US committed to UN truce and ‘better future’ for Yemen, says US envoy

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Tim Lenderking, US special envoy for Yemen, says the United States can be counted on to continue its strong diplomatic effort in Yemen, but the core responsibilities for peace lie with the parties themselves.

US Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking takes part in a conference on Yemen's devastating war, hosted by the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on March 30, 2022, hours after the Riyadh-led coalition announced a cease-fire for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. - FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images

A two-month truce that began April 2 is holding so far and giving rare hope to Yemenis who have suffered through a now six-year war.

"I am encouraged," said US Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking in an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor. The "parties have taken some significant steps here, significant compromises to agree to this truce."

Jordan demands total control, reduced Jewish presence on Temple Mount

Meanwhile, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Muhammad bin Zayed seeks “freedom of worship for members of all religions, as stipulated in the standardization agreement between the United Arab Emirates and Israel,” says policy expert Moshe Albo. “King Abdullah claims this violates the existing status quo and the peace agreement between Jordan and Israel.”

BY ISRAEL KASNETT

Palestinians wave flags and shout slogans as Muslim worshippers attend the last Friday prayers of the month of Ramadan at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City on April 29, 2022. Photo by Jamal Awad/Flash90.

(April 29, 2022 / JNS) Jordan fears it is losing its recognized status as official custodian of Jerusalem’s holy Muslim sites, including the Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest site, as Palestinians incited by Hamas, other terror groups and the Palestinian Authority continuously held riots during the Muslim month of Ramadan.

Israel's Independence Day: Why we are here, 74 years later

When the going gets rough, we are on the same side. We express our identity as Jews in different ways, but it is the same identity.

By DVORA WAYSMAN

FIREWORKS OVER the Knesset in celebration of Independence Day, Jerusalem.

(photo credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)

Jews all over the world celebrate Israel’s Independence Day – even those who have no intention of ever coming on aliyah, and many of whom have never even visited Israel.

“It’s a kind of insurance policy,” one overseas friend told me. “By supporting Israel financially and emotionally, I know that its sanctuary is available to me or my children or grandchildren, should the need ever arise.”

El primer museo interactivo de cultura sefardí del mundo estará en Málaga

El primer museo interactivo del mundo dedicado a la historia y cultura sefardíes necesita entre cinco y diez millones de dólares para hacerse realidad en el casco histórico de Málaga (sur de España), según dijeron sus promotores en Miami.

Vista de Málaga Foto: Manfred Zajac vía Pixabay

El proyecto, una iniciativa privada de interés público, fue presentado por la noche en un evento privado en Miami organizado por Comunidad Judía Internacional, una organización que apoya en este proyecto a la Fundación Patrimonio Sefardí.

Yossi Obadia, uno de los promotores del futuro museo, dijo que ni siquiera en Israel hay una institución dedicada íntegramente a los judíos que se asentaron en España a partir del siglo I después de la era común.

Third expansion of Makkah Grand Mosque receives 19 million worshippers

The third expansion of the Grand Mosque in Makkah had received more than 500,000 worshippers per hour. (SPA)

JEDDAH: Almost 19 million people worshipped in the third expansion of the Grand Mosque in Makkah during Ramadan, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The director of the General Administration of the Third Saudi Expansion at the Grand Mosque, Walid Al-Masoudi, said the expansion had received more than 500,000 worshippers per hour at a rate of 250,000 inside the expansion and more than 250,000 in the squares.

He stressed that these efforts came under the directives of the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques in fulfillment of the aspirations of the Saudi leadership.

Parks authority says it’s shelving Mount of Olives plan that angered church leaders

Plan to expand national park onto church-owned lands still appears on website of planning panel; parks authority: Project won’t be advanced without dialogue with church leaders.

By JACOB MAGID

Nuns pose for a selfie as they mark Palm Sunday on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, Sunday, March 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

The Israel Nature and Parks Authority said Monday that it was withdrawing a controversial plan to expand a national park onto church-owned lands in East Jerusalem, amid opposition from local church leaders who denounced it as a “premeditated attack on the Christians in the Holy Land.”

