Well this is awkward. Last night police detained Talya Ben-Eliezer, 39-year-old daughter of former Israeli defense minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, at JFK on an outstanding "no-bail warrant" out of Florida. The dual American-Israeli citizen was booked as a "fugitive from justice" on a drug charge from the Sunshine State reportedly to do with some oxycontin she bought without the proper prescription. more ›

At what point do you start teaching kids the complicated geopolitics of the Middle East and how much detail on each side do you give? That is the question brought up today by public school parent Dana Milstein, whose 10-year-old recently came home from school with what Milstein found to be an alarming, propagandist "fact sheet" on Israel. Now she's taking her concerns to the public—and she has some points. more ›

A Brooklyn Hasidic man who has been in Israel for the past three years, avoiding NYC authorities, will be extradited back to the U.S. to face charges related to the beating of a young black man in Crown Heights. The Daily News reports, "A Jerusalem court Thursday approved the extradition of Yitzhak Shuchat, 28, who’s been indicted for assault as a hate crime and other counts for the alleged baton beatdown of Andrew Charles in 2008." more ›

A few days ago, Queens resident and Emory Law student Ilan Grapel was released from Egypt, after Egyptian authorities claimed he was actually an Israeli spy and arrested him in June. While his friends and family have denied the spying allegations, Israel agreed to release 25 Egyptian prisoners in exchange for the 27-year-old. Today, Grapel landed back home in New York and had one thing on his mind: "What I have not had are chocolate chip pancakes from IHOP." more ›

A Brooklyn man pleaded guilty today to being part of a black market kidney ring stretching from Israel to NYC. Levy Itzhak Rosenbaum, 60, admitted that he bought kidneys for cheap in Israel then sold them to needy people in America for huge sums of money. "I am what you call a matchmaker...I've never had a failure," he was caught on tape telling an FBI informant posing as a potential client. more ›

Ilan Grapel, the 27-year-old law student from Hollis Hills detained in Egypt since June and accused of spying for Israel, has been released in exchange for 25 Egyptians held in Israeli jails. more ›

As the Occupy Wall Street movement grows and spreads across the country (and around the world), Republicans are trying to figure out how to make OWS work for them. Besides just calling the protesters an unruly and scary mob, some are wondering why there hasn't been any attention about the anti-Semitism at Zuccotti Park, which is what Washington Post blogger Jennifer Rubin did after seeing a video from Emergency Committee for Israel, whose board members include notable conservatives Bill Kristol and Gary Bauer. more ›

Now that former New York City mayor and current bridge Ed Koch feels that he got what he wanted out of his support for winning GOP candidate Bob Turner in Anthony Weiner's former district, he's ready to be friends with Democrats again. "I believe the recent vote in the 9th Congressional District in New York affected in a positive way the policy of the U.S. on the Mideast," Koch wrote in an email blast to supporters. "I'm now on board the Obama Reelection Express." Yeah, doesn't it feel good to get off the "Backstabby Crybaby Bus?" more ›

The MTA will not run ads from right-wing demagogue Pamela Geller, who wanted to spread the word that those who oppose Israel are "savages." Geller has previously bought ads on MTA buses showing a plane about to hit the second tower at the World Trade Center, with a rendering of the Islamic center and mosque planned for Lower Manhattan, and the question, "Why There?" The MTA first rejected that ad, then approved it after Geller threatened to sue. Naturally, she's threatening to sue again, so there's still hope her xenophobic message of hate will come to a subway station near you! more ›

A year ago, President Obama pushed the UN to reach an agreement that would create a soverign Palestinian state. Now, with Israel digging in against any such accord and Palestinians upset that the US has refused to support their bid for independence, Obama was forced to tread lightly and speak in sweeping generalities in today's speech [pdf] to the General Assembly. After acknowledging that he still supports an independent Palestine Obama said, "Ultimately, it is Israelis and Palestinians who must live side by side...It is Israelis and Palestinians—not us—who must reach agreement on the issues that divide them." more ›

