Categories
Geopolitics

Israel’s Mysterious “Prisoner X” Revealed

HAARETZ, YNET (Israel), ABC (Australia), NYT (USA) Worldcrunch TEL-AVIV – Australian TV network ABC has uncovered evidence that strongly suggests that Israel“s mysterious “Prisoner X” was, in fact, an Australian citizen with ties to the Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency. The Prisoner X case is considered as one of the most sensitive secrets of Israel’s […]

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Society

“I Tried To Divorce Him 100 Times” – Arafat’s Widow Speaks

SABAH (Turkey), THE GUARDIAN (UK), YNET (Israel) Worldcrunch Nine years after her husband’s death, Suha Arafat regrets her marriage to the former Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat. They married in a secret wedding in Tunisia in 1990 when Suha was 27. Arafat, then 61, was 34 years older. In an interview given last week to […]

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Society

“Operation Owl” – How Organic Pest Control Could Aid Middle East Peace

KFAR KAMA – Bent down in his field in this lower Galilee town, Amjad Shami points out the countless underground tunnels dug by voles. Three years ago, he says, these rodents destroyed his entire harvest. Shami says he continues to try to fight them with pesticides, which do little more than poison his land, infect […]

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Geopolitics

Bulgarian Bombings: Hezbollah Implicated, What Next?

AL MONITOR, NEW YORK TIMES (U.S.), JERUSALEM POST (Israel), THE GLOBE AND MAIL (Canada) Worldcrunch SOFIA– The case of five Israeli tourists killed in a July bombing in Bulgaria is anything but closed. The Bulgarian government’s findings this week that the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah was responsible for the bombing, which also killed the Bulgarian […]

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Geopolitics

Syria Will Attend Geneva 2, Sochi Criticism, Palace Squatting

SYRIA WILL ATTEND 2ND ROUND OF GENEVA 2Syrian state television announced that the government will participate in the second round of the Geneva 2 peace conference, due to start Feb. 10, quoting Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad. The announcement came as a first group of 200 civilians is about to be evacuated from the city […]

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Ideas

Israel’s Preemptive Strikes On Syria: Self-Defense Under International Law?

Israel’s January 31 aerial attack on a Syrian research facility and arms complex has raised once again the thorny question of when preemption against a developing threat may be justified under international law—as opposed to simply strategic calculation. Predictably, the Israeli bombardment elicited a hail of criticism from some regional and global players. Syria has […]

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Geopolitics

Israel Acknowledges Syrian Airstrike – Iran: You Will “Regret” It

ASSOCIATED PRESS, REUTERS, BBC (UK) Worldcrunch JERUSALEM – Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak appeared to admit for the first time that his country launched an air raid last week on a military research center near Damascus. Barak’s apparent acknowledgment of the Jan. 30 strike on the Syrian target was followed up Monday by a veiled […]

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Geopolitics

Russia, Hezbollah Condemn Israeli Airstrike In Syria

BBC, JERUSALEM POST (Israel), THE NEW YORK TIMES, VOA (U.S.), REUTERS Worldcrunch DAMASCUS– Russia has expressed its concern at an alleged Israeli airstrike in Syria that left four dead and two injured says the BBC. Various reports about the airstrike differ in details, while Israel remains silent about its action. Sources told Reuters on Wednesday […]

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Geopolitics

After Seven Years In Coma, Ariel Sharon Shows “Degree Of Consciousness”

REUTERS, BEERSHEBA – Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who has been in a coma for seven years, has surprised doctors by showing brain activity and a “certain degree of consciousness” for the first time since his debilitating stroke. The extent of the 84-year-old’s response is still limited as he cannot move any muscle, though […]

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Geopolitics

Reelected But Weakened, Israel’s Netanyahu Must Seek Broad Coalition

JERUSALEM POST, HAARETZ (Israel), BBC NEWS (UK), CNN, NEW YORK TIMES (USA) Worldcrunch JERUSALEM – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu“s narrow victory for a third term as Israel’s prime minister will force him to reach out to the surprise centrist challenger as he now faces the complex task of forming a new coalition. Netanyahu’s Likud-Beitenu right-wing […]

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Geopolitics

Report: Syria Crossed Chemical Weapons “Red Line,” But West Got Cold Feet

Sources tell Le Monde that the Syria regime fired rockets with a non-lethal chemical agent during a deadly Dec. 23 attack in Homs. So why didn’t Western leaders follow through on their threats?

