A number of prominent Israeli politicians and hundreds of activists from various organizations attended a left-wing conference organized by Peace Now on Friday. The event, deemed the Israeli Left Conference, took place at the Zionist Organization of Americaconference center in central Tel Aviv. Participants discussed Israel’s new Netanyahu-Mofaz unity government, as well as a number…
Kadima lawmakers explicitly expressed their discontent following a surprise deal that introduced the party into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition on Friday, with a split in the one-time opposition faction seeming likelier than ever. The party officials spoke at a Tel Aviv conference organized by left-wing NGO Peace Now. Kadima MK Shlomo Molla said that…
Comments by President Barack Obama in support of same-sex marriage in an ABC News interview on Wednesday have sparked debate in among Israeli ministers and MKs, and also among U.S. Jewish groups. Speaking to a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender group within the Likud party on Thursday, Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz said that Israel is…
Two native English-speaking families whose homes on a disputed West Bank hilltop have been slated for demolition in less than two months by Israel’s Supreme Court are expressing a range of emotions – from uncertainty, resignation and cautious optimism, to disappointment in a government and legal system they say has let them down. “This isn’t…
In “The Buildings of Justinian,” the Byzantine historian Procopius of Caesarea wrote at length about the churches the emperor built in the 6th century. He related a miracle that occurred during the construction of the Nea Church, in what is now the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City: “God revealed a natural supply of stone…
Washington hopes the new, expanded coalition will enable Israel to take steps to advance peace talks with the Palestinians, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a phone call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Over the past few years, Netanyahu has repeatedly claimed that he couldn’t make certain gestures toward the Palestinians for fear…
Pope Benedict XVI received a private audience of Latin American Jewish leaders from 12 countries. The group, which met Thursday with the pope, was led by Latin American Jewish Congress President Jack Terpins. According to Latin American Jewish Congress, the pope said that “dynamic Jewish communities exist throughout Latin America, especially in Argentina and Brazil,…
Hebrew College is renegotiating its debt and will be able to keep its flagship Newton Building. Rabbi Daniel Lehmann, president of the suburban Boston college, told The Jewish Advocate newspaper that the school has settled its original loan and refinanced its debt to $7.4 million from $32 million. Lehmann formally announced the news at Wednesday’s…
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s scheduled a special cabinet meeting to discuss the possibility sanctioning the West Bank outpost of Ulpana Hill through High Court-bypassing legislation. The meeting, due to be held on Friday, will be the first to include Kadima head and new Vice Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz, following a recently signed unity government…
Israel’s LGBT community praised President Barack Obama on Thursday for expressing his support for same-sex marriages. In an interview that aired Wednesday with ABC, Obama stated he had personally concluded that same sex couples should be able to get married. Irit Rosenblum, founder and CEO of the organization New Family, called the move extremely important….
Cabinet members who oppose a strike on Iran said Kadima head Shaul Mofaz might backtrack and align with the more hawkish Benjamin Netanyahu, now that the two are in the same government. Mofaz, who has consistently opposed an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, joined the Netanyahu government on Tuesday despite having called the prime…
