International

Bnei Brak threatens to cancel rail project over Yom Kippur work

The Bnei Brak municipality has threatened to cancel the Tel Aviv light-rail train project if work on the route takes place on the Yom Kippur holiday as planned. NTA Ltd, which has been contracted to build the Tel-Aviv light rail, first informed the Bnei Brak Municipality that they would be carrying out underground drilling work […]

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Jewish Religion, Middle East

‘Israeli soldiers’ bodies are not bargaining chips’

Hundreds of protesters gathered outside of the Qatari embassy in Washington Thursday to protest the Hamas terror group”s refusal to return the bodies of two slain IDF soldiers killed in 2014, and demand that the Qatari government pressure Hamas to release their bodies to Israel. Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul were killed during Operation Protective

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Middle East, USA

Coalition members demand expansion in Hevron

Ten Knesset members from Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu”s coalition government have called on the Prime Minister to back construction in Israeli towns across Judea and Samaria, including in Hevron”s Jewish community. The letter, penned by MK Sharren Haskel (Likud) to Netanyahu days after the Rosh Hashanah holiday and signed by nine other coalition MKs, called

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Middle East

Scholar protests in open letter to Turkey’s Erdogan

By Alon Ben-Meir Dear Mr. President, I have been in your country scores of times and developed close and friendly relations with many Turks from all walks of life, who all took pride in the incredible progress Turkey made under your leadership. During your first ten years as prime minister, you transformed Turkey economically, socially,

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Alon Ben-Meir, International, Middle East

Uncertainty — a theme for this year’s Yom Kippur

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Uncertainty.  This is an appropriate theme in this season of Yom Kippur. While the conventional emphasis that day is personal atonement, we might also see its implication for thinking about our communities’ sins, accomplishments, and problems. Nothing is certain. The possibility of disease and accidents are close to all of

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International, Ira Sharkansky, Middle East, USA

The Mt. Soledad cross case in retrospect

By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO—Morris Casuto, the retired executive director of the San Diego Region’s Anti-Defamation League, suggests that in retrospect San Diego’s quarter-century-long battle over the Mt. Soledad Cross was a win for civil government. Originally, the large Latin cross atop Mount Soledad was upon public property.  Several levels of courts declared that

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, San Diego County, USA

92% of Iraqi Kurds back independence from Baghdad, election commission says

Iraqi Kurds have voted overwhelmingly for independence in a contentious referendum, the High Elections and Referendum Commission announced Wednesday, a vote that has angered the government in Baghdad and regional heavyweights Turkey and Iran. Hendrin Mohammed, the head of the electoral commission, announced the official results at a press conference, saying the referendum passed with

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Middle East

Sad dad: Obama said dropping off Malia at college was a “bit like open-heart surgery”

Former President Barack Obama recounted the emotional moment he dropped off his oldest daughter at college this fall, saying it was a “bit like open-heart surgery.” During an event for the Beau Biden Foundation on Monday, Obama talked about taking 19-year-old Malia to Harvard University earlier this month for her first semester. He said he

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USA

Is ‘Merchant anti-Semitic? ‘Compared to what?’

Ruth Bader Ginsburg talks ‘Merchant of Venice’ at Montclair State Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg participated in a roundtable discussion with Shakespearean scholars David Scott Kastan of Yale University, at right, and James Shapiro of Columbia University. Photos by Mike Peters Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at Montclair State University on Sept. 23. Even distinguished Shakespearean scholars

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Iranians rail against Israel at funeral for soldier beheaded by IS

Thousands of Iranians called for Israel’s destruction at a funeral Wednesday for a young member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps beheaded by the Islamic State jihadist group in Syria, a killing that has struck a nerve within the Islamic Republic as its forces continue to suffer casualties in Iraq and Syria. The slaying of

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Middle East

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Compares NFL Fight To American Revolution

Weighing in on the simmering debate over football players kneeling during the national anthem, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar slammed President Trump and those who have criticized high-paid players for their apparent lack of gratitude. “That’s pretty much what the British said about the leaders of the American Revolution — the wealthy were making money by colluding with

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Sports & Competitions, USA

Trump Says He Won’t Waive the Jones Act for Puerto Rico

President Donald Trump has made it clear his administration isn’t planning to allow any additional outside aid to get into Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria. Speaking with reporters on Wednesday afternoon, the president cited business interests as the reason for refusing calls from lawmakers and activists to allow international organizations and governments

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International, Travel and Food, USA