By Jewish News Syndicate (JNS)
In the face of an unprecedented wave of violence directed against Coptic Christians amid the turmoil in Egypt that has left hundred’s dead, the church’s leadership issued a statement condemning the Western media’s biased coverage of the events in Egypt. “We strongly denounce the fallacies broadcasted by the Western media and invite them to review […]
By Daniel Pipes
Ahmed Shafiq, the former air force commander and former president Hosni Mubarak's last prime minister, actually won the presidential race by a narrow margin.
The Kinneret Bot reports: In the last 2 days the water level of the Kinneret rose 2cm to -212.38m, 62cm above the lower red line. This rise has been due to the rain that Israel has been having over the past 2 days.
A joint American-Israeli startup has developed the world’s first breathalyzer attachment for smartphones, in order to prevent drunk driving.
By JTA
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), a skeptic of assistance to Israel who also is considering a 2016 presidential run, will travel to Israel. According to a report Friday on the Christian Broadcasting Network website, Paul will be accompanied by Christian and Jewish leaders, and will also visit Jordan. He will meet with leaders in both countries, […]
The committee to release Jonathan Pollard says the Jewish spy was hospitalized after he had collapsed in prison. His condition is unknown. His wife was informed by the prison authorities a short while ago. A source inside the committee told Ynet that over the past few weeks Pollard has been suffering great pain, but it […]
It appear that Moshe Feiglin is going to Jerusalem.
By Ben Sales
KFAR AZA, Israel – In some ways, Israel’s latest confrontation with Hamas looks like past conflicts in the Gaza Strip. Operation Pillar of Defense has left some key Hamas leaders dead, depleted weapons supplies and hit more than 1,000 targets in Gaza.
Around noon, Wednesday, a young man boarded the Dan transit company number 142 articulated bus in downtown Tel-Aviv, an area of many government and business hi-risers (the IDF command center is situated only a few blocks away), and while riding for as few minutes, the man planted a bomb on the bus, exited at the corner of Weizman and Shaul Hamerlech Streets, […]
The IDF says no fewer than 99 such explosive devices have 'fallen short' in the last four days.
By Tzvi Fishman
This past year, the government of Syria has slaughtered 50,000 truly innocent civilians. Does the world give a damn? No.
It still amazes me how the Internet has completely changed our lives and how we view communication these days. My children hardly believe me when I tell them that there was a time when being in touch with someone, meant we actually saw them, spoke to them on the phone, or wrote them a letter and mailed it.
9:08 AM 2 women, 1 man killed in Kiryat Melachi strike. Baby moderately wounded. Dozens being treated for shell shock. 9:05 AM In the past 5 minutes, 4 barrages of rocket attacks on Ashdod. House in Kiryat Gat hit. No injuries reported. IDF expresses concern that as the day goes by, rocket attacks will intensify.
8:40 AM In the past 20 minutes, 30-40 rockets fired from Gaza. There was a direct hit on a house in Kiryat Melachi. Reports of critically wounded woman. 2 injured. People trapped. MDA and police responding. Sirens in Be'er Sheva 8:01 AM Muslim Bros call for global "Day of Rage" against IDF "aggression" 8:00 […]
By Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z"l
Rebecca, hitherto infertile, became pregnant. Suffering acute pain, she went to inquire of the Lord – “vateilech lidrosh et Hashem” (Bereishit 25:22). The explanation she received was that she was carrying twins who were contending in her womb. They were destined to do so long into the future.
By dvora
I never thought I would see the day when “Yossie” would smile. He was not an unhappy man, but rather very serious in demeanor. He never said hello, or any words, to his customers other than those absolutely necessary.
For most of the past two years, if not the past four, many conservatives and Republicans assumed that Barack Obama could not be reelected. A poor economy, an unpopular liberal agenda shoved down the throat of the country, and a largely uninspiring presidential leadership style combined to create a widespread belief on the right that the 2012 election would be a lay-up for them.