The announcement came a day after a report by The Times of Israel exposing the project, which was slated to receive preliminary approval from the Jerusalem municipality’s Local Planning and Construction Committee approval on March 2.

Lapid calls on White House not to delist Iran’s Guards as terror group

FM says Israel will not be bound by a restored nuke deal: ‘We will not hesitate to act’; Bennett points to JCPOA’s sunset clauses as main reason for Israel’s opposition.

By LAZAR BERMAN

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid speaks at the Conference of Presidents meeting in Jerusalem on February 21, 2022. (Miri Shimonovich/GPO)

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid indicated on Monday that the Biden administration may be open to delisting the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps as a terrorist organization, and called on international actors to convince the White House to reject this Iranian demand.

“Everyone in his right mind should talk to the administration about this and tell them, ‘This is just wrong, don’t do that,'” said Israel’s top diplomat, speaking in

Yom Hashoá: En Yad Vashem, Bennett pide no comparar guerras del presente con el Holocausto

Enlace Judío – En su discurso en la ceremonia estatal anual por Yom Hashoá en Yad Vashem, el primer ministro Naftali Bennett evocó los horrores más grandes e incomprensibles del genocidio nazi.

Bennett criticó la división política y el tribalismo que han dividido a Israel en los últimos años. Recordó que las divisiones entre las ideologías de derecha e izquierda desgastaron los lazos entre los judíos durante el levantamiento del gueto de Varsovia.

“Incluso en los días más oscuros de la historia judía, en el infierno de la destrucción, la izquierda y la derecha no cooperaron. Cada grupo luchó solo contra los alemanes”, dijo.

“No debemos desmantelar a Israel desde adentro. Hoy, gracias a Dios, en el

La economía en aprietos de Turquía y el aislamiento regional están detrás de la última ofensiva de encanto hacia Israel y otros países

Una clara justificación turca para mejorar las relaciones con Israel es debilitar la asociación estratégica entre Jerusalén, Grecia y Chipre y obtener acceso al gas natural de Israel.

Estambul Foto ilustración: Michael Parulava vía Unsplash

Las políticas regionales de Turquía le han causado un creciente aislamiento, y las políticas monetarias del presidente Tayyip Erdogan provocaron el deterioro de la economía.

Actualmente, Ankara está tratando de reparar sus lazos con las potencias regionales, incluidos Egipto, Emiratos Árabes Unidos (EAU), Arabia Saudita e Israel.

Byzantine marble pillar discovered in Ashdod sand dunes during police patrol

Pillar, found in one complete piece, is “not something you find every day,” may have belonged to a church located in the area.

By JUDITH SUDILOVSKY

The municipal police patrols, Supervisor Itai Dabush and Sagiv Ben Gigi.

(photo credit: SHIRA LIFSHITZ/ISREAL ANTIQUITIES AUTHORITY)

Two policemen on routine patrol in Ashdod’s sand dunes last week uncovered an impressive 1,500-year-old marble pillar that was uncovered by recent rains.

The pillar is part of the remains of a large Byzantine church that was located in the area some 1,500 years ago, according to the Antiquities Authority (IAA).

Human settlement on Arabian Peninsula earlier, less influenced by climate than previously thought

Researchers say their finds indicate that humans were much more adaptable than they have been given credit for.

By JUDITH SUDILOVSKY

An international team was able to reconstruct four distinct phases of Palaeolithic human occupation during the early Stone Age at the Jebel Faya rock shelter site in what is today UAE, Southern Arabia, contrary to previously held ideas. (photo credit: Dr. Knut Bretzke)

Shattering previously held ideas, an international team of researchers has determined prehistoric human settlement on the Arabian Peninsula occurred earlier, more continuously and was less influenced by climatic changes than previously thought.

