JERUSALEM (AP) — Forget the handshake that wasn’t — Israel is delighted with something much more unusual: international athletic success. While an Egyptian judoka’s refusal to shake hands with his Israeli opponent at the Rio Olympics reverberated worldwide, in Israel the focus is on national Olympic medals — something far more novel than Middle East tensions. The country entered the … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) — Recently retired NBA All-Star Amare Stoudemire insists he has plenty of basketball left in him. Arriving in what he called “my favorite city in the world” for a new chapter as a player for Hapoel Jerusalem, Stoudemire says he came to Israel to win – and to continue a spiritual journal to trace his Hebrew roots. Hosting … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) — The stories have been circulating in Israel for decades: Newborn babies and young children of Jewish immigrants from Arab countries mysteriously disappeared shortly after arriving in the country, purportedly snatched away and given to childless couples of European backgrounds. Although a series of inquiries have dismissed claims of abductions, the accusations of a conspiracy have lingered. Now, … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) — Elie Wiesel never lived in Israel, but on Sunday the country mourned the death of the esteemed author and Nobel peace laureate as though it had lost a national icon. A frequent visitor who was fluent in Hebrew, Wiesel was a confidant of prime ministers and a towering cultural figure so revered that two premiers considered nominating … Read More
METULLA, Israel (AP) — A frontier town that juts into a hostile neighboring country and has a long history of militants firing upon it doesn’t seem like a typical place to seek serenity. But that’s exactly what you will find in Metulla, Israel’s most northerly point, which is engulfed by Lebanon on three sides but which is home to a … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) — Oscar-winning actress Helen Mirren said Wednesday she was a “believer” in Israel and rejected efforts to boycott it. Mirren showered Israeli artists with praise and said she opposed both the efforts by pro-Palestinian groups to boycott them and the decision of some international artists to shun Israel. “I think that art is an incredibly important way of … Read More
Published in Tablet Magazine. Can be found here. A top-five prospect for June 23rd’s NBA draft the 7-foot-1, 18-year-old Croat has been honing his craft at Maccabi Tel Aviv. But is ‘The Next Porzingis’ ready for the big time? With the clock ticking away toward the end of the first half, and Dragan Bender seeking his first points of the … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) — Already under fire in Israel and abroad, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is now dealing with headaches on the home front following a series of scandals involving his wife. A trio of cases, including a police investigation into possible improper spending by Sara Netanyahu, have embarrassed the prime minister and deepened an unflattering reputation for lavish living out … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) — A public spat between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defense minister has exposed a simmering rift between Israel’s security establishment and its hard-line government, pitting the Israeli leader in a risky showdown. The dispute has spotlighted the sensitive debate over the military’s role in public discourse in Israel, where security figures have occasionally served as a … Read More
KIDMAT ZVI, Golan Heights (AP) — With his wide-brimmed hat, Wrangler jeans and ornate belt buckle, Yehiel Alon could easily pass for one of the Montana ranchers he once worked with. But the 53-year-old is an Israeli cowboy on the Golan Heights bordering war-torn Syria, where frontier life takes on a whole new meaning. “It’s probably the only place on … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust museum has kicked off its annual remembrance ceremonies with a special screening of the Oscar-winning film “Son of Saul,” acknowledging the unique role movies play in maintaining the memory of the Holocaust. The Hungarian film, which tells the story of a Jewish Nazi death camp inmate who obsessively seeks a proper burial for … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) — A quiet revolution is arising inside the insular world of Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish community — chipping away at the ghetto walls its leaders have erected to protect against what they see as the dangers of secularism. More and more, young ultra-Orthodox insist they can continue to lead pious lives while also embracing technology, the modern workplace and … Read More
CAIRO (AP) — Amid Cairo’s cramped mass of humanity and traffic, with its incessant honking and haggling, visitors will be hard-pressed to find some solitude. But if you’re willing to go off the beaten tourist track a bit, serenity can be found. The expansive Mosque of Ahmed Ibn Tulun is not as famous as Al-Azhar Mosque or the Mohamed Ali … Read More
CAIRO (AP) — When it comes to Cairo tourism, it’s all about the Pyramids and a trip to this sprawling metropolis filled with mosques, markets and monuments would not be complete without a visit to the collection of ancient pharaonic wonders in Giza, on the outskirts of the city. But a proper visit entails some time and effort and is … Read More
MOSHAV UDIM, Israel (AP) — The death of 93-year-old Samuel Willenberg marks the passing of the last known survivor of the daring revolt at Treblinka, the notorious death camp in occupied Poland that is perhaps the most vivid example of Nazi Germany’s attempt to destroy European Jewry. But the death of Willenberg, who was buried Monday, also symbolizes a looming … Read More