The National Union (HaIchud HaLeumi)’s reaction to Eldad and Ben-Ari’s announcement: “The Israeli political left-wing is elated at the news that our partners are splitting away and setting up a new party, because it means that tens of thousands of right-wing votes will be wasted, and that we have returned to the type of politics […]
The number of anti-Semitic incidents in the United States declined by 13% in 2011, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). The annual ADL Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents reported a total of 1,080 incidents of assault, vandalism and harassment, compared to 1,239 incidents reported in 2010. It is the lowest number of anti-Semitic incidents recorded by […]
The "Red Alert" missile siren has been going off in cities and towns around Gaza for the past half hour. Residents have reported hearing explosions. Ten rockets have been launched at Israel so far, including at Ashkelon and Gan Yavneh. No one has been injured from the strikes. Islamic Jihad has been taking credit for […]
Gazans hit IDF jeep with anti-tank missile and soldiers were injured. The IDF hit back harder than is usually does of late.
We salute President Obama on his solid reelection victory. Though we were highly critical of his performance these past four years in a variety of areas, we hope he succeeds in his second term, as his success is America’s success.
Avigdor Liberman's new and very creative YouTube video highlighting his party's achievements over the past 4 years.
By S. Goldfarb
The following is a partial list of things I always knew I would never be good at: 1) Math 2) Creative writing 3) Jewish outreach 4) Playing with children
Over the past few weeks, I, like many of you, have received wedding invitations, and I truly hope that the young couples-to-be have chosen wisely and will enjoy long and fruitful unions.
By Hadar Sela
Earlier, I took part in a briefing with Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich of the IDF Spokesman’s unit regarding the intensified rocket fire upon the south of Israel over the past few hours, which –at the time of writing – the Guardian has not yet seen fit to report. Lt. Col. Leibovich reported that 68 rockets have been fired from the Gaza Strip in the past twelve hours. Two foreign nationals – farm workers from the Kissufim area – were critically wounded by rocket fire and three or four additional civilians are suffering from lighter injuries. Several homes have been damaged.
By Hillel Fendel and Chaim Silberstein / KeepJerusalem.org
What is the source of Prime Minister Netanyahu's apparent scorn for the religious, Land of Israel-faithful public in Israel?
Tomorrow, Thursday, October 18, marks one year since the Shalit deal when Israel received back the kidnapped hostage soldier, Gilad Shalit, and freed more than a thousand convicted terrorists, many of them killers of Israeli civilians. Yediot Aharonot carried a report today that is translated to English and excerpted below. It reveals some aspects of the transaction that, as far as we can tell, have gotten little to no coverage in other parts of the Israeli media.
While it is still unclear whether the clear victory by Mitt Romney in the first presidential debate two weeks ago will amount to a more than a mere bump in terms of his popularity, or whether Vice President Joe Biden’s aggressiveness in last week’s vice presidential debate stanched the bleeding, we certainly have been witness to some troubling developments over the past couple of weeks.
By Moshe Herman
Yishai and Malkah discuss the holidays and how they differ in observance between Israel and the US. They also talk about recent news items.
By Aryeh Savir, Tazpit News Agency
There has lately been a general increase in terrorist activity in the Jerusalem vicinity, and the residents of Nof Tzion are experiencing it as well.
What sets us apart from most people can be summed up so easily. Did you know that Sunday was the anniversary of the death of Shimon HaTzadik? He died about 2,300 years ago, give or take, and we know who he was, who his father was, what he did in his life, and where he is buried. And yesterday hundreds of Israelis likely visited his grave.
Galei Tzahal reports that 22,470 Yordim (Israeli emigrants) returned to Israel in the past two and a half years because of of new initiatives taken by the Ministry of Immigration to help bring them back. The initiatives included special perks (unnamed) and a relaxed interpretation of what perks the Yordim were actually entitled to, in […]
By Hillel Fendel and Chaim Silberstein / KeepJerusalem.org
A big week for Jerusalem: Britain's Press Complaints Commission ruled that newspapers may not refer to Tel Aviv as Israel’s capital, and Palestinian Media Watch publicized five recent examples of the Palestinian Authority's ongoing attempts to erase Jewish history in Yerushalayim.
