Haaretz Israel News
Fri, 26 Feb 2021 11:59:54 +02:00Israel charges Bedouin with Gaza ties with spying for Hamas
The man, who resides in both Gaza and Israel, collected information on the locations of Iron Dome air defense batteries, the Shin Bet security service says
Fri, 26 Feb 2021 11:52:33 +02:00Experts, policy makers watch Israel's COVID vaccination 'passport' scheme with unease
80 percent of the 210 million doses of coronavirus vaccines administered worldwide have been given in only 10 countries, highlighting the fraught ethical landscape of who can get it and how to lift the burden of COVID-19
Fri, 26 Feb 2021 10:28:00 +02:00U.S. strikes Iranian-backed militias in Syria; sources say at least 17 killed
The 'multiple facilities located at a border control point used by a number of Iranian-backed militant groups' comes amid a tense standoff over the nuclear deal with Iran and rocket fire on U.S. sites in Iraq
Fri, 26 Feb 2021 07:30:03 +02:00'Gertler and associates would come to the bank, and a teller would take a sack and a bill counter up to management'
Gradi Koko and Navy Malela, auditors at a Democratic Republic of Congo bank, had to flee to Europe after exposing cash deposits worth millions by associates of Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler, who was at the time subject to international sanctions. G...
Fri, 26 Feb 2021 06:03:16 +02:00Tar covering Israel's beaches doesn't bode well for its handling of the next major oil spill
Large amounts of tar are lying on sea floor and rocky areas, constituting a third of Israel's shore, while investigations into origin of the incident continue
Fri, 26 Feb 2021 06:01:40 +02:00Palestinians don’t top Israel’s security concerns. There could be serious implications
Between the election, COVID-19 and warnings about Iran, Israel is hardly paying attention to what’s happening right under its nose
Fri, 26 Feb 2021 06:00:52 +02:00Israel's attorney general is finally convinced: Netanyahu will sit in the dock
After a long and convoluted journey from indictment to courtroom, Avichai Mendelblit finally believes the prime minister's trial for corruption charges is an inevitability
Fri, 26 Feb 2021 06:00:20 +02:00While Israel is still far from COVID herd immunity, the army is about to make history
The IDF is expected to become the first organization in the world to reach 85 percent fully vaccinated or recovered. Meanwhile, Israel faces the great Purim test
Fri, 26 Feb 2021 05:59:28 +02:00Netanyahu fails to secure loyalty in his bloc, but neither can his rivals
Lapid’s candidacy for premiership takes blow from his former ‘brother’ Bennett ■ The Knesset's Kahanist guest of honor points his finger at a female Arab Labor candidate in a grotesque display fitting of the Purim adloyada
Fri, 26 Feb 2021 02:12:43 +02:00'The day of the Capitol insurrection was our most watched ever': After Trump, real news makes a comeback
CNN Executive Vice President Mike McCarthy explains in an interview how the network finally beat Fox in the ratings war
Fri, 26 Feb 2021 02:00:42 +02:00Biden, Saudi King phone call reaffirms strong ties as Khashoggi report looms
U.S. intel report says Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved murder of Khashoggi in Istanbul, which Saudi Arabia adamantly denies, as Biden also raises the kingdom's human rights record
Fri, 26 Feb 2021 00:55:35 +02:00'We came to Israel from London for 48 hours, to get vaccinated'
This week at the Tel Aviv airport: A family that uprooted itself to move to a new country, with plans to return, and a man who teaches blind people to surf
Fri, 26 Feb 2021 00:50:54 +02:00How many are unemployed in Israel?
Fri, 26 Feb 2021 00:13:19 +02:00Haaretz Cartoon
Fri, 26 Feb 2021 00:09:12 +02:00Israeli cops shot a Palestinian suspect dead while he posed no danger, international NGO finds
The police say that Ahmad Erekat tried to ram a Border Police officer at a checkpoint. An international organization investigated, and came up with very different findings
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 23:46:23 +02:00Pro-Israel senators to call on Blinken to take stronger action over ICC war crimes probe
Sen. Ben Cardin, a Democrat, and Sen. Rob Portman, a Republican say that the ICC probe "unfairly targets Israel, biases any subsequent investigation or trial, and hinders the path towards regional peace."
