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Haaretz faces blowback after liberal Israeli paper’s publisher praises ‘Palestinian freedom fighters’

November 4, 2024David Leibermann

The publisher of Haaretz, Israel’s most influential left-leaning publication, sent shockwaves through his newspaper and beyond after saying Israel fought “Palestinian freedom fighters” and calling for sanctions against Israel. In Amos Schocken’s remarks last week, he also accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of apartheid and a “second Nakba” and compared Israel to apartheid-era […]

American Airlines won’t fly to Israel again until at least September 2025

November 4, 2024David Leibermann

American Airlines announced over the weekend it would not be resuming flights to Israel until September 2025, extending an existing pause by an additional six months and potentially sparking a cascade of other airline delays in resuming regular Israel service. The move makes American Airlines the first United States-based carrier to push back flights to […]

Trump and Harris both tell Michigan voters they’re aiming to end the war in Gaza

November 4, 2024David Leibermann

During campaign stops ahead of Election Day, both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris promised Michigan voters that they would work to end Israel’s conflicts — with Trump pledging “peace in the Middle East” and Harris promising to “do everything in my power to end the war in Gaza.” Some of Harris’ most outspoken pro-Palestinian critics, […]

How ‘Gaza solidarity sukkahs’ became a flashpoint for debates about anti-Zionist Jewish observance

November 1, 2024David Leibermann

Last week the Brooklyn rabbi Andrue Kahn received a request from a group of Jewish students at New York University: Would he come to lead prayers at their sukkah? It wasn’t an unusual request for a rabbi during the holiday of Sukkot, but the circumstances behind it were decidedly more so. The student group was […]

Israelis prefer Trump over Harris. In the face of uncertainty, Netanyahu is hedging his bets.

October 31, 2024David Leibermann

WASHINGTON — When Benjamin Netanyahu was contemplating how and when to retaliate for a missile barrage from Iran, his government was, unsurprisingly, in constant consultation with the leadership of its closest ally — the Biden administration. At the same time, the Israeli prime minister was talking to, and getting a different message from, another American […]

Hezbollah strikes kill 7 in northern Israel as ceasefire talks advance

October 31, 2024David Leibermann

Hezbollah rocket attacks killed seven people in northern Israel on Thursday, in one of the deadliest days for the country since the start of its multi-front war last year. The strikes took place as Israeli, Lebanese and U.S. negotiators worked toward a peace agreement in Lebanon. The IDF reported that Hezbollah fired dozens of projectiles […]

US pushes back against Israeli laws curtailing main UN agency for the Palestinians

October 30, 2024David Leibermann

The United States and United Nations are pushing back against Israeli legislation that will sharply curtail the work of the main U.N. agency serving Palestinians. On Monday Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, passed two bills aimed at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, known as UNRWA. One of the bills prohibits all UNRWA activities within […]

Israel hits Iranian targets in retaliation for missile barrage

October 25, 2024David Leibermann

WASHINGTON — Israel said it hit military targets in Iran in retaliation for that country’s missile barrage on Oct. 1, apparently heeding Biden administration pleas to avoid oil fields or Iran’s nuclear program because of fears of escalation into an all-out war. “In response to months of continuous attacks from the regime in Iran against […]

Mayor of Portland, Maine, says he regrets voting to divest from Israel

October 22, 2024David Leibermann

Last month the mayor of Portland, Maine, shocked Jewish communities in his backyard and beyond when he expressed full-throated support for his city council’s successful resolution to divest from companies linked to Israel. Now, Mayor Mark Dion is taking it all back. “Upon personal reflection and following many private conversations I have had with our […]

Silent dancing on Simchat Torah? A joyous Jewish holiday is remade for a mournful anniversary.

October 21, 2024David Leibermann

For many Jews across the United States and globe, memories of last year’s Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah will forever revolve around grim phone alerts and hushed conversations in synagogue, tears, hugs and the dawning realization that an unfathomable number of Israelis had been killed or taken captive. Now, those communities face the challenge of […]