Category: News

A Minnesota man working in the United Arab Emirates has been detained for over six months after posting a lighthearted spoof video about youth culture in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), rights groups claimed Wednesday.  According to Fox News, Shezanne Cassim, 29, was arrested in April on allegations of violating a late 2012 law that toughens…

German authorities Thursday published more than 100 additional works from the likes of Picasso, Cezanne and Degas believed to have been looted by the Nazis on an official provenance website, AFP reports.  The latest batch of priceless artworks come from a trove discovered in a Munich flat in February 2012 which only came to light this month in a magazinearticle. A task…

Chabad Rabbi Berel Lazer, fulfilled the commandment to publicize the miracle of Hanukkah in a big way Wednesday night: by lighting a giant hanukkiah outside of Moscow’s Red Square in Russia. Lazer made the blessing over the miracles “in those days and in these times,” a traditional Hanukkah blessing over the candles, in front of a symbol…

A court in Egypt has sentenced 21 female supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi to 11 years in prison, reports the BBC. They were found guilty of multiple charges, including belonging to a terrorist group, obstructing traffic, sabotage and using force at a protest in the city of Alexandria last month. Seven are under 18…

President Shimon Peres, ever the optimist, said Wednesday that peace with the Palestinian Authority (PA) was urgent and possible amid faltering negotiations between the two sides. Peres, speaking during a visit to Mexico City, said he welcomed the new round of talks, revived in July with the aim of reaching an agreement within nine months,…

Iran could be armed with a nuclear weapon within just over a month, Maariv reports Thursday. The report was forwarded to diplomats and international experts this week.  Israeli experts have estimated that Tehran’s schedule for nuclear enrichment has only been delayed for up to two weeks, according to the report, less than one week after a deal…

In what is supposed to be a message to Iran, Israel and the United States plan a joint military drill in the coming months, TIME magazine reported Wednesday. A high-ranking Israeli officer told the magazine that the joint drill will take place in six months, just as the interim agreement signed between Iran and the…

Hanukkah has begun in Israel, as most of the Jewish people across the globe prepare to light the first candle Wednesday night. Also known as the Festival of Light, the holiday commemorates the defeat of the Greek army by the Maccabees, a small group of Jews who were dedicated to preserving Jewish religion and autonomy…

The European Court of Human Rights on Wednesday began an examination of France’s prohibition on the wearing of full-face veils, the so-called ‘burqa ban’ that is seen by critics as a breach of religious freedom. By coincidence, the Strasbourg-based court began studying the contentious issue on the same day that an appeal court in Paris…

Iranian collaboration with North Korea on a new rocket booster for long-range missiles undermines the recent deal with Tehran on its nuclear program, key Senate and House Republicans said on Tuesday, according to the Washington Free Beacon. “While the president was undertaking his secret negotiations—which Congress wasn’t informed of—he had to know Iran and North…

Thousands of people came to Rabin Square in Tel Aviv to pay their last respects to legendary singer Arik Einstein, who passed away Tuesday night. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu also passed by the casket and shook hands with the late singer’s relatives and friends. “We all love you so much,” said Netanyahu at the ceremony.…

US Secretary of State John Kerry will visit Israel next week and meet with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, in an attempt to appease the Jewish state over the Western power’s controversial deal with Iran, AFP reports.  Kerry will also travel to Ramallah for talks with Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas as he tries to keep delicate Israeli-Palestinian…

On Tuesday a rare copy of the Book of Psalms (Tehillim) printed in 1640 was sold in an auction at Sotheby’s in New York for $14.16 million, making it the most valuable printed book in the world. The ‘Bay Psalm Book’ is the first book ever printed in what is now the US. The auctioned…

The largest menorah (candellabrum) in the world will be lit in Tel Aviv on the eighth and final night of Hanukkah, the Jewish holiday commemorating the Maccabean revolt which ended the Greek Empire’s occupation of Israel over 2,000 years ago. Following Greek edicts outlawing Judaism the Maccabees rebelled, successfully expelling the Greeks, rededicating the Second…

Americans back the newly brokered nuclear deal with Iran by a 2-to-1 margin, a Reuters/Ipsos poll released Tuesday found. U.S. citizens are also very wary of their country resorting to military action against Tehran even if the diplomatic effort falls through, the poll found. According to the survey, 44 percent of Americans support the interim…

On Sunday Minister of Religious Affairs MK Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan (Jewish Home) held a meeting with the Chief Rabbis of Israel, in which it was agreed that women coming to immerse at mikvaot (Jewish ritual baths) would not undergo inspections by attendants unless they so requested. Following the meeting Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi David Lau and…

A large IDF and Border Guard force operating in the southern Hevron Hills killed three wanted terror suspects Tuesday evening. The first two terrorists – part of a independent cell of Salafist jihadis – were shot dead in the vehicle they were travelling in, after opening fire on security forces operating in the Arab settlement of Kfar Yatta. Upon inspecting…

New York has recently witnessed a spate of anti-Semitic attacks, as part of a wider phenomenon known as the “knockout game,” in which gangs of black youths sucker punch innocent passersby – particularly targeting Jews in parts of New York. In response, police have arrested the alleged attacker of a 12 year old Jewish boy…

Legendary Israeli singer Arik Einstein passed away on Tuesday evening at the Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv. Einstein, 74, was hospitalized in serious condition at the hospital earlier in the evening. He had reportedly complained of shortage of breath and was rushed to the hospital, where he was taken for surgery which was unsuccessful. Professor…

The EU has rejected Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s compromise attempts over its boycott of Israel beyond 1949 Armistice Lines, AFP reports. The move comes following a midnight debate late Monday at the Knesset, during which Netanyahu called an emergency meeting with ministers over the losses the boycott may cause the Israeli scientific community.  “The compromise solution we…

On Monday, in an emotional ceremony in New York City, Israeli President Shimon Peres awarded his Presidential Medal of Distinction to Elie Wiesel. The ceremony was conducted in the presence of Peres; Ron Prosor, Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations; Ido Aharoni, Israel’s Consul General in New York; and, of course, Elie Wiesel and his wife. The opening…

After treating more than 2,500 patients, the IDF humanitarian delegation to the Philippines will depart back to Tel Aviv on Wednesday. The delegation, composed of both medical professionals and Home Front Command search and rescue experts, focused on providing medical treatment to casualties of Typhoon Haiyan, and repairing damaged Infrastructures such as schools and water…

Saudi Arabia has said that the interim deal on Iran’s nuclear program could be a step towards a comprehensive solution – and hoped it could lead to the removal of weapons of mass destruction from the Middle East, according to Al Jazeera. “The government of the kingdom sees that if there was goodwill, this agreement…

U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday hit back at those who criticized the deal that was reached over the weekend with Iran. Speaking in San Francisco, Obama praised the talks that led to the deal with Iran, calling them “clear-eyed and principled” and saying that the United States “cannot close the door on diplomacy.” “Tough…

Canada will not lift sanctions on Iran until proof has been given that the Islamic Republic is indeed in the process of freezing its nuclear program, Shalom Toronto reports.  On Monday, Foreign Minister John Baird praised the efforts of the international community, noting that Canada has always held that every diplomatic effort should be exhausted in pursuit of…

Israel is hosting a major air defense drill, called Blue Flag, in which the air forces of five countries – the U.S., Greece, Poland, Italy, and the IAF – will conduct advanced exercises. For several intense weeks over 100 planes will ply the skies over the Negev, conducting exercises independently and in coordination with each…

The African nation of Angola has reportedly become the first country to ban Islam and Muslims, reports On Islam. Concerning the ban, Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos said Sunday “this is the final end of Islamic influence in our country.” Angola’s ban was first announced last Friday, when Angolan Minister of Culture, Rosa Cruz e Silva said “the…

Norway’s new Foreign Minister Børge Brende assured senior officials of the Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) that “the Norwegian Government recognizes the importance of ritual male circumcision for the Jewish community in Norway…[and] it will not propose a ban on ritual circumcision.”  The Wiesenthal Center raised concerns over Norway’s proposed ban on ritual circumcision (brit milah). The…

French intelligence services planned to assassinate a leading Islamist cleric in Britain and disguise their operation as a neo-Nazi attack, according to an explosive report by anti-extremism group Hope Not Hate. The plan to kill the infamous hook-handed hate-preacher Abu Hamza al Masri, was the result of growing frustration by French security services over the inaction of British authorities in…

After a discussion with U.S. President Barack Obama Sunday night, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said at a meeting of Likud ministers Monday that he still thought the deal with Iran to limit its enrichment of uranium was a bad deal – but that an Israeli team would have an opportunity to officially weigh in on…

More than 11,000 children have died in Syria’s civil war, including 128 killed by chemical weapons in a notorious attack and hundreds targeted by snipers, a British think-tank said Sunday, according to AFP. The Oxford Research Group, which specializes in global security, said in a new study that there were 11,420 recorded deaths of children…

Geneva, 24 November 2013 Joint Plan of Action Preamble The goal for these negotiations is to reach a mutually-agreed long-term comprehensive solution that would ensure Iran’s nuclear program will be exclusively peaceful. Iran reaffirms that under no circumstances will Iran ever seek or develop any nuclear weapons. This comprehensive solution would build on these initial…

U.S. President Barack Obama called Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Sunday to discuss an international nuclear deal with Iran that has threatened to raise tensions between the close allies, the White House said. “The two leaders reaffirmed their shared goal of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon,” deputy White House spokesman Josh Earnest…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Sunday evening reiterated that the deal reached between the West and Iran over its nuclear program was dangerous and a mistake. “As we learn more and more details about the agreement that was achieved last night in Geneva, it becomes increasingly clear how bad and dangerous this agreement is to…

Despite a deal reached between Iran and the West, Canada said on Sunday it has no plans to remove the sanctions it has placed on the Islamic Republic. Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister, John Baird, said he was “deeply skeptical” of the newly brokered nuclear deal with Iran, adding that Canada’s sanctions will remain in “full…

Iran’s Foreign Minister and the other members of the country’s nuclear negotiating team returned home to a hero’s welcome on Sunday. According to a report in the British Guardian, a group of jubilant Iranians, including family members of nuclear scientists assassinated in recent years, gathered at Tehran’s Mehrabad airport, carrying placards and chanting slogans in…

A fierce two-day battle in the eastern suburbs of the Syrian capital Damascus has killed more than 160 rebel and regime forces, activists said on Sunday. The latest fighting in the Eastern Ghouta area followed regime advances in the region that have cut rebel supply lines to the capital. The region has been under siege…

A group of top senators vowed Sunday to impose more sanctions on Iran, one day after the US and other P5+1 countries agreed to ease sanctions on the country in exchange for Iran’s curbing its nuclear-enrichment program. “A nuclear weapons-capable Iran presents a grave threat to the national security of the United States and its…

