scourge of intermarriage decimating our ranks, all of the rabbis who didn't and still don't urge their congregations to go en mass to Israel should read through the Torah once again.
The day after police arrested four Eritrean and Sudanese men for robbing and raping a 19 year-old woman in south Tel Aviv’s Neve Sha’anan neighborhood, Israeli Interior Minister Eli Yishai said most African illegal immigrants should be rounded up and either deported or arrested.
By Moshe Herman
Changing Diaspora thinking The Jewish Press' Yishai Fleisher is joined in a crowded square in the Old City of Jerusalem by alternative peace activist Yehuda HaKohen. They discuss the upcoming holiday of Yom Yerushalayim and how it, along with other holidays that have been added to the Jewish calendar since the founding of Israel in 1948, […]
By Elianna Mintz, Israel Campus Beat
UN vote reactions. BDS efforts. Anti-Israel Conferences. Gilad Shalit’s release. Social media advocacy. Failed and successful collaborations.
Beineinu and Choice of the Heart will be holding their annual Symposium this Thursday night, May 17th, at Heichal Shlomo in Jerusalem. The focus of the symposium is creating successful relationships through a combined spiritual and practical approach.
By J. E. Dyer
If a civic or political group, meeting publicly, is not willing to have its activities and statements recorded truthfully by critics, its purpose is suspect. There can be no good purpose for preventing third parties – i.e., the whole of society, whether friendly or critical – from seeing what is said and done at a public event sponsored by the Palestine Society.
By Anav Silverman, Tazpit News Agency
Omar Epps, on his second visit to Israel with America's Voices in Israel, explained that it was the country's "rich history, culture, people and energies" that drew him back. "For me personally, the spiritual significance of this place hits me to the core. The fact that the world's three ancient religions meet in one place makes the holiness of this land so unique," said Epps. "I'm bringing my kids here next time to experience this land together with my wife."
While Pakistan has been invited to the NATO summit in Chicago next week, Israel has been left out, at the request of Turkey, according to Reuters. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has not yet responded to the invitation. Israel, NATO's most dependable Middle East ally in the war against terrorism, did not even an invitation […]
On the issue of ultra-Orthodox military service, 41% of those surveyed said they would be moderately or very interested in joining the Haredi IDF program, while 59% said they had either little or no interest. Still, the percentage of interest is substantially higher than the current annual rate of Haredi enlistment in the IDF.
By Assaf Yair, Tazpit News Agency
An Israeli–Zionist success story: the story of two Ethiopian youths who immigrated to Israel from their village in 2007 and evolved into top notch high school students and youth group leaders.
By Tzvi Fishman
Avraham Avinu packed up his belongings without saying a word and hastened to the Land, even though it was loaded with savage heathens, prostitutes, idol worship, murderers, and rapists, even though there wasn’t one synagogue, kosher butcher, or luxury villa to be found.
By JTA
European Union foreign ministers at a meeting in Brussels slammed Israel for threatening the viability of a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Their three-page statement released Monday condemned the increased growth of settlement building, and the eviction of Palestinians and demolition of their homes in eastern Jerusalem. It also expressed concern over settler violence. […]
Shop-A-Fada, a play on the violent Palestinian intifada, was launched Monday. It encourages the public to counter anti-Israel boycotts with the purchase of merchandise manufactured in Israel. Shop-a-fada is an innovative effort designed by a team of Israeli business owners and pro-Israel personalities to demonstrate support for Israel by purchasing products manufactured and sold in […]
Egyptian intellectual Tariq Hagi speaks frankly and openly about the many deep flaws that exist in Arab cultures. His message is different from that of most Arab spokesmen, because most Arab spokesmen strive to cover up the flaws in their societies, to conceal them and repress them - mainly because of the shame and the feeling of inferiority that these flaws arouse in them.
Shalhevet Schwartz, a 14 year old girl from Riverdale, Bronx, was one of only two girls to compete in her division of the National Bible Contest held last Sunday at Yeshiva University in Manhattan. Despite appearances, the freshman at SAR High School exhibited sufficient bible knowledge to win, and be eligible to participate in the world championships in Jerusalem, the “Chidon HaTanach”, held every year on Israel’s Independence Day.
A new Health Ministry reports shows that a whopping 25 percent of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)treatments resulted in pregnancies, with 20% of attempts resulting in live births. The number represents the doubling of success in the last decade, partly thanks to Israeli law supporting free IVF for two live babies.
By Barry Rubin
In his recent speech in Afghanistan Obama made the deadly error of claiming that, in effect, al-Qaida is America's only real enemy in the world. Even the Taliban is redeemable, though it answered him with a suicide attack in Kabul. As for Obama's other claims, he can't even get Pakistan to stop supporting the Taliban and concealing al-Qaida leaders. And India has been treated by Obama in a manner reminiscent of his policy toward Israel.
