JERUSALEM (AP) — Roy Bass emerged from the Mediterranean waves at noon Friday for a Popsicle break when, surfboard in hand, he heard his cell phone ringing on the beach. It was a recorded message: “An emergency draft has been activated.” Four hours later, the 27-year-old computer programmer was at an army base, in full uniform, preparing to head to Israel’s … Read More
NITZANIM BEACH, Israel (AP) — Revital Aburmad jerked from her sleep Tuesday morning to find herself lying on a strange beach. She had just had an awful nightmare; she was running to a bomb shelter, carrying her 2-year-old daughter in her arms, as the sounds of explosions echoed around her. The worst part was the scary scene was not far … Read More
KIBBUTZ KEREM SHALOM, Israel _ Palestinian militants sneaked into Israel underneath a Gaza border crossing Sunday, killed two Israeli soldiers and captured another, raising the threat of an all-out conflict in Gaza just a year after Israel’s pullout. Israel, which sent ground troops into Gaza after the assault, blamed the Hamas-led government and warned that militants and their leaders will be … Read More
RAMAT GAN, Israel (AP) _ Some 20,000 frenzied fans sang along with Sting as he yelped out the familiar lyrics to one of his most famous songs. “Whoa, I’m an alien; I’m a legal alien,” reverberated throughout Israel’s largest stadium, in this suburb of Tel Aviv. Sting, of course, was referring to being an “Englishman in New York.” But he … Read More
TEL AVIV, Israel – Hundreds of Jewish singles file into the ballroom of a luxury beachfront hotel and gather in separate groups. On one side are sharply dressed foreigners, almost all North Americans, wearing blue wristbands and making polite small talk. On the other side, Israelis with purple wristbands laugh, chatter loudly and smoke. JDate, the world’s biggest online Jewish … Read More
JERUSALEM – For one night, the skies above the Tel Aviv coastline came alight in a spectacular, unprecendented fireworks extravaganza that attracted hundreds of thousands of Israelis and was broadcast live on TV to the entire nation. The Tuesday night display, along with a fashion show and an exhibit of white tents emblazoned with the word “peace,” marked the beginning … Read More
UMM EL FAHM, Israel — Riham Agabaria has a left hook that will knock your socks off. Or your head scarf. Sparring in her hometown in northern Israel, the shy 15-year-old lets loose a strike that brushes back the traditional Muslim headdress of her opponent — younger sister Fatma, who is forced to flee to the restroom to rearrange her … Read More
JERUSALEM, Israel (AP) — Can Israel afford to hand its nuclear briefcase to a man who spent much of his brief and unremarkable military service fixing tanks? The country is embroiled in a heated debate over whether Labor Party leader Amir Peretz, picked as Israel’s next defense minister, has the credentials for one of the nation’s most high-stress jobs — one … Read More
JERUSALEM – To understand why a lifelong hawk like Ehud Olmert could come to embody the moderate center of Israeli politics, look no further than his family. There’s his wife, Aliza, a dove even before they married 35 years ago. And his son Shaul, who refused to serve the army’s rule over the Palestinians. And his daughter Dana, who is … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) — A former intelligence official who controlled Pentagon spy Jonathan Pollard has put his new party in a position to influence Israel’s next government with its surprise showing in legislative elections. Rafi Eitan, who also helped in the capture of Holocaust mastermind Adolf Eichmann in 1960, led his Pensioners Party to garnering seven seats in the 120-seat parliament. Most … Read More
TEL AVIV, Israel — Dressed in sneakers, khaki pants and a sweatshirt, the chairman of Israel’s pro-marijuana Green Leaf party takes a drag from his cigarette. “If it was up to the youth, I would be the Prime Minister of Israel,” Boaz Wachtel says, sitting on a worn-out sofa in his Tel Aviv office. That may be a pipe-dream, but … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) _ Like most of its modern, conservation-friendly counterparts, Jerusalem’s Biblical Zoo is trying to save animals from extinction and reintroduce them into the wild. But that philosophy, referred to in zoological circles as the “Noah’s Ark paradigm,” takes on a special meaning here. Most of the Biblical Zoo’s inhabitants trace their lineage to the great beasts who were … Read More
JERUSALEM — The extradition of a suspected Israeli mob boss to face drug charges in Miami and New York is drawing new attention to Israel’s increasingly brazen underworld, where gangsters have bombed busy streets and fired anti-tank missiles. Israel’s mob turf is so dangerous that the State Department has issued a travel advisory warning Americans of the dangers of the … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) – Who says Israel and Hamas aren’t talking? Officials may be shunning all contact, but Ribhi Rantisi is rocking the Israeli airwaves, spreading the Hamas word in fluent slang-peppered Hebrew. The Gaza shampoo salesman and nephew of the late Hamas leader Abdel Aziz Rantisi has become a media star, connecting to Israeli audiences through his pragmatic views and … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) _ It’s nearly midnight and Shimon Peres, clad in a fashionable black leather jacket, casually strolls down a sidewalk in downtown Jerusalem, the heart of the city’s nightlife. Like a rock star with groupies, he is followed by dozens of journalists and aides as he meets and greets the young partiers of the city. This is grass-roots politics … Read More