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A Turkish court on Friday formally charged an internationally known pianist and composer with insulting Islamic religious values, in comments he made on Twitter. According to The Associated Press, the court in Istanbul voted to approve an indictment against Fazil Say, who has played piano with the New York Philharmonic, Berlin Symphony Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic,…

WikiLeaks has denied any links between a leaked cable and Iran’s execution of an Iranian it accused earlier this year of being a Mossad spy and of assassinating scientist Masoud Alimohammadi with an explosive in January 2010. Majid Jamali Fashi, a 24-year-old kickboxer, was hanged in Evin Prison on the charge of the killing. WikiLeaks said that Arutz…

Music legend and superstar, Madonna, performed for thousands of fans in Israel on Thursday in a much anticipated “peace concert,” as part of her world tour. “I chose to start my world tour in Israel for a very specific and important reason,” Madonna told the roaring crowd in the Ramat Gan Stadium. “You can’t be…

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) on Wednesday welcomed a statement from the White House expressing regret for President Obama’s description of the Nazi death camps in Poland as “Polish camps” in honoring Jan Karski with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.            “We commend the White House for appropriately recognizing their error in…

Turkey’s first particle accelerator facility which Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan claims will serve the health sector and aims to diminish dependence on external markets opened yesterday near Ankara by the Turkish Atomic Energy Authority (TAEK), reported The Hurriyet Daily News. “This facility will serve as the hub of nuclear technology as we are preparing…

The IDF shortly after noon on Friday identified a terror squad in Gaza preparing to fire rockets into Israel and scored a direct hit. The Bethlehem-based Maan News Agency said four people were killed and four were wounded in the attack. The strike came less than an hour after terrorists, also operating in northern Gaza,…

Facebook and other social networks have long been not only places for friends to connect, but also political fronts in which ideas are debated as often – if not more so – than in traditional forums. The Samaria Residents Council has unveiled plans to help Judea and Samaria Jews use social networks to make their…

Twenty people, both Jewish and not, will take part in the nondenominational advocacy training program. They will meet policy makers and political leaders and visit the “hot spots” often featured in media reports on Israel. “We aim to expose curious and concerned global citizens to the real Israel and help them understand where and how…

Egyptian state television will broadcast live the verdict and sentencing of ousted president Hosni Mubarak in his murder and corruption trial on Saturday. Mubarak and his security chiefs are charged with murder over the killings of protesters during the 18-day revolt that overthrew him on February 11, 2011. He shares corruption charges with his sons…

The family of a terrorist whose actions were caught on camera has won a lawsuit against the State of Israel and will receive a pension from the State. Mohammed Khatib, a resident of Kafr Manda, an Israeli-Arab town in the Lower Galilee, was filmed by security cameras as he snatched a security guard’s gun in…

Jewish voters still prefer President Barack Obama over Republican nominee Mitt Romney, according to a new poll released on Thursday by the Workmen’s Circle. The poll was conducted by a team led by Professor Steven M. Cohen. Among Jews, the Democratic President out-polls the Republican candidate by 59 percent to 27 percent, with 14 percent…

Syria on Thursday blamed up to 800 rebel fighters for the massacre in central Syria last week that killed more than 100 people, nearly half of them children, The Associated Press reported. The accusations starkly contradicted accounts of witnesses who blamed “shabiha”, the gunmen who operate on behalf of President Bashar Assad’s regime, for the…

The price of gasoline will drop by about 3% Thursday night, after oil prices in Wall Street dipped to $88, their lowest level in eight months. A liter of 95 octane unleaded gasoline at self-service pumps will cost NIS 7.43, a drop of 22 agorot, or 2.88%, from the present price. The price of gasoline…

Millionaire and entrepreneur Richard Branson has decided to launch a new business venture, “Virgin Pure,” using technology imported from Israel. Branson recently visited the country and met with Israeli technology companies and scientists, leading him to pursue his most recent undertaking. When Ofra Strauss, Chairman of the Strauss Group, handed him water that had been…

“The massacre of civilians of the sort seen last weekend could plunge Syria into a catastrophic civil war — a civil war from which the country would never recover,” U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Thursday in Turkey. “I demand that the government of Syria act on its commitments under the Annan peace plan. A united…

Following a decision by IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Benny Gantz, Minister of Defense Ehud Barak approved on Thursday the appointment of Major General Yaacov Ayish as the new Defense Attaché to the USA and Canada. Maj. Gen. Yaacov Ayish was born in December, 1962 in northern Israel. In 1981, he enlisted in the…

Israeli geneticists have found that a tribe of Native American Indians may have a genetic mutation typical of Ashkenazi Jews. The genetic mutation is a harmful modification in the BRCA1 gene, prevalent among Jews of Eastern European descent, which increases the risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer. Researchers from the Sheba Medical Center in…

A Saudi scholar has offered a $450,000 reward for assassinating Syrian President Bashar Al Assad. “We announce a reward of $450,000 for whoever kills the assassin Bashar Al Assad, whose massacres of women and children have horrified the world,” Ali Al Rabieei said on his Twitter account. The death bounty was announced in response to…

A radio host has been hospitalized after being cut 15 times by an unidentified criminal, after he criticized the Prophet Mohammed, on air, according to a Russian news agency. Sergey Aslanyan, 46, was brought to Moscow’s hospital with numerous non-penetrating knife wounds to the chest, neck and arm. According to the police report, on late…

Prime Minister’s wife Sarah Netanyahu was attacked by a woman as she visited the Ovnat shopping mall in Petach Tikva. The woman cursed and spat at Mrs. Netanyahu and flung a shoe in her direction. Netanyahu was not physically hurt and her bodyguards seized the attacker and detained her until police arrived on the scene.…

Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s two sons, already in jail for more than a year and on trial, were charged with insider trading Wednesday, The Associated Press reported. According to a statement by the prosecutor-general’s office, the two, along with seven others, made millions of pounds in illicit gains from the sale of a bank.…

Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani warned on Wednesday against the devastating consequences of a Libyan-style intervention in Syria. According to a report in the Iranian-based Fars news agency, Larijani said that a policy of intervention in Syria would spread to “the occupied Palestinian territories” and would harm Israel. Noting the recent remarks by U.S. and…

The IDF’s Northern District Commander Yair Golan said on Wednesday that Israel is in a constant battle with Iran in various channels, Channel 2 News reported. In a speech he gave at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University, Golan said, “Iran is here. We are conducting an indirect war against it every…

Iran’s key oil industry was briefly affected by the powerful computer virus known as Flame, that has unprecedented data-snatching capabilities and can eavesdrop on computer users, a senior Iranian military official said Wednesday, according to The Associated Press. The comment is the first direct link between the emergence of the new malware and an attack…

Arutz Sheva visited the headquarters of the Shachar Kachol (Blue Dawn) IDF program for hareidi soldiers. Shachar Kachol, created about six years ago, is aimed at finding a solution for hareidi-religious men who want to join the army while acquiring some technical and mechanical skills. Staff Officer Menachem Goldstein emphasized that the program has been…

Britain’s highest court endorsed the extradition of WikiLeaks’ controversial founder Julian Assange to Sweden. Assange, 40, has spent nearly two years fighting attempts by Oslo to extradite him pursuant to a sex crimes indictment. The court’s 5-2 decision Wednesday ended a messy and high profile legal battle — while prompting Assange’s lawyer to argue that…

Yariv Oppenheimer, who heads the ultra-leftist Peace Now group, is angry about a satirical imitation of him, in the form of a character named “Yariv Googleheimer” on the Latma website. While Googleheimer is a regular on Latma’s weekly Tribal Update shows, it seems a particularly strong satire in the latest Update caused Oppenheimer to lose…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Wednesday said he believes his 94-seat super-coalition is a historic opportunity – and mandate – for peace. “On the peace process,” Netanyahu told attendees at an Institute for National Security Studies conference in Tel Aviv. “We are 94 Members of Knesset. This is an opportunity to advance the peace process,…

A UN official told reporters UN envoy Kofi Annan left Syria on Wednesday without securing any major steps from the Syrian government to implement his faltering peace plan. Speaking by phone from Damascus, UN spokeswoman Sausan Ghosheh told the Associated Press she was not aware of any action by the Syrian government. Annan reportedly discussed…

The Palestinian Authority rejected on Wednesday Defense Minister Ehud Barak’s suggestion that Israel consider a unilateral disengagement from Judea and Samaria (Yehuda and Shomron), similar to that carried out by the Israeli government in the Gush Katif region of Gaza in August of 2005. According to a report in the PA-based WAFA news agency, a…

Germany is “very concerned” about Iran’s nuclear program posing a threat to Europe, as well as the Middle East, German President Joachim Gauck said in Jerusalem on Tuesday, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported. “I’m very concerned about Iran’s nuclear program. It represents not only a concrete danger for Israel but for the whole region and potentially…

Life can be tough for American Jews when one of their favorite kosher chocolate chips no longer can be eaten within six hours after meat meals. Trader Joe’s has removed the “pareve” label, indicating a non-diary and non-meat product, from its chocolate chips due to a change in the cleaning process for its bagging line.…

Saudi Arabians have expressed outrage over a McDonald’s toy which, they say, mocks the Prophet Muhammad, The Gatestone Institute reported Monday. According to a report that appeared on the Arabic news website, Kermalkom.com, on Sunday, the McDonald’s fast food restaurant “abused the Prophet Muhammad by placing his name at the base of a toy that…

