Israel is the featured theme of the Equality Forum, a major annual gay gathering in the eastern United States. The events in Philadelphia, from May 3-6, are featuring an array of Israeli gay performers and activists, as well as an address by Michael Oren, the Israeli ambassador to the United States. The forum, which brings…
Two firebombs hit a residence in south Tel Aviv that is home to African asylum seekers. It is the second such incident in the last two weeks. No one we injured in Saturday night’s attack, which targeted a home in the Hatikvah neighborhood of south Tel Aviv, Haaretz reported. On April 27, firebombs were thrown…
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert tells CNN that right-wing extremists from the United States toppled his government with “millions and millions of dollars” in order to thwart his attempt to reach a lasting peace agreement with the Palestinians. In the interview Olmert gave CNN’s Christiane Amanpour that aired on Friday, Olmert said that his…
Eliyahu Werdesheim, one of two Baltimore brothers charged with beating an African-American teenager, was found guilty by a circuit court. Werdesheim, a former member of Israeli special forces, was found guilty on charges of false imprisonment and second-degree assault, while his brother Avi was cleared of all charges in the beating of Corey Ausby in…
Dozens of people gathered on Friday morning in Jerusalem for Israel’s latest “Slutwalk,” or, “Mitzad Sharmutot,” in Hebrew. The protesters, most of them young women but also some men, walked from Paris Square to Horse Park in Jerusalem. The worldwide series of marches protests the objectification of women, and the increasing prevalence of sexual harassment…
Following the success of the love initiative between Israelis and Iranians on Facebook, it’s time for a face to face meeting. Israelis and Iranians attending a number of meetings in Berlin the last few weeks, due to produce a first joint demonstration on Saturday. The purpose of this demonstration is to protest against the voices…
A new report by Oxfam International names Iran and Syria as major violators of arms embargoes over the last decade. Overall, the report indicates that more than $2.2 billion in arms and ammunition has since 2000 been imported to countries under arms embargoes. According to the figures, Syria imported $167 million worth of air defense…
Hagai Amir, who helped his brother Yigal Amir plot the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, was released from prison. Authorities at the Ayalon prison in Ramle, in central Israel, released Amir, 43, on Friday morning. He had been in prison 16 years and has never expressed remorse for his role in the Nov. 4 1995 murder…
London Mayor Boris Johnson narrowly won reelection on Friday, defeating ex-Mayor Ken Livingstone, who stirred controversy with remarks called anti-Semitic by the city’s Jewish leaders. Johnson, a Conservative, got 51.5% of the vote compared to 48.5% for Labour Party stalwart Livingstone, the Guardian reported. In the 2008 election, the Johnson won by a slightly bigger…
Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch indicated that Israel should reduce its use of administrative detention against Palestinian suspects, a senior official said on Thursday, amid an ongoing wave of hunger strikes among Palestinian detainees. According to the official, Aharonovitch’s remarks were made during a special meeting he convened to discuss the hunger strikes on Tuesday,…
Nearly two dozen faith groups joined an initiative led by the Reform Jewish movement calling on President Obama to reconsider his decision not to issue an anti-discrimination executive order. In Thursday’s letter, 23 organizations expressed disappointment that the president did not issue an executive order to include sexual orientation and gender identity as prohibited forms…
