The last time Iraq was free of foreign interference was during the Abbasids—even then it was short lived

It is perfectly reasonable for Iraqi nationalists and patriots to demand that their country be free of foreign interference and patronage. This has...

Air force jet makes emergency landing when wheel fails to deploy; training suspended

The Israel Air Force said Friday it was suspending training exercises for the F-15i fighter after a jet was forced to make an emergency landing...

Court lifts gag on Moshe Hogeg sex charges, including underage prostitution offenses

Businessman Moshe Hogeg is suspected of a number of sex crimes including trafficking and underage prostitution offenses, it was revealed on Friday...

US court hears debate on allowing Pittsburgh synagogue shooter’s words at trial

HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania (AP) — The Pittsburgh synagogue massacre defendant’s statements at the scene and at a hospital should be allowed at...

Biden is promising what he can’t deliver at democracy summit

The Biden administration has rolled out the red carpet for invitees to his administration’s ‘democracy summit’ from 100-plus countries,...

Global Coal Hypocrisy

Time to Overhaul the Global Financial System

Have you ever met a chasid?

Radio 4 recently hosted 3 Orthodox Jewish women to talk about their lives. The premise of the program was to disprove the stereotype that shtisel...

Podcast: Musical sisters bring sound and soul to cello and guitar

Welcome to Times Will Tell, the weekly podcast from The Times of Israel. This week, we’re speaking to the Djamchid Sisters, Shay-Li Djamchid and...

Ex-US lawmaker Gabrielle Giffords celebrates Bat Mitzvah at 51

JTA — After former House Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head outside a supermarket in Tucson in 2011, it wasn’t clear if she’d survive,...

Will Japan-South Korea relations ever get back on track?

Japan’s relations with South Korea — its geographically closest neighbor and a fellow U.S. ally — have always been complicated, with almost...

US needs a trade deal with Southeast Asia to counter China, not a democracy summit

Next week, the United States will host a democracy summit that is set to be attended by 110 nations and territories, including three from Southeast...

NSO spyware said used to hack phones of State Department officials working in Uganda

Israeli spyware firm NSO Group’s software was reportedly used by an unknown assailant to hack the cell phones of at least nine United States...

‘Not every decision of ours is perfect’: Bennett responds to uproar over family trip

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Friday responded to outcry over his wife taking their children on vacation overseas just days after he...

Eitan Biran returns to Italy after Supreme Court rejects appeal from mother’s family

Eitan Biran, a 6-year-old boy who was orphaned in a cable car crash in Italy, returned to the country on Friday, days after Israel’s Supreme...

Wartime strategy update

ROK, US agree to fortify alliance against NK threats South Korea and the United States have agreed to update their joint wartime strategy against...

Spinoza scholar banned from Amsterdam synagogue is now invited to visit

AMSTERDAM (JTA) — An organization responsible for Amsterdam’s historic Portuguese Synagogue has apologized to a scholar whom a resident rabbi...

‘It’s just a cold,’ says hoarse-sounding Biden

WASHINGTON (AP) — United States President Joe Biden has at least one thing in common with thousands of parents and grandparents this winter:...

Lebanese minister who criticized Saudi war in Yemen resigns in gesture to Riyadh

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s information minister resigned Friday, saying he hoped the much-anticipated move will open the way for easing an...

Acclaimed Shakespearean actor Antony Sher dies at 72

LONDON (AP) — Antony Sher, one of the most acclaimed Shakespearean actors of his generation, has died aged 72, the Royal Shakespeare Company said...

Multilateralism's Secret Sauce

Omicron Is Nature’s Precise Spanking

We haven’t finished with Delta, yet here comes Omicron. The new strain of coronavirus is said to be five times more infectious, but there is as yet...

Stop Digging

The resolution passed unanimously. There is nothing to tie modern day Britons with so called Great Britain. The current inhabitants are descendants...

MidEast autocrats sigh relief: US signals Democracy Summit will not alter policy

The United States has signalled in advance of next week’s Summit for Democracy that it is unlikely to translate lip service to adherence to human...

Hanukah and the Contemporary Jewish Cultural Civil War

Twenty years ago Noam Zion, Senior Fellow Emeritus of the Kogod Research Center at the Shalom Hartman in Jerusalem, in a talk to a group of rabbis...