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 23:07:32 +02:00Stop feeding the antisemitism outrage merchants
Why I’ve started to tune out most cases of alleged antisemitism
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 23:07:25 +02:00Amos Oz, the ultimate allegory of the nation-state
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 23:07:17 +02:00In Israel, the coronavirus infringes on human rights
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 22:51:34 +02:00Israeli study suggests British COVID strain linked to rise in serious cases
New research by Israeli HMO Clalit shows that among 50,000 Israeli coronavirus patients, 70 percent deteriorated into serious condition than among patients before the U.K. strain was detected in Israel
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 22:13:49 +02:00Support for Netanyahu's Likud party in decline, election poll shows
The Channel 13 News poll predicts pro-Netanyahu bloc to win 45 seats, and the anti-Netanyahu bloc to win 60 seats, one short of a Knesset majority. 'People don’t want to go back to an unstable government,' the premier says in a rare interview
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 22:09:18 +02:00Israel Air Force picks new transport helicopter: Lockheed Martin’s CH-53K
The new helicopter will replace the CH-53 Yas’ur helicopters which have been serving the Air Force since the late 1960s
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 21:57:13 +02:00How California's Jewish community won the battle over the state's ethnic studies program
Is a Californian model ethnic studies curriculum trying to cleanse Jews from history, as some critics have claimed? Not according to the Jewish groups who helped revise it
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 21:53:59 +02:00'I wanted to be the first Iranian to come to Israel'
Before 2019, the idea of Iranian judoka Saeid Mollaei competing in Tel Aviv would have been a pipe dream. But Mollaei's new reality comes with a heavy price, he tells Haaretz in an interview
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 21:33:22 +02:00What's behind China's COVID-19 vaccination campaign in Africa?
Beijing's burgeoning ties with African countries, accelerating during the era of so-called vaccine nationalism, are raising questions about its motives
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 20:27:23 +02:00Bahrain becomes 1st nation to grant Johnson & Johnson shot emergency use
One day after U.S. regulators concluded the shot offers strong protection against severe COVID-19, the island kingdom says it will dole out J&J’s vaccine to the most vulnerable people
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 19:50:42 +02:00'We’ve shattered the paradigm, and the Israeli right-wing is going to win'
Election Overdose, episode 9: The new Israeli right-wing, what are the chances Gantz drops out, who pledged allegiance to Bibi and who's preparing a voting fraud conspiracy theory for the day after?
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 19:19:01 +02:00Haaretz writer receives threats after reporting on Israeli Health Ministry
‘The Health Ministry workers will not forget,’ reads anonymous message sent to Ran Bar-Zik, which mentions his family and ID number
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 19:04:19 +02:00Qatar says it will fund $60-million pipeline from Israel to Gaza
The plan is for natural gas from the Leviathan field operated by Chevron in the eastern Mediterranean to flow through an existing pipeline into Israel, and from there into Gaza
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 19:02:45 +02:00After major oil spill, Israel's fishermen net catch despite ban
Scientists say it's far too risky to keep fishing in the Mediterranean as they continue to analyze the disaster, but fishermen in Jisr al-Zarqa and Jaffa, already hit by the coronavirus crisis, fear even a bigger hit to their livelihood
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 18:44:19 +02:00Israeli man suspected of raping 13-year-old girl in state-run coronavirus facility
Social Services Ministry says its staff intervened ‘in real time’; police are investigating
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 18:41:35 +02:00A guide to Israel's idiotic election, part 3: The irrelevant Israeli 'left'
In the third of a series of articles ahead of the March 23 vote, a brief history of how Israel was led by 'WASP's whose social-democratic vision was never fully achieved
