Israel

‘I’m mentally preparing for a few months’: Meet an Israeli doctor on the coronavirus front lines

Dr. Elli Rosenberg, right, with colleagues in the coronavirus unit of Soroka Medical Center in Beersheva, Israel. (Courtesy of Rosenberg)
March 19, 2020 / Uriel Heilman, JTA

(JTA) — When it became clear that the COVID-19 pandemic would reach Israel, Elli Rosenberg was one of a small number of medical professionals at the Soroka Medical Center in Beersheva to answer a call for volunteers to treat the sick. Rosenberg, a clinical immunologist who works as an… Read more »

Arab-Israeli parties just recommended Benny Gantz to be prime minister. Here’s why that’s historic.

Ayman Odeh, leader of the Joint List, left, with other party members at the party headquarters in the Arab-Israeli city of Shfaram, March 2, 2020. (David Cohen/Flash90)
March 19, 2020 / Ron Kampeas, JTA

(JTA) — Amid all the justifiable focus on the coronavirus and its consequences, there was major political news in Israel this week: Benny Gantz, the Blue and White party leader, was tapped by the president to assemble a government coalition — bringing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu closer to his… Read more »

Jewish Agency sending teen emissaries back to Israel, and to quarantine
March 16, 2020 / Philissa Cramer, JTA

(JTA) — Earlier this week, the Jewish Agency for Israel said it was committed to keeping its emissaries in the United States, even as other groups brought theirs home amid the rising coronavirus crisis. But on Friday morning, with schools and synagogues across the country shuttering in an effort… Read more »

Israel’s 3rd election in a year improves Netanyahu’s chances of forming a government, exit polls show

Likud supporters celebrate at party headquarters in Tel Aviv after the release of the first exit polls on March 2, 2020. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)
March 3, 2020 / Marcy Oster, JTA

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party improved its chances of forming a government after it gained three more seats in parliament than Blue and White at the close of voting in Israel, exit polls showed. Likud took 36 seats, according to the polling by the Kan… Read more »

Without absentee voting, Israelis abroad struggle over whether to fly home for 3rd election in a year

The El Al departure counter at Ben Gurion International Airport is empty after the airline canceled flights to Italy amid a coronavirus outbreak, Feb. 27, 2020. (Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images)
February 27, 2020 / Marcy Oster, JTA

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Five years ago this week, Amos Geva took an EasyJet flight from Berlin to Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport for a very short visit home. On his agenda: dinner with his family, a trip to the ballot box and media interviews about his efforts to encourage Israeli… Read more »

A beginner’s guide to Israel’s unprecedented third election in the past 12 months

A campaign billboard in Ramat Gan, a suburb of Tel Aviv, featuring Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz in front of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (Artur Widak/Getty Images)
February 25, 2020 / JTA Staff

(JTA) — Full disclosure: This is the third time in the past year that we have published this article. With only minor changes. That’s because on Monday, March 2, for the third time in the past 12 months, Israelis will be voting in a national election. The first election,… Read more »