The IDF’s New (and Growing) Problem

We’ve all heard of the maxim: “More is Less.” Israel’s army is now facing precisely that phenomenon, and its headache will only increase in...

The Immigrant’s Choice

In Genesis 41:38, Pharaoh lays the path for every law demanding that, before hiring a foreign employee, the company should prove there is no one...

Attentive, but not agitated

Attention need not produce tension. This should be obvious. When we pay attention to majestic sunsets and gentle streams, we typically feel calm....

What was the real Miracle of Hanukkah? An examination of the Historical Sources

Each of the four main ancient sources on the events of Hanukkah – I Maccabees, II Maccabees, Antiquities of the Jews, and the Talmud – has a...

“It’s not me! It’s G-d”

“Rabbi, I have to meet you urgently.” As a Rabbi, I am used to receiving all kinds of urgent phone calls, all of those calls are coming in times...

How Israel’s new president (almost) ruined my Hanukah

Hanukah really is special here in Israel. I love how much my young kids are into it and come home from a day at Gan singing the Hanukah songs they...

“The Truth Is Also an Option”

Here is a real quote from an exchange between counsels in a criminal setting in the corridor of a Court: After the parties agreed that A would...

Why is truth is so elusive? Blame Adam and Eve.

By eating from the Tree of Knowledge, we lost the ultimate knowledge of truth What exactly happened to Adam and Chava after eating from the Tree of...

Listen to the flames – A Chanukah perspective

Rabbi Yakov Saacks The Chai Center, Dix Hills, NY. www.thechaicenter.com Author of The Kabbalah of Life Unless you live in Afghanistan or Iraq, you...

The Departure and Expulsion Memorial – the Jewish “Nakba” Memorial

A new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. Exodus 1:8 In the long war for minds and ideas, domestically and globally, Israel has a long...

Israel can only depend on Israel

For years I’ve been reading analytic reports and material about Israel and Iran. Some say only negotiations and treaties will work in reducing or...

Fox Tales: Parashat Mikkeitz–Yehuda Steps Up

When Yosef sees his brothers for the first time since they mercilessly sold him to passing traders, he is unsure whether he can trust them. Have...

So how, in fact, do Haredi women behave? 

Anna Somershaf’s documentary film Women of Valor aired recently on Israeli television, and will soon make the rounds on the festival circuit...

Not by Might? Or by Power?

What is the miracle of Hanukkah? In a word:  Power. For the rabbis of the Talmud,  (Shabbat 21b) the miracle was enough oil to power the menorah...

Parshat Mikeitz: The Dilemma of National Dependence

One consequence of the Jewish diaspora is our historical reliance on foreign empires and nations. As time went on and we traveled...

Back to Earth

After two weeks in California, with all its delights and attractions, it is a relief to be back in the humble abode that is our home in Israel. In...

Russian-Indian Relations amid the “Radical Transformation of the World Order”

The visit of the Russian President Vladimir Putin to India scheduled for December 6, is poised to become a significant event which will undoubtedly...

EDITORIAL: U.S. F-16 fuel tank drop again shows need to revise SOFA

A U.S. F-16 fighter jet jettisoned two fuel tanks during an emergency in Aomori Prefecture on Nov. 30. The mishap could have caused a terrible...

Former Indian ambassador to Japan introduces memoir written by his colleague

Former Indian Ambassador to Japan Aftab Seth contributed a book review on a memoir written by his colleague Indian diplomat Alan Nazareth titled...

Cooperation between Russia and Vietnam Strengthens Steadily

Vietnam is one of Russia’s key partners in the Asia-Pacific region. The Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV) and Russia continue to develop...

Fashion brands collaborate with budget restaurant chains PREMIUM

Is the World On the Brink of DEFCON 1?

The looming apocalypse is shaping up nicely as Russia and China expand strategic cooperation to offset the NATO warplanes apparently in the works....

VOX POPULI: This taxi service is blazing a trail for areas without public transport

When I travel around the nation for reporting, I often hear about deficit-ridden railway lines and discontinued bus services, along with elderly...

Prave zime za zdaj še ne bo

Zato pa je bilo nekoliko manj sonca, kar se seveda sliši nekako logično. Padavine so bile razporejene precej zanimivo. Moker je bil začetek...