Israel

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Israeli Prime Minister Secretly Flew To Saudi Arabia, Israeli Media Reports

12:11pm November 23, 2020

by Daniel Estrin

It is the first such meeting between Israeli and Saudi leaders to be reported widely in Israeli media. Netanyahu reportedly met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

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Jonathan Pollard, the American convicted of spying for Israel, leaves a New York courthouse following his release from prison in 2015. As of Friday, Pollard has completed the terms of his parole and is a free man.

Jonathan Pollard, Who Sold Cold War Secrets To Israel, Completes Parole

6:18pm November 21, 2020

by Matthew S. Schwartz

After 30 years in prison, and five years on stringent parole, former U.S. Navy analyst Jonathan Pollard plans to move to Israel, his lawyers said.

Demonstrators advocating the movement to boycott, divest from and sanction Israel, known as BDS, gather for a protest last year in Paris. On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced a new policy specifically countering the global BDS campai

World News

Trump Administration Labels Movement To Boycott Israel 'Anti-Semitic'

11:05am November 19, 2020

by Colin Dwyer

The same day Secretary of State Mike Pompeo paid an unprecedented visit to Israeli settlements, he also announced policies targeting the movement to boycott, divest and sanction the country.

Supporters of President Trump wave U.S. and Israeli flags from a car last week headed for a rally outside the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem.

'Highly Motivated': In Israel, U.S. Voters Lean Toward Trump

1:58pm November 03, 2020

by Daniel Estrin

Israel has one of the largest populations of eligible U.S. voters abroad. Many are expected to vote for the incumbent. Palestinians disfavor Trump, but some Palestinian Americans have avoided voting.

Saeb Erekat, Secretary-General of the Palestine Liberation Organisation and chief Palestinian negotiator, talks to reporters in the West Bank city of Ramallah in March. Erekat is being treated in a Jerusalem hospital after contracting COVID-19.

Health & Safety

Top Palestinian Official Receiving COVID-19 Treatment In Israeli Hospital

9:24am October 19, 2020

Palestinian politician Saeb Erekat is in critical but stable condition in Hadassah Hospital, where he has been moved after reportedly testing positive for coronavirus earlier this month.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews watch a funeral for Rabbi Mordechai Leifer from their balconies in the port city of Ashdod, Israel, on Oct. 5. The rabbi, who had been the spiritual leader of a small ultra-Orthodox community founded a century ago in Pittsburgh, died a

World News

Israel To Relax Its 2nd Nationwide Coronavirus Lockdown On Sunday

2:09pm October 16, 2020

by Daniel Estrin

The number of infections dropped significantly during the lockdown. People will again be allowed to move without restriction. Jerusalem's three main holy sites will reopen to the general public.

Morgan Cooper holds newborn Lourice as her husband Saleh Totah and 4-year-old son look on. Lourice was delivered in June in a home birth in an inflatable swimming pool in the family's home in the West Bank city of Ramallah. They planned to travel to the U

World News

What Does It Take For A Palestinian American Baby To Travel From Israel To The U.S.?

3:25pm September 25, 2020

by Daniel Estrin

The Palestinian Authority has refused since May to register Palestinian births with Israel, so the infants are blocked from leaving the country, as one Palestinian American family recently learned.

Rabbi Yehonatan Adouar teaches a shofar blowing course in Rambam Synagogue in Ramat Gan, Israel

Wanted in Israel: More Shofar Blowers For Socially Distanced Jewish New Year

12:57pm September 18, 2020

by Daniel Estrin

The shofar is a hallmark of Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year. The pandemic means there will be more and smaller prayer gatherings this year, so some cities have offered free shofar-blowing courses.

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Israeli national security adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat (left) elbow-bumps with an Emirati official as he leaves Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Tuesday.

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Reporter's Notebook: What It Was Like On Israel's 'Peace Plane' To UAE

5:47pm September 02, 2020

by Daniel Estrin

Weeks ago it would have been unimaginable to see Israeli officials fly to the United Arab Emirates and walk out onto a red carpet. That wasn't the only unusual part of the visit.

An official stands at the door of an Israeli El Al airliner after it landed in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Monday after flying in from Tel Aviv.

World News

With Israel-UAE Flight, Israelis And Emiratis Mark Closer Ties As Palestinians Worry

12:59pm August 31, 2020

by Daniel Estrin

Jared Kushner joined U.S. and Israeli officials Monday on the first official Israeli flight from Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi to advance the Aug. 13 deal to establish diplomatic ties.