Yonat Shimron

Yonat Shimron is an author at Religion News Service.

All Stories by Yonat Shimron

Exceptions for ‘Jewish tourism’ rankle US Christians blocked from Israel at Christmas

By Yonat Shimron and Michele Chabin — December 21, 2021

(RNS) — Birthright Israel delegations and similar Jewish travel programs were exempted from a travel ban that has canceled Christian trips to Israel at Christmas.

In time for Hanukkah, archaeologists reveal battle-scarred stronghold against Maccabees

By Michele Chabin — November 24, 2021

(RNS) — ‘The stories of the Maccabees are coming to life before our eyes,’ said one member of the group that excavated the site.

Israeli police protect women’s prayer group from ultra-Orthodox protesters

By Michele Chabin — November 5, 2021

JERUSALEM (RNS) — Until now, Israeli security forces have done the bare minimum to enforce crowd control during the controversial prayer group’s once-a-month services in the women’s section of the Western Wall.

Ben & Jerry’s threatened ban in West Bank creates ripples beyond ice cream stores

By Michele Chabin — July 20, 2021

(RNS) — The company’s announcement that it would not renew its licensee in the occupied territories has brought accusations of antisemitism.

Will Naftali Bennett’s diverse coalition lead Israel to recognize Jewish diversity?

By Michele Chabin — June 16, 2021

JERUSALEM (RNS) — Many Israelis and Diaspora Jews are hoping the new government will unlock the decades-long monopoly that strictly Orthodox Jews have had on everything from marriage to public transportation.

Violence at Al-Aqsa Mosque leads to rocket fire, air strikes between Hamas and Israel

By Michele Chabin — May 10, 2021

JERUSALEM (RNS) — Reports of 20 dead in Gaza, hundreds injured as skirmishes over Jewish-Arab land claims threaten to ignite regional violence in the Middle East.

Stampede in Israel claims dozens of lives, injures hundreds of Jewish pilgrims

By Michele Chabin — April 30, 2021

JERUSALEM (RNS) — The tragedy occurred at Mount Meron, where more than 100,000 Orthodox men, women and children gathered to celebrate Lag b’Omer, a holiday that recalls the end of an ancient plague.

‘Beautiful’ Ramadan returns for Israeli Muslims as restrictions lift

By Michele Chabin — April 28, 2021

(RNS) — Last year, Israel was under a strict lockdown to thwart the spread of COVID-19. Worshippers were forbidden to pray at mosques, synagogues and churches, even during Ramadan, Passover and Easter.

Israel’s high court broadens acceptance of non-Orthodox Jews, setting up political battle

By Michele Chabin — March 2, 2021

(RNS) — The US Conservative movement’s Rabbinical Assembly said in a statement that the ruling 'was a very long time coming. Not swift justice, but sweet and righteous just the same.'

‘Royal’ purple fabric found in Israel dates to days of David and Solomon

By Michele Chabin — February 3, 2021

JERUSALEM (RNS) — Researchers in Israel have identified pieces of fabric dyed ‘true purple’ dating to the 10th century BCE, when David and Solomon ruled in Jerusalem, according to the Hebrew Bible.

German teens go to Israel to atone for their families’ Holocaust history

By Michele Chabin — January 22, 2021

(RNS) — March of Life, a German movement that actively atones for the Holocaust through volunteerism, fights anti-Semitism through activism.

Israel hopes to vaccinate Holocaust survivors to save and repay ‘treasured’ population

By Michele Chabin — January 14, 2021

(RNS) — An Israeli government initiative to help vaccinate Holocaust survivors around the world against COVID-19 is drawing praise for its intentions, but also skepticism.

Israel’s recognition of Utah marriages gives hope to ineligible couples

By Michele Chabin — January 4, 2021

(RNS) — Mixed-faith, LGBTQ and nonreligious couples have had to travel abroad and obtain a civil marriage certificate.

Christians in Holy Land face bleak Christmas season due to COVID-19

By Michele Chabin — December 18, 2020

(RNS) — A usually festive and economically important time for the Holy Land’s tiny Christian minority has been changed with an absence of pilgrims.

Second coronavirus lockdown in Israel frustrates many religious Jews’ plans for High Holidays

By Michele Chabin — September 16, 2020

JERUSALEM (RNS) — The three-week shutdown is timed not only to take advantage of the slow pace of the High Holiday period, but is also an acknowledgment that crowded religious institutions were a coronavirus breeding ground this past winter.

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