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Yeshiva University (YU) will host its second annual Dead Sea Scrolls Seminar in New York on June 8. The event, which aims to shed light on the ancient scrolls, will be held at the YU Museum. The seminar will feature lectures from prominent scholars on topics relating to the scrolls, which include 972 documents that survived for over…

The 21st Annual Israel Day Concert in Central Park will be held next Sunday in New York, delivering a strong message of support for Israel. Arutz Sheva managing editor Ari Soffer got a chance to speak with Dr. Paul Brody in New York. Brody, along with his wife Drora, are chairpersons of the concert.  Brody noted that the…

In the wake of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s statement that Jerusalem is “Israel’s Heart,” Mark Langfan, Arutz Sheva security analyst, notes that the airspace of Judea and Samaria is “Israel’s lungs,” and just as irreplaceable. Langfan states, “Without Israeli absolute and total control of the ‘lungs,’ the airspace of Judea and Samaria (the “West Bank”),…

Former Bank of Israel chief Stanley Fischer has been sworn in as a member of the Federal Reserve’s board of governors, The Telegraph reports. Fischer must still wait for Senate approval to become vice-chair, the position for which he was nominated by President Barack Obama. If approved, Fischer will fill the seat that would be…

Congress has been warned that Saudi Arabia and its regional allies were moving away from the United States, reported the World Tribune. A House subcommittee heard testimony that the Gulf Cooperation Council found the United States unreliable amid its rapproachment with Iran. The House Middle East and Africa subcommittee also raised the prospect that several…

The UN Security Council on Wednesday strongly condemned the terror attack Saturday at a Jewish Museum in Brussels. In a press statement, the Council members condemned in the strongest terms the terrorist attack, “which resulted in loss of life and injuries, and with a possible anti-Semitic motivation behind it.” Four people, including two Israelis, were…

Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday chose Rami Hamdallah, currently the prime minister of the PA government, to be the prime minister and head of the unity government with Hamas. Hamdallah has been seen by experts as being largely under Abbas’s thumb. However, precisely he post of foreign minister in the unity government appears…

Four of the Nigerian girls who were kidnapped by Boko Haram terrorists last month have escaped their captors, the education commissioner for Nigeria’s Borno state said on Wednesday, according to Reuters. 219 girls remain missing. The girls were taking exams at a secondary school in the remote northeastern village of Chibok on April 14 when…

F.W. de Klerk, who served as the last President of apartheid-era South Africa, said on Wednesday that it was unfair to say that Israel is an apartheid state. De Klerk, who is visiting Israel where he received an honorary doctorate from Haifa University, gave an interview to Channel 2 News, in which he was asked…

Iranian hackers used social media networks to spy on Israelis, and supporters of Israel in the US and Britain, a report by an American security firm said Thursday. The report, by the iSight security group, said that Iranian hackers used profiles on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media vehicles to trick Israelis and supporters of…

Israeli doctors on Wednesday successfully transplanted a portion of a liver into the body of a seven month old infant. Doctors said that the operation saved the infant’s life. A day later, the infant was awake and in good shape, they said. The operation took place in Schneider Children’s Hospital early Wednesday, to replace a…

Just in time for the summer flying season, a 21st runway has been opened at Ben Gurion Airport. The new runway had its maiden landing Thursday morning, when an El Al plane arriving from Rhodes arrived in Israel. The project, said Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz, is “an additional stage in the implementation of the Open…

Partial results indicate that Egypt’s former army chief, Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, is headed for a big victory. According to Reuters, Sisi’s campaign said Wednesday night that the popular candidate had captured 93.4 percent of the votes with 2,000 polling stations counted. Judicial sources said he had 89 percent with 3,000 polling stations counted. Sisi’s only…

Israelis likely appreciated pop icon Justin Timberlake’s visit to the Western Wall prior to his show in Tel Aviv on Wednesday. Arabs? Not so much. In fact, a photo that Timberlake posted to Instagram of himself at the Kotel ignited backlash from pro-Palestinian Arab activists, according to the New York Daily News. “The Holy Land……

An American citizen carried out a suicide bombing in Syria on behalf of an Al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group on Sunday, the first time a U.S. citizen has carried out such an attack in the Syrian civil war, NBC News reported on Wednesday. Law enforcement and counterterrorism officials who spoke to NBC on condition of anonymity, confirmed…

Concern over anti-Semitism in New York continues to rise, amid phenomena like the cruel “knockout game” and the light punishment for a Nazi-supporting taxi driver.  But a string of anti-Semitic graffiti in particular made headlines earlier this week, after the multiple incidents – dubbed by the media as a “hate spree” – were linked to…

Rumors have surfaced over the past several years that weapons theft from the IDF is a common phenomenon.  But on Wednesday, new data revealed that the tables have turned, according to Walla! News – and that consistent efforts by leading defense officials to declare war on firearm theft have resulted in a decisive victory.  The Freedom of…

Several left-wing MKs – particularly from Meretz – have voiced criticism over an initiative to make Jerusalem Day a national holiday. Netanyahu fired back at the criticism, stating that the day has a high level of historical significance.  “I have heard that there are those who would like to cancel today as a national holiday,”…

Tens of thousands of celebrants, of all ages, are expected to attend the upcoming 21st Annual Israel Day Concert in Central Park this coming Sunday, June 1. The annual concert marks the 47th anniversary of Israel’s victory in the Six-Day War and the re-unification of Jerusalem, and has taken place every year – free of…

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a surprise move, called controversial presidential candidate Reuven Rivlin (Likud) to announce his official support for Rivlin in the June 10th elections.  “We have many things in our lives, better days and worse days, and I hope we move to see better days,” Netanyahu reportedly told Rivlin. “I waited to…

Masked Arab youths threw stones at Israeli police on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem on Wednesday morning, just in time for Jerusalem Day. In response, the police broke onto the Temple Mount area, at which point the stone throwers retreated to the Al Aqsa Mosque while continuing to throw rocks and fireworks at the police,…

An Israeli organization called “Torah on the Moon” is reportedly in talks with the Barcelona Moon Team, one of the teams entered into the Google Lunar X Prize, a competition to successfully land a robot on the lunar surface. The group seeks to place a halakhically kosher Torah scroll on the surface of the moon.…

Arutz Sheva has received exclusive reportage on yet another violent Arab attack Tuesday on Jewish youth in the Old City of Jerusalem. Again, Jews celebrating the 47th year since the unification of the 3,000-year-old Jewish capital were targeted. Ahuva Schwartz, a resident of Jerusalem, reports that a group of 60 Jews, mostly Israeli high school boys along…

As an Anti-Defamation League (ADL) poll revealed earlier this month demonstrated, anti-Semitism is a worldwide phenomenon.  And while a focus on anti-Semitism has cropped up in Europe and in the Middle East, at least one group of Jews in Guatemala were brave enough to speak of their own plight in the South American press.  Over…

Polling in Egypt’s presidential election has been extended for a third day after low turnout, the BBC reports. Polls were due to close at 10:00 p.m. local time on Tuesday, but have now been extended to Wednesday, the Egyptian election commission said. The scale of turnout is seen as key to legitimizing the winner. Former…

U.S. President Barack Obama is close to authorizing a military-led mission to train moderate Syrian rebels to fight the regime and Al-Qaeda-linked groups, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. A new military training program, if implemented, would supplement a small train-and-equip program led by the Central Intelligence Agency that Obama authorized a year ago.…

IDF soldiers were attacked overnight Tuesday while arresting a terror suspect in the Arab village of Jenin, located in northern Samaria. The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit reported that terrorists opened fire at the IDF force, and threw explosives at them, reports Walla!. No injuries to the soldiers were reported following the clashes. Two weeks ago a similar…

On Jerusalem Day (Wednesday), the family and friends of terror victim Evyatar Borovsky Hy”d are to march from the site at Tapuach Junction in Samaria where he was stabbed to death by an Arab terrorist a year ago, to “Evyatar Outpost,” a community established in his honor nearby. Last Jerusalem Day, Borovsky, who was a popular…

Jewish students of the Hispin High School Yeshiva in the Golan Heights visited Jerusalem for Jerusalem Day on Wednesday. While there, they report that local Arabs threw stones and tear gas at them. The students’ visit to Jerusalem started Wednesday morning in the Old City, where their celebrations of the 47th anniversary of the liberation…

Hollywood star Johnny Depp is reportedly in negotiations to star as the iconic Jewish escape artist Harry Houdini, in a film entitled “The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America’s First Superhero.” The Hollywood Reporter revealed the negotiations exclusively on Tuesday, noting that the movie is said to be similar in tone to the…

Housing Minister Uri Ariel (Jewish Home) spoke on Tuesday night at the Jerusalem Day celebrations at the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva, where he declared that there will never be another construction freeze in Jerusalem or Judea and Samaria. “There will be no more freezes, we will not accept delays and restrictions in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria,…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday night that Jerusalem is the heart of Israel and, as such, will never be divided again. Netanyahu made the comments in a speech he gave at the annual Jerusalem Day celebrations at the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva. The celebration at Merkaz Harav is traditionally attended by the important figures…

IAF fighter jet commanders were informed on Tuesday evening that due to IDF budget cuts it was decided that starting next Sunday, no more training flights will be conducted. According to the decision, flights would only be carried out as part of actual operations, in instances requiring on-call alertness and at flight school. All training…

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday the Turkish court order asking Interpol to arrest four former Israel military leaders would not harm compensation negotiations. The subject of the arrest and negotiations is the 2010 Mavi Marmara flotilla, which tried to illegally break the IDF blockade on the terror group Hamas in Gaza. Ten Turkish Islamists…

Jerusalem Day, beginning Tuesday night, will be celebrated in Israel’s capital through a series of events featuring top Israeli musicians and various performances. This year marks the 47th year since the unification of the 3,000-year-old capital of the Jewish people, which occurred in the 1967 Six Day War. On the occasion of Jerusalem Day, Jerusalem…

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement on Tuesday, expressing its concern over the military coup in Thailand last Thursday that granted army chief Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha “full powers of government.” “Israel holds Thailand’s constitutional democratic institutions and civil rights in the highest regard and hopes the military leadership will reinstate these at the earliest,” read…

