JERUSALEM (AP) — The popular ultra-Orthodox Israeli politician Arieh Deri is preparing a comeback after a 13-year hiatus that included a brief prison term for accepting bribes. A return of the former kingmaker to lead the powerful Shas Party could complicate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bid for re-election: Under Deri, who is considered to be more dovish than Shas’ current … Read More
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — In his most detailed plea to date for global action against Iran’s nuclear program, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday the world has until next summer at the latest to stop Iran before it can build a nuclear bomb. Netanyahu flashed a diagram of a cartoon-like bomb before the U.N. General Assembly showing the progress … Read More
UNITED NATIONS (AP) _ After a 2-hour security screening in Tel Aviv, a 12-hour flight to New York and another hour in Big Apple rush-hour traffic, we were starting to run out of gas. But the oddest part of our journey was still to come. Crammed into a minibus along with 20 Israeli journalists, we were the final vehicle in … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) — Throughout much of Israel’s history, the Maariv daily was known as the “country’s paper,” the newspaper with the highest circulation and a cornerstone of Israeli media. Now it is on its last legs — the victim, some say, of a Jewish-American billionaire who is a close friend of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson launched … Read More
JERUSALEM—When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had to fill a sensitive Cabinet post recently, he turned to an old army buddy from his days in an elite commando unit. His choice for minister of civil defense, Avi Dichter, replaced another graduate of the legendary Sayeret Matkal unit. Netanyahu’s defense minister and vice premier, as well as Israel’s opposition leader, also served … Read More
SDEROT, Israel (AP) — For the first time in years, the children of Sderot can study in peace. Living under a constant threat of rocket fire from militants in the nearby Gaza Strip, their schooldays were often interrupted by mad dashes to bomb shelters. But on Monday, they started the school year safe from attack in a new, fortified, rocket-proof … Read More
KIRYAT MALACHI, Israel (AP) — When Israeli archaeologist Yoram Haimi decided to investigate his family’s unknown Holocaust history, he turned to the skill he knew best: He began to dig. After learning that two of his uncles were murdered in the infamous Sobibor death camp, he embarked on a landmark excavation project that is shining new light on the workings … Read More
HERZLIYA, Israel — One of the world’s most decorated Olympians is living quietly in Israel, a country that just wrapped up its participation in the world competition without a single medal. Agnes Keleti, 91 now, won 10 Olympic medals in gymnastics, including five golds, for Hungary in the 1950s before defecting and emigrating to Israel. That was just one chapter … Read More
JERUSALEM _ It’s priming for a risky showdown with Iran over its suspected nuclear program, concerned about neighboring Syria’s bloody civil war spilling across the border and dealing with terrorists attempting to infiltrate from Egypt’s lawless Sinai Peninsula. But that doesn’t seem to be deterring hundreds of thousands of tourists from flocking to Israel each month. Despite the region’s turmoil, … Read More
JERUSALEM — For a day, at least, more pressing national concerns – the Iranian nuclear threat, the civil war in Syria – were pushed off the front pages of Israel. Instead, the papers focused on disappointment over what was supposed to be a happy distraction: Israel will not bring home a medal from the London Olympics, its first failure at … Read More
RAMAT GAN, Israel (AP) — For the past 30 years, Israeli Judaic scholar Menachem Cohen has been on a mission of biblical proportions: Correcting all known textual errors in Jewish scripture to produce a truly definitive edition of the Old Testament. His edits, focusing primarily on grammatical blemishes and an intricate set of biblical symbols, mark the first major overhaul … Read More
In an step that could intensify a major rift among Israelis, the defense minister on Tuesday ordered the army to prepare for a universal draft of ultra-Orthodox Jewish men. The AP’s Aron Heller reports from Jerusalem. [url href=”http://aronheller.com/articles/as-deadline-looms-israeli-draft-still-unresolved/”] [url href=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cklOzvhD6Go” content=”Watch the Video” target=external]
JERUSALEM—With just days left before a court-imposed deadline to reform Israel’s military draft law expires, the nation’s political leaders are at loggerheads on how to resolve what has become perhaps the country’s most pressing — and divisive — domestic issue. The impasse over whether and how to scrap the mass exemptions from military service for ultra-Orthodox Jews has already cost … Read More
SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Israel vowed Wednesday to strike back at Iran, blaming the Islamic Republic for a brazen daylight bombing that targeted a bus full of Israeli tourists in Bulgaria and killed at least seven people. President Barack Obama termed it a “barbaric terrorist attack.” The U.S. leader called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to express his sorrow over … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) — Nine months after he was freed from Hamas captivity in a lopsided prisoner swap, Gilad Schalit is emerging from the shadows — showing up at parties, sporting events and even writing a newspaper column. Even so, the former Israeli soldier remains an enigma. He has refrained from giving interviews and has shared few details about his 5 … Read More