Israel

For Ukraine’s Jews, the Threat of War Stirs Memories of Past Horrors

Military officials and analysts agree that any large-scale military action against Ukraine is likely to begin in the east, yet Odessa would present a clear target. It is home to the country’s largest ports and is the headquarters of Ukraine’s Navy. It is flanked by Russian-occupied Crimea to its east and the Russian-backed separatist enclave […]

The Battle for the World’s Most Powerful Cyberweapon

The Mexico example revealed both the promise and the perils of working with NSO. In 2017, researchers at Citizen Lab, a watchdog group based at the University of Toronto, reported that authorities in Mexico had used Pegasus to hack the accounts of advocates for a soda tax, as part of a broader campaign aimed at […]

Scientists Endorse Covid Boosters, But to a Point

“People that are vaccinated really are doing very well in terms of hospitalization,” said Michel Nussenzweig, an immunologist at Rockefeller University in New York. Omicron has made it clear that preventing all infections is a lost cause, he added. If the vaccines prevented infection and spread of the virus, regular boosters might make sense. “But […]

Is That a Burning Bush? Is This Mt. Sinai? Solstice Bolsters a Claim

MOUNT KARKOM, Israel — The mountain kept its secrets for centuries, its air of sacred mystery enhanced by a remote location in the Negev Desert in southern Israel. But one day last week, hundreds of Israeli adventurers headed deep into the wilderness to reach Mount Karkom, determined to get closer to answering a question as […]

Fears of Omicron’s Rapid Spread Are Tempered by Signs of Milder Illness

The Omicron variant is blazing around the world with such speed that even the leader of Israel, one of the most highly vaccinated countries, warned on Tuesday that it cannot be stopped. “We can’t prevent it,” Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said, in blunt comments that reflected a growing consensus in nations where Omicron is circulating: […]

A New Israeli Wonderland, Where You Can Almost Forget Where You Are

MAALE ADUMIM, West Bank — There is a vast indoor amusement park that resembles an alien spaceship run aground in the Judean Desert and, nearby, a luxe shopping mall rising incongruously in Italian Renaissance style in the beige hills east of Jerusalem. Its grand piazza features pricey kosher restaurants, a miniature canal with toy gondolas […]

Israel May Give 4th Dose of Covid Shot, Despite Experts’ Doubts

Last year, Israel led the world in vaccinating its population with two shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Mr. Bennett, the prime minister, prided himself on an early decision in late July to administer the third shot, crediting it with successfully containing the Delta wave while keeping schools and the economy open. The emergence of Omicron […]

Covid Spoils Another Christmas in the Holy Land

JERUSALEM — There were only a few shopping days left until Christmas, but in the Christian Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City, most of the shops were shuttered. The owner of Santa Maria Souvenirs, David Joseph, a Palestinian Christian, glumly padlocked his storefront and said there was no point in waiting around. As church bells rang […]

Hamas, Claiming Victory Over Israel, Is Stuck in Same Old Cycle

GAZA CITY — At a beachfront hotel in Gaza City this fall, hundreds of Gaza civic leaders crowded into a Hamas-sponsored conference to hear claims of an imminent Hamas victory over Israel. “The state of Israel will be history,” the conference director, Kanaan Abed, said in a speech broadcast across the strip. “Palestinians outside Palestine: […]