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Four dead in Be'er Sheva bank robbery; assailant releases hostage, shoots himself

Two robbers open fire at Bank Leumi branch; the second robber was wounded and evacuated to the hospital; at least two more people were wounded during the botched robbery.

By Yanir Yagna | May 20, 2013 | 01:31 PM | 3

Four dead in Be'er Sheva bank robbery; assailant releases hostage and shoots himself 02:55 PM
Vandals spray-paint inciting graffiti outside Jerusalem home of Women of the Wall activist 01:02 PM
Palestinian prisoners used forbidden mobile phones to plot terror attacks 10:00 AM
Bennett pushing vast reforms to pry Israel’s rabbinate from ultra-Orthodox grip 05:33 AM
Before confronting Syria, Israel should consider saving its energy for Iran 02:47 AM

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Al-Dura's father urges international probe into whether IDF killed his son

The father of a Palestinian boy Israel says was not killed during a shootout between the Israel Defense Forces and Palestinians...

By Jack Khoury | 01:09 PM

An Occupy Wall Street protester in 2011.

Israel's income inequality is second only to U.S.

Income inequality is more pronounced in Israel than the vast majority of the developed world, but still looks fairly reasonable...

By Dafna Maor | 02:51 PM

Actress and singer Barbra Streisand performs 'Memories' during the Oscars

Barbra Streisand to get honorary doctorate from Hebrew University

The legendary Jewish actress and singer Barbra Streisand will receive an honorary doctor of philosophy degree from the Hebrew...

By Haaretz | 11:24 AM

Lapid to NYT: I oppose freeze on Israeli settlement construction

In interview with The New York Times, Yair Lapid addresses Israeli-Palestinian negotiations for first time since being instated as finance minister; suggests Abbas isn't partner for peace and says he hopes to succeed Netanyahu but he is in 'no hurry.'

By Barak Ravid | May 20, 2013 | 10:15 AM | 9

The Shamasna family at home in East Jerusalem.

Settlers reject Supreme Court compromise over eviction of Sheikh Jarrah family

The Shamasna family appealed a ruling that called for their eviction from the Sheikh Jarrah home that had been living in for decades; Supreme Court offers compromise in which family stays in the home but has to pay higher rent.

By Nir Hasson | May 20, 2013 | 12:58 PM

Word of the Day / Shin gimmel

An abbreviation of the term meaning 'the guard at the periphery,' this term has come to mean any lowly sort forced to take the blame for a hierarchy's worth of headache.

By Ruth Schuster | May 20, 2013 | 05:18 AM

Palestinian prisoners used forbidden mobile phones to plot terror attacks

Trial shows security prisoners got cell phones due to illicit connection with Israeli cell phone company; phones came from leading Israeli cell providers but no evidence firms knew who clients were.

By Chaim Levinson | May 20, 2013 | 09:01 AM | 2

Diplomacy & Defense

Yuval Steinitz submitting the report on the al-Dura case to Netanyahu

Report on IDF shooting of Palestinian boy during intifada may cause Israel more damage than good

The report on the investigation of the Mohammed al-Dura affair is probably one of the least relevant documents written by the...

By Barak Ravid | 02:28 AM | 14

Before confronting Syria, Israel should consider saving its energy for Iran

Israel made an effort Sunday to clarify its position on the increasingly messy situation in Syria. Prime Minister Benjamin...

By Amos Harel | 11:28 PM | 13

Israeli panel: Palestinian boy 'killed' by IDF at start of intifada did not actually die

Thirteen years after an exchange of fire in Gaza appeared to have resulted in the death of a Palestinian boy at the start of the...

By Barak Ravid | 08:40 PM | 33

Middle East

Syrian troops backed by Hezbollah try to retake rebel town near Lebanon border

Lebanese Hezbollah militants attacked a Syrian rebel-held town alongside Syrian troops on Sunday and Israel threatened more...

By Reuters | 09:05 PM | 2

Peres sends condolences to Turkey following May 11 terror attack

President Shimon Peres sent a personal message on Friday to his Turkish counterpart, President Abdullah Gul, expressing his...

By Barak Ravid | 06:00 PM

Egyptian police blocking Rafah crossing into Gaza, May 18, 2013.

Egyptian police block Israel border crossing in fury at kidnapping

Egyptian police enraged by the kidnapping of seven of their colleagues by Islamist gunmen in the Sinai Peninsula blocked a...

By Reuters | 02:57 PM | 3

Jewish World

In defense of Jewish pluralism

In her recent Open letter to Naftali Bennett, Allison Kaplan Sommer made the case for why the national religious public in...

By Arie Hasit / Jewish World blogger | 10:13 AM

The Moroccan Jewish pig farmer preaching peace in Israel

With one side of his family having lived through the Holocaust, and the other through the Inquisition, Bruno Frydman knows a...

By Danna Harman | 12:20 PM

A screen grab from a YouTube video of Attila Petrovszki.

'Death to Jews’ tattoo costs Hungarian martial artist Prague gig

A Hungarian martial arts fighter was disinvited from a tournament in Prague because of his Nazi tattoos, including one reading...

By JTA | 08:30 PM | 8

Hungary for Jewish identity

A program called Minyanim is helping young Jews in Hungary and other Central and Eastern European countries reconnect with the religion they were cut off from under Nazi and Soviet rule - no aliyah required.

By Judy Maltz | May 16, 2013 | 09:37 PM

The Jewish birthday blessing that teaches us to count

On birthdays, Jews greet each other with 'ad meah v’esrim' - 'may you live until 120.' This blessing, which can be traced back to the Torah, seems to acknowledge that our days are numbered.

By Rabbi Micah Peltz / Jewish World blogger | May 19, 2013 | 12:01 PM

New synagogue dedicated in Moscow

The Michurinsky congregation is the sixth operational synagogue in the Russian capital, which is home to at least 100,000 Jews, according to the European Jewish Congress.

By JTA | May 19, 2013 | 05:57 PM

Jaffa's flea market at dusk

The Jaffa Flea Market.
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Alon Ron
Jaffa's flea market at dusk.
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Daniel Tchetchik
Jaffa's flea market at dusk.
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Nir Keidar
Around the Jaffa Flea Market.
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Tomer Appelbaum
Jaffa's flea market at dusk.
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Nir Kafri