Construction of new Kotel site may begin within one month, Sharanksy says
By BEN SALES
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Natan Sharansky said the implementation of his plan to expand the non-Orthodox prayer site at the Western Wall could begin in as little as one month.
In an interview Thursday with JTA, Sharansky sounded cautiously optimistic about his proposal to create an egalitarian space...
Local born Palestinian teen sentenced for rock throwing
JERUSALEM (JTA) — A New Orleans-born Palestinian teen was sentenced to two weeks in an Israeli prison for throwing rocks at cars on an Israeli highway.
Mohammed Khalek, 14, was sentenced Wednesday by an Israeli court and also was fined more than $800. He likely will be released on Sunday,...
Two long-range rockets strike Eilat
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Two long-range rockets fired from the Sinai Desert struck the Israeli resort city of Eilat. The rockets launched Wednesday morning fell in open areas in the southernmost Israeli city, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
Israeli forces found the remnants of the two rockets. One landed in...
Five arrested at monthly Women of the Wall service
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Five women arrested for wearing prayer shawls at a service at the Western Wall were questioned by police for several hours before their release.
According to a statement from Women of the Wall, which held Thursday's prayer service, a Jerusalem judge said there was no reason for...
South Africa to soften labeling language on West Bank products
PRETORIA, South Africa (JTA) — The South African Trade Ministry in new regulations requiring the labeling of imported goods from West Bank settlements will soften the language used on the labels.
The new regulations will be consistent with the compromise reached last month between the Trade Ministry and the Jewish...
Kerry, Netanyahu discuss restarting peace talks
JERUSALEM (JTA) — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met in Jerusalem to discuss restarting negotiations with the Palestinians.
In their three-hour meeting Tuesday, the last day of Kerry's three-day visit to Israel, the two leaders also discussed the Iranian nuclear threat and the...
Israel closes Gaza crossing following rocket attacks
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel closed the border crossing with Gaza after three rockets were fired at southern Israel from the coastal strip.
With the shutdown on Monday, goods were not allowed to pass through the Kerem Shalom crossing.
One of three rockets fired from Gaza struck southern Israel on Sunday...
Irish teachers union calls for Israel boycott
(JTA) — The Teachers' Union of Ireland adopted a resolution backing an academic and cultural boycott of Israel.
Israel was seen as an "apartheid state" in the motion passed unanimously on April 4 during the union's annual congress. The union represents more than 14,000 teachers and lecturers.
The measure called...
Egyptian official quotes Sunni Muslim verse on killing Jews
(JTA) — Egypt's minister of religious endowments quoted an Islamic Sunni verse about killing Jews. The interview with Talaat Mohamed Afifi Salem was aired last month on Sada Al-Balad TV, according to the Washington-based Middle East Media Research Institute.
Asked by the interviewer whether he would "visit Israel with a...
Former Maariv edior Amnon Dankner dies at 67
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Amnon Dankner, the former editor in chief of the daily Hebrew newspaper Maariv, has died. Dankner died last Friday in his Ramat Hasharon home after suffering a heart attack. He was 67.
He led Maariv from 2002 to 2007. Dankner had started began working there in 1997.