Category: News

A large factory for manufacturing rockets in the Sinai was discovered and destroyed by Egyptian security forces, the blogger Elder of Ziyon reported on Tuesday, citing Egyptian media. Authorities said that the rockets were being manufactured for the Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis jihad group. Five tons of explosive materials were discovered and destroyed, according to the…

The British parliament passed a non-binding – but possibly monumental – resolution Monday night to recognize the Hamas-Palestinian Authority (PA) “unity government” as “Palestine.” However, many of the MPs abstained from voting, a source told Arutz Sheva on Tuesday – not due to apathy about Israel, but due to fear of conflict and political turmoil in largely…

Anti-Defamation League (ADL) National Director Abe Foxman expressed on Tuesday the League’s deep dismay at UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s “stunning” bias in his recent remarks on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “The Secretary-General showed a stunning lack of objectivity on the issues surrounding the reasons for the recent violence in Gaza and inexplicable silence when it came…

Some 60,000 people came to the city of Hevron Monday and Tuesday, to celebrate the holiday of Sukkot (Feast of the Tabernacles).  Of those, a record 40,000 flocked to the city on Monday alone, to attend a rally featuring musical performances and speeches by public figures. Musical performances combined singers from a variety of worlds –…

Israel warned Tuesday that a vote by British parliament in favor of recognizing a Palestinian state risked undermining the prospects for peace. “Premature international recognition sends a troubling message to the Palestinian leadership that they can evade the tough choices that both sides have to make, and actually undermines the chances to reach a real…

Israeli news media on Tuesday morning headlined an alleged ‘Price Tag’ attack on a mosque in the village of Akraba, near Shechem. The mosque was set on fire overnight, according to Palestinian Arab sources, who reported the alleged attack to Israeli authorities. Police said that they were aware of the report but had no further…

Five senior Taliban leaders in Pakistan swore allegiance to the Islamic State (ISIS) and its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi earlier this week – the latest in a series of regional leaders of local Islamist extremist groups pledging to the international terror organization.  The organization’s spokesman, reading the oath on audio tape, noted that Pakistani Taliban…

A US government-funded September 2, 2014 scientific quantitative transmission analysis study (the Spread-Risk Ebola Study) wholly contradicts and refutes Obama’s statements on September 16 that the chances of a US Ebola breakout are “extremely low,” Arutz Sheva has discovered. The study also contradicts the anti-travel ban claims made by the US, UN, WHO and CDC.…

Sweden recognized “Palestine” on the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, and on Monday the UK followed suit in a non-binding vote – now “frustrated” European officials reveal that they are ready to take their diplomatic war on Israel to the next stage. According to European diplomats who spoke to Reuters, the European Union (EU) is looking…

The British parliament on Monday recognized the Hamas and Palestinian Authority (PA) unity government as a “state” in a non-binding vote, but apparently the unilateral move was not enough to satisfy either Hamas or the PA. PA foreign minister Riyad al-Malki on Tuesday urged London to “immediately recognize the state of Palestine,” calling for the non-binding…

Interior Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovich (Yisrael Beytenu) and Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino made an attempt at reconciliation on Tuesday, after a very public spat erupted between the two defense officials earlier this week.  The meeting was held in “good spirits,” the Israel police announced after the meeting, and noted that a public hearing will be…

Islamic State (ISIS) has published a new edition of the propaganda booklet Dabiq, which is again signaling its primary enemy – Christianity.  On the cover page of the booklet is a photo of the Vatican bearing the ISIS flag, along with the terror group’s desires to conquer Rome and “break the cross.”  According to some Islamic…

One day after the UK voted for a non-binding recognition of “Palestine,” a process urged forward by radical Arab MK Ahmed Tibi (United Arab List) who flew to London to convince British MPs to vote for the motion, a call has risen in the Knesset to dismiss the notoriously anti-Zionist MK. MK Miri Regev (Likud)…

Israel began transporting construction materials into Gaza on Tuesday, in a “humanitarian gesture” to the Hamas-controlled territory which may be already rebuilding terror tunnels into the Jewish state.  The “aid” includes 600 tons of cement, 50 truckloads of aggregate and 10 truckloads of steel.  The office of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories…

The Iranian negotiating team has left for a fresh round of talks on Tehran’s nuclear energy program scheduled to be held in Vienna, media reported Tuesday. The team is being led by Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, according to Iran’s Press TV. The Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) reported that Zarif is scheduled to meet European…

A UN worker infected with Ebola has died in a Liepzig hospital Tuesday, after he traveled to Liberia to treat the disease as part of the organization’s relief effort.  The man, a 56 year-old doctor from Sudan, is the second person from the UN Mission In Liberia, or UNMIL, to have died of the disease.…

The British MP representing two of London’s primary Jewish neighborhoods resigned as a parliamentary private secretary on Monday, in direct protest of the UK’s vote to recognize “Palestine.”  Following the resignation – which he announced on Twitter – MP Mike Freer stated he had no regrets.  “I had to vote and it was therefore easy to…

The British parliament on Monday night officially voted in favor of recognizing the “state of Palestine”. The non-binding resolution was passed by 274 in favor to 12 votes against, to “recognize the state of Palestine alongside the state of Israel” as part of a “contribution to securing a negotiated two-state solution”, according to AFP. The…

Israel is joining a group of 41 countries, members of the World Trade Organization, that have agreed to drop all customs duties on goods that contribute to a cleaner environment. Among the participating countries are the US, China, Japan, and the EU countries. Combined, they account for nearly 90% of the trade in environmentally-conscious goods.…

On Monday, Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal stated that “Iranian forces in Syria are occupying forces,” and that Iran must “pull its forces from Syria.” Prince al-Faisal made his statement at a joint press conference in the Saudi Arabian Red Sea city of Jeddah with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Al-Faisal’s legal designation…

A new poll shows that two thirds of Israelis believe the women should have more of a role in negotiations with the Palestinians. A total of 75% of women and 59% of men said that including more women would have “a positive effect” on negotiations. The poll was initiated by a group supporting UN Resolution…

President Reuven Rivlin addressed the annual conference of the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem on Monday, emphasizing the importance of interfaith cooperation after the announcement of a joint initiative to stop the persecution of Christians in the Middle East.    Rivlin delivered his speech in front of a crowd of 4,500 Christian supporters of Israel, who…

Israelis seeking the latest and greatest in iPhone technology now have a date to look forward to. The iPhone 6 will be arriving here on October 23. The date was announced Monday by Apple’s official Israeli importer. The devices – both the iPhone and iPhone 6+ – are already being sold in Israel, by several…

A semi-public spat between Interior Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovich (Yisrael Beytenu) and Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino has sparked yet another scandal within the police, an anonymous officer related Monday – and provoked disgust for the system itself among its ranks.  Danino and Aharonovich traded barbs Sunday, after Danino stated in a Yediot Aharonot interview over the weekend…

Prominent leaders of major Jewish and Christian global organizations announced a “historic” joint initiative on Monday, calling on world leaders to take urgent, determined actions to halt the brutal persecution of Christians in the Middle East in a Jerusalem press conference.  The joint initiative was unveiled at the Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) celebration sponsored by the International Christian Embassy…

IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz on Monday hosted representatives of all of the IDF’s military wings and divisions. The event took place at the Defense Ministry’s Sukkah in Tel Aviv. Those present included top officers and soldiers who had excelled in service from IDF land, sea, and air forces. Among those at the event…

Justice Minister Tzipi Livni (Hatnua) told United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Monday that it is important to oppose Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’s unilateral moves to achieve statehood through the UN. Failure to do so, Livni told Ban, sends Abbas a message that he can avoid negotiations. “The Palestinians’ attempts to…

The Israeli Embassy in London responded on Monday night to the British parliament’s passing of a non-binding motion to recognize “the state of Palestine”. In a statement, the Embassy said that Palestinian statehood can only be achieved through negotiations. “The road to a Palestinian state goes through the negotiating room. International recognition sends an alarming…

“Palestine” cannot be divided with the “descendants of apes and pigs”, said an imam in a recent sermon delivered in Denmark. The sermon, which was delivered by Sheik Muhammad Khaled Samha and posted to the internet in September, was translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI). During the sermon, Samha said, “[Palestine] is…

The sister of British hostage John Cantlie has appealed for “direct contact” with the “Islamic State” (IS or ISIS) terrorists holding him, the BBC reported on Monday. The journalist, who was kidnapped in Syria in 2012, has appeared in several videos released by ISIS. The latest video, the fourth in the series, was released on…

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Monday a nuclear deal with the West was bound to happen and he believed it could be achieved by a November 24 deadline, Reuters reports. “We have reached consensus on generalities and there are only the fine details to be worked out: whether we would reach an agreement within…

North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-Un has made his first public appearance for more than a month, AFP reported on Monday night, citing state media which said the leader visited a new housing complex in Pyongyang. It marked the first time Kim has been seen since early September an extended absence that fuelled intense speculation, including…

Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has once again threatened to cut ties with Israel if his latest unilateral move at the United Nations (UN) fails. Speaking on Monday to reporters in Cairo, on the sidelines of the international donors’ conference on rebuilding Gaza, Abbas declared that his talks with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry…

The openly anti-Semitic Jobbik party in Hungary has made gains in local elections won convincingly by Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s ruling nationalist Fidesz, the BBC reported on Monday. Jobbik came second in 18 out of 19 counties, ahead of the Socialists, as in the May European elections, and won control of 14 towns and villages,…

Accusations are flying against both a doctor and the administrative staff at Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center, Channel 2 revealed Monday night, after miscommunication allegedly botched a liver transplant – killing the patient.  Six days ago, Dr. Hadar Merhav, the director of the Transplant Unit at Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center, received an alert that a patient…

Housing Minister Uri Ariel (Jewish Home) on Sunday took part in celebrations at Itamar dedicating a new synagogue built in memory of terror victims from the Samaria town, and at the event vowed to end the construction freeze – not for the first time. Speaking at the dedication, the minister of housing said “enough of…

“New Family,” an organization that promotes civil unions, gay “marriage” and adoption, single-mother families, sperm donations and other halakhically (Jewish legal) problematic endeavors in the realm of family, has taken down a controversial Facebook video against women’s ritual immersion in mikveh pools, reported Channel 2. The video that provoked intensely negative reactions showed a woman…

Yariv Oppenheimer, chairman of ultra-leftist group Peace Now, signed a police complaint Sunday alleging threats against his life by followers of nationalist activist Baruch Marzel. On his Facebook page, Oppenheimer wrote that he is “exiting the police station now, worried and pessimistic. The telephone won’t stop ringing and on the other end, human scum who…

