Andrew Tobin
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
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Past articles by Andrew:
Can Jerusalem be turned into a high-tech hub?
This story is sponsored by Start-Up Nation Central. JERUSALEM (JTA) – Jerusalem is a city of endless titles and designations: City of Gold. Zion. The Holy Sanctuary. City of Peace. It’s rarely thought of as a high-tech hub, and that’s not just because of the ancient buildings. Well over half of Jerusalem’s residents are Arab or haredi Orthodox,... → Read More
Bitcoin fraud could be the next big thing for swindlers in Israel
TEL AVIV (JTA) — Israelis lined up Tuesday afternoon at the newly opened bitcoin exchange in this city to purchase the coveted cryptocurrency. Amid the store’s yellow signage, the customers one by one inserted bank cards into a towering ATM-like machine. Sharply dressed young employees helped them make the necessary online maneuvers to claim their... → Read More
Israeli army arrests Palestinian girl filmed trying to provoke soldiers
JERUSALEM (JTA) — A Palestinian teenager who was filmed slapping and harassing Israeli soldiers in the West Bank was arrested. Israeli security forces made the arrest overnight Monday. The girl, identified by Hebrew media as 17-year-old Ahed Tamimi, and two other girls were caught on camera Friday slapping and harassing the soldiers in an apparent... → Read More
What the Israelis and Palestinians make of Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem
JERUSALEM (JTA) – Amid the global controversy over President Donald Trump’s recognition last week of Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish state, Israeli and Palestinian leaders actually found rare consensus: They agreed that the development was a win for Israel and a loss for the Palestinians. To be sure, Trump’s concession was not a... → Read More
At Jerusalem market, shrugs greet Trump’s recognition of Israeli capital
JERUSALEM (JTA) — President Donald Trump’s official recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital sent shock waves across the Middle East. But here, in the epicenter of a city where approaching a million people work, eat, pray and shop, the first day’s reaction was muted. The municipality projected images of the Israeli and American flags side... → Read More
This Moroccan doughnut is Israel’s hottest Hanukkah treat
TEL AVIV (JTA) – The sufganiyah is the plump, shining star of Hanukkah in Israel. During the holiday season, the famed jelly doughnut poses in the windows of cafés and bakeries across the country. It sparkles with oil and sugar, and shows just enough filling to keep fans interested. Every year, top chefs compete to... → Read More
Thinking of moving to Tel Aviv or Jerusalem? These Israeli towns want you instead.
JERUSALEM (JTA) – Many Jews who move to Israel only have eyes for Tel Aviv or Jerusalem. Whether it’s Tel Aviv’s wealth of startups, sunny beaches and culture, or Jerusalem’s history and religious life, newcomers want to be where the action is. But neither city is cheap. Tel Aviv is one of the most expensive... → Read More
Israel’s only liberal arts college has a Zionist mission
JERUSALEM (JTA) – From the rooftop of Shalem College, students have a sweeping view of the Old City of Jerusalem. The golden-topped Dome of the Rock, an Islamic shrine, sits atop the Temple Mount, where the ancient Jewish temple once stood. Downstairs in their classrooms, students study the mount from a variety of perspectives. They... → Read More
‘The Mooch’ gets surprisingly Jewish to stump for Trump in Israel
JERUSALEM (JTA) – Anthony Scaramucci, the short-lived White House communications director, is not a member of the tribe. But he came close to declaring himself one during a visit to Israel this week. “A few more days here and I’d probably convert to Judaism,” Scaramucci joked to JTA on Tuesday. “They already did the circumcision... → Read More
Why an Israeli soldier insists he beat a Palestinian, but the army doesn’t buy it
TEL AVIV (JTA) – Imagine for a moment that a soldier is suspected of misconduct in the field. Typically, someone might be expected to report the soldier, prompting the army to investigate. The soldier might deny any wrongdoing. Well, in Israel, a recent case unfolded in almost exactly the opposite way. A soldier admitted to beating... → Read More
Israeli officials push back against reported ‘key principles’ of Trump peace plan
JERUSALEM (JTA) — The White House quickly denied an Israeli TV news report that claimed to reveal “key principles” of a U.S. plan for Israeli-Palestinian peace. However, that has not kept Israeli officials from setting conditions on any future negotiations. Israel’s Hadashot news reported Saturday night that the Trump administration’s peace plan will recognize a... → Read More
Israel wants a big cut from the nonprofit behind those blue tzedakah boxes
JERUSALEM (JTA) – American Jews dropped nickels and dimes into the Jewish National Fund’s blue charity boxes to help Zionists build the Jewish state. More than a century later, the JNF, known in Hebrew as Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael, is rich. It owns 13 percent of all the land in the country and brings in some... → Read More
Why some religious Israelis are saying women are weakening the army
JERUSALEM (JTA) — A group of leading Orthodox rabbis met with the Israeli army’s chief of staff to complain. According to Israel’s Arutz Sheva news website, the rabbis told Gadi Eisenkot on Tuesday that the growing ranks of female combat soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces are creating an immodest environment. They demanded changes to... → Read More
In a big anniversary year for Israel, Christian Zionists are seeing signs of the Messiah
JERUSALEM (JTA) – Fifty years since the Six-Day War, 100 years since the Balfour Declaration, 150 years since Mark Twain first visited Palestine. This has been a year of big Israel-related anniversaries. To the Jewish state’s most diehard Christian supporters, the barrage of milestones is not mere coincidence but rather a harbinger of prophecies being... → Read More
Israeli leftists say Yitzhak Rabin commemoration ‘whitewashes’ his assassination
TEL AVIV (JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination will be memorialized differently this year, and not everyone is happy about it. In the past, the annual Tel Aviv rally marking the anniversary of the political murder focused on denouncing racism and extremism. Speakers called for the government to finish what Rabin was killed... → Read More
Why Israel’s judo team is willing to compete without its country’s flag
TEL AVIV (JTA) – Israel’s national judo team put on a tutorial in sportsmanship last week in Abu Dhabi. Despite being snubbed by opponents and officials alike, the athletes won five medals and treated the tournament and their opponents with respect. Moshe Ponte, the president of the Israel Judo Association, said the team was guided by... → Read More
Netanyahu calls Israelis he doesn’t like a bunch of sour pickles
JERUSALEM (JTA) — In over a decade as prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu has created more than his fair share of political memes — from the cartoon bomb he displayed at the United Nations to decry the Iran nuclear deal in 2012 to his “nix it or fix it” speech to the same body on the same... → Read More
The latest craze in Israel: pole dancing
TEL AVIV (JTA) – As Hebrew pop music blares, a half-dozen young Israelis swing around stripper poles. Clad in skimpy spandex outfits, the men and women dance, twirl and flip above the hardwood floor. On the sunny street outside the dance studio, passers-by stop to gawk through the picture windows. Some giggle guiltily, while others... → Read More
Israel bans a decade-long scam that bilked millions worldwide
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel’s multibillion-dollar binary options industry, which has scammed millions around the world over the past decade, is out of business. On Monday, the Knesset unanimously passed a law to ban the industry, with 53 votes in favor and none against. By the time the measure goes into effect in three months, all... → Read More
Poor Israeli recruits earn cash by taking on fellow soldiers’ guard duty
JERUSALEM (JTA) – The Israel Defense Forces takes pride in its status as a “people’s army.” More than just a military, the IDF embraces its reputation as an equalizing force in Israeli society. Every soldier, rich and poor, is supposed to learn during mandatory army service what it takes to be a successful Israeli. “Israel... → Read More