‘No more minyans’: Leading haredi rabbi rules out prayer groups of 10 during health crisis
Leader of ultra-Orthodox joins fight against the coronavirus as rate of illness soars in sector where quarantines are being considered.
March 30, 2020
Judaism & Culture
MK defects from Lapid: ‘Gantz doing the right thing’
MK Tamano-Shata, formerly of Lapid’s Yesh Atid party, defects to Gantz’s Israeli Resilience party to join unity government.
March 29, 2020
Olympic dreams of 52 promising Israeli athletes put on hold
A record-setting 52 athletes, including Israel’s first baseball team, will have to wait until 2021 to compete due to pandemic.
March 26, 2020
Reports of rabbinic ‘ruling’ allowing Passover seder video-conference were inaccurate
Reports on a rabbinical ruling allegedly permitting computer use on Jewish holy days were not accurate, according to a subsequent investigation by an Israeli TV channel.
March 25, 2020
Coronavirus upends Jewish Sabbath, people pray from balconies
Although up to 10 men can pray together they must keep two meters apart.
March 22, 2020
‘A death blow’: Coronavirus brings curtain down on Israeli cultural life
With all theaters and live shows cancelled, professionals worry for their livelihood even as they understand the reason for the restrictions.
March 15, 2020
Amazon’s Nazi-hunters show should be nixed, says Holocaust foundation
Amazon’s first season of 'Hunters' was full of historical inaccuracies and can lead to more Holocaust denial, says foundation head.
March 15, 2020
Piano said to be made of wood from Holy Temple up for auction
The 220-year-old Siena Piano, now in Israel after many wanderings, is expected to sell for over $1 million.
March 6, 2020
Purim events canceled, games played to empty arenas as Israel’s coronavirus fears grow
Israeli authorities are not willing to take the risk of holding large public events during the current health crisis.
March 5, 2020
Quentin Tarantino and Daniella Pick bring an Israeli baby into the world
The daughter of legendary Israeli singer Tsvika Pick married the filmmaker in 2018.
February 23, 2020
IDF radio station apologizes for crack about military hero
Its satirical show made 'a mistake' in the way it referred to the prime minister’s brother, who died rescuing the hostages of Entebbe in 1976.
February 11, 2020
Israeli pop star puts career on hold to join IDF
Noa Kirel will sing for the troops instead of going on lucrative tours and acting on TV.
February 3, 2020
Israeli researchers find origins of literacy in ancient Samaria
'Over the course of the century and a half or two centuries that separate the two corpora, we observe the development…to a broad proliferation of literacy,' they conclude.
January 23, 2020
Ancient siege of Jerusalem remembered on Jewish fast day
The fast is one of four which relate in some way to the destruction of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem.
January 7, 2020
Polish president won’t attend Yad Vashem event unless given chance to ‘refute Putin’s lies’
Andrzej Duda says he will come to Yad Vashem only if he will be one of the speakers.
January 6, 2020
Rabbi proposes that robots should write Torah scrolls
Such an invention would revolutionize an entire industry in the religious Jewish world.
January 2, 2020
Polish school play re-enacts Auschwitz gassing
National Holocaust museum pans the event even though Polish pride and not anti-Semitism was the underlying theme.
January 1, 2020
WATCH: Israeli kids from Gaza belt honored at Knesset Chanukah celebration
Israeli children who endure rocket fire in the Gaza periphery lit Chanukah candles during a special celebration at the Israeli parliament yesterday.
December 26, 2019
Holy hotline: Israeli rabbis set up 24-hour call center for families of terminally ill
The new service will help people make life-and-death decisions according to Jewish law.
December 3, 2019
Sound of building fills Israel’s night sky as Jews turn to Sukkot building ahead of festive holiday
Traditionally, Jews immediately begin to build their sukkahs after breaking their fast, in preparation for the next holiday in the Jewish calendar which begins Sunday night.
