Golfing to raise awareness—and $1 million—for victims of terrorism
September 17, 2024 by Josh Hasten - JNS
California high-school golf phenom Max Margolis, 17, played 101 holes on Sunday at the Caesarea Golf Club, in the baking sun, to raise money for Israeli victims of terror. Read more
Israel wins gold in flag football. Read to discover what it is!
September 5, 2023 by Josh Hasten - JNS
Israel’s under U17 boys’ national flag football team has won gold at the 2023 International Federation of American Football (IFAF) European Junior Flag Football Championships at the Fattoria La Principina in Grosseto, Italy. Read more
Pilgrimage to Joseph’s Tomb an increasingly perilous journey
December 27, 2022 by Josh Hasten - JNS
Since the current wave of Arab terrorism began in March, worshippers and the IDF soldiers guarding them have come under gunfire during the monthly organised pilgrimages to the Jewish holy site of Joseph’s Tomb in the city of Shechem, aka Nablus, in Samaria. Read more
‘Pinot Chamot’ provide warm welcome, respite for IDF soldiers
October 30, 2022 by Josh Hasten - JNS
In the middle of the night, a group of commandoes from the IDF’s elite Duvdevan Unit arrived at the community of Mitzpeh Yericho, overlooking the Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea. They were hungry and tired after a long day of service. Read more
Ukrainian refugees burst into applause upon arrival in Israel
March 9, 2022 by Josh Hasten - JNS
IAȘI, ROMANIA—Daria Garn was exhausted. After five gruelling days travelling from war-torn Kyiv, Ukraine, through Moldova with her two young sons, she had finally arrived at the Romania International Airport in Iași, where she was waiting to board a flight to Israel. Read more
FIFA under fire for spate of anti-Israel incidents, breaching ethical codes
February 1, 2022 by Josh Hasten - JNS
The UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) volunteer organization sent a formal complaint to the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) this past week, calling on them to take action towards eradicating discrimination in sport, following numerous anti-Israel incidents last month at an official FIFA event. Read more
Religion meets the rink: Orthodox skater to represent Israel at Beijing Olympics
December 23, 2021 by Josh Hasten - JNS
In a true “Cinderella story,” 19-year-old Hailey Kops, a religiously observant athlete from West Orange, N.J., is preparing to take on the world’s finest ice skaters while proudly representing Israel at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Read more
Israeli terror victim Eliyahu (‘Eli’) Kay, 25, laid to rest in Jerusalem
November 23, 2021 by Josh Hasten - JNS
Eliyahu (“Eli”) David Kay, 25, a South African immigrant to Israel who was murdered in a terror attack in Jerusalem’s Old City on Sunday morning while on his way to prayers at the Western Wall, was laid to rest in the presence of thousands of mourners at Jerusalem’s Har HaMenuchot cemetery on Monday afternoon. Read more
Pro-Israel movements protest US intention to open Jerusalem consulate for Palestinians
October 29, 2021 by Josh Hasten - JNS
A group of more than 100 Israelis gathered on Agron Street in downtown Jerusalem on Wednesday, opposite the old U.S. consulate building, protesting the Biden administration’s announced plan to reopen it as a full diplomatic mission for the Palestinian Authority within Israel’s capital. Read more
As Gulf opens to Jewish life, Muslims spark interest in learning about High Holidays
September 8, 2021 by Josh Hasten - JNS
With Jews around the world set to begin the High Holiday season, the small Jewish communities in six Gulf states, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, are planning to take part publicly in some of the traditional holiday rituals for the first time in decades. Read more
How three Israeli filmmakers wound up becoming the story in Africa
August 5, 2021 by Josh Hasten - JNS
Three Israeli documentary filmmakers arrived home safely from Nigeria at the end of last week, after what they described as 20 “hellish days” detained under inhumane conditions by the government’s Department of State Services (DSS) security agency. Read more
Israel’s lone soldiers bolstered by ‘family,’ new program instituted for digital ambassadors
July 18, 2021 by Josh Hasten - JNS
An inaugural conference was held in Jerusalem’s Knesset on Thursday to pay homage and discuss the strategic contributions made by lone soldiers in the Israel Defence Forces, while also addressing some of this community’s needs. Read more
If current Mideast violence a test, some experts say Biden is failing
May 13, 2021 by Josh Hasten - JNS
The Biden administration has come under withering criticism in the United States and Israel for its poor handling of the current situation in the Middle East. Read more
Is Palestinian incitement driving the tensions in Jerusalem?
May 11, 2021 by Josh Hasten - JNS
Thousands of Arab protesters have been violently rioting on the Temple Mount (known by Muslims as Haram al-Sharif) throughout the “Jerusalem Day” holiday and over the course of the last several days, accusing Israel of attempting to “storm the Al-Aqsa Mosque” and “Judaize” the entire city. Hundreds of rioters have been injured, along with dozens of Israeli police and security personnel. Read more
View from the other side of violence: Saving lives in eastern Jerusalem
April 28, 2021 by Josh Hasten - JNS
Jerusalem has seen nightly violent clashes between Arabs and Jews in the past two weeks with the epicentre of confrontation taking place near the Old City’s Damascus Gate. Read more
Amid ongoing political deadlock, is it time for Israel to consider electoral reform?