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Geopolitics

Ben-Gurion Of The Orthodox? A Tolerance-Preaching Rabbi Shakes Up Israeli Politics

Algerian-born, French-bred Haim Amsalem is a member of the Knesset, and now the sworn enemy of the ultra-orthodox Shas party that he helped found.

Categories
Food / Travel

Holy City Of Snow: 6 Incredible Photos Of Jerusalem Hit By Rare Winter Storm

JERUSALEM POST, THE TIMES OF ISRAEL (Israel) Worldcrunch JERUSALEM- With Israel’s largest storm in 20 years bringing snow and freezing temperatures to Jerusalem and the mountains in the north and center of Israel on Wednesday night, authorities closed part of the main highway connecting Tel Aviv and the capital for a short time due to […]

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Geopolitics

After Israel’s Iron Dome, Lockheed Martin Unveils Cutting-Edge Anti-Missile Laser

Using lasers for tracking objects through the sky has been possible for years, but there’s never been anything like Lockheed’s new laser defense system successfully tested last week. It’s not that using high-powered lasers to drop incoming missiles is anything new, and was achieved by Boeing with a nine-year Air Force project that was canceled […]

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Geopolitics

In Arafat’s Footsteps? Gauging The Ambitions Of Hamas Leader Khaled Meshaal

PARIS – Everyone was expecting Mahmoud Abbas. Serious rumors claimed that, given his success at the UN, the president of the Palestinian Authority would head for Gaza, where he hasn’t set foot since 2007, when Hamas took over the Gaza Strip in a coup. In the end, the surprise came from Khaled Meshaal, Hamas’s exiled […]

Categories
Ideas

The Two-State Solution Is Dead. Long Live The Two-State Solution

Let’s be real, says this commentator, Israeli settlers on the West Bank aren’t going away, UN statehood for Palestine notwithstanding. Here’s another way to imagine a two-state solution.

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Geopolitics

Hamas Leader Makes Historic Visit To Gaza, Ending 45-Year Exile

AL JAZEERA (Qatar), BBC NEWS (UK), CNN (USA) Worldcrunch GAZA CITY – Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal set foot in Gaza on Friday, ending 45 years of exile from the Palestinian Territories, reports Al Jazeera. After passing across the Egyptian border at Rafah, Meshaal knelt on the ground to offer a prayer of thanks and was […]

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Geopolitics

Israel And Germany, It’s Complicated

BERLIN – Benjamin Netanyahu tried to be a polite guest. That’s why, when he visited the Federal Chancellery, he was careful to play down his disappointment with Angela Merkel. But the Israeli Prime Minister only made it worse. He said: “I think Chancellor Merkel was of the opinion that this vote would in some way […]

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Geopolitics

Obama’s Historic Error: The Irony Of A Nobel Laureate Opposing Palestinian UN Bid

-OP-ED- PARIS – Israel and Palestine, two states living side by side in fair and sustainable peace. This is, for any genuinely pro-democracy advocate – be they Jewish or Arab – the deeper meaning and the real political impact of the vote that took place Thursday at the United Nations General Assembly. Yet this upgrade […]

Categories
Geopolitics

Muslim World Reacts To Palestine’s “Observer Status” Entry In UN

AL QUDS (Palestine), AL SABAH (Palestine), MASRAWY (Egypt), AL JAZEERA (Qatar), HAARETZ (Israel) Worldcrunch NEW YORK – Newspaper headlines around the Arab world Friday hailed the results of a historic UN vote that grants Palestine entry to the international body as a non-member observer State. After a request submitted by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, […]