A smiling Hassan Rouhani declared his country the victor in the deal reached with western powers in Geneva Saturday, echoing the very same assessments that Israeli leaders made regarding the agreement. “World powers have recognized the nuclear rights of Iran,” declared Rouhani to reporters at his presidential palace in Tehran. “The confirmation from the great…

As homes continue to fetch a high price in Israel, many homeowners who were thinking of “buying up” – selling their current homes for a bigger or better place – find themselves unable to afford a “next level” home. Instead, they are fixing up their current homes, a spokesperson for the Israel Home Improvement Association said…

Republicans reacted to the deal signed by six world powers and Iran with skepticism Saturday, reports The Hill. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said shortly after the deal was announced that it fell short, since it did not require the dismantling of any existing Iranian nuclear facilities. “Unless the agreement requires dismantling of the Iranian centrifuges,…

United States Secretary of State John Kerry held a news conference Sunday in which he praised Iran for its willingness to enter talks over its nuclear program, and answered critics of the deal the “P5+1” reached with Iran. “I know that there are those who will assert that this deal is imperfect. Well, they too…

Mohammad bin Nawwaf, the Saudi ambassador to Britain, warned at the weekend that the kingdom would not “sit idly by” if Iran acquired a nuclear weapon. According to the British Guardian, diplomats predict that the Saudis and their Gulf neighbors, especially the United Arab Emirates, may seek to obtain security guarantees from the US in…

One of the two suicide bombers who targeted Iran’s embassy in Beirut was a “Palestinian with links to a militant Islamist preacher”, according to the Lebanese Daily Star. Saturday’s report comes a day after Lebanese authorities said they identified the other bomber as a man from the southern port city of Sidon. Both suicide bombers…

Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the UK has declared the kingdom would not “sit idly by” if world powers fail to halt Iran’s nuclear program, reports Al Arabiya. Ambassador Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz, who was speaking to the British Times, called the Obama administration’s “rush” to embrace Tehran as “incomprehensible.” “We are not going…

The deal between the West and Iran regarding the latter’s nuclear program is a “bad” agreement, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s office said Sunday. “This is a bad agreement that gives Iran what it wanted: the partial lifting of sanctions while maintaining an essential part of its nuclear program,” a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office…

Iran and six world powers have reached a deal regarding Iran’s nuclear program, after hours of talks in Geneva. The European Union’s Foreign Policy Chief, Catherine Ashton, announced early Sunday morning that an agreement has been reached between Iran and the group known as the P5+1. France’s Foreign Minister, Laurent Fabius, confirmed as well that…

The new chairman of the Labor party, MK Yitzchak Herzog, said on Saturday evening that he was “in no rush” to join Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s coalition. “If Netanyahu goes for a bold diplomatic move [vis a vis the peace talks] – I’ll be there to help him, either from the government or outside the…

Congress celebrated over 360 years in of Sephardic Jewry in America Wednesday, paying tribute to the contributions of the Sephardic community to the United States and Jewish culture. This historic event brought together Sephardic leaders from across the United States. The first Jews to arrive to the United States of America were Sephardim, Jews of…

As talks between Iran and six world powers over Iran’s nuclear program continued, the Islamic Republic announced on Saturday it plans to construct two more new nuclear power plants in the near future. “The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) has put construction of the second and third (nuclear) power stations on its agenda due…

Syrian opposition fighters, including members of the Al-Qaeda affiliated jihadist Al-Nusra Front, seized the country’s biggest oil field on Saturday, reports Al Arabiya. “Fighters from Al-Nusra and other groups have taken the Omar oil field in Deir Ezzor province after clashes overnight,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, the director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.…

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will meet with Pope Francis at the Vatican on December 2, Italian news agency ANSA reported on Saturday. “Pope Francis will receive Israeli premier Binyamin Netanyahu in an audience on December 2,” the agency said, citing “well-informed Vatican sources”. At Netanyahu’s first meeting with Francis, the two leaders are expected…

Only “narrow” gaps separate Iran and P5+1 world powers from reaching agreement on Iran’s nuclear program, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Saturday. Hague was among the foreign ministers who joined the talks Saturday after hints a final agreement could be reached. The US State Department announced Friday that “after consulting with EU High Representative…

Israel Prize winning industrialist Dov Lautman passed away on Shabbat, aged 77. Lautman was born in Tel Aviv in 1936. He studied mechanical engineering at MIT and returned to Israel, where he was appointed Director of textile firm Sabrina at age 27. In 1975, he established the first Delta textile factory in Carmiel, and was…

Egypt on Saturday expelled the Turkish ambassador to Cairo and downgraded diplomatic relations with Turkey, prompting Turkey to declare Cairo’s ambassador a “persona non grata,” reported Al Arabiya. Egypt’s Foreign Ministry spokesman said his country took the step due to Turkey’s continued “interference” in Egyptian internal affairs. Turkey was “attempting to influence public opinion against…

Israeli soldiers opened fire on Arab rioters north of Beit El on Saturday, wounding four of them, Palestinian Authority (PA) medical sources said. The shooting happened near the Jalazoun neighborhood, the sources said. Beit El is located in the biblical heartland of Samaria, north of Jerusalem. An Israeli military spokesman told AFP that troops fired…

An Arab man, aged 21, behaved wildly and threatened to harm passengers on a British Airways flight from London to Tel Aviv Saturday, reported Israel Hayom. The plane was about 30 miles away from Ben Gurion Airport when its pilots radioed in the report about the incident. At about 6:00 a.m., the plane landed and was…

Riyadh has urged Saudi Arabian citizens to flee Lebanon in light of Tuesday morning’s bombing on the Iranian embassy, according to statements released Thursday.  “Given the danger of the situation in Lebanon, the Saudi Embassy has urged its citizens to leave the country for their own safety,” Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Awad Asiri stated, to the Lebanese National News…

US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power appeared on CNN‘s “New Day” on Thursday, revealing that Iran is being offered “moderate” sanctions relief in the ongoing Geneva talks worth around $6 billion. Power called the proposals “a very good deal” in which the US would offer “very modest, temporary and very reversible relief in exchange for being able…

Egypt’s state-owned General Authority for Cultural Palaces has recently released a book on Jews in Egyptian cinema, the local Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper reported on Thursday. The book, entitled “Jews and cinema in Egypt and the Arab world” was written by critic Ahmed Raafat Bahgat. It examines the role of Jewish cinema makers and artists in…

Members of the Hamas terrorist group that controls Gaza have threatened Israel with genocide. According to Jonathan Dahoah Halevi of the Alternative Angle blog, the comments were made last week as Hamas marked the first anniversary of the IDF’s counter-terrorism Operation Pillar of Defense which took place in November of 2012. According to Halevi, Hamas…

MK Yitzchak Herzog has won the Labor primaries Friday morning, winning by a 16% margin.   The 125 polls which allowed Labor members to choose between current Labor party leader MK Shelly Yechimovich and Herzog closed at 10:00 p.m. on Thursday evening. The party said 52.73 percent of its eligible voters took part in the balloting. Both the…

A truck bomb exploded in a fruits and vegetables market in Iraq late Thursday, killing at least 48 people.  ABC News reports that witnesses told police that a man parked the truck containing the bomb in the market and asked workers to unload the vegetables before leaving the vehicle. The officers originally said that the blast killed 31…

Mushir al-Masri, a Hamas member of parliament and senior figure in the terrorist organization, threatened increased Hamas missile range in the next confrontation, saying that if Israel struck Gaza, Hamas would fire missiles at “targets north of Tel Aviv.” Al-Masri, who spoke at an event organized by Hamas students to commemorate a year since the IDF’s counter-terror Operation Pillar…

Officials in the United States condemned on Thursday the extremely hateful remarks against Israel made by Iran’s supreme leader, but not before Israeli officials expressed disappointment at the fact that the U.S. had taken so long to do so. In an interview on CNN, Samantha Power, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, condemned what…

A bipartisan group of 14 senators vowed on Thursday to craft a new set of sanctions on Iran, reports Politico. The senators said that it is a top priority of theirs to slap a new round of economic penalties on the Islamic Republic sometime after the Thanksgiving holiday, when it will be clear whether Secretary…

Abdulrahman al-Khayyal was arrested by Saudi religious police after offering free hugs in the capital city of Riyadh. He apparently was inspired by a viral Youtube video of a fellow Saudi, Bandr al-Swed, offering free hugs. The clip has garnered nearly 1.5 million views in three days. Al-Khayyal announced on Twitter that he was going to offer free…

The increasing frequency of rock and firebomb attacks targeting Israeli motorists in Judea and Samaria has led the IDF and police to crack down on “road terror.” This week, 21 Palestinian Arab suspects were arrested on suspicion of throwing rocks or firebombs. Sixteen remain in custody following questioning, while five who were detained in the…

An Israeli university’s online course in Arabic has drawn interest throughout the Arab world, Maariv/nrg reports. The Technion is offering an online course on nanotechnology in Arabic with Professors Hossam Haick and Russell Berrie. So far the course materials on the Technion’s website have been viewed by 1,243 people in Syria, 1,865 from Kuwait, 5,595…

A drone attack on an Islamic seminary in Pakistan, likely carried out by the US, left 5 dead on Thursday. The attack comes despite Pakistan’s opposition to US drone strikes. The leader of the Afghan Taliban-linked Haqqani terror network, Sirajuddin Haqqani, paid a visit to the seminary just two days earlier, reports Al Jazeera. According to…

An Iranian citizen was recently arrested in Azerbaijan after he was observed looking at the Israeli embassy in Baku in a suspicious manner. According to Channel 10, which reported the incident on Wednesday, the arrest took place two weeks ago. The man has been identified as 31-year-old Hassan Faraji. After several hours of interrogation it…

Swedish Jew and outspoken opponent to anti-Semitic violence Annika Hernroth-Rothstein has filed for asylum in her own country, Elder of Ziyon reports. The move is a public statement of dissent against the Scandinavian country’s anti-Semitic policies, which include a ban on ritual slaughter (shehita) and circumcision (brit milah), two major laws central to Jewish law and life.  Hernroth-Rothstein…

More Israelis die from cancer than from other causes, data from the Central Statistics Bureau reveals, with heart disease as a close second.  Maariv reports that the data, released Wednesday, analyzes over 40,000 deaths in Israel throughout 2011 – over 0.5% of the population at the time. 49.3% of the deaths that year were men, and 50.7% were women. …

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu insisted on Wednesday on the need for a “real” solution to the Iranian nuclear crisis, after talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, AFP reports.  Putin said that the two men discussed the Iranian nuclear standoff “in detail” at Kremlin talks which ran several hours past their original schedule. Netanyahu insistent that only the strongest…

