Middle East
(OPINION) Is the conflict between Israel and Iran about to explode? Are we on the edge of World War III, if not Armageddon? The answer to all these questions is the same: not likely. But in saying this I do not claim supernatural, prophetic insight.
Sunday is the start of the Israeli workweek, but schools and many government offices were closed for the day. This cosmopolitan city’s typically crowded light rail was sparse and remarkably silent, with the few passengers glued to their smartphones looking for answers nobody could seem to find.
(REVIEW) The average religious viewer will likely also find little offensively objectionable in the portrayal of the Biblical story. They take the story, with its miracles and supernatural elements, as if they all really happened. The flaws in Moses’s character are all ones that come from the Biblical accounts.
(OPINION) As expected, in retaliation for Israel’s killing of a top Iranian general and seven other senior military leaders on April 1 — all of whom were suspected of having Israeli blood on their hands — Iran struck back on Saturday night, launching roughly 350 drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles on Israel. What will Israel do in response? And what does this mean for the region and the world?
Four months after supporting blessings for same-sex couples, the Vatican on Monday declared gender-affirming surgery and surrogacy as violations of human dignity — making them equal to abortion and euthanasia as practices that reject God’s plan. The Holy See’s office that handles doctrine issued “Infinite Dignity,” a 20-page document that had been in the works for five years.
(ANALYSIS) On Jan. 26, 2024, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel, among others, to “in accordance with its obligations under the Genocide Convention, in relation to Palestinians in Gaza, take all measures within its power to prevent the commission of all acts within the scope of Article II of this Convention.
The Purim festivities in Israel this year were tinged with a schizophrenic twinning of glee and despair. Adding to the dismal mood was intermittent rain and a drizzle of rockets from Lebanon. Many celebrants experienced cognitive dissonance in marking the foiling of a genocidal plan in ancient Persia while a bloody war is raging today in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.
(ANALYSIS) Ultra-Orthodox resistance to conscription is nothing new. But the forcefulness of this declaration is new, especially coming in the midst of a war. And Yosef is not any random rabbi. He is the son of Ovadia Yosef, who was the spiritual leader of the Shas Party: an important partner in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing and religious governing coalition.
A new exhibit, “Kingdom of David and Solomon Discovered” — on display now through Jan. 31, 2025, in the lobby of the Armstrong Auditorium in Edmond, Oklahoma — reflects on the panoply of the royal house of Judah, whose influence extended from Tyre in ancient Phoenicia, today Lebanon, to Sheba or Saba, in what is modern-day Yemen and Ethiopia. On display are 49 outstanding artifacts illuminating the material culture of those Hebrew monarchs.
Comparable to I.M. Pei’s iconic pyramid that transformed the entrance to the Louvre, the glass-and-steel structure is a minimalist, less-is-more architectural triumph that redefines the orientation of the museum's galleries and just about everything else in this historic cultural hub. Located in a sprawling structure that once served as a palace and fort.
Muslims around the world welcomed the holy month of Ramadan on Sunday with some trepidation given the war in Gaza and political and religious turmoil taking place across the Middle East. Ramadan — the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar — is a period observed by Muslims worldwide.
Fast food aficionados and practicing Catholics alike are often familiar with the Filet-O-Fish story and how the sandwich was born as a result of Lent. Catholics aren’t the only religious group chain restaurants cater to because of faith and dietary restrictions. Here’s a look at some of the biggest menu options from around the world.
Unlike at other rallies for a ceasefire in Gaza, you aren’t likely to hear calls for Palestine to extend “from the river to the sea” at the one in New York’s Union Square. And there will be few or no denunciations of Israel as a “settler-colonial” state. Rather, rallygoers call on both Israel and Hamas to agree to a “bilateral ceasefire,” humanitarian aid for Palestinians and the release of all hostages in Gaza.
Restrictions on religion by government officials across the world reached a new peak in 2021, a new Pew Research Center report released on Tuesday revealed. The report looked at 198 countries and territories around the world. It is the 14th year that Pew released such a report on the global state of religion.
