JERUSALEM (AP) — A government plan to deport tens of thousands of African migrants has sparked an unexpected backlash from liberal Israelis and their American Jewish allies who say Israel — established in the wake of the Holocaust — should never be turning away those in need. The showdown could come to a head on April 1, when the state … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli leaders angrily criticized pending legislation in Poland that would outlaw blaming Poles for the crimes of the Holocaust, with some accusing the Polish government of outright denial Saturday as the world marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the proposed law “baseless” and ordered his country’s ambassador to Poland to meet with Polish … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) — Staring at grainy video footage of Jewish children marching to their freedom though the barbed-wire fences of the Auschwitz death camp, 79-year-old Vera Kriegel Grossman excitedly points a finger at the screen upon identifying a dark-haired girl in a dirty striped uniform as her 6-year-old self. “I can’t believe that happened to me,” she said Wednesday. “I … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) — U.S. Vice President Mike Pence told Israeli lawmakers Monday that the U.S. would put plans to move its embassy to Jerusalem on a fast track, drawing angry denunciations from Arabs who were forcibly removed from the hall during his speech before Israel’s parliament. The Trump administration’s plan to accelerate the move of the embassy, announced in the … Read More
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