A Kuwaiti newspaper reported Wednesday that Russia was set to transfer billions of dollars worth of arms to Egypt before the end of the year. According to the report in the Al Rei newspaper, the Russian arms package is designed to specifically enable Egypt to at least achieve parity with the IDF. Egyptian media on…

Iran supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s latest controversial comments on Israel are”unacceptable” and “complicate” ongoing negotiations on Tehran’s disputed nuclear program, a French government spokeswoman said Wednesday.   “Khamenei’s comments are unacceptable and complicate negotiations,” Najat Vallaud-Belkacem told reporters.     She was referring to Khamenei’s references to the Jewish state earlier Wednesday as being “doomed…

Two IDF soldiers were injured in an operational accident on Tuesday evening on Israel’s northern border. The soldiers were hurt in an explosion in the Har Dov region. According to initial reports, the blast was a controlled detonation carried out by the military. IDF sources confirmed that the incident was not a terrorist attack. The…

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh’s granddaughter was returned to Gaza on Tuesday after being hospitalized in Israel. Doctors at Petah Tikva where she was treated determined that it was impossible to save her, reports AFP. On Monday, one year old Amal Haniyeh crossed into Israel for treatment on a serious digestive tract infection. Amal was returned to the Al-Nasser…

An ongoing archaeological dig in the ancient Jewish village of Shilo in Samaria (Shomron) has turned up a stone altar dating back thousands of years. The altar is believed to date back to the period from roughly 1,200 BCE to 600 CE known as the Iron Age. More specifically, archaeologists dating it to what some…

The IDF carried out multiple airstrikes Tuesday evening in the Khan Younis area in Gaza. IDF sources say the strikes hit their intended targets – a weapons factory and two tunnels built by terrorist groups. So far, Gaza media outlets have not reported casualties as a result of the attack. The airstrike came in response…

At odds with Washington over terms of an emerging international nuclear agreement with Iran, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will on Wednesday take his campaign against the deal to Moscow.     “We’d like them to have a better understanding of our concerns and the need to prevent Iran from having a breakout capacity,” an Israeli official…

Top US military leader and chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, said on Monday at a regional summit of international business executives in Washington that the US would still back Israel in the event of a strike on Iran.  According to the International Business Times, Dempsey noted that the US still has a…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, at an Israeli-French technology conference Tuesday, contrasted Israel’s goals with those of Islamic radicals as a matter of modernity and anachronism.  Referencing the scientific studies before him, Netanyahu stated, “What we are seeing is the future. I think where radical Islam is trying to take us is the past.” He elaborated, “We are for…

An IDF photographer was the target of a Molotov Cocktail attack this week, according to the IDF’s official blog – and so was a bus full of schoolchildren.  The photographer, Shoval, recounts, “I was traveling on a road in Samaria (the Shomron). A bus full of children returning from school came down the opposite lane.…

The United States will keep two Patriot missile batteries in Turkey for another year to help bolster the country’s air defenses against threats from Syria’s civil war, the Pentagon said Monday, according to AFP. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told Turkey’s visiting Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, of Washington’s decision. The two met at the Pentagon for…

The IDF’s hareidi combat battalion has won a coveted IDF prize for excellence and is a candidate for four more prizes. The battalion was selected for the IDF Department of Technology and Logistics’ Award. It has also been nominated for the Chief of Staff’s prize for Extraordinary Operational Achievements, an award for Excellence in Maintaining…

A granddaughter of Gaza’s Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh has been hospitalized in Israel in critical condition, according to AFP.  Amal Haniyeh, 1, suffers from a serious infection of the digestive tract which has affected her nervous system, according to Gaza medical sources. “Amal has crossed the border with Israel now, and I call on God to grant her health,” Abdessalam Haniyeh, the premier’s…

Burak Kran, a former player on the German national soccer team, has been killed in Syria after joining the Syrian rebel forces, German and Turkish media sources report. He fought alongside the Mujahideen group.  At 26, Kran left the world of soccer to convert to Islam. He moved with his wife and young children to Turkey,…

U.S. Secretary of State of John Kerry said Monday that Israel has “every right” to voice opposition to a potential nuclear deal with Iran. At the same time, he told reporters, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s fear that a deal would leave Israel vulnerable is unfounded. “I have great respect for his concerns about his country,”…

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday paid homage to Holocaust victims at the former Nazi German death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau, AFP reported. Ban, who last week announced his visit to Auschwitz, pledged to “build a world of equality and dignity for all.” He was joined by a former Polish prisoner, 87-year-old Marian Turski, and the…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Monday invited Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to address the Knesset and publicly recognize Jewish history and heritage in the Land of Israel, AFP reports. “I call on him from here today: let’s break the deadlock,” Netanyahu said in a special address to the Knesset, in honor of French President Francois Hollande’s visit.  “Come to the Israeli Knesset…

Mushir al-Masri, a top Hamas terrorist and member of the PA parliament, declared that a ‘calm’ or cease-fire period with Israel was the best time to prepare new tactics against Israel’s alleged “aggression” – both above and below ground.  Speaking on behalf of Hamas at the College for Science and Technology in Khan Yunis on…

US Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday he would not be able to visit Israel over the coming weekend, despite an announcement by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu that he would, AFP reports. Instead, Kerry said he would try to visit Israel again after the November 28 Thanksgiving holiday. It will be his eighth visit to Israel since he took up the post as…

A senior Syrian rebel commander died last night of wounds he sustained in a government airstrike in Aleppo.  Abdul Qadir al-Saleh was the leader of Liwa al-Tawhid, one of several rebel battalions stationed in the Aleppo area. Another Liwa al-Tawhid leader, Youssef al-Abbas was killed in the airstrike, which targeted a meeting of senior brigade commanders. Sources…

On Sunday, following heavy violence in Tripoli, a senior US military official revealed plans to train up to 7,000 members of Libya’s security and special operations forces, according to Al Arabiya. Aside from training thousands of conventional forces, special operations forces will be trained to conduct counter-terror operations, according to Admiral William McRaven, head of the U.S. military’s Special Operations Command.…

At 65 years old Israel is a young country – in more ways than one. According to data released Monday by the Central Bureau of Statistics. Children under 17 years of age constituted fully one third of Israel’s population in 2012. Altogether there were 2.626 million children in Israel in 2012, 70% of them ( 1.846…

A rebel bomb attack on an army base near Damascus killed 31 Syrian soldiers on Sunday, AFP reports. The blast came amid a major regime offensive against rebel positions all around the capital and on the city of Aleppo in the north, the news agency said. “Three generals and a brigadier-general were among 31 troops…

At least 50 people have died after a passenger jet crashed in the central Russian city of Kazan Sunday. Interfax news agency reports that the Boeing 737-500 exploded after crash-landing in Kazan airport at 15:25 GMT, when its nose hit the ground during touchdown. Emergency services say the bodies of all 44 passengers and 6 staff have…

Border Policemen arrested an Arab youth who was armed with a knife at the entrance to the Cave of Machpela in Hevron Sunday afternoon. The suspect, 17, is a resident of Hevron. He had been standing near one of the Border Police positions guarding the Cave and for about ten minutes, appeared to be observing…

Second Lieutenant Yitzhak Maimon, who took on the terrorist who brutally murdered IDF soldier Eden Atias on a bus in the northern city of Afula last Wednesday, was honored on Sunday evening by the IDF. Maimon was given a certificate of merit by Colonel Asher Ben-Lulu, commander of the IDF’s Kfir infantry brigade, who said, “I am…

Israel has been holding a senior Al Qaeda operative under administrative detention for three years, it has been revealed. Samer Helmi Abd Al Baraka Altif, 39, was detained by security forces as he attempted to enter Israel from Jordan via the Allenby Bridge. Security sources say the suspect is an Al Qaeda operative “with a…

French President Francois Hollande affirmed Sunday that his country would keep up the pressure on Iran, icluding sanctions, until it is satisfied that the Islamic Republic has given up its military nuclear ambitions. “France will not tolerate nuclear proliferation,” President Francois Hollande said on Sunday after arriving in Israel. “As long as we are not certain that…

Housing Minister Uri Ariel has revealed a new plan that he says could lead to 100,000 new homes being built. Israel must take action now to lower the price of housing, he declared. “We have to find a way for citizens to pay less for an apartment,” he stated. “The government must intervene in the…

US Secretary of State John Kerry is returning to Israel on Friday to discuss the Iranian nuclear talks and peace with the Palestinian Authority, AFP reports.  Speaking to the Knesset, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said he would also discuss the Iran talks with French President Francois Hollande, who arrives in Israel later Sunday, as well as with Russian President Vladimir Putin when…

A senior Hezbollah commander died on Saturday after he was wounded in Syria several days ago, Al Arabiya reported, citing a pro-Hezbollah website. “The Islamic resistance in Hezbollah proudly weds a new Knight…Ali Shabeeb (Abu Trab al-Rweis) who died as he was performing his sacred religious duty,” the website was quoted as having said. The…

On the 50th anniversary of the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy, CBS News has released the original Dallas police tapes recording the chaos from November 22, 1963. The tapes, sent to CBS by the University of Virginia, provide the police’s point of view of the shooting while it was occurring. Police describe the crowds that appeared to watch…

In a press release, Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies (FSWC) has condemned the resolution passed by students at the University of Toronto to endorse the racist “Israel Apartheid Week” on its Scarborough campus.  “Israeli Apartheid Week” is a campaign of anti-Israel propaganda funded by the extreme Leftist Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement,…

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday tweeted a series of messages in which he described what other world leaders had done at the age of 20. Using the hashtag Presidentat20, Rouhani appeared to be mocking U.S. President Barack Obama, when he wrote: “Obama was continuing his education at university at 20. He is said to…

Yehiel Kadishai, who served as a personal aide to former Prime Minister Menachem Begin, died Saturday from a heart attack at the age of 90. Kadishai was born in 1923 in Poland and arrived in Israel with his family the same year. He was a member of the Beitar movement. He served in the British…

Since the IDF delegation to the Philippines landed last Thursday, the unit has treated over 370 wounded – 150 of them children – in a hospital in the city of Bogo.  IDF doctors at Bogo’s hospital have performed operations, used advanced medical equipment, and overseen 5 births – including one Cesarean section and one birth…

Fresh gunbattles have erupted between rival militias in the Libyan city of Tripoli Saturday, as local fighters seek to force out gunmen from a militia based in the city of Misrata. Saturday’s fighting, in the suburb of Tajoura, come a day after bloody clashes between protesters and militiamen outside the Misrata militia’s headquarters in Tripoli. Local authorities say at…

