Israel

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Archaeological excavations in northern Israel in preparation to build a highway off-ramp uncovered a 5,000-year-old city that was home to as many as 6,000 residents. It is one of the first and largest early Bronze Age settlements excavated in Israel, according to the Israel Antiquities Authority,… Read more »

NEW YORK (JTA) — The Jewish Telegraphic Agency has launched a Hebrew-language website and syndication service aimed at the Israeli public. The service features original Hebrew articles and videos with Hebrew translations of items published in English by JTA and adapted for Israeli audiences. JTA’s new Hebrew news site… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Avigdor Liberman, who prevented Netanyahu from forming a coalition government following elections in April, will meet to discuss a unity government. The meeting, confirmed by Liberman in a social media post, is scheduled for Thursday morning in Jerusalem. Liberman said even… Read more »

(JTA) — The pre-indictment hearings in one of three separate corruption cases involving Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commenced on Wednesday. Lawyers for Netanyahu appeared at the hearings in Jerusalem without their client, who was scheduled to participate in talks in an effort to to build a governing coalition.… Read more »

The town of Yurburg, Lithuania, dedicated a new Synagogue Square Memorial on July 19. Tucson genealogist and author Joel Alpert and his wife, Nancy Lefkowitz along with 10 of his relatives from Israel, Canada, and the United States, represented the descendants of emigres from the once-thriving Jewish community. “It… Read more »

Congregation Or Chadash, Temple Emanu-El and the University of Arizona Hillel Foundation are participating in this year’s Pack-a-Thon on Sunday, Oct. 27, 2-4 p.m. at the Muslim Community Center, 5100 N. Kevy Place. This is a multi-faith program involving these Jewish organizations, churches and the Muslim community of Tucson… Read more »

Tucson Holocaust survivor  Sidney Finkel will lead Southern Arizona teens on the 2020 March of the Living. Participants will retrace his steps through his childhood home of Piotrkow, Poland, including the first Nazi decreed ghetto in occupied Poland, where he and his family were forced to live. Finkel is… Read more »

Rosh Hashanah menus, while traditional and delicious, can also get a little stale year after year. With Israeli food trending across the globe, now is a perfect time to add some authentic Israeli flavors to your holiday. We have gathered four exclusive recipes from some of Israel’s top chefs:… Read more »

Israel’s public security minister presented a report at a conference in Brussels on Wednesday that includes 80 examples of what he called anti-Semitism by key European promoters of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel. In one example from April, Jenny Tonge, a lawmaker in the upper chamber… Read more »

(JTA) — Just a teaspoon of the green stuff was enough to make her feel like she was having a heart attack. A 60-year old Israeli woman checked herself into the Soroka University Medical Center in Beersheba after a night of “unexpected chest pressure that spread to her arms… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will get his second try this year to form Israel’s government after talks aimed at creating a unity government broke down. President Reuven Rivlin tasked Netanyahu with forming a government on Wednesday evening even though his Likud party did not finish first… Read more »

TEL AVIV (JTA) — The woman approached with trepidation, fidgeting and glancing nervously over her shoulder as she sat down in a coffee shop here. A Filipino caregiver who has been living in Israel without a visa for years, the woman said her home had been raided by Israeli… Read more »

(JTA) — In a first, Israel’s national baseball team has qualified for a spot in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The squad of mostly Jewish-American college players and some pros team defeated South Africa on Sunday in the Europe/Africa Qualifier tournament in Italy and finished the tournament with a record… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — A woman has died nearly a year after suffering injuries in a rocket attack into southern Israel from Gaza. Nina Gisdenanova, 74, died last week at the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer, The Times of Israel reported Sunday. She was in an apartment building in… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — The Arab Joint List recommended to Israel’s president that Blue and White head Benny Gantz be tapped to form the next government in order to end the political career of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Ayman Odeh, who heads the coalition of four Arab parties, explained its… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Blue and White head Benny Gantz met with outgoing White House Middle East peace envoy Jason Greenblatt at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. The meeting on Monday afternoon also included the U.S. ambassador to Israel, David Friedman. Gantz’s party was the top vote-getter in Israel’s national… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — A film about the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin as seen through the eyes of his killer will be the country’s nomination for an Oscar. “Incitement” took the Ophir Award in Israel for best picture on Sunday night. The top prize at the Ophirs of… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz have agreed to hold negotiations to form a unity government. The heads, respectively, of the Likud and Blue and White parties announced the negotiations late Monday night following a two-hour meeting at the Jerusalem residence of President Reuven Rivlin.… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and the Blue and White were again locked in a virtual dead heat at the close of voting in Israel, exit polls on Tuesday showed. Both Blue and White, which is led by Benny Gantz, a former military chief of… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israelis head to the polls for the second time this year on Tuesday. Exit polls from the country are notoriously fickle, so the real results of the election may leave onlookers in suspense for a bit. Here are some of the more important things to look… Read more »