German soccer players and officials will travel to Poland on Friday to visit the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau, after an exhibition game against Israel before the European Championship, the Associated Press (AP) reported Wednesday. Germany captain Philipp Lahm, German Football Federation (DFB) president Wolfgang Niersbach, Polish players and other officials will visit the death camp…

Terrorists were prevented from attacking during the Eurovision pop song competition in Azerbaijan last week. Among the hotels in Baku targeted by the terrorist cells was the JW Marriot Hotel, where the Israeli band, Izabo, was staying, as well as the Hilton Baku and Hotel Absheron. Izabo did not make it to the finals of the…

Esther and Yehuda Wachsman, parents of soldier Nachshon Wachsman who was kidnapped in 1994 by Hamas terrorists and killed during a failed rescue attempt, have sent a letter to President Shimon Peres in which they request that Peres ask the U.S. to release Jonathan Pollard. Esther Wachsman told Arutz Sheva on Tuesday that she and…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu expressed his disappointment on Tuesday over the way the negotiations between world powers and Iran, over its disputed nuclear program, were going. Speaking at the annual conference of the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, Netanyahu said, “Not only should the sanctions on Iran be increased, the demands for…

Switzerland’s largest supermarket chain, Migros, announced on Tuesday that it will tell its customers if products have come from Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria (Shomron) and east Jerusalem. According to a report on SwissInfo, the reason for the decision is Migros’ desire to offer customers greater transparency. The report noted that the Swiss government and…

The United States offered no new tactics for ending the bloodshed in Syria on Tuesday, UPI reported. White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters at his daily press briefing the administration would continue its strategy of talking to officials from other nations and the UN Security Council to come up with ways to pressure President…

The Empire State Building in New York City will be lit up in blue and white in honor of the Israeli flag to mark the June 3 Israel Day Parade, as hundreds of thousands celebrate and take pride in the 64th anniversary of the modern State of Israel. More than 200 groups from New York, New…

CEO Greg Hughes of Israel’s Symantec said Tuesday that the Flame virus found in Iran is the cyber-warfare equivalent of a “targeted killing.” “Once the file has spread and computer penetration is accomplished by exploiting loopholes in operating systems, then it can perform tasks such as ‘photographing’ the computer screen, or record operations made by…

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Monday that Israel will not be “dragged into provocations with Turkey” over its indictment of four former senior IDF commanders. Meeting with German president Joachim Gauck in Jerusalem, Lieberman said, “We hope that European countries refuse to cooperate with Turkish authorities over these absurd charges against former IDF chief of…

Syrian state news outlets claimed Tuesday rebels from the Free Syrian Army passed sensitive military secrets to Israel and the United States. “The insurgents in Syria and Israel and the U.S. gave military secrets,” a lengthy article in a Syrian newspaper said, citing a report of some 3,000 pages said to detail “some of Syria’s…

A United Nations agency that aids member nations in securing their national infrastructures is set to warn member nations about the risk posed by the ‘Flame’ virus. Flame is a computer virus that Tehran says is infecting its computers and which independent experts say “most dangerous cyberwarfare tool ever created.” One technology reporter for the…

UN human rights officials on Tuesday said most of the 108 victims of a massacre in Syria last week were shot at close range “execution style.” The massacre on Friday in Houla – which included 34 women, 49 children, and in some cases entire families – generated new international outrage after 14-months of bloodletting in…

Employees who arrived at the Hamat Tiberias National Park Tuesday morning were shocked to find that ancient artifacts had been damaged overnight. Unknown vandals have caused extensive damage to the park. Among other things, the vandals smashed and spray painted over mosaic inscriptions in the ancient synagogue at the site. Shaul Goldstein, who heads the…

The Shin Bet has exposed a terror cell that operated from within Israeli jails and planned the abduction of an Israeli citizen in order to bargain with his life for their own release. The plot was exposed earlier this month and placed under a media gag order until Tuesday. The members of the cell are…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, an amateur chess player and an enthusiast of the game, keenly followed the 12th game of the World Championships between his countryman Boris Gelfand and India’s defending champion Viswanathan Anand, taking place in Moscow. The game was broadcast on a giant screen in a room adjacent to the Prime Minister`s office where Netanyahu…

Seven Western powers have announced that they are expelling senior Syrian diplomats following the killing of 108 people in the Houla region of Syria on Friday. France, Britain, Germany, Italy, Canada and Australia have all announced expulsions. Spain followed their lead hours later, saying Madrid rejected the escalation of violence in Syria. The Syrian “ambassador…

Semi-official Iranian news agency Fars seized upon statements by Israeli Vice Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon Tuesday as proof that Israel engineered an exceedingly sophisticated program dubbed Flame that has been spying on computers in Iran. “The Vice Prime Minister of the Zionist regime admitted the role of the regime in creating the virus Flame for…

Families bereaved by terror – who watched as Israel released their loved one’s murderers in exchange for kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit – are imploring President Shimon Peres to exert himself in seeking convicted Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard’s freedom. “The price we paid requires us to act to save his life,” Esther and Yehuda Waxman, and…

Two of Egypt’s losing candidates on Monday declined to endorse either of the presumed front runners in a presidential election runoff. Amr Mussa and Abul Fotouh – who were among the four top contenders in the first round of presidential voting last week – spoke at separate news conferences as unofficial figures. Muslim Brotherhood candidate…

Iran arrested an alleged army spy caught approaching Ahmadinejad’s helicopter, state-run media reported late Monday. “A person with known identity who is linked with the spy service of an Arab state has been arrested by the Sabzevar (city) Corps,” according to a statement released by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) public relations. The government-run…

A massive joint military drill sponsored by the United States with several Mideast nations – that did not include Israel – has suddenly been canceled. No reason was given for the abrupt about-face. Over 12,000 soldiers were taking part in the war games, representing 19 countries, including Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Pakistan,…

Iranian security experts report a virus far more dangerous than the Stuxnet worm has struck the country’s computer systems. Dubbed the “Flame,” the virus is one that has struck not only Iran, however, but a number of other enemies of Israel as well. The Kaspersky Internet security firm is calling the “Flame” data-stealing virus the…

Prosecutors in Turkey have demanded charging an internationally acclaimed Turkish pianist for comments he made on Twitter, insulting Islam. According to reports, Fazil Say, an avowed atheist, is being accused of inciting hatred and “public enmity” and insulting “religious values.” In one tweet Say wrote, “wherever there is a stupid person or a thief, they…

International envoy Kofi Annan arrived in Syria on Monday amid growing fury over a gruesome massacre that killed 108 people in one town on Friday. He vowed “serious” discussions with President Bashar al-Assad and said he had a message for “everyone with a gun” – to halt the violence. Meanwhile,  Syrian activists said on Monday…

Three infiltrators from China were lightly wounded in an exchange of fire on the Egypt-Israeli border Monday. A force from Givati Brigade’s Rimon unit identified about ten infiltrators, escorted by four gunmen, crossing the border in the Netafim area. After the group crossed the border, the soldiers called out to them to halt and fired…

The Cannes film festival has cancelled the screening of a new film, titled “The Anti-Semite,” by controversial French comedian Dieudonne, himself a notorious anti-Semite. The film, which was produced by the Iranian Documentary and Experimental Film Center and also known as “Yahod Setiz,” was not scheduled to be shown at the Cannes festival proper but…

A Turkish court has formally indicted former IDF Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. (res.) Gabi Ashkenazi and several other former top IDF officers for the killing of nine people aboard a Turkish ship trying to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza in 2010, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency said. The content of the indictment was leaked…

The Israeli Navy is preparing to receive its fourth Dolphin-class submarine by training a larger number of combat submarine crewmen and marine commando forces. The IDF Website quoted a reliable Navy source as saying approximately 10% more submarine crewmen will be trained at first. Approximately two weeks ago, Israel Navy Submarine Tanin (Crocodile) was launched…

A teenager in Albuquerque is accused of sending hundreds of anti-Semitic text messages to a fellow student, including “kill Jews, heil Hitler,” KRQE News reported.   The victim’s mother said the verbal attacks have been going on for years, but last week the onslaught came to a head when her son’s phone was barraged with hateful…

Klaas Carel Faber, a Dutch native who fled Germany after being convicted of war crimes, died Saturday at the age of 90. His wife told the Dutch news site de Nieuwe Pers that he passed away on Thursday, the Associated Press reported. Faber, who served in the Nazi SS unit known as Silver Fir, was…

Whoever loses in Syria will get slaughtered, says Middle East expert Guy Bechor, who sees the struggle going on for years – and to Israel’s benefit. So far, the world censures Syrian President Bashar Assad, who continues to gun down his own people, including children, with Russia in his court. Russia, probably trying to avoid…

National Union Knesset Member Dr. Michael Ben-Ari has asked the Knesset to let him host 100 illegal African infiltrators and says he wants to see if “bleeding heart MKs” are willing to take them to their homes. Several months ago, a large number of Sudanese scared away some residents of an upper middle-class Tel Aviv…

Seven-year-old Rachel Atias, the lone survivor of the accident that wiped out her entire family of parents and six brothers and sisters, got out of her wheelchair and stood up on her own over the Shabbat-Shavuot holiday. Rachel is recuperating in the Tzfat home of her newly adopted mother Esther Cohen, where she observed the…

Mainstream Israeli media sources provided further evidence Monday that they are unable or unwilling to report objectively on events in Judea and Samaria (Yehuda and Shomron), as news outlets appear determined to ignore new evidence of Arab wrongdoing in a confrontation near Yitzhar Saturday. Arab video of the incident has been featured prominently, but video…