Americans for Peace and Tolerance (APT), an organization which exposes extreme Islamic activity in the US, is attempting to alert the public about a systemic anti-Israel curriculum in Newton, MA schools. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and clergy of two local synagogues continue to criticize APT’s ad campaign. The Arab World Studies Notebook was removed from the Newton high school curriculum…

Anti-semitic violence has been rising in Brooklyn, NY since the middle of September, a Brooklyn rabbi reported to CBS News. The culprit: a systemic “game”, by local gangs, to “knock out” Jews.  Brooklyn police say that over 8 attacks against local Jews have been reported within the past 2.5 months. Many of them appear to be similar to…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Friday urged France to stand firm in international negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, AFP reports. “We hope France will not yield,” Netanyahu said in an interview to the Le Figaro newspaper due out on Saturday. “For us, the United States remains an important ally, the most important ally. But our…

The United States and other countries are “getting close” to an interim deal with Iran that would prevent its nuclear program “from advancing, and roll it back” in key areas, a senior administration official said Friday, according to CNN. The official was quoted as having told reporters that such a deal would “extend the breakout…

Colonel Amos Hacohen, head of the IDF’s Southern Gaza Brigade, said on Friday that Hamas continues to grow stronger in Gaza and recent assessments have determined that the number of tunnels built by Gaza-based terrorists has increased considerably. Speaking as the IDF marks one year since the counterterrorism operation Pillar of Defense, Hacohen said Hamas…

At least 16 Libyan demonstrators were killed on Friday when a militia group fired at a rally demanding it to abandon a place it has occupied in the capital Tripoli since the 2011 ouster of Muammar Qaddafi’s regime. Al Arabiya, citing local television, reported that 45 people were wounded in the incident and 15 were…

Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Associate Dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, raised the findings of Manfred Gerstenfeld’s book, Demonizing Israel and the Jews with Philippine Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Archbishop of  Manila on Wednesday. The Cardinal was an important candidate in the recent Papal election and may become the first Asian Pope. Demonizing Israel and the Jews documents that…

On Friday the first baby was born at the IDF field hospital set up the day before in the Philippines to help deal with the destruction Typhoon Haiyan has left in its wake. The mayor of Bogo City where the hospital was established announced the baby will be named “Israel.” The new life follows the Philippines’ massive…

During an Al-Qassam Brigade military parade Hamas officials called on Fatah to prepare for war with Israel, and threatened to declare war if Jews are allowed to pray at the Temple Mount. At the parade by Hamas’ “military wing”, which marks a year since the IDF Pillar of Defense counter-terror operation in Gaza, Raeed Sa’ad, a high-ranking commander of Al-Qassam, called on Fatah…

After a long journey halfway across the world, the IDF’s 148-member rescue team finally arrived on Thursday at the storm-ravaged Philippines. The delegation will set up a field hospital where 500 patients will be able to receive the help they need. Some reports place the death toll of Haiyan, one of the strongest typhoons ever to…

Jihadist rebels in Syria had to ask for “understanding and forgiveness” after they beheaded the wrong man, the British Telegraph reports. In a public appearance filmed and posted online, members of the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), one brandishing a knife, held up a bearded head before a crowd in Aleppo. The…

Republican Senator John McCain on Thursday sharply criticized the Obama administration’s policy in the Middle East. “We lost influence, we lost power. We are seen as helpless,” McCain said in an interview with the Arabic language Al-Hurra TV. He specifically criticized US Secretary of State John Kerry, saying he was disappointed with the way Kerry has…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Thursday he was unimpressed by a report from the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency on Thursday that Iran had frozen its nuclear activities. “I am not impressed by the report published this evening,” Netanyahu was quoted by his office as saying. “Iran does not need to expand its programme because…

On Thursday reports were released that a Canadian citizen described only as Abu Abd Al-Rahman was killed in March in the city of Aleppo, according to Shalom Toronto. Al-Rahman is one of many Canadian and other foreign jihadists journeying to Syria to join the bloodbath. The report of Al-Rahman’s death appeared on a Syrian Internet site that…

Explosions rocked various parts of Iraq on Thursday during the Shi’ite pilgrimage holiday of Ashura, leaving at least 41 dead, according to the BBC. Iraq has recently seen a fierce upswing in bombings.  Of the three blasts targeting the pilgrims, Al Arabiya reports that the major one occurred in Diyala province north of Baghdad, where a religious procession was struck by a suicide bombing…

A report indicates that US President Barack Obama has been easing sanctions on Iran for the past five months without Congressional approval, and despite the lack of any agreement over the Islamic regime’s nuclear weapons program. Sources in Congress revealed that Obama’s administration has been suspending or lifting many sanctions without informing Congress since Iranian President Hasan Rouhani was elected…

On Thursday afternoon Gazan terrorists opened mortar and rocket fire on Israel, eliciting an IAF airstrike in response which took out two concealed missile launchers in northern Gaza. The IDF Spokesperson Unit statement stressed that the IDF will not tolerate any attempts to harm Israel or its citizens. The statement further placed responsibility for the attack on…

Hundreds of people were protesting at the main entrance to Jerusalem Thursday afternoon, demanding more security in the wake of the murder of IDF soldier Eden Atias Hy”d Wednesday. One woman was arrested for disorderly conduct, after shouting anti-Arab slogans. Three other people were also arrested. Atias, 19, died Wednesday after an Arab terrorist stabbed him in…

“Eden, come home!” cried the mother of 19-year-old Eden Atias, the IDF soldier who was stabbed to death by a terrorist, at his funeral Wednesday night. Thousands gathered at the cemetery in Nazareth Illit, Atias’ home town, as he was laid to rest. On Wednesday morning, a 16-year-old terrorist stabbed Atias, who fell asleep on…

A private funeral for murdered IDF soldier Pvt. Eden Atias will be held Wednesday night at the military cemetery in his hometown of Nazereth Illit at 11:00 pm.  Atias, 19, died Wednesday after an Arab terrorist stabbed him in the neck and upper body on a bus at Afula’s Central Bus Station. The assailant, just 16, is a Palestinian Arab…

Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas announced Wednesday that PA peace negotiators intend to pull out of peace talks. Negotiator Mohammed Shtayyeh told AFP the move was in response to “increasing settlement building (by Israel) and the absence of any hope of achieving results.” “Abbas has a number of choices here – he can refuse or accept and form a new…

John Kerry provided a signed letter of support to an extremely radical group of leftists and anti-Israel activists who were organizing a march on Gaza in 2009, revealed Maariv’s Ben-Dror Yemini. Members of the group eventually wound up on the 2010 Gaza flotilla that included the Mavi Marmara, on whose deck a bloody confrontation between…

The IDF sent a 148-member delegation to the Philippines on Wednesday, to provide rescue and medical services in the wake of typhoon Haiyan’s massive destruction. Before setting out representatives pledged their best efforts in “giving hope” to the people of the Philippines. Lt. Col. Golan Vach, operation officer of the delegation, said that in addition to…

Kawasme was the terrorist who initiated and planned a murderous attack that was executed on March 23, 2011, in Jerusalem. An explosive charge was detonated near Binyanei Hauma, the International Convention Center, near the western entrance to the city. The explosion killed Mary Jean Gardner, a British tourist. Another 67 people were injured. The terrorist…

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is planning to be the first ever UN chief to visit the Auschwitz death camp in Poland, his spokesman said on Tuesday. In a statement, UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said that Ban will visit the camp on Monday “to pay tribute to the victims of the Holocaust and to…

A man was stabbed in the neck in the Central Bus Station at Afula, in northern Israel, Wednesday. The attack apparently took place inside a bus. According to initial reports, the victim is a soldier and is in critical condition. The attacker has been identified as an Arab aged 16 from the Palestinian Authority city…

A 148-member Israeli delegation is set to leave for the Philippines on Wednesday, in order to provide search, rescue, and medical services in the Typhoon-struck city of Tacloban, capital of the Leyte Province. The IDF said on its official blog on Tuesday that an advanced multi-department medical facility, equipped with approximately 100 tons of humanitarian…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu once again stressed on Tuesday that while Israel prefers a diplomatic solution to the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program, the deal that is currently being offered to the Islamic Republic is a bad one. “Israel prefers the diplomatic option over any other option. But we want a genuine diplomatic solution that…

Three Muslim converts in London pleaded guilty on Monday to charges of confiscating alcohol, attacking and threatening to stab non-Muslims in attempts to impose Islamic Sharia law on the UK capital. The men were part of a group of Islamist vigilantes, self-styled as “Muslim Patrols.” The Daily Beast reports that they pleaded guilty on several charges of…

Ukrainian neo-Nazi mobs have gone on the warpath in recent days, attacking and injuring dozens of foreign students, according to reports on local news sites and social networking sites. Several Israelis, both Jews and Arabs, are said to be among the victims. The attacks have been featured in Arabic-language Ukrainian papers and have been reported…

A new study reveals that Egypt has the worst women’s rights record of all 22 Arab states, as hopes of modernization following the “Arab spring” have instead led to instability and a greater Islamic influence, under which sexual harassment has simply become the norm. BBC notes that a UN report in April found that 99.3% of Egyptian women and girls had…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu visited soldiers near Gaza on Tuesday, one year after the Pillar of Defense counter-terror operation in Gaza. “We are marking one year since ‘Pillar of Defense.’ The numbers are clear: a decrease of 98% in rocket and mortar shell fire. There’s no doubt that we obtained significant deterrence,” he declared. “However,”…

The Knesset hosted its second annual forum on ties between Israel and the United States Jewish community, with a focus on the status of the Reform and Conservative movements in Israel. Orthodox Judaism views the Torah as divine, and the mitzvoth (commandments) as obligatory. The Reform movement views the mitzvoth as non-obligatory, while the Conservative…

Britain has resumed ties with Iran, 2 years after severing diplomatic relations due to a 2011 embassy attack, Al-Arabiya reports.  Reuters adds that Britain’s Foreign Office has named Ajay Sharma, currently the head of the ministry’s Iran department, as the next British Ambassador to the Regime state. Sharma hopes to ascend to the post later this month.  “I am very much looking…

Israeli security sources claimed Tuesday that Iran’s controversial nuclear program has cost the country $170 billion, mostly due to economic sanctions. Of the $170 billion price tag, $40 billion were “invested over the past 20 years in the construction and operation of nuclear infrastructure,” the sources told AFP.     They said Iran had “lost…

Tania Longpre, a leading candidate for the next general elections in Quebec in the PQ separatist bloc, has written a statement on her Facebook page calling to remove the word “Jewish” from the Jewish Hospital of Montreal and to introduce a ban on circumcision, Shalom Toronto reports.  The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) has issued…

US Secretary of State John Kerry told the BBC that none of the differences between world powers and Iran over its nuclear program are big enough to prevent agreement. He said they came “extremely close” to a deal at the weekend in Geneva, but added that the rest of the world had to be certain…

Alan Baker, the head of the Legal Forum for the Land of Israel, has sent a strongly worded rebuke to US Secretary of State John Kerry after Kerry’s public statements supporting Palestinian Arab incitement.  The letter attacked Kerry’s statements that Jewish building in Judea and Samaria is “illegitimate,” saying that the label is “a factual and…

Intelligence, Investigations, and Surveillance officials from the Northern District of the Israeli police force have uncovered a weapons cache under the foundations of an Afula building. The building was in a crowded urban neighborhood located close to a large public structure in the Northern city.  Commander Moshe Cohen led the search team, which found the…

While Iran has been buckling under the sanctions that have been crippling its economy, the country’s supreme leader is apparently enjoying the billions he has in the bank. The Reuters news agency exposed on Monday that supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei controls a business empire worth around $95 billion, a sum exceeding the value of…

Channel 10 News reported on Monday that Arab hackers had broken into the Facebook accounts of some 13,000 Israelis. The hackers, from Tunisia and Gaza, made public on Monday evening the usernames and passwords of the accounts which they had broken into. In some cases they changed the profile pictures of the users in question.…

U.S. lawmakers will wait until after a briefing by Secretary of State John Kerry this week before deciding whether to impose tough new sanctions on Iran because of its nuclear program, Senate aides told Reuters on Monday. Kerry will brief the Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday on the status of negotiations for a deal on…

MK Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu) has been sworn in as Foreign Minister Monday, passing a Knesset vote of 62-17.  Several left-wing politicians expressed disappointment at the decision. During the proceedings, MK Zahava Gal-On (Meretz) reportedly stated that the reinstatement “is an explosive device to Israel’s foreign relations – no less”, referring to Liberman’s reputation abroad as…

The fatal typhoon Heiyan has continued its path of destruction, ravaging Vietnamese coastal towns Monday. Earlier this week, the storm killed 10,000 people in the Philippines; approximately 800,000 are still reported missing.  BBC reports that the typhoon’s winds hit at 157 km/h (98 mph), killing 13 and displacing well over 600,000 people. About 900,000 people have already…

It was a classic case of American honesty.  A Connecticut rabbi and his wife bought an antique desk earlier this week, for the meager price of $200.  “The desk wouldn’t fit through the front door by a fraction of an inch,” Muroff said. They were forced to take the desk apart piece by piece.   Upon…

US Secretary of State John Kerry drew fire from Israelis late last week, when he slammed Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria as “illegitimate”. But an upcoming conference in New York City to challenge Jews in the Diaspora to do more to confront the delegimization of the “settlements” themselves. The subject of the conference is telling. Entitled “Addressing…

Truth meets fiction as Oscar winner George Clooney will show his Nazi-era art thriller “The Monuments Men” at the Berlin film festival in February. The film comes amid the controversy following last year’s discovery of over 1,400 works of art stolen by the Nazis The artworks were found in the Munich apartment of Cornelius Gurlitt, the son of a powerful Nazi-era…

Israel set a tourism record last month, as 339,000 tourists entered the country in October 2013 – 14% more than a year earlier, and the highest single month number of entries in the country’s history. This October broke the last record, set in 2010, by 4%, Tourism Ministry officials said Monday. Over 297,000 people came…

A lead IDF delegation of experts in the fields of search, rescue and medicine on Sunday night left Israel for the Philippines, which was hit by a devastating typhoon over the weekend. The rescuers are part of the IDF’s Home Front Command, the IDF announced on its official blog. According to the statement, the expert…

Border police managed to stop the rape of a woman in the Old City of Jerusalem moments before the crime was about to take place. Police have arrested a 22 year old suspect, an illegal alien from Eritrea, and have charged him with attempted rape. The 28 year old woman, a tourist from France, was…

A 24 -year-old yeshiva student was lightly wounded on Sunday evening after being struck by a rock as he was driving near the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. The student, who needed stitches, was taken to the Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem and is expected to be released shortly. Some of his friends told Arutz Sheva…

Unidentified assailants shot dead Iran’s deputy minister for industry and mining, Safdar Rahmat Abadi, in Tehran on Sunday night, AFP reports, citing the official IRNA news agency. IRNA reported that Rahmat Abadi had been fatally shot in the head and chest as he was driving in the east of the capital. Citing a police officer…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu vowed on Sunday that he will always ensure the security of the State of Israel. Speaking at the Jewish Federations of North America General Assembly, Netanyahu warned once again that the deal being made with Iran was dangerous. He also took a shot at U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who…

The town of Karnei Shomron in Samaria (Shomron) hosted a race Friday in memory of Benaya Rein, who was killed in the Second Lebanon War. The race in Benaya’s memory has become an annual event. Among those racing was Aharon Karov, who famously went to war in Gaza the day after his wedding. He was…

A major network of schools in Pakistan has banned the book I Am Malala, written by schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai, who famously stood up to the Taliban by advocating openly for women’s education. Malala made global headlines when she was shot in the head by Taliban terrorists in 2012. She was targeted for advocating for education…

The United States is “not blind, and I don’t think we’re stupid” in nuclear talks with Iran, Secretary of State John Kerry said in a US television interview that aired on Sunday.     The top US diplomat also insisted there is “zero gap” between the Obama administration and its commitment to Israel, with diplomatic…

Philippines police forces announced Sunday that the death toll from Typhoon Heiyan is estimated to be over 10,000 people, with an additional 800,000 reported missing – far over initial estimates earlier this week, which were at 1,200.  Typhoon Heiyan, which hit the Philippines Friday morning, is reportedly considered to be among the most powerful in recorded history.…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel would do all it could to keep world powers from striking a “bad and dangerous” deal with Iran over its nuclear program. Netanyahu said: “At the week’s end I spoke with President Obama, President Putin, President Hollande, Chancellor Merkel and British Prime Minister Cameron. I told them…

The government has confirmed that Avigdor Lieberman (Yisrael Beitenu) will be reinstated as Foreign Minister, less than one week after he was acquitted in a years-long fraud trial which prompted him to step down last year.  While the official vote is set to be made Monday, and requires the explicit approval of deputy minister Ze’ev…

Al-Qaeda’s main branch in Syria, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), has raided a wedding party in the suburb of Aleppo and ordered that music and singing be stopped, Al Arabiya reports, citing the Asharq al-Awsat newspaper. “One leader of the Islamic State warned residents that if a music band is invited…

Belgium said Saturday it had raised the standing of the Palestinian Authority’s diplomatic delegation to the country to “mission” status, AFP reports. The move is a show of commitment to a two-state solution in the Middle East, according to the Belgians. Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders confirmed the change from “general delegation” to “mission” after…

Former US President George W. Bush will deliver the keynote address at a fund raising event for the Messianic Jewish Bible Institute (MJBI), which trains people in the U.S., Israel, and elsewhere “to work towards convincing Jews to accept Jesus as the Messiah,” according to Canada’s ShalomLife. Rabbi David Saperstein of the Religious Action Center…

The American aircraft carrier USS Nimitz was recalled from the Persian Gulf on Friday, along with the destroyer USS Graveley from the Mediterranean Sea. The move comes less than a week after Russia sent its most powerful warships to the Mediterranean. Al Jazeera reports the Nimitz moved through the Suez Canal into the Red Sea, and is anticipated…

The Palestinian Authority (PA) announced Saturday it will start searching for oil near Rantis, a town north west of Ramallah and just east of the 1949 Armistice line. The PA further claimed contracts will be signed with British companies in the coming weeks to produce natural gas from sea reserves off the Gaza coast. On Saturday Palestinian Deputy Prime…

Talks in Geneva between representatives of Iran and the so-called P5+1 ended on Saturday night with no agreement. It was reported earlier that the sides had convened for another late night meeting in an attempt to reach an agreement on Iran’s nuclear program. That meeting, however, ended with no results. “From the start, France wanted…

The son of the president of Suriname is being charged by the US on suspicion of providing material support to Hezbollah. According to the BBC, Dino Bouterse was filmed telling undercover agents posing as Hezbollah operatives that he was willing to help the Iranian-backed terror group set up a base in the central American country, as well as…

“We estimate 1,000 people were killed in Tacloban and 200 in Samar province,” Gwendolyn Pang, secretary general of the Philippine Red Cross, said of two coastal areas where Haiyan hit first as it began its march Friday across the archipelago. The Red Cross said it would have more precise numbers Sunday. The government’s official toll…

US President Barack Obama called Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Friday after Netanyahu strongly opposed the proposals being offered to Iran in Geneva. AFP reports that Obama gave Netanyahu an update on the Geneva talks, although specific contents of the call remain unknown. A statement said Obama, aside from the update, “underscored his strong commitment to…

Germany on Saturday began marking the 75th anniversary of the Nazi pogrom Kristallnacht with solemn ceremonies and touching and innovative tributes to the victims.     Rather than conducting one central memorial event, Germany this year is seeing smaller commemorations throughout the weekend including striking art projects, Twitter initiatives and silent vigils.     The…

Egypt said on Friday it would hold parliamentary elections in February or March, with presidential polls in early summer. The country’s Foreign Minister, Nabil Fahmy, told the Reuters news agency that the political arm of ousted president Mohammed Morsi’s banned Muslim Brotherhood could participate in the elections. Fahmy’s comments provided the most specific timeline yet…

German President Joachim Gauck on Friday visited a former workshop whose owner fought to save his Jewish staff from deportation, as Germany began marking the 75th anniversary of the Nazi Kristallnacht anti-Jewish pogrom. AFP reported that Gauck joined a Jewish former employee to visit the premises, now a museum in central Berlin, where Otto Weidt…

The United States on Friday rejected Israel’s criticism of a proposed deal with Iran over its nuclear program, AFP reports. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said, “There is no deal. Any critique of the deal is premature.” Earnest echoed State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki, who said Secretary of State John Kerry had gone to Geneva…

The United States and Israel lost their voting rights at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on Friday after suspending funding to the organization in 2011 when it admitted “Palestine” as a member. A source from the UN agency who spoke to AFP said neither the United States nor Israel “presented the…

Anti-Semitism has worsened in Europe in the past few years with abuse increasingly widespread on the Internet, a survey by the European Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) showed Friday. The study, released ahead of the 75th anniversary of “Kristallnacht” which saw Nazi thugs smash up Jewish businesses and synagogues, found that 66 percent of European Jews…

Prime Minister Biynamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of State John Kerry held a final meeting today (Friday), with the PM urging Kerry to reconsider meeting tonight with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton. In the meeting, Netanyahu reiterated that Israel “utterly rejects” Iran’s supposed offer to reduce its military capabilities in…