A week before it formally asks the United Nations for statehood, the Palestinian delegation is getting ready with some carbo-loading. According to the Post, they "had a late-night feast of expensive wine and heaping platters of pasta at Cipriani Downtown... The officials entered the swank eatery on West Broadway in TriBeCa at about 11:30 p.m. Friday and were seated at the large table in the back." more ›

During his weekly radio address this morning, Mayor Bloomberg looked into his crystal ball and saw a grim, violent future if the masses don't get a job. "We have a lot of kids graduating college, can't find jobs," Bloomberg said. "That's what happened in Cairo. That's what happened in Madrid. You don't want those kinds of riots here." Especially not if you live in one of those extravagant mansions that angry mobs just loooove burning down, amirite Mike? The mayor then went on to voice his qualified support for Obama's jobs bill, acknowledging that "at least he's got some ideas on the table, whether you like those or not." Hopefully those ideas include federal funding for fireproof panic rooms. more ›

Are the children and ultra-conservative Israel lobbyists out of the room? Good, because we don't want to scare/offend anyone with this advertisement, which was put up in subways earlier this month. The campaign, paid for by a coalition of pro-Palestinian groups, calls for an
 end
 to
 U.S.
 military
 aid
 to
 Israel. This message, according to local Assemblyman Dov Hikind, is "very, very dangerous." more ›

Bob Turner, a Queens businessman, crushed the presumptive heir to Anthony Weiner's vacated House seat yesterday, winning the 9th Congressional District by a margin of more than eight percent (with 84 percent of districts counted just after midnight). Republicans are characterizing the special election victory as a stern rebuke of President Obama, and a sign that White House is theirs for the taking. Turner's opponent, David Weprin, has not yet formally conceded, but last night Turner told his exultant supporters: more ›

Last October Staten Islander Eric Bellucci allegedly stabbed his parents to death in their Annadale home before fleeing to Israel. Since being returned to the States he has been on and off suicide watch and has made such a scene each time he is supposed to go to court that he remains unarraigned. That theme continued today when, despite psychiatric reports saying he was fit to stand trial, his lawyer successfully asked for more time before Bellucci gets his day in court. In favor of the argument that the troubled 31-year-old, a Stuyvesant and Williams graduate, is not well in the head? When he was on the Corrections bus to court and kept screaming "I am the Son of Sam!" more ›

Possible cyborg and Sarah Palin enemy #1 Michele Bachmann was in New York City yesterday speaking to a small group of Orthodox Jewish leaders. There wasn't a lot of fanfare, because Bachmann "nor her campaign would disclose details about her day in New York." But the bigger story is how Bachmann is milking Mitt "Stormin' Mormon" Romney's campaign donations from Jewish voters, all because some believe Bachmann is "the Jewish candidate." Man, Vern Wuensche must be PISSED right now, and not just because no one knows who Vern Wuensche is! more ›

Republican Bob Turner is running for Anthony Weiner's Congressional seat in a special election against Democrat David Weprin this September 13. He has former mayor Ed Koch's endorsement (Koch is trying to get back at President Obama over Obama's stance on Israel) but now he's venturing into Rudy Giuliani territory—by opposing the so-called "Ground Zero" mosque. Check out this Turner ad attacking Weprin for supporting the Park 51 community center (which would include a mosque) proposed for blocks from Ground Zero, calling the mosque "a purposeful and confrontational act of provocation": more ›

A Florida family is "fuming" over a $300 fine they received after they got caught bringing an apple, a tomato, and three cucumbers from Israel through Newark Liberty Airport on Thursday. CBS 2 reports that Suri and Peter Steinberger are "livid" over the incident, which they chalk up to an honest mistake. When preparing for the long flight home from Israel, Mrs. Steinberger put the produce into her son's backpack as a snack, reasoning, "Let them eat it on the plane instead of eating garbage." But she didn't tell her husband about it, and for some mysterious reason the boys never ate those raw cucumbers or the fruit! more ›

