Old City hotelier facing eviction: ‘Biden, give Christians 10 minutes of your visit’

Abu el-Walid Dajani, whose family has leased Imperial Hotel since 1949, says ‘Palestinian heritage endangered’; new leaseholder Ateret Cohanim: ‘Jews entitled to live everywhere’.

By SUE SURKES

The Imperial Hotel (left) and the Petra Hostel (right), located between Jaffa Gate and the Arab market in Jerusalem's Old City, June 21, 2022. (Sue Surkes/Times of Israel)

The manager of an Old City hotel whose lease has been bought by a right-wing Jewish organization wants US President Joe Biden to give church leaders “just ten minutes” when he visits Israel next month to hear their concerns and reassure them that Christianity will be safe in Jerusalem.

Abu el-Walid Dajani, 78, runs the 44-room Imperial Hotel, built just inside the Jaffa Gate in time to accommodate officers of Germany’s Kaiser Wilhelm, who paid a state visit to the city in 1898.

New Smotrich powers likely to see settlements flourish, Palestinian building limited

Under deal with Likud, Religious Zionism minister to oversee key Defense Ministry organizations responsible for enforcing regulations, daily life in the West Bank.

By JEREMY SHARON

Head of the Religious Zionist Party MK Bezalel Smotrich, center, visits the illegal settlement outpost of Evyatar, in the West Bank, together with Nachala Settlement Movement leader director Tzvi Elimelech Sharbaf and Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan, on June 27, 2021. (Sraya Diamant/Flash90)

The newly agreed terms of the coalition agreement between the Likud and the far-right Religious Zionism parties will give the latter outsize influence over civilian issues in the West Bank and almost certainly allow for accelerated growth of Israeli settlements there.

How Bezalel Smotrich rode unfiltered radicalism and unforgiving politics to power

The Religious Zionism leader’s political ascent has been marked by extreme positions from the start. He now stands on the cusp of having the ability to realize his far-right vision.

By JEREMY SHARON

Religious Zionist head Bezalel Smotrich attends a discussion in the Israeli parliament on the TV-show "Shtula" (Double agent), airing on Israeli TV, November 21, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

A little over a decade ago, as the 2009 election campaign gathered pace, a little-known but radical right-wing activist secured the respectable, albeit unrealistic, ninth spot on the electoral list of the ultra-nationalist and religiously hardline National Union party.

A few days shy of his 29th birthday, Bezalel Smotrich was making his first foray into frontline Israeli politics.

Netanyahu: “Israel no será gobernado por el Talmud”

Bibi se acerca a conseguir un acuerdo con sus aliados para poder regresar a la jefatura de gobierno, aunque con polémicas.

Benjamín Netanyahu Foto archivo: President.gov.ua CC BY vía Wikimedia Commons

Después de tres reuniones en un día, reportes indican que Benjamín Netanyahu y Bezalel Smotrich se acercan a un acuerdo para la conformación de gobierno. Smotrich, líder del ultraderechista Sionismo Religioso, se mostró como el más tenaz entre los aliados de Bibi a la hora de pedir cargos.

No será Defensa finalmente la cartera que tendría Smotrich, una posibilidad que levantó alarmas en Israel por las posturas ultras y la falta de experiencia militar. Todo indica que Smotrich se quedaría inicialmente con Finanzas, pero solamente

Smotrich demands de facto annexation across West Bank in gov't negotiations

Israeli towns in Judea and Samaria are under military government. Bezalel Smotrich seeks to dismantle the Civil Administration entirely.

By LAHAV HARKOV

Transportation Minister Bezalel Smotrich   (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)

Religious Zionist Party leader Bezalel Smotrich on Tuesday demanded that Israeli settlements be governed by the relevant ministries rather than the IDF’s Civil Administration of Judea and Samaria, as part of coalition negotiations with presumptive incoming prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In meetings with the leaders of parties in the right-wing bloc this week, Netanyahu attempted to reach a slimmed-down coalition agreement on cabinet portfolios and

Voice of the Jewish News: Never in Israel’s history has hatred wielded such power

This week's editorial reflects on the result of the Israeli election and its repercussions for the Jewish state and its relationship with the diaspora.

By VOICE OF THE JEWISH NEWS

2KAAN6X Jerusalem, Israel. 02nd Nov, 2022. Israeli far-right lawmaker and the head of "Jewish Power" party Itamar Ben-Gvir gives a statement following the exit polls of the 2022 Israeli general election, the fifth parliamentary election in just three and a half years. Credit: Ilia Yefimovich/dpa/Alamy Live News

Benjamin Netanyahu’s triumph was really a victory for his allies.

For the sixth time, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister has led his party to the top of the polls and appears set to return to the job.