New Israel Fund-linked groups have launched a two-pronged advertising campaign on Jerusalem’s buses; one by the Yerushalmit Movement, and the other by Women of the Wall – both NIF grantees. Women of the Wall’s ads encourage girls to have a Bat Mitzva ceremony at the Western Wall (Kotel), featuring a girl wrapped in a tallit…

According to a senior diplomatic source in Jerusalem, the chances of a deal being reached on Iran’s nuclear program between it and world powers before the November 24 deadline are slim – but US President Barack Obama is liable to flex on several points, including the deadline. “When there’s a will on the part of…

Three people were lightly hurt Monday morning as a result of a blast that occurred at a Paz gas station on Hahoma Hashlishit street in Jerusalem, not far from the Old City. Magen David Adom emergency rescue teams tended to the injured and evacuated them to hospital. The reason for the blast is not known,…

The Israel Navy has conducted a successful secret test of the Barak 8 missile, which is designed to defend ships from the much-vaunted Yakhont anti-ship cruise missiles, reports Channel 2. The Yakhont missiles are one of the greatest threats to the Navy’s vessels, mostly because of their potential use by Syria and Hezbollah. The missile flies…

Arabs on Monday were caught red-handed cooking up another “tree libel” against Jewish residents of Samaria. The Arabs were seen cutting down olive trees and demolishing fences in an Arab olive grove near Har Bracha in Samaria, apparently intending to blame the damage on Jews. Two volunteers working with the Samaria Residents Council caught the…

A national-religious rabbinical organization has advocated the inclusion of women in Simhat Torah celebrations, ruling that women can – and, indeed, should – be allowed to dance in the women’s section of the synagogue during the hakafot prayer service.  The Beit Hillel (lit. “House of Hillel”) rabbinic organization released a ruling in its pre-holiday booklet earlier this week stressing…

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu fired at UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon’s insistence that the “occupation” justified Hamas’s launching over 3,600 rockets on Israeli civilians on Monday, in a series of remarks before a private meeting with the international figure.  Netanyahu began by noting that the entire concept of an “occupation” in Gaza has been…

An Israeli Arab who has been missing and was rumored to be fighting for ISIS in Iraq has contacted his family. Mohammed Kalini, one of three residents of the Galilee village of Kfar Yafi’a, contacted the family, a relative said. Kalini confirmed that he and two other residents of the village had crossed the border…

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Monday blamed “Palestinian extremists” for the constant barrage of Arab rioting on the Temple Mount Monday, vowing nonetheless to maintain the “status quo” of Jewish discrimination at Judaism’s holiest site.   “Israel is committed to maintaining the status quo exactly as it’s been for many decades. What we’re seeing is Palestinian extremists…

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon toured sukkot booths in several communities in Judea and Samaria on Sunday, where he met with regional leaders on contemporary issues of government and defense.  Ya’alon visited the communities of Har Bracha, Beit El, and Eli – where he spoke with legislative and religious leaders, residents, and members of Likud.  During the…

US National Security Adviser Susan Rice said Sunday ground troops will be a part of the campaign to combat Islamist terror group ISIS – but she repeated the Obama administration’s position that these must be Iraqi forces, and not U.S. troops, warning the effort to combat the terrorists who have seized large parts of both…

President Reuven Rivlin and First Lady Nehama Rivlin opened their official home to the public on Monday morning, with this year’s Open Sukkah themed ‘Sukkot in the Environment” and hosted in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry for Environmental Protection. The aim of the event was to promote awareness of the importance…

Despite being a citizen of Israel and a member of the Israeli Knesset, radical Arab MK Ahmed Tibi (United Arab List) is in London on Monday to take part in a diplomatic push urging the British parliament to recognize “Palestine” in a non-binding vote. Tibi is talking with British MPs of the Labor party, whose member…

The brutal jihadist Islamic State (ISIS) terror group that has seized large portions of Iraq and Syria in recent months released the fourth edition of its English-language digital magazine “Dabiq” on Sunday, in which it encourages taking women as sex slaves as part of Islam. In the article in question from the digital publication, entitled “The…

United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said on Sunday that the “occupation” is responsible for the recent war in Gaza. Ban, who spoke at the international donors’ conference on rebuilding Gaza in Cairo, was quoted by The Associated Press (AP). “We must not lose sight of the root causes of the recent hostilities: A…

Turkey will let U.S. and coalition forces use its bases, including a key installation within 100 miles of the Syrian border, for operations against the “Islamic State” (ISIS) in Syria and Iraq, American defense officials said Sunday, according to The Associated Press (AP). The Obama administration had been pressing Ankara to play a larger role…

The son of a Hezbollah leader who was eliminated in Syria in 2008 is following in his father’s footsteps and has received a senior role in the Lebanese-based terrorist group, Israel’s Channel 10 News reported on Sunday. The report, which cited an interview given by an official in the Syrian opposition to CNN Arabic, said…

Top federal doctors acknowledged Sunday that a “breach in protocol” resulted in a Dallas hospital worker getting Ebola while treating the country’s first patient, Fox News reported. According to the doctors, changes in the handling of such cases are being made. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases,…

Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists have released a fourth propaganda video showing abducted British journalist John Cantlie delivering a message under duress, the Guardian reported on Sunday. In the 6 minute 53 second video, posted online by the group’s Al Furqan media outlet, Cantlie, who has been held prisoner for almost two years, said Islamic State…

The international donors’ conference on rebuilding Gaza, which began on Sunday in Cairo, left out Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s key demand for Gaza to be demilitarized. During Israel’s self-defense Operation Protective Edge in Gaza this past summer, Netanyahu demanded that the rehabilitation of Gaza be linked to its demilitarization. However, officials admitted to Channel 2…

Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas met on Sunday with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Cairo, following the international donor’s conference for Gaza, the Bethlehem-based Ma’an news agency reported. The two discussed international efforts for rebuilding Gaza and reviving the Israeli-PA peace process, according to the report. Other officials were present at the…

Russia announced on Sunday that it will back Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’s plan to ask the United Nations to impose a deadline for Israel to withdraw from Judea and Samaria. “I cannot see any reasons to cavil about this text, or about the Palestinian people’s wish to say once again ‘let’s have a…

The widow of Dror Hanin, who was killed during Operation Protective Edge from a Gaza mortar as he gave out gift bags to soldiers, was a victim of a rock terror attack on Sunday. Arabs threw rocks at the widow’s car as she was making her way towards the city of Modi’in with her children…

Nefesh B’Nefesh is now receiving nominations for the second annual Bonei Zion Prize. The $10,000 award recognizes Olim from English-speaking countries who have made significant contributions to the State of Israel in the fields of science and medicine, community and non-profit, education, IDF and national service, entrepreneurship and technology, and culture, sports, and art. From…

The management of the Jerusalem Light Rail has long been faced with the phenomenon of rock-throwing Arab youths in eastern Jerusalem.  The damage caused to Light Rail trains in recent weeks has also caused significant traffic disruption in Israel’s capital. Saturday night saw four separate incidents of rock throwing in Arab neighborhoods. No one was hurt, but the…

Hamas leader Khalil al-Haya insisted that Hamas “would not abandon its weapons” on Saturday, boasting that the group is allegedly closer to defeating “the Israeli entity and its leaders” more than ever. “We say to those who brought the Jews [to Israel] from all over the world, we are now confident and believe more than…

Deputy Knesset Speaker Moshe Feiglin (Likud) attacked the Israeli police’s decision to close the Temple Mount to Jewish worshipers on Sukkot. Sukkot is one of the three Jewish pilgrimage holidays that in ancient times required Jews to travel to the Temple in Jerusalem – a practice maintained today.   The decision to bar Jewish worshippers comes following an onslaught…

Leonard Petlakh, a local Jewish leader in New York City, was attacked by pro-Palestinian protestors outside the Barclay’s Center on Tuesday night, following a pre-season game between the Brooklyn Nets and Maccabi Tel Aviv. The event also included a dinner sponsored by Friends of the Israeli Defense Forces (FIDF) in honor of the IDF.  Petlakh,…

Thousands of Israelis and Jews from around the world gathered in the Western Wall (Kotel) plaza on Sunday morning, for the traditional Birkat Hacohanim (Priestly Blessing) ceremony held on Sukkot (the Feast of the Tabernacles).  Morning services began at 8:45 a.m. Mussaf services – including the ceremony – commenced at 10:15 a.m. Several public dignitaries, including Ashkenazic…

The same “conditions” that “provoked” Hamas into waging a war on millions of Israeli civilians still apply, spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri claimed Saturday night.  “The conditions for the situation in Gaza exploding still exist,” Abu Zuhri stated to Al-Jazeera. “On the contrary, they are even tougher now than they were before the Israeli aggression in Gaza.”  Abu…

A wildfire which broke out Friday night at 10 p.m. in the Golan Heights blazed for 12 hours until it was extinguished Saturday afternoon. The fire destroyed 750 acres of forested land, and killed numerous wild animals in the area. “I arrived at the area around midnight and realized that if we didn’t stop the…

In the past three years, more than 35 people were killed in accidents on Route 31 in the South of Israel.  Shmuel Aboav, Executive Director of Or Yarok – an association for safe driving in Israel – stated that there are no lights in many parts of the road, and that entrances and exits to communities…

Thirteen soldiers completed the IDF’s Climbing, Rappelling and Rescue course last week, after facing a slew of diffficult challenges both high above the ground and deep inside it. Now they will train the IDF’s elite units in rescue through the use of ropes, and tactical actions. The Climbing, Rappelling and Rescue instructors – referred to…

Palestinian Authority and Fatah leaders continue to assure Palestinians that participating in a peace process does not mean the end of Palestinian warfare against Israel, but only that the use of violence is on hold. This is the official position of the PA leadership, according to Palestinian Media Watch. Palestinian Media Watch has documented that…

Students at Sapir College, headquartered in the missile-scarred city of Sderot, got a special gift for Sukkot. The Rothschild Caesarea Foundation, a family fund that seeks to promote education in Israel, said Sunday that it was awarding all Sapir students who fought in Operation Protective Edge this past summer a special grant of NIS 5,000.…

The Airports Authority is gearing up to keep the Ebola virus from entering Israel, following a discussion of the international health emergency in the Prime Minister’s Office Sunday. The instructions to all authorities are to prevent unmonitored entry of passengers from countries with a high risk of spreading the Ebola disease. The Airports Authority has…

Former Commander of the Israel Police’s elite Lahav 433 investigative unit, Menashe Arbiv, arrived at the Department for Investigations of Policemen on Sunday, where he will be interrogated for the first time over his alleged involvement in the Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto bribery case. Arbiv has been linked with the case for months. However, new investigations into his role in the corruption scandal…

A report Sunday said that Muslims had attempted to kidnap a Jewish child on the island of Djerba, in Tunisia. The report said that three Muslim brutes had attempted to kidnap the 12-year-old Jewish child in the center of the Jewish neighborhood on the island last Wednesday, on the eve of the holiday of Sukkot.…

