Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator in peace talks with Israel, suffered a heart attack. Erekat, 57, was taken to a Ramallah hospital early Tuesday morning, where he underwent a heart catheterization, according to the Associated Press. He will remain hospitalized for three days.
The newly formed unity government was created to advance the main issues facing Israel today, including a “responsible peace process,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a joint press conference with Kadima head Shaul Mofaz on Tuesday, while the leader of Israel’s Labor Party Shelly Yacimovich — thought likely to be become leader of the…
Rabbi Gerald Skolnik was installed Monday as president of the Rabbinical Assembly of Conservative rabbis during its national convention. He replaces Rabbi Gilah Dror, who held the position for the last two years. Skolnik was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1981 and served as assistant rabbi of The Forest Hills Jewish Center, the…
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition chairman MK Shaul Mofaz (Kadima) reached an agreement early Tuesday morning to form a national unity government and cancel early elections, which had been expected to take place on September 4. Under the agreement, Kadima will join Netanyahu’s government and support its policies in exchange for a commitment that…
Workers at a Tel Aviv aid organization for refugees, foreign workers and asylum seekers, said they received an anonymous threat on Sunday, in an apparent sign that recent tensions between migrant workers and locals, especially in the city’s south side, continued to increase. On Saturday, two firebombs were hurled at a house in south Tel…
The release of Jonathan Pollard, the convicted Israeli spy serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison, is “inevitable” and could take place shortly on “technical grounds,” a a prominent Jewish leader and supporter of U.S. President Obama told Haaretz. The comment, made by Jack Rosen, chairman of the Council for World Jewry, who is…
The U.S. House of Representatives defense appropriations subcommittee is set to approve nearly $1 billion for Israeli and joint Israeli-U.S. missile defense programs. “This funding level is the highest ever appropriated in a single year for these life-saving programs,” Rep. Steve Rothman (D-N.J.), a member of the committee, said in a statement. Some $680 million…
Rejecting a state appeal, the High Court of Justice ordered on Monday the demolition of illegally-built structures in the Ulpana neighborhood. The state appealed to the High Court on Friday, requesting it reconsider its ruling to evacuate the Ulpana neighborhood, part of the West Bank settlement of Beit El, and tear down the structures there,…
Jewish reaction was mixed to the election of the Socialist Party’s Francois Hollande as the president of France. The European Jewish Congress congratulated Hollande, who was elected Sunday over Nicolas Sarkozy with 51.7 percent of the vote to 48.3 percent for the incumbent. “Our recent meeting with Mr. Hollande was very constructive and touched on…
Jewish leaders in Greece expressed concern and disappointment after the fascist Golden Dawn party was poised to enter the Greek parliament for the first time. With most of the ballots counted, Golden Dawn received nearly 7 percent of the vote in Sunday’s elections as Greeks punished the mainstream parties they blame for the country’s financial…
Kidnapped American Warren Weinstein pleaded with President Barack Obama to meet his Al Qaeda captors’ demands in a new video, saying ‘my life is in your hands,’ CNN reported. The Jewish development consultant, who was snatched from outside his home in Lahore, Pakistan, last August, suggested the radical group would execute him unless the U.S….
