Middle East

Cabinet approves gestures to PA – despite Jewish Home opposition

Israel”s Security Cabinet approved a package of goodwill gestures for the Palestinian Authority Sunday evening by a wide margin, despite objections by two senior Jewish Home ministers. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu had proposed the gestures in the cabinet, hoping to have the measures approved prior to President Donald Trump”s arrival in Israel on Monday. President […]

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Middle East

Re-elected Rouhani vows Iran’s more interaction with world and ‘no’ to extremism

Re-elected Iranian President Hassan Rouhani delivers a televised speech in Tehran, Iran on May 20, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua] TEHRAN – Iran’s incumbent moderate President Hassan Rouhani won the presidential election by garnering 57 percent of the votes, the Interior Ministry announced Saturday. Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said that out of 41,220,131 counted votes, which accounts

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Middle East

Israelis worry that Trump’s changing stands look more and more like Obama’s

. JERUSALEM — The Israeli love affair with President Donald Trump has soured as promises have gone unfulfilled. The Israeli public was very excited when Trump took office. They anticipated a fresh start after a fraught relationship with Barack Obama, who many thought was overly sympathetic to the Palestinians. But reality has set in as

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Middle East, USA

Israel’s Netanyahu Under Pressure as Probes Gather Pace

In the absence of any substantial political rivals, escalating corruption probes into the conduct of Benjamin Netanyahu present the most significant threat to his eight-year tenure as Israel’s prime minister and highlight the controversial connections between the country’s politicians, media and businessmen. Israel’s political elite has frequently been the focus of corruption allegations in recent

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Middle East

Welcoming Jews on the periphery

By Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — Reform/Liberal/Progressive (henceforth Progressive) Judaism often reaches Jews that other movements don’t get to. This may not apply to the United States and a handful of other comparatively large Diaspora communities, but it’s definitely true of countries where there’re a few Jews and where the traditional congregations are too insecure

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International, Jewish Religion, Middle East, USA

Social media frenzy as Ivanka Trump steals hearts of young Saudis

Riyadh (dpa) – Saudis took to social media on Saturday to praise US President Donald Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, with at least one proposing marriage in a video posted on Twitter. Wearing a long-sleeved, black-and-white dress with no head scarf, Ivanka landed in the Saudi capital on Saturday morning as part of Trump’s visit to the

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Middle East, USA

India’s goal-oriented foreign policy unafraid to punch above its weight

The first two years of the Narendra Modi government seemed like a series of unending picture postcard moments as New Delhi engaged the three world capitals that matter the most-Washington, Beijing and Islamabad. One, a distant strategic partner, and the other two, neighbouring strategic challenge and security nightmare. So there was Prime Minister Modi and

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International, Middle East

Trump discusses Syria, arms with Saudi king amid lavish welcome

Riyadh (dpa) – US President Donald Trump and Saudi King Salman discussed Syria, oil and arms on Saturday, as Trump received a lavish welcome in the Saudi capital Riyadh to kick off his first international trip as president. In a short chat after having the traditional coffee with cardamom, both leaders talked about oil, natural

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Middle East, USA

The unbelievable heroic story of Ireland’s overlooked ‘Oscar Schindler’

Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty was wanted for saving hundreds of Jews in Rome during elaborate disguised operations that earned him the name ‘Scarlet Pimpernel’ By Michael Riordan DUBLIN — As the Gestapo surrounds the palace of an Italian anti-Fascist aristocrat, an Irish priest dashes to the cellar. He is wanted by the Nazis for his role

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International, Jewish History, Middle East