By Tzvi Fishman
Some people will tell you that if you put on tefillin in Brooklyn, you’ve reached the pinnacle of the Jewish journey, but it isn’t true. Other people will tell you we have to stay in exile until Mashiach arrives. But that isn’t true either. Hashem isn’t waiting for Mashiach. Before our very eyes, Hashem has brought millions of Jews back to Israel on His own, without waiting for Mashiach to do all the work.
The unintended consequence of the hostile cancellation of Egypt's natural gas contract with Israel may result in increased blackouts in Gaza. Benjamin Netanyahu's Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan says Israel should consider cutting its supply of electricity to the Gaza Strip this summer in face of predicted power shortages.
Sar-EL, the National Project for Volunteers for Israel, stations volunteers on IDF bases across the country. We work in army uniforms and perform non-combat support duties, working alongside regular soldiers, helping Israel shoulder its defensive burdens.
A course instructor of the Snapir ("Fin") combat unit, practicing with inflatable rubber boats in the Haifa Bay. Women serve across the range of different units in the IDF, on the ground, on sea, or in the air, taking an equal part in protecting Israel.
By Barry Rubin
When asked whether they preferred to model Egypt on Saudi Arabia or Turkey regarding religion’s role in government, thy chose Saudi Arabia by a 61 to 17 percent margin. Note that Western pundits and experts keep insisting that there is some kind of Turkish model of moderate Islamism. Aside from the fact that Turks aren’t Arabs, this is a sign of the base of support for a fully sharia state.
Lag B’Omer is the yahrzeit (anniversary of the death) of Rabi Shimon bar Yochai. Thousands visit his grave in Meron to pay homage to this tzaddik and leader in Israel.
By Tzvi Fishman
It is no secret that American Jewry is being decimated by assimilation. The longer the Jewish community remains in America the more the assimilation will grow. So I ask – what’s the point in working to strengthen something that is destined to dwindle out and end? The exile is a curse which is not supposed to continue forever.
Cleric Safwat Higazi: "Our capital shall not be Cairo, Mecca, or Medina. It shall be Jerusalem, Allah willing. Our cry shall be: 'Millions of martyrs march toward Jerusalem! Millions of martyrs march toward Jerusalem!"
Several headlines recently caught my attention when I heard that a man who claims to have worked as Michael Jackson's bodyguard made the incredulous charge that Michael was a Nazi sympathizer. This kind of viciousness should usually not be indulged because it just gives it more credibility for the retelling. But the slander against Michael's name in this instance is so great that it deserves to be rebutted.
By Jewish Press Staff Reporter
The regional instability has changed Israel's security outlook in a number of ways, said Chief Intelligence Officer Brigadier General Ariel Karo, most notably in recent months in the Sinai Peninsula. Moreover, he said, the nature of the IDF's enemies is not always entirely clear, with the lines between military and terrorist groups blurred.
By JTA
The United States-Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act of 2012 passed by a vote of 411-2. In addition to expanding military cooperation between the two countries, the legislation states that it will be U.S. policy to provide Israel with essential military capabilities to preserve its qualitative military edge in the region.
Some 354,000 visitors arrived in Israel in April 2012, 19% more than in April 2011 and 12% more than in April 2010, Israel’s record tourism year. The number of incoming tourists reached 296,000 in April 2012, 13% more than during the same period last year and 11% more than in April 2010. "The consistent increases […]
Jews of every age and religious denomination across Israel celebrated the holiday of Lag Ba'Omer Wednesday night lighting bonfires and celebrating. The holiday commemorates the end of a plague which decimated thousands in Eretz Israel in the Second Century. The day is also accepted as the yahrzeit of Talmudic sage Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai.
What, then, might be most important to Israel's prospectively irrational enemies, potentially even more important than their own physical survival as a state? One possible answer is the avoidance of certain forms of shame and humiliation. Another would be avoidance of the potentially unendurable charge that they had somehow defiled their most sacred religious obligations. Still another would be leaders' preferred avoidance of their own violent deaths, deaths that could be attributable to Israeli strategies of targeted killing and/or regime-targeting.
By Dov Shurin
My father had gone to the hospital to get a simple procedure to clear the arteries. The procedure failed and the doctor made a terrible mistake in what he did next. The botched effort caused my dad to have not one but two heart attacks.
The current issue of Commentary magazine tells of sordid – and possibly criminal – Obama administration efforts to alter some files of the George W. Bush administration that refer to Jerusalem as being part of Israel. The article also adds a fascinating footnote to the much-publicized Zivotofsky case.
When Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas tried to end run the PA’s treaty obligations to negotiate its statehood with Israel and instead secure recognition from the United Nations, Congress reacted by forbidding the transfer of State Department foreign aid funds to the PA. Several days ago, however, President Obama invoked a waiver provision in the law and authorized the funding to be resumed. And therein lies an important tale.
By Steven Plaut
I recently was challenged by an academic who claimed to be dumbfounded that I rejected as absurd his use of the term “Apartheid Wall” to refer to Israel’s security barrier fence.
By Sarah Stern
The Koby Mandell Act created the Office of Justice of Victims for Overseas Terrorism in the Department of Justice, to ensure that all American citizens, irrespective of where they were killed or maimed, would get the justice under American law they deserve. I naively thought that the 54 American citizens who had been killed by Palestinian terrorists and the 83 who had been wounded would finally get a crack at the American justice they so richly deserved.
JERUSALEM – Prime Minister Netanyahu’s bombshell announcement of a unity government agreement with new Kadima Party head Shaul Mofaz gives the Israeli leader an unshakeable government coalition for at least another year.
By Tzvi Fishman
Not only are the streets of Jerusalem inundated with the smoke of burning embers; but hillsides and streets all over the country are lit up with the fiery love of Torah which kindles in every heart. Not only the streets, but the smoke of these holy bonfires penetrates into every single apartment and house, like the aroma of incense on the Temple’s altar, penetrating through windows and concrete walls to reveal the inner spirit of every Israeli soul, of every Israeli home.
Israeli President Shimon Peres praised Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper for his support of Israel during his 5-day state visit beginning on Monday. “I sense that Canada is always positive, never indifferent, never neutral,” President Peres told attendees at his official welcome ceremony at Rideau Hall, according to a report by Canadian daily Globe and […]
In a rematch of last season's Holyland Series, Lobos looked for revenge, but it was Café Rimon who prevailed – though all agreed that this encounter would pale in significance to a potential postseason meeting.
By Lauren Schmidt, Israel Campus Beat
Oren stressed the importance of treating every question with respect, noting that there is only one question that he refuses to respect. “I won't respect any question that draws a comparison between Israel and the Nazis," he said. "I won't respond to that, at least not respectfully."
The Moody's credit rating agency lowered its outlook for the credit rating of Israel's banking system from stable to "negative," due to the economic challenges it faces in the next 12 to 18 months. However, the agency did not lower the ratings of the banks themselves, and only two weeks ago has ratified the Israeli […]
A report titled "The Emperor Has No Clothes: Palestinians and the End of the Peace Process" was issued this week by the International Crisis Group, asking: "Does anybody still believe in the Middle East Peace Process?" It claims the current process, even if it yields some local progress, "will not bring about a durable and lasting peace.
Speaking at the annual convention of the Conservative movement's Rabbinical Assembly in Atlanta on Tuesday, Vice President Joe Biden made the case that Obama's strategies regarding the Iranian nuclear program have worked, but said the decision to strike must be Israel's. "I would not contract out my security to anybody, even a loyal, loyal, loyal friend like the United States," Biden said.
Coupled with the new political reality engendered by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's new and broad unity government, Congress' supplementary funding appears to advance Israel's preparation for the military option against Iran, as well as the potential international and military fallout.
Last year, Arab children diagnosed with cancer visited Israel's only ski resort located in Mt. Hermon, in northern Israel. The children, accompanied by parents and family, enjoyed the snow and slopes along with IDF soldiers from the Alpine Unit. Their trip to the Hermon was made possible by Israeli Civil Administration, which coordinates civilian and […]
A unity government, which would give Netanyahu a massive 96 Knesset seats out of 120, would certainly clear the decks for military action against Iran. Early elections in September, on the other hand, carry a burden of uncertainty, even though Netanyahu’s Likud party is leading by a large amount in the polls. In any event, they would be disruptive.
The attempt to serve as an honest broker between Israel and the Palestinians has defied reality and U.S. interests. While Israel has been an unconditional ally of the U.S. and a role model for countering terrorism, the Palestinians have actively and ideologically sided with U.S. enemies and rivals: Nazi Germany, the Soviet Bloc, Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden, North Korea, Iran, China and Russia.
By Tzvi Fishman
Now that everyone is talking about elections, I’m thinking of throwing my kippah into the ring. In all modesty, my novels have won me a pretty fair following in the religious community, so I could very well garner the necessary number of votes to get elected to the Knesset.
Israeli Prime Minister David Ben Gurion: “The Machal Forces were the Diaspora’s most important contribution to the survival of the State of Israel”.