About 90 Haredi men were inducted today (Friday) into various technical positions for the IDF, as part of a landmark program by Bina Yeruka (Green Intelligence) project to integrate more Haredi soldiers into Israeli intelligence, according to the IDF’s official website. Chief Intelligence Officer Eli Ben Meir told the inductees,  “I am confident that the many…

A spokesman of the Al-Qassam Brigade military branch of Hamas recently expressed the organization’s intentions to continue attacking Israel, promising that the Hamas terrorists will continue working in secret to dig new terror tunnels and continue fighting against the “occupation.” Just last Thursday 5 IDF soldiers were wounded in a clash with Hamas while demolishing a terror tunnel. The IDF…

Mindy Pollak, 24, has become the first Jewish representative to be elected for city council in Montreal, several news media outlets reported. The landmark decision is a first in Jewish representation in Quebec, but also as to the involvement of Orthodox Jewish women – specifically, Hassidic women – in the public sphere. The elections, which…

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will unexpectedly travel to Geneva on Friday afternoon to meet with Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, NBC News reports. Nuclear talks between Iran and the so-called P5+1 nations resumed in Geneva Thursday morning. Word of Kerry’s impending arrival is the strongest sign so far of an agreement on a…

Alert IDF soldiers were able to foil a terrorist attack at a checkpoint near Bethlehem on Thursday evening. A Palestinian Authority Arab terrorist who was armed with a knife arrived at the checkpoint and tried to stab a Border Guard officer who was stationed there. The terrorist was shot by the soldiers before he could…

A senior Iranian official claimed Thursday that a breakthrough had been made at nuclear talks in Geneva, and that Tehran’s proposed plan for resolving the impasse over its atomic program has been accepted by the six world powers. At roughly the same time, Israel’s prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, warned that signing an interim deal with Iran…

As the new round of nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 – the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany – began in Geneva on Thursday, Iranian state TV aired a documentary about Iran’s missile capabilities, including an animated simulation of a missile attack on Tel Aviv. The simulation depicts an…

A new Hebrew University website, sponsored by the school’s Oral History Division, allows users to search and access 900 previously unavailable Holocaust-related voice recordings and transcripts. Many of the interviews include testimonies recorded in the 1930s, constituting some of the earliest recorded oral history archives of the Holocaust. The site, which goes on line Thursday,…

A senior Hamas politician has joined the call for an “intifada” terror war against Israel over Jews’ visits to the Temple Mount. The Temple Mount in Jerusalem is Judaism’s holiest site. It is also the site of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Muslim and Arab leaders have accused Israel of intending to destroy the mosque and rebuild…

Approval has been granted for the construction of the Ramat Givat Zeev neighborhood, on the outskirts of Jerusalem, with 400 residential units. The project has been making waves in the United States, as the only neighborhood  in Israel designed to meet the needs of olim has been moving forward in giant strides. Hundreds of apartments have already…

The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) raided and shut down two offices in Jerusalem that served terror movement Hamas. The offices of “Al-Quds Development” and “Amara al-Aqsa,” which are part of the Islamic Movement, were closed down after the Shin Bet received information that the offices carried out activity that supports and assists Hamas’s operations…

Terrorists fired on IDF soldiers overnight and attempted to run one officer down. No injuries were reported in the incident. The incident began when IDF soldiers began tracking a vehicle that had left the Palestinian Authority Arab town of Naalin and was driving toward the nearby Israeli city of Modiin. Their suspicions regarding the intentions…

A month and a half after the historic visit by a delegation from Israel to the European Parliament advocating Jewish community growth in Judea and Samaria, the Samaria Regional Council returned the favor, hosting a delegation of MPs from the European Parliament. During the special visit, which took place due to the efforts of Deputy…

Iran reportedly offered Western powers tonight (Wednesday) to reduce their nuclear capability in exchange for a reduction in sanctions, an offer Israel is working hard to prevent from being fulfilled, AFP reports.  “Israel in the last few hours has learned that a proposal will be brought before the P5+1 in Geneva in which Iran will cease all enrichment…

In Canada, a simple question by a Jewish man regarding a new controversial law in Quebec turned into a verbal and physical attack. The background to the incident is not yet clear, but according to information posted on the internet, the incident occurred on Sunday at a coffee shop in Montreal. The Jewish man reportedly…

Several pop stars have reportedly planned for Tel Aviv tour stops in the upcoming year, in a clear failure for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement – a network of anti-Israel extremists who have been pushing celebrities to boycott the Jewish state.  Among the planned appearances include Julio Iglesias, set to play in Tel Aviv on November 24; Cyndi Lauper,…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu released a public statement to the media today (Wednesday) congratulating former Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman (Yisrael Beytenu) on his acquittal from fraud allegations. “I congratulate Avigdor Lieberman on his unanimous acquittal,” Netanyahu said. “This ends a long, drawn out affair, not only for Avigdor Lieberman but for his family as well. We…

A poll carried out by the Survey Center at A-Najah University in Shechem indicates that 70% of Palestinian Authority (PA) residents believe current “peace talks” with Israel are doomed to fail. Almost 58% believe that the talks will end with the outbreak of a “third intifada,” or terror war against Israel. According to the poll,…

Rabbi Shmuel Yaakov Borenstein of Bnei Brak will deliver the keynote speech at the Dirshu Shabbos Chizuk L’lomdei Torah event to be held this coming Shabbat, which will focus on pressures being placed on hareidi communities in Israel. The event, held by the Dirshu organization in Somerset, New Jersey, sold out just a few weeks after…

In Jerusalem Wednesday an unprecedented two-day strategic planning summit was launched with the aim of creating new joint initiatives between the Israeli government and the Jewish world at large. The event came to fruition under the auspices of the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Jerusalem and Diaspora Affairs, and the Jewish Agency, and has been hailed as an “historic…

The United States is looking at new classified intelligence indicating that the Syrian government may not fully declare its chemical weapons stockpile, CNN reported on Tuesday. This would mean that Syria will still have a secret cache of chemical weapons even after the current agreed-upon destruction effort is carried out. The intelligence is not definitive…

Gaza’s Hamas government said on Tuesday it had added studies to encourage “resistance to Israel” to curriculum in local public schools. Courses to “strengthen Palestinian rights, update programs and add studies on human rights” would be introduced at three levels in secondary schools, Hamas Education Minister Muetassem al-Minaui told the AFP news agency. They were…

A three-judge panel unanimously acquitted former foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman of the charges against him Wednesday morning. The verdict means he can return to serve as foreign minister but the state is expected to appeal it. “Seventeen years are over, it’s behind me,” Lieberman told reporters after the verdict. “I want to thank my family and friends…

Israel and Palestinian Authority negotiators met Tuesday evening in Jerusalem, just hours anticipated meetings with United States Secretary of State John Kerry. Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, who is heading the Israeli negotiating team, Attorney Yitzchak Molko, and PA negotiator Saeb Erekat met in Jerusalem. Kerry arrived in Israel late Tuesday with the goal of moving…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Barack Obama are not known to have had a good relationship, but the American president seems to have taken it a bit too far. In a new book that was released Tuesday, Obama is quoted as expressing what he really thinks about Netanyahu during his 2012 presidential campaign.…

The Annual Chabad on Campus International Shabbaton (Shabbat convention), a conference on Jewish education and leadership, brought over 1,000 Jewish students to New York in an event aimed at strengthening Jewish identity. The event, held October 25-27 in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, attracted students from around the world to participate in a range of events, including tours around the city,…

US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro wrote on his Facebook Tuesday “Mazal Tov to Women of the Wall on 25 years of prayer together,” following the group’s prayer at the Western Wall Monday which challenged traditional Jewish practice at the holiest site in Judaism. Women of the Wall’s Facebook page reported that Shapiro spoke at the…

MK Orit Struk (Bayit Yehudi) spoke to Arutz Sheva on Tuesday evening and recalled her frightening experience the night before, when a bus on which she was a passenger came under attack. The bus was hit by several firebombs in what appears to have been a coordinated attack. “It was late, I was coming back…

“I see no change in the Palestinian position since 1993,” Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told the Likud / Yisrael Beytenu Knesset faction Monday, according to Israel Hayom. In response to a question from MK Tzipi Hotovely, he said that he is not interested in an interim accord and that the negotiations are about a permanent…

Shots fired in a packed New Jersey shopping mall yesterday are still being investigated, NJ state police have stated, after the suspected shooter has been found dead in one of the mall’s stores by an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. The gunman has been identified as 20 year-old Richard Shoop, who was found dead behind the counter…

US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel gave Israel credit Monday for much of the pressure that has been brought to bear on Iran, regarding its nuclear weapons program. In an interview with Hagel, Bloomberg.com’s Jeffrey Goldberg asked whether it was true that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is using “fear tactics” in order to torpedo Iran negotiations…

Five firebombs were thrown at a bus on Egged’s 160 line from Jerusalem to Hevron at midnight, Monday evening, as it passed the Judean Jewish community of Karmei Tzur. IDF troops immediately arrived at the scene to search the area for the perpetrators; forces found additional bottles ready to be thrown. No one was hurt. Bayit Yehudi…

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Monday that the United States will maintain the current track of Israeli-Palestinian Authority peace negotiations he helped launch in July. Speaking in Riyadh, where he met with Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal, Kerry added that Washington sees “no other plan” other than negotiations, reported Reuters. While…

A Swiss gallery has denied illegal involvement with Cornelius Gurlitt, the man found Sunday to be hoarding nearly 1,500 priceless paintings, including works by Picasso and Matisse, that were stolen by the Nazis in a Munich flat. While the gallery, which is based in Swiss capital city Bern, admitted to buying legitimate works from Gurlitt, they…

Moshe Lion, who ran for mayor of Jerusalem in the recent municipal elections but lost to incumbent Nir Barkat, was detained and questioned at the Ben Gurion International Airport on Monday. Lion was interrogated by customs officials for allegedly trying to smuggle clothes into Israel. According to reports in the Israeli media, Lion was detained…

Muhammad G’malizda, a senior commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), has been reported to have been killed in the Syrian Civil War, according to the State-backed Iranian Mehr news agency. G’mazlida was killed sometime over the last few days by “Wahhabi terrorists”, the agency said, giving no more details. Wahhabism is an ultra-conservative branch of Sunni Islam, but Iranian…

American Undersecretary of State Wendy Sherman, the official charged with heading the secretive Iranian nuclear negotiations, has said the US could ease sanctions on Iran as a way of encouraging compliance on the issue of the country’s nuclear program. The second round of talks between Iran and the P5 + 1 states is to be held in Geneva again this…

