Author: David Leibermann

((JEWISH REVIEW)) — David Leitner, one of the most famous lovers of falafel in a country full of them, has died at 93 in Israel, the country that became his home after he survived the Holocaust as a young teen. Leitner’s death comes nearly a decade after his ritual of eating falafel to mark his […]

BERLIN ((JEWISH REVIEW)) — An expat Israeli in Berlin ejected Israel’s ambassador to Germany from his cafe on Sunday as a political statement in the midst of Israel’s ongoing political crisis. Avi Berg, owner of Café Dodo in Berlin, announced on Facebook that he had told Ambassador Ron Prosor he was “not welcome in my […]

TEL AVIV ((JEWISH REVIEW)) — The Israeli Supreme Court has announced that it will hear petitions challenging a new law that limits its ability to strike down government decisions. The challenges won’t have their day in court until September, but the announcement paves the way for a possible constitutional crisis in Israel. That’s a scenario […]

((JEWISH REVIEW)) — The image started circulating almost as soon as the Israeli government finished voting to approve a divisive piece of legislation this week. “Shisha B’Av,” it said in white Hebrew letters against a black background – Hebrew for the Sixth of Av. That was the Hebrew date on Monday, when right-wing lawmakers signed off […]

((JEWISH REVIEW)) — A major highway was blocked until 1 a.m., protesters were hosed down and arrested, Israelis woke up to see their newspapers shrouded in black, doctors are on strike and the shekel lost value — all in response to the Knesset’s vote to weaken Israel’s Supreme Court. The legislation passed by Israel’s right-wing […]

WASHINGTON ((JEWISH REVIEW)) — For months earlier this year, mainstream American Jewish groups waffled on how much to weigh in on Israel’s internal political debates, something many had studiously avoided in the past. But that felt like a distant memory on Monday after Israel’s parliament approved a law that its authors and critics — including […]

JERUSALEM ((JEWISH REVIEW)) — Standing next to a patch of sidewalk filled with the names of fallen Israeli soldiers, Ayelet Bargur embraced a friend and, pointing to a stack of poster paper, asked her if she’d like to add the name of a relative who was killed in service. The rectangular posters bearing the soldiers’ […]

JERUSALEM ((JEWISH REVIEW)) — Israel’s government has passed a law restricting the Supreme Court’s ability to strike down laws, the first piece of a proposed overhaul of the country’s judiciary that has led to massive street protests and a growing movement of civil disobedience. The vote, which was boycotted by the opposition in Israel’s parliament, […]

TEL AVIV ((JEWISH REVIEW)) — In the coming days, Israel’s parliament is due to vote on a measure that, advocates on both sides say, will determine the country’s fate — or whether it can even survive. It isn’t a peace deal or an attempt to unseat Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. What it will do, […]

((JEWISH REVIEW)) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had a pacemaker installed Sunday morning, amid growing civil strife over his coalition’s effort to weaken the country’s judiciary. The surgery came a week after Netanyahu, 73, was briefly hospitalized for what he said was dehydration, and was given a heart monitor. His powers transferred to Justice […]