April 14, 2022 Since March 22, 2022, there have been four major terrorist attacks across Israel– Be’er Sheva, Hadera, Bnai Brak and Tel-Aviv – which resulted in 14 deaths and many wounded. The attacks, which were carried out by both Palestinian residents of the West Bank and Arab citizens of Israel, targeted both Israeli civilians and law enforcement officials. These incidents coincided with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which is generally a time of heightened tensions in…

June 11, 2021 THE WEEK’S BIG 3  Antisemitic incidents more than doubled in May compared to last year following Mideast violence, according to new data from ADL. Online antisemitism grew significantly during the pandemic, with COVID-19 ushering in “a new wave of antisemitic conspiracy theories and hate in Europe,” the European Commission said in a report issued last week. Four members of the same family were killed in a pickup truck attack in London, Ontario in what…

May 24, 2021 As the tenuous ceasefire between Israel and Hamas takes hold, Israelis – Jew and Arab - are facing the “day after” and the critical work of healing and repair that needs to take place within its own society and citizenry.  As thousands of Hamas rockets sent Israelis fleeing for shelter over the course of the eleven-day conflict, another wound has been opened within Israeli society: nights of violence, looting and horrifying expressions of hatred by Arab…

March 12, 2021 THE WEEK’S BIG 3 Miami Heat center Meyers Leonard was fined $50,000, suspended from the team's facilities and banned from team activities after he uttered an antisemitic slur while playing video games. Israeli society is increasingly divided, with 81 percent of Israelis stating that they believe that their society is increasingly divided, a 12 percent increase since 2017, according to a new ADL. survey. A panel of South Carolina lawmakers stripped explicit protections…

by: Ken Jacobson October 28, 2020 Note: This blog originally appeared in The Times of Israel on Oct. 28, 2020. Twenty-five years have passed since the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, the winner of the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize for his attempts to achieve a lasting peace with the Palestinian Authority. Inevitably, a sad milestone like this causes us to look back at that day, to assess its significance from the perspective of a quarter of a century later, and to…

April 24, 2020 THE WEEK’S BIG 3A series of anti-quarantine rallies took place across the country this week, several of which were sponsored in whole or part by identified extremists and featured antisemitic content. A new ADL survey released on Holocaust Remembrance Day found that more than half of America’s Jews have either experienced or witnessed an antisemitic incident over the past five years. And Israel’s year-long political stalemate has come to an end, with the…

February 27, 2020 THE WEEK’S BIG 3 Far-right extremists killed at least 38 people in the U.S. in 2019, the sixth deadliest year on record violence by all domestic extremists since 1970, according to a new report. Federal prosecutors charged five people allegedly linked to a neo-Nazi group for engaging in a campaign to intimidate and harass journalists, activists and a member of the President’s cabinet. Calling AIPAC a platform “for leaders who express bigotry,”…

September 12, 2019 What do I need to know about Israel’s election? On September 17, 2019, Israel will hold an election for the 22nd Knesset. The victor of the elections in Israel is determined by the party’s ability to form a coalition government (representing at least 61 seats in the Knesset), therefore making the balance of power between the right and left blocs a key issue. According to the Israeli political system, it is not the party which wins the largest number of…

February 27, 2019 Many American Jewish organizations generally refrain from commenting on Israeli electoral issues. The fact that so many felt they had no choice but to condemn the agreement to include Otzma Yehudit Party (Jewish Power) on a mainstream party list in advance of the April 9, 2019 national elections demonstrates the level of concern with which American Jews and pro-Israel groups view this development and its implications -- both in Israel and abroad -- for how Israel…

December 24, 2018 Sports tournaments and other international competitions have long been harnessed by some countries in the Middle East as part of their continued efforts to isolate and delegitimize Israel and prevent engagement with Israelis. This typically includes the host country barring entry to Israeli athletes; refusing to allow them to compete under the Israeli flag or play their country’s national anthem at medal ceremonies; and refusing to shake their hands or even compete…

by: Carole Nuriel July 30, 2018 One morning, my colleague Gaby Dubois and I set out to visit Israel’s south, near the border with Gaza, in the wake of tensions there in recent months. Just a few days earlier it seemed as if the escalating security situation would force us to cancel our visit, but thankfully things had quieted down a bit by then to enable us to go. We went to visit the Sdot Negev Regional Council for two reasons: first, to express ADL’s support and solidarity…