Middle East

Israel’s former PM sentenced to jail, current P.M. may eliminate presidency after Shimon Peres’ term expires

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Politics being what it is, not every day is a time for celebration. Not even in the Promised Land. A lower court has concluded its work on the files of Ehud Olmert and several of his cohorts in one cluster of the charges pending against the former Prime Minister. There

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Ira Sharkansky, Middle East

Schiff lectures top Turkish officials on Armenian genocide

WASHINGTON, DC (Press Release) –As part of a Congressional Delegation to the Middle East and Asia focused on terrorism, homeland security and the war in Syria, Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) had separate meetings with Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, President Abdullah Gul and other Turkish high government officials. In his meeting with the Prime Minister,

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Middle East, USA

Peres offers sympathy, aid, for Turkish mining victims

JERUSALEM (Press Release) –Israel’s President Shimon Peres on Wednesday, May 14, sent a letter of condolence to his Turkish counterpart President Abdullah Gül in the wake of the mining disaster near Soma, Turkey, where at least 245 people were believed killed following a mine explosion. Peres wrote: “Your Excellency, “I wish to extend my deepest condolences,

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Middle East

U.S. policy makers continually surprised by Arab choices

By Moshe Phillips and Benyamin Korn PHILADELPHIA — Mahmoud Abbas’s choice of peace with Hamas over peace with Israel “surprised officials in Washington,” the New York Times recently reported. According to the Washington Post, the Obama administration was “apparently taken unawares” by the PA’s move. It’s not the first time that U.S. officials were caught

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Middle East, USA

Family of cancer patient, 19, felt blessed by routine

By E. Leibowitz Condensed from Hapeles – Mussaf PETACH TIKVAH, Israel (Press Release)–The clinic was busy as usual, filled with people of all ages. The silence was interrupted from time to time by murmured grumbling over the long wait. Yehuda would have preferred to remain ensconced in the Yeshiva, but the stomachache that had been

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Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education

Protein can protect cells from collapse by Alzheimer’s

TEL AVIV (Press Release) — The devastating loss of memory and consciousness in Alzheimer’s disease is caused by plaque accumulations and tangles in neurons, which kill brain cells. Alzheimer’s research has centered on trying to understand the pathology as well as the potential protective or regenerative properties of brain cells as an avenue for treating

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Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education

Students seek more Jewish access to Temple Mount

By Anav Silverman JERUSALEM (TNA)– A growing number of secular Israeli university students are embracing Jewish rights to the Temple Mount, following months of violence against Jewish visitors and tourists at the holy site and a growing Hamas presence. During the Jewish holiday of Passover, the Temple Mount remained closed to both Jewish visitors and tourists

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Middle East

A primer on Israel’s presidential hopefuls

By Alina Dain Sharon/JNS.org Israeli President Shimon Peres is retiring in July, capping a seven-year term and a nearly seven-decade political career in the Jewish state. After replacing disgraced former President Moshe Katzav, who was convicted of rape in 2007, the younger-than-his-years Peres turned the largely ceremonial role of Israeli president into a pseudo-ambassadorial position,

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Middle East

Former PM Ehud Olmert sentenced to six years in prison

TEL AVIV (WJC) — A district court on Tuesday sentenced former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to six years in prison for bribery and handed him a fine of US$ 290,000. Olmert’s spokesman said he would appeal to the Supreme Court and ask to be freed on bail until it had ruled. Olmert maintains his innocence. The former Kadima and Likud politician and ex-mayor

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Middle East