After reports that an Israeli Arab had been killed fighting for Islamic State (aka ISIS) in Iraq, Israeli police said that the rumors that at least three other Arabs had gone to fight for the Islamist group were correct. The identities of the three are known, police said and the information on their identities and activities…

President Reuven Rivlin on Sunday visited the central Israeli city of Lod, where he met with members of the Religious Zionist ‘Garin Torani’ )Torah seed group community). The visit was part of Rivlin’s “traveling Presidential Sukkah” program, in which he plans to visit communities around the country. The Religious Zionist Torah seed group community was…

Masterpieces by Leonardo da Vinci and Vincent van Gogh will be among 300 works displayed at the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the Emirate said Sunday, as it aims to become a leader in fine art. The museum, built at a cost of 500 million euros ($630 million) and set to open in December 2015, will feature…

Israeli homebuyers are sitting on the fence, waiting for the passage of the zero-VAT initiative proposed by Finance Minister Yair Lapid – and the latest evidence of that fence-sitting was a sharp fall in the number of mortgages taken out by Israelis in September. Israeli banks wrote NIS 3.9 billion in mortgages in September, compared…

Arab vandals destroyed the gravesite of the Hassidic leader, the Grand Rebbe of Modzitz, according to Modzitz hassidim who visited the site. The gravestone of the leader, Rabbi Yisrael Dan Taub, who died in 2006, was destroyed, along with dozens of others, including several well-known rabbis. The destruction took place at a special section of…

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon on Sunday visited towns in Judea and Samaria, including Har Bracha, Eli, and Beit El. He met with residents and spoke with community leaders, while sampling the Sukkot hospitality of families in the towns. Among those Ya’alon visited were Yoni Yisraeli, chairman of the Har Bracha local secretary and a Likud…

About 3,000 people attended the traditional Sukkot reception at the home of Transport Minister Yisrael Katz (Likud). Among those attending was Culture Minister Limor Livnat, Coalition Chairman MK Yariv Levin, Deputy Transport Minister Tzipi Hotovely, Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman MK Ze’ev Elkin, Knesset Labor and Welfare Committee Chairman MK Haim Katz, and…

Turkey said Sunday that using Turkey as a corridor to transfer weapons and assistance to Kurdish fighters trying to defend the border city of Kobane from Isis was “unrealistic.” Speaking to French media, Mevlut Cavusoglu said that a “more comprehensive” approach was needed to stop ISIS. “Turkey cannot actually give weapons and the civilians and…

International envoys pledged about $5.4 billion in aid for the Gaza Strip at a meeting in Egypt on Sunday, Norway’s foreign minister said. “The participants pledged approximately $5.4 billion (4.3 billion euros),” said Boerge Brende, reading out a closing statement at the Cairo conference which Norway co-hosted. Half of the pledges will go for reconstruction…

Canadian and US authorities are on the lookout for Abderraouf Jdey, a Quebec jihadist said to be fighting on behalf of the Somalian Al-Shabaab terror group. Jdey, born in Tunisia, lived in Montreal between 1991 and 1999. He was last seen in Canada in 2001, but officials fear that he is set to return. Jdey…

There’s “no indication” that North Korean autocratic leader Kim Jong-Un is no longer in power, US National Security Adviser Susan Rice said Sunday on NBC‘s “Meet the Press.” “Obviously, we are watching very carefully what’s happening in North Korea. It’s a country that we monitor with great attention,” Rice said in response to a question…

The head of extreme leftist group Peace Now, Yariv Oppenheimer, asked Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon Sunday to forbid IDF soldiers to eat at the home of nationalist activist Baruch Marzel in Hevron. “Recently,” wrote Oppenheimer in the letter to Yaalon, “the Facebook pages of several soldiers in mandatory duty and the reserves have featured photographs…

Twitter CEO Dick Costolo and his staff have received death threats from the “Islamic State” (ISIS) group, Costolo told Vanity Fair’s New Establishment Summit on Friday. According to the Vanity Fair magazine, after shutting down some of the group’s Twitter accounts, Twitter management dealt with calls for their “assassination.” “That’s a jarring thing for anyone…

A top leader of Egypt’s most active Islamist terrorist group, Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, was killed by Egyptian soldiers in the north of the Sinai Peninsula. The Reuters news agency, citing a military spokesman, reported that the incident took place on Friday. The spokesman said the leader, Shehata Farhan, was implicated in operations targeting police and…

A senior Iranian negotiator says nuclear talks with world powers could be extended again if no deal is reached by the November 24 deadline, The Associated Press (AP) reported on Saturday. The negotiator, Abbas Araqchi, was quoted by the semi-official Fars news agency late on Friday as saying that an extension is under consideration and…

Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) on Saturday night held a coordination meeting regarding the Ebola outbreak, as well as the outbreak of the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS) which originated in Saudi Arabia. The meeting, led by the Coordinator of Government Activities in Judea and Samaria, Major General Yoav) Mordechai, was attended by…

In four separate incidents, Arabs threw rocks on Saturday night at the Jerusalem Light Rail, as it passed near Arab neighborhoods in the capital. No one was hurt but the windows of the trains sustained damage. In another incident in the capital, Arabs from the Abu Tor neighborhood hurled rocks at Border Policemen on the…

The UK is anticipated to pass a non-binding vote on Monday recognizing “Palestine,” but members of the Labor party which proposed the move are reportedly holding an internal revolt against the forced vote. MP Ed Miliband is head of the Opposition and the Labor party, whose member Grahame Morris proposed the vote. His shadow Foreign…

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian on Saturday warned the US that if America and its coalition tries to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad, Israel will be attacked, reports Associated Press. In fact, this is not the first time Abdollahian has made such a warning against deposing Iran’s ally Assad; last September he likewise said…

Arab Bank on Friday formally requested a re-trial from a US federal court in New York after a jury found the Jordan-based multinational liable for 24 Hamas terrorist attacks. The bank claimed the September 22 verdict was “the inevitable consequence of a series of incorrect and prejudicial rulings” and called for a new trial “to correct this miscarriage of…

While many Israelis were outraged by a recent anti-IDF poster campaign by hareidi extremists in which religious soldiers were portrayed as pigs, the campaign has received an enthusiastic endorsement from another group of anti-Zionists: Hamas. On Saturday morning, a Hamas-aligned Twitter account retweeted the image, which showed a “pig” in an IDF uniform wearing a…

French intelligence revealed on Friday that 100 girls and young women have left the country to join Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists in Syria in recent weeks – and that shockingly, one of them was a Jewish girl. How the Jewish girl was ensnared by ISIS recruiters with their extremist anti-Semitic jihadist ideology remained unexplained by…

The body of a second Israeli tourist who went missing after a rafting accident in Peru has been discovered, according to reports. The 21-year-old man’s body will be flown back to Israel for burial. He has not yet been named but is reportedly from Tel Aviv. It comes after the body of the first missing…

The UN remains staunchly opposed to travel bans to countries affected by the recent deadly Ebola epidemic. At last Thursday’s United Nations Headquarter’s daily briefing, in response to Arutz Sheva‘s question as to whether UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon’s stance against a travel ban to and from Ebola-infected countries was based on a quantitative…

Arab terrorists attacked the Jerusalem neighborhood of Maaleh Hazeitim about 3:00 p.m. Friday, targeting Jewish residents with fireworks and rocks. The fireworks caused a fire in the nearby brush, which spread quickly but was extinguished by the residents and private security guards before the fire department showed up. Local residents have decided to begin reporting…

Dr. Richard Horton, editor of the medical journal The Lancet promised while visiting Rambam Hospital in Haifa last week to issue an apology for the anti-Semitic flap his journal raised recently – on Friday he delivered with the response. In July Horton published an anti-Israel “Open Letter for the People in Gaza”; two of the primary authors of…

US Secretary of State John Kerry may have had his efforts to force peace talks on Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) foiled in April when the PA signed a unity deal with the Hamas terror group, but officials say that won’t stop him for calling for a return to talks on Sunday. Kerry is…

Ahmad Shurbaji (23) of Umm al-Fahm may have become the first Arab citizen of Israel to be arrested for joining the brutal Islamic State (ISIS) terror group in Syria last month, but Ahmad Havshi had the “honor” of being one of the first Israeli Arabs killed fighting with them. Havshi, also 23-years-old and hailing from…

Kim Jong-Un, the autocratic leader of North Korea, missed a key anniversary of his Workers’ Party at a mausoleum on Friday according to state media, for the first time since taking power in 2011. Kim hasn’t been seen in public since attending a concert on September 3. In his last filmed appearance in July he…

Just last Friday, Arutz Sheva published an article explaining how the IAEA in November 2011 reported that it had received “highly credible” information that Iran had tested “neutron initiators” at the site, and that Iran had told it that it had exploding bridge wire technology. The same November 2011 IAEA report also reported that Iran had…

Outgoing Interior Minister Gideon Sa’ar (Likud) on Wednesday said his successor will decide whether supermarkets will be open on Shabbat in Tel Aviv, but the Headquarters for the Struggle of Small Businesses and Supermarkets in Tel Aviv says there’s no room for debate. Sa’ar rejected the Tel Aviv Municipality plan to have stores open on…

Police located an explosive left adjacent to a bus stop at the Rehalim Junction in Samaria, located near Kfar Tapuach and not far from Ariel. There is currently confusion as to the nature of the device, after Judea and Samaria district police said it was a dummy bomb. IDF Border Patrol sources emphasize, however, that…

Hours after NBA player Danny Green faced a firestorm for his “Holocaust selfie” in Berlin, a British soccer player made a similar blunder in merry old England.  Liverpool defender Jose Enrique posted his tweet on Wednesday, showing his “new beard” – and what is characteristically called a “Hitler mustache.”  “Surprised my girlfriend with a new…

As the storm rages around the Facebook protest calling for Israelis to migrate to Berlin for supposed lower costs of living, organizers say they have received 9,300 Israeli requests to move to Germany – and one German IDF soldier can’t understand why. Cpl. Anshel Holzapfel, a 19-year-old Jewish lone soldier from Germany who left his…

The Jewish Home (Bayit Yehudi) party has announced the formation of a new English Speakers’ Forum, to expand the party’s outreach to Israel’s sizable “Anglo” population. The Forum, part of wider efforts to increase representation within the party from different sectors of Israeli society, was created with the goal of increasing activity in the party…

Toronto saw the dawn of “Black September” in 2014, according to the Toronto Star – with the most murders in one month over a 25 year-period.  Twelve people were killed in September 2014, the most since 1990.  On average, the Canadian metropolis sees just 5-7 murders per month, and September 2014 breaks a previous record of…

