Amsterdam drops plan to be Tel Aviv’s twin city after pro-Palestinian pressure (Israel Hayom/Exclusive JNS.org) A plan to link Amsterdam and Tel Aviv as twin cities was dropped on Thursday after the Dutch capital’s mayor, Eberhard Van der Laan, came under fire from pro-Palestinian activists. Van der Laan has been an outspoken admirer of Tel
Jewish news briefs: June 26, 2015 Read More »
International, Middle East, USA
By Anav Silverman JERUSALEM (Tazpit) –Vandalism and garbage throwing is not a new phenomenon at the most ancient Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. Amid the thousands of tombstones, some of which have been defaced or smashed into pieces, there are areas full of trash and litter left by local Palestinian youth
Widow of Robert Haggiag cleans his vandalized grave Read More »
International, Middle EastWASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release)– Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-NY), Ranking Democrat on the Appropriations Committee and the State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee, on Thursday, June 25, issued the following statement on the decision of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to initiate charges against Israel at the International Criminal Court. “Today’s misguided action by Palestinian Authority President
Lowey: PA court action means no more U.S. assistance Read More »
Middle East, USAPalestinians suspected of beating Israeli Jewish farmer to death (JNS.org) David Ben-Kafra, a 70-year-old Jewish farmer from Rehovot, was beaten to death on Wednesday in an orchard near Moshav Pedaya in central Israel. Several Palestinians are suspected of committing the murder. Ben-Kafra, who was found alive but critically wounded, was hospitalized at Assaf Harofeh Medical
Jewish news briefs: June 25, 2015 Read More »
International, Middle East, USABy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Israelis were primed for the publication of the United Nations Human Rights Council Report on Gaza 2014. Expectations were that there would be harsh condemnations of Israel, and thus the heads of the two right of center parties in the government responded as soon as the report was issued. Minister
UNHRC report unlikely to prompt any changes Read More »
International, Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM–I surmise that I’m not the only member of the Israeli public who’d like to form an unbiased opinion about the report on last year’s Gaza war that has just published by the United Nations Human Rights Council. But even if I read the whole report and checked all its footnotes,
U.N. Gaza report may provide lessons despite source Read More »
Middle EastIsrael confronts crises By Michael Ordman NETANYA, Israel –If you analyze the news for the most serious problems affecting the planet, they would include disease, hunger, drought, natural disasters and terrorism. Israel’s superb work to combat these menaces deserves far more publicity. Here are some recent examples. The risk of contracting cancer is now estimated
Positively Israel ~ June 24, 2015 Read More »
Michael Ordman, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & EducationGaza rocket shatters two-week quiet period in southern Israel (Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) A rocket fired from the Gaza Strip exploded in an open area near the Yad Mordechai kibbutz in southern Israel on Tuesday night, ending two weeks of quiet in the area. While no injuries or damage were reported, the rocket launch prompted
Jewish news briefs: June 24, 2015 Read More »
International, Middle East, USABy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM–Though it’s still true that Israel’s neighbors are – to use an understatement – less than cordial in their relationship to the Jewish state, things may not be as grim as they seem and as they used to be. Some of the neighbors have acquired external and internal enemies of their
Iran is making Israel a lot of friends Read More »
Middle EastBy Edwin Black UNITED NATIONS, New York–While I was speaking to the packed room, a woman I did not know, sitting in the front row, slowly shook her tear-stained head in disbelief and muttered softly … barely audible … “I never thought I would hear these words in this building.” The woman, it turns out,
The Farhud–Holocaust in Arab lands–marked at U.N. Read More »
Edwin Black, International, Middle EastBy Anav Silverman JERUSALEM — Yochanan Gol looks at his uncle’s tombstone in dismay. A huge black burnt circle marks his grave, remnants of a torching that has blacked out the date of his birth and passing. “This is the new tombstone that I had just purchased to replace the original that they smashed into
Vandalism continuous at Jerusalem cemetery Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Minister of Culture Miri Regev and spokespeople of Israeli culture have been several days in the headlines, shouting at one another and past one another. Those claiming to speak for the better things are accusing the Minister of censorship. The Minister is saying that writers, artists, playwrights, and actors can say and
Criticism okay, messing with the economy isn’t Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastEgypt appoints first ambassador to Israel in three years (JNS.org) Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has appointed Egypt’s first ambassador to Israel in three years, marking a possible sign of continued warming relations between the two Mideast powers. The new ambassador, Hazem Khairat, previously served as Egypt’s envoy to the Arab League and Chile. Egypt
Jewish news briefs: June 22, 2015 Read More »
International, Middle East, USABy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Verdi’s Requiem is not often performed in Israel. It requires a massive choir, an accomplished and enormous orchestra with augmented brass section, and four top-flight vocal soloists. In addition, it should be performed in an auditorium that can cope with the wide range of volume, tone and timbre
Verdi in Herzliya a triumph Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle East