Moody’s Investors Service on Friday changed the outlook on Israel’s credit ratings to stable from positive and affirmed the A1 foreign-currency and local-currency senior unsecured and foreign-currency and local-currency long-term issuer ratings. “The change of outlook to stable from positive reflects a deterioration of Israel’s governance, as illustrated by the recent events around the government’s

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Friday delivered an unprecedented speech to an annual pro-Palestinian Arab rally in the Gaza Strip, The Associated Press reported. The speech came on the occasion of the annual Al-Quds Day, in which rallies are customarily held around the world and are used to incite against Israelis and Jews. Speaking virtually

Former officials allegedly agreed to push asylum for Khaled Halabi, a former top intel official recruited by Israel’s spy service but accused of torture and other abuses for Assad

Raisi gives unprecedented virtual address to Palestinians at Jerusalem Day rally in Strip, pans PA for Israel cooperation, urges Arab nations to do more than issue condemnations

A 23-year-old man was found guilty of threatening behavior on Friday, after throwing at least five eggs at King Charles III in November when the monarch visited York in northern England, prosecutors said, according to Reuters. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said Patrick Thelwell was sentenced to a 12-month community order with “100 hours of

A 7.0 magnitude earthquake rocked Indonesia”s main island, Java, and the island of Bali, popular with tourists, on Friday. There were no reports of injuries or deaths, ABC News reported. The Indonesian Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency stated there may be aftershocks but there is no sign of an impending tsunami. According to the US

Iran is recruiting Hamas and Hezbollah, its terrorist proxies in the Middle East, to coordinate attacks against Israel, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. According to the report, Esmail Ghaani, who leads the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps” elite Quds Force, has held a series of clandestine meetings with leaders of terrorist groups across the

Central Bureau of Statistics says consumer price index rose by 0.4% in March over the previous month, but sees real estate costs dropping 0.2% as interest rates go up

Hassan Nasrallah boasts no infrastructure hit, says terror group has deterred Israel, as troops clash with Lebanese protesters on border in fresh flare-up

A violent confrontation broke out on Friday evening at the Glilot police station in Herzliya, after hundreds of protesters who are against the government”s planned judicial reform clashed with officers at the station. The incident began when the demonstrators, who were carrying Israeli flags, entered the station and demonstrated against the arrest of one of

A Navy reservist charged for participating in the storming of the US Capitol on Jan. 6, who prosecutors say is a Nazi sympathizer with a high level government security clearance, was given a three year federal prison sentence on Thursday. Hatchet Speed, 41, who on conversations recorded by the FBI spoke about his admiration for

Breaking the news in an interview this week, Shashana Sabonis says the all-star Sacramento Kings center is learning, keeping kosher and attended a Chabad Purim party this year

Jack Teixeira, the 21-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guardsman accused of leaking documents the Department of Defense says contain “sensitive and highly-classified material,” was charged Friday with unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information and willful retention of classified documents, according to Fox News. Teixeira was read the charges shortly after 10:00 a.m. local time

Minneapolis has become the first American city to allow Muslim calls to prayer to be broadcast at all hours of the day over loudspeakers, according to the Associated Press. The Muslim call to prayer announcement, the “adman,” is made five times a day every day of the year. On Thursday, the Minneapolis City Council unanimously

Prime minister hints at ground operations against Lebanon, appears to rewrite history in interview with Channel 14, claiming that he led opposition in 2005, signed Oman trade deal

Former President Donald Trump filed a federal lawsuit on Wednesday against his former attorney Michael Cohen seeking over $500 million for “breaches of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment, conversion, and breaches of contract.” Cohen is currently a main witness in the criminal case against Trump brought forward by Manhattan Attorney General Alvin Bragg, in which Trump

A group of 14 Democratic lawmakers on Thursday urged the Biden administration to undertake a foundational shift in its approach to the Israeli-Palestinian Arab conflict. Spearheaded by Rep. Jamaal Bowman and Sen. Bernie Sanders, the letter, quoted in Haaretz, urges US President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to “undertake a shift in

Ministers from Gulf Cooperation Council countries plus Egypt, Iraq and Jordan in Jeddah to discuss bringing Assad back into fold, angering rebels; Qatar denies détente on table

A California elementary school was vandalized with threatening antisemitic and racist graffiti last week that included several swastikas, racial slurs, graphic images and death threats directed at three students. The vandalism at Hamilton Elementary School in Anza was spray painted on the school and the street in front of the building during spring break, KTLA

Waqf reports 250,000 worshipers at site for prayers, which take place largely without incident following unrealized fears of riots; 8 arrested for incitement

JUICE mission will seek to analyze liquid detected beneath ice of Ganymede, including instrument managed by scientists from Weizmann Institute to look for aberrations in tides

Private equity boss Harris co-owns NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers, NHL’s New Jersey Devils; Snyder is being probed for sexual harassment, toxic workplace culture allegations

Antisemitism envoy Lipstadt, Disney CEO Eiger, rapper Doja Cat and The Rehearsal’s Nathan Fielder also make it into magazine’s 2023 top 100

An elderly Florida couple is telling their story after a Fort Lauderdale condo office manager allegedly physically attacked 71-year-old Martha Arnold and yelled antisemitic abuse at her, according to WSVN. Arnold told the news outlet that she was “petrified” during the incident, adding she is now afraid to return home after being assaulted near an

Collective calling itself “Anonymous Sudan,” but thought linked to Russia, takes responsibility for assault; authorities say interruptions swiftly dealt with and no data breached

National Guard airman Jack Teixeira was arrested Thursday; Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green defends him as ‘white, male, Christian and antiwar’

A serious fire in the parking garage of the Armon Hotel in Stamford, Connecticut on Thursday that damaged over a dozen vehicles led to the evacuation of more than 1,000 guests who were attending the “Chop A Nosh” Passover program, according to Yeshiva World News. Stamford Fire Chief Trevor Roach said that officials were worried

In Parshat Shemini Moshe, Aharon, Aharon’s sons and all of Am Yisrael celebrate the first day of the Mishkan – the inauguration of the Mishkan. As we’ve discussed in the past, on this special day, in a very tragic moment, 2 of Aharon’s sons die – Nadav & Avihu. After they die, Moshe commands Aharon

Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah spoke this afternoon (Friday) on the occasion of “Jerusalem Day” and referred for the first time to the escalation on the northern border last week. According to Nasrallah, the Israeli attack in response to the heaviest rocket barrage from Lebanon since the Second Lebanon War was “ridiculous”, and included, among

Beginning in the early hours of the morning, over 2000 Jerusalem District and Border Police officers under the command of the Jerusalem District Commander Superintendent Doron Turgeman were deployed throughout Jerusalem. Shortly after the end of the Friday prayers on the Temple Mount, a number of masked people waved flags and banners of terrorist organizations

The government of Latvia has endorsed the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism. Latvia has been a member of the IHRA since 2004. In May 2016, the country was part of the IHRA Plenary in Bucharest that adopted a non-legally binding definition of antisemitism. “The Plan for the Reduction of Racism and

MK Ohad Tal (Religious Zionism) is working to promote a law that will allow for the first time the rabbis and representatives of Judea and Samaria to participate as members of the electoral body for the elections to the Chief Rabbinate Council and the position of Chief Rabbis in Israel. MK Tal told Israel National

When readers of Mishpacha magazine opened up the Passover issue, they found two surprises. The first was the unsung, mysterious story of a prolific American philanthropist, Jennie Miller Faggen, who supported dozens of European yeshivas before World War II. The second was a rarity in the world of haredi Orthodox publications: Miller”s photograph. Mishpacha and

5 years ago my family took a beautiful holiday in the Golan. There were no shops in the little village with our ‘Tzimmer’ (a small guest house) and so I drove down one morning to Kiryat Shemona in order to buy some fruit and cereals for breakfast. On the way, I picked up a soldier

Senior officials, including President Raisi, attend central rally in capital, which comes amid deadly violence in Israel and warning of looming war with Iran

Berlin police are investigating a pro-Palestinian rally where demonstrators allegedly chanted “Death to the Jews” and “Death to Israel,” phrases that if verified could be criminal offenses under Germany”s strict post-World War II hate speech laws. Hundreds of people showed up in the Kreuzberg and Neuk&oumllln neighborhoods on Saturday at a rally organized in response

The truth is that at a moment like this, celebrating Israel is more important than ever.

Tova Gutstein was 10 years old at time of rebellion against Nazis, fled to forest after defeat and hid with partisans, says she ‘can’t forget’ horrors of war

לֹא יִהְיֶה בְךָ אֵל זָר וְלֹא תִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה לְאֵל נֵכָר.  “There shall not be a strange god within you you shall not bow to a foreign god.” (Psalms 81:10)  What does it mean to have strange gods “within you”? The Sages taught that the psalmist is referring to evil impulses, and in particular, uncontrolled

Celebrations for the 80th anniversary of Jewish community life in Gush Etzion commenced with an opening event last night, that resulted in the pouring of emotions, during which the Council head, Shlomo Ne”eman, said to the long-standing community members, “The Gush is developing due to your work establishing the Gush that stands strong, and with

Flights to carry detainees between Saudi Arabia and Yemen over three days, as international efforts seek to end long-running conflict between Houthis and Riyadh-backed government

The translator of Shalev’s illustrated memoir, ‘My Wild Garden: Notes from a Writer’s Eden,’ on his love of the Hebrew language and of the soil from which it grew

Mourners honor writer with wreaths of wildflowers; Zohar Shalev describes father as a ‘pragmatic man’ who courageously accepted cancer diagnosis

David Goldberg bumps into somebody in the street who looks like his old friend Jack. “Jack,” he says. “You’ve put on weight and your hair has turned gray. You seem a few inches shorter than I recall and your cheeks are puffy. Plus, you’re walking differently and even sound different. Jack, what’s happened to you?”

Rockets fired by Palestinian terror group at Israel last week likely originated from Iran; group may have significant firepower after at least five years of force buildup

Plan for direct Tel Aviv-Mecca flight for Hajj pilgrimage shelved as Riyadh takes issue with Netanyahu government’s actions; relations with UAE also take a hit, report says

The Israeli woman killed in a bus accident in South Korea Thursday has been identified as 60-year-old Hadera resident Margarita Schwartzberg. Schwartzberg was killed Thursday when a bus carrying Israeli tourists in the northern Chungcheong District in South Korea flipped over and crashed into a tree after taking a sharp turn. According to initial reports,

Defense minister updates family on hunt for terrorists, vows they’ll be caught; family praises efforts by visiting figures to promote unity

Woman killed in accident named as Margarita Schwartzberg, 60, of Hadera; local Chabad rabbi says he is providing assistance ‘around the clock’