A joint JoeSettler-Jameel post. Left behind in the wake of Netanyahu’s surprise unity maneuver are some serious winners and loser. There is no doubt that elections would have shaken things up, but this unity coalition shakes up things even more. What Netanyahu managed to do today is of historic proportions and has some serious ramifications […]
By JTA
Two Congress members from Michigan at the Jewish Council for Public Affairs annual plenum stressed the importance of stopping a nuclear Iran and passing a bipartisan farm bill. Rep. Mike Rogers, the chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, told plenum participants in Detroit on Monday that leaving the military option on the […]
Tied as we are in Martin Luther King's 'single garment of destiny' where 'whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly,' courageous soldiers of the US military are forced to engage in war so that the rest of us might live in peace, to stain their hands so that our future might be clear. We do not gloat over the death of evil since its very existence must be mourned.
By Jewish Press Staff Reporter
Some 5,000 French Jews participated in an aliyah fair in Paris. The fair, organized and run by the Jewish Agency, took place on the Sunday of Francois Hollande's election as their new president, beating incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy—the Jewish community's favorite. A recent poll found that 26 percent of those surveyed said they have considered emigrating due to French anti-Semitism.
By Rafi Harkham
Danny Goldstein, founder and chairman of 'Calcala' ('Finance'): “We are focused on making Israel a better place to live and a better place to invest by merging the best of Israel and America - representing Israelis, but with an eye on the American perspective.”
The virus of antisemitism persists in haunting Europe. In recent months, antisemitism has been exhibited all too often in European countries, not just in theory but in practice.
A tomato shortage has led to a surge in prices for the juicy Israeli staples, with prices estimated to reach NIS 16 per kilo on Monday ($1.90/lb). Tomatoes are usually an inexpensive commodity, available at 45 - 75 cents a pound. The shortage is a result of the conclusion of a growing season. In a […]
A ten year-old Tunisian boy is gaining fame across the Aram world for having refused to compete against an Israeli opponent in the World School Chess Championship. The eighth annual competition took place in Romania, with 640 participants competing. Rather than compete against an Israeli, Tunisian Muhammad Hamida withdrew from the competition. Director of the […]
A major annual US gay conference will feature Israel and its gay community this year. The Equality Forum’s four-day event in Philadelphia, ending Sunday, featured Israeli gay performers, activists, and Israeli ambassador Michael Oren. Each year, the conference chooses another country as its theme. Gaycities.com rated Israel the top Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transsexual travel […]
Two Irish bands scheduled to play highly-publicized concerts in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Nahalal in June have cancelled, citing an overwhelming international uproar over their refusal to join the boycott against relations with Israel. Dervish and Fullset both published apologies on their Facebook pages, explaining that a mutual friend of theirs, Israeli musician Avshalom Farjun, […]
The Detroit Free Press reports that Israel’s Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren, speaking Sunday at a Jewish-American conference in Detroit, said that his country has to hold on to its Jewish identity, and he urged American Jews to remain united with other Jews around the world in their support for Israel. "Together, we must […]
Following his victory Sunday, the 57-year-old François Hollande shouted himself hoarse, as he had done so often during the campaign, thanking his supporters for electing him president and promising to unite the whole country. But Richard Prasquier, President of the Jewish-French organizations, says one of the changes the Hollande presidency brings is a boost to the anti-Israel left.
By Tzvi Fishman
When I finally made aliyah, I knew lots of people, and was already half “Israeli”. I lived in Jerusalem with the saintly old lady I had met on my first visit, and spent my days running around with Rabbi Hazani, designing street posters and helping him with the campaign to free the Jewish Underground until he dragged me to the Machon Meir Yeshiva
With two leading Islamist presidential candidates that are backed by the Muslim Brotherhood, chances are high that Egypt will vote an Islamist into the office of president. This will undoubtedly be followed by an Islamist constitution.
UPDATE: About 100 Likud Central Committee members have been refused entrance into the hall where the vote on the next President of the Likud convention is to be held. Police say the Exhibition Gardens hall in north Tel Aviv is too small for the number of committee members who are entitled to come in and vote.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu penned a letter to the people of the State of Israel, thanking them for coming to console him after the death of his father. The letter, written by the Prime Minister and posted on his Facebook page, expressed gratitude to the thousands of Israelis who paid respects at the shiva house […]
By Barry Rubin
At times we seem to be living in the updated version of Ignazio Silone’s remark, “The final conflict will be between the Communists and the ex-Communists.” All too often, we cannot depend on Western-trained intellectuals in positions of power who either buy into leftist ideology or tremble in fear of being called racists or Islamophobes.