JERUSALEM (AP) _ With tears in his eyes, Michael Sidko laid a wreath of flowers at Israel’s official Holocaust memorial during a solemn ceremony Thursday marking 70 years since a World War II massacre he barely escaped. Sidko was six when he was taken with his family to the Babi Yar ravine outside Kiev, Ukraine _ then part of the … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) _ When Israeli scientist Dan Shechtman claimed to have stumbled upon a new crystalline chemical structure that seemed to violate the laws of nature, colleagues mocked him, insulted him and exiled him from his research group. After years in the scientific wilderness, though, he was proved right. And on Wednesday, he received the ultimate vindication: the Nobel Prize … Read More
Thousands of Palestinians, watching on outdoor screens across the West Bank, cheered their president on Friday as he submitted his historic request for recognition of a state of Palestine to the United Nations. The AP’s Aron Heller reports from Ramallah. [url href=”http://aronheller.com/articles/palestinians-take-to-streets-to-cheer-on-un-bid/”] [url href=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYw1fErYZSE&feature=youtu.be” content=”Watch the Video” target=external]
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Thousands of jubilant, flag-waving Palestinians, watching on outdoor screens across the West Bank, cheered their president on Friday as he submitted his historic request for recognition of a state of Palestine to the United Nations. Mahmoud Abbas’ defiant stance, pushing for U.N. recognition over strong objections from the U.S. and Israel, has struck a chord … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) _ Israel’s official Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem on Thursday rescinded an invitation to Lithuanian officials to attend a memorial service, as a protest against their country’s call to investigate a Holocaust survivor. The decision follows a Lithuanian accusation against a prominent survivor of slandering Lithuanians who collaborated with the Nazis, but are considered national heroes because they opposed … Read More
Palestinians officially launched their campaign to join the United Nations as a full member state, saying they would stage a series of peaceful events in the run-up to the annual gathering of the UN General Assembly later this month. The AP’s Aron Heller reports from Ramallah, West Bank. [url href=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVUXwUSwty0&feature=youtu.be” content=”Watch the Video” target=external]
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) _ Turkey’s prime minister said Tuesday his nation’s navy will step up its surveillance of the eastern Mediterranean Sea _ a move that could potentially lead to confrontation with Israel _ and warned of more sanctions against Israel as relations between the former allies deteriorated further. Turkey has already suspended its vast military ties with Israel, said … Read More
JERSUALEM (AP) _ Israel was dealing with terrorism long before al-Qaida attacked the United States a decade ago. So when two passenger planes crashed into the World Trade Center, Washington looked to Israel for ideas. American law-enforcement agencies have now adopted many Israeli technologies, according to Steven Emerson, executive director of the nonprofit Washington-based Investigative Project on Terrorism. The New … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) – More than 400,000 Israelis poured into streets in cities across the country Saturday night in a show of strength behind a social protest movement that has rocked the country for two months. The demonstrations in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa and elsewhere against Israel’s high cost of living, its housing crisis and distorted distribution of wealth marked the … Read More
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Despite their country’s turbulent history, Israelis enjoy a fairly secure existence: they have military might, a world-class high tech industry powering a strong economy, and America as a solid ally. Yet in recent years, tens of thousands have requested and received the citizenship of European countries like Poland and Germany, which were killing fields for … Read More
Gaza militants agreed to a cease-fire with Israel to stop spiking violence, after a deadly attack across the Egyptian border on Israeli vehicles set off a three-day round of rapidly escalating Israeli airstrikes and rocket barrages from Gaza. The AP’s Aron Heller reports from Jerusalem. [url href=”http://aronheller.com/articles/israel-gaza-violence-threatens-protest-movement/”] [url href=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9JkUjCU-T4&feature=youtu.be” content=”Watch the Video” target=external]
JERUSALEM (AP) _ Security has traditionally trumped all other concerns in Israel. Now some social activists fear a sudden spike of violence with the Palestinians could overwhelm a spontaneous and surprisingly strong summer-long revolt against the country’s high cost of living. A deadly ambush that killed eight Israelis, and subsequent Israeli airstrikes and rocket barrages from Gaza over the weekend, … Read More
NETANYA, Israel (AP) _ Hall of Fame volleyball coach Arie Selinger is back in Israel and on a mission. After a 40-year international career, he’s fulfilling a vow to build a top-notch volleyball program in the chaotic country he fled to after the Holocaust. Under his strict tutelage and grueling training regimen, Israel’s women have qualified for next month’s European … Read More
More protests in Israel as a grass-roots movement went into a third week of demonstrations over working conditions and pay. Teachers joined in doctors, university students and others calling for the government to take steps to ease the burden. The AP’s Aron Heller reports from Jerusalem. [url href=”http://aronheller.com/articles/israeli-housing-protests-evolve-into-major-crisis/”] [url href=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzvABRaynJY&feature=relmfu” content=”Watch the Video” target=external]
Israel’s popular revolt over rising prices and expensive housing has inspired its first YouTube sensation. With over 100,000 Israelis taking to the streets, Tel Aviv-based musician and Internet buff Noy Alooshe married protest footage with an old Benjamin Netanyahu TV interview to create the video. In it, the Israeli prime minister waves his hands from side to side in time … Read More