Author: David Leibermann

A survivor of the Nova music festival massacre will represent Israel in the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest. Yuval Raphael secured the position on Wednesday when she won “Rising Star,” the Israeli TV show that produces each year’s Eurovision entrant through a combination of professional judges and public voting. Abraham beat out three other finalists, including […]

In one of his first actions as president, Donald Trump canceled sanctions targeting dozens of far-right Israeli individuals and settler organizations accused by the Biden administration of violent extremism against Palestinians.  The rescinding of the sanctions appeared on a long list of executive orders signed by Trump immediately after his inauguration on Monday, many of […]

The chief of Israel’s military announced his resignation, taking responsibility for the failures that led to the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023. The Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff, Herzi Halevi, is the latest senior Israeli leader to announce his resignation in the wake of the Oct. 7 attack, which killed approximately 1,200 people, […]

JERUSALEM — In the haredi Orthodox Jerusalem neighborhood of Geula, a newly renamed pizzeria advertised a special just for Monday: Customers who bought two slices would get a free order of fries. The timing wasn’t random. The shop’s new name is Pizza Trump, and the special was pegged to the inauguration of its namesake, who returned […]

JERUSALEM — With an evangelical pastor’s arm around his shoulders, Yehudah Glick recited the Jewish priestly blessing on Monday to a crowd in Jerusalem. “The one thing we want to see Trump bring into [the presidency] is the concept of God,” said Glick, a rabbi who served in Israel’s parliament as part of the conservative Likud […]

TEL AVIV — “They are in our hands,” IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said on the huge screen that was broadcasting the tense release of the three hostages returned to Israel, Romi Gonen, Emily Damari and Doron Steinbrecher. The statement, echoing the famous 1967 declaration after the Israeli army’s capture of the Western Wall in Jerusalem, […]

Donald Trump celebrated the release of three Israeli hostages from Hamas captivity, and has signaled that he is committed to fully implementing the ceasefire in Gaza. “Hostages starting to come out today! Three wonderful young women will be first,” the incoming president posted on social media. He wrote the post hours before Emily Damari, Doron […]

In a brief address on his last full day as president, Joe Biden hailed the ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza and predicted Hamas would not regain power. He also defended his support for Israel in the 15 months since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack. Biden spoke as Israeli hostages Emily Damari, Doron Steinbrecher and […]

The ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war went into effect on Sunday morning as Hamas has named the three hostages that it plans to release on the first day. As expected, the first three Israelis set for release are civilian women who were abducted on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists invaded southern Israel. They are: […]