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 18:18:21 +02:00Bahrain’s crown prince speaks with Netanyahu on Iran nuclear talks, state media reports
Leader stresses 'importance of the participation of regional countries' in Iran negotiations, according to official Bahrain News Agency in the first response from a Gulf Arab leader amid Biden's attempt to revive negotiations
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 18:11:13 +02:00Morocco set to legalize cannabis production for medical use
The bill aims to improve farmers' incomes, protect them from drug traffickers who now control the trade in cannabis and gain access to the booming legal international market for the drug
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 18:08:03 +02:00Letters to the editor: Israel, get vaccines to Palestinians
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 17:42:42 +02:00JNF's Israel-based board votes to allocate funding for West Bank land purchases
Despite the vote by the board of the Jewish National Fund, which is separate from JNF USA, the organization has not decided whether to actually engage in purchasing West Bank land for Israeli settlements
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 17:23:47 +02:00As every Jewish holiday, Israel imposes closure on Palestinians in the West Bank for Purim
The Israeli military said the closure will take effect on Thursday night at midnight and continue until Sunday night 'subject to the assessment of the situation'
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 17:10:49 +02:00Syria says it has received COVID-19 vaccinations from a 'friendly country'
Israeli media have reported that Israel agreed to fund the purchase of Russian vaccines for Syria, its longtime enemy, in order to secure the release last week of an Israeli woman who had been held there
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 16:41:10 +02:00Israeli hi-tech publishes manifesto outlining new national plan for Israel
Plan is aimed at next government calls for teaching computer science in elementary schools, returning brain power to Israel, setting up local version of FDA
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 16:40:10 +02:00Netanyahu's plan to send COVID-19 vaccines abroad halted after legal, political challenges
The attorney general is looking into the legality of the plan, which Netanyahu decided on without cabinet approval
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 16:12:06 +02:00A record amount of Americans identify as LGBT+, Gallup poll finds
Support for same-sex marriage, legalized in 2015 and largely seen as synonymous with backing for LGBT+ rights, has risen to 62% of Americans, according to the Public Religion Research Institute
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 16:01:01 +02:00Israel detects one case of California COVID strain that can't be traced to travelers
So far, seven cases of the California strain and 444 of the South African strain have been detected in Israel
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 15:21:25 +02:00Lebanon's catastrophe: Political paralysis and a vaccine mafia
The Land of the Cedars' economic crisis and the stalled probe into last year's massive explosion at the port of Beirut are only making matters worse
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 15:17:53 +02:00How rich is Saudi Arabia? The Saudi government would like to know
Saudi Arabia is working on creating a consolidated balance sheet of its assets and liabilities which will include items currently kept off the oil-rich economy's books
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 14:58:28 +02:00Recent drone attack on Saudi royal palace launched from Iraq, says Iran-backed militia official
The comments by the senior Iraqi militia official mark the first time an Iran-backed group has acknowledged that Iraq was the origin of such an attack
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 13:49:30 +02:00New coronavirus variant identified in New York, researchers say
A new coronavirus variant that shares some similarities with a more transmissible and intractable variant discovered in South Africa is on the rise in New York City
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 13:37:23 +02:00Salafist group that called for sharia law, death of Jews banned in Germany
Ban on radical Islamist group coincided with raids across Berlin
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 13:16:08 +02:00Israel is recreating the Nakba, without putting Palestinians on trucks
