Gloom hovers over Bethlehem Christmas
BETHLEHEM, West Bank — Thousands of people joined by marching bands, clergymen in magenta skullcaps and children dressed as Santa Claus celebrated Christmas Eve in the center of Bethlehem Sunday,
Israelis find common language with Borat
JERUSALEM — Like moviegoing masses around the world, Israelis have crowded theaters to watch the hit spoof Borat. But they are laughing for another reason: They actually understand what the
Pursuing baseball glory in Israel
PETAH TIKVA, Israel (AP)_Dan Duquette, the former general manager of the Boston Red Sox, took one look at me, nodded, and with a somewhat puzzled look said: “Try not to
Palestinians Hopeful About Olive Harvest
AWARTA, West Bank — Standing in an olive grove, the 61-year-old Palestinian farmer smiled as red, green and black olives rained down from trees shaken by field hands.
For six
Israel buries Zionism founder’s children
JERUSALEM — Nearly eight decades after their tragic deaths, two of Theodor Herzl’s children were buried Wednesday in Jerusalem in an official ceremony that fulfilled the founder of modern Zionism’s
Siblings reunited 65 years after being separated during Holocaust
JERUSALEM (AP) — Hilda Shlick thought she lost nearly all her family in the Holocaust — until her Internet-savvy grandsons located her brother in Canada.
“After 65 years, I have
A reporter’s busy year in Israel
JERUSALEM (AP) _ When I arrived in Israel one year ago, Ariel Sharon was the prime minister, Hamas was a radical Palestinian opposition group, and Israeli troops were just leaving
Israel’s security service launches a glitzy geek hunt
JERUSALEM — Israel’s shadowy security service is looking for a few good geeks.
Normally shrouded in secrecy, the Shin Bet launched its first-ever public recruitment drive last week, unveiling a
Life Returns to Battered Israeli Town
KIRYAT SHEMONA, Israel (AP) — Life slowly returned to the battered Israeli town of Kiryat Shemona on Tuesday, as residents emerged from grimy bomb shelters and began cleaning up the
My AP Blog on the Lebanon War
Tuesday, Aug. 15, 7 p.m. local
METULLA, Israel – The route from Kiryat Shemona to Metulla is a 5-mile stretch of winding, uphill road. I’ve driven it dozens of times
Israelis Warily Confront Sudden Silence
KIRYAT SHEMONA, Israel — Some residents emerged warily from their bunkers in this border town Monday as a cease-fire with Hezbollah brought an eery silence to the surrounding hills. A
Sick, poor suffer most in Israeli shelters
KIRYAT SHEMONA, Israel (AP) — Shimon Almakayiss, a 25-year-old cerebral palsy patient, is curled in a ball, his feet twitching as he sucks his thumb and rests his head on
15 Israelis killed in deadliest attack of war
KFAR GILADI,Israel (AP) — A defiant Hezbollah pounded northern Israel with rockets Sunday after rejecting a U.S.-French truce proposal, killing at least 15 people. Israel also struck hard, killing 14
Jews and Arabs equal in eyes of rockets
MAALOT-TARSHIHA, Israel (AP) — A siren wailed Saturday afternoon and Yousef Yaroni sprinted toward a bomb shelter. It’s a drill the grocer repeats several times a day.
He knows that,
Nature, wildlife also victims of rockets
MOUNT NAFTALI FOREST, Israel (AP) — Huge swaths of forests and fields across northern Israel have been scorched by thousands of Hezbollah rocket strikes over the past three weeks, and