The mother of an IDF Golani Brigade soldier who fell in battle is waging her own war on Friday: the war to keep her son’s memory alive on Facebook.  Ben Vanunu, 19, fell fighting terrorists during Operation Protective Edge in Gaza. But Vanunu’s mother told Yedioth Aharonoth Friday that she would like to continue operating his Facebook…

The 42-year-old Briton who spewed anti-Semitic curses on September 16 on a London bus filled with Jewish schoolchildren was found guilty of his crimes on Thursday. The man, Ian Campbell of Bowes Road, N11, was arrested in late September and charged with “using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behavior to cause harassment, alarm or distress”…

Hareidi extremists have launched a fresh campaign of incitement against religious IDF soldiers, just over a month since Israel’s 50-day war with Gazan terrorists, which saw more than 60 soldiers give their lives in battle. Posters appeared in several hareidi neighborhoods over this week portraying hareidi soldiers as pigs. One particularly provocative poster shows a…

Islamic State (ISIS) could be planning to use biological warfare against the West, a military expert stated earlier this week – by introducing the Ebola virus into the camps of its enemies.  While the theory sounds like it was ripped from the script of the 2002 horror classic 28 Days Later, it is feasible, experts say. …

A conference that aims to raise billions of dollars to “rebuild Gaza” after Hamas’s latest terror war on Israel faces “donor fatigue,” an insider told AFP on Friday.  The United Nations’ Palestinian Arab “refugee” agency, the UNRWA, has described the financial needs as “unprecedented” ahead of the Cairo meeting, which follows Hamas’s third war on Israeli civilians in six…

Three leading Christian clerics in Israel on Friday called on more European governments to recognize “Palestine” as a state with eastern Jerusalem as its capital. The call from the Arab Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Lutheran prelates came after EU member Sweden last week announced its intention to recognize Palestinian statehood late last Friday during Yom Kippur. The UK…

South Korea on Friday said it returned artillery fire after being shelled by its northern neighbor, reports the South Korean Yonhap News Agency. Apparently the clash came as South Korean activists launched balloons condemning North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un, after North Korea threatened “catastrophic” consequences if the activists weren’t stopped. This is not the first time…

The Nobel Peace Prize committee in Oslo selected children’s rights advocates Pakistani 17-year-old Malala Yousafzai and Indian Kailash Satyarthi as winners of the prize for 2014. Yousafzai gained recognition after being shot in the head by Taliban terrorists in 2012 for her stance of advocating women’s education. She miraculously recovered from her wounds, but her struggle…

Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, the rabbi of the Kotel (Western Wall) and Holy Sites, decried the Arab attempts to wreck the week-long Sukkot holiday by launching violent riots against police and Jewish visitors on the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism. Speaking to Arutz Sheva, the rabbi argued that the Arab rioters are intentionally trying to…

Sivan Bar Or, whose husband Major Tzafrir Bar-Or hy”d was killed in the IDF’s Gaza counter-terror operation Protective Edge, gave birth Thursday night to a baby boy in Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Hospital. Tafrir was Deputy Commander of the Golani Brigade’s Reconaissance Battalion. Siven was in her 26th week of pregnancy when she learned that her…

Apparently Israel’s “gesture” to allow 500 Gazans to pray on the Temple Mount on the Eid al-Adha “sacrifice of Ishmael” – which fell on Yom Kippur and Shabbat – wasn’t enough to appease the terrorist group Hamas. Hamas on Thursday threatened to attack Israel on the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism, this Friday…

After the first Ebola case diagnosed in the US, and the first case of the virus being contracted in Europe, the Ebola outbreak gripping the world continued to expand its grasp Thursday as a British citizen reportedly died of the disease in Macedonia. The Macedonian Health Ministry said the man started showing symptoms while staying…

Kuwaiti newspaper A-Rai reported Thursday that the explosion that took place earlier this week at the Iranian nuclear site in Parchin was not the result of a malfunction, but an intentional act of sabotage. The report relies on European diplomatic sources in Washington, DC, who said that a foreign country carried out the attack in…

NBA player Danny Green, a shooting guard for the San Antonio Spurs squad that won the NBA Championships last season, sparked outrage on Wednesday for an insensitive “selfie” picture posted on Twitter and Instagram at the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin. The Spurs were playing Alba Berlin as part of the NBA Global Games. On the…

An Israeli rescue expedition will land in Lima, Peru, Thursday night, and help look for the two Israelis who went missing in a rafting accident Tuesday. The mission includes three soldiers from the IDF’s elite 669 rescue unit, who brought along advanced mechanical equipment. There is growing concern for the fate of the rafters, a…

Hamas “political wing” official Muhammad Nazal on Thursday announced his terrorist organization is preparing for the start of a channel of negotiations with Israel, meant to release hundreds of terrorists in exchange for the bodies of fallen IDF soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul hy”d. Nazal said the talks will begin very soon, and apparently…

British lawmakers on Monday will take part in a non-binding vote to recognize “Palestine,” after Sweden made a storm by likewise pledging its commitment to recognize a Palestinian state late last Friday on the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. The symbolic vote, which is being followed closely as a barometer of greater European pressure on the Jewish state, is on…

Intelligence officials told NBC News that Canadian authorities have heard would-be terrorists discussing potential ISIS-inspired “knife and gun” attacks against U.S. and Canadian targets inside Canada. While the intelligence officials said that some of the discussions raise the possibility of attacks on U.S. citizens and other U.S. and Western targets in Canada, they have not…

State Department spokesman says while US would want to see more permanent ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, US aid is not necessarily contingent on that. Israel must play a role in the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, a top US official said Wednesday ahead of key donor talks in Cairo, also pressing all sides…

US official says Ankara can do more to help Syrian Kurds in Kobani, but is ‘using excuses not to do more’ out of political desire to weaken Kurds. As United States generals and Secretary of State John Kerry warn that a strategic Syrian border town could fall to Islamic State militants, the Turkish military has…

Tehran denies entry to American member of UN nuclear watchdog delegation, fails to respond on time to questions about alleged research activities into explosives testing and neutron calculations. The UN nuclear watchdog appears to have failed in talks with Iran this week to substantively advance a dragging investigation into suspected atomic bomb research by the…

Satellite evidence has been received that refutes the denials of the Iranian government regarding this week’s mysterious explosion at the military compound in Parchin, Israel Defense reported on Wednesday. Satellite images of the area, to the east of Tehran, prove that the explosion reported by the Iranian media had, indeed, occurred inside the military compound…

Switzerland has joined a growing list of countries that have banned the Islamic State (ISIS) group and related organizations, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. The move that comes as the Alpine nation steps up measures to prevent Swiss citizens from traveling to the Middle East to fight for the extremist group. The Federal…

The cabinet of the Palestinian unity government will meet for the first time on Thursday, and the meeting will take place in Gaza. The Ma’an news agency reported on Wednesday that over 50 members of the presidential guard will accompany Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah on his visit to Gaza for the cabinet meeting. The security…

Hours after Arab rioters attacked Israeli security forces at the Temple Mount, Jordan criticized Israel on Wednesday over security forces’ conduct in reaction to the riots. “The forces of the occupation … prevented religious officials entering (the compound) and cleared it of all Muslims, while at the same time enabling Jewish extremists to storm it,…

The European Union’s foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton will meet Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Vienna on October 14, Reuters reported Wednesday. The two will be joined the next day by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, the EU said in a statement. Iran and major powers are seeking to settle a dispute…

A 17-year-old Jewish teenager, who lives in the Old City of Jerusalem, was attacked on Wednesday afternoon by two Arab minors. He did not require medical treatment. Police launched an investigation and, with the assistance of two surveillance cameras, arrested two suspects in the assault, Arab youths aged 15 and 16, residents of the Old…

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations (UN), Ron Prosor, on Wednesday called on the UN Security Council to act to disarm the Hezbollah terrorist group, following its attack on Israeli soldiers along the border a day earlier. In a letter to the Security Council, Prosor pointed out that the Lebanese-based group blatantly violates the ceasefire…

Canada’s House of Commons has voted in favor of sending Canadian aircraft and personnel to join coalition airstrikes in Iraq against the “Islamic State” (ISIS). The vote took place on Tuesday night, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). “We do not take this step lightly. The threat posed by [ISIS] is real,” said Prime…

Similar protests were held across Europe Tuesday by Kurds attempting to draw greater attention to the Islamic State’s continued attack on the town of Kobani in northern Syria. In Brussels, 50 activists forced their way into the parliament to demand Europe do more to aid the beleaguered forces fighting ISIS. In Turkey, where Kurds make…

MK Hanin Zoabi (Balad) appealed on Tuesday to the High Court, asking that it issue an injunction against the Knesset’s Ethics Committee’s decision to bar her from the Knesset committees and plenum for six months. The punishment, handed down to Zoabi in July, followed complaints filed against Zoabi by several MKs, including Knesset Speaker MK Yuli…

London police have arrested four suspected Islamic terrorists in several raids throughout the British capital, The Associated Press (AP) reported on Tuesday. The report quoted local police who said that officers fired a stun gun at one 21-year-old suspect, but he did not need medical treatment. The four suspects are aged 20 and 21. Police…

The owner of a new Facebook page urging Israelis to move to Berlin fired back at Finance Minister Yair Lapid on Tuesday evening, after Lapid gave a series of interviews to Israeli media outlets in which he criticized the campaign. “Today, Yair Lapid referred to the supporters of the Berlin protest as anti-Zionists,” the owner…

Former President Shimon Peres has become one of a few leaders to have a neighborhood named after them while still alive. On Tuesday, Peres inaugurated a new neighborhood named after him in Haifa. The neighborhood, Neot Peres, is located in the southern part of Haifa, the third largest city in Israel. The inauguration ceremony was…

Turkey has asked the United States to step up airstrikes to keep “Islamic State” (ISIS) fighters from seizing a key Syrian Kurdish border town, a senior Turkish official was quoted by Reuters as saying on Tuesday. “Our government and our related institutions have emphasized to U.S. officials the necessity of immediately ramping up air bombardment…

Congressman Brian Higgins (NY) and Representative Doug Collins (GA) on Tuesday led a bipartisan effort in writing to Secretary of State John Kerry regarding the use of United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) facilities to maintain rocket stockpiles during the conflict between Israel and Hamas. In the letter, Higgins and Collins urge the State…

According to Playbill, The Metropolitan Opera has canceled its scheduled talk for “The Death of Klinghoffer”, the play about 69-year-old New Yorker Leon Klinghoffer, who was killed by terrorists of the Palestine Liberation Front (PFLF). The event was slated to have featured directors and stars of the production, which premiers later this month. In an…

