Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday he is skeptical that Iran will agree to halt its nuclear program, accusing Tehran of playing a “chess game” with the international community. Just days ahead of a crucial round of nuclear talks with Tehran, Netanyahu said “nothing would be better than to just see this issue solved…
An overwhelming majority in the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution rejecting containment of Iran’s suspected nuclear weapons program, but a sponsor made clear that the bill did not authorize use of force. The non-binding resolution, which also says it is in the U.S. “vital interest” to keep Iran from achieving a nuclear capability,…
B’nai B’rith International condemned the Lithuanian government’s posthumous honor of Juozas Ambrazeviciu, the wartime prime minister who was a Nazi collaborator. The Jewish organization sent a letter to Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite in response to the Lithuanian government’s plans to honor Ambrazevicius, who was the prime minister of the 1941 Nazi-backed regime in Lithuania. The…
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) announced that he will not run for a House seat in Washington after losing the Democratic nomination for his seat in Ohio. “After careful consideration and discussions with Elizabeth and my closest friends, I have decided that, at this time, I can best serve from outside the Congress,” Kucinich said this…
After a protracted slump in sales, buyers are returning to the Israeli housing market. The year 2011 had been marked by a statistically significant downturn in sales. Transactions were all but nonexistent during the last quarter of 2011. After a few years of steep gains in central Israeli cities, why would buyers think prices would…
Time magazine has crowned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the ‘king of Israel’ in its cover story this week, which profiles Netanyahu and marks his recent feat – brokering a 94-member coalition with the rival Kadima party. In the article, Managing Editor Rick Stengel outlines Netanyahu’s recent achievements and explains why he is worthy of…
Arab teachers and students working in Kfar Sava’s Meir Medical Center have been forbidden to speak to each other in Arabic, which is an official language in Israel. Haaretz learned that three Arab families whose children were hospitalized in the center filed a complaint with the hospital management. The Education Ministry operates an education department…
A few weeks ago, in a fit of hatred, someone, or some more than one, threw Molotov cocktails at a kindergarten and apartments used by foreign workers in south Tel Aviv’s Shapira neighborhood, “causing significant property damage but no injuries or loss of life,” in journalese. This week I took a walk in Shapira. It…
The Obama administration said it would rush $70 million to Israel in order to enhance its Iron Dome missile defense system, with more money in the pipeline. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said Thursday after meeting with his Israeli counterpart, Ehud Barak, that he was directed by President Obama to meet Israel’s needs for the…
Two ultra-Orthodox Jews were reportedly arrested after a confrontation between supporters of a Brooklyn rabbi accused of sex abuse and protesters. The Daily News reported that scores of demonstrators faced off against a much larger crowd of supporters of Rabbi Nechemya Weberman, who is accused of abusing a teenage girl, in Williamsburg. Police were called…
The Finance Ministry is crafting a proposal to induct ultra-Orthodox men at age 20 into police and fire-fighting units. The plan aims to replace the Tal Law, following criticism by the High Court of Justice of inequality in the legislation, Haaretz has learned. However, the government reportedly has no immediate plans for a compulsory draft…
