(Reuters) — Pope Francis made a surprise stop on Sunday at the wall Palestinians abhor as a symbol of Israeli oppression, and later invited presidents from both sides of the divide to the Vatican to pray for peace. In an image likely to become the most emblematic of his trip to the holy land, Francis…
Pope Francis flies to the West Bank on Sunday to start the most delicate part of his stay in the Middle East, with visits to the Palestinian Territories and Israel, where his every word will be scrutinized. Church officials say his three-day tour of the region, which started on Saturday in Jordan, is purely focused…
Kicking up dust on the back roads of northern Gaza within sight of the Israeli fence that seals off the enclave, Olympic athlete Nader Al-Masri is still training, despite being barred from competing in his people’s largest sporting event. Masri, who has participated in 40 international contests including the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, was denied…
Israel’s Supreme Court upheld a decision by the Israel Defense Forces to bar a Palestinian runner from Gaza from participating in a marathon in Bethlehem. In the case of Nader Masri, a 2008 Olympian, the court ruled Tuesday that it could not overrule a military decision. But the court also recommended that Israel consider allowing…
In his classic 1988 account of Hollywood’s Jewish roots, ‘“An Empire of Their Own,” Neal Gabler argued convincingly that Hollywood (and therefore, world cinema as we know it) would not exist today without the contributions of the Jewish pioneers and studio heads who first turned movies into our country’s great popular art form. But if…
Thousands of tourists and Christian pilgrims gathered in Bethlehem for Christmas Eve. Many will attend midnight mass at the Church of the Nativity, where the patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Fouad Twal, will deliver a sermon. Twal is expected to condemn Israeli settlement during the sermon, which reportedly will be attended by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud…
‘Bethlehem’ Trailer from The Playlist on Vimeo. Israel is out and Palestine is still in the Oscar race, following the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announcement of nine semi-finalists in the best foreign-language film category. Israel’s entry “Bethlehem,” directed by Yuval Adler and winner of Best Film at the 2013 Venice Film Festival,…
The Israel Defense Forces said it is working to facilitate the observance and celebration of Christmas for Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza. IDF officials met with representatives from the Bethlehem Municipality, the Palestinians Security Forces, international organizations and religious representatives in order to coordinate preparations for the Christmas holiday season. Over 300,000…
