President visits Yad Vashem before leaving Israel for Kuwait
Reuters Jan 11, 08 9:06 AM CST
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A yarmulke-wearing George Bush early today visited Israeli Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem, which he called "a sobering reminder that evil exists." Bush, accompanied by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and President Shimon Peres, rekindled the eternal flame and laid a wreath next to the names of victims of the death camps. Bush later visited the hilltop where the Bible says Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount and intoned: "Blessed are the peacemakers."
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Massive security operation around Prez
Guardian (UK) Jan 7, 08 9:25 AM CST
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More than 10,000 police and security officers will guard President Bush during this week's visit to Jerusalem in a massive effort dubbed "Operation Clear Skies." Graffiti has been scrubbed off walls and hundreds of American flags installed throughout the city to mark the first visit by a US president in more than a decade , the Guardian reports.
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US bishop blasts gay clergy cover-ups
Guardian (UK) Jan 1, 08 7:05 PM CST
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Widening the Anglican gay divide, conservative leaders unveiled plans today for a summit to challenge the traditional Lambeth conference this summer, the Guardian reports. Planners of the Global Anglican Future Conference wrote on their website that Anglicans are "divided into liberal and conservative factions" and will likely splinter over the consecration of a gay priest in New Hampshire in 2003.
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Queen lived among the poor of ancient Jerusalem
Associated Press Dec 7, 07 7:05 AM CST
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Queen Helene of Adiabene, ruler of parts of Iraq, apparently had a pied-a-terre in the seedy part of Jerusalem 2,000 years ago, according to an archaeological team that has unearthed the mansion. Now it’s prime real estate in the Arab quarter, forming the foundation of a parking lot until recently.
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Elvis restaurant and shrine offers common ground in a divided land
Commercial Appeal (Memphis) Dec 3, 07 2:55 PM CST
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It has to be the quirkiest stop on the Holy Land pilgrimage: The Elvis Inn, near Jerusalem, where impersonators will converge Jan. 8 for the annual celebration of the King's birthday. With a life-sized statue near the gas pumps and 1,720 pictures of Elvis inside, the diner 6,000 miles from Memphis has become a shrine and tourist destination, the Commercial Appeal reports.
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Ancient wall thought to be one mentioned in Bible
Associated Press Nov 30, 07 7:37 AM CST
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Archaeologists digging in Jerusalem's City of David have found what they believe is an ancient wall mentioned in the Bible, AP reports. While working to save a tower from collapse, they found pottery shards and arrowheads from the 5th century BC, leading them to believe that a wall nearby is one mentioned in the Book of Nehemiah.
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Israelis probe PM's perks, appointments
Reuters Nov 11, 07 10:05 AM CST
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Israeli police confiscated documents from 20 sites today as part of a probe into fraud allegations against PM Ehud Olmert, reports Reuters. Some 100 department of fraud officers stormed the trade and industry ministry, the Jewish National Fund, and private law offices, among others. Olmert is accused of securing an illegal discount on a luxury home he purchased in Jerusalem.
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Jordan would assume control in exchange for truce with Palestinians
Times (UK) Oct 8, 07 4:50 PM CDT
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Israel appears willing to consider splitting Jerusalem to achieve peace with the Palestinians, ahead of a critical November summit in Annapolis, Md. A deputy PM said almost “all Palestinian neighborhoods would be transferred.” The Jewish state reportedly has also considered transferring the city’s holiest site—already partly administered by Jordan—to Amman, the London Times reports.
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Fatah supporters to be freed in bid to shore up moderate faction
Associated Press Oct 1, 07 8:37 AM CDT
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Israel will free 87 Palestinian prisoners today despite unspecific "technical reasons" that held up their release after they donned civilian clothes and were about to board a bus for home. Most of the prisoners are Fatah supporters, and their freedom is a bid by Israel to shore up the moderate Fatah faction against rival Hamas.
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Israeli archaeologists uncover tunnel Jews used to escape ancient Romans
Associated Press Sep 11, 07 2:37 PM CDT
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While searching for the ancient main road of Jerusalem, Israeli archaeologists stumbled upon a 2,000-year-old tunnel that residents used to escape Roman invaders destroying the Second Temple. The tunnel was originally used to drain rain water and prevent flooding, and its discovery is doubly significant, the AP reports, because it also shows how the ancient city’s rulers cared for their citizens during a pivotal moment in history.
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Ynetnews.com Sep 10, 07 7:37 AM CDT
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Israel is unlikely to release up to 100 prisoners scheduled for release, Yediot Aharonot reports. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are in meetings today in advance of a summit in Washington. Israel normally releases some non-violent prisoners as a goodwill gesture at Ramadan, but officials say the release is tenuous this year.
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Takes mission to Jerusalem, West Bank
Reuters Aug 1, 07 1:12 PM CDT
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Condoleezza Rice took her diplomatic tour to Jerusalem and the West Bank today, hoping to rekindle peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian government of Mahmoud Abbas. Rice comes bearing a promise from Saudi Arabia to support the peace conference proposed by the White House for later this year, Reuters reports.
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Ex-PM the only one smiling as he tackles plan to build a viable Palestinian state
Reuters Jul 23, 07 3:12 PM CDT
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Less than a month after vacating 10 Downing, Tony Blair jumped into his new role as Mideast peace envoy today, meeting Jordanian and Israeli leaders in Jerusalem. Tomorrow he sits down with Palestinian PM Mahmoud Abbas, and Wednesday with Israeli PM Ehud Olmert. Blair remains upbeat in the face of what many have dubbed Mission Impossible, and is in "listening mode," Reuters reports.
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Wary of being cut off, thousands are moving into East Jerusalem
Los Angeles Times Jun 4, 07 5:39 PM CDT
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Since the wall between the West Bank and Jerusalem started going up, thousands of Palestinians have moved from the former into the latter, anxious to make sure they are not cut off from the Israeli city when the barrier is complete. Dismayed by the deteriorating conditions in the West Bank, many are erecting houses little better than sheds in overcrowded Arab neighborhoods in East Jerusalem.
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Hawks in the Bush administration were pro-Israel, but the results weren't
Time Mar 26, 07 12:33 PM CDT
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"As a Jew, I am embarrassed by the role that so many prominent Jews have had in empowering the enemy," Joe Klein writes in a blog from Jerusalem, noting the number of neoconservatives in the Bush war machine who had close ties to the Israeli government. Klein says the War on Terror they helped craft has made Israel less secure.
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