UPDATE: Israel targets Gaza with airstrikes, artillery and tank fire, ushering in a new phase of growing conflict

May 13, 2021

UPDATE: Israel’s announcement of a ground operation in Gaza may have been intended to misdirect Hamas militants. While the Israeli army bombarded Gaza on Thursday, the army later clarified that troops did not enter the territory.

(JTA) — Israel’s army...

Tornado hits Uptown New Orleans, Algiers & Belle Chasse

May 12, 2021

By ALAN SMASON

New Orleans authorities breathed a sigh of relief after a freak EF0 tornado with winds of 85 m.p.h.  moved from west to east across the city of New Orleans, but left only damaged homes and cars and...

‘We’re watching a lynching’: Jewish crowd in Israel beats Arab man as country erupts in unrest

May 12, 2021

By BEN SALES

(JTA)  — A video of a crowd of Jewish Israelis beating someone presumed to be an Arab in a Tel Aviv suburb on Wednesday night was broadcast live on Israeli TV as the country erupted in violence...

Heavy rocket barrage on central Israel, hitting Tel Aviv, causes fatalities and injures dozens

May 11, 2021

By YAAKOV LAPPIN

(JNS.org) – A heavy rocket barrage fired by Gazan terror factions at central Israel killed an Israeli woman in Rishon Letzion and injured more than 20 civilians in multiple locations.

In Holon, eight people were injured...

The Pew study cheat sheet: 10 key conclusions from the new survey of American Jews

May 11, 2021

By BEN SALES

(JTA) — Meet America’s Jews: They’re older, more educated, richer and less religious, on average, than the rest of the country.

They’re overwhelmingly white, though Jews under 30 are more diverse. Most of them care about Israel,...

The fighting in Gaza, Jerusalem and across Israel, explained

May 10, 2021

By BEN SALES and RON KAMPEAS

(JNS.org) — Rocket attacks in Israel. Airstrikes in Gaza. Violence in Jerusalem’s holiest sites. Protests across the city.

It feels like Israel is in chaos. What is going on? And why is it happening...

Hamas targets Jerusalem with rocket fire amid escalating tensions

May 10, 2021

 (JNS.org) – Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups have launched at least seven rockets towards Jerusalem on Monday evening in a significant escalation of ongoing tensions in the Israeli capital over the last several days.

According to the Israel...

Arabs riot, stone police following dawn prayers on the Temple Mount

May 09, 2021

(JNS.org) – Unrest continued in Jerusalem on Sunday morning, as Arab protesters attacked Israeli police in the Old City following dawn prayers on the Temple Mount, hurling stones and chanting: “With spirit and blood, we’ll redeem you, Al-Aqsa!” The...

Amid pandemic misery, India’s Jews try to stay safe while offering relief to the hardest hit

May 07, 2021

By CNAAN LIPHSHIZ

(JTA) — Nissim Pingle, the head of Mumbai’s Jewish community center, hasn’t left his home since March.

That’s when COVID-19 began to overtake India. A second wave of infections has overwhelmed its health system and is producing...

Israeli centrist Yair Lapid is given an opportunity to replace Benjamin Netanyahu

May 05, 2021

(JTA) — Yair Lapid, an Israeli centrist, has officially been given the opportunity to remove Benjamin Netanyahu from power.

On Wednesday, President Reuven Rivlin gave Lapid the mandate to form the next coalition government in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset....