“It felt like Messiah had come,” says Avigail Shlesinger, 81, of the day Jerusalem was liberated from the Jordan army 46 years ago. Shlesinger, who is from a six-generation Jerusalem family, recalls what life was like in the Holy City during the time that the Jordanians were in control from 1948 to 1967. “It was a dangerous era,” she tells Tazpit News Agency. “There were areas in the city like King George Street where barriers had to be built to stop the bullets that Jordanian …More

Judy Lash Balint, JNS.org Tens of thousands will visit the Old City on May 8 for Jerusalem Day, the anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem during the 1967 Six Day War. While celebrations go on above ground, new excavations underneath and around the Old City are being uncovered and opened to the public, peeling back layers of history and expanding understanding of events in the center of the Jewish universe. Old City expert Rabbi Barnea Selevan, a veteran licensed tour guide and co-director of Foundation …More

At the Western Wall on Friday night, a group of stars from the hit American TV shows "Scandal," and "Once Upon a Time" found themselves immediately recognized by religious Jewish prayer-goers. "People approached us at the Western Wall, saying they watch our shows," said Katie Lowes, who stars in the new American political thriller television series, "Scandal," created by "Grey's Anatomy" head Shonda Rhimes. "It has been an amazing experience, visiting across Israel. But the visit to the Western Wall and the …More

The city of Jerusalem is moving forward with a plan to build a cable car system that will bring visitors to and from the Western Wall. One line will connect Dung Gate (the Old City gate closest to the Western Wall) with the Mount of Olives to the east, and a second line will connect Dung Gate with the Khan Theater on Hinnom Ridge to the west, Israel Hayom reported. The system will be able to transport 6,000 passengers per hour. Each of the 1.6 kilometer routes will take around four minutes to …More

The Western Wall’s rabbi, Shmuel Rabinowitz, has vowed to fight against the proposal for a separate, egalitarian prayer section at the Kotel. [Forward] Lebanese media reported that Israel was conducting mock raids along the border, while Israeli defense minister blames Hezbollah. [Times of Israel] Bulgaria has re-enacted the bus bombing that killed five Israeli tourists at the Burgas airport, to gather more information about the attack. [Times of Israel] In 1948, the High Commissioner of Palestine …More

Chief of the General Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz addressed the national ceremony marking Israel's Memorial Day for Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terrorism Sunday evening at the Western Wall plaza. The Chief of Staff expressed sympathy for those who have lost loved ones, sorrow for those who have fallen and confidence in the IDF’s capabilities. The Chief of Staff began his speech by expressing sympathy for parents whose children have fallen while defending Israel. "Through their sacrifice, these sons and …More

As Israel stops today to remember those who fell in its defense and in terror attacks, the IDF is paying tribute to its fallen. Israel’s military plays an important role in the national observance of Yom Hazikaron, Israel's Memorial Day for Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terrorism. Memorial sirens sounded throughout Israel at 8:00 p.m. last night and again at 11:00 a.m. today. Israel’s central ceremonies took place last night at the Western Wall plaza, and today at the national cemetery on …More

Natan Sharanksy has put together a proposal to end tensions over female prayer at the Western Wall, a divisive issue that has seen schisms at Judaism’s holiest site. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently tasked the Jewish Agency head with solving the issue, which has grown in attention in recent months. The problem centers on a push for open prayer at the Kotel, including a woman’s choice to read from Torah or don a prayer shall, currently forbidden at the Wall. The crusade has been led thus …More

A man observed his Jewish acquaintance reading a Nazi newspaper on a regular basis. "Why don't you read the Jewish paper?" he asked him, incredulous. "The Jewish newspapers!" the man exclaimed, "all they write about is how persecuted our nation is... how much we suffer! Reading the Nazi paper actually makes me feel good about who I am; we control the government, we're influential in society... why, we're practically taking over the entire world! Now that's what I want to hear about.” There's an old adage …More

The night of the 29th of November, 1954 was dark and rainy. The lights of the takeoff runway at Hatzor Airbase had shut off as a result of the turbulent weather, and the combat pilot Yaakov Salomon and navigator Shlomo Hertzman realized that there was no other choice--they would have to land the plane without seeing the runway underneath them. Within a short while, young paramedic Esther Arditi--who had become certified only a week prior--was called to tend to the fallen plane that had burst into flames. The …More

Anti-semitic offenses have increased 58 percent in France since last year. [JPost] US Congressmen arrived in Cuba to press parliament members for release of imprisoned American-Jewish contractor Alan Gross. [Times of Israel] A Women of the Wall member was granted visitation to Western Wall on Purim after previous detainment from the site. [JPost] Notable Jewish themes run through all of Prousts’ literary work. [The Jewish Week] The parents of murdered Jewish Yemenite request that their son’s body …More

Ten women participating in a women's prayer service with hundreds of worshippers and supporters at the Western Wall were arrested for wearing prayer shawls. Those arrested Monday morning included Israeli-American Rabbi Susan Silverman, sister of comedian Sarah Silverman, and her 17-year-old daughter Hallel Abramovitz; Anat Hoffman, chairwoman of the Women of the Wall, who has been arrested several times in recent months; and two US rabbis, Debra Cantor of B'nai Tikvoh-Sholom in Bloomfield, Conn., and Robin Fryer …More