April 25, 2021 by Josh Hasten - JNS
Israel held its fourth legislative election in the past two years on March 23, voting 120 members of Knesset (Parliament) into power as representatives of the 24th Knesset since the establishment of the State. Read more
Parents of slain Australian/US teen appeal to Biden to pressure Jordan to extradite Jerusalem terrorist
March 19, 2021 by Josh Hasten - JNS
Frimet and Arnold Roth, whose 15-year-old daughter Malki, a U.S. national, was murdered in August 2001 in the Sbarro pizzeria bombing in Jerusalem, published a new video this week calling on the Biden administration to pressure the Kingdom of Jordan to extradite Ahlam Ahmad Tamimi—the Hamas terrorist who orchestrated the bombing—so that she can stand trial in a U.S. federal court. Read more
EU living in ‘alternate universe’ over criticism of construction in strategic Jerusalem neighbourhood
February 17, 2021 by Josh Hasten - JNS
The decision by the Israel Lands Authority last month to award contracts to several building companies allowing them to begin marketing 1,257 new housing units in Jerusalem’s 42-acre southern Jerusalem neighbourhood of Givat Hamatos has been applauded by some, while also garnering international attention, including rousing condemnation from others. Read more
The ongoing battle over illegal construction in Judea and Samaria
February 16, 2021 by Josh Hasten - JNS
According to Gabi Harow, a resident of the Israeli settlement of Nokdim in Gush Etzion, there have been massive changes in the landscape since he moved to the community with his family in 2012. Read more
Why Ze’ev Elkin believes it’s his time in the political spotlight
February 4, 2021 by Josh Hasten - JNS
At the end of December, Likud minister and longtime confidant to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Ze’ev Elkin stunned the Israeli political community by announcing that he was leaving the party. Read more
30-day mourning period for Israeli Esther Horgen to be observed online
January 20, 2021 by Josh Hasten - JNS
Family and friends of Esther Horgen, the 52-year-old Israeli mother of six who was murdered by an Arab terrorist last month, are organizing a Zoom event for the general public on Wednesday evening, Jan. 20, to mark her shloshim—the culmination of the traditional 30-day Jewish mourning period since her death. Read more
Activists and experts demand German transparency on UNRWA support
December 1, 2020 by Josh Hasten - JNS
The Jerusalem-based Center for Near East Policy Research held a Zoom seminar this week in order to share research about the prevalence of anti-Israel hate education as an official part of the curriculum within Arab schools for children of all ages in the Gaza Strip, Judea and Samaria, and Jerusalem being run by the U.N. Relief and Works Agency’s (UNRWA). Read more
Israel: Tackling phoney social-media accounts ‘major strategic challenge to be dealt with’
October 30, 2020 by Josh Hasten - JNS
Israel’s Ministry of Strategic Affairs released a 37-page report this week titled “Manipulating Social Media: The effort to delegitimize Israel through coordinated inauthentic behaviour online.” Read more
Watchdog: EU donates tens of millions to NGOs linked to Palestinian terror, antisemitism
October 22, 2020 by Josh Hasten - JNS
A new 30-page report released by NGO Monitor indicates that in 2019, the European Union authorized more than 40 grants, totalling as much as 33 million euros (about A$55 million), to NGOs in the Palestinian Authority and Israel that have terror-linked beneficiaries, glorify terror, promote antisemitism or are involved with politicized projects against the Jewish state. Read more
Despite COVID-19, and partly because of it, Jewish-Arab business partnerships progress
October 21, 2020 by Josh Hasten - JNS
The worldwide coronavirus pandemic has devastated economies and businesses around the world, but a bright spot exists towards the opening of new avenues of investment for Israeli and Palestinian entrepreneurs. Read more
Tackling the ‘Tour,’ Israelis cycle their way to history
September 3, 2020 by Josh Hasten - JNS
For the first time in its 107-year-old history, a team representing the State of Israel is dressed in blue-and-white jerseys and participating in the 21-stage Tour de France, the most prestigious bicycle race in the world. Read more
Diplomacy marches on its stomach: One rabbi helps cook up kosher fare for UAE delegation
September 2, 2020 by Josh Hasten - JNS
Top Israeli and American officials arrived in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, on Monday departing from Tel Aviv aboard an El Al Boeing 737 aircraft and in an unprecedented occurrence flying over Saudi Arabian airspace for the first-ever visit towards normalization between Israel and the UAE. Read more
Amid criticism of Trump plan by leaders in Judea and Samaria, others see ‘historic opportunity’ despite flaws
June 5, 2020 by Josh Hasten - JNS
As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is preparing to lay the groundwork to begin the process of applying Israeli sovereignty to the Jordan Valley and parts of Judea and Samaria, a debate has emerged among leaders in those Jewish communities over the ramifications of the Trump Administration’s so-called “Deal of the Century.” Read more
Recalling San Remo, and international law regarding the Jewish state, 100 years later
April 28, 2020 by Josh Hasten - JNS
Exactly 100 years ago this week, World War I allied powers including the British Empire, Italy, France and Japan, along with the United States serving as an observer nation, met in San Remo, Italy, and ratified the 1917 Balfour Declaration, calling for a national home for the Jewish people in “Palestine.” Read more
Israelis face extra hardships in preparing for Passover this year
April 7, 2020 by Josh Hasten - JNS
In Israel, the days leading up to Passover are usually the most bustling time of the year in local supermarkets, with shoppers stocking up on kosher-for-Passover products ahead of the week-long holiday. Read more