Middle East

French Jews are converting to Islam and even joining ISIS

According to reports from Jewish community leaders in France, there is growing concern about a rise in conversions to Islam from within the Jewish community, with the active encouragement of French Moslems. Sammy Ghozlan, head of the National Bureau for Vigilance Against Antisemitism in France says he knows of cases where entire families converted to […]

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International, Middle East

Hundreds will die, missiles will rain everywhere in all-out war, IDF predicts

Hundreds of Israelis killed in thousands of rocket attacks — that is the army’s Home Front Command’s estimation for what to expect in a future war, according to figures released ahead of a nationwide preparedness drill set for next week. Beginning next week, the Home Front Command will kick off “Standing Firm,” a preparedness drill

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Middle East

Peres’ condition sees ‘real improvement’ but still serious

Former Israeli president and Nobel Peace Prize winner Shimon Peres saw “real improvement” today (Thursday) but remained in serious condition after the 93-year-old suffered a major stroke on Tuesday, his doctor said. “There is another real improvement today,” Peres’s personal physician and son-in-law Rafi Walden told media, describing his condition as serious but stable. He

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Middle East

Hundreds of Israeli intellectuals to world Jewry: ‘End occupation for Israel’s sake’

Hundreds of Israeli artists and intellectuals urged world Jewry to challenge Israeli policy toward Palestinians, in an open letter released Wednesday. “We call upon Jews around the world to join with Israeli partners for coordinated action to end the occupation and build a new future, for the sake of the State of Israel and the

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Middle East

Extended exchange program for Arab, Jewish elementary school pupils spurs mutual empathy

TEL AVIV (Press Release) —A new Tel Aviv University study published in the August 2016 issue of the Journal of School Psychology reports on a new system that creates sustainable tolerance while combating racism and prejudice. The Extended Class Exchange Program (ECEP) is geared to third- and fourth-grade Israeli Jewish and Israeli Palestinian students. The

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Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education

Fetuses whose parents were traumatized, malnourished may develop more severe form of schizophrenia

HAIFA, Israel (Press Release)– Results of a new study at the University of Haifa have found no difference in the risk of developing schizophrenia between second-generations Holocaust survivors and those whose parents were not exposed to the Holocaust.  However, an examination of various sub-groups showed that second-generation survivors whose parents were babies during the Holocaust are

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International, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education

Mideast political theater is a fig leaf for the status quo

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — The status quo usually works. It derives from years of experience, and the learned accommodation of different interests to one another. Not all are happy. Those feeling deprived, and those feeling that features of the status quo are not appropriate demand change, but usually it’s not easy to change things

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Ira Sharkansky, Middle East

World’s oldest man plans to mark birthday in Israel with bar mitzvah

Tel Aviv (dpa) – The world’s oldest man, who turned 113th on Thursday, plans to mark his birthday by celebrating his bar mitzvah in the Israeli city of Haifa about a century later than most people, his daughter told dpa. About 100 family members are expected to attend his belated bar mitzvah, which is expected

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Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East

Cautious optimism as Peres shows signs of improvement after stroke

Former president Shimon Peres likely suffered “serious damage” to his brain after being hit by a major stroke, but is stable and no longer appears to face an immediate threat to his life, his doctors said Wednesday morning. Prof. Rafi Walden, Peres’s son-in-law and personal physician, told reporters the statesman’s condition may have even improved

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Middle East

US and Russia extend ceasefire in Syria, aid remains delayed

Washington/Beirut (dpa) – The United States and Russia have ageed to extend the current ceasefire in the Syria conflict by 48 hours, while much-needed aid continues to remain undistributed. US Secretary of State John Kerry Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov agreed on the extension in a telephone call, Kerry’s spokesman Mark Toner said

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International, Middle East, USA