An upper Manhattan public elementary school will be the first in the city to require that students study Arabic, officials said last week. Beginning next semester, all 200 second-through fifth-graders at PS 368 in Hamilton Heights will be taught the language twice a week for 45 minutes, putting it on equal footing with science and…

Illegal African infiltrators comprise approximately 25 percent of the Tel Aviv neighborhoods where they stay, according to official city statistics obtained by Arutz Sheva Monday. In Eilat, the illegal infiltrators comprise 10 percent of the entire city’s population. The Tel Aviv figures take into account all of the southern areas of the city as well…

Former Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch can no longer give decisions as a judge, as of today. She retired three months ago but until today could still pronounce judgment in cases that were undecided. Beinisch, who followed her predecessor Aharon Barak in adopting an ultra-leftist and confrontationally activist line, kept on giving controversial decisions until…

Organizers of an online Mideast political movement say they are launching the Internet’s first university for Israelis and Arabs across the Middle East, The Washington Post reported. Former Israeli diplomat and politician and founder of the “Yala Young Leaders” movement, Uri Savir, says the group’s “Online Academy” will offer students courses in government, social networks,…

Iran, with Hizbullah compliance, is behind plots to kill U.S. officials and Jews with sniper fire and bombs, The Washington Post reported Monday in its lead article. The information on the plots is another thread in the growing web of apparent international terrorism backed by Iran against Americans and Jews and which so far has…

Almagor, an NGO representing terror victims, has filed a motion to the High Court asking it to compel the state to take action for cancellation of a Palestinian Authority (PA) death sentence against an Arab who helped Jews buy a house in Hevron. The man, Mohammed Abu Shahala, was the go-between in the deal in…

The U.N. Security Council is holding a special session to discuss the massacre of more than 90 people at Houla, Syria. One third of the dead were children. The meeting, scheduled for 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, comes after Britain and France proposed a statement condemning the massacre. Diplomats said Russia would not agree to issue…

Arabs set fire to fields outside the Samaria (Shomron) community of Yitzhar on Saturday. Fire crews that arrived at the spot were pelted with rocks. One of the Arabs pulled out a knife and was shot in the stomach by a member of Yitzhar’s emergency readiness squad. The IDF fired tear gas to disperse the…

For the fourth straight Saturday, Arabs set fires west of Yitzhar, in Samaria (Shomron) – but this time, the Jewish side seems to have its own documentation of the event. Sources in Yitzhar said Sunday night that an attempted knife attack by an Arab was edited out of the video released by ultra-leftist B’tselem. They…

About 1,000 people came to the Tomb of Ruth in Hevron’s Tel Rumeida neighborhood this Shavuot weekend, where they read the Scroll of Ruth and celebrated the unique woman who converted to Judaism and who is a foremother of King David. The number of people who came to pray was exceptionally large this year and…

Iran may agree to negotiate its ongoing enrichment of uranium to higher levels if the West recognizes it has the “right” to do so for peaceful purposes, its foreign ministry spokesman said on Sunday, according to a report by Iranian news agency IRNA. However, another news agency quotes the spokesman differently. “If Western countries (accept)…

CAIRO (AP) — Three top candidates in Egypt’s presidential race filed appeals to the election commission ahead of the deadline Sunday, alleging violations in the first round vote that they say could change the outcome. The appeals alleging fraud are likely to enflame an already explosive race. Preliminary results from last week’s election placed Muslim…

Reuters – The Muslim Brotherhood may seek to modify, but will not annul Egypt’s 33-year-old peace treaty with Israel, former US President Jimmy Carter said on Saturday. Carter, 87, was speaking after initial vote tallies put the Brotherhood’s candidate ahead in the first round of Egypt’s presidential election, which his Carter Center helped monitor. The…

Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qassemi on Friday downplayed the effects of sanctions on the country’s oil industry, saying the embargos imposed by European states on Tehran are responsible for the soaring hike in oil prices. “The European Union set a deadline for imposing sanctions on Iranian oil and ultimately these sanctions led to a sudden…

President Bashar Assad’s forces killed at least 50 civilians, including 13 children, in central Syria on Friday, activists said. The Associated Press reported that the death toll in the attack was one of the highest in one specific area since an internationally-brokered cease-fire went into effect last month. According to the report, Syrian troops using…

The Jewish holiday of Shavuot is set to begin Saturday night adjoining the Sabbath – lasting for its one Biblical day (from sunset to the next sunset) in Israel, and two days in the rest of the world. Shavuot (Pentecost, Feast of Weeks), as well as Pesach (Passover) and Sukkot (Tabernacles), are the three pilgrimage festivals…

Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah threatened Israel on Friday, saying the Jewish State is hiding behind walls and fences and that these cannot ensure its future existence. Nasrallah made the comments during a video speech which was broadcast during a rally in the Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil, marking 12 years since Israel withdrew its troops…

Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi and former President Hosni Mubarak’s last prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq, are the two candidates who will face off in a run-off round in Egypt’s presidential elections. According to a report by the Egyptian newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm, Morsi has taken 24.9 percent of the votes, and Shafiq is a close second…

A group of Lebanese Shiite pilgrims who were kidnapped in Syria were freed on Friday and arrived in Turkey, Lebanese Health Minister Ali Hassan Khalil said. “We have received confirmation that they have been freed. They have arrived in Turkey and should return home today,” Khalil said, according to a report on AFP. On Tuesday,…

Tens of thousands of activists took to the streets of Aleppo and Idlib on Friday, braving the gunfire of Syrian troops, as at least 28 people were killed across the country. The latest violence came as UN envoy Kofi Annan, who brokered a repeatedly-violated ceasefire last month, finalized plans to return to Damascus. AFP reported…

The Muslim Brotherhood on Friday said its candidate in Egypt’s presidential poll had won through to a run-off next month against ex-air force chief and prime minister Ahmed Shafiq. “It is clear that the run-off will be between (the Brotherhood’s) Mohamed Mursi and Ahmed Shafiq,” a Brotherhood official told reporters. The election marks a crucial…

US secretary of state Hillary Clinton said Friday that “significant differences” remain over Iran’s nuclear program following two days of talks in Baghdad. Clinton says the P5+1 – the five permanent members of the Security Council plus Germany – presented Tehran with a detailed proposal on all aspects of Iran’s uranium enrichment during this week’s…

US officials are reportedly set to ship arms to the Syrian opposition, but are concerned American arms may end up in al-Qaeda’s hands. The officials told AFP on condition of anonymity that those concerns – just where the guns will ultimately be pointed – are holding up the arms transfer from Washington. The US is…

The Associated Press reported on Friday that inspectors have found traces of uranium enriched at an Iranian site to a level that is slightly closer to the threshold needed to arm nuclear missiles. The announcement was made by the UN’s nuclear agency. According to the report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran said…

Germans have become increasingly hostile to the state of Israel in recent years, with 59 percent describing the country as “aggressive,” according to a new poll published in the national Sternmagazine on Wednesday. The figures emerged as President Joachim Gauck prepares for an official state visit to Israel, from May 28-31, and in the midst of…

More and more Israelis are coming to see Judea and Samaria (Shomron) as important to Israel thanks to residents’ efforts to educate the public. Confirmation of their success came from none other than the left-wing Peace Now group, which recently expressed concern over a “revolution” in public perception. At a conference for left-wing groups held…

The US State Department and Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan are trying to block a Senate bill that would require an accurate accounting of how many ‘Palestinian refugees’ receive American aid dollars. The push came after the US Senate Appropriations Committee approved on Thursday language that would distinguish between Arabs who fled Israel in 1948 and…

Israelis who went to pray at an ancient synagogue near Jericho were appalled to find that the building had been vandalized. Swastikas and pro-Palestinian Authority slogans had been painted on the gate of the building and on an ancient mural. The synagogue, in Naarin, has been desecrated in the past. However, residents of the region…

On Thursday evening, May 17th, over 1000 Christian and Jewish advocates for Israel gathered at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in midtown Manhattan to celebrate the Jewish State’s re-birth at the 8th annual Jerusalem Banquet of the Eagles’ Wings organization. Founded in 1994 by Dr. Robert Stearns, Eagles’ Wings represents a conglomeration of Christian evangelical supporters…

Benzi Gopstein, head of the Lehava Organization for the Prevention of Assimilation in the Holy Land, sent a letter to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. The letter dealt with the 28-year-old Jewish founder of the popular social network’s marriage to longtime non-Jewish girlfriend Priscilla Chan. “I don’t know you, nor did I give you a ‘like’ on the…

Iran and six world powers wrapped up talks in Baghdad on Thursday with resolve to keep dialogue going as an alternative to possible military action, The Associated Press reported. Envoys said they will meet again next month in Moscow after negotiations stretched out for extra hours, the two sides agreed on little, and Iran declared…

The King David Private Museum and Research Center in Tel Aviv held a special two-day celebration this week in honor of the holiday of Shavuot, which is also celebrated as the 3,025th birthday of King David. The museum, located on 5 Brenner St. in central Tel Aviv, opened just four months ago. It contains archeological…

The Muslim Brotherhood said Thursday that its candidate was leading in exit polls from Egypt’s landmark presidential election, as official counting began after two days of voting. The Associated Press reported that workers cracked open ballot boxes and started the count in stations around the country, after polls closed Thursday night. There are five prominent…

The U.S. designated on Thursday the Abdullah Azzam Brigades (AAB), a Lebanese-based terror group, as a global terrorist organization, according to a report on Bloomberg. AAB carried out a July 2010 attack on the Japanese-owned oil tanker M/V M.Star in the Strait of Hormuz, according to a statement by the State Department. The group claimed…

