European nations condemn Iran’s ‘excessively invasive’ searches of inspectors

Germany, France and the United Kingdom on Thursday accused Iran of conducting “excessively invasive physical searches” on international nuclear...

Nurses strike at Haifa hospital after violent assault on staff

Nurses at Haifa’s Rambam Medical Center held a strike for several hours Sunday morning in protest of the latest incident of violence by members of...

Could an Apple lawsuit mean the end of Israeli cybercriminals NSO?

This week it emerged that Silicon Valley giant Apple is suing Israeli spyware maker NSO Group. The creators of the iPad, the iMac, the iPhone and...

Cabinet okays Amir Peretz as IAI board chair over objections of vetting panel

The cabinet on Sunday approved the appointment of former Labor party leader Amir Peretz as chairman of the Israel Aerospace Industries board, after...

Visitors to terror victim’s family turned back at airport, forced to violate Shabbat

Several foreigners arriving from South Africa on Friday were blocked from entering the country, after the government introduced new measures to...

Justice minister: New COVID measures unwarranted without ‘very, very strong reasons’

After the government approved several major new measures intended to limit the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant of the coronavirus,...

The tours, events and shows that will light up your Hanukkah

The holiday of lights, dreidels and sufganiyot doughnuts approaches, starting Sunday evening, November 28 through Monday, December 6, with...

Government approves immigration of thousands of Ethiopian Jews

The Times of Israel is liveblogging Sunday’s events as they unfold. The High Court has given the state 21 days to justify a controversial plan to...

Remembering the Partition Vote: Israel’s Forgotten Founding Father

For anyone who considers himself a Zionist, November 29, 1947, was a momentous day. A day that should be remembered and celebrated – perhaps no...

Azeem not knowing about Auschwitz is a symptom of a much wider problem

The real tragedy behind Azeem Rafiq is the profound gaps in his knowledge, typified by the fact he didn’t know what Auschwitz was. We all now...

Building a Better Global Health Framework

GENEVA – It is incredible to think that when the last Paris Peace Forum was held, in November 2020, no COVID-19 vaccine had yet been approved. A...

Daily Briefing Nov. 28 – The politics of the Omicron variant

Welcome to The Times of Israel’s Daily Briefing, your 15-minute audio update on what’s happening in Israel, the Middle East, and the Jewish...

Israeli held in Belarus on suspicion of smuggling in 2.5 grams of medical marijuana

An Israeli woman is being held in Belarus on suspicion of having tried to smuggle some 2.5 grams (under a tenth of an ounce) of medical marijuana...

Lauded indie film uses porn to launch a discussion on Jewish persecution in Romania

JTA — It begins with a hardcore sex scene. It ends with a debate about Holocaust education. This is the strange and — for better and worse —...

Love, laughter, latkes: Hanukkah rom-coms are having a moment

Each year like clockwork, the weather grows cold, the days grow shorter and the offerings on TV, at the theater and at bookstores turn decidedly...

Preparing for Hanukkah 2021: Our annual sufganiya taste-test comparison

We are traditionalists, so we’ve always had a family rule of not eating sufganiyot before “Hanukkah proper.” Our kids hide jelly-smeared faces...

NSO blacklisting: It is time for the US to end its Cold War ways

On November 3, the United States Department of Commerce announced it was blacklisting the Israeli technology firm, NSO Group. The decision to add...

Time for mandatory vaccinations

Some German politicians insist a COVID-19 vaccine mandate would divide society. Others argue it would be unconstitutional. Ines Eisele believes...

UAE says it will enact largest legal reform in its history

The United Arab Emirates on Saturday said it would legislate over 40 new laws and amendments by January, in what the country called the largest...

Herzog Wants to Be the President of the Settlements. It's Not Too Late to Change It Herzog Decided He Wants to Be the President of the Settlements. It's Not Too Late to Change It

President Isaac Herzog decided to kick off the celebration of Hanukkah by lighting the first candle in the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron. Of all...

Arm the Israeli Left So It Can Protect Palestinians From Settler Violence

Several facts cannot be disputed: The Palestinians in the territories, especially the rural folk, are a population at grave risk, with no defender....

NATO and Russia’s Balkan chess game

The clock is ticking on the fate of the peace in Bosnia-Herzegovina that has held since the imposition of the Dayton Accords, officially known as...

Lighting candle at Hebron shrine, Herzog says Jewish connection is ‘unquestionable’

President Isaac Herzog said Sunday that the Jewish connection to Hebron is “unquestionable,” as he lit a menorah for the first night of Hanukkah...

Shin Bet boosts security for religious affairs minister threatened over reforms

The Shin Bet security service informed Religious Affairs Minister Matan Kahana on Sunday that his level of security was being raised and that from...

