In a sign of growing tension between the IDF and the Defense Ministry, Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Thursday announced the appointment of a retired major-general to probe the conduct of top military officers with regard to the so-called “Galant Document” affair. Read More »
Welcoming President Shimon Peres to his summer palace on Thursday, Pope Benedict XVI said he was greatly encouraged by the start of direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Read More »
BUDAPEST – Uri Gotlibovich, a 37-year-old businessman from Ra’anana, has brought humous to Hungary. Gotlibovich is the proud owner of a chain of restaurants called Humus Bar that has found a following among a people known for their love of goulash and pastries. Read More »
Israel is a small country, but you wouldn’t know it by the number of hours Israelis spend on the road. According to the findings of a study released Thursday by road safety advocacy group, Or Yarok, the average Israeli driver spends 577 hours a year – which adds up to more than three weeks – behind the wheel.. Read More »
Over 1,500 Christian leaders and laymen from 35 nations heard a first-hand account Thursday morning from Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin of an Israeli family’s historic exodus from Jerusalem’s Old City. Read More »
A law exempting haredi male high school-age students from studying the core curriculum, which is mandatory in all parallel state-financed schools, does not violate the Basic Law: Human Dignity and Freedom or the Basic Law: Freedom of Occupation, the state wrote on Thursday in a brief to the High Court of Justice. Read More »
Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein on Thursday issued a new directive to police and Justice Ministry prosecutors, setting limits to the amount of time they have from the moment they are given the case to the moment they indict a suspect or close his file. Read More »
The petitioners against the segregated girls’ primary school in Emmanuel told the High Court of Justice on Thursday that the Education Ministry’s decision to establish a separate school for the “Hassidic stream” only served to increase the fragmentation of Israeli society and rewarded those who practiced discrimination. Read More »
The Knesset’s Education, Culture and Sport Committee voted during a special session Thursday to condemn the performing artists and academics whose refusal to appear in the West Bank city of Ariel drew headlines throughout the past week. Read More »
The Council of Jewish Communities in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip announced on Thursday that construction has been renewed in dozens of locations across the West Bank, in violation of the building freeze set to end at midnight in September 26. Read More »
As the direct talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority were launched on Wednesday, two of Fatah’s prominent figures have come out against the talks, criticizing PA President Mahmoud Abbas for abandoning his preconditions for entering into negotiations. Read More »
WASHINGTON – PA President Mahmoud Abbas condemned two recent Hamas attacks on Israelis in a speech at the White House Wednesday night. Read More »
Hamas strongly condemned the launch of direct talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority in Washington and said the goal was to “liquidate” the Palestinian cause. Read More »
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s dovish statements initiating direct talks with the Palestinians on Thursday led to condemnation and skepticism on the Right and renewed talk of Kadima joining the coalition. Read More »
A husband and wife who were wounded in a shooting attack on Wednesday night in the West Bank escaped death when one of the attackers’ guns jammed and they were able to hide in a nearby ditch. Read More »
Judea and Samaria Police have significantly increased their presence on the ground and have raised the security alert to its highest level in response to this week’s double terrorist attacks. Read More »
The statistics speak for themselves. In May, there were 17 terror attacks in the West Bank. One of them was a shooting and the rest involved the throwing of stones and Molotov cocktails. The trend kept up in June and July, those months ending with 21 and 22 terror attacks, respectively, and each with only one shooting. Read More »
WASHINGTON – In the first concrete decision to emerge from the direct talks that began here on Thursday, Israelis and Palestinians agreed to work out a framework agreement in the coming months as a first step to a full peace treaty, US Middle East envoy George Mitchell announced on Thursday. Read More »
Over 20,000 people have signed an online petition which calls for the boycott of Standard Time in the next three days, which comes into effect this year before Yom Kippur. Daylight Saving Time (DST) ends in two weeks on September 12, before Yom Kippur, moving the clock back by an hour. Read More »
A Palestinian Authority security source claimed on Thursday that the PA security forces have seized the car that was used in the shooting attack that killed four Israelis from Bet Hagai on Tuesday night. The source said that the car was found in Hebron and that the PA security forces were now investigating several suspects linked to the vehicle. Read More »