Israel is concerned by a U.S. Senate report regarding fake parts used on USAF aircraft, and is checking whether some of the parts found their way to systems on IAF aircraft as well, writes IsraelDefense. The Senate report, as cited by CNN, says a million counterfeit parts have been discovered in systems used on American…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Thursday vowed to begin enforcing Israel’s immigration laws and deporting illegal aliens “soon.” “The problem of the illegal aliens must be solved and we will solve it,” Netanyahu said. “We will complete construction of the fence within a few months and we will soon begin repatriating illegal aliens back to…

The IDF is working on development of a weapon will enable soldiers behind enemy lines to fire missiles that intercept enemy missile launches. The project was presented Wednesday by Ground Forces Commander Maj. Gen. Shlomo (Sami) Turgeman at the International Firepower Conference. Maj. Gen. Turgeman, who gave an overview of the IDF Ground Force’s plans for…

An IDF force arrested two young Arab men from the village of Madama near Yitzhar Thursday, after they set fire to brush north of the Jewish community in Samaria (Shomron). Earlier in the day, large forces of police and firefighters arrived at the Yitzhar after receiving a report that a fire had broken out near the…

The Yael reconnaissance unit of Yahalom, the elite Engineering Corps Unit for Special Assignments, rehearsed crossing of a small waterway while under fire from a highly trained enemy, in a unique drill performed this month. The IDF Website‘s Florit Shoichet reported that the drill took place on the Jordan River, near Machanayim. Several bridges were…

In a potential break in one of the United States’ most baffling missing-children cases, a former convenience-store employee has told police that he suffocated six-year-old Etan Patz in 1979 and left the boy’s body in a box in an alley, The Associated Press reported on Thursday. If Pedro Hernandez’s story checks out, it could solve…

Iranian dissidents have long suspected that the country’s Islamist regime of using its blatant hostility toward Israel as a way of cracking down on internal opponents. Reports have emerged that indicate that a leading Iranian nuclear scientist, whose death was blamed on Mossad, might have, in fact, been killed by his own government. A prominent…

A French judge called on a mediator to resolve a dispute between the Internet giant Google and anti-racism groups who object to the search engine suggesting that users add the word “Jew” to name searches, the AFP reported Wednesday. In recent weeks, French anti-discriminations filed a lawsuit against Google for allegedly circulating “unsolicited and systematic…

Iran on Thursday rejected the proposal from the P5+1 in talks over its controversial nuclear program. Tehran and the P5+1 – the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany – were in the second day of talks in Baghdad seeking to resolve international concerns over Iran’s nuclear program. The P5+1 plan reportedly…

Beirut has asked Turkey to help free 11 Shi’ite tourists who were kidnapped in Syria Wednesday. Lebanese Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour told reporters he had spoken with his counterpart in Ankara about a group of Lebanese religious tourists who were pulled from their bus Sunday by a group of armed Syrians. At least 11 men…

Egypt is in Day Two of its first presidential election since former President Hosni Mubarak was toppled from power more than a year ago. The polls opened at 8:00 a.m. with Thursday declared a national holiday to allow civil servants to cast their ballots as well. Some 50 million Egyptians are eligible to vote for…

Two years after a Ramallah square was named after female terrorist mastermind Dalal Mughrabi, the Palestinian Authority continues to view her as a role model. Itamar Marcus, director of the Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) research institute, told Arutz Sheva on Wednesday that the PA recently established a number of schools as well as a scout…

Dr. Yigal Ben-Shalom, who heads an organization which preserves the culture and heritage of the Yemenite Jewry, told Arutz Sheva on Wednesday that it is imperative that the Jews who still remain in Yemen be brought to Israel. He was speaking just one day after Aharon (Harun) Yusuf Zindani was stabbed to death in the…

Syrian President Bashar Assad is quickly spending through his cash reserves as sanctions choke off many sources of funding, but the regime is getting help from Iran in bolstering finances, CNN has reported. According to intelligence assessment shared with the news network, Assad likely had about $30 billion in cash reserves to spend when unrest…

A new video exposed by the Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) research institute shows that the Palestinian Authority is continuing to air television programs which teach children to hate Jews and Christians. In the latest incident, a young girl was asked to recite a poem during a PA TV children’s program. This poem, according to the…

Hundreds of pro-Israel activists and local residents rallied behind Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman as he addressed the Jewish National Fund in Hendon, UK. The counter-protest by British Israel Coalition began as Israel activists challenged anti-Israel and Islamist groups protesting Lieberman’s presence. However, as news of the anti-Israel demonstration spread, local residents turned out to join…

Iran and the P5+1 traded proposals in Baghdad on Wednesday as a new round of talks over Tehran’s controversial nuclear program got underway. Iran is keen to ease sanctions on its vital oil ministry and central bank by Western nations, who have said they are unwilling to give up their key leverage point without a…

An Israeli military expert says the likelihood is growing that Israel will need to launch more multi-front operations. Israel Air Force Headquarters Chief Brigadier General Hagai Topolansky told a national security conference Tuesday the Jewish State is likely to extend its operations beyond its borders as well. “In the 80s and 90s we operated to…

New York Assemblyman Dov Hikind led a group of hareidi Downs Syndrome and special needs children on a tour of Capitol Hill and the White House in the US capital this week, For many of the dozens of children it was a dream come true to be led through the halls of the White House…

“The relationship within a family should not be perceived only through the perspective of how people should treat each other, but as part of the relationship to G-d,” said Petach Tikva’s newly appointed rabbi, Rav Micha HaLevi, at an educational evening for women. “The relationship with the Creator requires a proper relationship toward His creations,…

It is not every day that one hears of a former Iranian soldier flying an Israeli flag outside of his home. Ali Ramezan, however, does. After having been subjected to torture in the Islamic Republic, Ramezan fled his home country and settled in Manchester, where he now supports the State of Israel and is attempting…

At least three presidential candidates are among hundreds of people who have been attacked by armed men over the past year as Egypt prepares to vote for a president for the first time since former President Hosni Mubarak was toppled from power more than a year ago. The 13 candidates set to square off at…

Vandals defaced the memorial in Budapest of Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, who saved the lives of tens of thousands of Jews during the Holocaust, Hungarian media outlets reported Wednesday. A group of Jewish tourists from New York, visiting in the Hungarian capital, alerted authorities after they found bloody pig feet suspended from the statute. The…

An Egyptian satellite television channel currently, managed by a staff of fully veiled women, has stirred controversy and revived the debate over the limits of individual freedom, Al-Arabiya news reported. Sheikha Safaa, the Marya television channel’s general manager, was quoted by Egyptian media outlets as saying that the station will be “exclusively female” and that…

Palestinian Authority forces threatened to break press cameras, and barred coverage of British supermodel Naomi Campbell’s visit to Bethlehem Tuesday. She celebrated her 42nd birthday with a trip to the Church of Nativity in the city, located between Jerusalem on the north and Gush Etzion and to the south, amid a call for “good vibrations,…

Evidence has surfaced that Al Qaeda is plotting to launch massive cyber attacks to disable the electric grid and other parts of the American infrastructure, according to ABC News. A recent  Al Qaeda video noted that American computer networks are as vulnerable as aviation security was on September 11, 2001, when its terrorists boarded four…

The fatal stabbing of a Yemenite Jewish leader on Tuesday has raised fears for a community that has been living under the spectre of the Arab Spring uprisings for more than a year, and may no longer be living under the protection of a government that protected the community’s interests. More details have become available…

Turkey has issued an indictment in absentia against four Israeli military commanders over a 2010 Gaza flotilla incident in which nine terror activists were killed on a Turkish-sponsored vessel. According to a report published Wednesday in the Turkish newspaper Sabah, the 144-page indictment seeks life imprisonment for the four commanders. It was prepared following alleged…

Al Qaeda chief Ayman Al Zawahri last Thursday urged Saudis to rise up against the kingdom’s ruling Al Saud family. “Muslim brothers in the land of the holy mosques, a year has passed since the uprising of the Arab people against their rulers…my dear brothers why do you still accept to be ruled by the…

A senior delegation of the Rabbinical Congress for Peace (RCP) met on Tuesday with Ambassador Andrew Standley, the Head of the European Union in Israel, to present the Torah view on the issue of giving up land to the Arabs. The rabbis made it clear that the majority of rabbis in Israel and abroad are…

Thousands of people attended the funeral on Tuesday evening of the eight members of the Atias family, who died in the horrific car crash near Tiberias on Monday night. Rafael Atias (42), his wife Yehudit (42) and six of their children – 17-year-old Aviya, 16-year-old twins Elyashiv and Neria, 11-year-old Shira, eight-year-old Tair and four-year-old…

Aaron Zindani was murdered in the Yemeni capital of Saana on Tuesday, Army Radio reported. Zindani – a Jew who lived in Israel for the past few years – had returned to his native Yemen. A friend of the Zindani in Yemen said Al-Qaeda may have been involved.  “He had an argument with a man…

Vandals on Sunday spray-painted the front of a synagogue in Vilna, Lithuania. The incident came shortly after a ceremony in Kaunas, the second-largest city in Lithuania, to bury the bones of Juozas Ambrazevičius-Brazaitis. Brazaitis served as the head of Lithuania’s Nazi-puppet “Provisional Government” of 1941. His bones were flown to Vilnius last Thursday, and were…

