Middle East

Jewish trivia quiz: Jews of India

By Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi just completed an official 3-day visit to Israel. The highly successful trip included agreements in the areas of technological innovation, water conservation, desalination, space technology, and more. There was also discussion about the more than 80,000 Jews who live in India, many of whom […]

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International, Jewish History, Mark D. Zimmerman, Middle East, Trivia, Humor & Satire

Iraqi PM declares victory over Islamic State group in ‘liberated’ Mosul

Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced “victory” Sunday over the Islamic State group in the city of Mosul, his office said. “The commander-in-chief of the armed forces (Prime Minister) Haider al-Abadi arrived in the liberated city of Mosul and congratulated the heroic fighters and the Iraqi people for the great victory,” said a statement from

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Middle East

PM quotes Bible to lambaste UNESCO decision on Hebron

Lashing out at agency, Netanyahu says Jewish connection to city’s Tomb of the Patriarchs possibly without parallel in human history By Times of Israel staff Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) attends the weekly cabinet meeting on July 9, 2017. (Ohad Zweigenberg/Flash90) Raging over a decision by a UN body to declare Hebron’s Tomb of the

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Jewish Religion, Middle East

Turkey braces for grand finale of daring ‘Justice March’

The head of Turkey’s main opposition party defied the odds and beat expectations when he launched a 450-kilometer protest march. But as the march reaches its destination Sunday, all eyes are on President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s response. Barely a week before the first anniversary of the July 15, 2016 coup attempt, Turkey is bracing for

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Middle East

Israeli family accidentally enters Palestinian town, returned safely

The family of five who apparently got lost were stopped by Palestinian security forces who handed them over to the IDF By Times of Israel staff Palestinian security forces patrolling Bethlehem in 2013. (Issam Rimawi/Flash90) An Israel family that accidentally entered a Palestinian town on Saturday was handed over to Israeli forces by their Palestinian

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Middle East

These American Jews are looking beyond the Western Wall – to the Temple Mount

A growing movement is pressing to restore the right of Jews to pray at the sight of the biblical Jewish temples, currently barred by Israel By Andrew Tobin Liberal American Jews are feeling thwarted in their years-long campaign for the right to pray as they wish at the Western Wall. Long frustrated that the plaza

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Jewish Religion, Middle East

World’s Largest Bookstore Opens in Iran

Bibliophiles in Iran, clear your weekend: The huge Book Garden center just opened in Tehran. Officials unveiled the Book Garden, a giant academic complex being called “the world’s largest bookstore,” on Wednesday. At roughly 65,000 square meters (about 700,000 square feet), the center has several movie theaters, science halls, classrooms, a restaurant, a prayer room

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Middle East

Netanyahu cuts $1 million more from UN budget following UNESCO Hebron vote

Israel will now pay just $1.7 m to UN out of required $11.7m following 4 rounds of cuts since December; some funds to go toward building a museum showcasing Jewish heritage in Hebron, PMO says By Times of Israel staff Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leads the weekly cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office in

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International, Middle East

Earliest mosaic of Jonah and the whale found in Galilee synagogue

Artwork uncovered at Roman-era synagogue in Huqoq also shows building the Tower of Babel and a Greco-Roman calendar By Amanda Borschel-Dan Unprecedented depictions of the biblical Jonah and the whale have been found at a fifth-century Roman synagogue in Israel’s lower Galilee. In the recently discovered mosaic, Jonah’s legs are shown dangling from the mouth

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Jewish History, Middle East

COP condemns UNESCO vote on Hebron

NEW YORK (Press Release) — Stephen M. Greenberg, Chairman and Malcolm Hoenlein, Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations issued the following statement: “We strongly condemn the adoption by UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee of two more resolutions in the relentless Palestinian campaign to erase the more than 3,800-year Jewish

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International, Middle East, USA