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Geopolitics

Gaza Ceasefire Crumbles, Fighting Continues To Escalate

AL JAZEERA (Qatar), THE GUARDIAN, BBC NEWS (UK), REUTERS Worldcrunch JERUSALEM – Two Palestinians were reportedly killed during the visit of Egyptian Prime Minister Hesham Kandil in Gaza, dashing hopes of a possible ceasefire between Israel and Palestine According to Al Jazeera, a new air strike hit the Jibaliya refugee camp located at the northern […]

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Geopolitics

Gaza Rockets Kill Three Israelis, Violence Escalates

BBC NEWS (UK), JERUSALEM POST, HAARETZ (Israel), REUTERS Worldcrunch JERUSALEM – Three people were killed on Thursday when rockets fired from Gaza struck the southern Israeli town of Kiryat Malachi, a day after Israel’s targetted killing of the military chief of Hamas. Tel Aviv daily Haaretz reports that rockets fired into Israel by militants in […]

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Geopolitics

Israel Kills Hamas Military Chief In Air Strike, Vows To Open Wider Campaign

Categories
Geopolitics

Israel Weighs Ground Offensive As Gaza Rockets Increase

JERUSALEM POST, HAARETZ, IDF (Israel), AL-AYYAM (Palestinian Territory), CNN (USA) Worldcrunch Israeli politicians were divided on Monday over the possibility of military ground operations in the Gaza Strip, as rockets rained down on Israel for the third day in a row, reported the Jerusalem Post. Opposition leader Shelly Yacimovich told Army Radio she was against […]

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Eyes on the U.S.

US-Israel: Obama’s Victory Puts Heat On Chilly Relationship With Netanyahu

TEL AVIV – Following the example of President Shimon Peres, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Ehud Barak did not bide their time in congratulating Barack Obama on his electoral victory November 6. They declared that the two countries “will continue to work together” and that their strategic alliance is “stronger than […]

Categories
Society

X Marks The Spot: Archaeologists Dig For Exact Place Where Jesus Died

On November 1, under the nave of the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in Jerusalem, an archeological park called “Durch die Zeiten” (Through Time) opened. It provides the answer to a question that has long eluded researchers: just where Golgotha, the place where Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected, is really located. Planned and built […]

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Geopolitics

Violence Ends Short-Lived Israel-Gaza Truce

HAARETZ, THE JERUSALEM POST (Israel), BBC NEWS (UK) Worldcrunch GAZA CITY – An Israel Air Force strike hit a Palestinian rocket launching pad and two militant activity sites in the Gaza Strip on Monday, reports Haaretz. The strike ended an Egyptian-brokered truce, which had calmed cross-border fighting since Thursday. The informal cease-fire went into effect […]

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Geopolitics

Gaza-Israel Ceasefire Brokered By Egypt’s Morsi

JERUSALEM POST (Israel), NOUVEL OBSERVATEUR, AFP (France), REUTERS (U.S.), AL JAZEERA (Qatar), AHRAM ONLINE (Egypt), LIBERTÉ ALGÉRIE (Algeria) Worldcrunch JERUSALEM – An informal ceasefire brokered by new Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi was holding in most places Thursday between the Palestinian group Hamas and the Israeli army, the Jerusalem Post reported. The truce comes after three […]

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Geopolitics

Israeli Strikes Kill Four Militants In Gaza

HAARETZ (Israel), BBC NEWS (UK) Worldcrunch GAZA CITY – Airstrikes carried out by the Israeli Defense Forces killed four militants Tuesday night in Gaza, reports BBC News. Israel military forces said three of the militants were hit overnight as they prepared to fire rockets. A fourth militant, reported to be a gunman from the Ezzedine […]

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Food / Travel

Mossad Aside, Israel Is No Land Of Secrets

A Tel Aviv Tale Of Manners

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Geopolitics

Police Kill U.S. Citizen After He Opens Fire In Israeli Hotel

HAARETZ, JERUSALEM POST, ISRAEL RADIO (Israel) Worldcrunch EILAT – A U.S. tourist opened fire in an Israeli hotel resort on the Red Sea coast Friday, killing one person. The Jerusalem Post reports that Israeli counter-terrorism units arrived on the scene after the gunman barricaded himself in the kitchen. Counter-terrorism units subsequently killed him in an […]

