Israeli Parents Forget Toddler at Airport

Treatment disproportionate to the crime, says group

(AP) - Israel's military has detained and tried more than 800 Palestinian youths and children over the past five years for throwing rocks at Israeli soldiers, jailing most of them, said a report released today. The Israeli rights group B'Tselem counted 835 minors who were charged with rock throwing from 2005 through early 2011, including 34 children who were 13 years old or younger. A military spokeswoman said 160 civilians and soldiers were wounded in violent attacks by minors during that period—out of those injuries, 10 were wounded by rocks. More»

(NEWSER) - Families are traveling more often, and recession-battered hotels are ramping up their kid-friendly offerings, the Boston Globe reports. Rooms occupied by families with children accounted for 27% of the total in 2008, up from 25% in 2004, and lodgings are watching the trend. Whether it's free Wii, a dog to walk, or a theme guest room, the trend is picking up and is no longer relegated to just the summer months. More»

Israel approves plans for new international airport on artificial island

(NEWSER) - The Israelis want to build artificial islands in the Mediterranean, off the coast of Tel Aviv, and put an international airport on one of them. It's been talked about, on and off, for more than a decade; the project has finally been deemed feasable by a planning committee. The panel’s chair said the island chain is needed to support Israeli’s surging economy. More»

Suit seeks money for psychological treatment

(NEWSER) - An Israeli group is about to file a class action lawsuit against Germany on behalf of 15,000 children of Holocaust survivors in need of psychological treatment. The children suffer from depression and other problems stemming from being raised in dysfunctional homes. The suit, to be filed Sunday in Tel Aviv, is the work of the Fisher Fund, an Israeli charity. More»

Palestinians coming of age have no jobs, no hopes, no agenda but resistance

(NEWSER) - The generation of Palestinians now coming of age—and 56.4 percent of the population is under 19—have no hopes for peace, only of a lifetime of “resistance.” Growing up through two intifadas, they are isolated from the world, divided amongst themselves, and surrounded by violence, reports Steven Erlanger. The struggling West Bank economy offers few jobs and the only non-Palestinians they see are gun-toting Israeli soldiers. Resistance groups Fatah and Hamas are recruiting--and competing--aggressively. "We’re pushed all the time to be more political, more militant, more religious, more extreme,” says a 20-year-old student . "Now, there is no politics, no talks," says a 46-year-old ambulance driver, "so the sacrifices of the youth are wasted and empty." More»