On Independence Day, Gaza rocket launched at Israel for first time in 2015 (JNS.org) For the first time in 2015, and on the same day Israel celebrated its 67th Independence Day, a code-red rocket siren sounded Thursday in the southern Israeli town of Sderot and other communities on the border with Gaza. While there […]
Jewish news briefs: April 24, 2015 Read More »
International, Middle East, USA
By Joshua Halickman TEL AVIV — Michael Greenberg grew up in the suburbs of Los Angeles in what would be described as the American Dream. His father Avery had moved for the sun of California from the cold and dreary winters of Montreal back in the early 1970’s. Along with his wife Sharon, Michael and his
American- Israeli honed his soccer skills in Israel Read More »
Middle East, Sports & CompetitionsObama refuses to meet Netanyahu until after Iran nuclear deal deadline (JNS.org) President Barack Obama reportedly said he will not meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu until after the June 30 deadline for a final nuclear deal between Iran and world powers. Citing anonymous sources familiar with a meeting between Obama and Jewish leaders
Jewish news briefs: April 23, 2015 Read More »
International, Jewish Religion, Middle East, USAWASHINGTON, DC (Press Release) – Congresswoman Nita M. Lowey (Westchester/Rockland), the Ranking Member on the House Appropriations Committee, released the following statement on Israeli Independence Day: “Today, I join the Israeli people in celebrating 67 years of independence and more than six decades of steadfast support by the United States. “Israel remains unquestionably our strongest
Rep. Lowey: Stand with Israel in int’l fora Read More »
Middle East, USA
By Toby Klein Greenwald A Sabbath morning, late curled in a recliner reading a book about past lives around me more books, paintings stuffed animals and magazines the room I call a womb. Husband on the patio with coffee cup, ten feet away through the open door reading Talmud And in the silence of the
A poem for Yom Haatzmaut 2015 Read More »
Jewish Religion, Middle East, Toby Klein GreenwaldBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM — Being critical of Israeli government policies seems essential to those who fear that complacency with the status quo may bring the country to ruin. However, at no time must this obscure the fact that Israel’s very existence is a miracle and that those of us privileged to live here are
The daily miracle that is Israel Read More »
Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — It isn’t the Caribbean image of paradise made popular by Harry Belafonte, but the Israeli reality of being out of step with its surroundings. And the surroundings extend much farther than its Muslim neighbors. They also include pretty much the whole world as represented by the United Nations, as well
Perceptions of U.S. readers far from Israeli realities Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East, USABy Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — Samantha Power, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, says the U.S. will no longer automatically exercise its veto in the UN Security Council to protect Israel. In testimony before the Foreign Operations Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee, Power specifically declined to rule out support for resolutions on Palestinian
Does Israel’s security ‘matter’ to Obama? Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana Bryen, USABy Michael Ordman NETANYA, Israel — In Israel and in many other countries, the age of 67 is when adults usually leave employment and start receiving their old-age pension. But as the State of Israel celebrates its own 67th birthday it shows no sign of stopping its work to benefit humanity, and is even increasing
Positively Israel ~ April 22, 2015 Read More »
Michael Ordman, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & EducationAt 67th birthday, Israel’s population stands at 8.345 million (Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics published new figures ahead of Yom Ha’atzmaut (Independence Day) showing that the country’s population stands at 8,345,000, about 10.4 times greater than the population of 806,000 when the Jewish state was founded in 1948. Jewish residents number
Jewish news briefs, April 22, 2015 Read More »
Middle East, USABy Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — Forty years ago, Saigon fell to communist North Vietnam. Images of terrified South Vietnamese clambering to the roof of the U.S. embassy, and Vietnamese helicopter pilots ferrying them to ships and then pushing the helicopters overboard to make room for more refugees are still heart-wrenching. Vietnam represented a change in
Arming countries, then pulling out, recipe for disaster Read More »
International, Middle East, Shoshana Bryen, USAFormer Egyptian president Morsi gets 20 years in prison (JNS.org) Mohamed Morsi, who was ousted as Egypt’s president in July 2013, was sentenced to 20 years in prison by an Egyptian court on Tuesday. A leading figure in the Muslim Brotherhood—a political party that is now a state-designated terrorist organization in Egypt—Morsi was convicted on
Jewish news briefs: April 21, 2015 Read More »
International, Middle East, USABy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–We are seeing yet again the bobbing and feinting, complex maneuvers, and pursuit of partial treatment for problems that have no solution. We find it in relations between Israel and Palestine, with different moves toward Palestine West Bank and Palestine Gaza, between Israel and the US, as well as with Britain, Russia,
Half measures, bobbing, feinting in int’l politics Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastPope Francis meets with leading European rabbis at Vatican (JNS.org) Pope Francis met with a delegation of leading European rabbis at the Vatican on Monday to discuss Jewish-Christian relations and the ongoing surge of European anti-Semitism. The delegation was from the Conference of European Rabbis, which represents more than 700 rabbis from synagogues across Europe.
Jewish news briefs: April 20, 2015 Read More »
International, Middle East, USA