JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli leaders slammed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Monday for a fiery, invective-filled speech against President Donald Trump, in which he proclaimed the U.S. role as arbiter of the Mideast conflict over, attacked the administration’s envoys and described Israel as a colonial conspiracy. Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Abbas had “lost his senses” and had given up … Read More
JERUSALEM—Israel’s embattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced a new scandal Tuesday after recordings emerged of his 26-year-old stay-at-home son joyriding at taxpayer expense to Tel Aviv strip clubs with his superrich buddies. In the 2015 recording, Yair Netanyahu and his friends recount their night out on the town and make disparaging comments about strippers, waitresses and other women, including one … Read More
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli airstrikes killed two Hamas members early Saturday following a rocket attack on Israel, in the latest fallout from President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital — a development that has roiled the region and the larger Muslim world. The Israeli military said it targeted four Hamas facilities in response to … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) — It is rare and perhaps unique for the world to interfere with a country’s choice of its own capital. But that is far from the only unusual thing about Jerusalem. Here is a look at some of the extraordinary facts about the city that Israel claims as its capital, even though nearly 40 percent of its population … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) — A former Israeli combat officer turned whistleblower has found himself in the fight of his lifetime, leading a campaign against Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and drawing relentless criticism from the country’s leaders who have labeled him a traitor. For Dean Issacharoff, the battle is even more personal: his father is Israel’s ambassador to Germany, a … Read More
KFAR SABA, Israel (AP) — Eliahu Pietruszka shuffled his 102-year-old body through the lobby of his retirement home toward a stranger he had never met and collapsed into him in a teary embrace. Then he kissed both cheeks of his visitor and in a frail, squeaky voice began blurting out greetings in Russian, a language he hadn’t spoken in decades. … Read More
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — After falling out with Benjamin Netanyahu as a junior member of the Cabinet last year, Avi Gabbay is now a leading candidate to replace the scandal-plagued prime minister. Buoyed by a rags-to-riches personal story and a centrist worldview that appeals to Israel’s traditional swing voters, the new leader of the opposition Labor Party has seen … Read More
The sexual harassment and assault allegations against Harvey Weinstein that rocked Hollywood and sparked a flurry of allegations in other American industries, as well as the political arena, are reaching far beyond U.S. borders. Emboldened by the women, and men, who have spoken up, the “Weinstein Effect” is rippling across the globe. Nearly half of the “#metoo” mentions since the … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) — A string of protests by ultra-Orthodox Jewish activists against Israel’s compulsory military service has paralyzed Jerusalem in recent weeks in what their leaders had hoped would be a show of strength by the traditionally insular society. Instead, the demonstrations reflect a desperate attempt by members of a vocal minority trying to preserve a lifestyle that is rapidly … Read More
BNEI BRAK, Israel (AP) — The government minister responsible for combatting international boycott efforts against Israel said Thursday he sees no difference between the targeting of Jewish West Bank settlements and the country as a whole. Minister of Strategic Affairs Gilad Erdan told The Associated Press that all boycotts against Israel are illegitimate, a stance that could put him at … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) — Widely unpopular around the world, President Donald Trump can take solace in the adulation of Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu, who showers him with praise and even holds his tongue over issues Israel might normally complain about. Trump provides the nationalist Netanyahu with a degree of support he rarely enjoys in the West. Several days ago, he pleased the … Read More
HAR ADAR, West Bank (AP) — For years, Palestinian laborer Nimr Jamal would make the short daily commute from his West Bank village to this nearby settlement, where he was known as a conscientious worker who earned the trust of local residents, some of whom he even befriended and invited to his wedding. Then on Tuesday, he pulled out a … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) — Winding its way around the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City, through modern Tel Aviv then the Negev desert down to the Red Sea, the start of next year’s Giro d’Italia will highlight Israel’s history, culture and varied topography. Details of the 2018 race, which will mark the first time a cycling Grand Tour is held outside of … Read More
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — In a seven-decade career packed with historic triumphs and painful setbacks, Shimon Peres took pride in always looking forward. Now, in a memoir completed just weeks before his death last year, the former Israeli president and prime minister offers his trademark optimistic blueprint for future leadership — along with some subtle criticism of the country’s … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) — With a slew of corruption scandals closing in on him, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is dropping what remains of his statesmanlike persona in favor of an angry nationalism that’s popular with his base. Casting himself as an innocent outsider, the long-serving prime minister blames Israel’s old guard “elites” for the array of inquiries into his financial … Read More