TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Soccer superstar Lionel Messi finally arrived in sports-crazed Israel on Sunday, after a Palestinian protest campaign derailed his previous visit and the latest round of cross-border fighting in Gaza threatened to scare him off once again. Messi and his Argentine teammates are in the Holy Land to play an international friendly against his Barcelona teammate … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s newly appointed commissioner to Expo 2020 said Monday that next year’s world fair in Dubai offers the country a unique opportunity to present a fresh face to the Arab world, just as Israel is growing closer to the United Arab Emirates and other Arab Gulf states. Elazar Cohen presented plans for the Israeli pavilion at the … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu greeted the country’s triumphant teen delegation to the unofficial “Robotics Olympics” on Wednesday after its groundbreaking visit to Dubai, giving public expression to the growing, and increasingly open, relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. The countries have long had back-channel security and cyber ties, mostly based on their shared enmity … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) — One by one, the 40 descendants of a group of Israeli siblings leaned down and hugged the elderly Greek woman to whom they owe their very existence, as she sat in her wheelchair and wiped away tears streaking down her wrinkled face. Clutching the hands of those she hid, fed and protected as a teenager more than … Read More
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Seeking to bolster its image as a forward-looking metropolis, Dubai hosted the largest-ever international robotics contest this week, challenging young people from 190 countries to find solutions to global ocean pollution. Event organizers say their selection of Dubai as host reflects a vote of confidence that this oil-rich Emirati sheikhdom can be a global … Read More
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — For those who were there, the memories are still fresh, 40 years after one of the defining events of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, when protesters seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and set off a 444-day hostage crisis. The consequences of that crisis reverberate to this day. Veteran Iranian photographer Kaveh Kazemi recalled snapping away with … Read More
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Political uncertainty and volatile oil prices are hindering economic growth in the Middle East this year, but trends should reverse next year, according to a new report released Monday by the International Monetary Fund. The IMF’s regional outlook report projects growth to rise just 0.5% in 2019, compared to 1.6% in 2018. Increased activity … Read More
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Outgoing U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry said Saturday that he asked President Donald Trump to make the phone call at the center of the impeachment inquiry because it was “important” for the country’s energy needs and had nothing to do with former Vice President Joe Biden or his son Hunter. He also hardened his … Read More
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — In an unmarked villa, nestled amid homes in an upscale Dubai neighborhood, a congregation prays in the first fully functioning synagogue in the Arabian Peninsula in decades. Though its members keep its precise location secret, the synagogue’s existence and the tacit approval it has received from this Islamic sheikhdom represent a slow rebirth of … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) — With a simple tweet, Gideon Saar did what no Israeli politician from the ruling conservative party has done in more than a decade — openly challenge its chief, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The brazen move against the long-serving Israeli leader has solidly positioned the 52-year-old Saar as the Likud party’s leading candidate to replace Netanyahu, who is … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) — Benjamin Netanyahu has been tasked by Israel’s president to form a new government for the sixth time in his lengthy political career. This time it’s no mere formality, but rather a daunting endeavor that looks like mission impossible. After an inconclusive national election last week, Netanyahu has no obvious path to the 61-seat parliamentary majority required of a coalition … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) — On the same day World War II broke out in Europe, Mahatma Gandhi wrote a short Jewish New Year greeting to a local Indian Jewish official, offering ominous good wishes to his “afflicted people.” The National Library of Israel recently unearthed the 80-year-old handwritten letter during a massive review of millions of its archival documents. It was … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) — The Arab bloc in Israel’s parliament abandoned its usual hands-off stance Sunday and endorsed former military chief Benny Gantz for prime minister, potentially giving him the edge over hard-line incumbent Benjamin Netanyahu. The historic move marked the first time in nearly three decades that the Arab parties backed a candidate for prime minster, reflecting their contempt for … Read More
KFAR SABA, Israel (AP) — Yamit Dulberg considers herself a traditional Israeli woman with right-wing views who would usually vote for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party. But this week the 37-year-old mother of two cast her ballot for his main rival, in part because she’s sick of his ultra-Orthodox Jewish allies and their disproportionate power over daily life. “Something … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s two main political parties were deadlocked Wednesday after an unprecedented repeat election, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu facing an uphill battle to hold on to his job. The election’s seeming political kingmaker, Avigdor Lieberman, said he’ll insist upon a secular unity government between Netanyahu’s Likud and Benny Gantz’s Blue and White parties, who based on partial … Read More