Arab MK Masud Ganaim (Raam-Taal) appealed to the Palestinian Authority (PA) for help fighting the Jewish State Law, proposed by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on May 1, which would affix Israel’s status as the nation-state of the Jewish people as a Basic Law. Speaking to the terrorist organization Hamas’s journal “Palestine” on Tuesday, Ganaim said…

Six Jewish residents of the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk were flown to Israel on Tuesday to make Aliyah (immigration), in a quick rescue operation headed by the Jewish Agency for Israel. Ukrainian armed forces and pro-Russian militants were battling over the Donetsk airport on Tuesday, with both sides making early announcements of victory. Pro-Russian…

Belgian news media reported on Tuesday that the local police have arrested a suspect in the shooting incident on Saturday, in which four people were killed at the Jewish Museum in Brussels. The arrest, reported by Belgian VTM NEWS, could possibly lead to clarification in the case which has been labelled a “terrorist assassination.” It remains unclear…

An Iranian judge has summoned Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg to answer allegations that his company’s apps have breached people’s privacy, it was reported Tuesday.   In a case that underscores the gulf between Iranian moderates, who seek fewer Internet restrictions, and conservatives who want more, the Silicon Valley leader has been dubbed the…

A rare seal of the Monastery of St. Sabas has been excavated in the Bayit VeGan neighborhood of Jerusalem. The seal was unearthed a year and a half ago, but it was only after processing and study that it was identified as a unique seal that was stamped by the Great Laura – the Monastery…

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called on Iran on Monday to release a former Marine who he said has been “unjustly” held for nearly three years, AFP reports. The Marine in question is Amir Hekmati, who was arrested in 2011, put on trial and found guilty of spying for the CIA. He was subsequently…

Ukrainian armed forces and pro-Russian militants continue to battle over a Donetsk airport Tuesday, despite announcements from both sides of an apparent victory.  Rebels took Donetsk’s Sergei Prokofiev airport Monday, just hours after the successful election announcement of Ukrainian “Chocolate King” Petro Poroshenko as president.  Even as the fighting was getting under way, Poroshenko held a news conference in…

Belgian authorities have increased security in the Jewish community in Brussels following Saturday’s horrific shooting attack, securing Jewish sites, synagogues, and schools from further harm.  But Jewish leaders are fed up with growing anti-Semitism in Europe as a general phenomenon – and have called for permanent protection against future attacks.  “Anti-Semitism is high, not only…

Jerusalem Day begins Tuesday night – but not everyone is able to celebrate freely.  Tuesday morning, MK Yoni Chetboun (Jewish Home/Bayit Yehudi) proposed a draft to change the status quo, making Jerusalem Day a national holiday and enabling every Zionist to celebrate Israel’s liberation of the Holy City.  Chetboun’s initiative is in partnership with nationalist…

Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which disappeared on March 8, went into media silence over the past month as leads slowly fizzled out.  Theories ranged from hijacking to crashing to being diverted for use in a terror attack, possibly against Israel. Later theories have become even wilder, ranging from an onboard fire to a suicide mission.  But a new report published…

The Israel Security Agency (ISA or Shin Bet), along with the Israeli police, successfully apprehended an Israeli Arab who helped two of his relatives leave Israel and join jihadists in Syria, according to news permitted for publication Tuesday. The detainee is Idris Ahmed Abu Taleb Alkayaan, 23, a resident of the Hora Bedouin settlement in…

The Israeli government has begun discussions on declaring the Islamic Movement in Israel an illegal organization. Sheikh Kamel al-Khativ, deputy leader of the organization, told the terrorist organization Hamas’s journal “Palestine” on Tuesday that he was not surprised by the discussions, adding that in former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s administration the topic was raised. Israel…

Nigeria’s highest ranking military officer on Monday gave a glimmer of hope to the families of more than 200 schoolgirls held by Boko Haram terrorists, revealing they had located the missing teenagers. “The good news for the girls is that we know where they are but we cannot tell you,” Chief of Defense Staff Air…

Jerusalem police were called on Monday evening to the Church of the Dormition in the Mount Zion compound to probe the torching of a guestbook. Officers questioned several eyewitnesses, who indicated they had noticed an unidentified man with a non-Jewish appearance who entered the church. According the eyewitnesses, the man wandered around the church and…

The Sea of Galilee, which is not a sea at all, but is instead Israel’s largest lake and the world’s second lowest body of water (the Dead Sea being the lowest) is also called the Kinneret in the Bible – perhaps because it is shaped somewhat like an ancient  harp, a kinor – and termed…

Syria has responded to Jordan’s expelling of its ambassador to Amman by expelling a Jordanian diplomat from Damascus, AFP reported on Monday, citing Syria’s state-run television. Al-Ikhbariya television reported on Monday evening that Syria decided to expel Jordan’s charge d’affaires, in a tit-for-tat move hours after Amman gave the Syrian ambassador 24 hours to leave…

Egypt has announced that Tuesday, the second day of the country’s presidential elections, will be an official holiday, Al Arabiya reported on Monday. The move appears to be an attempt to boost voter turnout seen as crucial to casting legitimacy on the electoral process, in which former army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is expected to…

Pesach Rubin, a resident of Hermesh in northern Samaria, is fed up. Rubin purchased a product from eBay and received a telephone call from the Aviv delivery company, which sought to clarify with him where to send the product. Aviv had never heard of Hermesh; Rubin explained that the settlement in northern Samaria. The response?…

The pope toured the Temple Mount Monday, in a visit that went very smoothly despite calls by Muslim extremists to prevent Pope Francis’s visit to the holy site. On the Temple Mount, the pope met with the Mufti of Jerusalem and the Jordanian Waqf (Islamic trust) which has de facto control over the holiest site…

A bumbling Gaza terrorist of the Islamic Jihad terror group died on Monday morning, after having a “work accident” with an explosive he was handling. The 25-year-old terrorist had his unlucky run-in with the bomb in Jabalia, a town in northern Gaza, reports Channel 10.  Two other terrorists, also of Islamic Jihad, were killed on Saturday…

There have been “rumors” that doors of Beirut’s Magen Avraham Synagogue are set to reopen after more than 40 years, writes Middle Eastern site Al Bawaba, which cites Asharq Al-Awsat. The head of the Jewish community in Lebanon, Isaac Arazi, told Asharq Al-Awsat that efforts are being made to revive the community’s public presence in…

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned on Sunday night the shooting attack in the Jewish Museum of Brussels, which left four people dead, including two Israelis. A statement from Ban’s office said that “the location of the attack points to a possible anti-Semitic motivation behind it.” The statement added that Ban “reiterates his strong condemnation…

As the warm summery weather continues to advance, snakes have apparently become more active as evidenced in yet another snake bite victim reported on Monday. This time the perpetrator was a massive two-meter (roughly six-and-a-half feet) long snake. A man in his 70s was bitten by the snake in the yard of his home, located…

Ahead of Pope Francis’s Mass prayers on Monday afternoon at the “Room of the Last Supper,” located in the King David’s Tomb Compound, the liberal group Hiddush – Freedom of Religion for Israel has called to change the status quo of the site, endangering Jewish prayer rights. Hiddush CEO Uri Regev, a Reform Rabbi formerly…

The bodies of the victims from Saturday’s horrific shooting in Belgium – Emanuel and Miriam Riva, 54 and 53, from Tel Aviv – are currently en route to Israel for the funeral, ZAKA announced Monday. The funeral will be held in the Kiryat Shaul Cemetery in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, at 5:00 pm.  The Rivas were…

A terrorist released by Israel in the deal to return Elhanan Tannenbaum from his Hezbollah captors was killed in fighting in Syria this week. A report on the website Lebanon Now said that Fauzy Ayoub, a senior officer in Hezbollah, was killed in fighting in the Aleppo area. Ayoub, also known as Abu Abbas, was…

Israeli President Shimon Peres on Monday accepted an invitation from Pope Francis to go to the Vatican for a joint prayer for peace with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas. Peres had greeted the Pope warmly as his tour of the Holy Land drew to a close with a visit to the President’s residence in Jerusalem.…

A Knesset effort to lower the price of cars for Israelis may be thwarted by the manufacturers of the cars themselves. In a letter to the Knesset Economics Committee, which has been discussing legislation that would allow more companies to import vehicles into Israel – thus increasing competition – Toyota said that it could not…

The Belgian federal prosecutor’s office Monday said a probe had been opened into “terrorist assassination” in the weekend shootings by a lone gunman at the Jewish Museum in Brussels that left four dead, according to AFP. Spokeswoman for the prosecutor’s office, Wenke Roggen, told a news conference that the investigation now underway was for “terrorist assassination” and “attempted terrorist assassination” on top…

Residents in a tiny Spanish town voted on Sunday to ditch the town’s name – Castrillo Matajudios, or Castrillo Kill Jews. According to AFP, the residents voted 29-19 in favor of scrapping the northern Spanish town’s name, in existence since at least 1623. An announcement on the vote was made last month. The town’s mayor,…

The Palestinian Arab community in Montreal on Sunday marked “Nakba Day”, the day on which Arabs mark what they view as the “catastrophe” of the establishment of the State of Israel. Shalom Toronto reports that during the rally, a Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) flag at a length of 66 meters was waved, marking 66 years…

Ukrainian chocolate baron Petro Poroshenko claimed a resounding victory on Sunday in Ukraine’s presidential election and immediately vowed to end a bloody pro-Russian uprising that thwarted voting across swathes of the eastern part of the country, AFP reports. The pro-Western self-made billionaire won close to 56 percent of the vote, according to the report. “My…

A new poll shows that a majority of Israelis are opposed to further withdrawals from Judea and Samaria. In a poll taken by the Geocartographia organization on behalf of Ariel University, the majority of Israelis said that peace was not possible because of the refusal of the Palestinians to compromise on a political settlement. According…

Jewish Agency chairman Natan Sharansky on Sunday expressed his condolences to the families of those who lost loved ones in the attack on the Jewish Museum in Brussels Saturday. “I am deeply distressed by yesterday’s horrifying attacks against Jewish targets in Brussels and Paris,” said Sharansky. “We at The Jewish Agency for Israel are investing…

On the Pope’s travel agenda in his journeys in the the Holy Land is a visit to the Dehaishe refugee camp, a hotbed of anti-Israel and anti-Jewish terrorism. On his visit, the Pope is expected to visit the Dehaishe Youth Club – perhaps the center of terror activity in the camp. Among other things, the…

