Israel’s justice ministry said Sunday the government would advance legislation giving gay couples equal rights in adopting children following controversy over the issue. Gay couples can currently adopt in Israel but they face legal and bureaucratic hurdles resulting in part from the wording of the law. The Association of Israeli Gay Fathers had petitioned the […]
Israel pledges law giving gays equal adoption rights Read More »
Middle EastKing Hamad bin Isa al Khalifa of Bahrain condemned the Arab boycott of Israel in Los Angeles, California last week. King Hamad made the remarks during an event denouncing religious hatred and violence at the Simon Wiesenthal Center in LA. Bahrain, a kingdom of some 1.5 million people in the Persian Gulf, currently does not
King of Bahrain denounces Arab boycott of Israel Read More »
Middle EastOn September 16, Saeb Erekat, Secretary-General of the PLO’s Executive Committee, issued a statement marking the anniversary of the Sabra and Shatila massacre in Lebanon, in which he stressed that “there is no statute of limitations annulling the rights of the Palestinian people’s victims.” Erekat added that the “State of Palestine” would pursue “the Israeli
Erekat calls to boycott Israeli companies Read More »
Middle EastSeveral hundred ultra-Orthodox Jews scuffled with police in Jerusalem on Sunday in protest against a court ruling that could require them to serve in the army like secular Israelis. The demonstration in an ultra-Orthodox neighbourhood of the city was organised by a particularly hardline group known as the Eda Haredit. Rabbis gave speeches in Yiddish
Ultra-Orthodox Israelis protest against army draft Read More »
Middle EastAn Iraqi vice president warned Sunday that Baghdad would not tolerate the creation of “a second Israel” after the Jewish state became the only country to support a planned Kurdish independence referendum in northern Iraq. The leaders of autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan must “call off the (September 25) referendum that is contrary to the constitution and
Iraq VP warns against ‘second Israel’ in Kurdistan Read More »
Middle EastThe Israeli Embassy in Ankara was evacuated on Friday as supporters of an ultra-nationalist party demonstrated outside against what they called plans to create a “second Israel” in Iraqi Kurdistan. Utku Reyhan, secretary-general of the Homeland Party, said in a press statement that a unilateral independence referendum called for September 25 by the Kurdistan Regional
Turkish nationalists protest creation of ‘second Israel’ in Kurdistan Read More »
Middle EastLast week, reports surfaced that prominent haredi rabbi Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky ruled that traveling on Shabbat was permitted according to Jewish law for residents seeking to flee Hurricane Irma. The report was based on a video in which the rabbi says that the storm is dangerous and that Jews living there should leave. “The storm
Misquoting Rabbi Kanievsky caused Shabbat desecration Read More »
Jewish Religion, Middle EastThe Population and Immigration Authority released on Sunday the most popular names chosen for babies born in Israel over the past Jewish year of 5777. The list includes both Jewish and non-Jewish names. Muhammad was the most popular male name, followed by Yosef/Yussuf, Dovid, Daniel, Udi, Omer, Eitan, Ariel, Noam, and Adam. The most popular
Muhammad most popular baby name in Israel Read More »
Middle EastPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the main message of his upcoming speech at the United Nations for the annual gathering of world leaders at the 72nd session of the General Assembly would be that Israel would not tolerate an Iranian presence on its northern border with Syria, now in its seventh year of a brutal
In New York, Netanyahu says Israel will not tolerate Iranians on northern border Read More »
International, Middle East, USALabor’s new chief Avi Gabbay said Saturday that a plan unveiled two days earlier, by Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked and Education Minister Naftali Bennett of the nationalist Jewish Home party, to bolster Israel’s constitutional laws at the expense of the Supreme Court would lead to the destruction of the independence of the judiciary. Get The
Labor head: Shaked-Bennett proposal will ‘destroy independence of judiciary’ Read More »
Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — It’s two o’clock in the morning as the ‘Fasten Seat-Belts’ sign comes on in the plane bringing us back to Tel Aviv. We anxiously scan the darkness outside for the first signs of the city that never sleeps. And suddenly, there it is. The strings of lights that tell
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has expressed his gratitude to the supreme leaders of Iran and North Korea in two recent letters thanking them for standing behind his government, which has been accused by the West of perpetrating human rights abuses throughout a six-year war against jihadists and other insurgent groups. In a letter sent Thursday
Syria’s Assad Sends Thanks to Iran, North Korea Read More »
International, Middle EastPrime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Thursday met in Mexico City with 16 leading Mexican businesspeople and discussed with them opportunities in the Israeli market and the potential for investment in advanced Israeli technologies. Netanyahu briefed the businesspeople on the developing Israeli cyber and vehicle industries and called on them to invest in Israel. He also
Netanyahu to Mexican businesspeople: Invest in Israel Read More »
International, Middle EastA senior Israeli official on Thursday denied reports that Russia rebuffed Jerusalem’s demand to ensure that Iranian forces and Iran-backed Shiite militants not be allowed to operate within 60-80 kilometers of the Syrian frontier with Israel in the Golan Heights. Get The Times of Israel’s Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories
Israeli official denies Moscow rebuffed plea to keep Iran away from border Read More »
International, Middle East