Iran has recalled its ambassador to Azerbaijan after protesters outside its embassy insulted Iran’s late revolutionary leader. “Ambassador Mohammad Bagher Bahrami left for Tehran on May 21 in connection with the insulting of religious saints in Azerbaijan. He was recalled for consultations,” charge d’affaires Ahmed Nemati at the Iranian embassy in Baku said in a…

IDF corporal Itai Sviri may be hard of hearing, but says it has never stopped him from doing anything – including serving his country. Sviri finished high school with honors and decided to enlist in the IDF. Now he’s on track to become a non-commissioned officer. Sviri told Arutz Sheva, “My hearing loss is considered…

The former head of the Israel Police accident investigation team, Jacob Netzer, spoke with Arutz Sheva about his findings at the accident scene where eight members of the Atias family died. He said reports in the media that police had concluded “mechanical failure” was the root cause of the accident was correct, but somewhat simplistic.…

A radical Islamist whose arrest sparked deadly clashes in Lebanon between factions feuding over events in neighboring Syria was released on bail Tuesday. Military judge Nabil Wehbe ordered the release of Shadi al-Mawlawi on a bail of 500,000 Lebanese pounds ($333). Mawlawi was arrested May 12 on charges of belonging to a terrorist organization. The…

Police have reportedly issued new draconian instructions for non-Muslims who ascend to the Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest site, which has been under Muslim occupation for centuries. According to a report in the daily newspaper Ma’ariv, non-Muslims are now not even permitted to close their eyes while on the Mount, or do anything that could be interpreted…

Iran will sign an agreement to cooperate with the United Nations’ IAEA nuclear watchdog agency “quite soon,” officials say, leaving Israel isolated in its skepticism over Iran’s intentions. Yukiya Amano, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, returned to Vienna Tuesday after a one-day visit to Tehran and announced the assumed agreement one day…

The University of Kwa-Zulu Natal (UKZN) has cancelled a planned lecture by the Israeli deputy ambassador to South Africa, Yaakov Finkelstein, one day before it was due to be held. According to the Islamic CII Broadcasting website, the university cancelled the speech, which was planned for Monday, in response to “pressure from students and lecturers.”…

Israel denied reports that appeared in the Turkish media on Monday that claimed that Israel is planning to deploy thousands of troops in Cyprus in efforts to protect oil and gas interests in the region. The report, which appeared in Turkey’s Anatolia news agency and appeared doubtful to reporters, claimed that Israel planned to send…

South African Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies has rejected “with utter contempt” suggestions that there were racial motivations for his move to prohibit Israeli goods produced in Judea and Samaria from being sold under the label “Made in Israel.” Davies was adamant that his department was neither seeking to promote a boycott of Israeli…

The Chief Rabbi of Yemen, Yahia Youssef Moussa, has called on the country’s president to allow the Jewish community and other minority groups to be represented in the country’s parliament. “I demand the government’s new attention to this, to work to allocate seats for members of the community in the Consultative Council and Parliament, in…

Egypt has confirmed Christians’ fear of Islamic rule and has sentenced 12 to life in jail for their part in warding off Muslim mobs last year. The court acquitted eight Muslims. The Christians were found guilty and sentenced for killing two Muslims and for causing a disturbance in the April 2011 riots south of Cairo…

Members of the Tehilat David congregation in Tel Zion arrived at sunrise on Tuesday to find the synagogue had been burglarized and three Torah scrolls thrown on the ground. Tehilat David caretaker Rabbi Shai Dabush said that the burglars left nothing unopened. Cabinets, charity boxes, and the ark where the Torah scrolls were stored were…

Syria’s ongoing unrest spilled over into Beirut on Monday as UN officials wring their hands over the most entrenched and bloody Arab Spring revolution today. Sunnis rioted in the Lebanese capital after the killing of an anti-Syrian Lebanese cleric lat Sunday night, leading to clashes with the military that left two dead and 18 wounded.…

Archaeologists have discovered a collection of ancient jewelry hidden in a vessel at Tel Megiddo in the Jezreel Valley in northern Israel. Dated from about 1100 BCE, one of the pieces is a gold earring decorated with molded ibexes – wild goats – and considered “without parallel.” According to Tel Aviv University’s Professor Israel Finkelstein,…

A young Moscow Jew was laid to rest Sunday after he was murdered this past weekend when he tried to stop a brawl between two Gentile gangs. Yaakov Manasharshivili, 26, became embroiled in the gunfight on Friday, according to a statement issued by the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia. He was shot at point-blank range…

Defense Minister Ehud Barak says Israel would accept an Iranian reduction in nuclear enrichment to 3.5 percent in accordance with a proposal by the P5+1. Israel’s official position is that Iran must halt all enrichment, but most analysts say it doesn’t represent a viable negotiating stance. Barak and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu are the key…

British-born historian and human rights activist David Littman, 78, passed away Sunday in his hometown of Gland, Switzerland. Littman posed as a Christian in 1961 to rescue 530 Moroccan Jewish children during a time when Jews were not freely allowed to leave. It was Littman who negotiated to permit the children to travel to Switzerland on…

Abu Dhabi joined Kuwait and Saudi Arabia on Monday in filing charges based on Twitter statements. Prosecutors ordered four detained on the charge of “tribal instigation and libel” through the use of Twitter. Three Emirati men and a woman from PA enclaves in Israel have been remanded for 14 days pending investigation. The incident dates…

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday hardened his rhetoric towards Iran saying “Iran threatens Israel and world peace.” Netanyahu’s remarks at a meeting of the Civil Service Commission at the Foreign Ministry came as reports in the media indicate progress ahead of talks between the P5+1 and Iran slated for Bagdad on Wednesday. “In the…

Top Israeli officials signed the Global Entry “trusted traveler program” with U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano Sunday in Jerusalem during a meeting with Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. The program allows Israelis who travel frequently to the United States to expedite processing upon entry to the country. It is a program similar to one…

The head of the U.N. nuclear agency arrived in Tehran on Monday on a one-day visit that diplomats say could lead to an agreement for further inspections of Iranian nuclear facilities.  International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Yukiya Amano and his two aides met with Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, as well as Iran’s…

Pakistan restored access to Twitter on Sunday after briefly blocking the site over posts that Islamabad said promoted a Facebook contest involving caricatures of the prophet Muhammad, AFP reported. The website was blocked by the telecom authority on the orders of the IT ministry, after authorities accused Twitter of refusing to remove the posts. Mohammad…

Iran has discovered an oil oilfield in the Caspian Sea for the first time in over a century, the Fars news agency reported. The deposit was found at a depth of 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles) during drilling on a natural-gas field and may contain 10 billion barrels of crude, according to the National Iranian Oil…

Tens of thousands on Sunday attended a mass rally in New York City in what they described as a war on technology threatening Jewish sanctity. Haredi leaders raised $1.5m to pay for the event, which was held at Citi Field, the Mets’ baseball stadium in Queens. “This will be a mass rally never before seen…

‘Palestinian’ forces launched a probe into the sale of candy with Hebrew-language wrappers in the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp on Sunday, The Daily Star reported. ‘Palestinian’ authorities ordered a security force to confiscate hundreds of large bags of candy, which were wrapped in fake Syrian and Turkish-language packaging, under which the original Hebrew wrapper could…

Dr. Aliza Lavie, a communications researcher, lecturer at Bar Ilan University and social activist, spoke out on Sunday against the intermarriage of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. The 28-year-old Jewish founder of the popular social network married longtime non-Jewish girlfriend Priscilla Chan on Saturday. “The children of another successful Jewish man will not be counted as…

The extreme leftist group B’Tselem disseminated a video on Sunday which depicts clashes between residents of the Shomron community of Yitzhar and Palestinian Authority Arabs. The video shows Arabs throwing rocks at IDF forces and at residents of Yitzhar. The Israeli soldiers are shown trying to prevent more serious clashes by firing tear gas at the…

While recent polls have shown that American Jews still favor President Barack Obama for re-election, despite his rocky relationship with Israel and with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, a new video released this week suggests that the opposite may be true, or at the very least that some of the American Jewish population is still undecided. “Pastrami Politics” is…

At a ceremony honoring the reunification of Jerusalem in the Six Day War, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu made some of his strongest statements to date regarding the right of the Jewish nation to sovereignty over its ancient capital of Jerusalem. “A lasting peace can only be made with a strong nation,” Netanyahu asserted. “Without a…

Dozens of reservists who served in the Nahal Haredi (Netzach Yehuda) battalion say they have been ordered to carry out reserve duty in other battalions, despite IDF promises that they would only serve in the haredi battalion. The haredi battalion observes strict rules of modesty and does not place male soldiers in proximity to female…

Russia is concerned about a shift in the positions of some countries that now favor a military attack on Iran, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Sunday.  “We [Russia] are concerned that the opportunity to try to solve the problem [in Iran] by military means is still real. We get signals, public and from…

Massive natural gas discoveries in East Africa are about to change the landscape and the continent’s coastal economy. Finds were announced last week off the coast of Tanzania and Mozambique, in amounts estimated large enough to supply France, Germany, Britain and Italy for at least a year, and possibly more. In recent years, East Africa…

Decades after the Holocaust, Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida’s 18th congressional district has introduced and won committee passage of a bill, the first of its kind, that would enable American Holocaust survivors to sue international insurance companies from whom Jewish families bought life and property insurance in the years leading up to the Holocaust. “This…

Vandals used a BB gun to blast a hole through the window of a Philadelphia synagogue and shot hundreds of bullets at the door, but synagogue leaders have not called it a hate crime. No one was injured, and prayers were not taking place when the bullets hit during or shortly before a social event…