The City of Ottawa has no plans to remove an exhibit at City Hall that glorifies barbaric child-killing terrorists, despite the Israeli ambassador’s protests, conveyed in a meeting with Mayor Jim Watson. The deputy city manager said the city isn’t embarrassed by the exhibit and has no plans to take it down, according to the…

Belgium’s Jewish community is reeling from Saturday night’s horrific shooting attack at the Jewish Museum, which left a museum employee and two Israeli tourists dead and other critically injured.  Locals say that the attack, rather than a shock, is the direct outcome of growing tolerance for anti-Semitism in Belgium.  “Anti-Semitism has grown. We see it…

The victims of the horrific shooting attack in Brussels’ Jewish Museum have been identified Sunday morning.  Two of the victims were Israeli tourists, a couple from Tel Aviv in their fifties; the other was a museum staff member, officials announced Sunday.  Belgium’s foreign ministry announced that identifying the victims – specifically the tourists – took…

One person was killed and three people were injured overnight Saturday in an explosion and fire in Jerusalem’s Beit Hanina neighborhood. United Hatzalah paramedics who were called to the scene treated the victims and they were taken to hospital. Police are still investigating, but believe the fire was caused by a gas tank explosion. In February,…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Saturday night strongly condemned the shooting at the Jewish Museum in Brussels, saying the attack was directly caused by incitement. “This act of murder is the result of constant incitement against Jews and their state,” Netanyahu said. “Slander and lies against the State of Israel continue to be heard on…

The two Israelis killed in shooting attack at the Jewish Museum in Brussels, Belgium are Emanuel and Miriam Riba, 54 and 53, from Tel Aviv, authorities announced Sunday. The couple leaves behind two daughters, ages 15 and 16, according to Yediot Aharonot.  The Israeli Embassy in Brussels has contacted local police to ensure that the bodies will be flown…

France’s President Francois Hollande said on Sunday there was no doubt about the “anti-Semitic character” of the attack on a Jewish museum in Belgium which left three dead, including a Frenchwoman. “The anti-Semitic character of this act, a shooting in the Jewish museum in Brussels with the intention to kill, is in no doubt,” said Hollande, speaking in his southwestern political stronghold…

Two Jewish men were attacked outside Paris Saturday night, French Interior Minister Bernard Caseneuve announced Sunday, as they were leaving a Creteil synagogue.  Caseneuve ordered police around France to increase security at Jewish houses of worship and other Jewish establishments, the Ministry stated. He condemned the attacked with “utmost severity.”  Very few details are available on…

Islamist rebels in Syria carried out four separate suicide bombing attacks against Syrian army positions, killing “dozens” and wounding many more, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The Nusra Front – which is Al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria – carried out the attacks as part of an offensive aimed at cutting off…

Nearly 400 mainly young Jews from Moldova and the southern Ukraine have gathered in the city of Chisinau, May 23-25, for a unique purpose: to learn about their Jewish heritage. More than 22,000 Jews live in Moldova, with about 15,000 concentrated in the capital city. For more than a century, Chisinau (formerly known by its…

IDF forces prevented a terrorist attack in the town of Migdal Oz in Gush Etzion Friday night. On Friday night, patrols on shift in watch towers in the Etzion region identified two suspicious figures approaching the kibbutz and then standing in front of a cluster of houses.  Security forces managed to close in on the…

Three people were killed and one badly injured when a gunman attacked the Jewish Museum in the center of Brussels on Saturday, authorities said. “Two women and one man are dead, a third person is in hospital,” Interior Minister Joelle Milquet said at the scene. “We don’t yet know if they were tourists or staff, they haven’t been identified.” Asked…

The stakes are high in Ukraine, international media reports Saturday, as both Moscow and Kiev made bold statements ahead of Ukrainian elections.  Russian President Vladimir Putin reassured the public Saturday that, despite months of violence in eastern Ukraine, Moscow is actively looking to maintain stability.  “By all means, we will respect the choice of the…

The European Jewish Congress (EJC) has responded with “horror” to today’s deadly shooting at Belgium’s Jewish Museum, condemning the “murderous attack at the Jewish museum in central Brussels today” and sending its “condolences to the families of the victims.” EJC President Dr. Moshe Cantor echoed sentiments made in the immediate aftermath of the attack, saying…

Pope Francis made an urgent plea Saturday for peace in war-torn Syria as he kicked off a three-day pilgrimage to the Middle East, AFP reports. And he called for religious freedom to be upheld throughout a region ravaged by war and bloodshed, where a dwindling Christian population faces daily persecution. As he walked off the plane onto a red carpet at Amman airport,…

Voters from three Eastern European nations and Malta go to the polls Saturday in European Parliament elections expected to boost eurosceptic parties despite a surprise setback for Dutch populists.   Czech voters return to the ballot box for a second day and are joined by their counterparts in Latvia, Slovakia and Malta as the mammoth…

One of the people who were wounded on the Mavi Marmara vessel during the 2010 flotilla passed away on Friday, four years after the incident, Turkish media reported. The man was identified as 51-year-old Ugur Suleyman Soylemez, who was in a coma over the past four years. The Mavi Marmara, which claimed to international media…

More than 600 students from Yeshiva University’s (YU) undergraduate schools were presented with their degrees at YU’s 83rd commencement exercises, held at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey on Thursday, May 22. Addressing the new graduates, YU President Richard M. Joel challenged them to value their time and this “momentous moment,” as members…

At least 39 people were killed in a mortar bomb attack on an election campaign tent packed with supporters of President Bashar Al-Assad, Syrian state TV has said, according to Al Jazeera. The network showed pictures of Assad supporters in the southern city of Daraa dancing inside the tent. It then showed people lying dead…

Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who is expected to win the presidential election in Egypt next week, urged Egyptians on Friday to vote in large numbers in the vote on Monday and Tuesday. “You went down (to the streets) because Egypt was in danger on June 30,” 2013, Sisi said in an interview to four television channels,…

More than 600 students from Yeshiva University’s undergraduate schools were awarded degrees at YU’s 83rd Commencement exercises, held on Thursday. Nine received the distinction of valedictorian, an honor that reflects exceptional academic achievement. As these new graduates begin the next stage of life and apply their talents to pursue a range of careers, they remembered…

An Iranian court has ordered that the photo-sharing app Instagram be blocked over privacy concerns, The Associated Press (AP) reported Friday, citing the semi-official Iranian news agency. The agency said a court order, stemming from a private lawsuit, had been given to Iran’s Ministry of Telecommunications to ban the site. However, users in the capital,…

Iran has sharply cut its most sensitive nuclear stockpile under an interim pact with world powers and has begun engaging with an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) investigation into suspected weapons research, the UN nuclear agency said on Friday, according to Reuters. The IAEA, which is tasked with verifying that Iran is living up to…

Terrorists in Gaza fired a rocket which struck southern Israel on Friday, without causing casualties or damage, following a weeks-long lull, the army said.   A spokeswoman told AFP it struck open ground in the Shaar Hanegev area. Also on Friday shots were fired at Israeli soldiers operating near the Gaza border fence, military spokesman…

At least one French jihadist died recently in a suicide attack on a police post in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, informed sources said Friday, according to AFP. The man, from the French Antilles and known by the pseudonym Abou al-Qaqa al-Faransi, died while fighting for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke at the Genesis Prize ceremony Thursday night, welcoming awardee and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and honoring his dedication to public service.  Netanyahu noted that Bloomberg has built on the philanthropy of Jewish groups, stressing that post-college programs – “including Taglit, Birthright, Israel – Masa, and Hillel” – “are all…

One of the first Arab opinion polls released ahead of the Fatah-Hamas unity government planned to be announced next week has found revealing results: jailed arch-terrorist Marwan Barghouti is the favorite contender for president. The poll, was conducted by the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion (PCPO) among 1015 residents of Judea, Samaria and Gaza with a…

Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg spoke to the press before the Genesis Prize ceremony Thursday, addressing questions about the US-Israel relationship and Jewish identity.  “Israel needs America, but America really needs Israel as well,” Bloomberg said. “This is the only democracy in this part of the world, and it celebrates the same values that…

Russia plans to sign a contract with Iran this year to build two more nuclear reactors at its Bushehr power plant, as part of a broader deal for up to eight reactors in Iran, a source close to the negotiations told Reuters on Thursday. Russia, one of the six world powers currently holding negotiations with…

Ramadan Salah, leader of the Gaza-based terror organization Islamic Jihad, declared to the Arabic paper Al-Hayat on Tuesday that his group “is prepared to join the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) on a new political and organizational basis.” The PLO has achieved international recognition as the representative of the “Palestinian people” since the 1993 Oslo Accords. The Palestinian…

Residents of the Har Hevron Regional Council embarked on a protest convoy on Friday to the southern Judea town of Negohot. The chain of cars was meant to protest the sharp rise in stones and molotov cocktails thrown on Israel cars on local roads. The road between Negohot and the village of Adoraim, which has…

The Palestinian Authority (PA) announced that they would continue to fight against the “Israeli occupation” this week, turning to the Arab League for help establishing a “sovereign and independent state under 1967 borders.” Jibril Rajoub, a member of Fatah’s Central Committee, said this week in Doha in a lecture on “State of the Palestinian struggle”…

Stargazers may receive something of a treat this Shabbat, as the earth passes through a meteorite shower late Friday night.  On May 23 and 24, the Earth will pass through a stream of debris left by Comet 290P/LINEAR nearly 200 years ago. Astronomers predict that the resulting meteorite shower, dubbed “the Camelopardalid meteor shower,” will be…

Russia and China were condemned on Thursday for vetoing a UN Security Council resolution to refer the Syrian crisis to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for a probe into possible war crimes, reports the International Business Times (IBT). The French-backed resolution, which did not specifically target either the government or the opposition, was signed by…

The leader of an Al-Qaeda-inspired group that fired rockets from Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula towards the Israeli city of Eilat was killed in a drive-by shooting on Thursday, The Associated Press (AP) reports. Three associates of the leader of the Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis group were killed in the same incident as well, senior Egyptian security officials…

Hamas and Fatah are edging closer to forming the unity government upon which they agreed last month, Al Jazeera reported on Thursday. According to the report, during talks between Fatah’s Azzam al-Ahmed and members of Hamas, the sides agreed that Rami Hamdallah, who served as Prime Minister of the outgoing Palestinian Authority (PA) government, will…