Questions abound as the IDF released scant information about the drone which entered Israeli airspace. News agencies add additional minor details but the large questions remain unanswered for the moment. China's Xinhua news service says the unidentified drone flew over settlements and military bases in southern Israel briefly before being brought down by IDF fire over an open unpopulated area. It was spotted entering Israel's airspace from the Mediterranean sea heading from the west to the east. But there is no word on where the UAV originated.
Arabs continue to escalate their violence on Har Habayit, as hundreds stoned police officers on the holy site.
Yet another explosion rocks Malmo Sweden, this one targeting the Jewish Community directly.
In the past hour, mortar fire erupted on Israel's northern border, causing explosions in what appear, for now, to be open fields. No injuries, but some property damage that's not yet detailed in the news here. It's reported that the fire is a kind of spillover from the barbarism unfolding over the past year inside Syria: the source is believed to be forces of the Syrian army "engaged" - as the journalists like to put it - with rebel forces near Syria's border with Israel.
By Chabad.org
Chabad-Lubavitch rabbinical students are on the ground in Iceland finishing up preparations for one of the northernmost celebrations of Yom Kippur in the world. The holiest day on the Jewish calendar, the holiday and its central fast begins Tuesday night, or 7 PM local time in Reykjavik. According to Rabbi Berel Pewzner, a native of […]
By Tzvi Fishman
Rabbi Kook’s advice is to set out correcting the transgressions of the past which are within the person’s reach to correct. This will set into motion a snowball of t’shuva whose inner force will lead him to correct matters more and more difficult, until he succeeds in redressing all wrongs.
By Anav Silverman, Tazpit News Agency
According to a study by Hebrew University’s Professor Sergio DellaPergola, the global Jewish population reached 13.75 million in the past year, with an increase of 88,000 people. Israel’s Maariv newspaper published excerpts of the study last week, reporting that one out of every 514 people in the world is Jewish, less than 0.2 percent of mankind.
IDF – Israel Securities Authority target terrorists affiliated with the Defenders of al-Aqsa in the Gaza Strip who were in the final stages of planning another attack against Israeli civilians
By JTA
Avi Binyamin, who owns the Kippa Man store on Jerusalem's Ben-Yehuda Street, is being sued by Marvel Comics for nearly $25,700 for selling yarmulkes with Spider-Man's likeness. “A reasonable consumer could be fooled into thinking that the infringing product is manufactured and/or sold by the plaintiff with the knowledge and/or approval of the defendant,” the […]
By Tanya Rosen
Dear Tanya, There are some diet delivery services that are kosher. Do you recommend I try them? In the past, one of the reasons I had a hard time sticking to a diet was because I hate preparing for myself, and when life gets hectic I just don’t have the time.
Police stopped a car in Gush Etzion and arrested two brothers 17 and 13 and took them to the Maaleh Adumim station. They were released a few hours later to house arrest after their alibis checked out. Despite the numerous firebombing and stoning attacks against Jewish vehicles and the IDF these past few weeks, the […]
Somehow, the common question in Israel today is whether the prime minister has the right to decide to attack Iran. “He has the chutzpah to think that he can decide,” former Supreme Court justice Eliyahu Winograd more or less pontificated, capturing all of the major news outlets’ headlines.
By Hillel Fendel and Chaim Silberstein / KeepJerusalem.org
Once again we see that no matter what happens, Yerushalayim keeps popping up in the center of world events. Just last week, the Democratic Party was innocently preparing the re-election bid of the incumbent leader of the free world, when it abruptly found itself having to deal with a major brouhaha concerning its omission of Jerusalem from its platform – and an even larger commotion when it put it back in.
Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie, the former president of the Union of Reform Judaism, has argued that the reform movement should look to Orthodox Judaism for guidance. Harry Maryles argues that this provides an important kiruv opportunity.