An Arab terrorist was seriously wounded by his own knife Sunday at 12 noon when he tried to stab a soldier accompanying hundreds of bicyclists near Gush Etzion, all of whom escaped injury. The cyclists were on the traditional ride from Kiryat Arba-Hevron to Jerusalem to celebrate the 45th Jerusalem Unification Day. A contingent of soldiers…

Security agents have cracked a terrorist cell that roamed Judea and Samaria and failed several times to kidnap residents, especially women. The Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) broke a gag order Sunday, two months after the arrest of nine terrorists, whose commander is from the area of Ramallah, headquarters of the Palestinian Authority. The Popular…

Knesset Member Michael Ben Ari (National Union) and a few dozen activists celebrated Jerusalem Day by going up to the Temple Mount Sunday morning and asked to pray on the site. Unlike the activists who kept their prayers short, Ben Ari threw himself down full length on to the ground of the Temple Mount as…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu warned on Sunday of the need to prevent Israel from being swamped by “illegal infiltrators flooding the country,” Army Radio reported.  “If we don’t stop their entry, the problem that currently stands at 60,000 could grow to 600,000, and that threatens our existence as a Jewish and democratic state,” he said at…

Egyptian security force blocked black marketeers from importing fuel to Gaza on Saturday. Two vehicles were stopped by Egyptian forces after they broke through a checkpoint between the Sinai city of El-Arish and Sheikh Zweid. Police fired at their tires, bringing both vehicles to a halt. One was carrying 1,100 liters of fuel in nine barrels and…

The government has approved a new plan to develop tourism in Jerusalem and the economy of the capital city. Meeting on Ammunition Hill to honor the reunification of the city on Jerusalem Day, the Cabinet gave its approval to the NIS 350 million blueprint. The six-year plan calls for expansion of current public spaces, infrastructure and…

The National Union and Jewish Home parties would win 12 Knesset seats if elections were held today, according to a new independent poll. The combined total of 12 seats is almost twice the current number and reflects a movement of nationalists from the Likud party after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu averted new elections by coaxing…

South Africa’s Department of Trade and Industry has announced that products produced by Israeli companies in Judea and Samaria (Shomron) cannot be labeled as products of Israel. Minister Rob Davies issued an announcement warning merchants “not to incorrectly label products that originate from the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) as products of Israel.” The announcement follows…

A firetruck on its way to a fire in Kfar Saba on Saturday overturned and landed on a car. The four passengers of the car – two parents and their two children – were all injured. The father of the family, 37, suffered critical injuries. He has undergone surgery, but his life remains in danger.…

Two bullet-proof military jeeps were stolen on Friday night, Channel 10 reports. The jeeps, both Sufa vehicles, were taken from the Ketziot base in southern Israel. The incident was reported to police. A search is underway for the thieves and the stolen vehicles. The jeeps both carried military equipment. “This is a serious incident, details…

On Saturday night and Sunday Israelis will celebrate Jerusalem Day, which marks the reunification of Jerusalem in the 1967 Six Day War after 19 years of Jordanian occupation of the eastern part of the city.  The outnumbered Jewish defenders of the Old City and its Jewish residents, who had lived there continuously for hundreds of years, were…

A young man from Moscow’s Georgian Jewish community was murdered on Friday, the innocent victim of a clash between two gangs. The victim has been identified as Yaakov ben Mordechai Manasharshivili, 26. Manasharshivili had attempted to calm members of two gangs of non-Jewish young men from the Caucasus region. One gang member grew angry and…

Hundreds of young Zionist activists went south for the weekend to show their solidarity with residents of Ofakim. The group, organized by the Ichud Leumi (National Union) party’s Youth Leadership, held “flag dance” celebrations in honor of Jerusalem Day. Ichud Leumi was joined by activists from the Jewish Home party. Several hundred Ofakim residents joined…

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday met with Egypt’s Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi in Cairo in order to discuss the letter of response sent to Abbas by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in which he stated his position on renewing talks between Israel and the Palestinians. Abbas’ original letter was delivered to Netanyahu by Chief Palestinian…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that the Czech Republic was Israel’s best friend in Europe. Speaking at a joint press conference in Prague with Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas, Netanyahu said, “I believe that Israel has no better friend in Europe than the Czech Republic.” Netanyahu added, “I think it’s because there’s no…

A religious family narrowly escaped injuries after its car was attacked by Arab rioters in Jerusalem this week, the religious radio station Radio Kol Chai reported on Friday. The incident occurred as the family members were making their way home from prayers at the Western Wall. They were caught in a Nakba Day demonstration held…

Outgoing IAF commander Maj. Gen. Ido Nechushtan suggested on Friday that it would be better to keep quiet on the subject of Iran and a possible Israeli strike on its nuclear facilities. In a special interview with Channel 2 News, Nechushtan, who is retiring from the IDF after 37 years of service, said, “We are…

Hamas’ Prime Minister in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, criticized on Friday the U.S. decision to provide Israel with aid to purchase additional Iron Dome batteries. According to a report on Kol Yisrael radio, Haniyeh made the comments to pro-Palestinian Authority activists from several Arab and Muslim countries. Haniyeh claimed that providing aid to Israel will encourage…

Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, has dismissed recent comments by Western states that time is running out for dialogue with Tehran, and said time is running out not for Iran but for the Western powers’ increasing pressure against the Iranian nation. “Today, what is running out is the time for applying pressure and this…

More than 60,000 people have signed a letter calling on President Shimon Peres to do whatever he can to free Jonathan Pollard. The campaign for Pollard’s freedom has taken on new energy as the date on which Peres will be given the Medal of Freedom approaches. Members of Knesset, Canadian rabbis and Gilad Shalit are…

Several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that work in the realm of food aid held an emergency conference Wednesday over what they termed, “The Welfare Ministry’s – and the Israeli government’s – refusal to take responsibility for the problem.” NGO heads said there has been de-legitimization of their work. “The unstable political reality and the acute need…

The elections in France ousted from power one of the leading opponents of Turkish accession to the European Union- Nicolas Sarkozy. Although the new French President, Francois Hollande, ruled out the possibility of Turkey entering the European Union during his five-year term the Turks are optimistic enough to reopen their entry bid. There are three…

Emir Sheik Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah on Thursday blocked a proposal to amend the constitution to make all legislation in the country comply with Sharia law. “His highness the emir is not in favour,” Islamist lawmaker Mohammad al-Dallal told reporters. “We must think again about convincing the emir or submitting it again in another format.” “Our…

France has a new government dominated by the Socialist party that will run at least through next month’s legislative elections. The new ministers were barely ensconced when they were informed of a pay cut to set an example for France although they will not be reduced to starvation wages. The lower salary level is perhaps…

Former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar said Thursday that Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei personally told him in 2000 that Israel must be physically annihilated. “In a private discussion we held in Tehran in October of 2000, Ali Khamenei told me that Israel must be burned to the ground and made to disappear…

The United States will immediately give Israel $70 million for additional Iron Dome batteries, U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta told Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak in a meeting between the two Thursday. Washington has already given Israel $205 million for the Iron Dome systems. Panetta said: “Our goal is to ensure that Israel has…

The Turkey-based IHH terror group plans to mark the second anniversary of the 2010 flotilla to Gaza by holding a mass anti-Israel march in downtown Istanbul, Turkish media reported on Thursday. According to the reports, the group has announced its intention to hold the march, entitled “Marching for the Liberation of Jerusalem,” on May 31…

In honor of Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Unification Day) which will be marked on Sunday, the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies released on Thursday some statistics from the past two years about the holy city. The full data will be presented on the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies’ website as of Sunday and will be published…

Iran plans to sue Google over the Internet giant’s decision to drop the name of the Persian Gulf on Google Maps. Tehran’s now-litigious mullahs issued their threat of legal action after the company’s search engine left the body of water between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula nameless on its online map service. Foreign Ministry spokesman…

The Palestinian Authority’s Anti-Corruption Commission has issued an international arrest warrant for Muhammad Rashid, also known as Khaled Salam, a close adviser and confidante of deceased ‘Palestinian’ leader and infamous terrorist Yasser Arafat. Rashid, an Iraqi Kurd, is being accused of embezzling millions of dollars from the Palestinian Authority. His current whereabouts are unknown. Rafik Natche, head of…

Jewish organizations are urging European governments to quickly adopt measures to tackle anti-Semitism and far-right extremism, including possibly banning the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party that did unusually well in recent elections, the Associated Press reported. Moshe Kantor, president of the European Jewish Congress, met with Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas on Wednesday, urging him to…

Gershon Mesika, the head of the Shomron Regional Council, was a guest of honor this week at an official meeting of the EU Parliament in Brussels. Mesika is the first leader of the settlement enterprise in Judea and Samaria to participate as a guest of honor at an official event in the European Parliament. The…

The death toll from Syrian-related clashes continues to climb in the Lebanese port city of Tripoli, as Israel closely monitors the events. On Wednesday night, a civilian was caught in the crossfire and died of his wounds, security sources said. At least nine people have died and nearly 100 have been wounded in the fighting…

ATZUM, an organization that seeks to combat and resole the social injustices in Israeli society, achieved another victory in the ongoing battle against prostitution and sex trafficking in Israel.  The organization’s Task Force on Human Trafficking (TFHT) has been highlighting the prevalence of illegal advertisements for sexual services in Israel and the lack of police initiative to…

