Carmen Weinstein, who famously led the Jews of Egypt and worked to preserve synagogues and Jewish cemeteries, died Saturday at 82. Weinstein was born in Cairo in 1931. She studied English Literature at Cairo University and earend a master’s degree from the American University in Egypt. She was fluent in French, English and Arabic. She worked at her family’s print shop as a young adult, which had become a stalwart business in the community. Her father was a popular leader within the Jewish community …More

A tentative ceasefire is still holding in Gaza, as unnamed officials hold talks in Egypt. A promise to reevaluate the status quo of relations between Israel and citizens in Gaza was part of the Pillar of Defense ceasefire agreement, which came exactly one week ago. Officials on both sides arrived in Cairo Monday, where Egyptian heads are aiding in the negotiations. As a matter of policy, Israel does not talk directly to Hamas, which is a designated terrorist group. There is no word yet on what items have been …More

Minutes after a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas went into effect, five rockets were fired from Gaza at Beersheva and Israel struck the Gaza home of a top Islamic leader. One of the long-range Grad rockets struck a home at 9:05 p.m. -- five minutes after the cease-fire had gone into effect on Wednesday (2 p.m. Eastern Standard Time) -- Israel's Channel 1 reported. At 9:28 p.m., two rockets fired toward the Eshkol Regional Council landed in open areas. In between, Israel hit the Islamic Jihad leader's home in …More

Israel keeps a close eye on Egypt after Mohammed Morsi dismissed Cairo's top two generals and quashed a military order to curb the new leader's power. [Israel Hayom] Jerusalem accuses South Africa of boycotting Israel. [The Jerusalem Post] Defense Minister Ehud Barak wants to study the implications of upgrading The Ariel University Center before it is finalized. [The Times of Israel] The debate on "Jew-washing" escalates. [The Daily Beast] Approximately $53,000 was seized from an Israeli citizen at …More

An Egyptian Jew has dug up an old Coca-Cola case, claiming the soft drink company is illegally using his land for production. The 15-year-old battle is spearheaded by Refael Bigio, a Cairo native who says Coca-Cola uses land taken from his family by ex-President Gamel Nasser during an anti-Jewish purge 50 years ago. Last March, the US second circuit court dismissed the lawsuit. Now, however, Bigio has asked a court of appeals to allow the case to go through. “The full roster of second circuit judges will …More

Six months after the Israeli embassy in Cairo was attacked, officials cleared out the office until a new location can be found. [Israel Hayom] Author Andrew Bostom discusses Islam’s early conquests of the Jewish tribes in Arabia in his new book “The Legacy of Islamic Antisemitism.” [CBN] Giulio Meotti wonders whether Jews have a place in Europe as anti-Semitism rises. [Ynet] Rabbi Arnold Wolf has influenced President Barack Obama’s view of Israel. Liberal players like Wolf liberal …More

Ancient scrolls found in a geniza in Afghanistan’s Samangan province may be the most significant historical finding for the Jewish world since the Cairo Geniza. The scrolls date from about 1,000 years ago and are written in Arabic, Judeo-Arabic and ancient Persian. [Jerusalem Post]  Holocaust survivor Irene Haya Weiss of Toronto donated the siddur she wrote by hand in 1945 in a German forced labor camp to Yad Vashem. [Jerusalem Post] Israel will pay for some demobilized IDF soldiers to study Asian …More

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas met Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal in Cairo on Thursday to try to revive a reconciliation pact signed seven months ago but still not implemented. The deal had aimed to end a four-year rift that has split the Palestinians ideologically and geographically. On Wednesday, Hamas said its position toward Israel would not change after the formation of a Palestinian unity government. Hamas also reiterated its opposition to the appointment of current PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad …More

Unrest sweeping through Egypt once more:  Egyptian riot police firing tear gas and rubber bullets stormed into Cairo's Tahrir Square Saturday to clear a protest tent camp, setting off clashes with protesters who fought back with stones and set an armored police vehicle ablaze. At least 81 people were injured, state TV reported. …More

  The prisoner swap deal that will see the release of abducted Israeli soldier Staff Sgt. Gilad Shalit in exchange for 1,027 Palestinians imprisoned in Israel was finalized over the weekend after the head of the Israeli negotiating team, David Meidan, travelled to Cairo and approved all of the remaining details, a senior source from the Prime Minister's Office said Saturday night.   According to the source, Meidan will stay in Cairo until Tuesday - when Shalit is set to be released - and will go over …More

An unannounced effort by a German mediator to negotiate the release of longtime prisoner Gilad Shalit on Monday was met with resistance by Hamas leaders who believed the move was meant to distract the international community from the hunger strike being staged by Palestinians incarcerated in Israel. Palestinian Prisoner Affairs Ministry spokesperson Riad al-Ashkar said that the prisoner-swap deal for Shalit has not progressed, and the presence of Gerhard Conrad in Cairo only undermines the …More

Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a Jewish audience that Egypt's leaders are committed to maintaining the peace with Israel. "In every conversation with my Egyptian counterparts, they always reassert -- without my asking -- that they want to retain the peace with Israel," Mullen said Tuesday at an event organized in support of the Jewish Primary Day School of the Nation's Capital in Washington. Israeli leaders have been unnerved by the intensity of anti-Israel protests in …More