By Linda Gradstein, The Media Line Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas set off a storm in Israel when he reportedly told American negotiators that if the Kerry-brokered talks fail, he could dismantle the Palestinian Authority (PA), and shift responsibility for governing 2.5 million Palestinians to Israel. That would ostensibly meanContinue Reading
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas announced today that he had reached a unity pact with Hamas earlier Wednesday, which he insists does not contradict the peace talks he is pursuing with Israel. Earlier this month, Israel had called off a session of talks in response to the PLO’s deal with Fatah-Hamas,Continue Reading
With Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas threatening to dissolve the Palestinian Authority and peace negotiations faltering, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears to be giving up hopes for an agreement by April 29. Read the story at the Jerusalem Post.Continue Reading
As Israel continues to lead the way in several biotech industries, a small, independent Herzliya-based video tech firm, Extreme Reality, has stumbled upon a possible solution to racial/ethnic profiling through a biometric profiling system that analyzes individuals’ movements. This automated movement analysis is based on what’s called a “skeletal map,” whichContinue Reading
Uriel Heilman, JTA World News Service NEW YORK (JTA) — When a 2009 Holocaust-era assets conference concluded with a landmark statement of principles on Holocaust restitution, many restitution advocates had high hopes that a corner had been turned in the struggle for survivor justice. The Terezin Declaration, which had theContinue Reading
(JTA) — A meeting between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators ended without an agreement to resume peace talks, a Palestinian official said. The meeting held Thursday in Jerusalem sought a framework that would allow talks to continue for another nine months. It lasted five hours, and the atmosphere was chilly, theContinue Reading
(JTA) — Pro-Russian separatists from Donetsk in eastern Ukraine denied any involvement in the circulation of fliers calling on Jews to register with separatists and pay special taxes. The fliers were distributed earlier this week in the city, where pro-Russian separatists led by Denis Pushilin this month took over severalContinue Reading
(JTA) — An Australian-American team of researchers recommended circumcising infant males to avoid diseases in a new study that compared the practice to vaccination. The team, led by Brian Morris of the School of Medical Sciences at the University of Sydney, asserted in their newly published study that halfContinue Reading
Op-Ed: The West Bank is under military occupation, and that’s a fact By Jessica Montell, JTA World News Service JERUSALEM (JTA) — According to press reports, the crowd at a recent Republican Jewish Coalition conference “noticeably gasped” when New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie referred to the West Bank as “occupiedContinue Reading
By Linda Gradstein, The Media Line Nof Atamna-Ismaeel, an Arab woman with a PhD in marine microbiology, has won Israel’s highest honor for an amateur chef – the title of Master Chef. She still finds it hard to believe it’s really true. “The moment they announced it, I just startedContinue Reading
By Norma Zager/JNS.org Those of the mindset that religions are inherently at war with one another must have a difficult time reconciling the friendship between the State of Israel and the Republic of Azerbaijan. Yet, in the real world, it makes perfect sense. Muslim countries that use Islam—aContinue Reading
Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org A Byzantine monastery with an intricate mosaic floor has been discovered in the northern part of Israel’s Negev Desert. The site was unearthed during preservation work by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) ahead of construction on a highway interchange. Dr. Daniel Varga, the IAA archaeologist whoContinue Reading
(JNS.org) As a result of the ongoing strike by Israeli Foreign Ministry workers, a shipping container filled with Passover for a planned 1,700-person seder in Katmandu, Nepal remains stuck in India. Rabbi Chezki and Chani Lifshitz, Chabad-Lubavitch representatives in Katmandu, described days of despair as they continue to wait forContinue Reading
Linda Gradstein/The Media Line It sounds like the plot of a thriller. Two antiquities thieves, carrying their stolen loot, meet a potential buyer at an Israeli checkpoint in the dead of night. The police arrest the thieves and the dealers, recovering the priceless antiquities. This scenario is exactly what happenedContinue Reading
(JTA) — Ukrainian Jewish businessman announced his candidacy for president of Ukraine in the May elections. Rabinovich, 61, the owner and co-founder of Jewish News One and co-chair of the European Jewish Parliament, made the announcement during an interview Tuesday for the Vesti.ua news website and online radio service. InContinue Reading
Uriel Heilman, JTA News (JTA) — When the leaders of Winnipeg’s Jewish federation sat down 13 years ago to try to figure out a way to reverse the community’s decline, they came up with a novel idea: recruit Jews from overseas. The idea was pretty straightforward. Capitalizing on the pro-immigrationContinue Reading
By JNS.org A new letter to President Barack Obama signed by 83 of 100 U.S. senators outlines “core principles” that the senators believe must be part of a final deal on Iran’s nuclear program. The senators wrote that any agreement “must dismantle Iran’s nuclear weapons program and prevent it fromContinue Reading
By , JTA World News Service JERUSALEM (JTA)—A Knesset committee will have to vote again on a bill allowing local rabbis to oversee conversions to Judaism in Israel after approving the measure. On Wednesday, the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee supported the bill in a 7-4 vote following a contentiousContinue Reading
By Binyamin Kagedan, JNS.org The names of religious holidays are usually fairly straightforward, pointing us to the central symbol or theme of the festival. Pesach refers to the ancient lamb offering, the korban pesach; Shavuot, meaning “weeks,” points to the careful counting of seven weeks that precede it; Sukkot areContinue Reading
By JNS, JNS.org (JNS.org) The Norwegian Cruise Line announced Tuesday that it is canceling all of its remaining port calls to Tunisia and ceasing all future port calls there in response to the Tunisian government’s refusal to allow a group of Israelis to disembark the Norwegian Jade ship in theContinue Reading