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 12:55:02 +02:00East Jerusalem home demolished after Shin Bet agent threatens resident
A Shin Bet coordinator told Waqf employee Fadi Alian six months ago that there was a '90 percent chance' his home would be torn down
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 12:54:07 +02:00Prof. Eli Keshet to be awarded Israel Prize in life sciences
Keshet is receiving the prestigious award for his 'pioneering contribution' to the understandings of excess and low oxygen on blood vessel growth, which has 'far-reaching effects on the development of many diseases'
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 12:17:09 +02:00NBC under fire for portrayal of Orthodox Jews on Canadian series ‘Nurses’
The American Jewish Committee tweeted that the depiction was 'disgusting'
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 11:51:44 +02:00My father, Amos Oz, sadistically abused me. The punishment was endless: The first chapter of Galia Oz's new book
Read the full first chapter of 'Something Disguised as Love' by Galia Oz
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 11:44:44 +02:00Israeli archaeologists present groundbreaking universal theory of human evolution
Tel Aviv University archaeologists Miki Ben-Dor and Ran Barkai proffer novel hypothesis, showing how the greed of Homo erectus set us careening down an anomalous evolutionary path
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 11:42:36 +02:00Declassified U.S. report on Khashoggi death shows MBS approved killing, sources say
U.S. officials said the report, for which the CIA was the main contributor, assessed that the crown prince approved and likely ordered the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 11:32:52 +02:00Purim in America: How the joyous holiday increased Jews’ visibility in the United States
Historians of American Judaism point to Purim as an important holiday that did much to increase Jews’ visibility in the United States in the 19th century
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 09:16:03 +02:00Secretive Israeli nuclear facility undergoes major project, satellite images show
Digging, concrete pads seen around the nuclear research center in Dimona – possibly to retrofit its aging reactor – but the reasons remain unclear
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 08:57:27 +02:00COVID in Israel: How many have already been vaccinated
50 percent of Israel's population have been vaccinated with first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, while 35.2 percent have received second jab
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 08:54:09 +02:00Coronavirus Israel live: Nighttime curfew over Purim holiday goes into effect
Israel finds one case of California strain that can't be traced to travelers ■ Hundreds of partygoers flout restrictions in Tel Aviv ahead of curfew ■ Netanyahu's plan to send COVID-19 vaccines abroad halted
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 07:41:06 +02:00Two months into Israel’s COVID vaccination drive, most comprehensive study yet shows level of effectiveness
The Pfizer coronavirus vaccine on average prevents 94 percent of symptomatic illness and 92 percent of serious illness, an analysis of the medical data from 1.2 million Israeli patients shows
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 04:03:13 +02:00Dutch right-wing politician calls Nuremberg trials ‘illegitimate’
'You shouldn’t retroactively judge people,' Dutch lawmaker Thierry Baudet says of Nuremberg trials ahead of general elections
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 03:50:18 +02:00Israel fails to solve data chaos that caused $300m in jobless aid to be paid by mistake
Panel proposed solutions that have yet to be implemented because of election, lack of government synchronization and surging unemployment
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 03:22:29 +02:00Israel's COVID czar condemns restriction violations as hundreds party in Tel Aviv
With Israel about to begin three-day nightly curfew over coronavirus concerns, Nachman Ash says it is 'very dismaying' to see parties taking place
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 02:37:30 +02:00Israel could stretch Purim coronavirus curfew through Monday morning
Police brace for holiday's celebrations amid easing of coronavirus restrictions, while Israel's government weighs the extension of curfew
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 02:10:46 +02:00Bernie Sanders slams Israel for sending COVID vaccines abroad while Palestinians 'still waiting'
