The Air Force Museum is the only museum in Israel where the entire staff is made up of soldiers on active duty, including tour guides who speak five different languages: Hebrew, English, Spanish, French and Russian. The logistic workers, plane mechanics, administrators and photographers are all soldiers as well. Now, to introduce your personal tour guide: Cpl. Rom Aloni, 20 years-old, serves as a guide in the museum as part of his regular army service. Cpl. Rom Aloni next to the MiG-23 and the MiG-21 airplanes …More

Darkness descended on the airport in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, and the Hercules aircraft opened up. The red lights flashing from inside the plane, the hot air whizzing off the propellers, and the great roar of the engine combined to create a surreal scene as the Ethiopian Jewish olim (immigrants to Israel) continued their march towards freedom in the land of Israel. While the sounds first appeared nightmarish to the Ethiopian olim, it also provided a great sense of relief – the relief of the end …More

Australia has ordered an investigation into the case of “Prisoner X,” a two-year old story concerning an alleged Australian Mossad agent who killed himself in Israeli prison. The story, which is shrouded in secrecy, circulated among headlines yesterday, though Israeli media remained absent due to a government-issued gag order. The case involves Ben Zygier, a Melbourne-native who reportedly joined Mossad as a secret agent after immigrating to the Jewish state in 2000. In 2010, Zygier hung himself …More

Venezuela's secret service, SEBIN, is spying on the country's Jewish community, according to leaked documents said to be from the spy agency. Last week, Analisis24, a right-leaning Argentinean news website, released 50 documents attributed to the Venezuelan intelligence agency containing private information on prominent Venezuelan Jews, local Jewish organizations and Israeli diplomats in Latin America. The Anti-Defamation League, among others, believes the documents are authentic based on the wealth of detailed …More

There are men in Israel who hide both their nationality and sexuality. They disguise themselves with Jewish star necklaces and live in unidentified apartments, working illegally doing odd jobs to get by. Their parents have threatened to kill them, and the Israeli police seeks to deport them. They are the Palestinian gay of Tel Aviv, the subject of director Yariv Mozer’s film “The Invisible Men,” currently playing at the Other Israel Film Festival in New York City. Thirty-two year-old Louie has …More

Tensions in the Middle East are elevated as Israel responds to third day of rocket firing from Gaza. [St. Louis Jewish Light] Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has approved new building zone in the town of Itamar, the village where the Fogel family was murdered. [Israel National News] Arabs attack an Egged bus with rocks on the Mount of Olives. [Jewish Press] Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will continue his bid for U.N. status upgrade despite a personal request from President Barack Obama to stop. [Times …More

Avner Meyrav, NoCamels - Israeli Innovation News Being a spy has quite the romantic allure: fast cars, cool gadgets, near super-human skills and the occasional black-tie charity event with a vodka-martini in hand. And few spy agencies are more mysterious and fascinating than the Mossad, Israel’s national intelligence agency. With its new game, simply titled “Mossad,” Israeli gaming company Geonuts wants people to live out their cloak and dagger fantasies using a common, yet sophisticated gadget …More

Israel came closer than ever to an attack on Iran in 2010, a news report alleges. Israel’s Channel 2 program Uvda aired a segment featuring information from anonymous officials as well as interviews with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak. In the piece, it is alleged that Netanyahu and Barak went to security officials at the end of 2010 to raise Israel’s attack level to P Plus, code for in preparation to strike. The IDF’s then-head Gabi Ashkenazi and then-Mossad …More

Retired Mossad head Meir Dagan had a liver transplant in Belarus. The transplant was announced by Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko on Tuesday evening. The operation took place ten days ago, according to Lukashenko, who said that Belarus agreed to allow the surgery in its borders after other countries refused. There reportedly have been some post-operative complications, as he continues to recover in isolation. The transplant surgery initiative reportedly was undertaken privately, and without the …More

Chemical weapons, nuclear debris and Mossad agents in biohazard suits all have played prominent roles in the dozens of conspiracy theories surrounding the crash of an El Al airplane in Amsterdam 20 years ago this month. But Rob Oudkerk, vice chairman of the Dutch parliament’s inquiry into the deadly crash, has studied and dismissed them all. In a recent interview for a Dutch TV documentary, members of Oudkerk’s commission of inquiry reiterated their conclusions: The Israeli cargo plane malfunctioned …More

Nearly 40 years after the Yom Kippur War, newly declassified documents point to a possible mishandling of information that could have prevented the fighting altogether. Following the war, a committee was tasked with examining the failings by the government leading up to and during the 19 days of fighting, which broke out after Egypt and Syria struck under the cover of night. In 1974, the committee released a public statement, calling for the resignation of four senior officers. Then-Prime Minister Golda Meir was …More

Rob Lattin is Jspace News' Foreign Affairs Correspondent. In addition to covering foreign affairs for Jspace, Rob is a blogger on Israeli and Middle Eastern foreign policy for the Foreign Policy Association, as well as a freelance writer. He can be reached by email at rob@jspacecorp.com. On Thursday, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman re-emphasized his belief that the Palestinian Authority should hold general elections, and continued his criticism of Mahmoud Abbas by telling Israel Radio, “Abu Mazen …More