Israel

Israel heads to early elections as government coalition dissolves

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel will hold new elections in April after the heads of all six coalition parties announced Monday that they were dissolving the government. The current government’s term was set to end in November. “Out of national and budgetary responsibility, the leaders of the coalition parties decided,… Read more »

Academy Awards turns its back on latest Israeli film

Tim Kalkhof plays a German man who falls in love with a married Israeli man in "The Cakemaker." (Strand Releasing)

LOS ANGELES (JTA)– Israel’s more than half-century courtship to win an Oscar for best foreign-language film will continue past 2019. Since submitting its first entry — and winning its first nomination — for “Sallah”  in 1964, Israel has made the short list of top nominees 10 times, without ever… Read more »

Israel arrests 100 Palestinians in crackdown after week of violence

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli forces arrested over 100 Palestinians over the past weekend as part of an anti-terror crackdown launched in the wake of last week’s uptick in terror activity in the West Bank.“There were 100 arrests over the weekend, and another 36 yesterday,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced… Read more »

Baby born prematurely to mother shot in West Bank attack dies in hospital

JERUSALEM (JTA) — A baby born prematurely after his mother was shot during a drive-by terror attack in the West Bank died on Wednesday. The statement from Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Hospital announcing the boy’s passing said the parents met their son earlier Wednesday morning. The baby had been delivered… Read more »

2 Israelis killed in West Bank shooting

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Two Israelis were killed and two seriously injured in a second shooting attack near a bus stop in the West Bank. The attack on Thursday morning occurred at a bus stop outside of the Givat Asaf settlement, about a mile down the same road from the… Read more »

Tucson firefighters see counterparts in action on Israel mission

Members of the November 2018 Firefighters Without Borders mission pose with soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces 118th Division Tank Battalion in the Golan Heights, (L-R): Eliot Anderson, Scott Peru, Ted Geare, K. Paul Maxwell, Kris Blume, Steve Lunde. (Courtesy Firefighters Beyond Borders)

Tucson Firefighters Beyond Borders completed its third mission to Israel last month under an unexpected hail of missiles. That only added a new dimension to the multi-faceted, cross-cultural and cross-technology educational exchanges that began in 2013, according to the six participants. The delegation left Tucson on Nov. 6, spending… Read more »

Amid Hezbollah counter-tunnel operations, IDF must be ‘ready for deterioration,’ says ex-defense official

The head of the IDF's Northern Command, Maj. Gen. Yoel Strik, met with the @UNIFIL_ Commander, Gen. Stefano Del Col from Italy, and toured the area of the cross-border attack tunnel that was exposed this week after it was dug from Lebanon into Israel. (IDF Spokesperson Unit)

(JNS) As the Israel Defense Forces ploughs ahead with an operation to expose and destroy a network of Hezbollah tunnels snaking their way into northern Israel from Lebanon, the military must also be prepared for the risk of a sudden escalation with the powerful Shi’ite terrorist organization, a former… Read more »

When Israeli Americans meet, there’s politics, partying and pride

Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Nancy Pelosi are interviewed by Israeli-American entertainment mogul Haim Saban at the Israeli-American Council conference in Hollywood, Fla., Dec. 2, 2018. (Israeli-American Council)

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (JTA) — Sheldon Adelson, the casino magnate, his Israeli-born wife, Miriam, and Haim Saban, the Israeli-American entertainment mogul, entered the deck of the pool complex at the Diplomat Hotel here on Saturday night and chose a table to sit around and well, schmooze. Never mind the frantic security… Read more »