Knesset vote gives go-ahead to Israel’s emergency unity government

By Marcy Oster

JERUSALEM (JTA) – The Knesset passed legislation on Thursday to allow the formation of an emergency unity government, giving Israel its first stable government in more than a year.

Hours before the final vote, the Supreme Court issued a decision Wednesday night that did no…

A nurse’s account of life inside an Israeli COVID-19 ward

By Ruth Ebenstein

JERUSALEM (JTA) – Nearly six weeks have passed since Arie Even, an 88-year-old Holocaust survivor, died of COVID-19.

It happened at the end of Shabbat dinner on a Friday night in March at the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem.

Even drew headlines as Israel’s f…

Virtual Yom Ha’Atzmaut celebrated globally

By Michael Regenstreif, Editor

With Jewish communities around the world unable to come together in their own locales to celebrate Yom Ha’Atzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there were numerous online events scheduled on April 27 to mark the Jewish state’s…

One year after Poway attack, Lori Gilbert-Kaye remembered

By Marcy Oster

(JTA) – One year after a shooter attacked the Chabad of Poway during services, killing a beloved member, the synagogue’s rabbi stood alone in the sanctuary of the empty building to lead a memorial.

Rabbi Mendel Goldstein remembered Lori Gilbert-Kaye as kind and “beauti…

5 key takeaways about the Gantz-Netanyahu deal and Israel’s new government

By Ben Sales

(JTA) – Israel finally has a government.

On Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and chief rival Benny Gantz signed an agreement to form a coalition government together. The deal ends more than a year of deadlocked elections and political stalemate.

Since March 2019, I…