Palestinian Authority Arabs launched several attacks against Israeli targets in Samaria on Wednesday evening, according to a report in the Tazpit agency. In one incident, terrorists hurled at least 10 firebombs at a road near the Arab village of Az-Zawiya, southeast of Kalkilye. No injuries or damage were reported. Earlier on Wednesday, security forces arrested…

A new project currently being developed will have robots replacing IDF soldiers on patrols along Israel’s borders. The project was initiated by the families of Benny Avraham, Adi Avitan and Omar Sawaid, who were kidnapped by Hizbullah terrorists in October of 2000, as they were patrolling the security fence along Israel’s border with Lebanon. The…

A confidential UN report obtained by the Reuters news agency and exposed on Wednesday indicates that Iran has continued to enrich uranium and develop its nuclear program, but the sanctions that have been imposed on the Islamic Republic have slowed down its quest to achieve nuclear weapons. The draft report, according to a report on…

An Iranian official called this week for an ‘Islamic Awakening’ movement to help Palestinian Authority Arabs “demolish the Zionist regime”, the IRNA news agency reported. The comments were made at a conference in Tehran in honor of Nakba Day – the day of catastrophe – which is what the Arabs call the English date of…

Al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Yemen has released a new guide for would-be Western recruits, urging Western militants who were thinking of traveling to join the group in Yemen to, in effect, think twice before making the trip. The guide, entitled “Expectations Full,” was apparently compiled by Samir Khan, the American-Saudi editor of the group’s Inspire magazine,…

Six UN observers had to be evacuated from a northern Syrian town controlled by the opposition Wednesday, a day after a roadside bomb hit their convoy and left them stranded overnight with rebel forces. The Associated Press reported that none of the observers was wounded and it was not clear who was behind the attack.…

As part of the European Union’s assessment of its partnership with 12 neighboring countries known as the “European Neighborhood Policy” (ENP), the European Commission and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton listed a set of characteristically harsh ‘recommendations’ regarding relations with Israel. The recommendations, titled “Delivering on a new European Neighbourhood Policy,” include a call on Israel “to…

The Plymouth Synagogue, the oldest synagogue in the English-speaking world celebrated its 250th anniversary this week, a local newspaper reported. The synagogue, which opened in 1762 and hold the European record of nearly 250 uninterrupted years of use, escaped unscathed during the Second World War Blitz even as most of the city was left in…

Members of a team of UN observers were rescued by rebel fighters from the Syrian Free Army (SFA) on Tuesday after they came under fire in Khan Sheikhoun. The observers reportedly came under fire when forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad opened fire on a funeral procession in the town. When Reuters asked one of…

Haifa University announced Wednesday that it would not allow an event marking “Nakba Day” to take place on its campus. The early afternoon announcement came just a few hours before the event was to start. The university said in a statement that while the event had originally been touted as “a cultural event,” it turned out Tuesday…

Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas reshuffled his cabinet on Wednesday. “The government will be sworn in at (president Mahmud) Abbas’s office at 6:00 pm (1500 GMT),”PA labour minister Ahmad Majdalani told AFP. Abbas has been arranging his new cabinet – which will have seven new ministers – since the previous government resigned amid an ongoing…

Israel has set up a mechanism to funnel aid to the ‘Palestinians’ in the event of an earthquake, Israeli officials said Tuesday. A 5.5-magnitude earthquake shook Israel last Friday, serving as a reminder that the region is vulnerable to the Syria-African Rift, a northern extension of Africa’s Rift Valley, Reuters reported. In the event of…

Israeli war planes staged mocked raids over Lebanon following concerns Hizbullah might attack Israel if asked by Iran, according to Lebanon’s Beirut Daily Star. Israel has not commented. The planes reportedly crossed the border late Wednesday morning, diving low several times. The Beirut newspaper said the planes flew over four cities, including Sidon and Tyre. An…

An Iranian newspaper tied to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei recently boasted that United States has “rejected” Israel within recent months. “It can be said that within the last 60 years, this is the first time that the Zionist regime, since its illegal inception, has had to endure rejection by the West over its vision and interest in…

Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood is hoping that when the polls open in nine days, voters will bring in the era of the Islamic Caliphate. “We are seeing the dream of the Islamic Caliphate coming true at the hands of Mohammed Morsi,” said cleric Safwat Higazy, speaking at a rally for the Brotherhood’s presidential candidate. The TV…

A leaked WikiLeaks cable led Iran to arrest and execute a man alleged to have been hired by the Mossad to assassinate a physicist, the Times of London reported Wednesday. American government officials previously have accused of WikiLeaks of endangering security by publishing confidential diplomatic cables. Analysts have connected the dots linking the publication of…

Turkish authorities believe they have found a bird used by Israel for espionage purposes, the country’s media reported. According to reports, a Turkish farmer found the already dead bird, commonly known as the European Bee-Eater, with markings indicating it came from Israel. The bird’s left nostril was reportedly three times the size of its right…

Iran has hanged a man the regime alleges was an agent for the Israeli Mossad and convicted of killing one of its nuclear scientists in 2010, Iranian state media reported on Tuesday. Twenty-four year old Majid Jamali Fashi was hanged at Tehran’s Evin Prison after being sentenced to death in August last year for the…

Two Arabs from Palestinian Authority enclaves were arrested trying to smuggle four pipe bombs, an improvised gun, and a large amount of ammunition into Israel on Tuesday. Two Arab men in their 20s aroused the suspicion of Border Police officers at the Tapuach Junction, who detained and searched the pair. Upon finding the weapons in…

Deputy Minister Ayoub Kara said on Tuesday that there was a serious threat to the life of Muhammad Abu Shahala, the Palestinian Authority Arab who arranged the sale of the Beit Hamachpelah in Hevron to Jews. Abu Shahala’s medical condition recently deteriorated and he has undergone four cardiac catheterizations. As well, the PA is threatening…

The United States is leading what it described as the “largest military exercises in the Middle East in 10 years” in Jordan on Tuesday. Eager Lion 2012 “is the largest exercise held in the region in the past ten years,” Major General Ken Tovo, head of the US Special Operations Forces, told reporters in Amman.…

Americans believe Islam is in global conflict with the West, a Rasmussen poll reveals, but most think the US should ignore the Islamic world. Two polls reveal that a large majority of Americans believe there is a global conflict between Islam and Western civilizations and that Americans are split over whether Muslims see the United…

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reacted with “anger, shock and disbelief” at a decision by a Rome judge to fine an Italian journalist who had the courage to speak out against an anti-Semitic cartoon. In a ruling last week, Judge Emanuela Attura ordered journalist Peppino Caldarola to pay a fine of 25,000 euros for slandering extreme-leftist…

Iran’s envoy in Vienna described ongoing discussions with International Atomic Energy Agency officials as “good” on Tuesday. Before entering the second day of talks, Ali Asghar Soltanieh told reporters the atmosphere of the talks had been “very constructive.” On Monday, the nuclear watchdog again urged Iran to give it access to the sites, people and…

Army radio reported that at least four Israeli security personnel were hurt in annual “Nakba Day” clashes with Arabs from Palestinian Authority enclaves in Judea and Samaria on Tuesday Hundreds of PA residents threw stones and firebombs outside the Ofer Prison adjacent to the Beitunya crossing. The IDF and Israel Police responded with tear gas,…

Dozens of Arabs went on the rampage outside Rachel’s Tomb Tuesday, effectively besieging Jews inside the compound, who were told by security forces not to venture out. The compound was closed off to visitors several times during the day, due to massive rock throwing attacks. Miriam Adani, Chair of the Rachel’s Tomb Heritage Fund, told…

Pro-Israel Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann is fighting for her political life after being “gerrymandered” for what she says was “standing up to President Obama.” She has also has angered her conservative supporters by taking out dual citizenship in Switzerland – and then withdrawing it after an outcry. In a letter to supporters, Rep. Bachmann, whose campaign for…

The leader of Greece’s neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party, Nikos Michaloliakos, claimed on Tuesday that Nazi concentration camps did not use ovens and gas chambers to exterminate Jews during the Holocaust. “There were no ovens — it’s a lie. I believe it’s a lie. There were no gas chambers either,” Michaloliakos said in an interview with…

The Fire Services’ investigation of the blaze that killed six members of the Shaer family in Rehovot has found that the fire was caused by a laptop computer that was placed on a bed. Major General Shachar Ayalon, Commissioner of Firefighting and Rescue, appointed a committee of inquiry on the night of the fire, March…

Suspected neo-Nazis in Germany attacked an “I Like Israel” booth in Germany and wounded two women and one man Saturday. One of the attackers was arrested, according to European Jewish Press (EJP). The incident occurred in the city of Siegen, where the pro-Israel “Never Again” group stages one of 64 “I Like Israel” events in…

The JudaicaWebStore.com website, which operates the online Arutz 7 store selling Jewish goods, has launched a “Shop-a-Fada” site, a play on the word “intifada,” to counter the boycott movement. Tal Brody, a former Israeli basketball star who is a native American, is acting as a spokesman for the new campaign to encourage people to buy Israeli…

A freelance journalist and blogger, Richard Millett, was assaulted and subjected to abuse Monday evening at an anti-Israel event at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at the University of London. Millett was attacked after he refused to stop filming the viciously anti-Israel meeting, which was organized by the university’s Palestine Society and…

A new museum in Tel Aviv – the Beit David Museum, dedicated to the House of David – offers two fun-filled free days honoring the holiday of Shavuot, which is also celebrated as the 3,025th birthday of greatest Jewish king ever. The twin-day treat will take place on Monday, 21.5, and Tuesday, 22.5. It will…

