Middle East

Sirens blare in south as rockets are launched from Gaza

One projectile explodes near city of Asheklon causing no casualties or damage, while another apparently falls in Palestinian territory By Times of Israel staff Illustrative: A photo taken from the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border shows rockets being fired by Palestinian terrorists from the Gaza Strip into Israel, August 20, 2014. (Albert Sadikov/Flash90) Rocket […]

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Middle East

Israel to ‘continue’ targeting Hezbollah-bound arms in Syria

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that Israel’s latest air strikes into Syria targeted weapons bound for Lebanon’s Hezbollah, and that it will continue to carry out such raids. Netanyahu’s statement came after Israeli warplanes struck several targets within Syria, and Syria fired missiles back in retaliation. “When we identify attempts to transfer advanced

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Middle East

Turkish nationalists aim to swing votes away from Erdogan

Turkey’s divided nationalists could be the deciding factor in the upcoming referendum on expanding President Erdogan’s powers. Hardliners, perhaps surprisingly, say they are fighting to save their country’s democracy, amid media boycotts and intimidation. Istanbul (dpa) – Sinan Ogan was having a rough week. It was Friday night and hours earlier he received word his

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International, Middle East

Refugees Nearly Evenly Split Among Muslims, Christians

Just more than 7,500 refugees entered the United States during Donald Trump’s first seven weeks as president, with almost the same number of Christians as Muslims, according to a study released this week. Of the 7,594 refugees who resettled in the U.S. between January 21 and March 10, 3,410 (45 percent) were Muslims, with 3,292

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International, Middle East, USA

Pentagon denies airstrike hit mosque in Syria, says target was al-Qaida militants

WASHINGTON — The U.S. military killed dozens of al-Qaida militants in an airstrike in northern Syria, the Pentagon said Friday, but it denied local reports that a mosque had been struck and dozens of civilians were killed. “We are not aware of any credible assessment of civilian casualties,” said Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon

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Middle East, USA

Charges filed against Arab MK accused of smuggling phones to prisoners

Basel Ghattas likely to go to prison for two years and resign as lawmaker under plea deal By Times of Israel staff and Raoul Wootliff Joint List MK Basel Ghattas arrives for a court hearing at the Rehovot Magistrate’s Court, January 5, 2017. (Avi Dishi/Flash90) Prosecutors on Friday filed charges in the Beersheba Magistrate’s Court

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Middle East

Will the next generation of Irish Jews have a touch of Hebrew to their brogue?

For the first time in generations, the Emerald Isle’s Jewish community is growing — from Israelis seeking greener pastures By Michael Riordan DUBLIN — The one-way traffic of young Jews out of the country in search of partners and careers may be over. According to Dublin-based Israeli lawyer Mattan Lass, the Emerald Isle now has

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International, Middle East

Donald Trump stuns the Middle East by sending an honest broker

Despite administration’s unprecedented pledge of allegiance to Netanyahu, Jason Greenblatt’s carefully calibrated visit shows US peace bid will take all sides into account By Raphael Ahren Something unusual happened on the White House’s homepage the day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met US President Donald Trump for the first time in the Oval Office. Netanyahu

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Middle East, USA

Mayim Bialik disputes Linda Sarsour’s claim that Zionists can’t be feminists

“The Big Bang Theory” star Mayim Bialik has fired back at a recent claim by Palestinian activist Linda Sarsour that Zionism and feminism are contradictory ideals. Ms. Bialik wrote a piece Wednesday saying the political left “should reexamine the microscope they use to look at Israel” and stop blaming all of Zionism for the bad

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Middle East, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

When the White House envoy made a minyan with the Prime Minister

White House special envoy Jason Greenblatt met with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for three hours Thursday evening, the second time the two had face-to-face talks since Greenblatt arrived in Israel for a fact-finding mission earlier this week. Greenblatt also met with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin this week, and traveled to Ramallah for talks with Palestinian

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Jewish Religion, Middle East, USA