WASHINGTON – Israelis and Palestinians agreed to work out a framework agreement in the coming months as a first step to a peace treaty, US Middle East envoy George Mitchell announced Thursday. Read More »
BUXTON, North Carolina — Hurricane Earl barreled toward the US East Coast on Thursday with winds swirling at around 140 mph (225 kph). Forecasters were trying to pinpoint how close the strongest winds and heaviest surge would get to North Carolina’s fragile chain of barrier islands, and whether the storm would threaten parts of the Northeast. Read More »
It’s an allegation almost too surreal to be real. In a claim reminiscent of the most elaborate Middle East conspiracy theories known to date, a “reliable” source in the beleaguered Yemeni government has told the Yemeni news site Al Watan that a group Read More »
TO ALL MY FAMILY AND READERS MAY I WISH YOU A HAPPY AND HEALTHY NEW YEAR TIP FOR THE WEEK: Think twice before committing yourself to any major purchase or new project. In a few weeks you will have more information and that is when you can make your final decision. Read More »
Pope Benedict XVI is greatly encouraged by the start of direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. Read More »
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu Thursday addressed peace talks participants at the White House, emphasizing the lengths to which Israel was willing to achieve a lasting peace. “We are prepared to walk down this road, to go a long way to achieve peace,” said Netanyahu. Read More »
Following the police recommendation to indict the people involved in the Holyland scandal, including former prime minister Ehud Olmert and former Jerusalem mayor Uri Lupolianski, the spotlight is focused on the local planning and construction committee, where this infamous project was approved a few years ago. Read More »
With tears of pride, 16 young adults from the 200-member Jewish community in Parimaribo, Suriname, openly wept Sunday as they marveled at the recently restored Zedek Veshalom Synagogue, rescued from ruin in 1999 from their tropical South American Read More »
The local planning and construction committee is one of the branches of the city council. It is composed of eight members, at least one of whom has to represent the opposition. Traditionally, the coalition was not required to vote in unison on this committee, but Mayor Nir Barkat has changed that. Read More »
The status and the tasks of the local planning and construction committee require some clarification. It is often confused with the district committee, which is part of the Interior Ministry, where the municipality has representatives but has a very different status and decides on different issues. Read More »
The lion may be known as the king of the jungle, but sometimes even a king isn’t the master of his own home. Lida, the veteran lion at the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo, has trouble in his den. The problem stems from his personal entourage of females. Read More »
The German central bank voted unanimously in favor of dismissing board member Thilo Sarrazin on Thursday, following racist comments stereotyping Muslims and Jews. Sarrazin was expected to appeal the bank’s decision. Read More »
Interior Minister and Shas Chairman Eli Yishai said that peace talks will lead to nowhere in this week’s issue of the Shas newsletter From Day to Day , released Thursday. Read More »
The Knesset’s Education, Culture, and Sports Committee convened in an emergency meeting on Thursday to discuss the refusal of a long list of Israeli artists to perform at a cultural center in the West Bank town of Ariel. Read More »
VIENNA — UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed optimism Thursday about the first direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians in nearly two years, while acknowledging the process could prove “very difficult. Read More »
A young woman with long auburn hair sits surrounded by friends and family in her mother’s living room while holding a tiny baby on a pillow in her lap. She is the sandek at the brit of her cousin’s son, having agreed to take on this honorary role — the one who holds the baby — to please her father, a Reform rabbi who is the mohel. Read More »
Israeli and Palestinian leaders are in Washington trying to make peace – again. This summit marks the latest chapter in a story that began on the White House lawn 17 years ago, when Israelis and Palestinians committed themselves to ending the conflict once and for all. Since then, every round has failed and bloodshed has continued. Read More »
Defense Minister Ehud Barak expressed his concern over the “Galant Document” incident at a meeting of the IDF General Staff Forum on Thursday. “I commend the police for its quick investigation and conclusions. Read More »
LONDON— British Foreign Secretary William Hague said that one of his advisers resigned Wednesday because of “malicious” rumors claiming that the two had an inappropriate relationship. Hague said that Christopher Myers, 25, stepped down from his post because of the pressure on his family caused by the “untrue and malicious allegations. Read More »
The French national railway’s hope to bid on the first high-speed tracks in the United States is running into resistance from Holocaust survivors because of the company’s role in transporting Jews to Nazi death camps. Read More »
