Posts by Gil Zohar
Jewish leaders in Israel face sexual misconduct allegations and Slutwalk protest

(NEWS ANALYSIS) Top rabbis and politicians have been accused of sexual assault this year, and Israelis are protesting for their convictions and removals from leadership.

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Lag b'Omer: the Jewish holiday of faith and folklore

The annual pilgrimage is the 33rd day of Judaism's somber seven-week "counting" between Passover and Pentecost and marks the ceasing of a plague that killed 24,000 disciples of Rabbi Akiva ( c. 50–135 CE), a sage martyred by the Romans during the genocidal persecution of the Emperor Hadrian. 

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A Reporter's Notebook: the Israelis wishing a generous Ramadan to Palestinians

“I think we have arrived at the days of the Messiah,” Jewish community spokesman Naom Arnon said at an iftar dinner that marks the end of the day’s Ramadan fast, hosted by the Judea and Samaria Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a joint Israeli-Palestinian group to promote business ties and economic cooperation in the West Bank.

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Jerusalem teen wins International Bible Quiz

The annual quiz was held last week in Jerusalem in the presence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other prominent Israeli leaders. The outgoing education minister Naftali Bennett spoke about the current challenges Israel is facing in losing its people to the Diaspora.

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The Eurovision Song Contest is rocking Israel

(NEWS ANALYSIS) Palestinian jihadi militants in the Gaza Strip fired more than 700 rockets and mortars over the weekend, right as tens of thousands of musicians and fans are arriving to Tel Aviv for the 64th annual Eurovision festival. The move doesn’t make sense militarily, but likely aims instead to damage Israeli tourism.

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New evidence suggests Biblical King Balak existed

Scholars have deciphered lines of text on a partly broken and illegible tablet that most closely resemble the king’s name rather than the phrase “House of David,” adding historical credibility to the Book of Numbers.

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Orthodox Easter: Crusader-era Holy Fire Ceremony lights up Jerusalem

Thousands of Eastern Orthodox pilgrims crowded in Jerusalem's Old City on Saturday for the Easter ceremony at Jesus’ burial and resurrection site. Some believe a flame miraculously comes from heaven into Jesus’ tomb.

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Passover 2019: Prayer notes cleared from Jerusalem's Western Wall

Every six months, before Passover in April and the Jewish New Year Rosh Hashanah in September, thousands of written prayers are picked out from the crevices of the wall to make way for new ones. The old notes are buried.

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'Mary Magdalene' film renews interest in her Israeli hometown

A Mexican Catholic order is creating a $100 million pilgrimage retreat in Israel for Mary Magdalene devotees, with a special emphasis on feminism in the church. A biopic film on Jesus’s female follower will be released April 12 in the U.S.

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This year's Purim carnival set off more than firecrackers in Israel

(NEWS ANALYSIS) Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked released a satirical perfume ad jabbing at leftists who call her fascist, the country’s largest English daily labeled Israel’s democracy a joke and President Trump upended decades of U.S. policy in one tweet.

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