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian met on Thursday with the head of Hamas’s political bureau, Khaled Mashaal, Iranian media reported. The meeting took place in Doha on the sidelines of the second meeting of the Qatari-Iranian joint political committee, according to the IRIB news agency. During the meeting, Mashaal reportedly denounced Israel over its…

Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Thursday became the first recipient of the new Genesis Prize, a $1 million award to individuals who “embody the character of the Jewish people and values…and the State of Israel.” In a ceremony at the Jerusalem Theater, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu presented the award, saying “I think that in…

The Foreign Ministry announced Thursday that two Israeli citizens have been arrested in Jordan. As of now, no additional details are known concerning the reasons behind or circumstances of the arrest, or the identities of the two.  Just last Tuesday Israel arrested a Jordanian-US dual citizen in Jerusalem. The man had fled the US to…

Minister of Construction and Housing, Uri Ariel (Jewish Home), and Finance Minister Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) have reached agreement on a bill initiated by Lapid, which would eliminate all VAT on apartments purchased by first-time homebuyers. The bill is to be brought before the Knesset by August 3, Ariel promised Thursday. The program for selling…

Bat-El Aminov, the 19-year-old resident of Kfar Tapuach in Samaria who had been missing since Tuesday, has reportedly been found none the worse for wear. David Ha’ivri, a local activist and resident of Kfar Tapuach, wrote on Facebook on Thursday afternoon “I have been informed that the missing girl has been found and is safe and…

Five hundred security cameras will be installed in eastern Jerusalem, at a cost of more than 100 million shekels. The cameras will be placed in neighborhoods to the east of Bar-Lev Road, from French Hill in the north to Har Homa in the south, according to Voice of Israel public radio. The project will take three…

Three bombs targeting Shia pilgrims in Baghdad have killed at least 28 people and wounded dozens more, Iraqi security and medical officials said. Al Jazeera reported that Thursday’s attacks struck Mansur in west Baghdad, Baab al-Sharji in the center of the city, and the neighborhood of Shaab, as worshippers prepared to commemorate the death of…

What started as a declaration of martial law on Monday night developed on Thursday into a full-fledged military coup in Thailand. This makes the twelfth successful coup in the south-east Asian country since the end of the absolute monarchy in 1932. In a statement on national TV, army chief Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha announced the coup,…

A group of 40 Bnei Menashe made Aliyah today from India, the first batch out of a total of 250 immigrants from the Lost Tribe that are slated to arrive over the coming month. The immigrants, who hail from the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, were brought to Israel by Shavei Israel, which received permission…

Around 20 former guards at the Majdanek death camp could face charges in Germany, following a widespread probe of the Nazi SS men and women who served there during World War II, The Associated Press (AP) reported. Federal prosecutor Kurt Schrimm, who heads Germany’s special Nazi war crimes office, said he expects to turn the…

Yehoshua Yishai, chairman of the Jerusalem Religious Council, this week issued tenders for the construction of mikva’ot (Jewish ritual baths) in several Jerusalem neighborhoods in the eastern part of the city, where Jewish communities have been reestablished in recent years. The neighborhoods included the Maaleh Zeitim section of the Mount of Olives, and the Nof…

Uri Elitzur z”l, the legendary publisher of Makor Rishon and a veteran of the Israeli media, passed away on Thursday. Elitzur, 68, succumbed after a long battle with cancer. His funeral is set for Thursday afternoon in his hometown of Ofra. Yechiel Uriahu Elitzur was born in Jerusalem in 1946, son of Professor Yehuda Elitzur…

The six Iranians arrested for making a tribute video to Pharrell Williams’ hit song “Happy,” in which unveiled women danced with men, have since been released. However, they were forced to “repent” on national TV – after reportedly undergoing serious abuse. The video was reportedly uploaded to YouTube late last month; one upload of the six dancing…

European Union (EU) ambassador to Israel Lars Faaborg-Andersen explained the EU’s policies on Israel, peace talks, and Palestinian Arabs on Wednesday, in a special interview with Arutz Sheva.  Faaborg-Andersen first described the relationship between the EU and Israel, which he said “is getting stronger every day.”  “I see my main mission as strengthening the relationship between…

Mohammed Dahlan, the longtime rival of Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, has been sentenced in absentia by a Ramallah court to two years in prison, The Associated Press (AP) reports. The sentence against Dahlan was handed down back in March but was not made public until Wednesday, in the official PA newspaper. There was…

The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency or “Shin Bet”) has arrested a Palestinian who was planning to kidnap Israelis. The arrest, in cooperation with Israel police, took place in recent weeks and was announced by the Shabak Thursday. The Palestinian, Murad Mahmoud Hassan Ali-Hassin, 25, had been living in Israel illegally, and was a member…

One Egyptian was killed and six others were injured in a bomb attack on Wednesday on a security vehicle in the Sinai Peninsula, security sources told Reuters. Officials and witnesses said the casualties included both civilians and security officers. Witnesses said Wednesday’s attack was carried out by two men riding a motorcycle who threw a…

The six Iranians who were arrested for dancing in a YouTube video to Pharrell Williams’ song “Happy” have been freed, CNN reports, citing the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. The director of the video was not released, the group said on Wednesday. According to CNN, one of the six announced that she was…

Police are asking for the public’s assistance in locating Bat El Aminov, 19, of Tapuach, in Samaria. She left her home Tuesday but failed to return. She was wearing and blue and brown skirt and brown shoes and carrying a big white bag. She was also wearing a gold necklace with a figure 8 shape.…

Two attacks on IDF soldiers near the security fence of Gaza occurred on Wednesday. Three mortar shells were fired at IDF forces conducting activities to expose terror tunnels just over the fence in central Gaza. Likewise an explosive charge was detonated near an IDF routine patrol near the security fence in southern Gaza. No injuries among…

Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has removed a key piece of pro-Israel legislation from the committee’s agenda, which would have allowed Congress to vote for or against any deal that is negotiated with Iran over its nuclear arms program. The decision to pull the bill – the U.S.-Israel…

Russia said on Tuesday it will veto a UN resolution to refer the Syrian conflict to the International Criminal Court (ICC) if it comes to a vote in the Security Council, The Guardian reports. Moscow’s position was announced by Gennady Gatilov, the deputy foreign minister, and is consistent with previous moves to protect Syrian President…

Former Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer is edging closer to becoming vice chairman of the Federal Reserve. On Tuesday, Fischer’s nomination cleared a key procedural hurdle in the Senate. According to Reuters, the Senate agreed 62-35 to limit debate on the nomination, allowing for a final vote just after midday on Wednesday. Fischer is…

Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal made clear on Tuesday that, despite his group’s reconciliation with Fatah, Hamas was still committed to “resistance” against Israel. The comments were made at a gathering in Doha, Qatar, in honor of “Nakba Day”, what the Arabs see as the “catastrophe” of Israel’s establishment. “We have turned the page on this…

Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was sentenced to three years in prison on Wednesday, after being convicted for embezzling public funds. Mubarak’s two sons, Alaa and Gamal, were also convicted and were each sentenced to four-year prison terms.  All three are accused of using 125 million Egyptian pounds ($17.6 million), which had been allocated for…

Bulgarian Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski began his visit to Israel on Monday by visiting the bereaved families of the five Israelis murdered in the 2012 Burgas terrorist attack. “We are very sorry about the incident in the Burgas airport. We are doing all we can to conclude the investigation on this topic. We are convinced that…

Britain’s Prince Charles was mired in controversy on Wednesday after he reportedly compared the actions of Russian President Vladimir Putin in Ukraine to those of Adolf Hitler. The heir to the throne made the apparently unguarded comment during a trip to a museum in Canada, in conversation with a Polish-born woman who had fled the…

Pope Francis will arrive in Israel next Sunday, where he intends to make a symbolic gesture apologizing for an historic injustice made by the Vatican 110 years ago. In 1904, Zionist leader Theodor Herzl visited the Vatican to ask Pope Pius the Tenth to help establish a modern Jewish state in Israel, the historic homeland…

Anti-Islamist Eric Brazau has helped turn May 20 into “the Day for Drawing the Prophet Mohammed” in Toronto. The tradition began shortly after the Danish cartoon firestorm in 2005 – when a Danish newspaper published depictions of Mohammed that led to violent protests worldwide. The person who initiated the Candian event, Molly Norris, had to go…

While the controversial Enlistment Law from March may have had a negative effect on hareidi draft rates, the Nahal Hareidi brigade continues to shine. For the first time, soldiers of the fifteen-year-old Brigade were given the President’s Award for 2014. Notice of the award was given to reserve members of the Brigade in recent days,…

Israel’s Supreme Court on Wednesday heard an appeal by the parents of a US activist who was crushed to death by an Israeli army bulldozer in 2003. Rachel Corrie was accidentally killed by an Israeli army bulldozer in Gaza, as she stood in a spot where civilians were not allowed and she could not be seen by the driver, this at a time when…

MK Meir Sheetrit (HaTnua) has obtained the necessary ten signatures to run in presidential elections, which are called for June 10. “I call on all candidates to focus the public debate on one issue only – the most suitable candidate who has the power to unite all sections of the people,” he stated, after obtaining…

Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas declared that the PLO does not intend to apply for membership to any more international organizations and agencies Wednesday – at least, not in the near future.  Abbas, who made the comments in an interview with Walla! News, stated that the final decision would ultimately depend on “policy developments” in…

A correspondent for Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine has been forced to leave Turkey temporarily after he received thousands of death threats over his article on the country’s worst mining disaster. “Things have become worse. Since Monday, I have got death threats and other kinds of messages,” Istanbul-based journalist Hasnain Kazim told AFP in an emailed statement on Wednesday. “People are putting my picture…

Major online shopping corporation eBay has been hacked, the company announced Wednesday, and has asked all users to immediately change their passwords.  Or has it? The warning message was deleted a short time later without any explanation from the company, who then stated that there is no evidence of specific information or account information stolen.…

Maccabi Tel Aviv released an official response Wednesday to the torrent of anti-Semitic tweets aimed at their Sunday Euroleague victory, saying the team is “shocked” and “disappointed” at the stream of hate expressed in its aftermath. “Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball wishes to express its shock and disappointment at the hurtful discriminatory comments made on social…

Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday thanked Israel and Norway for canceling their national day receptions in Ankara in light of a mining disaster in Soma. “Some of them called our president [Abdullah Gul], some phoned the parliament speaker [Cemil Cicek] and shared in our grief. I would like to thank the leaders…