The global Jewish population grew by more than 88,000 people over the past year, and now stands at 13.75 million, according to a new study published y Professor Sergio DellaPergola of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
By JTA
Chabad said it had been renting the 12-story, 60,000-sq.-ft. building at 509 Fifth Avenue for the past 16 years, before it bought it on Thursday. The building has a synagogue, offers programs and oversees the activities of seven Chabad centers in Manhattan. It also includes a vacant space. “We are extraordinarily grateful to God for […]
By Hillel Fendel and Chaim Silberstein / KeepJerusalem.org
The Jewish people have had bitter experience in recent decades with enemies who repeatedly vow to destroy them. Despite this, here are some of the arguments being presented as to why Israel should not attack Iran:
Some might call this Emunah Peshuta – simple belief. Perhaps. But it is not blind belief. I am not a blind believer. However, I can understand why someone would call my belief in the truth of Judaism blind.
Spiritual accounting is similar to the financial accounting. In order to be an effective investor, it’s a good idea to sit down once a year with your financial adviser and ask a few questions.
By dvora
This was my first teaching job. I was standing in front of a classroom of eighteen delightful third graders. I had tutored and taught small groups of children over the years but this was my very own class. I could barely believe it. I was all of nineteen years old and I was so nervous. My stomach hurt and I hardly slept the night before the start of the school year. Eighteen pairs of sweet, adorable eyes followed my every move, every day.
As a result of the change in the law, the IDF is putting together a number of subtracts specifically for Haredim, though no new “Haredi Only” divisions or brigades will be created. Some of the units have women serving in them, and the IDF says the role of women will not be negatively impacted by the introduction of Haredim who prefer not to interact socially with women beyond what is allowed by their community's mores.
By Anav Silverman, Tazpit News Agency
Over 300 young science geniuses from across Asia and the Pacific participated in the sixth Asian Science Camp (ASC) in Jerusalem this past week. It was Israel’s first time hosting the science camp, which is typically held in Asia. Students arrived from 23 different countries-- including nations which don't have diplomatic relations with Israel.
Over the past several weeks I have featured tragic stories of family disintegration. Some of you might protest that “tragic” is a rather extreme word and that “sad” or “painful” would be more appropriate, but once again I emphasize tragic.
By Moshe Herman
Yishai is joined by Russell Robinson, CEO of the Jewish National Fund. Together they discuss the past and future of the JNF along with current projects and vision of the organization.
Reaching back in time to reclaim a family for herself and, in a yahrzeit moment, to rekindle lives snuffed out, Diana Kurz’s paintings stand as testaments to victims of the Holocaust. After a successful 20 year career as an artist and teacher, (with a strong feminist bent), in 1989 Kurz happened upon a few surviving photos of her own relatives “who disappeared during the war.” Suddenly her past opened up and possessed her. This spring (April 4 – May 2, 2012) a series of these paintings was shown at the Art Gallery at Kingsborough Community College, CUNY.
In an interview with former US ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk on Galei Tzahal radio Thursday morning, Indyk stated that the US was expecting an Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear facilities this past spring.
By Tibbi Singer
We have grown accustomed to these letters being directed at Haredi women. Now, surprisingly, this letter is addressed specifically to the men.
The slogan under which Obama hopes to win the next four years is "Forward". "Forward" is the quintessential progressive slogan, progressives being people who are so forward-thinking that they want to remake the 21st Century in line with their 19th Century ideas. Progressivism, like so many other flavors of futurism, is so new it's old.
Cheating on a spouse is a terrible betrayal. Yes, sadly, it is quite common, but that doesn’t erase the devastation and pain it causes. The discovery of cheating almost always comes on the heels of extreme lying. The big question always is, how can the one cheated on ever trust again? It is logical and practical to think that once a spouse has cheated, there is no reason to assume it would not occur time and again.
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 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.
The Jewish Press joins in saluting the thousands of lomdei Torah around the world who together, in countless specially designated study groups, have completed the entire Shas over the past seven and a half years in the Daf HaYomi cycle.
By Harold Rhode
Over the past year, more and more Iranians have been finding ways to communicate with their friends and relatives abroad in ways which should encourage the world to ratchet up the pressure on the regime.
