Category: Israel

The Israeli sketch comedy show “Eretz Nehederet” is famous for parodying every aspect of Israeli politics and culture. But the smiles were sincere on Wednesday night when a special guest took the stage: freed hostage Alon Ohel. Throughout his two-year captivity, Ohel became widely known for his prowess on the piano. And earlier this year, […]

Hundreds of thousands of haredi Orthodox Jewish men joined a mass protest in Jerusalem on Thursday to rail against the Israeli government’s efforts to enlist yeshiva students into the military. The mass prayer demonstration, called the “Million Man March,” was organized by the leaders of Israel’s different ultra-Orthodox groups in response to a spate of […]

Israel carried out a bombing campaign in Gaza on Tuesday in response to what it said was violations of the two-week-old ceasefire by Hamas. Hamas, meanwhile, rejected the claim that it was behind an attack on Israeli soldiers and said Israel’s bombing was the ceasefire violation. The two developments, plus Hamas’ continued holding of 13 […]

At one of Kiryat Gat’s main shopping complexes, U.S. Army camouflage does everything but blend in. American troops in fatigues move between shawarma stands and sports-shoe stores, a new presence in the southern industrial city, part of a multinational civil-military coordination center set up to monitor the Gaza ceasefire. The center, housed in a converted […]

An Egyptian team has entered Gaza to join in the search for the remains of 13 hostages whose bodies have still not been released following the ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. The ceasefire’s first phase required the release of all hostages, living and dead. Hamas freed all 20 living hostages as required but has released […]

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to distance himself Thursday from a Knesset vote that granted preliminary approval to a bill annexing the West Bank, after the measure drew strong condemnation from the White House. At the same time, a far-right Israeli lawmaker apologized after making a dismissive and, some said, offensive comment about Saudi […]

Sen. Ted Cruz used his keynote address at a major gathering for Christian supporters of Israel this week to warn of “a growing cancer” of antisemitism on the right, which he said church leaders are failing to address. “I’m here to tell you, in the last six months, I have seen antisemitism rising on the […]

Vice President J.D. Vance denounced a vote by Israeli lawmakers to advance West Bank annexation as “weird” and personally offensive, in comments as he departed Israel after a two-day visit aimed at shoring up the Gaza ceasefire. In part to increase pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right-wing lawmakers signed off on two bills […]

The International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion on Wednesday that Israel is legally obligated to work with the United Nations’ Palestinian relief agency to deliver aid into Gaza. In its opinion, the ICJ rejected Israel’s justification for barring UNRWA, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine, from operating in Israel in March, […]