(ANALYSIS) For Maimonides, a 12th century theologian, philosopher, rabbi and physician, there is no true faith without reason. His writings spurred centuries of conflict and were even banned in some Jewish communities. Yet he also penned one of the most famous guides to Jewish law and still stands as one of the most influential rabbis to have ever lived.
An emotional gathering of about 200 tribal leaders from North and South America, Canada, various Pacific island states and Africa took place in Israel as diplomats and dignitaries assembled for the launch of the “Indigenous Embassy.” Standing together with members of several North American tribes, members proudly displayed a collection of their artwork.
Iranian Christians continued to face harassment, arrests and imprisonment last year for practicing their faith, according to a new report. The 35-page report, issued by four non-profit organizations advocating for persecuted Christians across the world, found that Christians have been deprived of their right to freely practice their faith.
It was quite a week for Javier Milei. Not only did he visit Israel in a show of support; the recently-elected Argentine president then flew to Vatican City, where he made peace with Pope Francis. While Milei is a Catholic, he hasn’t been shy about criticizing the pontiff in the past while also flirting with the idea of converting to Judaism.
(ANALYSIS) The Armenian quarter in Jerusalem’s Old City is facing its biggest crisis in a long time. A Jewish businessman with connections to the radical settler movement is poised to develop a quarter of the neighborhood’s territory, with plans to build a luxury hotel. If this goes ahead, it will significantly change part of the Old City.
Not everyone will be enjoying chocolate this Valentine’s Day. For the first time since 2018, Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day fall on the same day. In fact, this rare occurrence is taking place once again in less than a week. It has happened three times in the last century — 1923, 1934 and 1945 — and will happen again in 2029.
The swelling number of Islamic clerics and Middle Eastern politicians condemning Hamas continues to grow since the Oct. 7 attacks against Israel. Canadian-based imam was the latest to do so. Tariq Abdulhaleem called for Hamas’ leadership to be prosecuted for facilitating what he called “genocide in Gaza.”
The Jewish and Palestinian American pair are the force behind Atidna, a student organization of Jews and Palestinians that began at the university’s Austin campus two years ago. Initially, it focussed on similarities between Jewish and Palestinian culture, Kahlenberg said on a call shared with Hashem, stressing “that Jews and Arabs are cousins in one family and we’re not inherent enemies.”
A drone attack that killed three American troops and wounded at least 34 more at a base in Jordan has increased fears of a widening conflict in the Middle East — and the possibility that the U.S. may be further drawn into the fighting.
(ANALYSIS) On Jan. 26, the International Court of Justice, the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, ordered provisional measures in the case of the Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel).
In the face of the vast human suffering, staggering damage to infrastructure and environmental catastrophe caused by the conflict — which marks its 100th day on Sunday — another controversial post-war scenario is for Israel to rebuild some of the post-1967 Gaza Strip settlements from which it unilaterally withdrew in 2005.
(ANALYSIS) In the midst of Israel’s fierce war against Hamas in Gaza, the country’s highest court on New Year’s Day drew attention back to a previous conflict within the country. In a narrowly divided decision, the justices struck down a significant part of the contentious judicial reform passed in July 2023 by the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
A web search for “Hanukkah decorations” yields a trove of whimsical items like menorah-and-dreidel-adorned straws, pillows, mugs, candy and napkins. These widespread choices have one thing in common — they are blue and white.
A church in the West Bank city of Bethlehem has politicized its annual nativity scene, laying a figure of baby Jesus amid the rubble of a destroyed masonry building to represent the Gaza Strip this Christmas season.
(OPINION) In many ways the Palestinians are victims, and my strong support for Israel does not stop me from grieving over the suffering of the Palestinian people. They have been victims of decades of bad leadership. Victims of lifelong anti-Israel propaganda. Victims of the aftermath of the Six Day War in 1967.
The number of Jews immigrating to Israel has dropped 43 percent in the six months since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks. From April to September 2023, 23,073 people moved to Israel under the Law of Return. From October 2023 to March 2024, the number dropped to 12,977.