Arab angered as construction of Gehry-designed site disturbs remains
Bloomberg Nov 21, 08 2:59 PM CST
(Newser)
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A parking lot in downtown Jerusalem is the latest battleground in the Arab-Israel conflict, Bloomberg reports, as plans for a museum of tolerance have inflamed tensions after initial construction work uncovered human remains in long-abandoned Muslim cemetery. The Israeli supreme court’s decision to approve the re-interment of Muslims remains has angered Palestinians, with President Mahmoud Abbas calling the plan “very dangerous.”
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Win ends years of
ultra-Orthodox rule in
Israel's capital
Los Angeles Times Nov 12, 08 5:45 AM CST
(Newser)
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A secular, hardline millionaire has won a decisive victory for mayor of Jerusalem, ending 5 years of ultra-Orthodox rule, the Los Angeles Times reports. Nir Barkat has promised to transform the impoverished capital city by boosting tourism and tech ventures. He has also demanded more homes for Jews in East Jerusalem, an area dominated by Arabs who would like to see it become the capital of a Palestinian state.
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Rabbi, investor and Russian soccer boss vie for control of holy city
Time Nov 11, 08 2:31 PM CST
(Newser)
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Jerusalem went to the polls to elect a mayor today, and the selection of candidates is nothing if not eccentric, Time reports. Sure to capture the Orthodox Jewish vote is Meir Porush, a rabbi with a visage so imposing his campaign uses a cartoon on its posters. Vying for the secular Jews who fear Porush's extreme religiosity are former venture capitalist Nir Barkat and Jewish-Russian billionaire Arkady Gaydamak, enigmatic owner of Jerusalem’s Beitar soccer team.
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2000-year-old earring discovered
Associated Press Nov 11, 08 5:34 AM CST
(Newser)
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A spectacular gold, pearl, and emerald earring, dating to the time of Jesus, has been discovered in Jerusalem, AP reports. The 2,000-year-old find, close to the Old City walls, is causing a sensation because Roman-era jewelry is rare as the city was ultimately destroyed and what survived was often melted down.
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Reuters Oct 30, 08 6:45 PM CDT
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Archeologists in Israel say they have dug up the oldest known example of Hebrew text, a find that could answer questions about the scope and power of the ancient kingdom of David, Reuters reports. Researchers found the 3,000-year-old pottery shards at an excavation site near where the Bible says David slew Goliath. The inscriptions appear to include words such as "judge" and "king," indicating an advanced society.
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Jerusalem Post (Israel) Oct 25, 08 10:29 PM CDT
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Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has given up trying to forge a political coalition and will recommend early elections when she meets with President Shimon Peres on Sunday, the Jerusalem Post reports. Elections could be held in February, and Livni faces a tough fight to become Israel's second female prime minister. Her Kadima Party trails Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party in the polls.
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Pages written by Israel's first astronaut survived 37-mile fall from space
Associated Press Oct 4, 08 7:21 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Pages from the diary of an Israeli astronaut who perished with the space shuttle Columbia go on display tomorrow at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, the AP reports. Ilan Ramon's diary was found in a field 2 months after the crash. It had fallen 37 miles to earth when the shuttle disintegrated. The museum's curator says its survival defies rational explanation.
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Jewish new year coincides with Muslim month of Ramadan in city special to both
New York Times Sep 29, 08 11:42 AM CDT
(Newser)
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This year’s intersection of Jewish new-year holidays and the Muslim holy month of Ramadan—a rarity due to Islam’s changing calendar—is felt particularly keenly in Jerusalem, a sacred city for both religions, Ethan Bronner notes in the New York Times . Night has become “a kind of monotheistic traffic jam,” with devout Jews praying at the Western Wall while Muslims break their fast.
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Israeli PM calls timeline for Palestinian pact 'unrealistic'
Financial Times (UK) Jul 28, 08 4:45 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Ehud Olmert said today it is "unrealistic" to expect a comprehensive Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement by the end of the year. The Israeli PM and Palestian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas pledged last year to make a deal by the end of 2008, and their inability to do so is a blow to President Bush's hopes for the situation to be resolved before he leaves office, reports the Financial Times .
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Candidate wraps up Middle East tour with trip to one of Judaism's holiest sites
Reuters Jul 24, 08 3:18 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Barack Obama finished his Israel trip with a pre-dawn visit to Jerusalem's Western Wall this morning, Reuters reports. The candidate, wearing a skullcap, placed a prayer he had written in the wall as a rabbi read from a psalm. A heckler shouted "Jerusalem is not for sale"—but was drowned out by chants of "O-ba-ma, O-ba-ma."
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ANALYSIS
Dem to meet key Jordanian, Palestinian, Israeli figures; street expects little change
New York Times Jul 22, 08 1:27 PM CDT
(Newser)
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With the war leg of his foreign tour behind him, Barack Obama must next navigate the Middle East peace process. He’ll meet with top Israeli and Palestinian leaders tomorrow, the New York Times reports, and will visit the rocket-bombarded town of Sderot. US Jewish voters will be particularly attentive after the Democrat’s recent slip over the status of Jerusalem.
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Driver rams bus, cars before he's killed; 16 injured in copycat attack
Haaretz Jul 22, 08 7:52 AM CDT
(Newser)
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A Palestinian bulldozer driver wreaked havoc in downtown Jerusalem today, injuring at least 16 people, one critically, before being gunned down, Haaretz reports. It was a copycat attack, coming just weeks after a similar bulldozer rampage killed three in the Holy City. Police said a civilian saw the bulldozer leave its construction site, and started shooting when it began overturning cars. Police soon joined the fray and gunned the driver down.
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Democrat laments
'poor phrasing' in controversial speech
Reuters Jul 14, 08 4:35 PM CDT
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Amid continuing controversy over his comment that Jerusalem “must remain” the undivided capital of Israel, Barack Obama clarified his words, calling them “poor phrasing,” Reuters reports. “The point we were simply making is that we don't want barbed wire running through Jerusalem,” he said on CNN. Though the US officially recognized the city as Israel’s capital in 1995, it remains the subject of international disagreement.
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Palestinian overturns bus, cars; 44 injured
BBC Jul 2, 08 6:50 AM CDT
(Newser)
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A Palestinian man drove a bulldozer into traffic in Jerusalem, overturning a bus and several cars and killing four people. Dozens of people were hurt, at least 7 critically, before a police officer shot the attacker dead. A BBC reporter on the scene saw hundreds of citizens fleeing the scene.
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