Rocket explodes in Israel, first attack from Gaza since November truce

Published on February 26, 2013

A rocket fired from Gaza exploded in Israel on Tuesday, the first such attack since a November truce and an apparent show of solidarity with West Bank protests after the death of a Palestinian in an Israeli jail.

Shalit reveals how he survived in first public interview since freedom

Published on October 12, 2012

One year after his release, Israeli Channel 10 News aired parts of an interview with former Hamas captive Gilad Shalit on Oct. 11, during which Shalit revealed details of how he survived his ordeal and spent his days in captivity.

Shalit gives first interview in Israel since release

Published on October 11, 2012

Gilad Shalit in his first interview in Israel since his release spoke of how he passed the time in captivity and his sense of great "relief" upon being set free.

Alan Gross’ health deteriorating, wife says

Published on September 11, 2012

The wife of Alan Gross said after visiting him in Cuba that the jailed contractor’s health continues to deteriorate.

Israeli officers get 30 months for dumping Palestinian prisoner

Published on July 9, 2012

Two Israeli police officers convicted of leaving a Palestinian car thief to die were sentenced to 30 months in prison.

Imprisoned Palestinian soccer player will end fast

Published on June 18, 2012

A soccer player from Gaza held by Israel without trial for nearly three years has agreed to end his three-month hunger strike in exchange for hospital treatment and an early release, his lawyer said on Monday.

Congress holds hearing on Chasid imprisoned in Bolivia

Published on June 7, 2012

A retired FBI official told a House subcommittee that the imprisonment of a New York Chasidic Jew in Bolivia is "state-sponsored kidnapping."

Jan Karski, from hell on earth to recipient of U.S. presidential honor

Published on May 25, 2012

By the time he was 26, Jan Karski had been imprisoned by the Soviets, tortured by the Gestapo, and nearly drowned while escaping from a hospital in German-occupied Slovakia.

Cuban official: Cuba is ready to negotiate status of Alan Gross

Published on May 15, 2012

Authorities in Cuba are ready to negotiate the status of jailed American Alan Gross, a senior Cuban official said.

Palestinian inmates agree to end hunger strike

Published on May 14, 2012

Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails agreed on Monday to an Egyptian-brokered deal aimed at ending a mass hunger strike that challenged Israel's policy of detention without trial and raised fears of a bloody Palestinian backlash if any protesters died.

Palestinian hunger strikers denied release

Published on May 7, 2012

Israel's Supreme Court rejected an appeal for the release of two hunger-striking Palestinians.

Hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners moved to hospital

Published on May 1, 2012

Two hunger-striking Palestinians in Israeli jails have been moved to an Israeli hospital in poor condition, their lawyer said.

Abduct Israelis to free prisoners, Gaza leaders say

Published on April 27, 2012

Islamic leaders in the Gaza Strip called on Friday for militants to kidnap Israelis and use them as bargaining chips to secure the freedom of thousands of Palestinians prisoners held in Israeli jails.

Israel punishes Palestinian hunger-strikers

Published on April 23, 2012

Israel has taken measures against some 1,200 Palestinian prisoners on a hunger strike, denying them family visits and separating them from inmates not taking part in the protest, prison authorities said on Monday

Palestinian prisoners launch hunger strike

Published on April 17, 2012

At least 1,200 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails have launched an open-ended hunger strike.

Palestinians in Israeli jails set to launch hunger strike

Published on April 16, 2012

More than 1,600 Palestinians in Israeli jails reportedly are set to launch a hunger strike on what is called Palestinian Prisoners Day.

Report: Pollard hospitalized, then returned to prison

Published on April 6, 2012

Jonathan Pollard reportedly was hospitalized at a facility off his prison campus.

Palestinian hunger striker in ‘mortal danger’

Published on March 21, 2012

A Palestinian woman jailed in Israel who has been on a hunger strike for more than a month is in "immediate mortal danger," a human rights group said.

Palestinian to continue hunger strike despite detention cut

Published on March 5, 2012

A Palestinian woman on a hunger strike in an Israeli prison said she will continue to fast despite having her detention cut.

Thousands rally in Gaza, West Bank for hunger striker

Published on February 17, 2012

Several thousand Palestinians rallied in Gaza and the West Bank Friday in support of jailed Islamic Jihad leader Khader Adnan, who is on the 62nd day of a hunger strike to protest against his detention by Israel.

