ISSUES

December 1 – Greenly, CO – Night To Honor Israel

Record 4.9 million people visited Israel in 2019, 12% more than 2018

Israel saw a record number of 4.9 million entries into the country last year, of which 4.6 million were tourists who stayed at least one night, according to figures from the Central Bureau of Statistics.

The tourism figures for 2019, published Monday, showed an increase of 12 percent in the number of entries compared to 2018.

Most visitors, over...

Iron Dome defense system notes 85% success rate in 2019, IDF says

The Israeli military on Thursday released data on operational activity on all fronts in 2019, showing that its "campaign between the wars" – an ongoing Israeli military and intelligence effort to disrupt the force buildup of the Iranian-Shiite axis throughout the Middle East – is nowhere near winding down.

The Gaza Strip sector continued to be...

IDF data shows rocket attacks up, terror attacks down in 2019

(January 6, 2020 / JNS) The Israel Defense Forces released a report on Sunday summarizing Israel’s military activity in 2019.

According to the report, terrorist acts declined in 2019, while rocket fire at Israeli population centers rose—1,295 rockets were launched from Gaza, with 729 landing in open areas and 478 being intercepted by the Iron...

Court upholds anti-BDS law in state of Arizona

(January 6, 2020 / JNS) The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Arizona’s anti-BDS law on Monday, vacating the preliminary injunction against the 2016 measure, which underwent changes in early 2019, making the plaintiff’s suit moot.

The original law was blocked by a federal court in September 2018, citing a possible violation of the First...

Honduras designates Hezbollah as a terrorist organization

(January 7, 2020 / Israel Hayom) Honduras announced on Monday that it is officially designating Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.

The office of Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández released a statement saying, “Honduras joins Guatemala and other countries in announcing that Hezbollah will be declared an international terrorist...

City of David archaeologists say 2,000-year-old central Jerusalem market found

A rare Second Temple measuring table was recently discovered in the City of David, and it is causing archaeologists to identify an ancient Jerusalem square as the city’s 2,000-year-old central market, according to Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologist Ari Levy.

In conversation with The Times of Israel on Monday, Levy said the stone table...

Jewish solidarity march in New York draws thousands in wake of anti-Semitic attacks

Thousands marched across the Brooklyn Bridge on Sunday in a show of solidarity with the Jewish community after several anti-Semitic attacks that have rattled the New York City area.

Marchers carried signs reading “No Hate. No Fear.” and “Jewish and Proud” from Foley Square in Lower Manhattan to Cadman Plaza Park in Brooklyn, where a rally...

Jerusalem zoo sends aid to help animals injured in Australia fires

(January 6, 2020 / JNS) Jerusalem’s Biblical Zoo announced on Sunday that it will donate burn creams, milk replacers, wound sprays and hydration concentrates to aid animals in Victoria, Australia.

The donation comes as massive bushfires rage across Australia, which have resulted in the deaths of at least 24 people since September, as well as of...

Iran withdraws from nuclear deal, plans to enrich uranium ‘without restrictions’

(January 5, 2020 / JNS) Iran announced on Sunday that it will enrich uranium “without restrictions” in what would be an apparent move to withdraw from the 2015 the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal.

The development, reported by Iranian state TV, comes just days after the United States killed the...

Several wounded in rocket attack near US Embassy in Iraq

(January 6, 2020 / Israel Hayom) Three Katyusha rockets landed inside Iraq’s Green Zone close to the U.S. Embassy on Sunday night, the Iraqi military reported.

Three additional rockets fell in the nearby Al-Jadriya neighborhood of Baghdad, according to the military.

Six people were wounded in the attacks, according to Iraqi media reports.

The...

Jewish man attacked in Brooklyn, injured by women yelling anti-Semitic slurs

(January 3, 2020 / JNS) Two female attackers yelled anti-Semitic slurs at a Jewish man in Brooklyn, N.Y., before shoving him to the ground when he tried to film the assault, law-enforcement sources and witnesses said on Wednesday.

The African-American women approached the 22-year-old Chassidic man and shouted at him “F***k you Jew” and “I will...

Anti-Semitism grows in Jewish communities in New York City suburbs

MONSEY, N.Y. (AP) — For years, ultra-Orthodox Jewish families priced out of increasingly expensive Brooklyn neighborhoods have been turning to the suburbs, where they have taken advantage of open space and cheaper housing to establish modern-day versions of the European shtetls where their ancestors lived for centuries before the Holocaust.

The...

Pompeo on Qassem Soleimani strike: Iran now understands Trump will take ‘decisive’ action

By ordering the airstrike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, President Trump has demonstrated to Iran's leaders that he will take "swift, decisive" actions to protect Americans, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday on "Fox & Friends."
Pompeo stressed that the Trump administration has shown military "restraint" in the face of...

US drone strike ordered by Trump kills top Iranian commander in Baghdad

A US drone strike ordered by President Donald Trump on Baghdad airport has killed a top Iranian commander, in a major escalation in regional tensions that have pitted Tehran against Washington and its allies in the Middle East.
The Pentagon on Thursday confirmed a strike killed Qasem Soleimani, who as head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps...

Qassem Soleimani, Iran’s shadowy general who wielded influence like a sword

TEHRAN, Iran — Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Soleimani, who was killed Friday in a US strike, was one of the most popular figures in Iran and seen as a deadly adversary by America and its allies.

General Soleimani, who headed the external operations Quds Force for the Guards, had wielded his regional clout publicly since 2018 when it was...

US kills powerful Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad airstrike

Qassem Soleimani, the powerful head of Iran’s Quds Force, was killed in an airstrike at Baghdad International Airport, Iraqi TV and three Iraqi officials officials said Friday.
The US Department of Defense confirmed it had carried out the airstrike.
“General Soleimani was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members...

More than 30 corrections workers, cadets fired in West Virginia for Nazi salute

(December 31, 2019 / JNS) More than 30 West Virginia corrections’ workers and cadets have been fired after a photo surfaced of them performing a Nazi salute.

Gov. Jim Justice, who said earlier this month such behavior wouldn’t be tolerated, announced on Monday that following a review of a report on the matter by the state’s Department of Military...

Volunteer group Guardian Angels patrols Brooklyn after anti-Semitic attacks

(December 31, 2019 / JNS) A private, volunteer-based and unarmed crime-prevention group said it would start patrolling parts of Brooklyn, N.Y., on Sunday following a string of anti-Semitic attacks in the borough.

Curtis Sliwa, who founded Guardian Angels in New York City in 1979, said patrols would start in the Crown Heights neighborhood of...

Report: Israeli economy grew 3.3 percent in 2019

(December 31, 2019 / JNS) The Israeli economy grew by an estimated 3.3 percent in 2019, higher than forecasted, Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday, according to a report in the business daily Globes.

The GDP growth in 2018 was 3.4 percent.

The Central Bureau of Statistics reported that the budget deficit of the government and...