Israel

I believe in the Jewish people’s right to live in our homeland. That profound belief has no bearing on the rights of others to live here as well. There are Palestinians who live and work in the land of Israel, and while I may seldom agree with the positions… Read more »

The body of Israeli soldier Zachary Baumel, an immigrant from the United States who went missing in Lebanon some 37 years ago, recently was returned to Israel. Baumel disappeared on June 10, 1982, in a battle at the beginning of the Lebanon War along with two other Israeli soldiers,… Read more »

TEL AVIV (JTA) — In a city where new eateries open and older ones close with the frequency of the waves lapping at the nearby seashore, this city’s Levinsky Market stands as a place where people have anchored their food businesses for decades. Chef Haim Rafael, for instance, still… Read more »

BETHLEHEM, West Bank (JTA) – I believe in the Jewish people’s right to live in our homeland. That profound belief has no bearing on the rights of others to live here as well. There are Palestinians who live and work in the land of Israel, and while I may… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Rabbi Achiad Ettinger died a hero — the family of a woman he helped save is keeping the rabbi’s name alive. The newborn grandson of the woman was named for Ettinger, who died of injuries suffered in a West Bank shooting by a 19-year-old Palestinian. Ettinger, a… Read more »

Ayala, 11, a student with a cognitive disability, communicates via a computer screen with her teacher, Rivka Dimant, in a school at Aleh Negev, a campus for Israelis with disabilities, Oct. 25, 2018. (Ben Sales)

OFAKIM, Israel (JTA) — Ayala’s eyes darted around the screen, choosing words and pictures as her teacher asked her rapid-fire questions. Ayala, 11, has a cognitive disability that prevents her from speaking. But she can communicate thanks to a screen that reads her eye movements and transmits answers to… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Benjamin Netanyahu’s week had been carefully scripted: Less than one month away from Israeli elections, the prime minister was traveling to Washington, D.C., to meet with President Donald Trump. A friendly photo op would become even friendlier when Trump announced that he wanted to recognize Israeli… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — More than 60 rockets were launched overnight into southern Israel from the Gaza Strip even as Hamas said it had accepted a cease-fire agreement. Egypt brokered the cease-fire, which was to take effect at 10 p.m. Monday, but rockets targeting civilian areas continued to fall until after… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — The Israeli spacecraft Beresheet has sent home a video of a sunrise from the spacecraft’s point of view before it enters the moon’s orbit. The Beresheet camera also caught some selfie images with earth from 81,400 miles and nearly 165,000 miles away. It also sent back… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — A long-range rocket fired from Gaza scored a direct hit on a home in central Israel, injuring seven, including two infants. Following the early Monday morning attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who also serves as defense minister, announced that he would cut short his visit… Read more »

(JTA) — It wasn’t so long ago that most major Israeli politicians supported establishing a Palestinian state. Now it’s not clear that any of them do, including the current prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu began his political career in the 1970s opposing a Palestinian state, an idea that once… Read more »

HOF HACARMEL, Israel (JTA) — Few non-Jews and even fewer British soldiers are regarded as highly in Israel as Orde Charles Wingate, a senior officer who became a legend here by shaping Israel’s prestate military. Many Israeli towns have a Wingate street or square, and relatives and others who share… Read more »

NEW YORK (JTA) — A Palestinian peace activist was denied entry to the United States and deported, despite having a valid visa. Osama Iliwat, 42, was questioned over the course of eight hours by officials from Customs and Border Protection at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City… Read more »

Israel is the 10th healthiest country in the world — 54 spots ahead of the United States. The Bloomberg Healthiest Country Index, published Feb. 24, ranked 169 nations based on factors such as life expectancy and access to sanitation and medical care. Countries were penalized for tobacco use and… Read more »

(JTA) — Israel struck dozens of Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip in response to the firing of several rockets into the Tel Aviv area. Sirens alerted residents that rockets were coming into the area just after 9 p.m. local time on Thursday. Hours later, Israeli aircraft carried out… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — All entrances and exits to the Temple Mount were closed by Israel Police after a firebomb was thrown at a police outpost at the site. The police said in a statement Tuesday afternoon following the attack that one of the suspects was identified and detained. Dozens… Read more »

A delegation of Tucson educators representing Jewish organizations experienced Israel in a meaningful, weeklong cultural exchange during rodeo school break in late February. Jeanette Butcher (Tucson Jewish Community Center), Nicole Chorny and Kim Spitzer  (Congregation Anshei Israel), Allie Silber (Temple Emanu-El), Jill Sobieszyk (Congregation Or Chadash) and I were… Read more »

On a cold and windy day in February, I drove an hour and a half from Haifa to Jerusalem in search of my great-great-grandfather, Rabbi Moshe Yehudah Franco. I had learned about him from stories my mother told me and a family tree carefully constructed by relatives who were… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — The best thing everyone except for the Israelis and Palestinians can do when the Trump administration reveals its peace plan is to be supportive, Trump’s chief negotiator said. And nothing else. “It really is up to the Israelis and the Palestinians; they’re the ones who will… Read more »

(JTA) — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit Israel this month with the country in the throes of an election campaign. Pompeo will be in Israel on March 20 for a summit involving Israel, Greece and Cyprus, Axios reported. State Department spokesman Robert Palladino told reporters that Pompeo’s… Read more »