President Barack Obama reportedly held an off-the-record foreign policy meeting with nine editors and columnists to discuss Afghanistan, Israel, NATO and the G8 Summit at Camp David. Many of the participants are widely known for their extreme and unwarranted criticism of the Jewish state. According to the reports, the meeting included Peter Beinart, author of…

Zionist activists confronted Arabs and leftist sympathizers in Israeli campuses Tuesday for the second straight day as Arabs marked “Nakba Day,” in which they mourn their failure to annihilate the Jews in the Land of Israel in 1948. Arabs in the Har Hatzofim campus of Hebrew University waved PLO flags and chanted the PLO battle…

Two serious sexual assaults have taken place in Tel Aviv in the space of 72 hours. The suspect in the first case is a 21 year old Arab from the Palestinian Authority staying in Israel illegally. The suspects in the second case are six Africans from Eritrea and Sudan, also in Israel illegally. Both incidents…

Israel’s Ministry of Absorption has come up with a jazzy new aliyah program to entice immigrants and ex-pats to come home by easing “paperwork” via cell phone. The worldwide “Returning Home Project” is using a mobile phone application that involves scanning a QR Code on the ministry’s website.  One is told to complete the registration form…

The deal that ended the hunger strike by hundreds of Palestinian Authority prisoners in Israel is a goodwill gesture to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, the Prime Minister’s Office says. Speaking for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, spokesman Mark Regev on Monday night called the deal brokered by Egyptian mediators a confidence-building gesture. The hunger strike by…

Is the end nigh? Just a few short months after the Tel Aviv municipality made a full-court press for public transportation on Shabbat, the city now wants to close the streets of the city center on Saturday. On Sunday, Tel Aviv announced that at the beginning of June the city center streets will be turned…

Gaza banks are experiencing another currency crisis, protesters told the Belthlehem-based Maan News Agency on Thursday. Palestinian Authority employees reportedly organized a sit-in in front of the Bank of Palestine in Nuseirat to protest the fact that their salaries were distributed in multiple currencies. “We were surprised today that our salaries were in dollars, (Jordanian)…

Canada’s government may be pro-Israel, but its universities aren’t according to the Parliamentary Coalition for Combating Antisemitism (CPCCA) report on anti-Semitism in Canada released last week. Mario Silva, Chairman of the Committee of Inquiry appointed by the CPCCA, said his two year investigation concluded anti-Semitism is alive and well in Canada, especially in the universities.…

Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul has announced he is cutting spending and preparing to wind down his campaign. The GOP candidate said in a statement Monday that he would continue his drive to gather delegates to take a “strong message” to the Republican national convention. However, “we will no longer spend resources campaigning in primaries…

Scientists from Tel Aviv University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have developed a biological sensor that can detect toxic chemicals. Professor Yosi Shacham-Diamand, Vice Dean of TAU’s Faculty of Engineering and Professor Shimshon Belkin of the Institute of Life Sciences at HU called the new biosensor device a “dip chip.” The research has been…

Israeli defense personnel are watching closely as Syrian gunmen begin to carry their battle into Lebanese territory. Earlier this month, the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee issued an authorization for a call up for as many as 22 IDF battalions to guard the northern and southern fronts after hearing testimony from security officials. Almost…

A 14-year-old modern Orthodox Jewish girl and freshman at the SAR High School won her division of Chidon HaTanach, the national Torah competition, held last Sunday at Yeshiva University in New York, The New York Times reported.  The winners, among the approximately 115 contestants, are sent to compete at the international finals in Jerusalem next…

Three grade school boys accidentally found six stolen Torah scrolls in an abandoned building where they wanted to establish a clubhouse. The incredible story unfolded Sunday afternoon when nine-year-old Ariel Chaim Erdstein and three friends entered the ruins of a building and were shocked to discover the Torah scrolls, worth more than $250,000. Thieves stole…

The Tomb of Rachel (Kever Rachel) was closed down to worshippers Monday afternoon after masked Arab rioters threw stones at the entrance of the holy site. Military forces arrived at the scene and instructed worshippers standing at the entrance of the Tomb to enter the holy structure until they managed to calm the riots after…

Hamas says Israel has agreed to meet enough of their demands to end to the hunger strike by terrorists and security prisoners. Israel has not commented on the recent development. Not wanting the issue to explode into a propaganda victory for the Palestinian Authority, Israel reportedly agreed to move jailed prisoners, some of them terrorists,…

Israel is hosting several United States television stars as part of an initiative to show the world the real Israel. The group has visited Jerusalem, and will see the Dead Sea and Tel Aviv beaches as well. Minister of Diaspora Affairs Yuli-Yoel Edelstein met with the stars Sunday morning. Also present was Chaim Gutin, Commissioner…

The PLO Executive Committee said on Sunday that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s response to Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Chairman Abbas’ letter did not include any clear answers regarding central issues obstructing the peace process. According to a report in the PA-based WAFA news agency, the committee, during its meeting in Ramallah, said Netanyahu’s response to…

First Sergeant Moshe Naftali of Ofra, who was killed in the terror attack on Route 12 near Eilat last August, received on Sunday a posthumous citation from the Head of Southern Command. The announcement about Naftali’s citation was made in late April. His family received the citation in his name. Naftali killed two terrorists before he was…

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld New York’s Kosher Law Protection Act, passed in 2004, ruling that it does not interfere with religion in any way and exists solely for preventing fraud, Reuters reported. “The labeling law has the secular purpose of protecting against fraud by informing a consumer that a particular seller…

An Egyptian official said on Sunday night that Israel has agreed to a proposal that would end a mass hunger strike by Palestinian Authority Arabs in Israeli jails. The official told The Associated Press that the Egyptian-drafted proposal still needs to be approved by the prisoners. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told…

Dozens of female IDF soldiers and others wounded by terrorism have been given a vacation to New York City to cheer their spirits as they deal with medical and emotional rehabilitation. The trip was organized by two Chabad movement bodies, one a center for Israelis in Manhattan and the other an organization supporting terror victims.…

Coalition Chairman MK Ze’ev Elkin said Sunday that the bills to legalize outposts and neighborhoods like Givat HaUlpana may not come up for a vote in the Knesset this week, despite announcements that they would be brought before the plenum Monday or Wednesday. Elkin told Arutz Sheva that the vote may be postponed until next…

The Associated Press has obtained and published a graphic rendering of a pressure structure that may prove Iran is developing a nuclear weapon. The drawing is believed to have come from inside the Parchin military site near Tehran. It shows a cylindrical explosives containment chamber of the type needed for nuclear arms-related tests. “Iran denies…

Israel Navy commando forces carried out their largest drill in a decade last week. Soldiers of the elite Shayetet 13 and the 916 Detachment, together with the Snapir port security unit and the Israel Air Force, practiced “operational scenarios that could arise at any moment,” reported Yohanan Levin in the Israel Navy Website. The senior…

The bill for legalizing Jewish outposts and disputed neighborhoods – including Givat HaUlpana in Beit El – will be brought for a vote in the Knesset Wednesday. The decision was made by Coalition Chairman MK Ze’ev Elkin (Likud), MK Yariv Levin (Likud), MK David Rotem (Yisrael Beitenu) and MK Yaakov Katz (National Union), after they…

Lone terrorists have been instructed to refrain from targeting churches, mosques and synagogues in order to protect their ”reputation,” according to the latest edition of the al Qaeda-affiliated magazine Inspire, reported ANI news agency. The winter 2012 edition of the magazine revealed that global jihad is facing criticism from Muslims over how they carry out…

Israel may face a new Iranian-Egyptian threat if presidential candidate Hisham El-Bastawisi winds his bid to succeed Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, whose ouster he encouraged. Backed by the left-wing Tagammu party, El-Bastawisi said on Saturday that building good relations with Iran would be one of his highest priorities. Israel already faces a northern “axis of…

A unique cooking workshop for the blind and the visually impaired took place this week, for the first time in Israel. The workshop was organized by the volunteer organization Lions and was held in the “Cooking Experience” center, which specializes in cooking workshops for purposes of both fun and learning. Each of the 16 participants…

Police said Sunday that they have solved the murder of a 78 year old woman in Yafo (Jaffa) a year and a half ago. The murder of Shoshana Levi was carried out by an Arab man from Kalkilye, aged 25, who along with his ex-wife, 24, tied the victim’s arms and legs and then choked…

Zionists and racists use the world media – including cartoons featuring Bugs Bunny – to perpetuate anti-Islamic notions, according to a “Palestinian-American” lawyer named Lamis Deek. Deek also accused the U.S. Department of Defense of financing anti-Islamic propaganda films. Deek’s website says she is a board member of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). The interview…

The cabinet rejected on Sunday a bill proposed by MK Miri Regev (Likud) to place Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria under full Israeli sovereignty. If passed, the bill would have taken the communities out of the purview of the military government in Judea and Samaria, which is under the Department of Defense. Ma’ariv/NRG reported…

Over 500 members of kibbutzim – most of them self-declared leftists – toured Samaria last week, as guests of the “Getting to Know Samaria” program. For nearly all, this was their first time in Judea and Samaria. Most were secular, hailing from “hard left” kibbutzim throughout the country. The group visited, among other places, the…

Vladimir Putin’s decision to skip next week’s meeting of the G8 at Camp David has set off speculation on how this decision should be interpreted. The most pessimistic reading is that this is a deliberate snub and represents a continuation of the anti-Western policy that permeated Putin’s election campaign. It essentially meant that the Obama…