2019 Israel Blog

According to The Central Bureau of Statistics in Israel, by 2009 Israel’s demographic characteristics showed that 75.5% of the total Israeli population were Jews, 20.3% were Arabs and 4.1% were defined as others. These populations are among those who are intolerant of homosexuality and sexual permissiveness in Israel. Israel is a small but very diverse state religiously and ethnically. Within Israel there are communities from the ultra-Orthodox to the non-religious. Each community deals with various areas of life differently. Specifically, when it comes to homosexuality and sexual permissiveness, each community has its own level of tolerance and intolerance.  Those that are most intolerant of homosexuality and sexual permissiveness are among the ultra-Orthodox, Orthodox, Christian and Arab communities. The similarity amongst these communities and their intolerance is religion. Each religious community follows the laws and commandments of their own religious ...

The Jerusalem Post issued an article on Tuesday April 2, 2019, stating that the head of Hamas’s “political bureau,” Ismail Haniyeh, announced they received Israel’s implemented timeline of understandings for a ceasefire from Egyptian intelligence officials. Haniyeh stated to Gaza City reporters he had given Egypt demands regarding Palestinian prisoners to relay to Israel. The demands included removing cellular jamming devices so the Palestinian prisoners could use their smuggled cell phones. He also demanded the Israel Prison Service stop their sanctions against Palestinian prisoners who had stabbed two Israeli guards in Ketziot Prison in the Negev two weeks ago. Hamas prisoners are also threatening to go on a hunger strike in response to the jamming devices and sanctions placed on them after the stabbings. On Monday April 1, 2019 sources close to Hamas reported U.N. Middle East representative Nickolay Mladenov met with Hamas officials to discuss the issue of the prisoners. Acc...