Cabinet Approves 2015 Budget Following Marathon Talks After 10 hours of discussion, the Cabinet approved the state budget proposal for 2015. The Cabinet approved the state budget proposal for 2015 on Tuesday night, following a 10-hour marathon discussion on the issue. All the ministers in the Cabinet voted in favor of the budget, with the…

Syria has declared four chemical weapons facilities it had not mentioned before, a special representative of the UN secretary-general told the Security Council on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press (AP). The news heightened concerns that the Syrian government hasn’t been fully open about its chemical weapons program. Diplomats said the official, Sigrid Kaag, told…

The deputy leader of the Hezbollah terrorist organization, Naim Qassem, said on Tuesday evening that his group is prepared to fight Israel if necessary. Speaking hours after Hezbollah claimed responsibility for a bomb attack along the Lebanese-Israeli border which wounded two IDF soldiers, Qassem was quoted by the Daily Star as having said the attack…

Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu) has taken Israel’s stance to the Swedish people on Wednesday, publishing an article on his opposition to Stockholm’s announced intentions to recognize a “Palestinian state.”  The article, entitled “Unilateral Action Does Not Solve Everything,” was published in Dagens Nyheter Wednesday morning in Swedish.  Liberman began by emphasizing that he believes the…

Look for Levi Duchman on a bike. Not just any bike, though; the 21-year-old Chabad yeshiva student of Brooklyn is riding around on a modified pedi-cab – an adult-sized tricycle that instead of having a set of seats in the back attaches to various holiday accoutrements. For example, there’s a sukkah for Sukkot, a giant dreidel for Hanukkah, and a year-round customized display…

The European Union and several countries have decided to no longer participate in UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) sessions that single out Israel as a violator of civil rights. The decision has many Islamic countries up in arms. Agenda Item 7 of the UNHRC is entitled, “The Human rights situation in Palestine and other occupied…

Crowdsourcing may be the key to prosecuting foreign nationals fighting in Syria, the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) revealed Tuesday, as it asked for the public’s help identifying an Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist. “We need the public’s assistance in identifying U.S. persons going to fight overseas with terrorist groups or who are returning home from…

While there has been public controversy over the ceasefire ending to the 50-day Operation Protective Edge, the IDF has been lauded for its brave actions in the war fighting Hamas terrorists embedded deep in the civilian population of Gaza. That heroism was displayed by the elite Duvdevan special operations undercover unit, which was in Gaza…

Masked Arab rioters threw fireworks and rocks at security forces on the Temple Mount on Wednesday, in what has become a tradition of riotous violence before the major Jewish holiday of Sukkot.  Riot police pushed the attackers back by setting up roadblocks, but it was not enough to deter the unrest.  The rioters continued to…

New details in connection to the arrest of four Islamic terrorists on Tuesday reveal that the cell was affiliated with the Islamic State (ISIS), and planned a brutal beheading – or beheadings – on the streets of London. MI5 (British intelligence) and police monitored the four, arresting them while they were in the “early stages” of…

The mayor of Nazareth Illit, Alex Gadalkin, spoke to Arutz Sheva about the trove of Islamic State (ISIS) flags found in his city earlier this week, noting that he hopes the incident will soon be resolved – and forgotten.  “We hope that security forces quickly find who did it, and that we can put this incident…

Recent clashes with terrorist group Hezbollah along the Lebanese border have spiraled out of control, security sources told Israel Radio Wednesday, warning they could potentially lead to another conflict in the north in the near future.  Two charges detonated inside Israeli territory along the Lebanese border at Har Dov left two soldiers wounded on Tuesday.  Hezbollah claimed responsibility for…

Outgoing Interior Minister Gideon Saar announced Wednesday morning that his successor will make the final decision on the issue of opening supermarkets in Tel Aviv on the Sabbath.  In June the Likud politician rejected the municipality’s plan to legalize the opening of market stores on the Sabbath. The municipality responded that it would appeal to…

The U.S.-led coalition has carried out sustained air strikes against the terrorist group Islamic State (aka ISIS), as the battle for control of Kobani on the Syrian-Turkish border intensifies. According to Euronews, while coalition aircraft attacked from the sky Syrian Kurds launched a ground offensive against the extremists’ positions. Dutch warplanes attacked an ISIS convoy…

“The health care system has no money and patients are paying the price,” the Israeli Medical Association (IMA) wrote in strongly-worded letter sent to Finance Minister Yair Lapid and Health Minister Yael German Wednesday, warning that the hospital’s financial deficit is putting patients in jeopardy.  Walla reported that the letter, signed by the chairman of…

An unidentified man was killed Wednesday afternoon in a car explosion on Geva Street in Netanya.   Rescue crews took the man out from the burning car, already dead. A preliminary police examination revealed that the car, a BMW, belonged to a senior criminal in Netanya, who was not inside the vehicle at the time…

Three soldiers from top secret IDF Intelligence Corps units were arrested Monday on suspicion of carrying out computer-related offenses, reports Online 2 news. The investigation into the case has been carried out for some time by the Investigative Military Police. Two of the soldiers were brought before a judge Tuesday and the third was to…

More than two days have passed since all contact was lost with two Israeli tourists who went missing in a rafting accident in Peru; on Wednesday, fears deepened that the two 20-year-olds from Israel’s central coastal region may have drowned. The six other tourists in the accident on Peru’s Apurimac River were rescued on Tuesday, and…

Cyprus Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides has expressed “great concern” about developments in Lebanon, “where there is an immediate risk for Cyprus if ISIS or Jihadist terrorists advanced to the shores of the Mediterranean,” reports the Famagusta Gazette. Kasoulides also “stressed that due to its geographical position, the Republic of Cyprus is at the forefront and is the…

The U.S.-Israel alliance “is crumbling” due to waning support for Israel among Democrats and “total disrespect” for the Obama administration among segments of the Israeli government, according to President Barack Obama’s former Middle East envoy Martin Indyk, in what was described as “a frank off-the-record talk” at the Adas Israel synagogue in Washington, D.C., during the…

Israel’s Histadrut trade union federation warned Tuesday of potential strike action against state-owned companies in response to government plans to privatize some of them. According to AFP, the action could affect defense manufacturers, airports, the railway and the national electricity corporation, among others. Histadrut “announced industrial disputes with 11 government companies,” saying the action was…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu plans to move up the Likud’s next primaries to an earlier date than planned, and will start taking steps in this direction right after the holidays end, according to Channel 2. The report went on to say that Netanyahu seeks to change the Likud constitution and strengthen his standing within the…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu held a discussion Tuesday on the continued problem of illegal immigrant workers, as legislators scramble to react to a controversial decision by the High Court to scrap the so-called “Infiltrator Law” aimed at tackling the problem. Attending the discussion were Interior Minister Gideon Saar, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, Public Security Minister…

There is a deep-seated controversy currently raging in Israel over the status of the Conversion Authority, over who should supervise conversion to Judaism, sit on the Rabbinic conversion courts and have the initial and final say on the criteria under which a convert can be accepted as a Jew. Israel’s Chief Rabbinate and its Rabbinic…

Events in the eastern Mediterranean waters south of Cyprus are escalating rapidly, as Cyprus’ President Nicos Anastasiades’ suspended reunification peace talks with Turkey and Turkish-occupied Northern Cyprus, after Turkey issued an unusual Navigational Telex, or NAVTEX, and a Turkish frigate violated the Cypriot Economic Exclusion Zone (EEZ) in Cyprus’s southern waters. A government spokesman in Nicosia…

Sheffi Paz, a resident of a southern Tel Aviv working class neighborhood, was a member of the ultraleftist Meretz party for 40 years. ”Now I won’t go near you,” she told Meretz MKs in a heated debate following the High Court decision to strike down the Infiltrators Law. Meretz supports the decision, which makes it…

The IDF has slammed today’s attack on its soldiers along the border with Lebanon as “a blatant breach of Israel’s sovereignty,” as the UN called for “maximum restraint” following the bombing. Two soldiers were wounded earlier Tuesday in a bomb blast inside Israeli territory along the country’s northern border with Lebanon. Security sources said one…

The postal crisis is due to end after weeks of strikes, Channel 2 reports Tuesday, and a final agreement between the Finance Ministry and the Postal Workers’ Union is due to be announced at a 1 p.m. press conference.  Early details about the agreement indicate that the number of days workers will be sent on rounds will…

SWIFT, the Belgium-based financial transfer services giant, announced on Monday that it has received calls to disconnect Israel from its network – calls by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement which it will ignore. The massive system, whose name stands for the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, and which connects over 10,500 banks, financial institutions and…

Three of the attorneys defending Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto have filed for withdrawal from the corruption case in the Tel Aviv District Court on Tuesday, after the rabbi violated terms of his plea agreement.  The attorneys, all of whom hail from the law offices of Zeligman-Goldfarb, have been named as Moshe Mazor, Ro’i Bichler and Eli Zahar,…

The inscriptions were deciphered by Assaf Peretz, an archaeologist and historian of the Authority. “Among other things, two names were identified inscribed into the rock in English: Cpl Scarlett and Walsh,” said Peretz. “Adjacent to the names, the abbreviation RAE was carved with two numbers, NX9168 and NX7792. Under the writing appears the date 30/05/1940.”…

Twenty-five Islamic State (ISIS) flags were found in Nazareth Illit, Walla! News reports Tuesday, giving further rise to concerns over the jihadist terrorist group’s popularity with Arab citizens of Israel. City employees found a bag filled with the tiny black flags on the side of a highway, according to the daily, and turned it over to…

Two residents of the coastal city of Petah Tikva were arrested on Tuesday, over suspicions that they were running a cocaine laboratory in their apartment. The two, aged 33 and 37, were suspected of importing liquid cocaine, and then working on the illegal drug in a laboratory established in their apartment in the city to…

Finance Minister Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) fired criticism at a Facebook page urging Israelis to move to Berlin, saying that the issue is not just a matter of prices, but a matter of national loyalties.  “This is a discussion on the identity, history, and purpose of our country,” Lapid stated, in an interview on IDF Radio‘s…

The Iron Dome has proven to be an effective weapon against rockets fired from Gaza, Lebanon and the Sinai desert, with a success rate of about 90% in intercepting projectiles – and its unrivaled capabilities have no competition in the global arms market. But despite the Dome’s boon for international security and trade, industries from…

Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for a bomb attack along the Lebanese-Israeli border which injured two IDF soldiers Tuesday afternoon. Hezbollah terrorists “detonated an explosive device on the Shebaa hills against a motorized Israeli patrol causing a number of injuries among the occupation’s soldiers,” the group said in a statement A second explosive charge was also…

On Friday, October 3, a day after US Vice President Joe Biden pontificated about Turkish President Recep Ayyip Erdogan’s “desire” to have “no Turkish soldiers” remain in Cyprus, Turkey sent Turkish-Greece-Cyprus tensions soaring by issuing a Navigational Telex, or NAVTEX, according to which Turkey was sending a seismographic vessel to explore areas in the Cypriot…

