Israel

John Lewis and the Jews: 6 moments that showcase an enduring alliance

John Lewis, D-Ga., and Norbert Bikales, who was part of the Kindertransport from Berlin to France in July 1939 following the deportation of his parents and brother to Poland, light one of six candles representing the more than six million Jews who were killed during the Holocaust, in a ceremony in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., April 9, 2002. (Scott J. Ferrell/Congressional Quarterly/Getty Images)
July 22, 2020 / Ron Kampeas, JTA

WASHINGTON (JTA) — When John Lewis, the civil rights icon and congressman from Georgia, died at 80 over the weekend, Jews in America and abroad lost an ally of nearly six decades. Lewis never tired of telling folks to “get into good trouble,” to defy the authorities and the… Read more »

Deluged by pandemic needs, Israeli doctors get help from unlikely source: robots

Surgeons doing knee surgery at Hadassah hospital's Mount Scopus campus use the ROSA robot, made possible with a grant from USAID's Office of American Schools and Hospitals Abroad. (Gurion Rivkin)
July 16, 2020 / Larry Luxner, JTA

JERUSALEM — Orthopedic surgeons at Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical Center on Mount Scopus recently welcomed a newcomer to their team. She’s incredibly efficient, never needs a coffee break, doesn’t complain about the long hours and isn’t worried about catching COVID-19. That’s because she’s a robot. Called ROSA, short for Robotic… Read more »

Immigration to Israel could spike due to the coronavirus pandemic, leading groups say

New immigrants from North America arrive on a flight arranged by the Nefesh B'Nefesh organization at Ben Gurion airport in central Israel on Aug. 14, 2019. (Flash90)
July 8, 2020 / Marcy Oster JTA

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel could see a sharp increase in immigration over the next few years spurred on by the coronavirus crisis, two groups involved with arranging immigration to the country claim. The chairman of the Jewish Agency — a nonprofit focused on bolstering Israel-Diaspora ties and immigration to… Read more »

4 reasons why Israel’s West Bank annexation plans aren’t happening on July 1

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, and Defense Minister Benny Gantz at a meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem, June 28, 2020. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)
July 1, 2020 / Gabe Friedman, JTA

(JTA) — Since April, all eyes following the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have been glued to July 1. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had negotiated the date into his government coalition deal with his rival Benny Gantz. On July 1, as stipulated in the agreement, Netanyahu could put the topic of annexing… Read more »

Cyberattack disrupts Israel Philharmonic Orchestra’s online gala
June 29, 2020 / Marcy Oster, JTA

JERUSALEM (JTA) — A suspected cyberattack disrupted a live virtual gala held by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, making it impossible to view for most of the 13,000 people worldwide who had registered. The Sunday afternoon attack on the fundraiser, which was trying to help the orchestra overcome losses due… Read more »

Meet Omer Yankelevich, the Orthodox woman tasked with mending the frayed ties between Israel and the Diaspora

Omer Yankelevich with three of her five children at the Knesset in Jerusalem, April 30, 2019. (Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90)
June 25, 2020 / Sam Sokol, JTA

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Omer Yankelevich is the new minister of Diaspora affairs in Israel, meaning she’s in charge of managing the Jewish state’s relations with Jewish communities abroad. It has never been an easy task, but tensions in recent years between Israel and the United States, as well as… Read more »