Category: Israel

Abbas welcomes UN resolution, calls on Israel to talk peace

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas congratulates Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa , apostolic administrator of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, during the Christmas Midnight Mass in Saint Catherine’s Church at the Church of the Nativity, on December 25, 2016 in Bethlehem, West Bank Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Saturday night that the UN Security Council’s resolution condemning Israeli settlements was a step in the right direction for his people, asserting that it posited the “legal basics” for a two-state solution to the conflict and appealing to Israel to make peace.

Faithful celebrate Christmas in Bethlehem

Thousands of pilgrims and tourists from around the world together with local Christians gathered in the biblical town of Bethlehem to celebrate Christmas Eve in the traditional birthplace of Jesus, with spirits lifted by a slowdown in recent violence and cool, clear weather. Security was tight in Bethlehem after recent deadly attacks on Christian targets in neighboring Egypt and Jordan by Islamic extremists.

Israela s Netanyahu lashes out at Obama over UN vote

Israel’s prime minister lashed out at President Barack Obama on Saturday, accusing him of a “shameful ambush” at the United Nations over West Bank settlements and saying he is looking forward to working with his “friend” President-elect Donald Trump. Benjamin Netanyahu’s comments came a day after the United States broke with past practice and allowed the U.N. Security Council to condemn Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem as a “flagrant violation” of international law.

Thousands of faithful celebrate Christmas in Bethlehem

To continue reading up to 10 premium articles, you must register , or sign up and take advantage of this exclusive offer: A Palestinian dressed as Santa Claus takes a picture on Christmas Eve in Manger Square, outside the Church of the Nativity, built atop the site where Christians believe Jesus Christ was born, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Saturday, Dec. 24, 2016. BETHLEHEM, West Bank – Thousands of pilgrims and tourists from around the world together with local Christians gathered in the biblical town of Bethlehem to celebrate Christmas Eve in the traditional birthplace of Jesus, with spirits lifted by a slowdown in recent violence and cool, clear weather.

Analysis: Egypt’s hasty retreat on its UN settlements resolution

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas in the Egyptian capital Cairo on November 8. Consistency was not Egypt’s strong point in deliberations on the UN Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlement activity. But Cairo got through it with its relationship with the incoming Trump administration intact, and only short-term damage to its credibility.

The Latest: Trump says UN vote on Israel complicates peace

President-elect Donald Trump takes a question from a member of the media at Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Fla., Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2016. Trump on Thursday abruptly called for the United States to “greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability” until the rest of the world “comes to its senses” regarding nuclear weapons.

Roxy Jacenko puts on a domestic display as she washes dishes on Christmas Day

‘Their courage allows us to enjoy the season’: The Obamas honor the military in their last holiday message from the White House Fans of Ivanka Trump flood the Amazon book page of Clinton supporter with one-star reviews after his husband ‘accosted’ the future first daughter on a JetBlue flight I MIGHT be home for Christmas? Wintry weather makes for stressful travel as 100million Americans hit the roads and airports for the holidays ‘There is one president at a time’: Obama Administration dismisses Trump’s criticism after U.S. abstains from UN Israel vote ‘Can you bring my daddy home?’: Military dad surprises his little girls just moments after one of them asks Santa for a Christmas miracle Carrie Fisher’s daughter rushes to mom’s intensive care bedside with her beloved dog, as pilot call reveals actress, 60, suffered a major heart attack on flight and ‘stopped breathing for 10 minutes’ ‘I … (more)

Thousands of faithful gather in biblical town of Bethlehem for Christmas Eve

BETHLEHEM, West Bank — Thousands of pilgrims and tourists from around the world together with local Christians gathered in the biblical town of Bethlehem to celebrate Christmas Eve in the traditional birthplace of Jesus, with spirits lifted by a slowdown in recent violence and cool, clear weather. Security was tight in Bethlehem after recent deadly attacks on Christian targets in neighboring Egypt and Jordan by Islamic extremists.

Israel’s Netanyahu lashes out at Obama over UN vote

In this Dec. 11, 2016, file photo, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting at his office in Jerusalem. Netanyahu lashed out at President Barack Obama on Saturday, Dec. 24, accusing him of a “shameful ambush” at the United Nations over West Bank settlements and saying he is looking forward to working with his “friend” President-elect Donald Trump.

All bets are off after UN infamy Jack Engelhard

Jack Engelhard’s classic international bestselling novel Indecent Proposal, which later became a worldwide hit movie, has been republished to meet readers’ demands. His other major works include Compulsive: A Novel, his award-winning post-Holocaust Montreal memoir Escape from Mount Moriah, plus Slot Attendant: A Novel About A Novelist.

Why Obama Broke with Israel at UN

Jordan Fabian, The Hill: The White House’s decision to break with decades of U.S. policy and allow the U.N. Security Council to condemn Israeli settlements is the culmination of years of bad blood between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. … Ben Rhodes, Obama’s deputy national security adviser, said the rapid expansion of settlement activity under Netanyahu had put the possibility of a future peace agreement at risk.