By Ron Kampeas
Mitt Romney’s planned trip to Britain, Poland and Israel beginning at the end of this week has shifted the presidential campaign debate for now from jobs, the economy and the candidates’ past to how they would deal with an increasingly fluid world.
12:30 AM (Sunday) Syrian tanks shelling the town of Juvta Al-Chashav, 2 kilometers from the Israeli border. 11:50 PM Rebels looted and then burned 30 Turkish trucks at a border crossing. 11:45 PM Al-Arabiya reports that the Rebels have taken over the city of A-Ruchiyana near Ramat HaGolan. 11:30 PM Arab sources are reporting over 100 […]
By Tibbi Singer
Haredi consumers are not, by and large, part of Israel's social protest movement, but their shopping savvy, it turns out, is evolving constantly.
Heavy fighting is being reported in Halab, Syria. Meanwhile, there are unconfirmed rumors of a massacre in Hama, Syria. The death count for the past day is now up to at least 99, while the Syrian opposition has placed the number as high as 310 people.
Many IDF soldiers up in the Golan found their weekend furloughs canceled in light of the unrest in Syria and potential problems along the Syrian border. Sounds of shooting and fighting in Syria can be heard on the Golan. Some 90 Syrians have been killed in the past day. 20 Syrian soldiers went AWOL.
There is an old rabbinic anecdote about a rabbi who was called on to deliver a eulogy for someone who had no redeeming social value whatsoever. The rabbi was hard pressed to think of anything positive to say about this person. So when he spoke he solemnly pronounced: “No matter how evil the deceased truly was, he was still a far better person than was his brother!”
By Hillel Fendel and Chaim Silberstein / KeepJerusalem.org
Mourning, repentance – and love of the Land of Israel. These are arguably the major themes of these Three Weeks of Mourning over the destruction of the Holy Temple. The first two are well known and require little elaboration. But how does love and concern for Eretz Yisrael fit in to the picture?
On Tuesday afternoon, a Border Guard police force raided the outpost of Ramat Migron in the Benjamin region, where two minors were detained without being arrested.
Jews are the least of Elmo's problems. Four days after a man dressed in an Elmo suit was forcibly ejected from Central Park for spewing anti-Semitic propaganda, an article revealed his frightening past. “I hate those [women],” he told a news reporter in 1999.
During a lengthy and heated interview with the Jewish Channel, Yossi Gestetner was quizzed about some of his past work for a tiny anti-Zionistic organization in Brooklyn. He also defended New Square arsonist Shaul Spitzer and was a spokesperson for a rally to benefit Nechemya Weberman, who is currently on trial for molestation.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz said that "over the past few days we have witnessed, and continue to witness, a series of attempts to harm the State of Israel. In the face of these threats stands a strong and powerful IDF, prepared to respond to any threat, at any time." Gantz spoke […]
After an 18 month pregnancy, Tendra the rhinoceros gave birth to a healthy calf at the Ramat-Gan Safari on Friday, June 15. This was the second successful birth for 20-year-old Tendra. Congratulatory messages have been streaming in from zoos all over the world. White Rhinos are notoriously difficult to breed in captivity and every successful […]
By Hillel Fendel and Chaim Silberstein / KeepJerusalem.org
As most of you read these words, Egyptians are taking to the polls to elect their new president – and the outcome is liable to be fairly treacherous for their smaller neighbor to the northeast, Israel.
If your main reason to buy an investment is that you think someone else will buy it from you at a higher price, you may be sorely mistaken.
Over the past few weeks we have remarked on what we see as President Obama’s presumption that public resources are for his own uses – including political uses – regardless of laws or past political protocol.
By Hillel Fendel and Chaim Silberstein / KeepJerusalem.org
The Municipality of Jerusalem and Mayor Nir Barkat are trying to stay on everyone's good side. On the one hand, the city is working together with the Ir Amim organization – a group that promotes dividing Yerushalayim along Arab-Jewish lines – jointly sponsoring a seminar on the controversial topic of urban planning for eastern Jerusalem.