Nearly 4,000 rabbis gathered Sunday in New York at Chabad-Lubavitch world headquarters to participate in the International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries (“Shluchim“). The Conference, held at 770 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, is an annual event with the goal of reviving Jewish awareness and practice around the world. The events of the conference included a visit to the tomb of…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has rejected the Palestinian Authority (PA) contention, that recent decisions on construction in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria contravene agreements reached at the outset of negotiations between Israel and the PA, three months ago. He said that the Palestinians knew full well when the talks began that Israel acepts no limitations on…

Women of the Wall marked its 25th anniversary with controversial prayers at the Kotel (Western Wall) Monday attended by 200 women, an unusually large turnout for the group, which rarely manages to muster more than a few dozen during its Kotel demonstrations calling for an end to traditional religious practices at the holy site. Numbers were swelled by three…

Nearly 1,500 priceless paintings, including works by Picasso and Matisse, that were stolen by the Nazis have been discovered in a flat in Munich, a news report said Sunday, according to AFP. The German weekly Focus reported that police came upon the paintings during a 2011 search in an apartment belonging to the octogenarian son…

Fatah, the party led by Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’, has praised one of the murderers freed recently as a “goodwill gesture” by Israel as a national hero, and pledged to “continue to walk in his path.” The statements, translated by Palestinian Media Watch, were made on an official Fatah Facebook page, and came a week before murderer…

A British cabinet minister on Sunday called for Muslim face veils worn by women to be banned in courts. In an interview with BBC Radio, former Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke described the face veils as “peculiar.” Clarke said in the interview that women should not be allowed to wear a veil while giving evidence in…

As expected, the Palestinian Authority (PA) reacted angrily to Israel’s announcement Sunday that it planned to build 1,700 new homes in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem. The entity threatened to go to the UN Security Council over the latest Israeli move, reported AFP. “The PLO is considering a mechanism to go to the Security Council and…

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday urged Egypt’s interim rulers not to extend the state of emergency when it ends later this month, a senior American official said, according to AFP. “He pressed hard on not extending the state of emergency when it expires on November 14,” a State Department official told reporters…

For the first time since Syrian refugees seeking medical attention began drifting into Israel, a Syrian woman has given birth to a child here. The birth took place Sunday at Ziv Hospital in Tzefat (Safed). The 20 year old woman gave birth to a healthy 3.2 kilo (7.04 pound) baby girl. The woman was brought…

New York City Council member Stephen Levin on Sunday condemned an attack carried out on Friday night, in which a 24 year old hassidic man was shot in what police said was a failed robbery in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. “The people of New York deserve to live without fear that these types of acts…

In cabinet meeting this morning (Sunday), Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu reiterated the importance of international recognition of Israel as a Jewish state in helping bring peace to the Middle East, as part of remarks commemorating the 96th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration.  “The declaration championed the rights for the Jewish nation to have a national home…

Three terrorists who unsuccessfully appealed for the “right” to earn a college degree for free while in prison will be given a chance to try again. Justice Miriam Naor decided that the Supreme Court will hear an appeal in the matter after a first lawsuit was rejected. Terrorists imprisoned in Israel have traditionally been allowed…

A report in the morning edition of Maariv today (Sunday) reveals that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has ordered the construction of a security fence in the Jordan Valley, due to the impasse in negotiations with the Palestinian Authority over the military control of area. Netanyahu maintains that Israeli military presence in the Jordan Valley would ensure the State…

The freezing of aid to Egypt by the United States is not meant as a “punishment” by Washington, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in Cairo Sunday. At a joint press conference with Egypt’s Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy, Kerry said that the two countries enjoyed good relations regardless of issues of monetary assistance. The…

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu denied on Saturday reports that his had provided Israel with intelligence that helped it attack SA-8 missiles in Syria that were being transferred to Hezbollah on Thursday. “This is an attempt to give the impression that Turkey is cooperating with Israel,” he said. “We have problems with Syria; we have…

Mohamed Elibiary, a member of the Department of Homeland Security Advisory Council, is under fire for tweeting that America is “an Islamic country,” reported the Washington Free Beacon. After a Twitter user asked Elibiary on Thursday to “show me just ONE example of an Islamic country where non Muslims are treated with equality,” he responded…

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and a prominent cleric say that the slogan “death to America” will be sounded on November 4, the country’s annual “Grand Day of Death to America,” which coincides with the anniversary of the takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979. The “Death to America” slogan has been chanted…

Israeli officials expressed anger Friday at the White House’s decision to disclose that Israel carried out the two attacks on targets in Syria Thursday. The attacks in Latakiya and Damascus are believed to have targeted SA-8 missiles that were about to be transferred to Hezbollah in Lebanon. An Obama administration official confirmed to CNN that the…

A drive-by shooting killed two members of Greece’s neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party and wounded one outside a party office in Athens on Friday night, officials said. The two fatalities, both in their 20s, were shot at close range from a motorcycle carrying two men, Golden Dawn lawmaker Georgios Germenis told The Associated Press. “A man…

A senior official in the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) denied on Friday reports that peace negotiators Saeb Erekat and Mohammad Shtayyeh had submitted their resignation to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. PLO Executive Committee member Wasel Abu Yousef told the Ma’an news agency that reports of the negotiators resigning were not accurate. On Thursday, sources…

The Dutch Prime Minister has responded to a letter by the Simon Wiesenthal Center last month, in which he was asked to disband a statutory government body that has called on the Netherlands to develop closer ties to the terrorist organization Hamas at the expense of Israel. The Simon Wiesenthal Center’s letter to Prime Minister…

The head of the Pakistani Taliban has been killed in a U.S. drone strike, Sky News reports, according to U.S. and Pakistani officials. A senior U.S. intelligence official confirmed the strike, adding that the U.S. has received positive confirmation that Hakimullah Mehsud has been killed. The strike, carried out in Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal region,…

A man pulled an assault rifle from a bag and shot his way through security at Los Angeles International Airport on Friday, killing one Transportation Security Administration worker, wounding as many as three others and sending terrified travelers diving for cover and fleeing onto the tarmac, authorities and witnesses said, according to NBC News. The…

Terrorists from Hamas-controlled Gaza fired a mortar shell at southern Israel on Friday evening. The mortar exploded in an open area in the Eshkol Regional Council. There were no physical injuries or damages. Local residents said that the “Red Alert” siren which usually warns them about rocket attacks did not sound. Several days ago, the…

Israeli company IceCure, developer of a treatment for breast tumors by freezing them into ice, is currently attempting to expand its technique into the treatment of lung cancer. The site NoCamels reported Wednesday that the biomedical company specializing in cryoablation, a process of destroying diseased cells by freezing, will soon conduct its first clinical trials in Japan using the same…

US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel announced Thursday that he gave orders to expedite the sale of six vertical liftoff V-22 Osprey aircraft to Israel, making Israel the first country besides the United States to have the plane in its military arsenal. The move allows Israel to take priority ahead of the US Marine Corps in the aircraft’s production schedule, according…

Bayit Yehudi (Jewish Home) has advanced new laws this morning (Friday) that would enact the establishment of regular prayer hours for Jews visiting the Temple Mount, Yediot Ahronot reports.  According the the new laws, which have already begun to undergo legal processing through the Ministry of Religious Services, daily prayer hours would be set for Jewish groups…

US Secretary of State John Kerry is set to meet with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem this Tuesday in renewed efforts to resume peace talks, a Palestinian Authority official claims.  The move follows Israel’s announcement this week to build 1500 new housing units for Jewish residents in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria after releasing…

Kenya’s air force bombed an al-Qaeda linked al-Shabab training camp housing 300 terrorists in Somalia’s south-western Dinsoor region, even as al-Shabab denies the attack, according to Al-Jazeera. The attack was said to be in retaliation for the terrorist attack on Nairobi’s Westgate Mall in September. CNN reports that Col. Cyrus Oguna, spokesman for the Kenyan Defense Force, said the raid was part…

Five IDF soldiers were wounded near the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza on Thursday evening. An initial investigation has found that terrorists detonated an explosive device as IDF soldiers were operating in the area, preparing to blow up the terror tunnel that was recently discovered by IDF soldiers, leading from Gaza into an…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that if the pressure on Iran continues, it will abandon its nuclear program. However, Netanyahu warned in remarks during a state ceremony marking the 40th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, if the pressure on Iran stops, it will continue to freely enrich uranium. “We are committed to…

Israeli warplanes struck a military base near the northern Syrian city of Latakia on Thursday, an Obama administration official confirmed to CNN. The target, according to the Obama administration official, was missiles and related equipment the Israelis felt might be transferred to Hezbollah. The Al Arabiya network reported Thursday that Israel has carried out two…

The destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons is to be completed by mid-2014. Syria’s declared equipment for producing, mixing and filling chemical weapons has been destroyed, according to the international watchdog, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). The declaration was made one day before the deadline set by the OPCW for meeting this goal.…

The Ministerial Committe for National Security Matters (Diplomacy-Security Cabinet) decided unanimously Thursday to transfer 2.75 billion shekels from the budget surplus to the defense establishment budget. The decision was taken after the defense establishment asked for an increase in its budget after it carried out a series of streamlining steps. The Prime Minister’s Office noted…

Hezbollah is enlisting 15,000 fighters for what it is calling the “battle for Damascus,” Reshet Bet reports. The report is based on information from sources in the Syrian opposition. Hezbollah has been heavily involved in fighting alongside Syrian President Bashar Assad as he battles opposition groups. Hezbollah recently claimed to have taken the decision to withdraw…

A wave of crime in southern Tel Aviv, particularly the old Central Bus Station area, led Tel Aviv police to kick off a campaign aimed at reducing the rate of attacks. As part of the campaign, undercover officers were placed in the area to see if they could lure out criminals. A female officer who…

President Shimon Peres on Wednesday hosted Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark at his Residence in Jerusalem. The Danish Crown Prince is on his first visit to Israel in commemoration of 70 years since the rescue of Danish Jews from the Holocaust. In October of 1943, more than 7,000 Jews were sent to safety in Sweden.…

Saudi Arabia has initiated a draft UN resolution that would strongly condemn “widespread and systematic gross violations of human rights” by the Syrian government and “any” abuses by anti-government armed groups, reports The Associated Press. UN diplomats said the draft resolution, obtained on Wednesday by AP, is expected to be submitted to the human rights…

Releasing terrorists is good, but approving new Jewish construction in Jerusalem is wrong, according to the head of the United Nations. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, in a statement he released on Wednesday, condemned Israel’s announcement that it will build 1,500 new housing units in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo. “Settlement activity is contrary to…

A French citizen was detained this afternoon for questioning (Wednesday) by civilian security guards on allegations of spying on Yitzhar residents in their homes. The unnamed man, who is suspected of taking unwanted photographs of residents and buildings in the community, may be involved in Palestinian Arab incitement in a nearby village.  Earlier reports suggesting that the French…

