JERUSALEM (JTA) — Nearly 200 Hollywood elite, including Sylvester Stallone and Seth Rogen, signed a statement condemning Hamas as its conflict with Israel continues.From actors to directors to studio heads signed the statement by members of the Creative Community for Peace and posted on its website Saturday. The signers alsoContinue Reading
(JNS.org) A Temple University student was punched in the face and called anti-Semitic slurs by members of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) on the Philadelphia campus Wednesday. Daniel Vessal, a campus fellow of the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA) and a member of the Jewish fraternity AEPi,Continue Reading
(JNS.org) Farmers in Israeli communities near Gaza will receive some 120 portable shelters to protect the manual laborers who work the land, officials said on Wednesday. The decision comes amid renewed hostilities between Israel and Hamas. With fields close to the Gaza Strip border fence, agricultural workers in the south haveContinue Reading
(Cleveland Jewish News/Exclusive to JNS.org) The Columbus, Ohio, Jewish community is mourning the loss of one of its lone soldiers as the Israel Defense Forces continues to investigate the death of Cpl. David Menachem Gordon, whose body was found Aug. 19 in central Israel with gunshot wounds. Gordon, 21, had beenContinue Reading
(JNS.org) Israel’s Channel 2 on Wednesday aired a recording of Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri, who is based in Turkey, claiming responsibility for the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teens in June. The recording is the strongest evidence to date for Hamas’s involvement in that crime. “I praise the brave action that the al-QassamContinue Reading
By Janis Siegel, Jewish Sound Correspondent The United States has little to worry about when it comes to the possibility of an Ebola virus outbreak here, according to Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Ebola researcher Dr. Leslie Lobel: It’s not airborne, it requires direct contact with an infected human or animal,Continue Reading
(JTA) — The United States is tightening controls on military sales to Israel in the wake of the conflict in Gaza.On July 20, days after Israel began its ground invasion in Gaza, Israel requested and received a shipment of munitions from the Pentagon without prior approval from the White House,Continue Reading
By Cnaan Liphshiz, JTA World News Service (JTA) — My friend Alain Azria gave me a puzzled look when I told him, with some indignation and disbelief in my voice, that I had just heard talk of killing Jews at an unauthorized anti-Israel demonstration last month in Paris. A youngContinue Reading
TEL AVIV (JTA) — Israel extended immigration benefits to non-Jewish spouses in same-sex marriages.On Tuesday, Interior Minister Gideon Saar instructed the government to extend the benefits of the Law of Return to all married couples.The law affords non-Jewish spouses of Jewish immigrants full citizenship and immigration benefits, but Israel hadContinue Reading
By Rafael Medoff, JNS.org This year marks the 100th anniversary of the expulsion of thousands of Jews from Turkish-ruled Palestine to Egypt, in a dramatic reversal of the historic exodus from the Land of the Pharaohs to the Land of Israel. But from that tragic episode in 1914 would emergeContinue Reading
(JTA) — Palestinian rocket crews fired dozens of rockets at Israel as a 72-hour cease-fire came to a close, and Israel renewed its attacks on Hamas targets in Gaza. The Israeli strikes were carried out by aircraft over Gaza on Friday morning, Army Radio reported. The strikes resulted in the death of a 10-year-old boy,Continue Reading
By Abdullah H. Erakat, The Media Line WEST BANK — Prior to the outbreak of the 29-day war between Israel and Hamas and despite the failure of US Secretary of State John Kerry’s peace initiative, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas reportedly was a happy camper having survived unscathed in theContinue Reading
By Emily K. Alhadeff, Associate Editor, The Jewish Sound The news out of Turkey, when it comes to politics and Jewish life, is bleak. The positive relationship between Turkey and Israel has been deteriorating at least since Turkey began showing support for Hamas during Israel’s 2008-09 war in Gaza, andContinue Reading
By Uriel Heilman, JTA World News Service (JTA) – Now that the latest Gaza conflict appears to be over — or nearly so — it’s time to take stock of the winners and losers. Who won the war? Perhaps more than the other two Gaza conflicts in the last sixContinue Reading
By Ron Kampeas, JTA World News Service WASHINGTON (JTA) – If the results of a recent focus group and polls are any indication, the gap is growing between Congress and young Americans when it comes to support for Israel. Polls conducted in late July by Gallup and the Pew Research Center found thatContinue Reading
JTA World News Service JERUSALEM (JTA) — A West Bank man said to be the leader of the terrorist cell that kidnapped and killed three Israeli teenagers in June was arrested. A gag order on reporting the arrest, which took place more than three weeks ago, was lifted Tuesday evening,Continue Reading
By Uriel Heilman, JTA World News Service (JTA) — There’s no shortage of images from the Gaza conflict. We’ve seen rubble, dead Palestinian children, Israelis cowering during rocket attacks, Israeli military maneuvers and Israeli army footage of Hamas militants emerging from tunnels to attack Israeli soldiers. WhatContinue Reading
JTA World News Service WASHINGTON (JTA) — The Senate unanimously approved new funds to Israel for its Iron Dome anti-missile system after Republicans and Democrats settled differences over how to pass the bill. The emergency supplemental bill passed Friday adds $225 million to $350 million for the system, which IsraelContinue Reading
JTA World News Service WASHINGTON (JTA) — A number of Senate Republicans blocked Israel’s request of an additional $225 million for the Iron Dome anti-missile system during the current Gaza Strip conflict. Republicans had initially objected to the inclusion of the request by Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), the majority leader,Continue Reading
JTA World News Service (JTA) — An Israeli soldier appears to have been captured by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The Israel Defense Forces identified the soldier as 2nd Lt. Hadar Goldin, 23, from Kfar Saba. Hamas fighters reportedly emerged Friday morning from a tunnel near Rafah, in the southernContinue Reading