The Vatican is not seeking ownership of the Cenacle, or room alleged to be the site of Jesus’s Last Supper, one floor above King David’s Tomb, reports the Salt Lake Tribune. An official quoted by the newspaper on Tuesday said that the Vatican only sought to hold daily Christian prayers at the site. “All the…

Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong followed her meeting with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Monday, where she signed a bilateral cooperation agreement, with a stop in Jerusalem’s Mount Scopus to take part in the opening of Hebrew University’s new Confucius Institute. Yandong’s visit to the campus, accompanied by a delegation of senior ministers and university presidents,…

A top UN official on Tuesday called for an investigation into the deaths of two Palestinian Arab rioters fatally shot last week by Israeli border policemen in Samaria. The youths were shot dead as Israeli police responded to riots on “Nakba Day”, in which anti-Zionists protest the creation of the State of Israel. Assistant UN…

A top UN official on Tuesday called for an investigation into the deaths of two Palestinian Arab rioters fatally shot last week by Israeli border policemen in Samaria. The youths were shot dead as Israeli police responded to riots on “Nakba Day”, in which anti-Zionists protest the creation of the State of Israel. Assistant UN…

A UK student conference claiming to represent over “one million students” has voted “overwhelmingly” for a radical BDS Motion which condemns the very existence of the State of Israel. The “Black Students’ Campaign” (BSC), which is claims to represent Asian, Caribbean, African and other ethnic minority students, voted for the policy at its conference in Coventry,…

Small children arrived at a kindergarten in the upscale Bavli neighborhood of northern Tel Aviv on Tuesday morning as usual. It was only hours later, around 2 p.m., that they discovered a surprise visitor – a poisonous viper snake. The lethal snake was found leisurely loitering in the kindergarten’s playground, an area where the children were…

A project by the Forum for the Elderly in Sderot, the southern town often hit hard by terrorist rocket fire from Gaza, has allowed 51 Holocaust survivors from the town to have a belated Bar Mitzvah ceremony at Jerusalem’s Western Wall (Kotel). The initiative allowing the survivors to make up for the ceremony that was…

Have you always dreamed of starting your own company? The Israel Institute of Technology- TECHNION is now offering a one- year “Start-uP MBA” program for international students. The program provides students the tools and skills to start up their own companies. Firstly, you get a graduate degree in Business Administration with a specific focus on…

Hebrew University researchers have pinpointed the process by which tumors become resistant to cancer treatments, according to NoCamels, paving the way for significant changes in cancer-treating drugs.  While Israel has developed several anti-cancer drugs, not every patient will benefit from every drug; the correct cancer treatment for any given person must be individualized. Research has thus focused…

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie on Sunday called for a more aggressive foreign policy that defends American values abroad, but also said he is concerned about the direction America is heading in, reports Fox News. The comments by the Republican presidential contender were made in a keynote address Sunday at the Champions of Jewish Values…

An IDF Navy force opened fire Monday at a Palestinian Arab boats that strayed from the permitted zone in the waters off of southern Gaza. The boats were lightly damaged and two of the people aboard them were taken to questioning. Voice of Israel public radio adds that Gaza Arab media reported that two Palestinian…

The Thai army said Monday night that it is imposing martial law amid a political crisis “to preserve law and order.” The surprise announcement also granted the army wide-ranging powers to enforce its decision. It follows six months of violent unrest and anti-government demonstrations and comes one day after the country’s caretaker prime minister refused…

An IDF raid on the Jenin refugee neighborhood in Samaria Tuesday exposed weapons and improvised explosive devices, as well as knives and various kinds of ammunition. In the course of the raid, local terrorists fired live rounds at the soldiers and hurled firebombs. No one was hurt and no damage was caused. The IDF force…

A car accident outside the community of Mitzpe Yericho, located in the Binyamin region of Judea between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea, has led to telecommunications being disconnected throughout the town, sources told Arutz Sheva Tuesday.   One resident’s car hit a Bezeq phone tower and caused severe damage to the entire infrastructure, they said. Telephones…

The death toll in Syria’s three-year conflict has exceeded 160,000 and no end is in sight, an activist group said Monday, according to The Associated Press (AP). The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it has documented 162,402 deaths since the uprising against President Bashar Al-Assad’s government began in March 2011. The figure includes…

Egypt’s former foreign minister, Amr Moussa, denied on Monday that he had said that Hamas must recognize Israel, Al Ahram reported. AFP several weeks ago quoted Moussa as having said that Hamas must recognize the existence of Israel in order to make it possible to move forward with a Palestinian state. “It is normal for…

Israel has sent two anti-terror experts to Nigeria to join the search for hundreds of schoolgirls kidnapped by vicious Islamist group Boko Haram, an Israeli security source said on Tuesday. “There are in Nigeria two advisers who have dealt with terrorist matters in the past,” he told AFP. “They were sent there by the state to help.” The…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu hosted on Monday evening the members of the Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball team upon their return to Israel after winning the Euroleague championship on Sunday. The meeting was held at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv. The Prime Minister told team coach David Blatt, “We have something in common. This is…

Egypt is working to revoke the citizenship of Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar, a senior official told Al Arabiya on Monday. According to Major General Hussein Ridi, Assistant Interior Minister for Passports and Citizenship, a proposal to revoke the citizenship of al-Zahar and 11 members of his family has been submitted to the Cabinet for approval.…

Three Egyptian policemen were killed at Cairo’s al-Azhar University on Monday night, the Interior Ministry said, according to Al Jazeera. The attack comes a week before the presidential election that former army chief Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is expected to win. According to security sources, assailants stepped out of two cars and opened fire on a…

Jerusalem skaters now have a place to call their own. The city has opened a park dedicated to skaters, skateboarders, and other “extreme sport” lovers. The park was inaugarated Monday by Mayor Nir Barkat. The park was established in the city’s Gan Hapa’amon municipal park. It is 2.5 dunam (about half an acre) large, and…

Al Qaeda terrorist and radical London-based Islamist cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri has been found guilty on multiple charges of terrorism in a US court, BBC News reports Monday night.  Prosecutors at the court in New York said Hamza – who was tried as Mustafa Kamel Mustafa – assisted the kidnappers of 16 tourists in Yemen in 1998…

Four young men who belong to the Italy’s National-Socialist party were investigated by Milan’s MEDIGUS (Department of General Investigations and Special Operations) division Monday, Kikar HaShabbat reports, for promoting racist and anti-Semitic propaganda.   Three of them were running for political office in Terranova dei Passerini, a town 36 miles south of Milan.  Authorities in Milan recently…

The United States has accused a foreign country of spying yet again – but this time, Israel is not the target.  The US Department of Justice filed indictments against five senior officials in the Chinese military Monday, accusing them of cyber-espionage and stealing trade secrets. According to Attorney General Eric Holder, the hackers targeted nuclear power,…

Englishman Nicholas Winton, who saved hundreds of Jewish children in Prague from the Nazis before World War II, will receive the Czech Republic’s top honor, its president said Monday. “Your life, Sir Nicholas, is extraordinary for many reasons,” President Milos Zeman said in a birthday message to the Briton of German-Jewish origin, who turned 105 on Monday. “It provides above all…

Knesset Speaker, MK Yuli Edelstein (Likud-Beytenu) is expected to finish the consultation process regarding election of a new president, and officially announce on Monday the date in which MKs will select President Shimon Peres’s successor. The vote is supposed to be carried out no later than a month before mid-July, when the present president’s term…

The United Nations (UN) is set to hold a special discussion on Monday about the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), a special UN organization tasked specifically with supporting “Palestinian refugees” – the descendants of Arab residents who left Israel in 1948. In the discussion, Middle East specialists and historians are to present facts about the…

India’s Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi has expressed his desire to “deepen and develop” ties with Israel, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Sunday, and it appears that Netanyahu’s words do not constitute diplomatic flourish but, if anything, understatements. “On Friday, I spoke with the Prime Minister-elect of India. There, too, there is a clear expression of…

Egypt is continuing its crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood, and on Sunday a local court jailed more than 160 supporters of the Islamist movement to up to 15 years in prison. According to a Reuters report, the defendants chanted “Down with military rule” as Judge Hassan Fareed handed down 10-year jail terms to 126 Brotherhood…

Turkish prosecutors on Sunday charged three people with reckless manslaughter over last week’s mining disaster that left 301 dead, AFP reports. Rescue operations ended on Saturday in the western town of Soma after the bodies of the last two trapped miners were retrieved following the country’s worst ever industrial disaster. Prosecutors said they have ruled…

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong in Jerusalem Monday, in a continued bid to strengthen the relationship between the two countries.  Netanyahu began by welcoming Yadong, and praising the “great success and growth of the Israeli-Chinese cooperation and relationship.” He noted that the relationship continues to grow. “A year ago, I…

Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’s senior security adviser has lent his support to recent calls for the PA to abandon security arrangements established with Israel in the 1993 Oslo Accords. Tawfiq Tirawi, who also serves as a member on Abbas’s Fatah faction’s Central Committee, and is the former head of the Palestinian General Intelligence Service,…

Binyamin Ze’ev (Theodor) Herzl’s personal dedicated autograph from 1900 was sold last weekend for a figure of $67,000. The autograph, in German, which was written for a Viennese resident whom Herzl apparently didn’t know, says, “He who has no idea what he is willing to die for, is not worthy of living.” The selling price…

Elbit Systems will unveil on Tuesday a new mortar, called Hanit (Spear), which features low recoil and can be mounted on light vehicles. The mortar represents a new generation of the CARDOM mortar that serves the IDF and other armies. Hanit is a 120 mm modular mortar with full autonomous abilities, and its low recoil…

The IDF and the US military cooperated Sunday in a large drill simulating a multi-front missile attack on Israel by Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and Iran, Channel 2 reported Sunday. During the exercise, about 1,000 American soldiers stationed in Israel joined more than 4,000 Israelis, to practice the protection of the State of Israel in a…

Israel’s tourism ministry said Sunday it expects the papal visit later this month to give a sharp boost to tourism by Christians, who already account for most of the market. “As a result of the visit to the Holy Land by Pope Francis, who is such a popular figure and significant leader for the world’s…

