Syrian rebels increasingly frustrated

Published on May 6, 2013

Gazing out at the rubble, which was all that remained of a four story apartment complex in the city of Azaz just south of the Turkish border, 41 year old bricklayer Khalid Jaza’iri did not see much to be optimistic about.

Did Bashar Assad use chemical weapons?

Published on March 28, 2013

Ahmad Jabir gesticulated wildly when he heard the news. “This regime is crazy,” the 24 year old rebel fighter shouted. “When will the international community realize it will kill us all with gasses like the chemical weapons it fired today?”

Syrian treated by IDF soldiers dies in Israeli hospital

Published on March 27, 2013

An injured Syrian treated by Israeli soldiers on the Golan Heights border died in an Israeli hospital.

U.N. curbs Golan patrols after peacekeepers seized, diplomats say

Published on March 14, 2013

U.N. peacekeepers monitoring the ceasefire line between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights have scaled back patrols after rebels detained 21 Filipino observers for three days last week, diplomats said on Thursday.

U.S. to give Syrian rebels medical, food aid, not arms

Published on February 28, 2013

The United States said on Thursday it will for the first time give non-lethal aid to Syrian rebels and more than double its aid to Syria's civilian opposition, disappointing opponents of President Bashar Assad clamoring for Western weapons.

U.S. says Russia ‘waking up to reality’ on Syria

Published on December 13, 2012

The United States welcomed on Thursday a Russian admission that Syria's rebels may succeed in their drive to topple President Bashar Assad and called on Moscow to join efforts to manage a peaceful political transition.

Assad kept chemical weapons out of hands of extremists, Moshe Yaalon says

Published on December 5, 2012

Syrian President Bashar Assad responded to past warnings about the security of chemical weapons by taking steps to keep them out of the hands of militants, Israel's vice prime minister Moshe Yaalon said on Wednesday.

Anti-American fury sweeps Middle East over film

Published on September 14, 2012

Fury about a film that insults the Prophet Mohammad tore across the Middle East after weekly prayers on Friday with protesters attacking U.S. embassies and burning American flags as the Pentagon rushed to bolster security at its missions.

Obama warns Syria’s Assad chemical weapons a ‘red line’

Published on August 20, 2012

President Barack Obama bluntly warned Syrian President Bashar Assad on Monday not to cross a "red line" by using chemical or biological weapons in his country's bloody conflict and suggested that such action would prompt the United States to consider a military response.

Syrian minister says gov’t will not use chemical weapons on rebels

Published on July 23, 2012

Syria will only use its chemical weapons on threats from outside of the country, Syria's Foreign Ministry said.

Bomb kills powerful Assad kin; battle in Damascus

Published on July 18, 2012

A bomber killed three of Bashar Assad's top military officials on Wednesday - including his powerful brother-in-law - in a devastating blow to the Syrian leader's inner circle as rebels closed in vowing to "liberate" the capital.

Concern grows over militant activity in Libya

Published on September 30, 2011

As the dust settles after six months of fighting in Libya, U.S. officials are stepping up efforts to identify Islamic militants who might pose a threat in a post-Gadhafi power vacuum.

Gadhafi: "We will show no mercy and no pity to them"

Published on March 17, 2011

Muammar Gadhafi told Libyan rebels on Thursday his armed forces were coming to their capital Benghazi tonight and would not show any mercy to fighters who resisted them. In a radio address, he told Benghazi residents that soldiers would search every house in the city and people who had no arms had no reason to fear.

At least 30 killed in Libya as Gadhafi forces fight to take back rebel-held town

Published on March 4, 2011

The Libyan army staged a prolonged artillery barrage on the city of Zawiyah, west of Tripoli, on Thursday, with residents saying more than 30 people have been killed. "There has been heavy shelling of Zawiyah by (Muammar) Gadhafi's forces and we are hearing of many casualties," Mustafa Gheriani, a spokesman for the rebel February 17th Coalition, said.

Hybrid Jews

By David Suissa
Published on May 3, 2007

Have you heard of these new hybrid cars that combine the traditional engine with an electric one? Well, this is the equivalent phenomenon -- hybrid Jews -- Jews who embrace a new tradition, but keep a connection to their old one.

The Spin on Spinoza—Rebel or Traitor?

By Rabbi David Wolpe
Published on May 25, 2006

"Betraying Spinoza: The Renegade Jew Who Gave Us Modernity": Traditional Judaism feared and distrusted this child of the enlightenment. Although prominent Jewish thinkers, from Moses Mendelssohn to Solomon Maimon to modern Zionists, have claimed him as their own, every deliberation on Spinoza wonders -- is he a Jewish thinker?

It’s Passover Time Down Under, Mate

By Linda Morel
Published on April 3, 2003

Because Australia is situated below the equator, its seasons rebel against the Jewish calendar. Our winter is their summer; our spring their fall. Although Passover's rituals and symbols resonate spring, the holiday is celebrated in autumn Down Under.

"Passover begins just as the temperature drops, days grow shorter, and grapevines lose their leaves," said Jenni Neumann, a New Yorker who grew up in Sydney. "It's rather odd, if you're not used to it, I guess."