Government approves immigration of thousands of Ethiopian Jews

Ministers voted on Sunday to okay the immigration of thousands of Ethiopians who have been waiting for years to fly to Israel, many spending the...

Emirates airline delays launch of Tel Aviv route after Israel bars entry to tourists

The launch of the Emirates airline’s much-vaunted route between Tel Aviv and Dubai will be delayed due to new coronavirus travel restrictions,...

Boris Zala: Bez Dubčeka si neviem predstaviť odstavenie starej stalinistickej gardy

Už v čase „odmäku“ či „predjaria“, ako historici volajú obdobie po Stalinovej smrti, sa Dubček zapája do nápravy krívd a zločinov...

Kenya arrests Iranian suspected of plotting to attack Israelis – report

Kenyan authorities suspect an Iranian citizen who often visits the country of involvement in terror activity targeting Israeli and other interests...

Omicron: Vaccine nationalism will only perpetuate the pandemic

The United Kingdom and wealthy European nations are in a panic. Unsurprisingly, hoarding huge swaths of the global vaccine supply has enabled the...

Ministers okay limited Shin Bet tracking program in bid to head off Omicron threat

Ministers on Sunday approved the reintroduction of the controversial Shin Bet program to track carriers of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus,...

The Plan Amidst The Pain

After synagogue today, there was a kiddush sponsored by Rabbi Shalom Holzkenner in honor of his birthday. After a few L’Chaims wishing him well,...

Health minister says Omicron COVID variant under control, no need for panic

Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz said Sunday that Israel has the Omicron variant of the coronavirus “under control,” after the government slammed...

Yitzhar settlers said to expose Shin Bet agent who spent a year in nearby outposts

An undercover agent working for the Shin Bet security agency was exposed at a flashpoint settlement in the northern West Bank, the Kan public...

Omicron may be unstoppable, but Israel’s moves to slow the spread may save lives

Israel will not be able to keep Omicron at bay, but delaying its spread could save lives, experts believe. “If it’s as infectious as suspected it...

Lapid arrives in London, as showdown over Iran’s banks takes shape

A day before talks on Iran’s nuclear program restart in Vienna, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid arrived in London on Sunday for a two-day trip to the...

The Eternal Jew’s Tale, #16, Striking a deal

In this scene the Eternal Jew cuts a deal with a local merchant to develop trade. Our hero wants to expand east, but the merchant wants him to go...

Japan's stewardship framework for investors needs urgent reform

Current rules hinder mainstream institutions from acting as better stewards

Nový variant a staré chyby

Nový variant koronavírusu s názvom omikron bol identifikovaný v Južnej Afrike 24. novembra. V súčasnosti disponujeme len obmedzenými...

Leaders Blaze Trails with Their Mental Health Stories

Man shot dead in northern Druze town

An Arab Israeli man was shot dead early Sunday in the northern Druze town of Yarka, police said. The Magen David Adom ambulance service said...

Tourism minister, eyeing ailing sector, demands compensation plan as gates close

The government will formulate a “compensation outline” for those working in the tourism industry within a week, said Israeli Tourism Minister...

Booming global markets kept shekel ‘too strong,’ says ex-Bank of Israel deputy head

Israel’s shekel has been “too strong and under undue pressure” — propped up by the until now booming international stock markets — and a...

Chanukah: The Dreidel

The dreidel for Chanukah and the gragger (Ra’ashan) for Purim have the exact same structure, have you ever noticed? Both have a round bulb from...

Biden’s democracy summit: Just talk or can it effect change?

On Dec. 9 and 10, U.S. President Joe Biden will host what the White House calls the Summit for Democracy — or, in other words, a meeting focused...

As 2nd Omicron case found, Israel bars airport arrivals from taking buses, trains

The Ministry of Transportation announced Sunday evening that travelers arriving from abroad will not be allowed to use public transportation...

Israeli bus driver injured by rocks near West Bank checkpoint near Jerusalem

An Israeli bus driver was lightly injured Saturday evening when stones were thrown at the vehicle near a West Bank checkpoint northeast of...

Kazakhstan plays Iran’s anthem to welcome Syrian basketball team

DAMASCUS, Syria — Syria’s sports federation has complained to basketball’s world governing body after Kazakhstan welcomed its team with the...

Protect Our Present and Look Toward the Future, It's Time to Vaccinate

After the delta variant, which was at the center of Israel’s fourth COVID-19 wave, this weekend we learned a new, sinister name – Omicron. This...

Facing new wave of virus

Korea needs to reintroduce stricter measures South Korea is facing a fifth wave of COVID-19 infections amid the spread of the potentially more...

Decision of unconstitutionality

Overturn of law no signal of tolerance on drunk driving The Constitutional Court ruled against the revised Road Traffic Act last Thursday that...