Author: David Leibermann

(JTA) — Hundreds of thousands of Israelis took to the streets to oppose the government’s planned judicial reform on Saturday night, but within hours Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition advanced the legislation through the Knesset. Protests against the reforms extended to areas of Israel’s establishment where political protest was once unthinkable, including among combat pilots […]

(JTA) — Mike Bloomberg, the billionaire media mogul, philanthropist and former New York mayor, is the latest pro-Israel stalwart to warn that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposed judicial reforms could be catastrophic. “Close allies bound together by shared values stand together in times of need — not only to support each other but to reaffirm […]

WASHINGTON (JTA) — The Biden administration is considering denying entry to Bezalel Smotrich, the Israeli minister who said a West Bank village should be “wiped out,” according to multiple reports from Israeli and U.S. media. Smotrich, who is the finance minister and the minister responsible for civilian matters in the West Bank, has requested entry […]

This article was sent as a newsletter. Sign up for our weekly Jewish sports newsletter here.  Good morning!  This week, we’re talking all things Team Israel. The World Baseball Classic is just days away, and we’ve got you covered with a full tournament preview. If you want to keep up with all the Team Israel […]

(JTA) – Last week, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich got one of his longtime wishes: authority over the civilian life of settlers, and some Palestinians, in the West Bank. The role is a chance for Smotrich, a right-wing firebrand and staunch advocate of annexing settlements to Israel, to mold the territory according to his ideology.  […]

(JTA) — When David Friedman served as ambassador to Israel under former President Donald Trump, he was known for helping to shepherd through policies favored by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. That’s why it’s remarkable that he vocally criticized one of Netanyahu’s signature policy goals: the controversial proposal to overhaul Israel’s judiciary. While attending a session […]

(JTA) — The fifth edition of the World Baseball Classic is just days away, as players and fans across the globe prepare for two weeks of competition beginning on Wednesday. Jewish fans may remember that Israel took the WBC by storm in 2017, winning four straight games as an underdog and advancing to the second […]

(JTA) — Rabbi Sharon Brous began a sermon at her Los Angeles synagogue last month with a content warning. “I have to say some things today that I know will upset some of you,” she began.  That same morning, across the country in New York City, Rabbi Angela Buchdahl was confessing something to her congregants, too: […]

(JTA) — The U.S.-based Israel Bonds organization is set to host Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right Israeli government minister, at an upcoming conference. The decision stands in contrast to hundreds of rabbis who have said they will not welcome Smotrich, the finance minister and leader of the far-right Religious Zionism Party, into their synagogues. They have […]

RA’ANANA, Israel (JTA) — Recurring bouts of laughter were some of the most remarkable moments of the funeral of Elan Ganeles, the 27-year-old Jewish American from West Hartford, Connecticut, who was shot dead this week when driving through the West Bank. Descriptions of an incredibly kind, open minded, funny, brilliant and humble young man came […]