Vote on Israel could spur further action – or trouble for UN

The U.S. green light that allowed the U.N. Security Council to condemn Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem could spur moves toward new terms to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But it also poses dangers for the United Nations with the incoming Trump administration and may harden Israel’s attitude toward concessions.

Vote on Israel could spur further action – or trouble for UN

The U.S. green light that allowed the U.N. Security Council to condemn Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem could spur moves toward new terms to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But it also poses dangers for the United Nations with the incoming Trump administration and may harden Israel’s attitude toward concessions.

Reaction to US Vote at UN Security Council is Swift, Mixed

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a statement in the Jewish settlement known to Israelis as Har Homa and to Palestinians as Jabal Abu Ghneim, in an area of the West Bank that Israel captured in 1967. The United States abstained from voting Friday at the U.N. Security Council on a resolution calling for Israel to stop its “settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory.”

Reaction to US Vote at UN Security Council is Swift, Mixed

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a statement in the Jewish settlement known to Israelis as Har Homa and to Palestinians as Jabal Abu Ghneim, in an area of the West Bank that Israel captured in 1967. The United States abstained from voting Friday at the U.N. Security Council on a resolution calling for Israel to stop its “settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory.”

ZOA Condemns Obama/Kerry/Power For Enabling Passage of Anti-Semitic…

We are outraged – but not surprised – that President Barack Hussein Obama and U.S. Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power enabled the passage of an extraordinary, racist, anti-Semitic, anti-Israel UN Security Counsel resolution this afternoon. Obama and Kerry’s phony claim that they allowed this Resolution because Jews living in Judea/Samaria eastern Jerusalem would prevent a Palestinian State is a canard.The fact is that almost all Jews living in these very small areas are areas that would never be given away or prevent a State.

U.N. condemns Israeli settlements as Obama declines to veto

In a striking rupture with past practice, the United States allowed the U.N. Security Council on Friday to condemn Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem as a “flagrant violation” of international law. In doing so, the outgoing Obama administration brushed aside Donald Trump’s demands that the U.S. exercise its veto and provided a climax to years of icy relations with Israel’s leadership.

Netanyahu Attacks Obama Over U.N. Resolution Hea s looking forward to working with Trump.

Three days have passed since United Nations Security Council voted 14-0 to adopt a resolution demanding an end to Israel’s building of settlements in the West Bank, and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains very, very angry about it. Over the weekend, Netanyahu canceled monetary contributions to five U.N. agencies and suspended business with the embassies of 12 of the nations that approved the resolution: the U.K., France, Russia, China, Japan, Ukraine, Angola, Egypt, Uruguay, Spain, Senegal, and New Zealand .

editorial | Goodbye and good riddance to 2016

Terrorism shows no signs of abating, with Islamic State taking credit for a string of shocking attacks, from Brussels Airport in March, to the Bastille Day horror in Nice, France, to this week’s truck plowing into a crowd of holiday shoppers at a Berlin market. Closer to home, tragedy struck the LGBT community with the mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando in June, and in the Bay Area, the horrific Ghost Ship fire broke all of our hearts.

Donald Trump, Rep. Ted Deutch in rare agreement on UN Israel resolution

But part-time Palm Beacher Trump and Deutch both released statements today calling for the U.S. to use its veto power in the United Nations Security Council to nix a resolution condemning Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The U.S. has traditionally vetoed such measures, but President Barack Obama ‘s position on the current measure was in doubt before the UN postponed consideration of the resolution today.

Israeli court delays demolition of West bank outpost

Israel’s Supreme Court has postponed the imminent demolition of a Jewish outpost in the West Bank until next year. The court ruled in 2014 that it was built on private Palestinian land and must be demolished by Dec. 25. Residents accepted a government plan this week to leave the outpost peacefully and move to neighboring land, but Israel says it now appears it will not be able to move the settlers to one of the planned areas.

Trump taps Conway as counselor, Spicer and Hicks to top communications jobs

Trump taps Conway as counselor, Spicer and Hicks to top communications jobs President-elect rounds out his communications team with Spicer, Hicks and Scavino Check out this story on USATODAY.com: http://usat.ly/2ij3n2D Donald Trump appointed campaign manager Kellyanne Conway as his White House counselor on Thursday, and tapped long-time Republican Party spokesman Sean Spicer as the next White House press secretary . Conway “has been a trusted adviser and strategist who played a crucial role in my victory,” Trump said in a statement.

Christmas in Bethlehem means souvenirs

Christmas is approaching and pilgrims and tourists have begun to arrive, crowding the souvenir shops that line the narrow streets and alleys of Bethlehem, the biblical town revered as Jesus’ birthplace. But when visitors choose to take a piece of the Holy Land back home with them, they better check the labels.

