September 15, 2020
By RON KAMPEAS
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Benjamin Netanyahu has complained for years about Arab leaders telling their people one thing in Arabic and diplomats saying another to Western audiences in English.
Not on Tuesday.
Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates, was on the White House lawn speaking — in Arabic — about the “innate principle” of peace and thanking the Israeli...
September 15, 2020
(JTA) — Rockets were fired from Gaza at southern Israel on Tuesday during the signing ceremony in Washington, D.C., of the normalization agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. The Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted one of the two rockets, according to the Israeli military.
At least two people were injured by shrapnel near a mall in Ashdod, Israel’s Channel 12 News reported. Several cars also were damaged...
September 14, 2020
By CNAAN LIPHSHIZ
(JTA) — For Flori Dedoni, a member of the tiny Jewish community of Kosovo, the news that his country is establishing formal diplomatic ties with Israel is cause for celebration.
Until last week, Israel was among the dozens of countries that had not recognized the Muslim-majority territory sandwiched between Albania and Serbia.
“When someone learns I’m Jewish, they usually ask sometime during the conversation why Israel doesn’t...
September 11, 2020
By JACKSON RICKMAN
(JNS.org) – Jewish and pro-Israel groups instantly applauded Israel and Bahrain for agreeing on Friday to normalize relations between the two countries—the second of its kind between Israel and a Persian Gulf nation in the wake of the United Arab Emirates.
It’s also the fourth peace accord between Israel and a Middle Eastern country, following Egypt in 1979, Jordan in 1994 and the UAE, which agreed to...
September 11, 2020
(WASHINGTON) – Donald Trump and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, jointly announced the normalization of relations between the Kingdom of Bahrain and Israel.
Bahrain becomes the fourth Arab nation to formally recognize Israel.
According to Trump’s announcement Bahrain “will fully normalize its diplomatic relations with Israel. They will exchange embassies and ambassadors, begin direct flights between their countries and launch cooperation initiatives against a broad range of factors including, health, business,...
September 09, 2020
(JTA) — Serbia will not move its embassy to Jerusalem if Israel recognizes Kosovo as an independent country, according to two English-language Israeli publications.
The Times of Israel and The Jerusalem Post each cited unnamed sources who said that Israeli recognition of Kosovo would torpedo the Israel-Serbia relationship.
President Donald Trump announced that Serbia would move its embassy to Jerusalem in the next year, and that Israel and Kosovo will...
September 06, 2020
(JTA) — A Palestinian man attempted to stab a group of soldiers outside the city of Ariel in the West Bank. The man approached the soldiers on Sunday morning and ran away after attempting to stab them, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
The alleged assailant was shot in the leg and apprehended. A knife was found at the scene, according to reports.
No soldiers were wounded in the attempted...
September 06, 2020
(JTA) — Israel passed a grim milestone over the weekend as its tally of coronavirus deaths exceeded 1,000. The country currently has the highest rate of new infections per capita in the world, with an average of 199.3 new cases a day per 1 million residents for the week ending Sept. 2, according to official figures.
A week after schools opened for the year, the government is closing schools and...
September 04, 2020
By JOSEFIN DOLSTEN
(JTA) — Serbia is moving its Israeli embassy to Jerusalem and Kosovo is normalizing ties with the Jewish state, President Donald Trump said in a statement Friday.
Trump’s announcement said that Serbia would move its embassy by next July, mirroring Trump’s decision to do so in 2018. The country will also open a commercial office in the city, which the United States recognizes as Israel’s capital but...
September 01, 2020
(JTA) — Jared Kushner says he’s “100%” sure that all the Arab countries will follow the United Arab Emirates in formalizing ties with Israel.
The White House senior adviser, an architect of the Trump administration’s Middle East peace plan, made the assertion on Tuesday in Abu Dhabi as delegations from Israel and the United States wrapped up a diplomatic meeting there.
“I think thanks to the UAE leadership there will...