For some, Lag Ba’omer is a spiritual day for reflecting on the philosophy of the Zohar, as handed down by Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, whose life is commemorated on the day. For others, Lag Ba’omer is a day of joy and happiness, and end to a period of semi-mourning instituted to remember the destruction caused…

Pope Francis will begin his visit to the Holy Land next week with a trip to Bethlehem, but he is unlikely to raise the subject of the exodus of Christians from that city in recent decades. As the papal visit nears, the talk in the media – and statements from the Catholic Church – are…

The government has officially informed the Knesset that there will be no change in the status quo at David’s Tomb in Jerusalem. Members of the Knesset’s Internal Affairs and Environment Committee received a missive Sunday from the committee chair, MK Miri Regev (Likud-Beytenu), which included a copy of a letter she received from Minister of…

As Syria’s bloody civil war enters its fourth year, Arutz Sheva presents the first in a three-part series investigating the implications for Israel’s security, starting with a look at Syria’s rebel movement. Last week’s indictment of an Israeli Arab man returning from Syria, where he had enlisted as a fighter for the jihadist Islamic State of…

A unique “Peace Run” initiated by an Australian extreme athlete to promote coexistence between Jews and Arabs in Judea and Samaria was dealt a severe blow Sunday, after the Palestinian Authority objected to the presence of Jewish runners. A group of six Israelis were asked to refrain from participating in Australian ultra marathon runner Pat…

Forces apparently loyal to a rogue Libyan general said on Sunday they had suspended parliament after earlier leading a military assault against lawmakers, reports The Associated Press (AP). A commander in the military police in Libya read a statement announcing the suspension on behalf of a group led by General Khalifa Hifter, a one-time rebel…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu phoned Maccabi coach David Blatt and told him, “You did it big time. You kept us on the map. Israelis are lighting bonfires today, but you lit up the court in Milan and we are proud of you.” “A big smile spread across my face and across the faces of all…

The Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball team on Sunday evening won the Euroleague championship game in Milan after defeating Real Madrid by a score of 98-86. While Real had the lead for much of the game, at one point leading by 11 points, Maccabi won the game in regulation. Tyrese Rice hit a three-pointer in the…

Israeli director Hadas Ayalon of Tel Aviv University has been chosen as one of three directors to be awarded medals at the 41st annual Student Academy awards. Ayalon’s film, “Paris on the Water”, was nominated for the foreign language category; her award will mark the first time an Israeli student production has won the award. She…

The terrorist group Hamas says it’s advancing with terror organization Islamic Jihad to integrating into the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), a group recognized internationally as representing the “Palestinian people,” but which has never renounced terror. Speaking last Friday in Gaza’s Al-Omri Mosque, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh announced that in the coming days the temporary leadership…

Jewish residents of Jerusalem suffered from 157 separate terror-related incidents in March, IDF Radio revealed Sunday, in a record upswing in attacks from Palestinian Arab terrorists.  Terror attacks against Jewish Israelis have been on the rise in Jerusalem, which saw 150 incidents in February and 140 in January. On average, Palestinian Arabs attack a Jewish Israeli…

A bomb wounded at least three people at a Cairo election rally for presidential frontrunner Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Saturday, security sources said, according to Reuters A man riding on a motorcycle threw the homemade device in the direction of Sisi supporters at the street gathering of about 150 people in a north-eastern district of…

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A Jewish group demanded Sunday that Arab students who desecrated the sounding of the siren on Memorial Day be expelled from Tel Aviv University. The student group, named simply “Israelis,” said that the Arabs played loud music and shouted anti-Israel and anti-Semitic epithets as students stood at attention, honoring the soldiers who fell in battle for the…

Israel’s top police officer on Sunday vowed to step up police presence nationwide ahead of Pope Francis’s upcoming visit, according to AFP.  “You cannot exaggerate the importance of this visit on both a national and an international level,” Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino told reporters in Jerusalem. The two-day papal visit to Israel, which begins on May 25, was being treated by police…

The IDF arrested 13 Palestinian Arab terrorists overnight, it announced Sunday, in light of increased tensions in Judea and Samaria.  A military spokeswoman told AFP Sunday that the suspects – all wanted for “illegal activities” – were apprehended in Hevron and Bet-Lehem, as well as in two Arab settlements north of Ramallah.  Security forces and IDF…

Israel-based Elbit systems defense company announced Sunday that its wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary, Elbit Systems of America, LLC, has been awarded two contracts, totaling $20.1 million, to support the U.S. upgrade of the U.S. Marine Corps’ Bell AH-1W attack helicopter fleet. The first contract, in the amount of $11.6 million, calls for Elbit Systems of America…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu opened his weekly Cabinet meeting Sunday by addressing disturbing statistics from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which published a survey last week proving that over 25% of the world’s population holds anti-Semitic views.  “This is the result of the Palestinian Authority’s endless incitement against Israel and attempts to distort Israel’s image and…

A Dominican taxi driver has been banned for wearing a swastika, according to the New York Daily News, and is now claiming that his “rights were violated” for adhering to “National Socialism.”  Gabriel Diaz, 27, denies the Holocaust and wears a swastika. But he insists that he “doesn’t hate Jews” (he is just “critical” of them),…

Water and Energy Minister Silvan Shalom held what was termed a “positive” meeting with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Thursday night, Channel 2 News reports. According to the report, the meeting dealt with Shalom’s possible presidential bid, which he is reconsidering now that Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein has said he would be ending the investigation…

The UN organization for women on Friday decried the rising rates of violence against women in the Palestinian Authority, after a woman was slain this week, raising the year’s total so far to 14. UN Women in Palestine said in a statement quoted by the Ma’an news agency that the organization is “seriously concerned” about…

Iran has been recruiting thousands of Afghan refugees to fight in Syria, offering them $500 a month and Iranian residency, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing Afghans and Western officials. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) recruits and trains Shiite militias to fight in Syria. Details of their recruitment efforts were posted this…

A fourth round of nuclear talks between Iran and six world powers ended Friday with both sides complaining that major gaps remained ahead of a July 20 deadline for a final deal, AFP reports. Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, Abbas Araqchi, quoted on state television, reported “no tangible progress” at the talks in Vienna as he…

Israel’s UN mission on Friday launched a campaign to get official UN recognition for Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, AFP reports. The United Nations has decreed 10 official holidays, including Christmas and the Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr, but there is no corresponding Jewish holiday recognized on the body’s official calendar, said…

Jewish pilgrims began arriving on Friday at Ghriba, Africa’s oldest synagogue, on the Tunisian resort island of Djerba for an annual gathering taking place amid heavy security. Police and soldiers deployed along the main road to Ghriba, with checkpoints set up to search vehicles.   The organisers hope to receive 2,000 people during the three-day…

Two Israeli journalists were attacked on Friday afternoon while covering a riot by Palestinian Arabs near the Ofer prison, west of Ramallah. The two journalists, who work for the Hebrew-language news website Walla!, were surrounded and beaten by an angry mob. They were rescued by the Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces and were transferred to…

Iran on Friday expressed dissatisfaction over a decision by an Argentine court declaring an agreement with Tehran to probe the 1994 bombing of a Buenos Aires Jewish center as “unconstitutional.” “The Argentinean court is denying a suitable opportunity to find the truth behind the AMIA disaster and resolve pertinent bilateral issues,” Marzieh Afkham, a spokeswoman…

Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, who is in charge of the negotiations with the Palestinian Authority (PA), met in London with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, Channel 2 News reported on Friday. According to the report, the meeting between the two took place on Thursday, and Livni expressed to Abbas Israel’s dissatisfaction with the unity pact he…

Security forces dispatched reinforcements to Judea, Samaria, and Jerusalem early Friday, ahead of the funerals of two Palestinian Arab terrorists who were killed during Thursday’s “Nakba Day” riots, which mourn the failure of a combined pan-Arab army to annihilate the fledgling state of Israel in 1948 and massacre its inhabitants, just three years after the…

A well-planned firebomb attack on a bus full of Jewish schoolgirls Tuesday could easily have ended in tragedy, but no news source even reported that it took place, except for the one you are currently reading – Arutz Sheva. The girls were sixth-graders from a religious school in central Israel. They were on a bat…

Despite apparently reducing illicit purchases that breach UN sanctions, Iran is pursuing development of ballistic missiles, according to a confidential UN report obtained by the Reuters news agency on Thursday. A ban on developing missiles suited to carrying a nuclear warhead is included in a 2010 Security Council resolution imposed on Iran for defying council…

U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday marked the dedication of the September 11 Memorial Museum. The dedication was attended by former New York mayors Michael Bloomberg and Rudolph Giuliani, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, and relatives of the more than 2,700 people who were killed in the Al-Qaeda terrorist attack in 2001. “It is an…

Arch-terrorist Marwan Barghouti, who is serving five life sentences in an Israeli prison for his role in planning suicide terror attacks, has welcomed the Hamas-Fatah unity pact and stressed that there can never be a peace agreement with Israel unless the “Palestinian refugees” are allowed to return to their homes. Barghouti’s remarks were made in a…

Hezbollah, Lebanon’s most powerful terrorist organization, stated Friday it had warned the Maronite patriarch of the “negative repercussions” of his plan to accompany Pope Francis to Jerusalem this month. “We presented our perspective and point of view and laid out what we see as the negative repercussions of this visit,” Ibrahim Amin al-Sayed, head of the terror group’s “political council,”…

Security forces expelled a family by force and destroyed their home in Givat Assaf in Samaria on Friday morning. The Supreme Court had ordered the evacuation of the small community, which is located near Beit El, by next Sunday. Residents on Thursday agreed to dismantle their own community, so as to prevent the forced demolishing…

Two Arab terrorists from Hevron approached the home of Monique and Sraya Ofer last October. Moments later, Sraya was murdered – with 44 blows from an axe.  On Friday, Monique returned to her home – and the murder scene – for the first time, re-enacting the terror attack for Israel Hayom.  Monique saw the terror…

A pregnant Sudanese woman who married a Christian man was sentenced to death Thursday for refusing to recant her Christian faith, her lawyer said, according to The Associated Press (AP). Meriam Ibrahim, whose father was Muslim but mother was an Orthodox Christian from Ethiopia, was convicted of “apostasy” on Sunday and given four days to…

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday that he has seen “raw data” indicating that the Syrian government has used chlorine gas as a chemical weapon in a “number of instances” in recent months, The Washington Post reports. “There will be consequences” if evidence of new chemical use is confirmed, Kerry said during…