Proposed UN resolution demands end to Israeli settlements

Egypt has circulated a draft U.N. resolution that demands a halt to Israeli settlement activities in Palestinian territory and declares that all existing settlements “have no legal validity” and are “a flagrant violation” of international law. The proposed resolution sent to Security Council members Wednesday evening also stresses that “the cessation of all Israeli settlement activities is essential for salvaging the two-state solution” which would see Israelis and Palestinians living side-by-side in peace.

Thousands of faithful celebrate Christmas in Bethlehem

Thousands of pilgrims and tourists from around the world together with locals began Christmas Eve celebrations in Jesus’ traditional birthplace of Bethlehem on Saturday, raising spirits after a tense year that saw a spike in violence between Palestinians and Israelis. The faithful braved the chilly weather outside Manger Square as traditional Christmas songs like “Jingle Bells” played in Arabic over loudspeakers and scout groups paraded with bagpipes and sang carols.

Israeli ambassador backs Trump pledge to move U.S. embassy to Jerusalem

By Matt Spetalnick Reuters WASHINGTON – Israel’s ambassador to the United States issued an impassioned endorsement on Tuesday of President-elect Donald Trump’s… By Matt Spetalnick Reuters WASHINGTON – Israel’s ambassador to the United States issued an impassioned endorsement on Tuesday of President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to relocate the … (more)

Israeli envoy urges Trump to move US embassy to Jerusalem

The Israeli ambassador to the United States has urged the incoming Trump administration to move the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, telling guests at a Hanukkah reception at the Israeli embassy in Washington on Tuesday that the controversial move would be a “great step forward” for peace. Trump and his nominee for US ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, have pledged to move the embassy.

The Latest: John Kerry concerned by rhetoric out of Turkey

The Latest on the development in the Syrian civil war and the aftermath of the assassination of Russia’s ambassador to Turkey : John Kerry’s spokesman says the U.S. Secretary of State has raised concerns about “some of the rhetoric coming out of Turkey with respect to American involvement or support, tacit or otherwise, for this unspeakable assassination yesterday because of the presence of Mr. Gulen here in the United States.” “We need to let the investigators do their job and we need to let the facts and the evidence take them where it is before we jump to conclusions,” Kirby added.

Israelis open San Francisco’s latest kosher bakery

Israeli friends Isaac Yosef, Avi Edri and head chef Yanni – who goes by one name – held a soft opening for their bakery Taboon in the city’s SoMa neighborhood last week, the San Francisco Gate reported. As Oakland’s Grand Bakery gets set to close this week after 55 years of operation, Taboon will become the city’s only true kosher bakery.

Senior Hamas member threatens Israel with ‘new conflict’

Hamas political bureau member Saleh al-Arouri on Sunday threated that his group would start a new round of fighting with Israel over its alleged “violation” of Muslim rights in Jerusalem. Speaking to Hamas’s Al-Aqsa television channel, Arouri referred to the proposed “Muezzin Law” in Israel, which would prohibit mosques from using loudspeakers for the call to prayer, saying that preventing the sound of the muezzin is a provocation which will result in a new conflict.

Alleged BDS activist writer may be forced to leave Israel

A journalist who has allegedly engaged in activity supportive of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement may not be able to remain in Israel, the Government Press Office told The Jerusalem Post exclusively on Sunday. GPO director Nitzan Chen said he was leaning against renewing the press card of Antony Loewenstein, a Jerusalem- based freelance reporter who writes for The Guardian and other publications.

Poll: Israelis worry about intermarriage

A new study done in honor of the Week of Connection to Diaspora Jewry shows how deep the connection between Israel’s Jews and Diaspora Jews really is. One of the statistics the new study reveals is that the vast majority of Israel’s Jews are concerned over intermarriage rates abroad.

The last dance at Amona

Activists sing and play music at a home in the illegal outpost of Amona in the West Bank, on December 17, 2016. Full of people, full of cars, full of tension and singing and dancing and hope that the planned evacuation of the illegally-built settlement won’t take place.

Trump’s ambassador pick could drastically alter 2 of the…

President-elect Donald Trump tapped bankruptcy lawyer David Friedman to serve as the US ambassador to Israel on Thursday, raising questions about how Friedman’s far-right views will upend Washington’s longstanding approach to the Israel-Palestine conflict. Friedman, who has no diplomatic experience, is a fierce opponent of a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine that would create two independent states on either side of the Jordan river.

Amona residents partying as eviction looms

Amona – Rumors of a police led-evacuation swirled Saturday night in the hilltop outpost of Amona, which is slated for evacuation by December 25. Yet, as hundreds of supporters, mostly teenagers, descended upon the outpost they did not appear worried. On Saturday night the outpost actually took on a party-like atmosphere as teenagers danced in the mud to techno-rave melodies interlaced with religious proverbs.