U.S. senator says Israel responsible for health of Palestinians under its control, 'outrageous' for Netanayhu 'to reward his foreign allies'
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 00:56:27 +02:00Guatemala’s poor come first
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 00:32:11 +02:00Kingmaker of Israel's election is about to get the full royal treatment
Of all political players, Yamina head Naftali Bennet is in the best position ahead of Israel's election. But there's a price
Wed, 24 Feb 2021 23:35:38 +02:00Haaretz cartoon
Wed, 24 Feb 2021 23:25:05 +02:00Israel is heading to its most dangerous election ever
Wed, 24 Feb 2021 23:24:43 +02:00Gantz, you're no longer in the army. Enough with military thinking
Wed, 24 Feb 2021 22:53:27 +02:00A week after Biden, Pelosi calls Netanyahu to talk COVID, two-state solution
U.S. House speaker highlights 'unbreakable bond' and 'unwavering support' for Israel in phone call, while Democrats are concerned Netanyahu has aligned too closely with the Republican Party
Wed, 24 Feb 2021 22:19:27 +02:00Israel bans sale of fish as search for source of Mediterranean oil pollution narrows down
Environmental protection minister says tar on Israel’s beaches that caused the country's worst case of sea pollution in decades came from a single scofflaw ship
Wed, 24 Feb 2021 22:18:34 +02:00Jewish groups call to reverse Trump policy of labeling settlement products 'made in Israel'
Products from Israeli settlement couldn't have been marked with Israel as the country of origin since the signing of the Oslo Accords in the mid-1990s, but that changed after Pompeo's final visit to Israel as secretary of state
Wed, 24 Feb 2021 22:08:48 +02:00Germany urges Iran to accept diplomacy in nuclear dispute
Iran this week effectively set a deadline to lift those sanctions within three months, after which it said it would erase surveillance footage of its nuclear facilities
Wed, 24 Feb 2021 22:05:52 +02:00Limiting citizens' entry to Israel before election may be illegal, attorney general says
A governmental plan set to go into effect next week slashes the number of Israelis allowed to return from abroad from 2,000 a day to 200
Wed, 24 Feb 2021 21:11:27 +02:00Egypt backs call to internationalize arbitration in Ethiopia dam dispute
The dispute centers on how much water Ethiopia will release downstream if a multi-year drought occurs and how the three countries would settle any future disputes
Wed, 24 Feb 2021 20:48:57 +02:00Scarce public transportation still plagues Israeli Arab towns, survey finds
The NGO study disputes the Israeli government's claim that it has closed gaps between Jewish and Arab localities
Wed, 24 Feb 2021 20:33:23 +02:0011 major Israeli cities defy COVID rules by holding classes for for 7th- to 10th- graders
The middle grades have been learning through Zoom for much longer than other grades, spending less than a month in school since September
Wed, 24 Feb 2021 20:04:26 +02:00Israeli decision makes COVID vaccines off limits to thousands of foreign residents
Some 10,500 migrant workers and asylum seekers have been vaccinated against the coronavirus in the past two weeks at a Tel Aviv facility, but the Health Ministry is set to limit inoculations there to second doses only
Wed, 24 Feb 2021 20:01:05 +02:00Funding issues delay rehabilitation for Palestinian man paralyzed by Israeli army gunfire
Harun Abu Aram was shot amid clashes in the southern Hebron hills when he tried to stop Israeli soldiers from seizing a generator. The Defense Ministry didn't respond to several appeals to facilitate his treatment
Wed, 24 Feb 2021 19:38:38 +02:00Top Democratic lawmaker: I'm against annexation, but U.S. aid to Israel is nonnegotiable
Rep. Gregory Meeks, who serves as chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has previously said the U.S. should be willing to leverage aid to Israel over annexation
Wed, 24 Feb 2021 19:31:42 +02:00Israeli government workers start reneging on their COVID-era sacrifices
Compared to the private sector, they suffered little. Now IAI workers have arranged not to suffer at all
Wed, 24 Feb 2021 19:30:02 +02:00Plan to ship Israeli gas to Gaza is gaining momentum
If successful, the pipeline project would for the first time in years provide a steady energy source to the Gaza Strip
Wed, 24 Feb 2021 19:06:43 +02:00Transgender Jews are finding a safe haven in an unexpected place: the farm
Among the many who find an emergent Jewish identity through the cultivation of soil are a minority who find something more: a new relationship to gender