October 10, 2019
Ancient Jewish manuscripts showcased online by British Library
The online collection features sacred texts of 9 different faiths
September 26, 2019
Israeli baseball is going to the Olympics for first time in history
Israel takes first place in the Baseball Europe/Africa qualifying event, booking its first-ever appearance in the 2020 Summer Olympics.
September 22, 2019
HBO series ‘Our Boys,’ branded anti-Semitic by Netanyahu, doesn’t violate law, Israel broadcast council says
Israeli broadcast council says it has no reason to interfere with a TV series branded 'anti-Semitic' by Prime Minister Netanyahu.
September 3, 2019
High court nixes separate seating by gender, angering Orthodox Israelis
After first claiming victory, the haredi community warned that religious rights are being endangered by the top legal arbiter in the country.
August 15, 2019
WATCH: NBA star takes his Jewish pride as seriously as his basketball
Basketball superstar Omri Casspi, who played for the NBA for 10 years in the U.S., says it was a wonderful experience but he's happy to come "home" to Maccabi and represent Israel.
August 14, 2019
DNA finds Hungary to have highest percentage of citizens with Jewish ethnicity
DNA testing found that Hungary has the highest percentage of citizens of Ashkenazic Jewish extraction outside of Israel.
August 14, 2019
Religious Zionist leader: Netanyahu will pay at polls for deriding those who seek Torah state
The religious Zionist leader blasted the prime minister, who told a visiting congressional delegation that the idea of a state run according to Jewish law is 'total nonsense.'
August 8, 2019
Religious Zionists cry ‘media lynch’ for wanting Israeli state run by Jewish law
The transportation minister hit back at critics after a speech in which he said he would like a state run by Jewish law.
August 6, 2019
Jews fast, begin mourning period for Temple’s destruction
The annual three-week mourning period concludes with another fast on the ninth day of the month of Av, when the destruction itself is mourned.
July 21, 2019
Supermodel Naomi Campbell praises Lubavitcher Rebbe on 25th anniversary of his death
Supermodel Naomi Campbell wrote an extended accolade of the Lubavitcher Rebbe on her Instagram account.
July 9, 2019
DNA shows that the Philistines, arch-enemy of the Israelites, came from Europe
DNA remains extracted from 10 individuals buried in Ashkelon display molecular links showing 'an affinity with European-related populations,' say researchers.
July 4, 2019
Anti-Semitism drives ‘Wonder Woman’ to flaunt her pride in being Israeli
Wonder Woman actress Gal Gadot said she receives many anti-Semitic messages.
July 1, 2019
WATCH: A deeper look into the text of the Passover Haggadah
An Israeli artist published a new Haggadah, using a blend of traditional graphics and abstract painting to make the story come alive, bringing light and hope.
April 22, 2019
WATCH: Israeli director Guy Nattiv takes home the Oscar
Nattiv said he was inspired by his grandparents, who survived the Holocaust.
February 25, 2019
WATCH: Beverly Hills mayor goes on underground Western Wall tour
Beverly Hills Mayor Julian Gold, in Israel as part of the 33rd International Mayors' Conference in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, was impressed by the archaeological and historical finds during an underground tour of the Western Wall.
February 24, 2019
Israel’s president: ‘There’s nothing more Jewish than disagreement’
'There is nothing more Jewish than pointed disagreement. And there is nothing more democratic than pointed disagreement,' Rivlin told a Bible-study gathering ahead of elections.
February 18, 2019
Israel national library’s new music app rises to top of the charts
Feel like listening to a good old Arik Einstein song or discovering music from the next superstar? Shiri offers everything from Sasha Argov to Zohar Argov.
February 17, 2019
WeWork’s Adam Neumann says observing Jewish Sabbath keeps his ego in check
The CEO of NY-headquartered real estate company WeWork shared spiritual wisdoms during a keynote speech at a UJA Federation event.
January 27, 2019
WATCH: Jewish folklore comes to US theaters
“The Golem,” a horror film based on Jewish folklore, will be released in select theaters in the U.S. and on Blu-Ray/DVD on February 5.
January 27, 2019
Israeli film, Jewish stars and composers among 2019 Oscar nominees
This year's Academy Award nominees included works by Jewish and Israeli artists.