Using a cutting-edge range of archaeological, palaeo-climatological and dating techniques, the team was able to reconstruct four distinct phases of Palaeolithic

Red Canyon in Israel. drone video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yax4Rp7Jbbk

About to fall off the cliff scary! FPV in Galilee

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NUc4c7UbfU

Israel completes successful live-fire testing of ‘naval Iron Dome’

The “C-Dome” successfully identified and intercepted rockets, cruise missiles and drones • Israeli defense minister: “We continue to be two steps ahead” of Iran’s proxies in the region.

A live-fire test of the "C-Dome" defense system from aboard the INS Magen missile corvette. Credit: Israeli Ministry of Defense.

(February 21, 2022 / JNS) Israel has completed a series of live-fire tests of the naval version of its Iron Dome missile-defense system, called “C-Dome,” according to the Israeli Defense Ministry.

The crew of the INS Magen, one of Israel’s new Sa’ar 6-class missile corvettes, led the tests, which simulated various advanced threat scenarios, including rockets, cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles. Development of “C-Dome” was led

Israel y países árabes preparan un pacto de defensa contra los drones suicidas iraníes

Israel y los países árabes vecinos cercanos, y no tan cercanos, han comenzado a diseñar un pacto de defensa contra la amenaza de los drones suicidas, señala un reporte del Canal 12.

Drone iraní Mohajer-6 con un misil baja el ala Foto: Fars Media Corporation CC BY 4.0 vía Wikimedia Commons

De acuerdo con el reporte, el Estado judío ha comenzado los preparativos para un acuerdo de defensa con los países árabes de la región tras los ataques con drones suicidas y misiles cruceros contra Arabia Saudita y Emiratos Árabes Unidos atribuidos a “proxies” (o apoderados) de Irán en Yemen e Irak.

La idea es que los países miembros del pacto que detecten un lanzamiento hacia un país vecino podrán advertir a ese estado e incluso asistirlo para derribar el dron o el misil crucero en cuestión.

8 UAE heavy transport aircraft land in Israel in past 2 weeks

It is unclear why the heavy transport aircraft were in Israel though it is believed that the aircraft likely were transporting equipment related to defense contracts signed between the two countries.

By ANNA AHRONHEIM

C-17 Globemaster heavy transport aircraft   (photo credit: DAVID WEINRICH)

At least eight C-17 Globemaster heavy transport aircraft belonging to the United Arab Emirates Air Force have landed in Israel over the past two weeks.

The Boeing C-17A Globemaster III is a four-engine heavy transport aircraft that can accommodate huge payloads of 164,900 pounds, fly 2,400 nautical miles and land on runways in 3,000 feet or less on a small airfield.

El desierto de Judea, un paisaje natural y desértico que está a 1.000 metros sobre el nivel del mar

Judea se encuentra con el desierto de Negev en el sur.

Panorama de camellos en Judea. Foto: Twitter @eyalasaf

El famoso desierto de Judea es un lugar natural que va desde las colinas de Judea a 1.000 metros sobre el nivel del mar hacia el oeste. Y llega hasta el Mar Muerto a 400 metros de altura en el este.

Conectado con el desierto de Negev en el sur, el mismo es un desierto árido, con montañas, terrazas y escarpes en vez de poseer dunas de arena. La escarpa final cae hacia el Mar Muerto y el Valle de Jordania.

The Middle East can cover Europe’s energy needs, but at what price?

"The only viable solution is for the Gulf states to increase production, which is unlikely," expert says.

By DEBBIE MOHNBLATT/THE MEDIA LINE

Renewable energy wind turbines as seen next to the snowy peaks of Mount Hermon on January 3, 2021. Northern Golan Heights. (photo credit: MICHAEL GILADI/FLASH90)

Russia on Wednesday halted its supply of natural gas to Bulgaria and Poland after the latter nations refused its demand that Europeans pay in rubles.

According to Gazprom, the majority state-owned Russian gas giant, some European companies have already found ways to continue to buy gas from Russia while both satisfying its payment demands and avoiding breaching the sanctions imposed on the country following its invasion of Ukraine.

