Israel

After the nuclear negotiators go home, what happens next?

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, thir from left, in Lausanne, Switzerland, with his counterparts from the other world powers negotiating with Iran before the nuclear talks resumed, March 30, 2015. (U.S. State Department/Flickr)
March 31, 2015 / Uriel Heilman, JTA

(JTA) – Diplomats in Lausanne, Switzerland, have extended their deadline on a framework accord on Iran’s nuclear program. But even if an agreement is reached this week, it’s merely a way station toward a comprehensive deal that is due by June 30. If a deal is reached, who needs to approve… Read more »

Jewish-Christian charity bringing Ukrainians to Israel — and aiming to keep them there

A Ukrainian couple at pre-flight briefing for immigrants to Israel in Kiev, March 23, 2015. (Ben Sales)
March 31, 2015 / Ben Sales, JTA

KIEV (JTA) — Tatyana Orul would have moved to Israel years ago if not for her job as a television journalist in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, which interested her too much to give up. But when bombs started falling next to her house last year, she reconsidered.… Read more »

Will Netanyahu join partners’ push for the poor?

A homeless man in Jerusalem. Under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel has emerged as one of the developed world's most economically unequal countries. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
March 30, 2015 / Ben Sales, JTA

TEL AVIV (JTA) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel got his wish in last week’s elections: a larger and more stable right-wing government marching in lockstep on security and diplomacy. But while the coming coalition may be more unified when it comes to the conflict with the Palestinians, it… Read more »

Is U.S.-Israel crisis a speed bump or sign of a long-term conflict?
March 30, 2015 / Ron Kampeas, JTA

WASHINGTON (JTA) — President Barack Obama’s refusal to accept Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ostensible recommitment to a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has watchers of the U.S.-Israel relationship wondering if the recent crisis is a mere speed bump or a sign of a deeper shift in ties… Read more »

After Brooklyn blaze kills 7 kids, grief spans an ocean

A mourner near the fresh graves of the seven children from the Sassoon family during their funeral in Jerusalem, March 23, 2015. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
March 24, 2015 / Uriel Heilman, JTA

NEW YORK (JTA) – Even in a city accustomed to deadly fires, this one stood out for the sheer scale of the tragedy: seven children, ranging in age from 5 to 16, killed in the middle of the night after awakening from their Sabbath slumber to smoke and flames.… Read more »

Netanyahu facing challenges, criticism from Jewish liberals

J Street Executive Director Jeremy Ben-Ami addressing the group's conference in Washington, D.C.,March 21, 2015. (Courtesy of J Street)
March 23, 2015 / Ron Kampeas, JTA

WASHINGTON (JTA) – With Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu facing escalating criticism and pressure from the White House, he could use some help from Israel’s erstwhile allies in the American Jewish community — especially those with sway in liberal and Democratic circles. But several leading Jewish liberal critics of Netanyahu… Read more »

Call for unity on right, hardline rhetoric propel Netanyahu to comeback

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu celebrates his Election Day victory at his Tel Aviv headquarters March 18. (Miriam Alster/FLASH90)
March 19, 2015 /

This city’s Rabin Square was full of young men wearing large knit kippahs and women in long skirts and long sleeves cheering as right-wing politicians declared their opposition to Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank. On Sunday night, when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ascended the stage to address the… Read more »

Netanyahu: No Palestinian state on my watch
March 16, 2015 /

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview that as long as he is Israel’s prime minister, a Palestinian state will not be established. The interview was published Monday on the Israeli news website NRG, a day before Israelis head to the polls, as Netanyahu attempts to shore… Read more »

Ex-Israeli generals target Netanyahu’s security image

Asher Levi, a retired Israeli brigadier general, appears in a video by Commanders for Israel's Security, a group of former generals who oppose Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
March 12, 2015 /

TEL AVIV (JTA) — Against a soundtrack of dramatic music, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lists his government’s security accomplishments, declaring over the shouts of opposition lawmakers that his Likud Party has stopped terrorists, stood up to Iran and secured Israel’s borders. Released Wednesday, the video is the latest… Read more »

Israeli start-up hoping USB drives will bridge digital divide
March 12, 2015 /

TEL AVIV (JTA) — In Peter Jairus’ Nairobi neighborhood, almost nobody has a personal computer. Mathare is one of the Kenyan capital’s largest slums. Buildings are constructed from sheets of corrugated metal and Internet access is rare, found only in places like schools or community centers. Even then, the… Read more »

In Israeli elections, Bibi had it right: It’s all about him

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu campaigning at Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda market, March 9, 2015. (Flash90)
March 11, 2015 /

TEL AVIV (JTA) — However much they disagree with his policies, opponents of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would surely admit he was right about one thing: These elections are all about him. When he called for new elections in December, Netanyahu said the vote would enable him “to… Read more »

Who’s who in Israel’s election?
March 10, 2015 /

TEL AVIV (JTA) – When Israelis head to the polls for the March 17 elections, 26 parties will be vying for the Knesset’s 120 seats — including such fringe groups as the Pirate Party, which supports total government transparency and freedom of information on the Internet, and the Green… Read more »

Under cloud of Iran talk, AIPAC quietly courts progressives
March 9, 2015 /

WASHINGTON (JTA) — At the AIPAC conference, a sea of 16,000 Israel supporters spent their time talking Iran policy amid the swirling controversy over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress. To the sidelines fell discussion of the Israeli elections, the peace process and Israeli innovation — as well… Read more »

Did Netanyahu’s speech make new allies or alienate old friends?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks about Iran during a joint meeting of Congress, March 3, 2015. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
March 5, 2015 / Ron Kampeas, JTA

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech, in the end, was about reminding Americans that the enemy of your enemy may still be your enemy. He may have lost some friends in the process. Netanyahu spoke before the U.S. Congress on Tuesday following a six-week buildup that spurred questions about… Read more »

Isaac Herzog hopes to speak softly and carry Israel’s election

Leader of the Zionist Union faction Isaac Herzog speaking to foreign press in Jerusalem, Feb. 24, 2015. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)
March 4, 2015 /

TEL AVIV (JTA) — Isaac Herzog paces slowly up and down the stage, one hand in his suit pocket, a slight smile forming through his slender lips. Quietly, his heavy breath audible through the microphone, the center-left candidate for prime minister runs down a detailed a list of policy… Read more »