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Society

Have You Seen The Dom? Gypsies Of Jerusalem Lost Amidst Eternal Strife

JERUSALEM — While it is a community that has lived in the city for centuries, not many have heard of the Dom in Jerusalem. “Few people know that we are the Gypsies of the Middle East,” says Amoun Sleem, director of the Domari Society of Gypsies in Jerusalem. The cultural center she runs was founded […]

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Geopolitics

Ahmadinejad To Speak At UN, After Iran Unveils 2000-KM Range Drone

REUTERS, (U.S.) DAPD (Germany), NEUE ZURICHER ZEITUNG (Switzerland) NEW YORK – As television images back home showed off Tehran’s latest weaponry, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad prepared for his final official discourse to the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday. Tensions are as high as ever over Iran’s nuclear program and Ahmadinejad’s threats against Israel, and […]

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Geopolitics

Israel’s Focus On Jewish Refugees Of Arab Lands Helps Counter Palestinian Claims

TEL AVIV – A small synagogue nestles in a dead-end street near the ocean promenade in Tel Aviv. The synagogue, used by Jews from Aleppo, Syria, was crowded last week for prayer services on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. As in the other 10,500 places of worship in Israel, the congregation recited a special […]

Categories
Geopolitics

Israel Retaliates, Threatens Large-Scale Military Operation After Rocket Attack

HAARETZ, THE JERUSALEM POST (Israel) Worldcrunch JERUSALEM – Three Palestinians were wounded early Monday in three successive Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip in response to a rocket attack launched toward southern Israel from the Palestinian enclave, reports Haaretz. Israeli Air Force helicopters and F-16s were heard around midnight over the Gaza Strip, followed by […]

Categories
Society

German Jews Protest Top Philosophy Award For (Jewish)”Self-Confessed Israel Hater”

-Analysis- FRANKFURT – Are Hamas and Hezbollah part of “the global left?” A few years ago, during the discussion following a lecture at the University of California, Berkeley, American philosopher Judith Butler claimed they were. And now the remark is coming back to haunt her. The Central Council of Jews in Germany has strongly criticized […]

Categories
Society

Will Israel’s Ultra-Orthodox Finally Be Forced Into Military Service?

JERUSALEM – It is almost prayer time in Ramot, the ultra-Orthodox neighborhood in north Jerusalem, and men in black suits, white ties and black hats with wide brims are hurrying to the synagogue. On July 31, the 10-year-old “Tal Law” exempting ultra-Orthodox Jews from military duty expired, sparking a nationwide debate in Israel over the […]

Categories
Geopolitics

Did The Vatican’s New Envoy To Israel Help Shield Pedophile Priests In Ireland?

Worldcrunch YEDIOTH AHRONOTH (Israel), LA STAMPA (Italy), THE IRISH TIMES (Ireland) JERUSALEM – The appointment of Archbishop Giuseppe Lazzarotto as Papal Nuncio to Israel last week has sparked controversy in Jerusalem after it emerged that he was linked to the pedophile priests scandal that hit the Irish Catholic Church in 2005.. The country’s biggest-circulation daily […]

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Geopolitics

Israeli Court Rules Death Of US Activist Rachel Corrie Was An Accident

JERUSALEM POST (Israel), BBC (UK) Worldcrunch An Israeli court ruled Tuesday that the state of Israel was not at fault in the 2003 death of US activist Rachel Corrie. The Jerusalem Post reports that the Haifa District Court has ruled against the Corrie family, who have been fighting for justice for the pro-Palestinian activist after […]

Categories
blog

France Prepares For An Evacuation Of Its Nationals Living In Israel

LA TRIBUNE (France) JERUSALEM – France has prepared a contingency plan to evacuate its citizens from Israel, La Tribunehas learned. According to diplomatic sources, a plan to evacuate the 200,000 French nationals living in Israel has been drafted to prepare for the enventuality of conflict between Iran and Israel. The objective, says the French financial […]

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