Trash has been piling up in some Arab and ultra-Orthodox towns in Israel. Lacking the funds to maintain trash collection, less affluent communities must often deal with insufficient trash pick-up and recycling, resulting in unsanitary conditions. Last week, Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan announced a proposal to help these communities clean up their act. Erdan wants to re-allocate some of the money paid by wealthier local authorities to poorer communities that lack basic waste management to help …More

Attention online daters: In another life, one in which she’s not a Hollywood star, you’d have a shot at kicking some game to Mila Kunis. Kunis, whose new movie “Ted” opened this weekend, told Glamour that she would be an active member of the internet dating scene if life hadn’t dictated another course for her. Of course, in this alternative universe she wouldn’t be famous, which may or may not impact one’s decision to message her. Ahh, the paradox. "If I didn't do what I …More

The mayor of Tel Aviv, Ron Huldai, paid a visit to Silicon Valley on June 20 to meet with 25 Israelis working in tech powerhouses like Google and Hewlett Packard to get feedback from Israelis working abroad. Huldai's visit was the second stop after Toronto on a short tour he is doing for the Tel Aviv Foundation, a nonprofit of which he serves as the international chairman. He will also head to Irvine, Los Angeles and San Diego before returning home to Israel. The mayor engaged in an informal discussion at Google …More

The NHL's summer free agent season begins on Sunday, July 1, and among those hitting the open market will be four Jewish players who competed in the NHL this year. Here's who could be moving this summer: Jeff Halpern: The Washington, DC native and Princeton University alum scored four goals and handed out 12 assists in 69 games for his hometown Washington Capitals in 2011-12, and played two games during the Caps' 14-game Stanley Cup playoff run, which ended in the second round at the hands of the New York …More

Kadima leader Shaul Mofaz is set to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on Sunday. The sit down has been in the works for months, and Mofaz reportedly requested the meeting before joining Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition in May. The face-to-face will be the highest-level meeting since peace talks broke down in 2010, though a Palestinian mediator said the interview should not be seen as a progression toward that end. "I do not know what Mofaz will bring with him, but it is not going to be …More

Yitshak Ben-Mohe first thought he spotted an odd rock on a recent scouting hike in the Sheizaf Reserve. “I saw a strange rock that frightened a group of Babblers,” Ben-Mohe, a graduate student at Tel Aviv University, recalled. “The birds circled the rock as if it was a predator and tried to attack it. Then, it suddenly opened its beak and revealed itself." Ben-Mohe had come upon a rare site, a nubian nightjar. Once thought to be extinct, researchers now believe that less than thirty pairs of the …More

Every Friday, Jspace News partners with the America Israel Cultural Foundation to bring you an interview with one of the many Israeli artists they support throughout the world. Some artists need supplies to help them create their next masterpiece, but multidisciplinary artist and designer, Yael Alkalay, just needs space. Over the last few years, Yael has received a number of awards, national and international, for her work in art and design. She also volunteers at a number of spots like the Museum at Eldridge …More

Olivia Wilde has combined her love of fashion with her passion for Haiti by designing a new messenger bag to benefit the nation’s recovery efforts. The "Tron: Legacy" star, who frequently visited the country with her journalist parents as a child, was among the first celebrity aid volunteers to travel to earthquake-ravaged Haiti in the wake of the 2010 natural disaster. Olivia Wilde co-founded charity organisation Campaign Happiness in a bid to help locals rebuild, and now kind-hearted Wilde has teamed up …More

Forty-three Jewish graves in Vienna have been vandalized. [ABC] Jewish groups criticize UNESCO's passing of Palestine's World Heritage bid. [Sacramento Bee] Jewish leaders condemn the continued rocket fire on southern Israel. [Sun-Sentinel] A rabbi outlines her experience as a single, female spiritual leader. [Jewish Week] Tablet reviews "The Innocents," a novel set in Jewish north London. [Tablet] And read up on Hollywood Hebrew mishaps. [Jerusalem Post] …More

“We are all Israelis – one people, one heart, if we aren’t there for each other during times of war–when will we be? –Tsion Sasportas, the event hall owner Everything is ready, the wedding dress is beautiful, the flowers are white, over 650 guests are making their way to the event hall, and of course the groom is nervous. Only one problem — due to the recent escalation in rocket fire from Gaza, they must abandon their plans to marry in southern Israel. Instead they must …More

The Team Coco site uploaded a hilarious video last night, a must see for anyone who likes Israel, Madonna, or chicken shawarma. Conan Show correspondent Bill Eichner was on the scene in the Holy Land, primed to pump up both enthusiastic and couldn’t-care-less Israelis for last month’s Madonna concert in Tel Aviv. His techniques ranged from asking people to name their favorite Madge song to screaming randomly at passersby in the street. Ultimately, it looks like Bill had a good time. However, he does …More

A beauty pageant for Holocaust survivors was held in Haifa, featuring female survivors walking down a red carpet and sharing details of their travails during World War II. Fourteen women, aged 74 to 97, participated according to news reports. Romanian native Hava Hershkovitz, 79, was crowned the winner. Organizers called the event a celebration of life, but critics denounced it as trivializing the horrors of the Holocaust. Shimon Sabag, who organized the event, said the 14 finalists had been chosen from …More