By Emily Soloff NEW YORK — The recent Presbyterian Church (USA) General Assembly was about to condemn Israel. Commissioners had been asked to “prayerfully study the call from Palestinian civil society for boycott, divestment and sanction against the state of Israel,” and to endorse a one-sided report calling into question the viability of two states,
Assessing Presbyterian actions on Israel Read More »
Middle East, USAWhen top Hezbollah terrorist Mustafa Badreddine was killed in an explosion in Damascus on May 10, Hezbollah initially blamed Israel, then pointed the finger at Sunni militias. However, Iran now believes that the US was behind the assassination, according to The Daily Beast. The US had more of a motive than anyone else to exact
Who really killed Hezbollah’s top commander? Read More »
Middle East, USAA formerly ultra-Orthodox woman who was found dead in her car on Sunday after apparently taking her own life days earlier, had written a short autobiography describing the rigors of living within the Gur Hasidic sect and the pain she felt when her daughters cut ties with her over her choice to give up religion.
Before suicide, woman penned book about her ordeals in ultra-Orthodox world Read More »
Middle East, Obituaries & memorialsAs Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas held diplomatic visits abroad this week, high-ranking officials in his Fatah party continued to jostle over his succession. Everyone is hoping for the job of president, as evidenced by the Ma’an news agency’s hit reality show, in which young people compete to see who can be the next Palestinian
Race to succeed Abbas stalled by politics, Fatah infighting Read More »
Middle EastBERLIN (AFP) — Is it possible to regret becoming a mother? The question first posed by an Israeli researcher has stirred a debate in Germany like in no other country, shattering a long-held taboo. “In Israel, it was settled in a week. In Germany, it has lasted for months,” said sociologist Orna Donath, whose study
After Israeli study, ‘regretting motherhood’ debate rages in Germany Read More »
International, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & EducationUN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is set to arrive in Israel on Monday for talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, amid a push for peace promoted by the European Union and a Turkey-Israel reconciliation deal. The UN chief will meet on Monday with President Reuven Rivlin for talks and will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin
UN chief to arrive in Israel amid peace push, Turkey deal Read More »
International, Middle East
RABAT, Morocco Press Release) – In an unprecedented partnership to build bridges among the three major monotheistic religions, the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (The Fellowship) teamed with Chabad in Morocco and the local organization Mimouna to provide gift bags of food for thousands of needy Moroccan Muslim families in three cities for Ramadan. The
Christians, Jews distribute food for Ramadan Read More »
Middle EastNEW YORK (Press Release) — The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) expressed disappointment at a number of problematic Israel-focused motions endorsed last week by the Presbyterian Church (USA) General Assembly, including a report calling on the church to explore alternatives to the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and an overture advocating the church study the use
Presbyterian resolutions draw mixed reviews from ADL Read More »
Middle East, USAThe president of Ben-Gurion University recently cancelled a decision to award a prize to an Israeli NGO that tracks alleged abuses of Palestinians by IDF soldiers, arguing the group is too far our of the national consensus. The Breaking the Silence organization was chosen in May by the Middle East Studies faculty of the university
Israeli university cancels prize to Breaking the Silence Read More »
Middle East, Science, Medicine, & EducationA possible Hillary Clinton administration would likely see any tensions between Jerusalem and Israel kept out of the limelight, Dennis Ross, a former US diplomat and top Middle East adviser to several US presidents, said Sunday in Jerusalem. Clinton, the Democratic Party’s presumptive presidential nominee for the November elections, can be expected to act more
Clinton would avoid Obama-esque spats with Israel, ex-diplomat says Read More »
Middle East, USAClashes erupted on the Temple Mount Monday morning, after Islamists attempted to violently prevent Jews from visiting. Dozens of Muslim extremists – many of them masked – had barricaded themselves in the Al Aqsa Mosque since last night, and had actively stockpiled rocks and other projectiles for use against security forces and Jewish visitors. They
Muslim violence erupts again on Temple Mount Read More »
Middle EastThe Jewish community in Hevron is demanding that action be taken following recent Arab vandalism and theft at the Cave of the Patriarchs compound. On Friday night, Arabs stole the mezuzah from the front door of the Cave of the Patriarchs, and also broke into a nearby storage room and stole thousands of shekels worth
‘We vow to beautify the Cave of the Patriarchs’ Read More »
Jewish Religion, Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–Route #443 is a major road from the northern area of Jerusalem down to the coast. It also traverses the Palestinian area of the West Bank, and Israel’s Supreme Court ordered it to be open to Palestinians. The IDF complied, to an extent, but not so much that we ever see a
A survey of continuing Israeli news stories Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastPalestinian dentists arrested for carrying out pipe bomb terror attack (JNS.org) Five members of a Palestinian terrorist cell led by a dentist were apprehended by security forces last month, the Israeli Shin Bet security agency revealed Monday. The terrorists—including three dentists—had carried out a pipe bomb attack in which an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officer
Middle East Roundup: June 27, 2016 Read More »
Middle East