This article was published more than 3 years agoCommentGift ShareUMM AL-FAHM, Israel — Leila Jabarin looked every inch the matriarch of the Muslim family that surrounded her on a recent morning, encircled by some of her 36 grandchildren in a living room rich with Arabic chatter and the scent of cardamom-flavored coffee.But Jabarin, her hair covered with a brown headscarf, was talking to visitors in Hebrew, not Arabic, and telling a story that not even her seven children knew until they were grown. She was born not Leila Jabarin, but Helene Berschatzky, not a Muslim but a Jew. Her...…This article was published more than 3 years agoCommentGift ShareUMM AL-FAHM, Israel — Leila Jabarin looked every inch the matriarch of the Muslim family that surrounded her on a recent morning, encircled by some of her 36 grandchildren in a living room rich with Arabic chatter and the scent of cardamom-flavored coffee.But Jabarin, her hair covered with a brown headscarf, was talking to visitors in Hebrew, not Arabic, and telling a story that not even her seven children knew until they were grown. She was born not Leila Jabarin, but Helene Berschatzky, not a Muslim but a Jew. Her...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareJERUSALEM — Israel, like many high-income countries, is moving quickly to roll out newly approved coronavirus vaccines, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu getting the symbolic first shot Saturday. But next door in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the prospects for vaccinating almost 5 million Palestinians are far less certain, as financial, political and logistical hurdles could delay inoculations against the raging pandemic for months.The split highlights not only the tense disparities between Israel and the Palestinian...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareJERUSALEM — Israel, like many high-income countries, is moving quickly to roll out newly approved coronavirus vaccines, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu getting the symbolic first shot Saturday. But next door in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the prospects for vaccinating almost 5 million Palestinians are far less certain, as financial, political and logistical hurdles could delay inoculations against the raging pandemic for months.The split highlights not only the tense disparities between Israel and the Palestinian...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareIsrael and the United Arab Emirates agreed Thursday to end decades of enmity in a historic deal announced by President Trump that would put Israeli annexation of West Bank lands on hold as a condition of normalizing relations.The makes the UAE only the third Arab country to currently have diplomatic relations with the Jewish nation, after Egypt and Jordan recognized Israel’s right to exist decades ago, and it unites Israel with a powerful Persian Gulf ally of Washington that shares the view of Iran as an enemy.Trump...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareIsrael and the United Arab Emirates agreed Thursday to end decades of enmity in a historic deal announced by President Trump that would put Israeli annexation of West Bank lands on hold as a condition of normalizing relations.The makes the UAE only the third Arab country to currently have diplomatic relations with the Jewish nation, after Egypt and Jordan recognized Israel’s right to exist decades ago, and it unites Israel with a powerful Persian Gulf ally of Washington that shares the view of Iran as an enemy.Trump...WW…

“We are now at the doors of the Jenin refugee camp,” Ali al-Samoudi, an Al Jazeera news channel producer, said as he began early on May 11, during an Israeli military operation in the camp. Sounds of gunshots rang out in the distance. “Heavy clashes,” could be heard, Samoudi said in the video, which was recorded shortly after 6 a.m.Less than 30 minutes later, the scene was quiet enough that Samoudi, along with three other journalists, felt safe inching toward a column of Israeli military vehicles that was involved in one of the early morning raids. Among the group was Palestinian American ,...…“We are now at the doors of the Jenin refugee camp,” Ali al-Samoudi, an Al Jazeera news channel producer, said as he began early on May 11, during an Israeli military operation in the camp. Sounds of gunshots rang out in the distance. “Heavy clashes,” could be heard, Samoudi said in the video, which was recorded shortly after 6 a.m.Less than 30 minutes later, the scene was quiet enough that Samoudi, along with three other journalists, felt safe inching toward a column of Israeli military vehicles that was involved in one of the early morning raids. Among the group was Palestinian American ,...WW…

This article was published more than 1 year agoCommentGift ShareJERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has fallen short of securing the parliamentary majority he needs to stay in office, according to the official election count announced Thursday, raising the possibility that Israel’s political gridlock will continue.The results of Tuesday’s election . But the bloc of parties that are certain to support him has only won 52 seats, nine shy of the number needed for a majority in the parliament. His opponents, too, failed to garner a majority, with the disparate group of...…This article was published more than 1 year agoCommentGift ShareJERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has fallen short of securing the parliamentary majority he needs to stay in office, according to the official election count announced Thursday, raising the possibility that Israel’s political gridlock will continue.The results of Tuesday’s election . But the bloc of parties that are certain to support him has only won 52 seats, nine shy of the number needed for a majority in the parliament. His opponents, too, failed to garner a majority, with the disparate group of...WW…

This article was published more than 1 year agoCommentGift ShareTEL AVIV — Itamar Ben Gvir hails from a fringe of Israeli politics so extreme it was outlawed. A lawyer known for defending Jewish settlers accused of violence against Arabs, he has roots in the overtly racist Kach party, founded by radical American Rabbi Meir Kahane and banned by Israel decades ago.But now, Ben Gvir and thousands of new-generation ­Kahanists are on the verge of a political comeback, thanks to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s need for parliamentary seats in Tuesday’s national election.Backed by...…This article was published more than 1 year agoCommentGift ShareTEL AVIV — Itamar Ben Gvir hails from a fringe of Israeli politics so extreme it was outlawed. A lawyer known for defending Jewish settlers accused of violence against Arabs, he has roots in the overtly racist Kach party, founded by radical American Rabbi Meir Kahane and banned by Israel decades ago.But now, Ben Gvir and thousands of new-generation ­Kahanists are on the verge of a political comeback, thanks to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s need for parliamentary seats in Tuesday’s national election.Backed by...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareJERUSALEM — Israel's top environmental official on Wednesday accused Iran of deliberately causing the major oil spill that despoiled Israel's Mediterranean coastline last month, an act she described as "environmental terrorism."Environmental Protection Minister Gila Gamliel said investigators from her ministry had traced the spill, which authorities have described as one of Israel’s worst ecological disasters, to an unregistered Libyan tanker. The ship had called on an Iranian port before approaching the Israeli coast...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareJERUSALEM — Israel's top environmental official on Wednesday accused Iran of deliberately causing the major oil spill that despoiled Israel's Mediterranean coastline last month, an act she described as "environmental terrorism."Environmental Protection Minister Gila Gamliel said investigators from her ministry had traced the spill, which authorities have described as one of Israel’s worst ecological disasters, to an unregistered Libyan tanker. The ship had called on an Iranian port before approaching the Israeli coast...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareBNEI BRAK, Israel — The Shinfelds, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish family in this most religious of cities, are used to being a bit at odds with the rest of Israel. Their community's tradition of large families — the couple has 10 children and 30 grandchildren — strict observance and exemption from military service have long created friction with the more secular majority.But they say they have never felt hostility like they do now, as a pandemic-exhausted nation has turned its rage at ultra-Orthodox scofflaws.As Israel endures...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareBNEI BRAK, Israel — The Shinfelds, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish family in this most religious of cities, are used to being a bit at odds with the rest of Israel. Their community's tradition of large families — the couple has 10 children and 30 grandchildren — strict observance and exemption from military service have long created friction with the more secular majority.But they say they have never felt hostility like they do now, as a pandemic-exhausted nation has turned its rage at ultra-Orthodox scofflaws.As Israel endures...WW…