TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Despite their country’s turbulent history, Israelis enjoy a fairly secure existence: they have military might, a world-class high tech industry powering a strong economy, and America as a solid ally. Yet in recent years, tens of thousands have requested and received the citizenship of European countries like Poland and Germany, which were killing fields for … Read More
Gaza militants agreed to a cease-fire with Israel to stop spiking violence, after a deadly attack across the Egyptian border on Israeli vehicles set off a three-day round of rapidly escalating Israeli airstrikes and rocket barrages from Gaza. The AP’s Aron Heller reports from Jerusalem. [url href=”http://aronheller.com/articles/israel-gaza-violence-threatens-protest-movement/”] [url href=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9JkUjCU-T4&feature=youtu.be” content=”Watch the Video” target=external]
JERUSALEM (AP) _ Security has traditionally trumped all other concerns in Israel. Now some social activists fear a sudden spike of violence with the Palestinians could overwhelm a spontaneous and surprisingly strong summer-long revolt against the country’s high cost of living. A deadly ambush that killed eight Israelis, and subsequent Israeli airstrikes and rocket barrages from Gaza over the weekend, … Read More
NETANYA, Israel (AP) _ Hall of Fame volleyball coach Arie Selinger is back in Israel and on a mission. After a 40-year international career, he’s fulfilling a vow to build a top-notch volleyball program in the chaotic country he fled to after the Holocaust. Under his strict tutelage and grueling training regimen, Israel’s women have qualified for next month’s European … Read More
More protests in Israel as a grass-roots movement went into a third week of demonstrations over working conditions and pay. Teachers joined in doctors, university students and others calling for the government to take steps to ease the burden. The AP’s Aron Heller reports from Jerusalem. [url href=”http://aronheller.com/articles/israeli-housing-protests-evolve-into-major-crisis/”] [url href=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzvABRaynJY&feature=relmfu” content=”Watch the Video” target=external]
Israel’s popular revolt over rising prices and expensive housing has inspired its first YouTube sensation. With over 100,000 Israelis taking to the streets, Tel Aviv-based musician and Internet buff Noy Alooshe married protest footage with an old Benjamin Netanyahu TV interview to create the video. In it, the Israeli prime minister waves his hands from side to side in time … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) _ Most new immigrants to Israel have traditionally come out of ideology, or to escape hardship and persecution. Jon Scheyer is coming to be a basketball superstar. Thanks to his Jewish heritage, the newest addition to perennial powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv is immediately eligible for Israeli citizenship. That means the 23-year-old former Duke standout can join the team … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) _ Thousands of young protesters have set up sprawling tent camps in Israeli cities, forcing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday to introduce economic reforms to address a swell of discontent over high housing costs and stave off the worst domestic crisis of his two years in power. Netanyahu’s reforms, meant to bring down steep housing prices, appeared … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) _ When Gershon Luxemburg started his boxing club 30 years ago, he was looking to build champions, not bridges. But thanks to a loyal cadre of Jewish and Arab fighters who flock to his stuffy gym inside a converted underground bomb shelter, Luxemburg’s club has become a rare melting pot that brings the warring sides closer together _ … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) _ Colombian pop singer Shakira promoted her global education campaign with a stop at a joint Israeli-Arab school in Jerusalem on Tuesday. Kicking off Israel’s third annual Presidential Conference with a plea for children’s education worldwide, Shakira, a U.N. Goodwill Ambassador, said the Holy Land was the “perfect place to talk about how urgent it is to invest … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) _ Israelis are rallying behind convicted spy Jonathan Pollard like never before, urging the U.S. on Sunday to let the former Pentagon analyst leave prison to attend his father’s funeral. Israelis widely feel that after 25 years behind bars, Pollard has been excessively punished, and they seem puzzled over the U.S. refusal to set him free, despite recent … Read More
HAIFA, Israel (AP) — Israel’s navy is casting its net wider and deeper in an effort to stop Gaza militants from receiving weapons by sea, a difficult mission made harder, Israel says, by political turmoil in Egypt and the Egyptian decision to fully reopen its border crossing with Gaza. In recent weeks, Palestinian militants in Hamas-ruled Gaza have aimed rockets at … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) – During a swing through Washington this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeatedly said his country’s pre-1967 lines are “indefensible.” A total withdrawal from the West Bank, a strategic highland looming over central Israel, would certainly leave the Israeli heartland more vulnerable to attack or invasion. But some experts say that long-range missiles, weapons of mass destruction … Read More
MAJDAL SHAMS, Golan Heights (AP) _ Mobilized by calls on Facebook, thousands of Arab protesters marched on Israel’s borders with Syria, Lebanon and Gaza on Sunday in an unprecedented wave of demonstrations, sparking clashes that left at least 15 people dead in an annual Palestinian mourning ritual marking the anniversary of Israel’s birth. In a surprising turn of events, hundreds … Read More
Israeli troops clashed with Arab protesters Sunday along three hostile borders, including the frontier with Syria, leaving 16 people dead and dozens more wounded in an unprecedented wave of demonstrations. The AP’s Aron Heller reports from Majdal Shams, Golan Heights. [url href=”http://aronheller.com/articles/arab-protesters-descend-on-israeli-borders/”] [url href=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sHmEXPQv1g” content=”Watch the Video” target=external]