It's no secret that former NYC mayor and structure that helps people get from Manhattan to Queens Ed Koch is angry at President Obama for suggesting that Israel and Palestine begin negotiations at the 1967 borders. Koch has strongly hinted that he'll endorse GOP candidate Bob Turner over Democrat David Weprin for Anthony Weiner's empty seat in the 9th District to exact a Scott Brownian revenge on Barry. It appears that Koch will do just that: the Daily News reports that Koch will make "an announcement" to the press at 11 a.m. on Monday. "I'll be endorsing [Turner], but you'll have to come to get the reason," Koch told the paper. Et tu, Eddie? more ›

David and Judy Wax, a New Jersey rabbi and his wife, are being released on $500,000 bond each after they were charged with "abducting an Israeli man, beating him and threatening to bury him alive if he didn't give his wife a religious divorce." The couple surrendered to the FBI earlier this morning. more ›

Former NYC mayor Ed Koch is pissed that President Obama suggested this spring that a Palestinian state should be created from the 1967 borders. So much so that he's written, "If President Obama does not change his position, I cannot vote for his reelection." Nevermind that what the president actually meant was that negotiations would start from those borders and work outward, Koch wants to "put a shot across Obama's bow," and is doing so by endorsing GOP candidate Bob Turner over Democrat David Weprin for the special election in former Congressman Anthony Weiner's Ninth District. Orthodox Jew and New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is not happy about this, calling Koch's behavior "totally inappropriate." more ›

A 27-year-old student from Hollis Hills was arrested in Egypt over the weekend and accused of being an Israeli spy who "tried to sabotage the Egyptian revolution," according to reports. Ilan Grapel is currently detained in Egypt, though his parents and friends insist that he's no spy. more ›

Today the annual Celebrate Israel Parade marches up Fifth Avenue from 57th Street to 74th Street (hence the Empire State Building's colors last night) and the usual politicians like Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Andrew Cuomo are expected to show. But still up in the air is whether Anthony Weiner—who has been a fixture at the parade in the past—will peak his head out. Weiner, who canceled a speech on Friday to spend more time with his wife as Weinergate continues, represents one of the most Jewish districts in the country. more ›

Gay porn star and producer Michael Lucas—who you might remember from such films as Piss!, Men in Stockings, Feet! and Farts!—is once again calling for a boycott of the NYC LGBT Center. Earlier this year the Center was persuaded, in part because of the fuss made by Lucas, to cancel an event for an anti-Israel group called Siege Busters Working Group but now the group has merged with another group, "Queers Against Israeli Apartheid," and gotten space at the Center. And Lucas is livid. more ›

After a closed-door 90-meeting in the Oval Office lasted far longer than expected today, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Obama emerged to brief reporters on their, ahem, progress. And in a rare public rebuke, Netanyahu-serious told Obama and the world straight up: Any return to the 1967 borders with Palestine is out of the question and indefensible. Watch what the Wall Street Journal describes as an "awkward moment": more ›

It's no surprise that some politicians and wealthy Israel supporters were angered by President Obama's Mideast peace speech yesterday, which called for a Palestinian state based on the borders that existed before the 1967 Six-Day War. But at least nobody's distorting Obama's message with overheated hyperbole to score cheap political points. Take likely GOP candidate Mitt Romney's circumspect reaction: "President Obama has thrown Israel under the bus. He has disrespected Israel and undermined its ability to negotiate peace. He has also violated a first principle of American foreign policy, which is to stand firm by your friends." Romney must have seen the Director's Cut of Obama's address, because we seem to recall him saying, "Our commitment to Israel's security is unshakable." Of course, when it comes to the Middle East, everyone's a critic: more ›

During a major speech on Middle East policy today, President Obama used the opportunity to directly address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and called for the creation of a Palestinian state along the borders which existed before the 1967 Six Day War. As the NY Times notes, it's the first time an American president has explicitly taken that position. more ›

A week after Tony Kushner's honorary degree from John Jay College was halted by the CUNY Board of Trustees (because of Kushner's stance on Middle East politics), the board's executive committee gave it right back last night. The decision, which concluded a less-than-30 minute meeting where board members expressed displeasure with the way the situation had unfolded, comes after tremendous political pressure was put on the school. Explained trustee Kathleen M. Pesile yesterday, “we are now correcting it because it benefits CUNY and we will not get another chance to remove this blemish.” more ›