Cuban Jewish leaders meet with Alan Gross

Published on December 29, 2011

Two Cuban Jewish leaders met with jailed American Jewish contractor Alan Gross.

Gilad Shalit undergoes surgery to repair abduction injuries

Published on November 4, 2011

Gilad Shalit has undergone surgery to repair wounds from his 2006 abduction.

Shas lawmaker chides Shalit for his Shabbat at the beach

Published on November 3, 2011

A lawmaker from the haredi Orthodox Shas Party said Gilad Shalit should have spent his first Shabbat of freedom not at the beach but praying in synagogue.

Shalits trying to adjust to new normal

Published on October 24, 2011

A week after Gilad Shalit returned to Israel after being held in captivity for more than five years in Gaza, things were getting back to normal at the Shalit family home -- sort of.

Israel, Hamas reach Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange deal, officials say

Published on October 11, 2011

Israel and Hamas reached a prisoner exchange deal that will secure the release of abducted Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit, officials at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Tuesday.

Egypt extends detention of American-Israeli Ilan Grapel

Published on September 14, 2011

Egypt reportedly has extended by 45 more days its detention of Ilan Grapel, the dual U.S.-Israeli citizen arrested in Egypt on spying charges.

Hamas founder, father of Israel spy, released from Israeli prison

Published on August 4, 2011

Israel released from prison one of the founders of Hamas, who had been imprisoned for five years for terrorist activities.

Jonathan Pollard has “urgent” surgery

Published on August 2, 2011

Convicted spy for Israel Jonathan Pollard was taken to a civilian hospital to undergo surgery.

Israel accepts terms of German deal for Shalit

Published on June 26, 2011

Efforts are intensifying for the release of Israeli hostage Gilad Shalit on the fifth anniversary of his capture by the terrorist organization Hamas.

Hamas says video will prove Gilad Shalit alive and well

Published on September 30, 2009

A senior Hamas official said on Wednesday that a video to be released Friday will prove that abducted Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit is alive and well.

Shalits reveal content of 2006 letter from Gilad

Published on September 8, 2009

The family of abducted Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit has allowed public access to a letter he wrote just months after being taken captive by Palestinian militants in 2006.

Jewish Agency events mark Shalit birthday

Published on August 25, 2009

Europeans: Gilad Shalit transfer to Egypt imminent

Published on June 25, 2009

European diplomatic sources said Thursday that kidnapped Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit will be transferred to Egypt in the coming hours or coming days.

Get out of jail free

By Steve Greenberg
Published on July 31, 2008

Candles in the wind

By Steve Greenberg
Published on July 24, 2008

Prisoners’ Release Faces Hurdle

By Leslie Susser
Published on November 13, 2003

Seldom can Israeli Cabinet ministers have faced a more acute moral and political dilemma than the current prisoner exchange deal with Hezbollah.

That proposal, which the 23-member Cabinet approved Sunday by a one-vote margin, forced ministers to weigh the conflicting interests of several Israeli families, put a price on the life of a kidnapped Israeli citizen and consider the long-term price that all Israelis may yet have to pay.

Now the government may have another decision to make: Hezbollah is demanding that those released include Samir Kuntar, the terrorist from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, who murdered an Israeli family in a 1979 attack that shocked Israel.

Why Jonathan Pollard is Still in Prison

By Edwin Black
Published on July 4, 2002

On January 7, 2002, former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived without fanfare at the Federal Correction Center in Butner, North Carolina to visit America's most controversial Jewish prisoner.

Healing the World

By Naomi Pfefferman
Published on October 26, 2000

As a child, Mimi Leder used to ask about the faded blue numbers on her mother's arm. "It's just a tattoo," her mother, Etyl, a classical pianist, would say. "I was 10 before she told me the truth, and to be honest, that was not old enough," the director recalls.

Survivors of Forced Labor Deserve Tax-Free Reparations

By Antonio R
Published on September 21, 2000

The horrific racial persecution of the Holocaust is all too familiar to us. That dark period in history was marked by the brutal deaths of millions of innocent people and also involved the virtual enslavement of more than 10 million foreign laborers in Germany.

Israeli Vice

By Eric Silver
Published on March 19, 1998

The young Lithuanian woman in the prison libraryhas the narrow chest, hunched shoulders and wary eyes of someone whohas known poverty and is not sure where the next blow is coming from.