Pope Francis apparently feels very at ease over his visit to Palestinian Authority (PA) controlled areas during his May 24-26 visit to Israel. The Vatican reported on Thursday that he will ride in open-top non-bulletproof cars in Bethlehem. The pope’s predecessor, Benedict XVI, rode in a bulletproof “popemobile,” an armored car introduced after the attempted assassination of…

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met on Thursday with Israel’s chief peace negotiator, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni in London, AFP reported. Officials in Washington emphasized the surprise meeting happened because Kerry and Livni both happened to be in London at the same time and was not indicative of new developments in the stalled peace…

This past week, Religious Zionists of America (RZA) sponsored the first official visit to the United States by the Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi David Lau. RZA Chairman, Martin Oliner, noted that the goal of the visit was to personally introduce Rabbi Lau to a wide array of religious, political, philanthropic and educational institutions, as…

“When the world is full of great opportunities, it’s also full of great threats,” Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said today during a troop talk to U.S. and Israeli troops taking part in the Juniper Cobra 14 exercise at Hatzor Airbase. Hagel thanked the troops for their efforts, adding that they were doing “important work at…

Arutz Sheva got the chance to talk with Rabbi Allen Schwartz, who recently deciphered the previously lost commentary of a famous Jewish scholar from the Middle Ages. Rabbi Schwartz has been the congregational rabbi of Manhattan’s Ohab Zedek (OZ) synagogue since 1988, and is working on his doctoral thesis at Yeshiva University’s Bernard Revel Graduate School. The…

The security arrangements between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA), established in the 1993 Oslo Accords, have reportedly continued in previous weeks despite the PA’s torpedoing of peace talks by signing a unity deal with Hamas. That all might change however, after a senior PA official told Walla! that the security arrangements are on the brink of…

The mayor of Kharkiv, Gennady Kernes, gave his first interview Thursday after surviving an assassination attempt, to Israeli TV Channel 1. Kernes’s relatives had three senior Israeli doctors flown into Ukraine after the shooting, and these doctors had him flown to Israel. “The doctors in Ukraine don’t know how to deal with gunshot victims like…

US Secretary of State John Kerry will meet later Thursday with Israel’s chief peace negotiator Tzipi Livni in London, a US official said. The meeting comes a day after the top US diplomat met with Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud Abbas in the wake of the collapse last month of Kerry’s dogged bid to broker a…

An Egyptian court on Wednesday sentenced 79 supporters of ousted president Mohammed Morsi to jail terms of between five and 10 years over their involvement in deadly clashes, judicial sources said, according to AFP. The defendants were convicted for participating in clashes between Morsi supporters and opponents that killed 12 people in the Mediterranean city…

In what appears to be another step in the implementation of the Hamas-Fatah unity agreement, Gaza security forces on Wednesday began leaving Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’s house in Gaza City. Sources close to the issue in Gaza told the PA-based Ma’an news agency that the house, which is located in Tel al-Hawa in…

Hundreds of Arab residents of Judea, Samaria and Gaza rioted on Thursday for “Nakba Day,” the Arabic word for catastrophe designating the creation of the Jewish state of Israel 66 years ago, when hundreds of thousands of local Arabs left Israel at the behest of invading Arab armies. While Arab citizens of Israel annually protest by…

Israel and the United Kingdom have set up a new bilateral fund for joint research into cyber defense, to the tune of 7 million NIS (£1.2 million, or just over $2 million). The agreement, which on the Israeli side includes the National Cyber Bureau at the Prime Minister’s Office and the Israeli Ministry of Science,…

Christian Arab residents of the village of El-Khader in the Bethlehem area were savagely attacked by local Muslims as they celebrated a Christian holiday last week. A report by CAMERA, an organization which monitors anti-Israel bias in the media, reported that Christians attempting to enter Saint George’s Monastery in the village were intimidated and attacked…

In an interview with Japanese media Wednesday, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said that he was asked by US Secretary of State John Kerry if Israel was prepared to make peace with only half of the Palestinians – and Netanyahu said that, for lack of a better option, Israel was prepared to do so. “Kerry asked…

A deal between the US State department and the Iraqi government appears to have been struck to keep the Iraqi-Jewish archive in the US, the World Organisation of Jews from Iraq (WOJI) has announced. The archive, as the collection of 2,700 restored Jewish books and thousands of documents is known, is due to return to…

Over 1,000 job seekers attended the fourth OU Job Fair in Israel this week, seeking positions offered by some 60 potential employers who were participated in the fair. Among the employers at the event, held in the Jerusalem Gardens Hotel on Tuesday, were publishers, investment firms, cellular phone companies, real estate firms, outsourcing companies, as…

U.S. ground and air forces held joint exercises with their Jordanian counterparts on Wednesday as the conflict in neighboring Syria showed no let-up. According to the AFP news agency, among those taking part in this year’s war games are more than 1,000 soldiers and marines that Washington kept stationed in Jordan after last year’s “Eager…

Four weeks from publication of her new memoir, Hillary Clinton on Wednesday robustly defended her record as secretary of state and navigator of hot-button crises like Iran’s nuclear drive and elusive Mideast peace. The book, “Hard Choices,” is set for a June 10 release and offers Clinton a framework for criss-crossing the country to boost…

US Secretary of State John Kerry met late Wednesday in London with Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas for their firstface-to-face talks since the peace process collapsed last month, US officials said, according to AFP.  The two were meeting in an upscale hotel for what US officials have billed as “informal” talks, seeking to downplay any hopes of a…

A huge explosion and fire rocked a mine near Soma, Turkey on Wednesday, killing 245 people. Another 120 people are feared trapped – or dead. The crisis began after a fire broke out, shutting down ventilation shafts and elevators shortly after 3 pm local time Tuesday. After an all-night rescue operation, over 450 people have…

Israel said it had “no intention” of giving the Vatican sovereignty over King David’s Tomb in Jerusalem, AFP reports Wednesday, after hundreds of hareidi Jews protested at the site ahead of Pope Francis’s visit later this month. “Contrary to rumors in Israel, there is no intention to transfer to the Vatican sovereignty or ownership on the Tomb of David…

In what has become something of a trend, two US congressmen participated in a fact finding mission on the Temple Mount early Wednesday morning, to witness firsthand the discriminatory treatment meted out to non-Muslims on Judaism’s holiest site. Congressmen Andrew Harris (R- Maryland) and Ron DeSantis (R-Florida) were taken on a tour of the holy site in Jerusalem…

The New York Police Department (NYPD) defended its ongoing use of Muslim informants to stop terrorism Wednesday, amid an ongoing debate on defense and civil rights. The Demographics Unit, comprised of a team of detectives assigned to create databases on where Muslims lived, shopped, worked and prayed, was officially disbanded in April in the wake…

Actor Danny Glover is one among several celebrities who on Tuesday called for a boycott of Israel, according to JNS. The celebrities are featured in a documentary film entitled “American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs” which is being screened at the DocAviv festival in Tel Aviv. “We stand in solidarity with the people…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu warned that Iran “would share whatever (nuclear) technology it acquired with North Korea,” in an interview with one of Japan’s leading newspapers on Tuesday. Speaking to Mainichi Shimbun during his visit to the country, Netanyahu remarked that in the ongoing negotiations with world powers, Iran is seeking “the capacity to make nuclear weapons. …The outcome, if that…

MK Rabbi Dov Lipman visited Moreshset Yisrael, the Conservative synagogue in central Jerusalem that was the victim of Monday’s anti-Semitic ‘price tag’ attack. Unknown vandals scrawled swastikas inside Stars of David on a sign at the synagogue’s entrance. Lipman was shocked to learn that he was the first government representative to reach out to the synagogue following…

Building and Construction Minister Uri Ariel on Wednesday met with the Australian Ambassador to Israel, Dave Sharma, in the governmental complex in eastern Jerusalem, located north of the Arab-majority neighborhood of Shimon Hatzaddik (Sheikh Jarrah). In the meeting, Ariel called on Sharma to relay to Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott his thanks for Abbott’s, and…

The long arm of the law extends far, but sometimes not far enough.  US-Jordanian citizen Muhammad Abu Nakhla was sentenced to 24 years in Illinois prison in 2005, after shooting fellow motorists in the Chicago streets. But he never served his sentence, instead escaping to Jordan and the Palestinian Authority (PA).  Israeli police picked up…

Authorities stopped a truck carrying tens of thousands of eggs from Palestinian Authority-controlled areas of Judea and Samaria into Israel. The eggs have been confiscated and are set to be destroyed, police said. The truck attempted to pass through an IDF checkpoint and enter the Jerusalem area. Police were waiting for the truck, after information…

US Secretary of State John Kerry will meet Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in London on Wednesday, a PA official said, weeks after Middle East peace talks collapsed. “The meeting will discuss a possible resumption of negotiations with Israel,” the official told AFP, requesting anonymity. “The meeting could be the last attempt by Kerry to revive negotiations,” he added. …

Steven Spielberg and Jewish organizations around the world have endeavored to record as much testimony from Holocaust survivors as possible, mindful that the day is coming when no one will be left to tell their stories.  But what about the story of the founding of the State of Israel? Enter Eyewitness 1948, a short film series…

The number of French Jews emigrating to Israel rose nearly four-fold in the first quarter of the year and could touch a record in 2014, a Jewish organization said Monday. The Jewish Agency for Israel, a global body responsible for the immigration and absorption of Jews into Israel, said 1,407 people left France for Israel between January and March against…

A terror attack was narrowly averted in the early hours of Tuesday morning, news site 0404 reports, after a terrorist lobbed an improvised bomb at IDF soldiers near Jenin. No injuries were reported.  IDF forces conducted a raid in the Jenin area overnight, arresting 11 terrorists. Security forces also confiscated improvised weapons at the scene; an investigation…

Several protests took place in Norway as President Shimon Peres visited Oslo. About 15 people who gathered outside the royal palace tried to interfere with the visit but were dispersed by police, who arrested one of them. Outside the parliamentary building, about 250 protesters from leftist organizations demonstrated and demanded the release of Palestinian Arabs…

Top diplomats from Iran and six world powers geared up on Tuesday for a crucial round of talks aimed at reaching a long-term deal regarding Tehran’s nuclear program. A senior US official said negotiators from the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany were already in Vienna, preparing for the official start on Wednesday. In the evening, the powers’…

The Knesset Committee for Foreign Affairs discussed the controversy surrounding a possible transfer of King David’s Tomb to the Vatican on Tuesday, after an emotional protest Monday night outside the holy site.  During the debate, MK Meir Porush (UTJ) turned to Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman and asked whether or not the rumors were true. Apparently,…

Ehud Olmert was sentenced to six years in jail and two more years’ suspended sentence in the Holyland trial. The sentence is identical to the six years requested by the prosecution. Olmert will appeal the sentence to the Supreme Court. Seven of the ten people convicted arrived in Tel Aviv’s District Court Tuesday to receive their…

Yeshiva University (YU) has introduced a new online program that seeks to revolutionize the Torah-learning experience. Rabbi Ari Sytner, director of Community Initiatives at YU’s Center for the Jewish Future (CJF), created the new online program to provide the wider public with a unique interactive Torah-learning experience. “We wanted to come up with a revolutionary…

Two Republican US congressmen, Andy Harris (MD-R) and Ron DeSantis (FL-R), visited the Gush Etzion region of Judea on Tuesday with their wives. The congressmen were accompanied by the Gush Etzion Regional Council Chair Davidi Perl, Ruti Liberman of the “Yes Israel” organization, along with Yesha Council members. “Yes Israel” and the Gush Etzion Regional Council organized the…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Tuesday declared that the Palestinian Authority (PA) will be held responsible for violence from Gaza in light of the unity deal. His comments came while on an official visit to Japan, which will end on Thursday. Meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, Netanyahu mentioned the reconciliation deal made between…

A confidential new report by a UN panel highlights Iran’s methods of evading the sanctions that were imposed on it. The report, obtained by Reuters on Monday, shows that these methods range from concealing titanium tubes inside steel pipes to using its petrochemical industry as a cover to obtain items for a heavy-water nuclear reactor.…

Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, the leading candidate in the race for Egypt’s presidency, said Monday that there is a chance for “true peace” with Israel, if it adopts the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative. The comments by Sisi were made in an interview to Sky News, the same interview in which he stated that, if elected, he…

For the final project in his “Social Media to Drive Business Results” course at Yeshiva University’s Stern College for Women, Adjunct Instructor Rob Longert gave students a simple assignment: raise money for a charitable cause by crowdfunding – collecting small amounts of money towards a shared goal from a large group of donors, usually via online…

US Secretary of State John Kerry will meet Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in London on Wednesday, a PA official said, weeks after Middle East peace talks collapsed. “The meeting will discuss a possible resumption of negotiations with Israel,” the official told AFP, requesting anonymity. “The meeting could be the last attempt by Kerry to revive negotiations,” he added. …

Hundreds of religious Jews gathered Monday near the reputed scene of Jesus’s last supper in Jerusalem demanding that Israel keep sovereignty over King David’s Tomb, according to AFP.  Pope Francis will visit the Holy Land from May 24-26 and before returning to Rome is set to hold a mass in the site known as the Upper Room or Cenacle, on Mount Zion near…

The fundamental unity between the town of Yitzhar in Samaria and the IDF, despite recent clashes between the army and a violent element in the town, was displayed on Sunday, as a paratrooper resident of Yitzhar was given an award of excellence by the IDF. Muli Leiner was given the award by his brigade commander in…

Iran has unveiled a copy of the US Lockheed Martin Sentinel RQ-170 drone which it downed in 2011. The copycat aircraft is due to take test flights soon, officials said at the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Council’s Aerospace Exhibition. Israel’s air force only recently held maneuvers designed to deal with a sophisticated Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) threat,…

Campaigning began Sunday for Syria’s June 3 presidential election, AFP reports. In Damascus, campaign posters lauding President Bashar Al-Assad hung on shopping streets and in public gardens, in the run-up to the country’s first multi-candidate presidential vote. The election is being staged despite a raging civil war, with dozens of people dying across the country…

The Islamic Jihad terrorist group recently held a military maneuver in which it presented anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons. Footage of the maneuver aired on Mayadeen TV and was broadcast on May 7. During the maneuver, the group said it was preparing “for what is to come” and stated that members of its “military wing”, the…

Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas thinks that Hamas, with whom he recently signed a reconciliation pact, does not need to recognize Israel. A senior PA official on Sunday told the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper that Abbas insists that Hamas does not need to recognize Israel or renounce terrorism, even after the unity pact with his…

Anonymous vandals committed a “price tag” vandalism attack on Monday morning at Moreshet Yisrael, a synagogue of the Conservative movement in the center of Jerusalem. On a sign at the entrance to the synagogue, Jewish stars with Nazi swastikas in the middle of them were scrawled by the vandals. According to the synagogue, this isn’t…

Fifty of the more than 200 Christian schoolgirls kidnapped in Nigeria by Al Qaeda-linked terrorist group Boko Haram have reportedly been sighted in central Africa, far from where they were abducted in western Africa.  The Nigerian Daily Punch on Sunday translated and published reports by the French news source Jeune Afrique, which on Friday revealed villagers had seen…

Israel Electric Corp is suing a private Palestinian Arab firm for $150 million in unpaid bills, after negotiations to settle the debt collapsed, officials said on Monday. The IEC filed suit at the Jerusalem District Court on Thursday against the Jerusalem District Electric Company for a total of 531 million shekels ($153 million/111 million euros), a company statement said. JDECO is a…

Good news for new olim (immigrants to Israel) – the headache of turning your foreign driver’s license into an Israeli driver’s license just got easier. MK Dov Lipman (Yesh Atid), himself an immigrant from America, has been pushing for an automatic transfer of licenses for immigrant drivers without the high fees and bureaucracy. Lipman welcomed…

Monday bore tidings of more Jewish buildings in Judea and Samaria being demolished by the state, but also of enforcement of the construction law against Arab infringements in two separate cases. A regional court in Lod rejected a petition against a Magistrates Court ruling, thereby backing the orders to evacuate illegal structures on lands in…

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Sunday visited an exhibition showcasing the latest achievements of the Revolutionary Guards air force. According to the Fars news agency, Khamenei received a two hour tour of the exhibition and was presented with state-of-the-art equipment and hardware. The report claimed that among the items in the exhibition was…

Egypt’s former army chief and leading presidential candidate, Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, said Sunday that, if elected, he would be willing to consider making changes to the peace agreement with Israel. “If we are asked to make amendments to the peace treaty with Israel, we will do it,” Sisi said in an interview with Sky News,…

The management of El Al, Israel’s national airline, on Sunday evening reached an understanding with striking pilots that has brought an end to the strike. The understanding between the sides was reached with the help of the Histadrut Labor Federation. On Thursday, the company’s pilots staged a surprise job walk-off, stranding hundreds of passengers at…

A wedding in Tel Aviv was marred on Sunday, as the Jewish tradition of breaking a glass under the chuppah (wedding canopy), in memory of the destruction of the First and Second Temples, left the groom with a deep cut in his foot. The marital mishap occurred at an event hall on Hatzfira Street in…

Israel’s army on Sunday declared part of the Golan Heights a closed military zone, fearing battles on the Syrian side would spill over the ceasefire line. An army spokeswoman told AFP the area around the Quneitra crossing was closed “for security reasons.” Speaking to AFP, security sources said they feared fighting between rebels and Syrian army forces would affect the area.…

Egypt’s chief prosecutor on Saturday charged 200 suspected terrorists with carrying out over 50 terrorist attacks, killing 40 policemen and 15 civilians and conspiring with Hamas, The Associated Press (AP) reports. It is the first mass trial of a Jihadi group since the country’s recent turmoil, noted the news agency. The defendants, 98 of whom…

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu arrives in Tokyo later Sunday for talks with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe where he is expected to take up the issues of Iranian nuclear talks and economic cooperation. Netanyahu is likely to press Japan to side with Israel over nuclear talks between Iran and six world powers when he…

Authorities in the Samaria community of Emmanuel were shocked to discover an Arab “price tag” attack on Saturday night, after a bus stop was vandalized with hate graffiti.  Palestinian Authority (PA) flags were flown at the stop, as well as a sign posted saying, “Israel is a terror state / Get out of our land.” …

Jeff Stein, the Newsweek reporter who wrote a controversial article alleging that Israel still spies on the US, spoke about the allegations in an interview with IDF Radio Sunday. Stein began by citing a story from a former CIA operative, who insisted in the article that Israel tried to spy on former Vice President Al…

Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz (Likud) welcomed the decision to enforce life sentences for terrorists on Sunday, and added that convicted terrorists should be given the death penalty.  “This is a just law, a deterrent which prevents Israel from being extorted and surrendering during negotiations, and which puts an end to releasing murderous terrorists,” Katz said,…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu offered on Sunday to help Nigeria in trying to recover roughly 300 Christian schoolgirls, who were kidnapped by the Al Qaeda-linked terrorist group Boko Haram. “Israel expresses its deep shock at the crime against the girls,” Netanyahu reportedly said by phone to Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, while on an official visit…

After five years of discussions and deliberations, the National Council of the Israel Lawyers Forum authorized rules that will enable courts to appoint attorneys for those who cannot afford to pay for them. Until now, such attorneys were appointed at the court’s discretion, but if the new rules are approved by the Knesset, anyone who…

On a visit to Norway Sunday, President Shimon Peres discussed another trip he took to the country more than 20 years ago, when he helped forge the controversial Oslo Accords. “I have good memories of Oslo,” said Peres. “I am hopeful that we will be able to complete the peace process that we started here,…

Pro-Israel students at Tel Aviv University faced off against Arab and leftist students who were commemorating the “Nakba” outside the campus on Sunday morning. The pro-Israel groups held signs and distributed leaflets proclaiming the true intention of the leftist groups – the destruction of the State of Israel. About 300 Arab and leftist students carried…

Sunday could prove to be a landmark day for terror victims’ rights if Economics Minister and Jewish Home party head Naftali Bennett has his way. Two bills will be up for debate in the Knesset tomorrow in a bipartisan effort to put an end to the practice of releasing convicted terrorists from jail. Writing on…

Censure motions against two Tunisian ministers accused of promoting “normalization” with Israel were withdrawn late Friday, just before deputies in the Islamist-dominated parliament were due to take a vote. The motions were filed late last month against Tourism Minister Amel Karboul and Deputy Interior Minister for Security Ridha Sfar, with documents purporting to show that…