Tag Archives: Israel

Axios reports: The Israel Defense Forces have in recent weeks been instructed to prepare for the possibility that the U.S. will conduct a military strike against Iran before President Trump leaves office, senior Israeli officials tell me. The Israeli government instructed the IDF to undertake the preparations not because of any intelligence or assessment that Trump will order such a …

The Hill reports: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday announced that the State Department will ban funding any organization it determines participates in the Global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel, labeling such activity as anti-Semitic. The secretary made the announcement alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu while on travel in Jerusalem and said the State Department would …

The Jerusalem Post reports: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated US President-elect Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris in his message to Sunday’s cabinet meeting, conducted over video conference. “I have a personal, long and warm connection with Joe Biden for nearly 40 years,” Netanyahu said, “and I know him to be a great friend of the State of …

The Jerusalem Post reports: Florida will now be issuing specialty “Florida Stands with Israel” license plates for those who wish to support the Jewish state throughout the Sunshine State. Gov.  Ron DeSantis signed legislation (HB 1135) on Friday which authorized the creation of the special license plate. The Israeli-American Council (IAC) lauded the “heartwarming expression of solidarity,” saying that it …

The Washington Post reports: Most politicians go to great lengths to conceal their dirty laundry. And then there’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Over the years, the Israeli leader has developed a reputation among the staff at the U.S. president’s guesthouse for bringing special cargo on his trips to Washington: bags and suitcases full of dirty laundry, according to U.S. officials …

The Associated Press reports: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was pushing on Wednesday for an immediate and strict nationwide lockdown as the country’s raging coronavirus outbreak showed no signs of slowing. Netanyahu warned the nation that tough measures loomed as he took a break from a stormy session of his coronavirus Cabinet. Members of the policy-making body were reportedly deeply …

The Washington Post reports: Israel will head into a second coronavirus lockdown, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced in a televised news conference Sunday night, following a sharp escalation in the number of new infections in the country in recent weeks. The lockdown, which requires schools, stores, malls and hotels to close and reinstates restrictions on people’s movements for at least …

The Christian Post reports: Israel has decided to remove the U.S.-based evangelical Christian station GOD TV from the Israeli cable television provider HOT due to claims that it was trying to evangelize Jews. Asher Biton, chairman of Israel’s Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Council, said he told the station last Thursday that it has seven days to halt broadcasting. “The channel …

The Times of Israel reports: The Tel Aviv-Jaffa municipality on Sunday said it would allow cohabiting couples to register their relationship and enjoy marital rights, in a protest of the government’s refusal to recognize same-sex couples or those not wed under the state’s religious authorities. Tel Aviv-Jaffa Mayor Ron Huldai said the move, coinciding with the country’s Pride Week, makes …

The Times Of Israel reports: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hired prominent right-wing journalist Aaron Klein as his new strategic and communications consultant, the Likud party announced Monday. Klein, 41, has advised Netanyahu for several months, but in recent weeks quit his job as Israel correspondent for the far-right Breitbart website to work for Likud full-time. Klein’s new appointment made …

The Associated Press reports: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday launched a tirade against the nation’s justice system as his long-awaited corruption trial got underway, accusing police and prosecutors of conspiring to “depose” him. Netanyahu’s comments opened what is sure to be a tumultuous period for Israel as he becomes the country’s first sitting prime minister ever to go …

Haaretz reports: Although proselytizing can be against the law in Israel, a brand-new evangelical channel dedicated to taking “the gospel of Jesus into the homes and lives and hearts of the Jewish people” had its official launch last week on cable television. Shelanu (Hebrew for “Ours”) TV is the new Hebrew-language channel of GOD TV, an international Christian media network …

The Times Of Israel reports: Roger Stone, a longtime confidant of President Donald Trump who was convicted last year in Robert Mueller’s investigation into ties between Russia and the Trump campaign, was in contact with one or more apparently well-connected Israelis at the height of the 2016 US presidential campaign, one of whom warned Stone that Trump was “going to …

Axios reports: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former rival Benny Gantz signed a deal on Monday to form a “national emergency government,” ending more than a year of political deadlock in which Israel was forced to hold three elections. Facing corruption charges and protests, Netanyahu will remain in office as prime minister — just weeks after it seemed …

NBC News reports: The deadline for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s chief political rival to form a government elapsed Wednesday, increasing the chances the nation will be headed toward an unprecedented fourth election in little over a year. Last-minute talks between Netanyahu and the Blue and White alliance’s leader Benny Gantz failed to form a coalition for Israel’s next government, …

Axios reports: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shared with his cabinet a video he claimed was evidence of Iran concealing coronavirus deaths by dropping bodies in garbage dumps, two cabinet ministers tell me. Several hours later, Netanyahu’s office realized the video had nothing to do with Iran, or with the coronavirus crisis. It was a clip from “Pandemic,” a 2007 …

Haaretz reports: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he will enter quarantine along with his close advisers. Netanyahu’s aide on Knesset affairs tested positive for coronavirus on Monday. The PMO said the step was a precaution and is being taken even before the epidemiological investigation has been concluded. Also Netanyahu’s spokesperson Shir Cohen, Director of Prime Minister’s Office Asher Hayoun …

The Times of Israel reports: An Orthodox Israeli rabbi has claimed the spread of the deadly coronavirus in Israel and around the world is divine retribution for gay pride parades. An influential Sephardic rabbi, Meir Mazuz is the former spiritual leader of the defunct ultra-nationalist and homophobic Yachad party, and is head of the Kiseh Rahamim yeshiva in Bnei Brak. …

The Jerusalem Post reports: Israeli scientists are on the cusp of developing the first vaccine against the novel coronavirus, according to Science and Technology Minister Ofir Akunis. If all goes as planned, the vaccine could be ready within a few weeks and available in 90 days, according to a release. “Congratulations to MIGAL [The Galilee Research Institute] on this exciting …

The Times of Israel reports: Another former worker at the Prime Minister’s Residence is suing Sara Netanyahu for mistreatment, Channel 12 reported today. The woman, a 56-year-old immigrant from France, is seeking NIS 650,000 ($189,000) in damages for a series of accusations including work-related harassment and abusive employment. Several former employees have claimed mistreatment and abuse by the prime minister’s …