January 23, 2019
Who knew? Hebrew could be the basis for many English and European words
'Hebrew is a much older language as well, so it makes sense the roots of words go back before Latin or Greek,' a linguistics buff theorized.
January 1, 2019
Israeli orchestra plays to warm applause in Morocco
The Israeli Andalusian Orchestra played to a full house and warm applause in Morocco at one of the country's most prestigious music festivals.
December 30, 2018
Israel to celebrate Hebrew’s revival in special day
Hebrew Language Day is 'an excellent opportunity to advance reading among students and the young generation,' says Education Minister Naftali Bennett.
December 26, 2018
New study: Who is the typical Israeli Jew today?
A new study classifies the majority in Israel today as 'Jewish Israelis,' largely considered to be traditional Jews.
December 23, 2018
Opinion: American Jewry’s Chanukah hypocrisy?
A 'New York Times' column misunderstands the nature of the conflict that the Festival of Lights commemorates.
December 4, 2018
Ancient, rare stone mask uncovered in Israel
A fascinating and rare 9,000-year-old stone mask that dates to the Neolithic period sheds new light on ancient life in the Holy Land.
November 28, 2018
Israeli-built Phoenician ship replica sets sail for Cyprus
An Israeli-built replica of a 2,400-year-old ship is at sea on its way to Cyprus.
November 26, 2018
WATCH: Jewish life in the Galilee after the first Jewish-Roman War
Tour guide Yizhar Hass explains the history of the Galilee region, home to some of the most remarkable Jewish sites from the first century.
November 11, 2018
WATCH: Gaza Belt Israeli DJ responds to rockets with hit songs
Sderot native DJ Zafrir Ifrach is a rising star in the world of electronic music, cooking up dance floor hits even as rocket sirens pierce the air outside his spaceship-like studio in Israel's south.
October 29, 2018
WATCH: 5 Dead Sea fragments found to be forged
The Museum of the Bible in Washington is removing five Dead Sea scroll fragments that were proven to be modern forgeries.
October 25, 2018
Joint Israel-US Chanukah stamp unveiled in Jerusalem
'Today’s joint stamp issue is a symbol of the shared values and the cultural affinity between the U.S. and Israel,' Friedman stated.
October 18, 2018
Marilyn Monroe’s Jewish prayer book up for auction
Want to pray like Marilyn Monroe? Now you can!
October 16, 2018
Israeli named BBC Philharmonic chief conductor
Omer Meir Wellber, 36, also is principal guest conductor at Semperoper Dresden and music director of Ra’anana Symphonette Orchestra in Israel.
October 15, 2018
This daily Jewish ritual may prevent heart attacks
Wearing tefillin improves your heart function and may even save your life, a new study shows.
October 14, 2018
Second Temple-era Jerusalem inscription stuns archaeologists
A unique stone inscription dating back to the Second Temple period with Jerusalem spelled in full was recently uncovered in the Israeli capital.
October 9, 2018
Iran’s Ayatollah exploits Olympian Aly Raisman for hijab propaganda
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei exploited Jewish Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman’s testimony about having been sexually assaulted for hijab propaganda video.
October 7, 2018
Israeli kidney donations triple due to Orthodox Jewish donors
The number of annual live kidney transplants in Israel has nearly tripled since 2010. New research says the growth is due to Orthodox donors.
September 17, 2018
WATCH: Why do we read the Book of Jonah on Yom Kippur?
Bar-Ilan University Professor Raanan Eichler discusses why the Book of Jonah was chosen as one of the readings at services on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
September 17, 2018
Brazil museum fire: Ancient Torah scrolls removed ahead of time
Brazil National Museum's famed centuries-old Torah scrolls were removed before the disastrous fire.
September 6, 2018
Virtual reality tour brings biblical-era Jerusalem to life
The virtual reality guide offers visitors to Jerusalem a chance to 'enjoy the present and take a look back to the past,' said Tower of David Museum director Eilat Lieber.
September 5, 2018