A Journey Underneath Jerusalem from the City of David Down to the Gihon Spring

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izEvnrRua3Y

Un ingeniero israelí se dedica a «rehabilitar» todos los ríos del país

Ran Molko trabaja desde hace 20 años en el mantenimiento de los cursos fluviales de Israel.

El agua de los ríos es totalmente potable y consumida. Foto: Creative Commons

Según el ingeniero israelí Ran Molko, en los ríos israelíes, el agua que pasaba era residual sin tratamiento asiduo. Pero eso ya no sucede porque hace 20 años que se encarga de la rehabilitación de ríos de todo Israel.

Su técnica exitosa está en su esencia. La misma se basa en combinar la ingeniería, ecología y el paisaje. Todo con el fin de cuidar las aguas y arroyos israelíes.

Israel. Negev desert by drone

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNhBIzgxkQ4

In Rare Sign of Solidarity, UN Envoy Tells Israel’s Side of the Story

UN Security Council meeting (illustrative)

Tuesday, 26 April 2022 | In an unusual turn of events, a Middle East envoy of the United Nations acknowledged the Israeli side of the story when recounting the violence atop the Temple Mount during the ongoing Ramadan celebrations.

As the UN Security Council held its monthly meeting devoted entirely to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, the UN special coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, recounted the month’s events.

Ramadan is the month-long holiday which Muslims are to mark by fasting from sunrise to sunset, praying several times a day, reading the Quran and engaging in

El astronauta israelí regresa a la Tierra desde la estación espacial

Los cuatro astronautas de la misión Ax-1, la primera enteramente privada en llegar a la Estación Espacial Internacional (EEI), regresaron este lunes con éxito a la Tierra a bordo de la nave de SpaceX Dragon Endeavour.

El astronauta israelí Eytan Stibbe sale de la cápsula espacial Foto: Captura de la pantalla de Youtube

Tal como estaba previsto, la cápsula Dragon cayó de manera controlada en aguas atlánticas cercanas a Jacksonville, en la costa noreste de Florida (EE.UU.), a las 13.12 hora local de Miami (17.12 GMT) y varias embarcaciones de la empresa SpaceX acudieron a recogerla y ayudar a los tripulantes a salir.

Imágenes de Axiom Space mostraron el momento de la entrada de la cápsula en la atmósfera terrestre, el amerizaje y la aproximación inmediata de las lanchas y el barco de recuperación de la cápsula, que fue izada a bordo de la embarcación.

Lapid: Israel está comprometido a resguardar el statu quo del Monte del Templo

Enlace Judío – El canciller israelí Yair Lapid reafirmó este domingo el compromiso de Israel de preservar el statu quo en el Monte del Templo, en medio de la tensión que se vive en el lugar sagrado en Jerusalén.

“Israel está comprometido con el statu quo en el Monte del Templo“, dijo Lapid en una sesión informativa con periodistas en Jerusalén.

“Los musulmanes rezan en el Monte del Templo, los no musulmanes solo visitan. No hay cambios y no habrá cambios”, agregó el canciller.

La declaración de Lapid llegó un día después de que el ministro de Asuntos de la Diáspora, Najman Shai, advirtió de un deterioro en la situación del statu quo ante las constantes visitas de judíos que rezan en el Monte del Templo.

Letter with bullet and death threats sent to PM Bennett and family; security boosted

Threatening message with round of live ammunition delivered to family in Ra’anana Tuesday morning; PM hints threat motivated by politics.

By TOI STAFF

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and his wife Gilat attend a ceremony on the second night of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, at the Nativ program on the Kiryat Moriah campus in Jerusalem, November 29, 2021. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

A letter addressed to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and his family included death threats and a live bullet, police said Tuesday afternoon.

Security officials in the Prime Minister’s Office immediately decided to reinforce the unit responsible for protecting Bennett’s family, the Prime Minister’s Office said.

According to a police statement, the Lahav 433 serious crime unit and the Shin Bet security agency launched a joint investigation into the threatening letter.