Israeli ministers were meeting on Tuesday to discuss a new law to deal with illegal immigrants from Africa, after the High Court shot down the so-called “Infiltrator Law”, which allowed authorities to detain illegals indefinitely prior to deportation. The discussion – between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, outgoing Interior Minister Gidon Sa’ar…

Overall, Israel’s recent 50-day war with Gazan terrorists had a remarkably minor effect on the country’s economy. However, one sector which was relatively hard-hit was tourism, with many vacationers canceling their trips at peak time over the summer. Prior to the outbreak of hostilities, last summer was predicted to continue record-breaking trends set in February,…

The IDF Spokesperson Unit announced that two soldiers were wounded on Tuesday afternoon by an explosive set on the Lebanese border in the Har Dov (Shabaa Farms) area. The two soldiers were defined as suffering from moderate and light wounds following the blast. “Two soldiers were injured by an explosive device. It was activated against them…

Accusations of anti-religious prejudice have been raised at the Maccabi health center in Bnei Brak, IDF Radio reports Tuesday, after multiple women told the news agency that one particular doctor has mistreated them based on their background.  Tzila (not her real name) alleged that she was humiliated multiple times at her OB/GYN’s office in the city,…

A 29-year-old Palestinian Arab woman, serving eight years in prison on charges of being involved in her husband’s “honor killing,” capitalized on Islamic State (ISIS) hysteria Sunday by simulating a stabbing and claiming the group would “take the whole Land of Israel.” The woman interrupted Yom Kippur services for Jewish inmates by screaming “I am…

The Israeli consul in Peru is investigating the fate of two Israeli tourists who disappeared in a rafting accident on the country’s Apurimac River, which passes near the city Cusco. A popular tourist site, the river is located in the southern mountain ranges of the country and feeds the Amazon River; it also includes many…

Japanese professors Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura were announced by the Nobel Prize committee in Sweden as the 2014 winners of the physics prize, for their invention of blue light emitting diodes (LEDs). Nakamura of the University of California, Santa Barbara, told the conference by phone “it’s unbelievable.” Akasaki hails from Meijo University…

Woolworths of South Africa on Monday expressed concern about the safety of its customers and employees following claims of abuse by Boycott, Divest and Sanctions (BDS) activists. “Our employees of all faiths and cultures tell us that they are feeling increasingly threatened by the protests in and around some of our stores,” it said in…

Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday said that military action is “critical” to the U.S.-led fight against the “Islamic State” (ISIS) in Iraq and Syria, but is “not sufficient” on its own. “I think military action is critical. In fact, I would say essential to try to prevent their further advance and…

British lawmakers will hold a symbolic parliamentary vote next week on whether the government should recognize “Palestine” as a state, Reuters reported on Monday. The motion due for debate in Britain’s lower house of parliament on October 13 will ask lawmakers whether they believe the government should recognize the state of Palestine. It is unlikely…

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will take part in a conference on rebuilding Gaza following this past summer’s war with Israel earlier this year, a U.S. official said Monday, according to AFP. Kerry “will be attending the conference” to be held in Cairo on October 12, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters. The…

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat told Arutz Sheva on Monday that the city’s second annual Formula One is an appropriate answer to international criticism over Israel’s construction in its capital. The race, which began Monday and will be held on Tuesday as well, features famous drivers like Giancarlo Fisichella, as well as four young Israeli drivers,…

The house of national Jewish fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi), at Atlanta’s Emory University, was defaced by swastikas and other offensive graffiti spray-painted on the walls, Sunday morning – shortly after the end of Yom Kippur.  A second set of spray-painted swastikas were found on a stone wall outside of the Kappa Alpha (KA) chapter house Monday morning, student newspaper,…

Following the long saga over the Language and Culture School in Ramat Beit Shemesh, the Beit Shemesh municipality and the Ministry of Education have finally reached a compromise, and filed it with the District Court in Jerusalem. Tensions initially arose when the municipality decided to dedicate one of the floors of the school for the use of…

Labor MK Stav Shafir managed to get herself thrown out of a meeting of the Knesset Finance Committee Monday, after she shouted repeatedly at committee chairman MK Nissan Slomiansky (Jewish Home) that he was “taking money from the poor and giving it to the settlers,” as he worked on approvals for the 2015 state budget.…

The world needs to understand that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital, President Reuven Rivlin said on Monday. Rivlin received Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu at the President’s Residence for a private meeting to receive an update following the Prime Minister’s return from the United States. The two spoke about the Prime Minister’s visit to the United States,…

A man in his thirties fell from a sixth floor balcony Monday night on Sha’agat ha-Arie Street in Modi’in Illit.  United Hatzalah medics provided him with first aid treatment on the scene, and from there he was taken to the hospital in severe condition, where he later died of his injuries.  Samuel Rosengarten, head of United Hatzalah…

Although it hasn’t been reflected in prices, the number of homes being sold in Israel dropped sharply over the past year. As of June 30, the Central Bureau of Statistics said, there were 94,450 homes and apartments under construction in Israel; by August 31, 26,920 were still unsold, a very unusual situation in a country…

Israel is preparing for a possible breakout of Ebola. On Monday, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu called a meeting in his office to discuss how prepared Israel is for such an outbreak, and what the country would do if such an event came to pass. During the meeting, health officials presented an overview of the Ebola…

In response to criticism of the US in an interview program Sunday, the White House on Monday slammed Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, saying that his criticism of American values was out of place. The criticism of America for its concern over Israel’s construction in Jerusalem was “odd,” said White House press secretary Josh Earnest. “When…

Buses may be harder to come by in some parts of Israel soon. The directorate of the Egged cooperative, which operates buses throughout Israel, on Monday voted in some cost-cutting measures that would see as many as 160 employees dismissed. The plan will save the company NIS 100 million, but will reduce manpower – including…

The government will allocate NIS 1.7 billion ($550 million) to the war on poverty, despite the cuts in the budget to pay for Operation Protective Edge. The plan was presented Monday by Welfare Minister Meir Cohen and his deputy, Eli Alalouf. The plan will provide a host of programs and transfer payments designed to lift…

Replacements have been found for two police officers who retired under suspicious circumstances, Walla! News reports Monday, in an ongoing effort to restructure Israel’s police force.  Major General Moshe Aderi will replace Jerusalem District Police Commander Major General Yossi Pariente, eight days after Pariente chose to step down for “personal reasons.” Major General Motti Cohen, likewise, will replace…

A group of Israelis living in Berlin has shocked compatriots back home by urging them to move to Germany as a much cheaper alternative to living in the Jewish state, AFP reports Monday.  “It is time to immigrate to Berlin,” says the group’s Hebrew-language Facebook page entitled “Let’s Immigrate to Berlin” which offers practical tips for those seeking an alternative to…

On Yom Kippur eve, vandals spray-painted swastikas on the walls of the Beit Meir synagogue in the Corsica’s capital of Ajaccio, in an attack which rocked the small Jewish community. Corsica, a tiny island in the Mediterranean, is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the Italian island of Sardinia.…

A blast rocked the coastal town of Petah Tikva’s Stampfer Street on Monday morning, after a car filled with hundreds of spark plugs exploded. However, despite the mighty blast that set the car on fire and burned it down, the owner of the car was miraculously saved – thanks to his car breaking down. Police…

A document published by Galei Tzahal (IDF Radio) on Monday morning reveals that the Tourism Ministry is considering opening the Cotton Merchant’s Gate to the Temple Mount for Jewish visitors and tourists. As the status quo stands, the Mughrabi Gate is the only point of entrance for Jews in visiting the holiest site in Judaism, and that…

Jerusalem’s second annual Formula One race is set to start at 3:10 p.m. Monday, with the top-of-the-line racing cars setting off from the Old Train Station compound for a 20-minute spin around the city, following which the race will begin. The race will last three hours, and the drivers will include famous names like Giancarlo…

It’s October and the olive harvest has begun – for Jewish residents of Samaria, that means the return of Arab attackers framing Jews by destroying their own olive trees, with leftist extremists inciting against Jews in the “modern blood libel.” Jewish residents of the region on Monday morning charged that Arab residents of Burin, located…

As Islamic State (ISIS) forces continue to advance on the Kurdish city of Kobane in northern Syria (western Kurdistan), Kurdish forces are engaged a last-ditch, desperate fight to fend off the jihadists. Kurdish forces from the People’s Protection Units (YPG), along with a small contingent of the rebel Free Syrian Army, have fought tooth-and-nail for…

Israeli coach David Blatt led his new team, the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers, to a 107-80 victory over the visiting Maccabbi Tel Aviv, in a pre-season exhibition basketball game on Sunday that marked Blatt’s NBA debut. The game pitted the team expected to contend for NBA Championships with the Israeli team Blatt led to victory in the Euroleague…

US Vice President Biden’s October 2, 2014 Harvard Kennedy School comments on Syria garnered most of the media attention, but he also made an important statement saying there is a “new opportunity” for a “win-win” breakthrough involving Turkey, Cyprus, and Israel, and the construction of a gas “pipeline” from the Levant Basin gas fields to…

An explosion at Iran’s Parchin nuclear plant has killed at least two people, among them an unnamed “nuclear expert”, according to Iranian media reports. The plant is located close to the Iranian capital Tehran, and the explosion has triggering speculation over a possible sabotage or assassination. The semi-official Isna news agency claimed the explosion took…

The hareidi draft is here to stay, the State Attorney’s Office stated Monday – after petitions were filed against the law to the High Court of Justice. The Equal Burden of Service law, which ended the blanket exemption of hareidi yeshiva students from the IDF, was ratified earlier this year.  But three petitions claim that…

Israeli security officials on Monday arrested an Israeli woman who was trying to smuggle illegal Palestinian workers into Israel – along with a cache of drugs. The woman and three Palestinian workers were arrested and are being held pending a hearing. The woman was caught as she attempted to drive through a checkpoint, with security…

The Attorney General told the Knesset’s Interior Committee Monday that he will not allow it to override a High Court ruling that knocked the teeth out of the Infiltrators Law. The court decided two weeks ago to annul key clauses in the law and force the closure of a Negev detention facility created at great…

Following the Jewish High Holidays, Jerusalem will once again be awash in festive events – but not Jewish ones. The Municipality is planning to hold a special week of events honoring Japanese culture from October 19 to 25. Israel has been growing increasingly close to Japan recently, in July becoming the first country Japan signed an…

