Middle East

US senators propose commemoration of Balfour centennial

By Eric Cortellessa WASHINGTON — Two US senators will introduce a resolution this week commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, a public statement issued by the British government in 1917 that expressed support for the creation of a Jewish state in Mandatory Palestine. Authored by Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia,

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International, Middle East, USA

Israeli editor tells which U.S. Presidents Israelis liked

By Donald H. Harrison LA JOLLA, California — It is not the U.S. president’s political party that determines how well he is liked in Israel, rather it is how empathetic he is toward the Jewish state, Times of Israel founding editor David Horovitz commented Thursday night at the Men’s Event of the Jewish Federation of

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Donald H. Harrison, Middle East, San Diego County, USA

Fearing reprisals after tunnel blast, Israel halts work on underground barrier

By Judah Ari Gross The Israel Defense Forces suspended construction on the underground barrier being built around the Gaza Strip on Wednesday out of concern that workers might come under attack by a Palestinian terror group in Gaza whose tunnel was destroyed in an Israeli detonation on Monday, according to a senior IDF officer. “The

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Middle East

Hamas hands over border crossings to Palestinian Authority

Hamas handed over control of the Gaza Strip’s borders with Egypt and Israel to the Palestinian Authority on Wednesday in the first key test of a landmark Palestinian reconciliation accord agreed last month. Nazmi Muhanna, the Palestinian Authority’s top official for border crossings, formally received control of the Rafah crossing with Egypt from his Hamas

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Middle East

Breaking silence, Israel calls for ‘peaceful’ resolution to Catalonia crisis

By TOI staff Israel’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday called for the ongoing crisis in Spain to be resolved “quickly and peacefully,” in the first comments from Jerusalem on Catalonia’s bid for independence. The Foreign Ministry appeared to side with Spain, saying in a statement the two countries “share longstanding, strong and friendly relations, rooted in

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International, Middle East

Decrying Balfour centenary, Abbas warns of one-state solution

By Raphael Ahren With Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu headed to London to celebrate the centenary of the Balfour Declaration, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas lamented the document, accusing it of setting in motion a process that led to a century of Palestinian suffering, and urging the British government to take steps to remedy it. In

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International, Middle East

Leading Arab Israeli researcher of the Holocaust says it’s ‘in my DNA’

By Dov Lieber It took Asfahan Bahloul, a leading Arab Israeli researcher of the Holocaust, quite some time to formulate how she feels when she sees Israeli jets soaring over Auschwitz. She had to think about it for weeks. And then a few more days. She finally sent her answer by email, to which this

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International, Jewish History, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education

Ahead of Balfour 100, UK enshrines Churchill’s headstrong case for Israel

By Robert Philpot LONDON — Deep beneath the main London road of Whitehall lie the cabinet war rooms. From this bunker, surrounded by a military and civilian staff who rarely saw daylight for the five years of World War II, Winston Churchill commanded Britain’s war effort. Now a museum to the country’s wartime savior, this

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International, Jewish History, Middle East

MKs, Diaspora leaders quarrel in Knesset meeting on Western Wall deal

By TOI staff Tempers flared at a Wednesday meeting of the Knesset’s Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs Committee, with lawmakers and American Jewish leaders exchanging heated snipes over the government’s decision to freeze a plan for a permanent pluralistic prayer pavilion at the Western Wall. “When we go to various different places abroad, we automatically

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International, Middle East, USA