A number of the 2,000 Turks who were subjected to wiretapping in 2007 allegedly following orders from Deputy Chief of General Staff Gen. Aslan Güner are preparing to take legal action, Turkish daily newspaper Taraf reported on Wednesday. According to newspaper, Gen. Read More »
Lebanon requested that Interpol release an arrest warrant against a Lebanese former general who allegedly worked for the Mossad, AFP reported on Thursday. Read More »
Israeli policies of closure and blockade in the Palestinian Territories is costing the Palestinians economy billions of dollars and making them poorer, a United Nations report has claimed. Read More »
A family from the Arab village of Tamra, including one minor, have been indicted on Thursday for kidnapping a relative after finding pictures of him in drag on Facebook. Read More »
Article provided by MutualArt.com: www.mutualart.com Artist and environmental activist Emilio Mogilner fully appreciates the transience of life — especially with regards to his own mortality. Read More »
Palestinian Authority security forces have vowed to arrest Hamas members and bring order to the West Bank, according to a Thursday report by London daily Asharq Al-Awsat . “We arrested hundreds of Hamas members , and we’ll continue to do so,” a high-ranking Palestinian Authority official told Asharq . Read More »
Minister of Communications Moshe Kahlon has announced that the cost of calls between different cell phone networks will fall by 74% by 2014, from 25.1 agurot to 5.55 agurot a minute. SMS costs between networks will also go down from 3 agurot to 0.13 agurot. The legislation was announced at a press conference in Tel Aviv on Thursday. Read More »
ISTANBUL — FIBA’s dance team has been benched during Turkey’s games. The Red Foxes have been told to stop performing in games involving the host country because their risque costumes and routines are offensive to the nation that is nearly entirely Muslim. Islam prohibits women from exposing their skin in public. Read More »
A man who railed against the Discovery Channel’s environmental programming for years burst into the company’s headquarters with at least one explosive device strapped to his body Wednesday and took three people hostage at gunpoint before police shot him to death, officials said. Read More »
Lt.-Col. (res.) Boaz Harpaz forged the “Galant Document” on his own, police said on Wednesday, in an announcement which marked the end of an investigation that has rocked the senior echelon of the defense establishment. Read More »
The state informed the High Court of Justice on Wednesday it had tried to investigate leaks emanating from a police investigation of Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman but was unable to do so and therefore had no choice but to close the case. Read More »
BERLIN – A group of prominent political, academic and Middle East commentators from the international board of the Jerusalem-based NGO Monitor called on Monday for an “independent evaluation of biases in Amnesty’s activities and publications, particularly related to Israel. Read More »
BERLIN – “Everyone’s against Sarrazin!” was the headline that Bild ,Germany’s largest daily newspaper, chose for its Tuesday issue. Deutsche Bundesbank board member Thilo Sarrazin has sharply criticized both German Muslims for failing to embrace integration and Islam for its tendency to lead to terror. Read More »
The first school for autistic Arab children in the center of the country officially opened its doors Wednesday with a ceremony that included a visit from Welfare and Social Services Minister Isaac Herzog. Read More »
Nearly two million pupils reported for the first day of school Wednesday, hours after the National Labor Court issued an injunction blocking the Secondary School Teachers Association from holding a one-day strike, which would have disrupted classes for grades 7-12. Read More »
Interior Minister Eli Yishai moved Wednesday to relax gun controls for West Bank residents after it emerged that Yitzhak Ames, one of four people killed in Tuesday night’s terrorist attack near Hebron , had his weapons permit revoked a few months prior to being murdered. Read More »
Settlers launched several reprisal attacks against Palestinians on Wednesday, in response to the shooting that killed four Israelis a day earlier. In one incident, about 40 settler youths were spotted trying to set a field on fire near the Beit Hagai settlement – home to the four victims of Tuesday terrorist attack – and stoning Palestinians. Read More »
The military wing of Palestinian terrorist group Hamas claimed responsibility for Wednesday night’s drive-by shooting near Rimonim Junction in the West Bank that left two Israelis wounded, Israel Radio reported Thursday. Shots were reportedly fired at a vehicle traveling in the area between the settlement Kochav Yaakov and Rimonim Junction. Read More »
Washington — Israel is committed to forging a “secure and durable” peace with the Palestinians, not a “brief interlude between two wars,” or a “temporary respite between outbursts of terror,” Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Wednesday night at Read More »
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The top Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip rejected compromise with Israel in a fiery speech Wednesday, a day after gunmen killed four Israelis. In an address to Hamas members, Gaza strongman Mahmoud Zahar said the movement would resist peace efforts and criticized the Palestinian president for joining the negotiations. Read More »