Anti-Semitic British designer John Galliano is to restart his shattered career by taking over the creative direction of the fashion house Maison Martin Margiela, the label said on Monday, three years after he was sacked by Dior following a drunken anti-Semitic tirade in a Paris bar. Galliano (53) spent nearly 15 years at Dior before being canned for spouting Jew…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Science Minister Ya’akov Perry (Yesh Atid) on Sunday announced the winners of the Prime Minister’s Prize for Innovation in Alternative Fuels for Transportation. The two recipients, Prof. Michael Grätzel of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, and Prof. Thomas Meyer of the University of North Carolina, will be the…

The Social-Economic Cabinet on Sunday decided to sell off nearly all the government-controlled companies in Israel, in a move that is expected to bring in as much as NIS 20 billion ($7 billion) over the next three years. The controversial sell-off was the idea of Finance Minister Yair Lapid, who convinced Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu…

Residents of working class Tel Aviv expressed their anguish and anger Sunday following the High Court decision striking down the Infiltrator Law, by marching with black flags. Organizer May Golan said that the residents are taking down the Israeli flag and flying the black flag in protest of the dictatorship of “bagatz” – the Hebrew…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu hosted a traditional Bible study class in his official residence Sunday. The Bible classes were first held by Israel’s founding prime minister, David Ben Gurion. They were discontinued, then renewed by Menachem Begin, then discontinued again, and renewed once more by Netanyahu two years ago. The class is named for Netanyahu’s…

Syria has been wracked by civil war for over two years, with a variety of factions, from “moderate” groups to Islamists associated with Al Qaeda to IS (Islamic State) fanatics vying for control of the country, or what is left of it. All are fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s troops, and to an extent, each…

After a four-year-long legal battle, Egged buses in Jerusalem began displaying advertisements that feature women’s faces on Sunday. The advertisements feature a mix of women from Jerusalem – secular, religious, hareidi and Arab – despite concern over backlash by extremist hareidi elements. Some fringe elements within the hareidi community view the portrayal of women’s faces…

Last week, Hamas Political Bureau member Mahmoud Al-Zahar stated that Hamas wants to build an Islamic state in all of Palestine, meaning it would replace Israel, reports Palestinian Media Watch (PMW): “[Some] have said Hamas wants to create an Islamic emirate in Gaza. We won’t do that, but we will build an Islamic state in…

Drivers on Route 1, the main road between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, are waiting with bated breath for completion of work that will upgrade the road to an international-class highway, eliminating twists and turns, and widening the road to three and four lanes. Work has been ongoing for months, at a furious pace, but UTJ…

The Arab revolt in Palestine (1936-1939) was almost a preview for the 1947-1949 hostilities after the UN partitioned Palestine, the British mandate ended, the British army withdrew from Palestine and the State of Israel was declared.   The Har Zion, pictured here and on the main page, could take 110 passengers (Israel’s National Maritime Museum). The boat was sunk in 1940. The…

The president of the Sudanese Chess Association (SCA) tendered his resignation on Sunday following a game of chess that took place against an Israeli player at the World Youth Chess Championships in South Africa, reports the Sudan Tribune. The president, Tariq Zaroog, said that he as an administrator of the top chess body in the…

Egyptian security forces have arrested four suspected members of a cell recruiting fighters for the “Islamic State” (IS or ISIS) group in Syria, The Associated Press (AP) reported on Sunday. Egypt’s MENA news agency reported that the four suspects, all of Egyptian nationality, were arrested in the Suez Canal city of Port Said. The report…

The Hezbollah group said Sunday that at least five of its fighters were killed along with “dozens” of gunmen in clashes in the Syria-Lebanon border area, AFP reports. A Hezbollah security official, speaking to the news agency on condition of anonymity, confirmed the deaths of five fighters after clashes around the town of Nabi Sbat…

Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee Member Hanan Ashrawi has criticized Israel and the United States over their reaction to Sweden’s decision to recognize “the state of Palestine”, the Ma’an news agency reported on Sunday. “Conditioning recognition of the State of Palestine on the outcome of negotiations with Israel is equivalent to making our right…

Asia’s Olympic chief has urged all sports to let women wear the Islamic hijab headscarf, after an Asian Games row which saw Qatar’s basketball team quit in fury, AFP reports. Qatar’s women forfeited their matches and left after being told the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) would not allow hijabs, according to the report. Many sports,…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said in an interview which aired Sunday on CBS that the White House’s rebuke of Israeli construction in Jerusalem goes “against American values”. In the interview, which was recorded on Thursday and of which excerpts were quoted by The Associated Press (AP), Netanyahu said he did not accept restrictions on where…

A day after apologizing to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, U.S. Vice President Biden on Sunday made another apology, this time to the United Arab Emirates. According to The Washington Post, Biden apologized for comments he made suggesting that the United States’ Arab allies armed and funded terrorists in Syria. The furor over the comments,…

The Egyptian jihadist group Ansar Bayt Al-Maqdis on Sunday decapitated three people and shot a fourth on accusations of “collaborating” with Israel’s Mossad spy agency and the Egyptian army, the Al-Ahram news website reported, citing a video published on online jihadist forums. The group published a previous decapitation video of four others in August who…

A senior Israeli Muslim religious leader called terrorists of the Islamic State (IS) “brothers” of Muslims in Israel and elsewhere, adding that they could not stand by and watch silently as Western forces pounded IS forces in Iraq and Syria. Ahmad Badran, an imam and educator from the Galilee Arab village of Jatt called on…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu had a message for Sweden on Sunday, a day after Sweden’s Prime Minister said his country would recognize the “state of Palestine.” Netanyahu clarified that unilateral actions will only reduce the chances of reaching a peace agreement with the Palestinian Authority (PA). “Unilateral measures are contrary to agreements. They will not…

An Orthodox Jewish group has taken legal action against a terminally ill patient’s family, DNAinfo reported Thursday, in an attempt to prevent the patient from being taken off life support.  Eileen Beth Kramer, 60, has been kept on life support at Brooklyn’s Maimonides Medical Center for nearly three weeks. But the question of her future has arose…

At a party meeting for Yesh Atid, Chairman Yair Lapid, apologized for convening a press conference from the doorway of his home on the Sabbath of September 20. He stated, “I was wrong. Although I personally work on the Sabbath, it was not right that I caused other people to work on the Sabbath.” Lapid opened…

Human error, or computer fault?  The Dallas, TX hospital that mishandled the US’s first Ebola case initially reported that Liberian native Thomas Duncan had lied about his contact with a woman infected with the deadly disease upon admission and that a computer error hid other clues that his symptoms matched the virus, through a filing error. …

Haim Yalin, the head of the Eshkol Regional Council, addressed the false alarms sounded this morning (Sunday) at about 8:24 a.m. in three kibbutzim – Nirim, Ein HaShlosha, and Kissufim – all located within the council.  “It does not matter to the population in these communities that this was a false alarm,” Yellin said in an…

In a medical first and marking a milestone in infertility treatment, a woman has given birth to a baby using a transplanted womb. The 1.8kg (3.9lb) boy was born prematurely, but is healthy, and has been described by his parents as “amazing” and “our sweet Vincent, who does not know yet, that he has made history.” …

University of Ariel lecturers have been permitted to attend the European Association of Israel Studies’ annual conference – despite a policy biased against institutions in Judea and Samaria – but only on condition of hiding where they teach.  Ariel University Chancellor, Yigal Cohen Orgad blasted the “absurd” policy on Sunday, in a special interview with Arutz…

The Western world has sought to physically hinder Islamic State (ISIS), the terrorist organization too extreme for Al Qaeda which has burst the Middle East asunder, through a series of targeted airstrikes.  But last week, an additional campaign was launched to break the terror organization’s hold on the region: an economic one.  ISIS is widely…

Former U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is criticizing President Barack Obama for leaning toward, then deciding against military action against Syria for its use of chemical weapons. “By failing to respond, it sent the wrong message to the world,” Panetta says in a new book, an early copy of which was seen by The Associated…

Sweden has effectively retracted an earlier statement by new prime minister Stefan Lofven, who announced that his country would recognize the “state of Palestine,” arousing ire in Israel and disapproval in the United States. “The prime minister said that the conflict between Israel and Palestine can be solved through the two-state solution, by negotiations in…

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has undergone an operation on his prostate which lasted less than half an hour. The head of the surgical team said only local anaesthetic had been used, and that Khamenei was completely awake and speaking during the procedure. However, according to Reuters, it is the unprecedented media attention given…

Members of the Tel Aviv Merchant’s Organization were shocked to discover that membership checks they wrote to the organization in recent weeks were deposited not in the organization’s account, but in the account of a Palestinian bank. At least a dozen members of the group said that checks they wrote to the organization in May…

Barely out on the market, the iPhone 6 is a hot commodity, with fans of Apple products waiting on line for hours for their chance to buy one. If getting one is a challenge, getting 100 is a Herculean task – but it apparently wasn’t beyond the abilities of one smuggler, who tried to surreptitiously…

Once again this year, Israelis were able to breathe easier on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, on which Jews pray to be forgiven for and “cleansed” of their sins. Data collected during the day by sensors indicated that air pollution levels fell between 77% and 99% throughout Israel, depending on the location. On Yom…

The suspension of Nazareth Illit Mayor Shimon Gapso was extended by five months Sunday, as he awaits verdicts in two bribery cases against him. He was initially suspended from his duty in March, and then again in July. The decision to extend the suspension was taken by a special committee for suspension of local authority…

Workers at Ben Gurion Airport are gearing up for another strike – this time on their own behalf. Unions representing workers on Sunday held an emergency meeting, which union officials said was a prelude to declaring a work action – a required step before calling a strike. Several weeks ago, workers went on a partial…

Israeli and Lebanese forces clashed along the northern border Sunday afternoon, according to Lebanese media sources. Unnamed security sources claimed that one Lebanese soldier was injured in the brief gunbattle, which took place close to the Har Dov (Shabaa Farms) area. The IDF said troops had opened fire on suspects trying to infiltrate the north…

There is nothing wrong with the health of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, a senior North Korean official said during an extremely rare visit to the South on Saturday, according to AFP. South Korea’s Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-Jae, speaking on a television talk show, quoted the North Korean official, Kim Yang-Gon, as saying, “There is…

Campaigning officially got under way on Saturday for Tunisian parliamentary elections seen as a milestone in efforts to establish a democratic foothold in the birthplace of the Arab Spring, AFP reports. Tunisia has grappled with social unrest over the feeble economy, violence blamed on Islamists, and attacks by terrorist groups including Al-Qaeda loyalists. The Octember…

U.S. Vice President Biden on Saturday apologized to Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for saying the Turkish leader admitted his country made mistakes by allowing foreign fighters to cross into Syria, Fox News reports. Biden spoke directly to Erdogan to “clarify” comments made on Thursday at Harvard University and apologized for “any implication” that Turkey…

The parents of Peter Kassig, an American aid worker held hostage by “Islamic State” (IS or ISIS) terrorists, have appealed for his release in a statement and video message, the Guardian reported Saturday. On Friday, a video was released of the murder of a British aid worker, Alan Henning, the fourth western hostage killed in…