For only the second time during his tenure as America’s commander-in-chief, US President Barack Obama has come in at second place on Forbes Magazine‘s list of the world’s 72 most powerful people. Significantly, Obama was beaten this year by none other than Russian President Vladimir Putin, answering the magazine’s rhetorical question: “Who’s more powerful: the autocratic…

A Saudi Arabian court has sentenced a Jordanian national to nine years in prison for spying for Israel. State-backed media outlet Al Riyadh Online reported that the man – who was also sentenced to 80 lashes by the country’s Specialized Criminal Court – confessed to having spied for the Jewish state, having emailed Israeli intelligence agents and received…

On Wednesday the Israel Antiquities Authority released the discovery of a 1,700 year old curse found at the City of David archaeological site in Jerusalem. The curse, inscribed in Greek on a rolled-up lead plate, was found at the Givati parking lot dig site opposite the City of David. The text was determined to be a curse…

On Wednesday MK Ibrahim Sarsour of the Arab Ra’am-Ta’al party accused the Israeli government of endangering Middle East stability in failing to make peace with the Palestinians, declaring that Israel must either submit to Arab demands or disappear. He further claimed Israel was the “sole cause” preventing advances in the peace talks because it continues to refuse to withdraw to the…

Officials in the Palestinian Authority have taken issue with the fact that Israel seeks to ensure its security, AFP reported on Tuesday. According to the report, senior Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) official Yasser Abed Rabbo said that Israel had adopted hardline positions and negotiations had so far produced “no tangible progress.” The so-called “hardline positions”,…

The Palestinian Authority (PA) in Judea and Samaria under Mahmoud Abbas is preparing to hold large scale celebrations Tuesday after Israel – under US pressure as part of a purported “peace process” – released 26 terrorists who were involved in horrific murders of Jews. Celebrations in Gaza, to which five of the terrorists were released,…

Residents of Ramallah are preparing for the customary celebrations as Israel releases 26 terrorists from its prisons. About 1,500 Palestinian Authority Arabs gathered at the Muqata in Ramallah on Tuesday night, waving PLO flags and PA flags, as they anticipated the return of the terrorists. Of the 26 terrorists to be released, 21 will be…

Peace is not possible so long as there is even one terrorist prisoner still in an Israeli prison, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas declared on Tuesday night. According to Kol Yisrael radio, Abbas made the comments in a welcoming ceremony for 21 Palestinian Authority Arab terrorists who had been released from Israeli jails as a…

Supreme Court Justices Miriam Naor, Edna Arbel, and Daphne Barak-Erez have rejected the petition by the Almagor organization and by the families of victims of terrorism against the release of 26 terrorists. The Court chose to allow the terrorists to go free.  The Justices stated that the government has the authority to determine the appropriateness…

The Al-Qaeda linked Syrian Jabhat al-Nusra group has published a video interview with Abu Asim al-Muhajir, who carried out a suicide mission, crashing an Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) into a Syrian army headquarters east of Damascus and then detonating to collapse the building. Abu Asim explained that he chose to be a suicide bomber because “it allows penetration into enemy…

American singer and dancer Paula Abdul met Israeli President Shimon Peres on Tuesday morning on her maiden voyage to Israel, during which she plans to have a belated bat mitzvah at the Western Wall. Abdul embraced Peres at the start of visit, which took place at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem. “I’m so overwhelmed with…

Hassan Nasrallah, head of the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah which is fighting alongside forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad, has shown a weakening stance in the face of expanding guerrilla warfare which favors rebel forces in their two and a half year battle to unseat Assad. Hezbollah, which has thousands of fighters in Syria battling to protect…

The head of the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, has accused Saudi Arabia of blocking a political solution to the conflict in Syria, AFP reports. Speaking on Monday on a large screen set up in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Nasrallah said the Gulf kingdom was “furious because the situation in Syria has not…

On Monday Go4Europe, on of the most prestigious business conferences in Israel, was held at the Tel Aviv Hilton Hotel. The conference, which began in 1993 and is organized by Cukierman Investment House Ltd. and Catalyst Fund, placed an emphasis on the high-tech industry, life sciences and green energy. Haggai Ravid, CEO of Cukierman Investment House,…

As Israel prepares to release 26 more terrorist prisoners as a “gesture” to the Palestinian Authority, Arutz Sheva presents a partial list of those slated for freedom. It reveals a catalogue of atrocities, the majority of which involved the murder of civilians carried out at close range. Each of the crimes shook Israel at the time it happened, and was…

Paula Abdul, the singer, dancer and celebrity judge born to Jewish parents in Los Angeles, plans to travel to Israel this week for the first time and have a bat mitzvah at the Western Wall. Yedioth Ahronoth reported Monday that Abdul plans to celebrate her bat mitzvah during her visit, at a delay of nearly forty years…

U.S. President Barack Obama spoke to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu about Iran on Monday, AFP reports, a day after Netanyahu warned that Tehran could convert uranium into weapons-grade material within weeks. The White House said in a short statement that the leaders discussed Iran, Israeli-Palestinian Authority peace efforts and other key issues. Netanyahu warned on…

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Ron Prosor, filed a complaint on Monday with the UN Security Council, after Gaza-based terrorists fired rockets at southern Israel. Early Monday morning, the “Red Alert” siren was heard early Monday morning in the Hof Ashkelon Regional Council and in communities in the Gaza belt. Residents reported hearing several…

The Antiquities Authority on Monday announced that it had arrested three Arabs from the Hevron area who were involved in the theft of antiquities. The Arabs were caught red-handed with some of the goods that they had stolen from an archaeological site in Beit Shemesh. The three apparently snuck in into the central Israeli city over…

The first Jewish Student center in Berlin opened yesterday (Monday), under the auspices of Rabbi Yehuda Teichtal. The venue will host Jewish-themed and pro-Israel lectures and activities to strengthen Israel advocacy in the wake of increasing anti-Semitism in Germany and worldwide, as well as the rising intermarriage rate in Germany, currently estimated to be about 50%. …

Israel arrested 10 members of the Islamist terror group Hamas overnight, the army said Monday, although Arab officials put the number at 15. “Ten Hamas operatives were detained overnight across the West Bank,” an IDF spokeswoman told AFP, without giving any further details or reasons for the arrests. Hamas has ruled Gaza since it took…

Nigeria and Israel have signed an agreement allowing direct air travel between both countries, several news outlets report. American media outlets reported this past week that Nigeria and Israel signed a Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) last Wednesday allowing direct air travel between both countries. This would be the third such agreement Israel has with an African…

The imbroglio over the tapping of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s phone by the United States deepened Sunday, AFP reports. The United States denied that President Barack Obama was personally informed for years of electronic surveillance against the German chancellor. The German newspaper Bild am Sonntag newspaper quoted U.S. intelligence sources as saying that America’s National…

The Israeli foreign ministry has named Middle East specialist Haim Koren as the Jewish state’s next ambassador to Egypt, a spokesman told AFP on Sunday. He did not say when the appointment take effect. Koren, currently non-resident ambassador to South Sudan, is an Arabic-speaker and according to media has previously served as director of the…

Israel will attend a UN human rights review on Tuesday, a top official told AFP on Sunday. Earlier, Haaretz reported that Germany had warned Israel of a diplomatic backlash if it stayed away from the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) Periodic Review. “We will attend” the Universal Periodic Review, the official, who declined to…

The “Red Alert” siren was heard early Monday morning in the Hof Ashkelon Regional Council and in communities in the Gaza belt. Residents reported hearing several explosions, as four rockets were fired by Gaza terrorists at southern Israel. The Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepted one of the rockets, and the other three exploded in open…

The death toll from a week of clashes in Lebanon between supporters and opponents of Syria’s regime has risen to 13, a security official told AFP on Sunday. Two people died in clashes on Saturday and another two were killed early on Sunday in the northern port city of Tripoli, the official said, adding that…

The Israel Prisons Service on Sunday night published on its website the list of 26 terrorists who will be freed as part of the latest “gesture” to the Palestinian Authority. The list was made public 48 hours before the release is to take place, so that the Israeli public can appeal to the Supreme Court…

A committee of ministers decided Sunday that 26 terrorists serving jail sentences of 19 to 28 years will go free in 48 hours. The release is the second installment in a series of four release that will see 104 terrorists go free, as a “gesture” to the Palestinian Authority. Five of the terrorists to be…

All victims of the Sabbath’s anti-Semitic attack in Sydney, Australia, have been released from hospital, according to J-Wire, a website that provides Jewish online news from Australia. St Vincent’s Hospital spokesman David Faktor told J-Wire that 66-year-old Eli Behar was discharged from the hospital Sunday. “He had suffered a minor fracture of the skull,” he added. “Two…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Sunday that it is no longer relevant whether or not Iran enriches uranium to the 20% level. The matter of 20% enrichment was the “red line” that Netanyahu insisted Iran must not pass, in his speech to the United Nations last year. “Regarding Iran, we are not impressed by the…

A young terrorist, estimated to be about 16 years old, was arrested this afternoon (Sunday) by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) after attempting to stab soldiers standing guard outside the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hevron.  The Cave of the Patriarchs, one of Judaism’s holiest sites, has been a focal point of national attention this…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu clarified his stance regarding Palestinian Authority recognition of Israel as a Jewish state during Sunday morning’s cabinet meeting. Some of Netanyahu’s ministers have argued that Israel does not need the PA to recognize it as Jewish. “Regarding the issue of the Jewish state that comes up from time to time, we…

Gaza terrorists fired two mortar shells at the southern Negev early on Sunday afternoon. The shells exploded in the Eshkol region, but did not cause injury. The military has advised agricultural workers in the area to seek shelter. Last week terrorists from Hamas-controlled Gaza fired a mortar shell that hit the Eshkol region. Less than…

The United States has been spying on German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s mobile phone for more than a decade, Deutsche Welle reports, citing the German Der Spiegel magazine. On Saturday, the magazine reported that the National Security Agency (NSA) had listed Merkel’s mobile telephone since 2002, beginning under the Bush administration, and that it had remained…

At least 15 Hezbollah fighters were killed on Saturday by Syrian rebels in the Ghouta district of Damascus, Al Arabiya television reported, citing opposition sources. A video posted on the internet showed dead men with Hezbollah label patches on their uniforms. Six wounded Hezbollah fighters were reportedly transferred to Lebanon for medical treatment, according to…

Police have arrested eight people in a crackdown on organized crime in southern Israel. The wave of arrests follows a car bombing last Thursday in the city of Ashkelon in which one man was killed and second was badly injured. The man who was killed was identified as a member of the Domrani crime family.…