Wed, 24 Feb 2021 18:55:20 +02:00Drop in Israel's COVID infection rates comes to a halt, raising concerns of renewed outbreak
New daily coronavirus cases were down to 3,500, only to jump up again, and the upcoming Purim holiday has health officials worried
Wed, 24 Feb 2021 18:53:17 +02:00In Russia, Jews are divided on the anti-Putin protest movement
While some Jewish individuals have been at the forefront of supporting Alexey Navalny, large Jewish organizations see Putin as a friendly force for the community
Wed, 24 Feb 2021 18:45:33 +02:00Israeli charged in attack on Palestinian town during protests over settler's death
The defendant, also a settler, faces multiple charges, including causing injury for racist motives, amid a period of demonstrations over the death of a Jewish teenager, Ahuvia Sandak, in a police chase
Wed, 24 Feb 2021 18:40:56 +02:00As Israel election nears, disillusioned voters could wipe out the Arab parties
Public opinion polls indicate turnout in the March vote could recede below 60 percent of eligible Israeli Arab voters, amid growing disappointment at Arab-majority parties' infighting and lack of influence
Wed, 24 Feb 2021 17:26:17 +02:00Radio silence: Israeli-Moroccan normalization deal causes ruckus at French-Arab station
Two hosts at Beur FM were suspended after planning to discuss the Israeli-Moroccan normalization agreement on air and then meeting with the Israeli chargé d’affaires in Paris. The station denies allegations of antisemitism
Wed, 24 Feb 2021 17:20:56 +02:00Authorities can now get details of unvaccinated Israelis, lawmakers decide
New law lets Health Ministry share names, ID numbers, addresses and phone numbers of Israelis who didn't get a coronvairus vaccine with local authorities. Meanwhile, pilot program to track international arrivals starts
Wed, 24 Feb 2021 16:29:44 +02:00In world first, Israeli theater reopens for vaccinated audiences – and the sense of fun is infectious
Vaccinated and immune theatergoers are in high spirits at the opening night of ‘Blithe Spirit’ at Jerusalem’s Khan Theater. ‘Better a comedy than a tragedy,’ one audience member tells Haaretz, summing up the mood
Wed, 24 Feb 2021 16:23:45 +02:00In landmark ruling, German court convicts Syrian regime officer of crimes against humanity
Former member of Assad’s secret police is accused of facilitating the torture of prisoners in the first time a court outside Syria has ruled in a case on the government’s abuses against its own population
Wed, 24 Feb 2021 16:11:42 +02:00German court convicts radical imam of membership in Islamic State
Court finds that Abu Walaa and his network radicalized young people in northern and western Germany and sent them to areas controlled by the Islamic State, according to German reports
Wed, 24 Feb 2021 15:30:47 +02:00FDA: Johnson & Johnson's one-shot COVID-19 vaccine effective, safe and likely to stop spread
Three vaccine recipients had severe side effects in the trial, but the FDA said that its analysis did not raise any specific safety concerns
Wed, 24 Feb 2021 14:42:19 +02:00The largest Bach website in the world, coming to you from Israel
How a man’s hobby wound up attracting tens of thousands of readers a day, including some important musicians
Wed, 24 Feb 2021 14:31:20 +02:00Israel's top court hears petition to disqualify Israeli Arab Labor candidate
Ibtisam Mara’ana was disqualified last week by the Central Election Committee ■ The court will likely quash the decision
Wed, 24 Feb 2021 13:45:18 +02:00U.S. aims to return to Human Rights Council, shield Israel from 'disproportionate focus'
Under Trump's more isolationist approach, Washington quit the council in 2018 but the Biden government has already returned as an observer
Wed, 24 Feb 2021 13:07:37 +02:00The Europeans don’t really care about the Palestinians either
Wed, 24 Feb 2021 12:46:14 +02:00Iraq’s struggling Christians hope for boost from pope visit
Iraq’s Christian communities were dealt a severe blow when they were scattered by the ISIS onslaught in 2014, further shrinking the country’s already dwindling Christian population
Wed, 24 Feb 2021 12:38:38 +02:00Woody Allen calls HBO documentary on abuse allegation a 'hatchet job'
'While this shoddy hit piece may gain attention, it does not change the facts,' a spokesperson for Allen said in a statement
Wed, 24 Feb 2021 12:33:47 +02:00What’s keeping a struggling Gantz in the election race? His injured pride
Despite his humiliating public shaming by his former IDF colleagues, the man who would be prime minister could still be the kingmaker after March 23