Sweden’s ambassador to Israel will summoned to the Foreign Ministry after the prime minister of Sweden announced his government’s intention to recognize a Palestinian state. Left-wing Social Democrat leader Stefan Loefven – who won last month’s general election – said the Nordic country wanted to bolster a “two-state solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Foreign Minister…

Two million Muslims ritually stoned the devil Saturday in the last major rite of this year’s hajj in Saudi Arabia, while fellow believers around the world celebrated Eid al-Adha, the feast of sacrifice. The stoning occurred in Mina, about five kilometers (three miles) east of the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Mecca. All…

The Rebbe of Sanz, a hassidic dynasty, fainted during prayers on the night of Yom Kippur, causing great anxiety among his followers. Shortly before midnight Friday, his assistants noticed that he had lost consciousness and after he received initial care on the spot, he was evacuated on foot to the hospital. His followers remained in…

A 12-year-old boy fell from a 7-meter high bridge in Haifa as he was cycling on Yom Kippur. He was seriously wounded. A Carmel Area Magen David Adom team evacuated the boy to Rambam Hospital. After his situation stabilized, he was taken to the operating room. He was then taken to Children’s ICU, where he…

Ambassadors to the United Nations from no fewer than 32 countries have asked that Yom Kippur be recognized as an official UN holiday. The UN currently marks 10 holidays, but none of them are Jewish. Among the recognized holidays are Christmas and Good Friday (Christian) and Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha (Muslim). The 32 ambassadors…

“I have never eaten non-kosher food,” Prime Minister Binyanin Netanyahu told Channel 2 television in an interview recorded before Yom Kippur. He was hinting that while he has sat in restaurants that serve treif (non-kosher) food, he never ate the food himself. Netanyahu insisted that he never eats treif food, and that this is true…

Rumors of a military coup in North Korea persist as leader Kim Jong-un’s prolonged absence from public view continues. Kim has not been seen in public for a month, leading to rumors that a military coup has broken out in North Korea and Kim has been arrested. Other rumors have it that Kim has gout…

Islamic State (aka ISIS) terrorists have released a video documenting the murder of British aid convoy volunteer Alan Henning. Henning is the fourth western hostage to have been murdered by the group, following the filmed beheadings of US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and Scottish aid worker David Haines. Another hostage, Hervé Gourdel, from…

Sweden’s new prime minister announced Friday that the country will recognize a “Palestinian state”, becoming the first EU member in Western Europe to do so.   Left-wing Social Democrat leader Stefan Loefven – who won last month’s general election – said the Nordic country wanted to bolster a “two-state solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Washington…

In a stunning bi-partisan “Congressional Letter” from over 353 out of 435 U.S. congresspersons to US Secretary of State John Kerry, the 353 U.S. representatives issued a stark warning that, “As you wrote in the Washington Post earlier this summer, if Iran’s nuclear program is truly peaceful, “it’s not a hard proposition to prove. The…

The US Supreme Court will hear the case of a Muslim woman who was denied employment due to her headscarf, Reuters reported Thursday, taking the issue of religious dress to the national scale.  The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed a complaint against popular teen’s clothing outlet Abercrombie Fitch – which is [in]famous for its policy of…

Just a little over a month after the November 26 ceasefire with Israel that ended Hamas’s terror war and the 50-day Operation Protective Edge, terrorists in Gaza fired a rocket into the sea Friday morning. No one was wounded by the projectile, which Walla! speculates  was part of a missile test to check the capabilities of the…

Hamas spokesperson Mushir Al-Masri said on Thursday night that his terrorist organization, despite returning to truce talks with Israel in Cairo in the last week of October, still remains fully committed to armed conflict. “The ‘resistance’ is the basis for the clash with Israel. Only through the ‘resistance’ can victory and liberation (i.e. the occupation…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu landed at Tel Aviv’s Ben-Gurion Airport on Friday morning, hours before the beginning of Yom Kippur and after making an eventful visit to Washington.  “I went out on a national mission on behalf of the citizens of Israel,” Netanyahu said upon landing. “I told our truth on the UN podium at…

After Arab MK Mohammed Barakeh (Hadash) said Israel is like the Islamic State (ISIS) terror group, and Palestinian Authority (PA) chief negotiator Saeb Erekat likened the Jewish state and “Islamic state,” Arab MK Ibrahim Sarsour (Ra’am-Ta’al) has now raised the bar. Sarsour, who heads his Arab Islamist party, was asked what its position is on ISIS by Prof.…

Mere days after trying to hush-up the “silent intifada” of terror attacks plaguing Jerusalem in the media, Mayor Nir Barkat has turned to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in a letter demanding that the terror wave be ended. The letter also reached members of the government, Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino and recently retired Jerusalem District Police Commander…

An explosion was heard close to an IDF post near the Syrian border in the Golan Heights on Friday morning, patrols told Israeli media.  The blast caused no injury or damage.  IDF officials are scanning the area to determine the cause of the blast, and to check whether it is spillover from Syria’s civil war…

Chief Ashkenazic Rabbi David Lau released Halakhic (Jewish legal) guidelines for Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, which is a day-long fast beginning on Friday at sundown. The rabbi began by warning “a sick person who wants to be stringent on himself and fast – in opposition to the instructions of his rabbi and doctor –…

Israel’s public and emergency services are being prepared for the possibility of a tumultuous day, ahead of the upcoming Yom Kippur fast as well as the Muslim celebration of Eid al-Adha.  Magen David Adom (MDA) medics are on high alert, preparing for the inevitable onslaught of injuries from cyclists, emergency calls from pregnant women, and incidents of…

A severe, unpublicized security incident in Bet El, just north of Jerusalem, back in August led the town’s Security Chiefs, in cooperation with the IDF, to rethink defense arrangements. After the incident, Bet El Security Head Menachem Tzur, whose mother and brother were murdered just outside Bet El, received authorization to purchase security equipment in…

Three US citizens are fighting in Syria, the British Daily Mail reports Friday. But unlike most foreign nationals, they are fighting against – not for – jihadists. One of the Americans has been identified as Jordan Matson (28) from Racine, Wisconsin, a spokesman for the private Pashmerga army, the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), said Thursday.  Matson is a…

America has been in a race against the clock to prevent the spread of the lethal Ebola virus, following reports Tuesday that the first case of the disease in the country had been diagnosed in Dallas. Four people who came in contact with the man, Thomas Eric Duncan, have been quarantined. Another roughly 12 to…

A 23 year-old Somali-American was sentenced to thirty years in prison on Wednesday, according to the Associated Press, for a 2010 plot to detonate a bomb in Portland, Oregon’s central square as 10,000 revelers celebrated Christmas.  Mohammed Mohamoud was originally slated for a forty-year sentence for his involvement in the plot, which was apprehended by the…

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday used his annual message to Hajj pilgrims heading to Mecca to insult Israel and call for its “annihilation.” The speech comes ahead of Eid al-Adha on Friday, the Muslim holiday celebrating Abraham’s “sacrifice of Ishmael” in an appropriation of the original Torah story, and like his speech for…

The European Union (EU) on Friday condemned Israel’s plans to build 2,610 new homes in a Jewish neighborhood in Jerusalem, calling it “highly detrimental” to diplomatic efforts for Israeli-Palestinian peace, according to AFP.  Brussels called on Israel to “urgently reverse” actions leading to expansion in Jerusalem, which the Palestinian Authority (PA) hopes to claim as the capital of a future state, following a…

Bus drivers providing the public with transportation are allowed to take up to ten standing passengers according to Israeli law, occasionally causing them to pass by and leave passengers waiting at bus stations until a less crowded bus arrives. But thanks to the request of a hareidi resident of Elad, located east of Petah Tikva,…

In an unusual and moving ceremony, Paratroopers Brigade Commander Col. Eliezer Toledano arrived on Tuesday morning to the neuro-surgical ward of Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva to officially appoint wounded Maj. Hagai Ben-Ari as commander of the Paratrooper Commando Unit. Ben-Ari, a married father of three and resident of Nov in the Golan Heights, was critically…

The Palestinian Authority (PA) “unity government” has released a $4 billion reconstruction plan for Gaza ahead of the October 12 donor conference – but the donors would be well advised to peruse a recent Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) report featuring a TV interview on the PA’s Al-Awda TV channel. In the segment, Fatah…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu expressed his anger at extreme leftist group Peace Now for what he said was an intentional attempt to sabotage his meeting Wednesday with US President Barack Obama. The organization leaked to the press that a plan for construction in Jerusalem had been approved, just as he met Obama – and the…

In further proof of the destructive effects of the 2011 Gilad Shalit terrorist release deal, another of the 1,027 terrorists released has been re-arrested for returning to crime. The terrorist, a resident of Al-Jiftlik in the Jordan Valley located north of Jericho in Samaria, was arrested and will have an indictment submitted against him for…

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said last weekend he intends to join American airstrikes on Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists in Syria and Iraq, a move met by sharp criticism from Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau, who is favored to replace Harper in the 2015 elections. Trudeau acknowledged that ISIS is a “threat to regional and global security”…

IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Benny Gantz has decided to freeze the decision to fire the security officers of Gaza Belt communities and to reduce others to part-time employment, reported Channel 2. The decision comes just one day after the heads of local government councils in the Gaza Belt received letters from the Home…

Hours after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu fired back at the United States’ criticism of Israel’s plan to build new homes in Jerusalem, Washington on Thursday came back with a response of its own. Netanyahu had given a series of interviews to the foreign press, including one with NBC News’ Andrea Mitchell, in which he suggested…

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon declared on Thursday that Israel will continue to build in Jerusalem and will not apologize for doing so. Ya’alon made the comments at a ceremony in memory of Israel’s fallen paratroopers, and they come in the wake of international criticism over Israel’s approval of new housing units in the Jerusalem neighborhood…

Egypt’s army on Thursday killed a field commander for Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, the country’s most dangerous Islamist group, Reuters reported, citing local security sources. The man was killed during clashes in the northern Sinai Peninsula, the sources said. Mohamed Abu Shatiya, who took part in the kidnapping of seven Egyptian soldiers in Sinai last year,…

Iran on Thursday warned neighboring Turkey against doing anything that might aggravate tensions in the region, AFP reports. The warning came after the parliament in Ankara voted to authorize military intervention in Syria and Iraq. Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif spoke by telephone with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, and “criticized the method chosen…

Islamic State (ISIS) fighters are only a mile away from Baghdad, according to a spokesman for the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East. Battles between ISIS and Iraqi forces have also been raging in the strategic city of Amiriyat al-Fallujah, 25 miles west of Baghdad. Battles on both fronts have been calmed over the…