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

Liberman declares boycott of United Nations Special Coordinator

Minister of Defense Avigdor Liberman ordered the security establishment to cease all communication with Nikolay Maldenov, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, as reported by Arutz 2. According to the report, Liberman”s decision came after Maldenov delivered harsh criticism about the way in which the Defense Minister is fighting terror. Several weeks

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International, Middle East

Response to former Israeli president’s health underlines his legacy

Tel Aviv (dpa) – The wide-reaching response to former Israeli president Shimon Peres’ hospitalization – from world leaders to Facebook friends – is a testament to the leader’s continued relevance on the world stage, even years after his 2014 retirement. A Peres spokesman told dpa on Wednesday that former US president Bill Clinton, former British

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Middle East

Clinton, Putin, Blair call Peres to wish him well after stroke

Former US president Bill Clinton, Russian President Vladimir Putin and former British prime minister Tony Blair on Wednesday headed a varied group of politicians and other figures from across the globe who took to social media and other channels to wish Israel’s former President Shimon Peres a speedy recovery from a stroke. Clinton, who worked

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International, Middle East

Can Jews and Muslims recover their historic friendship?

By Fadel Al Mheiri ABU DHABI, U.E. — “Some of my ancestors before the Spanish Inquisition were Jewish and probably some of them were Arabs, since my family comes from Andalusia.” This is a Spanish girl I came upon during my study at an university in Florida. Spain was once Andalusia during the middle ages, where

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International, Jewish History, Middle East