By Daniel Wicentowski, Israel Campus Beat
The Boston-based group took the pro-Israel community by surprise this year when it released a report in February titled “A Burning Campus? Rethinking Israel Advocacy at America’s Universities and Colleges.” The report, or "white paper," outlined a significant departure from the organization's divisive and hard-line history.
By Carl Schrag, Israel Campus Beat
If campus Israel activists spend much of the school year planning activities, building coalitions and spreading information, summer offers the chance to step back from the tactical realities of daily activism and take a longer, more strategic view of the situation.
The past is never dead. It’s not even past. – William Faulkner We Jews are a people of memories. Our past defines who we are. The past infuses our religious lives with context, purpose and meaning. How could we be if not for knowing how we were?
By JTA
Orthodox conversions in Israel are down by 31 percent over the past two years, according to a new report. “Both demographic changes and bureaucratic hurdles have contributed to this change,” said Rabbi Seth Farber, director of ITIM: Resources and Advocacy for Jewish Life. The ITIM study, released on the eve of Shavuot, the holiday in […]
In Cabinet meeting at Ammunition Hill, PM spoke of the threat that illegal immigrants - now totaling 60,000 - pose to Israel's Jewish and democratic character. He said that the physical barrier will be completed by October, and made clear that deportation was in the offing.
By Hillel Fendel and Chaim Silberstein / KeepJerusalem.org
How does a state keep its capital city united? A strange question, and one that is clearly not an issue in most of the world. But in Israel, whose capital is the most coveted and contested city in the world, the problem is an acute one.
Years ago, I was taught by secular Jewish friend that giving away money was disrespectful to money. It devalued money to give it away. And, for years, I agreed. Until I tried it.
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.
The WSJ today reported that the bomber whose plot to blow up a jetliner was foiled was a double agent, providing "vital information" to U.S. and Arab intelligence agencies, this according to officials who celebrated a successful infiltration of al Qaeda's "most dangerous branch." The news came one day after the Central Intelligence Agency, working […]
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 […]
"Edouard Vuillard: A Painter and His Muses, 1890-1940" has opened at the New York Jewish Museum and will run through September 23. The exhibition offers a fresh view of the French artist Edouard Vuillard’s career, from the vanguard 1890s to the urbane domesticity of the lesser-known late portraits.
As a result of the combined efforts of administration, faculty and student body members toward implementing the academic mission of Touro College Los Angeles (TCLA), the college has grown mightily over the past year. TCLA’s focus on developing innovative programs is being lauded in academic circles.
By Hillel Fendel and Chaim Silberstein / KeepJerusalem.org
A brief review of Jerusalem's police blotter for recent days looks like this: * April 2: Haredi man, 55, is axed by Arab terrorist near Shaar Shechem (Damascus Gate); lightly wounded. * April 15: Seven Molotov cocktails are hurled at Jewish homes in Maaleh Zeitim, causing a fire in one of them. * April 19: Young worshipper on his way from Shimon HaTzaddik to Meah She'arim is stabbed by two Palestinian terrorists (moderate wound).
By Zev Golan
Chanukah and Purim have passed but they are not past, because Jewish history is not only ancient. The message of Yom Ha’Atzmaut, Israeli Independence Day, is that Jewish history is now. Indeed, some of the Maccabees are still alive.
As air raid sirens blared out across the country on Thursday, citizens of Israel stopped for a moment of silence to remember the victims of the Holocaust. Memorial ceremonies are taking place throughout the country. Prime Minister Netanyahu: Never Again means stopping Iran.
By Danny Danon
It is time that we recognize the reality with which we are faced. The State of Israel is at war. This war is being fought on a completely different battlefield than in the past, where the notion of 'de-legitimization' has replaced bullets and provocative actions such as the flotilla have replaced tanks and fighter planes. And, just as we did not hesitate to confront the violence perpetrated by our enemies in the past, we cannot waver in our resolve against this new threat.
More than 1,000 Palestinians who fled the violence in Syria and were hoping to find temporary shelter in Jordan, have been stranded along the border between Syria and Jordan for the past few weeks. The Jordanian authorities have thus far refused to allow them into the kingdom.